Sister Nicole Scharman: 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.