Happy Halloween!

I can't believe its Halloween already!! I love Halloween. This morning for p day we woke up at 4:30 and went on a well known bike trail with the Elders. It was so beautiful. It felt unreal to watch the sunrise as we were biking with mountains and rice fields surrounding us. I love how open and spread out our area is. It is absolutely breath taking. 

I don't have a lot of time today to email cause we are going to go help a member move.  Our mission has again changed one of the rules! We now wake up at 7am and we go to bed at 11. I really think this is going to help our area because more people are out at night. 

This week was full of biking. I wish I had a tracker to keep count of all the miles I've biked so far. Its probably 109298383938. We went to visit a recent convert Li Yu Mei, (she's so cute) she lives in Gu Feng which is about 8 miles away from Yuli. That bike ride was also really pretty. Everything is pretty here. We rode through mountains, past graveyards and of course rice fields. By the time we were done at Li Yu Mei's house it was getting dark. So we decided to bike the 3+ more miles to the town called Fuli, where we could take the train home. 

This week we wanted to do something nice for our members so we decided to write them notes... to finish one note took me a very long time.. I had to space it out between two days ha ha ha ha, so hard. But it was so fun! We had to use every recourse available (the dictionary, missionary language tools, the Book of Mormon, and our phone dictionary) We just hope and pray they are readable.. While my companion was writing hers she yelled out "Yes! I finally wrote Yesu Jidu (Jesus Christ) without looking at my name tag!!"

This week we had some really cool experiences. We met this couple from Switzerland who was in need of a hotel but knew absolutely no Chinese. I saw them and they looked lost so I walked over to them to ask if they needed help. Before I could say anything they said pretty frantically "we need a hotel!!!" I had no idea how to say hotel in Chinese, but now I will never forget. It was a cool experience helping them. We met an Ama who was 94 years old and still walking around. She had blue eyes and knew a lot of Japanese. I love meeting these people and being able to share about Jesus Christ. 

Our investigators are all doing so good!! I love them with my whole heart and I am so grateful to have this opportunity to teach them. On my mission I have come to have a greater understanding of the Atonement. I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and that I have this opportunity to help others apply it to their lives as well. I love being a missionary, and so thankful for this opportunity. I know this gospel can bless us all so individually. I am so grateful for our loving Heavenly Father and his loving tender mercies. I JUST HAVE A HAPPY HEART AND WANT TO SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL. 

I hope you have a fun week, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Love, Sister Scharman

1The field is white (or gold) already to harvest

2-5 Bike ride to Gu Feng

6 Li Yu Mei!

7 My companion when we arrived at Gu Feng hahaha she's awesome! 

8 My card that I worked so hard on! lol

9 The 94 year old AMA

10 Our investigator Lou Yu Ting

11-13 Who is more tired?? ha ha ha

14 - 15 Our district!! Love them!! 

16-18 Pictures from our bike ride this morning.

HUGE Miracles!!!

This week was so crazy busy and full of HUGE miracles!!! 

MIAO

The first miracle is with our investigator Ding JM. So she had a concern with getting baptized because her boyfriend is hard core Buddhist. We prayed really really hard to know how to help her overcome this problem.. AND GUESS WHAT.... THEY BROKE UP. I was going to get up and dance and jump up and down when she told us!!!! But... that's rude. I feel a little bad for being happy about it, because I would never wish a break up on anyone BUT this was an answer to our prayers and a HUGE miracle. We still have more things to overcome. She loves coffee. Ding JM doesn't speak any English to us so it took us by surprise when she said "no coffee, no life" hahaha. I almost died from laughing so hard. (everyone else was laughing too so its okay) So we have a little word of wisdom problem, but she is willing to overcome it. A willing heart is all we need. Another miracle she told us was that one night she decided to drink a little bit of alcohol. Right after she drank it, we called her asking her how she was. She said that she felt really bad for drinking the alcohol and doesn't want to feel that way again. Heavenly Father is working some amazing miracles. The lesson we taught her went really well. We taught her the first part of the Plan of Salvation. We really focused on agency and she was soaking it all in. She loved every thing about it. In her prayer at the end of the lesson she told Heavenly Father that she knew what we were teaching was true, and thanked him for giving her agency. My heart is so full. 

Another HUGE miracle was our cute friend Chen Zhi Yun. She is 12 and is the daughter of a member in our branch. But Chen Zhi Yun lives with her dad. (after divorce the government here favors the dad) Which is really hard because he doesn't like the church at all and she comes to church without him knowing. She loves church and everything about it. She is really cute and I am grateful we have become good friends. Her mom came up to us yesterday after church and asked us to start meeting with her daughter! We are starting to meet with her and we are going to try and help her the best way that we can. I know that with many prayers, and the Lords help, her dads heart can be softened. 

We met a really cute mom and son at English class this Tuesday, and on Wednesday we went to visit the mom at work at ate lunch with her!! She works at an insurance company, and when I walked into that office..  it felt like I was in an Asian version of The Office. Not even kidding. Her co workers were so funny. We got to meet all of them and invite them to English class! 

Our English classes have been improving so much! When I first got here there was only 1-3 people who would show up to English class in Ruisuai. But now there are a solid 11!! It is really fun, but also really stressful. Sister Brinkerhoff and I are the only missionaries that teach in Ruisuai so I teach adults and she teaches the children. But I have adults that have no English experience and some that have really good English. It has been hard to teach them both at the same time. But his week I decided to split them into two groups on different sides of the room. I get reallllly busy from running back and forth in between the two groups but it works out better for the students. Our English class in Yuli has also improved!! This week we had 6 people come. We had a request to learn some English songs. So we taught them Let It Go from Frozen and then taught them I Am a Child of God. It was really fun. 

We also went to Hualien this week on exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders!! It was really fun. Many things happened, including me getting hit by a scooter.. I am totally okay though no worries! I saw the biggest miao (Buddist temple) that I have ever seen in my life. They were having some kind of parade too which we accidentally rode through the middle of it after playing Frisbee for morning exercise. I waved at some people and they smiled so they didn't seem too upset. My whole mission I have only lived with just my companion so going on exchanges are always fun because I get to live with 6 sisters for a night. And after planning it always turns into some kind of party. 

Well on Sunday I was sick and running a fever. I don't really understand why I get sick so easily here. But today I am feeling a little bit better. Counting the blessings.

TODAY IS MY SISTERS BIRTHDAY YAYAYAY I love my sister and hope she has the best birthday ever!!! #teamwait And my family has gone to Oregon so many times without me.. what is that all about??

The Lord has been blessing me and Sister Brinkerhoff so much. I am so grateful to be able to know and teach the investigators that we have. I have seen the Lord's hand in every step of the way. Sometimes times get hard. But if you have a smile on your face and a prayer in your heart everything will be okay. And remember, if you are looking for direction you can find it on your knees.

Wo ai nimen! xie xie ni! zhu ni yukaui de yizhou.

Sister Scharman

施姐妹

1 We rode on a hello kitty train hahaha

2 Coco is a girl we found on the street and she came to english class, she wrote me this note. "coco ai shi jiemei"

3 A home

4 Elder Carson and Elder Budd

5 The OFFICE. They even had Christmas decorations up.. probably have been there all year haha and everyone in that building is Buddhist so I was a little confused. But it made me happy! 

"The Jade Neighborhood", Meaning of YULI

How are the pumpkins, leaves, and fall weather in America? Here it is still either, really hot, or pouring rain. Sometimes both! (trying to figure out a way to carve something here on a p day.. I might have to get creative) 

This week we got THREE NEW INVESTIGATORS. We are seriously so blessed. Heavenly Father is so good to us here in Yuli. 

Yang JM is such a stylish 33 year old. She is also a psychologist and very smart. She met the Elders nine months ago and started to meet with them on and off. She really likes this gospel, she is just waiting for her own testimony that God is her Heavenly Father. We asked her what her favorite part of the missionary lessons was and she told us it was faith. PERFECT. So we are helping her develop faith! She hasn't been consistently reading the Book of Mormon so we are encouraging her and helping her develop that desire. Because that is what is going to help her develop faith. She came to sacrament meeting and "geng geng hao" the topic was faith. A member came up to us after and said Yang Jiemei was practically glowing (:  

Luo Yu Ting is a cutie 17 year old. She also has previously met with missionaries (It seems like everyone in this town in a former lolol) She really progressed but her mom is "fandui" so she wont allow her daughter to get baptized. We are hoping and praying for a miracle this time around and hope that we can meet her mom soon (: Me, my companion, and Luo Yu Ting have quickly become friends. 

Huang JM is a 12 year old. So cute! We were out knocking, and her father let us in. Him, his wife, and son were in the room so it was safe for us to go in. But then right as we sat down his wife left hahhahah. We were like, "oh shoot what do we do?" We can't be alone with two guys! So we got up quickly to leave but then the daughter came in the room so we were safe. We got to know them, then started to apply the gospel to their lives. The father and son were not interested.. at all hahaha,  but the dad kept pointing to the daughter and told us to share with her. We said a prayer with her, taught her how to pray, and gave her a Book of Mormon. We have a set time to go back this week, we don't know if she has that much desire, but we are hoping she continues to meet with us!

We also met other really awesome people this week. Some cute old couple in Lehe, a cute mom with two cute kids, an Amah and her granddaughter. These were some really special experiences for me and I am grateful Heavenly Father allowed me to meet them, and share my testimony with them.  

As I was thinking about all my past/present investigators I felt really thankful. I haven't had as many baptisms as I would like, but I realized something new. Every investigator that I have had, and that I am currently teaching, are more like an acorn instead of a sunflower seed. They maybe are slower in growing, and gaining a testimony, but when they grow to be a tree, they won't wither and die like a sunflower. Yes, some investigators get baptized quickly and stay active. But I am grateful for the acorns that I have been able to help in their growing process.  

Lehe is this little town filled with aboriginals. It is about a 30+ minute bike ride from our area, which is super close. It is really cute and small. There are so many nice people there and the town was super humble. The old man and his wife were really fun, we talked and shared with them.

We are going to visit more members this week, give them cookies, and invite them to pray and fast for their friends who need the gospel!! I hope this can help them have more desire toward missionary work! 

Me and my companion came up with this fun song

REFLECTION...of key indicators. (from Mulan)

"Look at these, I will never pass for a chinese speaker, or a perfect teacher,

Can it be, I am meant to play this part?

Now I see, if I sent these numbers in on Sunday night,

I would break my district leaders heart.

What are these numbers I see, staring straight, back at me?

Why is this a reflection of numbers I don't want?

Somehow, I cannot find, a new investigator, though I've tried,

"When will my key indicators show, how hard we are working?"

"When will my key indicators show, a baptismal date in Yuli?"

We are working on "baptism... is an open door" (from Frozen) and many others.. my personal favorite is probably our uncompleted version of "I'll make a chuan jiaoshi out of you" (from Mulan) 

Its part of our companionship unity goals, and just really fun. 

I figured out that the exact translation or meaning behind the word "peanut butter" in chinese is.. "flower blossom, give birth, thick sauce." Chinese doesn't make sense to me quite yet. 

Thanks for the kind words, prayers, and support! I AM SO GRATEFUL. Have a good week xoxo

Sister Scharman

Shi Jiemei

施姐妹

Pictures from a little aboriginal town called Lehe 

And we made cookies for our members. I had real milk and cookies for the first time in forever.

Nine Months Down, Nine Months to Go!

Hey guess what! This week I hit my 9 month mark!! Isn't that crazy? 

Well I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Brinkerhoff. She is from Indiana!! Fun fact: She is in the same generation as me and she was one of Sister Miller's companions in the MTC! She is cute, and fun. I am sorry we have not had the opportunity to take pictures together since Thursday. 

This week was super hot to begin with, then got super rainy. We were lucky it was a nice sunny day last p day when we went to the ocean and a famous bridge!! The first time I've been to the ocean here! It was very beautiful. And very fun! Taiwan is gorgeous! And I loved being able to sit on a big rock look at the ocean and ponder about everything.

We had Zone meeting in Taitung!! I love Zone meetings and I got to see my old companion Sister Davis!! Our zone leaders are so good and always make me feel so excited. Grateful for that.

Sister Davis!

OH... this week I also tried stinky tofu... It doesn't taste like it smells, but not much better lol. I probably will never try it again.

Transfer days were crazy.. My companion Sister Weaver was moving up to Taipei and left in the morning, But my new companion Sister Brinkerhoff wasn't coming till 9:20 that night. So I stayed with a few members in between that time! I was really thankful for their patience and letting me stay with them! They are so kind and sacrifice a lot.

The main highlight of this week was GENERAL CONFERENCE! So good! I am so grateful for all the words that were spoken and how we can take them, apply them into our own lives and improve! I am so grateful for our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. We had it playing in Chinese in one room, then me and my companion and the Elders and another American member whose name is Brother Gunn (geng dx) watched it in English in another.

We met this one guy on the street that... All he wanted to talk about was stocks, money, and aliens. There are people here willing to talk to us but once we try and bring in the gospel they.. well usually start to ignore us and pretend like we aren't there haha 

I am so grateful to be teaching Ding Jiemei. She is so special and I hope we can help her overcome her concerns and get baptized. She can do it!!! 

Honestly, this is the hardest time I have had on my mission. It is really hard. I often feel really inadequate, my Chinese is not good enough, and I feel like I haven't been making a difference. I want these people we meet to accept this gospel so bad, it breaks my heart that they aren't even willing to listen. We don't have many investigators, but I am grateful for the few we have and that they are willing to listen to learn. I am trying my best to be grateful in every circumstance. Sometimes we find ourselves out on the street riding our bikes trying to find someone to talk to alllll day. But with the Lord's help we can do hard things. 

I love this quote that my wonder friend Mistilyn sent me (: 

"Can we, even in the depths of disease, tell Him anything at all about suffering? In ways we cannot comprehend, or sicknesses and infirmities were borne by Him even before they were borne by us. The very weight of our combined sins cause Him to descend below all. We have never been, nor will we be, in depths such as He has known. Thus His atonement made perfect His and His mercy and His capacity to succor us, for which we can be everlastingly grateful as He tutors us in our trials. There was no ram in the thicket at Calvary to spare Him, this Friend of Abraham and Isaac." -Neal A. Maxwell

I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember that Heavenly Father loves you no matter what. He has loved you, He loves you now, and he will always love you. 

Me and Sister Weaver!

Just for fun

The bridge. it was so pretty

 Elder Xiao and Elder Carson

My area!! Welcome to Yuli!