Another Week in My Favorite Place Ever!

This is right next to our apartment! It rained a lot this week! 

Hello! 

So I found out I suffered through the recovery process only on Tylenol. Not even extra strength, just one pill of plain old Tylenol. Yikes. But I am getting better!! Which is super exciting. Since I am not allowed to workout or bike for a month me and Sister Chan have been so good at doing our arm circles hahah (the only workout I can do) and I have been helping her out with her recovery process, by giving her back massages with deep blue and scraping her muscles. I should be a physical therapist. I LOVE MY COMPANION  Sister Chan is so awesome. President calls us the "walking wounded" We are never not singing or laughing together unless we are both in pain or asleep. We have become super good friends really fast. Its so sad that we only have a few weeks left then she goes home. I hate killing my comps. Ps Sister Knapp already has a boyfriend what is life 

Zhang Dx bought me Costco muffins this week. He says he buys me things because I am his "mei mei" (little sister) hahaha love him.

One of our investigators has a smoking problem. We have been studying and praying for them trying to figure out the best way to help them. If you have any suggestions feel free to send them my way (: 

This week we had zone conference!! I love these meetings. They are so spiritual and I learn so much each time. I am so grateful for my mission!! We have such amazing leaders and missionaries here in Taiwan. I am so grateful I get to learn from their example and listen to their teachings! I LOVE MY MISSION SO MUCH I LOVE TAIWAN

I finished the Book of Mormon this week, I started it over in the MTC. I am so grateful for all the many experiences, stories, and examples we can learn from it. One scripture really stood out to me when I was reading in Alma.

Alma 5:14

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church. have ye been spiritually born of God? Have you received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?"

When I read this scripture I really studied and pondered how I could be a better representative of Jesus Christ. I have his name on my chest, but do I have his image in my countenance? How can we have his image in our countenances? 

Have charity.

The Savior brought hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak. He healed the sick; He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear and raised the dead to life. Throughout his life he reached out in charity to any in need!  If we follow his example we will be able to love more, and we will care more about others happiness. We will do all that we can to help anyone in need. 

Be humble. 

In Preach My Gospel it says "Humility is the willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished. When you are humble you trust him."Being humble mean not being prideful. Pride is the gateway to sin. Pride is what failed Lucifer. Pride is the lack of love for others, sarcasm, enmity, ingratitude, and basically being obsessed with ourselves. (there are way more but we get the picture) When I think about all the sins I have committed they all lead back to pride! I think this is why pride hit me so hard in my studies this week. In the Book of Mormon every time the people had pride in their hearts is when they failed. Pride is such a big problem. So let's all try our best to be more like our Savior by submitting ourselves to God's will, lose ourselves in the service of others, keep our hearts in the right place, forget what the world thinks of you, because what God thinks is the only thing that matters (King Noah is a really good example of caring about what the world thinks.. and look what happened to him..) repent, and change. 

Have Virtue

Virtuous people are clean in thought. Negative thinking is like poison to the soul. When we have joy, confidence, and happiness it is most likely because we are living up to our highest standards and values. Virtue comes from being in complete control of what you focus on and learning to be in complete control of your actions. The more we control our thoughts and actions the more we control our lives and our destiny (like getting to the Celestial Kingdom). The more virtue we develop the more we can have the sacred companionship of the Holy Ghost. and the more we will tend to act, think, and become more like our Savior. 

I Know that God lives. I know we are all his children and that he loves us. I know he sent his son to this earth to be the atoning sacrifice for all mankind. I know that those who embrace the gospel and follow him will enjoy eternal life! I know that the church was restored thought the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that the only lasting joy and happiness we can ever have during this life comes from following the teachings of Jesus Christ and keeping his commandments. 

CRAZY WEEK OF CHANGES!!!

I took this picture the day before I got surgery.
It's on the side of a taxi. 

NI HAO EVERYONE

So this week has some changes that no one will be expecting! I have a new companion!! Her name is Sister Chan. She is from New Zealand. She finishes her mission this transfer. She was actually going to get sent home a little early because she has a bad back and knee. But because I had surgery she gets to stay!! Big miracle and I am so glad because she is amazing! 

I stayed in the mission home till Wednesday afternoon. I HAVE THE BEST MISSION PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE ARE SO AMAZING AND THEIR FAMILY IS SO SPECIAL! It was so fun to stay there. I am grateful for their great examples. Definitely want a family like that someday. And they fed me some really good food. 

I got my stitches out and the doctor said "the sooner you get them out the more beautiful they will be" So he better be right and they better turn out beautiful lol. 

We got a call on Saturday from President saying that Sister Chan's great grandpa was in critical condition. He told her we had permission to go visit him. Which is another really big miracle that she is in Taipei with me because her Great Grandpa was in a hospital that was not far from our area. We weren't able to visit him before he passed, but we went to see the family (none of them are members) We went and they brought her Great Grandpa into a room and had a mini funeral thing. It was really cool that we were there because they looked at us and said "can you say a prayer to send him off?" I looked immediately at my companion and made sure she was going to be the one doing it cause I was honestly a little scared and didn't know what to do. But yes, Sister Chan said it and she said a beautiful prayer. It was a really cool experience. They decided to have their funeral Mormon style, and asked us to set it up.  I also participated in their bowing to him out of respect which is the first time I have ever done that. It really made me ponder about the Plan of Salvation and I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of it. 

I am still continuing to get better. It's not fun being stuck in the house, we do as much as we can, like phone calls. I just want to get back out on those streets that I love. But I am doing my best to keep my head up during this trial! Everything happens for a reason. I have gotten to know my companion really well and I love her so much. Even with this slow week we have seen miracles. I am so grateful for this gospel! Just remember Jesus Christ's Atonement and everything will work out! 

We got bored inside so we had fun lol

(Mom note: It is so great to see her standing on one leg, 

a facemask on, and a smile on her face! We

know she is doing well, is the happiest

she has ever been, and has faced each

obstacle with a great attitude! 

She can not ride a bike for

4 weeks, and so this companionship is 

a miracle for both these sweet sisters! We

know who is in charge and are grateful

for the many blessings He has showered down upon her!)

OOPS! I lost my Appendix!

Happy dragon boat festival and surgery!

Well another new holiday is here. We have received a lot of these super cool rice dumplings! and there are tons of dragon boat races I guess. We didn't get the chance to see any because we were out saving souls, (and having surgery) but I heard its really cool. 

So yeah I had surgery this weekend!  Probably the craziest few days I have ever had in my life hahaha. Two weeks ago I went to the hospital with Sister Knapp, but they told me that they didn't know what it was. They gave me pain medicine, told me to come back if it gets worse and sent me home. I had pain on and off these past two weeks but Friday night/Saturday morning I couldn't sleep cause I was in a lot of pain, so I woke up my companion at 2:30 in the morning and called the Mission's doctor. She told us to call an ambulance. (119 which is 911 in america) It was a very hard conversation cause the only Chinese we really know is gospel words. So while I am in the worst pain of my life me and my companion are flipping through this dictionary trying to communicate with the police. We have our address on a paper in characters so we were both unable to read it. We told the man what street we live on and so they drove up and down that street until they found us on the curb. It was pretty stressful then but now that I think of it, it is super funny. It has been quite an experience. Definitely one I won't forget. After two ambulance rides, lots of tests, people staring at me, needles, prayers, pain medications (that didn't work) hours of waiting, and more waiting.  The doctors told me I had an Appendicitis. When they finally wheeled me into the surgery room I felt like I was in a movie. There were Asians surrounding me and I had no idea what they were saying hahaha then I was out. When I woke up I was in the worst pain of my life.. I was still kinda out of it from the drugs, and I was so mad because I was in pain hahah Sister Davis said I was glaring at all the doctors lol I don't remember that part. After 36 hours of not having any food I finally ate breakfast that President and Sister Jergensen brought me. I couldn't eat a lot but I ate. Everyone has been so nice to me. My zone leaders came and gave me a blessing. My district leaders came and gave me the sacrament. Our investigator Zhang Dx has spent more time with me then anyone else. He actually works at the hospital I was at. He is a nose, ear, and throat doctor. He brought me flowers Sunday night and stayed for two hours then today he brought me food and some drinks for breakfast and lunch during his lunch break. He actually just went to see me again after work but I wasn't there so he called to make sure I was fine. Isn't he so kind? And so worried about me. I have had other friends visit me and bring me a balloon and some fruit. I am blessed with the best Mission President, a good companion who has had to have lots of patience this past weekend, and good friends/Investigators! My wounds are disgusting and they hurt. But I will get better fast. I am staying at my Mission Presidents while I recover. This has been my life for the past few days.

All of my pictures from this adventure are on my companions camera, which right now is having difficulties. I will send those next week (:  (Updated pictures 7/19/16)

I am doing so good and just working on getting better so I can go back out! Thank you everyone for the support and love!! I know the Gospel is TRUE

Here are some additional things that she said in her letter to us personally that I thought were interesting and funny. We are very grateful for President Jergensen who contacted us before the surgery and after to let us know she was okay! We are also grateful she is being watched over and resting in the mission home until she is back on her feet!

[Then we were at the hospital and they did a bunch of tests which took forever and put me on pain medicine while they were waiting for the results... but the pain medicine weren't working. For some reason the bag wasn't dripping so I was sitting there for awhile without any medicine. They got that fixed but the medicine still didn't take away the pain. Over time they tried three different kinds and they all didn't work. My body was being stubborn I guess. They came back telling me I needed a ct scan. I actually had to get two because the first one the instructions were in chinese so I didn't know when to breathe and not to breathe lol so the guy switched it to english. Then they put me out on a bed in the hallway. (there were so many people in that hallway it was ridiculous and everyone just stared at me) after a reaaaaaaalllllllyyyyy long time they came back with my results saying "there is nothing major wrong with you, we suggest that you drink water and eat something" so President Jergensen gave me some water and I drank it. Literally two minutes later after telling me there was nothing wrong with me, the doctor rushed back and said "the results just changed and you have an appendicitis. Don't drink or eat anything because you need surgery" wellllllllllllll yeah. Because I drank water I had to wait out in that hall for about another 9 hours. I was in that hall for about 16 hours total. It felt like an eternity because I couldn't sleep at all. There were so many people and sometimes they would accidentally hit into my bed with another person's bed. And there were some really bad smells haha. They took my blood so many times out in the hall. I have had more needles in my arms the past few days then I ever have before. They kept messing up and so they had to keep trying again and again hahaha and they had lots of blood tests to see if I had any poison in my body. Not fun. But finally surgery time came and I was a little nervous it being my first surgery and all, but I wasn't afraid. While all of this was happening I was never afraid. Because the blessing President Hutchings gave me in the MTC specifically said.. "no sickness will take you away from the work for more than a few days."]

Fifth Month, New Companion

Throwback with friends, at sunrise in Taiwan (: 
Sister Menzie got moved to the east coast! 
I won't see her for a long time :(

Isn't it crazy I've been on my mission for 5 months!? 

Okay, let me start out saying how GRATEFUL AND HOW MUCH I LOVE SISTER KNAPP! 

She was an awesome trainer, companion, mom, and friend. I definitely shed a few tears when she left.

 Sister Knapp's birthday!!!(One of the 923829347 cakes we had )

Last Tuesday on Sister Knapp's birthday we were temple tour sisters! We had lots of cake, and lots of miracles. One in particular is this guy we met on the street. We invited him in for a tour and we

started teaching him the restoration. When we were talking about Joseph Smith and how he was confused with all the different churches he said "just like me!" YES I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE UNDERSTAND! It was so cool to be able to give him a tour!




(ps thanks to Jenny Buck for the Reese's!!!!!) 

I have lots to talk about but limited time so most importantly.......

My new companion is Sister Davis! And get this.. She's only been out for a month more than me. So we are still both on Phase 1. (which is learning how to teach the lessons in Chinese) And have limited Chinese ability. It's going to be a fun transfer (: 

My first initial reaction when I found out we both were young missionaries was "Heavenly Father what are you thinking? How am I supposed to do this?"

He must trust me and Sister Davis a lot. I have prayed and studied my heart out the last few days. It's sometimes a struggle to put away the "mortal desire" to have it my way. But I have to realize, and we all have to realize, our way is so lacking and limited compared to the way Heavenly Father has for us. His way is the path that leads to happiness. That is what he wants for us, and isn't that what we all want too? I asked myself these questions. "Can I love Jesus more than I love myself and my own way? Can I follow the example he set in the Garden of Gethsemane, submitting himself to the Father's will?" I think that is a question we all need to ask ourselves constantly. It really helped me reevaluate myself and my motivation to be a good missionary.   

I love the song lyrics:

"So trusting my all to thy tender care,

and knowing thou lovest me,

I'll do thy will with a heart sincere

I'll be what you want me to be."

I know that if we all get over ourselves and then set our heart on the Savior and on the Father's will we can say with full confidence that it will all workout. No matter what it is and no matter what you are going through. It will take a lot of faith and trust. But Heavenly Father will work miracles according to his holy will and our faith.                                                                                                              

We went to a lantern festival! 

Taiwan is beautiful and I love rain!

Cute Breakfast Ladies!

Our cute friends at the park (: