Sister Nicole Scharman: 願原力與你同在

First off, IT'S FATHER'S DAY IN TAIWAN!! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD I LOVE YOU! AND TO MY BROTHER JAMES LOVE YOU TOO AND TO MY GRANDPA LOVE YOU!

Fathers day is always August 8th here. Because the date is 8/8 and the letter eight is ba in chinese and baba is dad!! So special! FU QIN JIE KUAILE (happy fathers day)

This week I had so many spiritual experiences. I am very grateful for those experiences because I definitely needed them.

The first miracle I want to share might be a small one, but its one that really touched my heart. We were out finding and we met this lady at a park. We talked to her, then asked to pray for her. When she said yes we asked her what we could pray for. She told us about some health problems she has been having. So when I prayed for her, I prayed for her to get better. Immediately after the prayer she put her hand on her heart and told us that she felt a very warm, peaceful feeling. We explained that it was Gods love for her, who God is, how we can communicate with God through prayer, and then taught her how. She said her first prayer that night. I've witnessed and heard a lot of first prayers, but this one was so special and sincere. Before we left she thanked us for stopping to talk to her, and for helping her understand that God answers prayers. We are meeting with her again tonight and I am very excited. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and that I can see the hand of God touching lives through a simple prayer.

Second miracle starts out pretty funny. Again we were out finding. I can't help but start laughing while I type this. We kept getting bu yonged. (rejected) and it wasn't fun. Me and my companion agreed that we should go down a different street. So we turned around and across the street there is this girl sitting on her phone by her scooter. I felt a really strong impression to go talk to her, so we did. We introduced ourselves and then asked to pray for her. When she said yes we were both so relieved, she was the first person to say yes all night. My companion out loud said "woah ni zhende hun tebie" (woah you are very special). Sister Xie looks at me with the face saying "did I just say that out loud?" hahahahha the girl said.. "weisheme" (why). There was an awkward silence for a second because my companion was still in shock she said that out loud and the only answers I could think of was 1. you are letting us pray for you. 2. You are a daughter of God. So I went with number 2 and said "ni shi shen de nu er" she said okay and then we continued on with our conversation, and got her number for our elders. She was really awesome and now is the elders investigator!!

When me and Sister Davis were companions one time during our English class there was this new 16 year old girl. After class she came up to me and started asking me questions about myself, why I am in Taiwan, and asked me if it was hard to leave my family. We had a really good conversation and I got to share my testimony. She is now our elders investigator, and comes to church almost every week. She is such a cutie. On Wednesday during English she brought me a gift and said thank you for being her friend and for my testimony. She is not able to come to English anymore because of school, but she said she will still see me at church! Love her so much.

We were temple tour Sisters more then once this week! (we had to cover for the actual temple sisters because they had a lesson, and then we had our assigned day)

It was full of miracles!! We were inside and there was a couple outside (I honestly thought they were members because there were so many members there) I waved to them and they waved back. We were with one of our members Huang Jm and she opened the door to invite them in. Turns out they are not members and they actually live in Datong!! our area!!!!! So we gave them a tour. The husband isn't a big fan of religion, but his wife was loving every minute of us teaching her and showing her pictures of Jesus. The husband wouldn't let the wife give us her number. But me and Sister Xie are going to pray to find her again. We gave a tour to a bunch of primary kids! It was so fun to teach them about the temple. We had so many tours this week it hurts my head to think about hahahaha

So the reason I needed these miracles this week (these are just a few of them, I so wish I could tell you all of them) was because I felt a little down, actually more like heartbroken. Just because I have been in Taiwan for 5 months now and I haven't seen the success I would have wanted to see. I have the best investigators. They are still progressing so much! I didn't write much about them this week though, sorry about that. They truly are my best friends. I have found them all on the street, and witnessed them change their lives for this gospel. As I have seen the change in them I have also been changed. Unfortunately none of them have gotten baptized YET. I emphasize yet, because they will. Just in Heavenly Fathers due time. I honestly think submitting yourself to the Fathers will is the most demanding of all spiritual struggles. It has been for me on my mission so far. Because I am obedient, I study, pray, think, dream, fast, love, teach, and testify for my investigators. Everything I do is for them. I have asked over and over, what am I doing wrong? What can I do better? How can I help these people that I love so much be baptized? I give my whole soul to these people, then I just have to hand it over to them and Heavenly Father to finish the rest. I would think the handing over part would be the easiest, but its definitely the hardest. I love the quote by David A Bednar "Strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of his will and timing in our lives. Even if the outcome is not what we hoped or wanted." Transfers are coming up and I will most likely leave Wanda. It would be the best day of my life to see my best friends be baptized before I leave. But maybe it won't happen. The love I have for them is what makes it so heartbreaking. But I have to remember that Its all going to happen how, and when Heavenly Father wants it to. So I remind myself each day that It will all workout how it is supposed to, smile, Read Alma 17:9-11 and go to work (:

[9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted. 11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.

Have a good week! Remember God loves you! And.. 願原力與你同在 (May The Force Be With You)

(my companion taught me how to say that and how to write it lol this week)

Lots of pictures of the Temple because I was there a lot this week!