Miracle March

This is usually a month I like to enjoy March Madness and the beautiful array of college basketball. However, as a missionary I am set apart from all of that physical beauty in order to enjoy the spiritual beauty that comes from seeing Miracles of the Lord.

It all started on Monday after we were done emailing. We went to Aldi to buy our groceries and when we got to the cashier she added ten dollars to each of our bill! When we asked why she said some lady had given her three ten dollar bills and said to add it to our bill. It was a blessing and a miracle because I wasn't sure if I had enough cash and then low and behold I was well taken care of!

That miracle boosted our companionship urgency to be more obedient. We pushed it to the limit. Staying out at the bus stop until 8:55 and then running home to our flat to get in by 9:00pm. It was fun and we were able to make some solid contacts in the few extra minutes we put in at the bus stop. We needed those extra minutes because the majority of our time this week was spent in the OFFICE!!!! Yay yay yay!

Tuesday we taught a girl named May who is going back to Taiwan this Friday. The Spirit was very strong as we taught her about God and Jesus Christ. When she gave the closing prayer she said (in Chinese that I understood!), "Please help me to find sister missionaries in Taiwan as good as these sisters." Oh my heart just about melted and I felt comforted that what we had shared had instilled in her a desire to find missionaries on her return to Taiwan.

Wednesday we had Zone Meeting with guest speakers President Henderson and my area's Stake President, President Smiber. They really inspired and uplifted me to become more aware of people, members and investigators. To really listen to what they have to say and then testify of whatever they are talking about. President Smiber did a role-play of how to hand away a Book of Mormon and ever since our companionship is trying to treat the Book of Mormon with more respect and dignity when we pass it to new investigators.

Thursday was super busy. We woke up early just so we could get our studies in and then it was lessons all day! We biked to our first lesson and I love biking. It is quite a challenge to be modest with a skirt flying in the wind, but the feeling of my body moving is invigorating. Our next appointment was with Peter. I love teaching Peter he is full of so many funny one liners, but he is also really sincere in his desire to become a member of this Gospel. Some of his one liner's from Thursday are:

1) "I am grateful for the super fat man, he comes to me to get thin and it takes a long time. I make more money that way."

2) After telling him to come church every Sunday "Ahhhh man are you sure?" pause "Okay sounds good."

3) "I used to be very fat, not super fat, but my face was really round."

4) "I play the piano cause my hands are big."

5) "The super fat man's shirt was so wet you could make water. That was just his warm-up."

He is such a hoot and a holler! I wish I could record him and then you would really be rolling on the floor laughing.

Friday was an amazing lesson with Max as we prepared him to go to the temple on Saturday. We have been meaning to go with him for three weeks now and so when we asked him if he was excited he said, "Yes. Looking forward to it very much because delay delay delay!"

Saturday morning before we went to the temple we had a lesson with a Vietnamese woman, Gemma, who is so petite and cute and just wants to have happiness in her life. We shared with her the plan of salvation and the Spirit was so strong. I could feel all the love I owned going towards this one person. I didn't think it was possible for me to love a practical stranger so much, but it was as if my heart grew and more love entered in. At the end of the lesson Gemma pulled out a little baggy with three small items in it. She then proceeded to hand each of us a gift. She gave Sister Lai a notebook because in the first lesson Sister Lai drew some things for Gemma to explain the Godhead. She gave me a polka-dotted scarf/headband thing because the first time we met I was wearing a headband. She gave Sister Cabamongan a snow globe with a lamb inside because she said Sister Cabamongan reminded her of a little lamb. She said the reason she wanted us to have these small gifts is because we'd given her a gift of comfort that she didn't know could exist. I looked into her grateful eyes and at her slumped frame and told her "Thank you. But it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with the Holy Ghost." She nodded and tears trickled down her face. These were tears of comfort and gratitude for the Savior. Gemma is beginning to realize that she is never alone in this world.

Then we went to the temple with Max where Sister Chen joined us and it was very special. Max is very carefree and easy going, but even the most care free person in the world can feel the power and sanctity of the temple. Afterwards when we asked him how he felt he explained that he felt the same as when he was baptized just over a month ago. That was a great reminder to me to be more grateful for the opportunity I have to go to the temple whilst on my mission so that I can remember the covenants I have made with my Heavenly Father and so that I can feel of His love.

It was a thumbs-up day for sure!

BUT...That was not the end of our Saturday! We had a lesson with Tony as soon as we got back from the temple and it was amazing. We did a hands on thing where we fold a piece of paper and then rip it down the middle and it comes out with a cross. Then we talked about the Atonement and how it is there for us everyday and so we should repent everyday. Tony made a huge step forward this week. He went out with his friends and he didn't break the Word of Wisdom! He found a new drink that is a type of Soda that he really likes and said he prefers over tea or coffer or alcohol! I feel like he is ready for baptism and he, himself believes his confidence is increasing and is progressing towards the 5th of April.

We met with Peter again on Saturday and it was another really good lesson. At the beginning of each lesson we always ask how their Book of Mormon reading is coming along. When we asked Peter he told us he was at 2 Nephi Chapter 31. We were all surprised at how much he'd read in just two weeks, so we asked him how he managed to read so much and study and work. He said (as best as I can remember), "Well you know last night I was really drunk. It's true. we had a party and you know... I came home and was super sick so I drank a lot of tea. Most people drink coffee to help, but I drink tea. Then the tea gave me a lot of energy and I couldn't go to sleep. So I read a lot last night. Like 15 chapters." We all just stared at him and then Sister Cabamongan said, "Wow, that's really great Peter." Sister Lai looked at her with a he read while super drunk that's not super great face and said, "It's good that you are reading the Book of Mormon." Then I said, "Yes, and today after our main message we will talk about all that alcohol you drank."

We taught the Restoration and then we taught the Word of Wisdom. Peter took it like a man. Only a few gasps here and there, but when he read the promise that living the Word of Wisdom will bring more wisdom he understood and wanted to live it because in Peter's words "everyone wants to be smart right?"

After Peter we taught Alvin, a jolly guy from China! He was just so cute. Whenever we asked him if he wanted to return to live with God he would say, "I will try my best!" and put two thumbs up. Then when we asked him to be baptized on April 5th, he paused. We asked him to make it a goal and follow the example of Jesus Christ and then came the two thumbs up and a "I'll try my best." It was cool to see his earnest desire to just put forth his best effort.

Sunday was a crazy day. We had six people at church. A member fresh from Taiwan brought her three non-member friends with her. Then we had Peter, Tony, and a guy named Max (another man we are teaching) come as well. It was a full house and then on top of all that it was my turn to translate! By Sunday night we were all very very tired and ready for bed. As we complied our numbers together we realized how much success we'd been blessed with in one week. We taught 18 lessons and met all our of goals except for contacts and finding hours. I was excited at that all our hard work is coming together in getting people closer to the waters of baptism. I also have to remember to continue to be humble. It would be easy to let Pride slip and think of how well WE did this past week, but I am reminded of Alma when he said, "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

I know that this is the work of God. I am merely a tool in His mighty hands. I feel as if I have now worked hard enough that He can trust me with His children in helping them come closer to Christ. I am forever grateful for this opportunity I have to be busy and to be serving the Lord.

How Great Thou Art

There is a hymn I love dearly in the LDS hymnal page 86 called "How Great Thou Art." This week I have learned over and over again how truly amazing and loving our Heavenly Father is.

Wednesday night we taught a lesson to a guy with awesome purple hair. His name is Nick and when we last taught him a month and half ago he had red hair. Then he walked into the office with purple hair and I was just amazed that he could actually pull it off. Anyway...Nick's hair is probably the least impressive thing about that lesson. We were lucky to have Daniel Glenn, a return missionary from Taiwan, help us fellowship. We taught the Restoration of the Gospel and the Spirit was so strong. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes--but even that is not the most amazing part! As we were about to say the closing prayer Nick asked if Christians could drink and gamble. Daniel told him briefly that in our church we do not drink or gamble. It was quiet for a moment and I think I was holding my breath thinking this could make or break Nick's desire to continue meeting with us. That's when Nick said, "Can I pray for forgiveness right now?" My heart melted into a pool of emotion and I excitedly told him yes and that Heavenly Father would give him the forgiveness he was seeking. It was such a special moment.

After our lesson Daniel Glenn gave us some advice on how to be better teachers. I really appreciated it because we never get much feedback on our teaching. It was so refreshing to have someone coach us. I didn't realize how much I crave the coaching of someone more experienced than me. STL's are great, but they aren't in the Chinese program and can't really understand our teaching and so we don't get feedback from them. I love to be told how to improve.

Last night we had dinner at one the Nicholson's. A great family who feeds the missionaries every Sunday. Luckily this week it was our turn. The food was great, pizza! We helped carry the dinner to their outside picnic area and Sister Cabamongan tripped. She was able to save the pizza, but as we were walking home Sister Lai and I noticed she was limping. She had sprained her ankle when she saved the pizza, and now we had quite a long walk to go before we would reach our bus stop to get back home. And so...

Being the biggest companion that I am I put the light 95lbs of Sister Cabamongan on my back and helped her get to the bus stop. Sister Lai, who was holding all of our stuff said, "I feel like a maid." In which I replied, "I feel like a horse." and then sweet little Sister Cabamongan said, "I feel like a damsel in distress." It was quite a good laugh!

But then as I was carrying my dearly beloved companion the Savior entered my mind. How He, the literal Son of God, sacrificed so much for me. Then I felt honored to have Sister Cabamongan on my back. I could feel the Holy Ghost's approval of what I was doing. I could feel even stronger the support and love of my Heavenly Father. That's when Sister Lai, who was walking behind us, began to sing "How Great Thou Art." The Spirit filled my entire soul and I felt consecrated. I could feel the power of my calling as a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ and I could feel my limbs being strengthened as we finally made it to the bus stop.

I testify that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. He is my master. I am His servant and I love this work.

Switching it Up a Notch!

Here is SunnyBank, where sometimes I feel a little too familiar, we are trying to switch things up a notch. To kick it into gear and really hasten the work in our area. Sometimes this includes play pranks on the Elders and "stealing" their bikes! Sadly this prank didn't pan out as well as I'd hoped, but we sure had a laugh trying to ride their bikes in our skirts.

Honestly though, the work here is really starting to pick up as we exercise more and more faith and talk to more and more people. I was able to behold so many miracles this past week and I know that every miracle, big or small, is a sign from my Heavenly Father that He not only loves me, but the people that I am teaching.

The first thing we did this week to change up our week a bit we decided to put in some tracting (knocking on doors) (something quite unheard of in the Chinese-Program). This was my first time tracting in Australia where we had some real success. We ended up with a couple of houses inviting us back to share a message and we got a couple of numbers who didn't know when they would have free time.

That's when the week began to look very good and then it began so difficult. All the appointments we set up seemed to cancel or just not show up. It was cancellation after cancellation and my faith was beginning to shake. Thankfully, I have a firm foundation in Jesus Christ and I was able to hold on strong focusing on the weekend when I just knew all our appointments would follow through.

Lo and behold, the STL's called and said they wanted to do trade-offs on Saturday and I would be leaving the area! Oh how I weeped! All week we put in hard core tracting and GQ'ing to have a Saturday full of lessons and no GQ'ing. I did not want to go to another area and leave behind some of the only lessons we would have that week. I may or may not have thrown a little tantrum and flopped rather dramatically onto my bed before companionship prayer. The next day I woke up and pleaded with Heavenly Father to please cancel the trade-off. When I told Sister Cabamongan what I prayed for, she kindly reminded me that only prayers with a righteous desire would be answered. Dang-it.

At lunch I decided it was time to humble myself and take all my worries and concerns to the Lord. I asked my Heavenly Father to please help me have a good trade-off. To please help me understand what it was that I needed to learn from my leaders. MOST importantly I asked Heavenly Father to please humble me enough to have a good attitude during trade-offs.

Trade-offs were great! I saw miracles, learned much that I want to somehow try and apply to the Chinese program, and my biggest worry that my investigators in SunnyBank wouldn't be okay without me was erased as Sister Cabamongan and Sister Lai produced miracles without me there! What a blessing. And the Lord blessed me for putting it all in His hands.

Sunday, a guy was supposed to come to church and then didn't show up. I was heart-broken because I had chased after him in the parking lot behind the bus station because of a prompting from the Holy Ghost. I'd thought for sure this guy would become a solid investigator. I decided to send him a text saying I'd missed him at church. He replied quickly apologizing and saying he'd had some job interviews that morning. I asked if he would be free to meet that evening. He said yes.

His name is Peter and he has been in Australia for five years and is just so cool. He had a room-mate that was Mormon and a really good example. We had a lesson with Fan, a really solid member, and it just went amazing. Peter had so many great questions and was really open. We committed him to baptism on March 29th and he said yes! That's the weekend after my birthday and I can't imagine a better birthday present that seeing someone enter into a covenant with Heavenly Father.

The work is continuing on stronger and stronger each week. I feel so blessed to be here in SunnyBank. We are really pushing ourselves to the limit and are finally starting to see some fruits from all of our labor. God loves each and everyone of His children on earth and the longer I am here the stronger my testimony becomes.  Monday was Zone Conference and President Henderson just dug into our souls! It was amazing to learn from him. He is truly an inspired mad and I love serving the Lord under President Henderson's jurisdiction. I can't imagine having any other Mission President.

Say hello to the Largest Chinese District in the mission!

Just One More Time

This week was amazing. I love the work that is taking place here as I work harder and harder each and everyday. My fear of talking to people is beginning to become a thing of the past thanks to Heavenly Father's help. For example, my first transfer here a good day for me was when I would contact 15 people on my own in one day. Now I am contacting about 15 people in one hour! That plus my companions hard work put us at contacting 307 people this week. We are taking it upon us to "hasten the work of salvation."

We met with a guy from Congo this past week name Mokwa. Our first visit I thought I was back in Georgia again. The whole lesson he just smashed us with his beliefs and gave scripture reference after scripture reference from the Bible to "support" his argument. At the end of the lesson I had o desire to meet with him again and was just ready to call it quits. Especially after his prayer, which was in French and I was able to understand that he thanked God for the opportunity to teach us! I stood up to leave and then Sister Cabamongan invited Mokwa to meet with us again the next day! My heart dropped when he accepted. After Mokwa left I tried telling Sister Cabamongan that I had met a ton of people like Mokwa and that there was really no point in meeting with him again. I was convinced he would not change. However, I put my trust in Sister Cabamongan.

The next day in my personal prayers I asked Heavenly Father to soften Mokwa's heart to our message, but to also soften my heart so that I could heed promptings from the Holy Ghost in order to teach with the power of God. It worked. At the end of our second lesson Mokwa agreed that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon was scripture and he couldn't wait to go online and watch a talk by President Monson to see if he was a prophet of God as well. I said a prayer asking Heavenly Father to forgive me for judging Mokwa and to thank Him for softening not only Mokwa's heart but my own as well.

Tony had yet another baptismal interview. Not this time. We are still working with him. Elder Allen, who interviewed him, gave us some advice on ways we could help strengthen Tony's testimony so that he could have a more personal conversion rather than relying on our testimonies. One more time and I think Tony can pass.

I know this church is true with every particle of my being. Right now I restarted reading the Book of Mormon and I am in my favorite part...2 Nephi! The words of Isaiah are like music to my soul as he so beautifully describes the work of the Lord and warns us of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In 2 Nephi 16:11 Isaiah speaks, " Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate."

This hit me to the core of my being. The world will never be without man. The Lord may cause much destruction to the earth because of wickedness, but never will it be utterly desolate. So how long are we to follow in the ways of the Lord? Forever. Sure it may sound like a long time if you think of it as a list of things we can't do. However, we can think of it in ways of things that we CAN do. I can be with my family forever, I can get blessings forever, and I can forever become better and better a person. Forever seems like just enough time to me. I love you all and pray that you are all well! Thanks for all your support. I can feel it and I love it!

May we all work on forever Being Prepared. Loves!



Just thought I'd add a little picture of the Urban wildlife that has joined the magpies in our morning wake-up call! Quite beautiful indeed

Moroni 8:16

"...Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear."

This week I have been able to witness this scripture in action as I began a new transfer in the same area. Though I am in the same area I feel like I am starting fresh. SunnyBank no longer holds a world I fear, rather a group of people I love and want to share the restored gospel with.

Almost 8 months ago, I stood on the stand in church and bore testimony of my sincere desire to serve my Heavenly Father by becoming a full time missionary of Jesus Christ. I had no idea how hard it would be to turn my courageous words into action once I got into the mission field.

The new transfer has brought many changes including a new District Leader with a passion for having miracles occur in our daily lives. Elder Allan gave a training at our weekly District Meeting that lit my soul on fire and I have wanted to do nothing but missionary work ever since. I have found that as I open my mouth and truly talk to everyone, whether they have rejected me in the past or not, I have been filled with peace, and with power from the Holy Ghost to say the things the Lord would have me say to my brothers and sisters here on earth.

One day as I was talking to a man in Chinglish (Chinese-English) about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I suddenly felt the Holy Ghost pierce my heart and fill my head with a list of questions that would help this man I was talking to better understand Heavenly Father's love for him. I was an amazing feeling and I did not even think to be afraid of what this man would think. As I asked him these questions inspired of the Holy Ghost, I could see his brow come together in deepest concentration as he truly pondered on the things I asked him. He ended up asking if he could give me his number! It was a miracle indeed. One that would never happened if I had not talked to him or let the Holy Ghost guide my actions in speaking to this man.

Mom and Dad I have finally ridden that nice bike we purchased 5 months ago when I arrived in Australia!

Seeing as our car access was taken with the new transfer and we now have 9 Chinese Elders and Sisters in SunnyBank we have decided as a companionship to give tracting a go. This means we get to ride our bikes outside of our normal 2-block radius!

The first time we went we ran into a lady who invited us back anytime as long as we called her before we headed over.

Saturday, we decided to go ahead and head over to that lady's house, even though she didn't pick up the phone. It is a good thing we did too! We get to her house and someone is just pulling into the driveway, but it is not the lady we were looking for. Knowing that nothing happens "just by chance" in the Lord's work we decided to go and talk to this lady. It turned out to be a less active lady who we had been assigned to visit teach and had been unable to get in contact with her because her phone number on the ward roster didn't work! We talked to her, got her real phone number, asked her if she needed any help, and then told her we wanted to visit again. She was very friendly and has the cutest little girl! It was well worth the sweaty bike-ride...in a skirt! And no worries my skirt only flew up when no one was looking!

My last mini-miracle moment of the week that I want to share comes because of Sister Lai. Sister Lai is a great addition to SunnyBank and is helping me to truly love this area and love missionary work. She is full on committed to the work of Salvation and is a great example of talking to everyone, which really encourages me to talk to everyone as well.

We were walking to the bus stop, per usual, when a guy came to wait at the light with us. I just opened my mouth and started talking to Tatz. He is from Japan and was interested in coming to church. I soon realized that he was not going to cross the same street as us and so I let him walk off--happy that I had talked to this guy. However, for Sister Lai that was not enough! She asked if I had gotten his phone number or address and when I said no, she said, "Let's go! We can still cross the street." So we ran after Tatz! He had just arrived and had no phone and didn't know his address, but he gave us a general area of where he lives and we will find him again and he will remember us for sure because we ran after him!

Life as a missionary is amazing! I am truly feeling the Hastening of the Lord's work. I encourage all to do something to help someone else get on the path that leads to our Heavenly Father's presence. I promise that if you do so your whole soul will feel alive!

Time to Grow Up

Whoops! This little possum is stuck in the SunnyBank bridge, where I will be spending yet another six weeks of my mission trying to find Chinese people who want to hear the message of Jesus Christ.

This time is a bit different though...

First:

The girl in the pink is the newest addition to SunnyBank. Sister Lai will be joining Sister Cabamongan and I in the quest to baptize the people in our area. She is from Singapore, a BYU student, and Chinese is her second language that she has been studying for 10 years! So far so good. She has a lot of energy and loves to work hard.

Second:

Last transfer there were three Chinese companionships and one English companionship in our ward. NOW, there are FOUR Chinese companionships and one English, making 11 missionaries in the ward! We have a new District Leader and for the first time we have been given tracting boundaries, so we are expected to hit the pavement in trying to find some Chinese Families. Our companionship also has no car anymore so we are full time bike. It is going to be an interesting transfer indeed.

Third:

The third thing is amazing as far as the whole mission goes. President has decided that two Assistants is no longer enough. Our mission now has FOUR Assistants to the President and my favorite AP has been put into the mission field as my Zone Leader! I was so excited, because Elder Fa'ao is such an inspiring missionary and now I get to learn from him more often.

Some of you may wonder if I am a little discourage being in the same area, yet another transfer. Truthfully, at first I was, but after much prayer and the love of my Heavenly Father comforting me, I am excited for this new transfer! I am determined to not get comfortable. I am determined to baptize. I am determined to be the best that I can be no matter where I am located. I trust that President Henderson is an inspired man of God and that Heavenly Father told him that I am needed in SunnyBank for at least six more weeks. I trust that this is the Lord's will. Sure I may only see a tiny tiny bit of Australia while I am here, but I did not come here to see all the wondrous things Australia has to offer. I came here to find the wonderful people who have not yet accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Miracles, Celebrations, and Heart-Break

Miracles:

This week, as usual, I was fighting my obscene fear of talking to people. It has been hard for me to approach people that aren't Asian (though you think it would be a comfort to talk in my native tong it isn't!). Especially since most Chinese people are in China right now for New Year festivities, I have had to conquer this fear of talking to Australians at the bus stop.

Well, this week I was sitting at the bus stop, when a very skinny guy sat down towards the end of the bench. I knew I should talk to him, but the fear began to creep in. I looked at the time-table to see how much time I had until the next bus and then said a prayer in my heart for Heavenly Father to take over my weakness and help me talk to this guy. I took a deep breath and when I looked up this guy had slid up next to me and he asked me, "What's your first impression when you see me?" Startled I smiled and replied, "Nice shirt." For he truly did have a nice shirt on.

We began talking and I forgot about the five minutes I had until the next bus came, and I just got to know this guy named Shaun. Shaun said he was a Spiritualist, because he wasn't tied down to one church and really liked some of the Buddhist Beliefs, though he doesn't believe in Buddha, but God. This was the perfect segway for me to explain my beliefs. I felt like I was just talking to a friend from high school. I talked to Shaun about how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a little different than most Christian Churches because we believe that God has called a prophet to the Earth to lead and guide us just as he has in times of old. When I said that Shaun replied, "I've always wondered why God would talk to man before, but now."

After about 15 minutes Shaun got on a bus that had already come three times. When I asked him why he had waited he said, "Because I wanted to hear what you had to say." I am happy to say Shaun is now a potential investigator!

The Second Miracle is named Yao Zhen.

Everyday we hand out pass along cards at the bus stop. We often find them discarded in the bushes or in the trash can. I often wonder if we are wasting the Lord's resources by giving out so many with no results. Family, friends, fellow-missionaries, I am here to tell you the cards work! We gave a card to a girl who had no interest and she gave it to her boyfriend, Yao Zhen.

Yao Zhen texted us and said: hi, i got ur massage the day before yesterday and i think its maybe a good chance to know ur God.

Thinking he meant voice-mail we looked through all our phone numbers and could not find the number that texted us with a name. So we faked it until we made it! We texted back and arranged for a time to meet our mystery golden. We met him up at the KFC and none of us recognize him, but he sees our name tags and says hello. We soon discovered that his name is Yao Zhen and his girlfriend gave him our card and he decided he wants to learn more about God. The cards work!

Celebrations:

Happy Chinese New Year! Special Thanks to the Song's and Ngaika's!

Left to Right Top to bottom: Eric, Lillith, Rachel, Me, Jesse, Carol, E. Williams, S. Chen, S. Song, Br. Song,
E. Santa Ana, S. Cabamongan, S. Ngaika, Br. Ngaika

E. Chen, Fan, E. Wu

Chinese New Year started January 30th and is still going on! Saturday night our ward missionaries the Song's hosted a Chinese New Year party and the missionaries were invited over for the dinner portion. There was all kinds of yummy food. From mussels, chicken, and vegetables with the secret Malaysia ingredient (coconut milk) to deserts called Hong Kong cake, mud cake, fruit, and so much more! Plus Jesse and Rachel who recently moved to Gold Coast came up and we were able to be reunited with them for a night. It was quite the celebration and I was thankful the next day was fast Sunday!

The Girls
Left to right: Carol, Sister Song, Me, Rachel, Sister Chen, Sister Cabamongan and in front is Jesse!

Heart-Break:

Last night was Tony's baptismal interview. He didn't pass and it broke my heart. We have been working with him for 4 months now and the Word of Wisdom continues to be a struggle, but we will not lose faith. Tony loves what we teach him and one day he will have enough will power and heavenly help to keep the commandments the Lord has given us to protect us while we are here on earth. It is just sad because once again transfers are here and we have no idea what's happening.

I love you all and am grateful your outpouring support and love. Though I am far away from my family I feel your love and the love of our friends. The Lord loves us each so very much. Nothing makes that more manifest to me than when I am teaching one of His children who know nothing about their Heavenly Father. I can literally the Lord working through my mouth as I try to explain with the help of the Holy Ghost that there is always someone who loves us, someone we can talk to, and someone who we can lean on.

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Horse!