Sorry I'm a day late!

Sorry! We ended up doing PDay today instead of yesterday... but I don't think it makes a big difference at this point right? ;)

I also don't really know what to write ... so this one's gonna be shortish hehe

Thanks for all the birthday emails! It didn't feel like my birthday AT ALL yesterday, just out working doin' what I've been doing for 18 months now. I think when I go home it will finally hit me that I turned 21 yesterday because I feel EXACTLY the same as I did on Sunday. On Sunday night we did have a missionary fireside where I got to share my "final" testimony for our ward. Well I'd already shared my testimony that morning in sacrament mtg., so I decided to sing my testimony instead. Yes. I sang a solo. in Chinese. in front of 30+ Taiwanese people. I sang "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul". It has been one of my favorite songs of my mission and has taught me a lot about my relationship with my Savior. More on that later(; Anyways, after I finished singing, my companion pulled a table in front of me with a HUGE birthday cake on it. Everyone started singing "Happy Birthday" in Chinese, then English. It was so crazy!!! Then I had to make 2 wishes out loud, and make one in my mind and keep it a secret, because that's what you do on your birthday in Taiwan apparently ... haha. So it was a pretty cool way to celebrate my birthday. :)

Sunday was also full of TONS of other miracles! Basically finding has been going really rough lately so when we got to Saturday and still had only 1 other lesson and no new investigators, we were getting a little bit stressed out. We also only had 2 hours planned for finding on Sunday afternoon, so I wasn't sure how our numbers were going to end up by the end of Sunday night. A few weeks ago on Fast Sunday, Sister Xiao and I didn't fast because of some sickness. So this Saturday I remembered that I hadn't fasted yet this month, and if there was a month that I and our area needed blessings it was this one. I fasted first that I'd be able to continue to 'press forward' after the mission and be bold and courageous in standing for the testimony I've gained these 18 months. I also fasted that our area would be taken care of and we'd know how to best help it. Well, fasting works and God loves His children. We had a really great Sunday. Our amazing golden family, Xu Jiating came to church, even the daughters! And an investigator I've been working with since I got here FINALLY came to church! Miraculous last Sacrament Meeting! Then in the afternoon, we decided to take our Ward List out finding with us Sunday afternoon. We picked a road that had a lot of LA's on it, then to knocked that road. We really felt that that was what the Lord wanted us to do. Well, we were able to teach 4 other lessons and find 2 new investigators, one of which is now on date for May 28th! Then later that night we got 2 referrals and one of them set up with us and became our new investigator. It was truly an amazing Sunday. I really felt like we were being personally led to do the things He needed us to do. I think it also blessed Sister Xiao with more faith in herself and this area moving forward. It was another witness to me that God hears His children and wants to help us. :)

Now some final thoughts about this thing we call a mission.

It has been quite a ride. 18 months. 2 missions. 3 mission presidents. 6 areas. 11 companions. Countless miracles. Countless tears. Countless people that I'll never forget.  All pieced together to createone perfect mission for one of Heavenly Father's imperfect daughters. I say "perfect mission", not because everything went exactly right or according to my plan, but because Heavenly Father put all these things together to create a perfect environment for my personal learning and growth. If I wouldn't have had just one of my companions, just one of my areas, I would've missed out on an opportunity to serve, learn, and progress. To quote Preach my Gospel, "There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of a [sister] when [s]he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent [her] to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children." This week I read a really beautiful verse in the Book of Mormon. It is Ether 3:18. It takes place just after Christ appears to the brother of Jared. "And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the Nephites; and all this, that this man might know that he was God, because of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him." How did Christ minister to the Nephites? One by one. Personally. Individually. He did all this that thisone man might know that He was God. How has Christ ministered unto me? One day at a time. One experience at a time. One prayer at a time. One by one. Personally. Individually. He did all these things for my on my mission, so that just this one daughter might know that he was God. I say "imperfect daughter" because I have cried to Him as I've tried to overcome my weaknesses and temptations on my mission. I'm still not a perfect teacher. I'm still not exactly obedient everyday. I'm still not perfect at Chinese. I'm still not perfect at loving my companion and investigators. I've never been perfect and I won't be until the next life. But as I've learned on my mission, that's okay. He just wants us to turn to Him and use His Atonement to improve everyday. He is always there. Elder Kent F. Richards said, "Perhaps His most significant work is in the ongoing labor with each of us individually to lift, to bless, to strengthen, to sustain, to guide, and to forgive us." I know that His Atonement is both infinite and individual. Eternal and personal. Because of all of these experiences I've had, all of the lifting, blessing, strengthening, sustaining, guiding, and forgiving, Christ has done for me, I know that He lives. Our Father lives. They love me. They love you. Their church has been restored and is the ONLY way to return to live with them and our families forever. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

-Sister Oviatt

Fast week!!!

Well the week went by fast in my mind, but Sister Xiao was a little sick this week so the work was a little slower...

Even though this week was a little bit slower, we were still able to see some miracles. One of our investigators, Jim Lin DX, is currently doing his military service in the very southernmost part of Taiwan and only comes up to 竹東 every 3-4 weeks for a break. Last time we met with him was the beginning of March, when he said he wouldn't be back in 竹東 until the end of April for his next break. So I had his record in the area book and told Xiao JM about him. Guess what? He came to General Conference yesterday for 3 hours without us even inviting him! It was so amazing! He really wants this gospel and to know his Father at this time in his life. He quickly left right at 12 to get back to 屏東(PingDong), but he said he'd keep in contact and meet with us on his next break in 2 weeks. Jim is really prepared! I can't wait to hear what happens to him!

Another cool experience this week was going to the hospital, for the last time hallelujah, and giving Xiao JM a computer to watch General Conference on, and then watching two brethren from our ward give her the sacrament. When we told her last week that she may be missing General Conference, she was so sad and specially asked us to figure out a way for her to watch. She was so grateful to get to listen to the Prophet and Apostle's words. Then we also told her that because she didn't get to take the sacrament last week, we'd gotten special permission from our Bishop to give it to her that day. She was also pretty excited about that. It was kind of different, because we didn't have any bread, so we had to use cherry tomatoes, but the Lord doesn't care so much about the things, but about the spirit and the reason. Xiao JM was so cute. She really didn't want to take it alone, but we couldn't take it with her because of conference. Right when our member opened his mouth to say the sacrament prayer, I felt so full of the spirit and I started crying. I just had another HUGE witness that Heavenly Father really loves Xiao JM. This is probably the 3rd-4th time I've had that strong of a spiritual impression with Xiao JM. There is something really special about that spirit, and this time I'm not even talking about 竹東's special souls. I gained another witness yesterday that the Atonement was truly made one by one for each of us.
Then I think the last miracle of the week, at least a miracle to me, was a call with our Mission President last night. I actually had a few questions written in my planner I wanted to ask, but he answered the one in my heart, that I didn't want to talk about until my exit interview this week. We've had many experiences and confirmations this last week and a half-ish that have shown us the Lord's approval, our Bishop's and Xiao JM's gratitude, like the one in the last paragraph. But some of our leaders have been less than supportive of our decisions, so its taken it's toll on our companionship. Last night President gave me what I count as the last answer I needed. Last night he talked about how non coincidental it is that I have a 本地人(native) companion to help out and serve in this situation. He also talked about how grateful he was for our service. It really meant a lot and helped us feel, once again, that we've been doing what's right. When I told Sister Xiao what he said, it really meant a lot to her and she said she felt like the boulder put on her shoulders became a lot lighter. So even though I didn't get to ask him all the questions I'd planned on asking, he really answered the biggest question on my mind, "Is all of this sacrifice really worth it?". I learned through this experience that what the white handbook says is really important to remember, "Your loyalty is first to the Lord, then to your mission president, then to your companion." We are not loyal to any other missionaries, members, or investigators, besides these 3 people. Do not seek for the glory of man. Only do things that please Heavenly Father and everything will work out.

Lastly I want to add my thoughts about General Conference. WOW. I have to say that this conference one of the lessons I learned was about the relationship between preparation and personal revelation. On Thursday, my companion was resting, so I was reading the new April Liahona and read this quote in the First Presidency Message, "to gain the great benefits available from hearing living prophets and apostles, we must pay the price ourselves of receiving revelation." I felt like I really needed to prepare well for this conference, because I sure have a lot of questions right now. So on Friday I took some time to pray and ponder about what kinds of questions I needed to take to conference. Then in the same talk I received another answer, "We who listen to and watch the messages of general conference sometimes think afterward, “What do I remember best?” The Lord’s hope for each of us is that our answer will be: “I will never forget the moments when I felt the voice of the Spirit in my mind and heart telling me what I could do to please my Heavenly Father and the Savior.” The most important thing we can get out of conference is reminders or inspiration from the spirit about the things we need to do to please our Father in heaven and our Savior. So every time I received a specific prompting from the spirit, I wrote it down and put a "1" with a circle around it to show that it was specifically for me from the spirit. I was able to receive a lot more personal revelation and direction for my life by just asking that simple question. "What can I do to please thee, Father?" I received many different promptings that may not have even had anything to do with what the speaker was talking about. I want to testify that when we go to the Lord and ask in humility, He WILL give us what we need. His spirit will absolutely come testify to us the things the Lord would have us know, do, and become. We just have to stay worthy of the companionship of the spirit and do our part, keep the commandments, go to church, read the scriptures, attend the temple, etc., and He WILL lead us.

Very lastly, I want to steal another quote from Elder Holland. "The first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life." I know this is true. 

HE LIVES AND LOVES US, TOO.

-Sister Oviatt

April 3, 2016

So basically this week was ridiculously long. And I love my companion Sister Xiao because she worked so hard this week under such high pressure.

Long story short, that I'll tell you more about when I get home, my recent convert, from January, Xiao Su Qin JM, got in a car accident on Thursday night. We had just met with her and her daughter Wen Jing, and gone off to our next lesson. They had just finished eating dinner and were walking home, when they were crossing the road and Xiao JM, who was behind Wen Jing, got hit by a truck that was bringing furniture from Taipei down to Zhudong. Somehow she made it out with just a gash on the back of her head, a concussion, and then has some blood clotting in her brain. No broken bones or anything else. MIRACLES. She got rushed off to the ER and the first person Wen Jing called for help after the ambulance was us. So we rushed out to XinZhu to help them, because 1. they are my RC's and I love them, 2. they have no family living within like 2 hours of here, and they're not willing to help at all. AND 3. this weekend is a huge holiday weekend in Taiwan, so all the members were all over the island, not in Zhudong.

So then life was crazy. She was immediately given 3 stitches in the back of her head and then rushed to the ICU where she'll be until probably Tuesday morning. (Pray that she is able to get out by then!) My Chinese is good... when I have to teach the gospel. But when you have to deal with car accidents and insurance and medical terms. NO. But luckily God has a plan and I have a Taiwanese companion. So from Thursday night to now she's had to answer ENDLESS phone calls from, the hospital, the bishop, their extended family members, the people who hit them, their social workers, random ward members who want to know what's going on, and others. She's had to figure out where they money's gonna come from to pay for all the medical bills, where Wen Jing will stay while her mom's in the ICU, and then go tell the family members, people who hit them, and the social workers everything that's going on. She's had an continual headache from Thursday til now. She is such a rock star though. She's been so helpful, patient, and loving to everyone through this high stress situation.

My head is hurting now. I don't know what else to say. It's been a crazy last 3-4 days. We have complained a lot about this dumb holiday, their dumb family, and other dumb things that have been completely out of our control. But this morning in comp study we talked about the assurances we've received from the Lord that we've been doing what He wants us to do. Sister Xiao told me about when we visited Xiao JM last night, she looked at Xiao JM and felt that all the stress and time and annoyance was worth it and that the Lord recognized our sacrifice and was proud of us. I had the same assurance as we visited her and I sang "There is a Green Hill Far Away" to help her still feel the spirit of the sacrament, even though she couldn't take it. Her eyes just glowed with the spirit yesterday, and we knew that Heavenly Father was taking care of her and watching over her. There were truly angels in the ICU this weekend.

Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 says, "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." I know that this promise is TRUE. It's true not only for Xiao JM, not just for me and my companion as we take care of all this stuff, but it's also true for YOU. I know He is always with us. He is always watching over us, working with us, and strengthening us. I hope we are all willing to recognize and accept His divine help.

Have a good week! :) (sorry this email may not have made a lot of sense. my head's still not quite right after this weekend.)

-Sister Oviatt

HAPPY EASTER! 復活節快樂!!

Happy Easter everyone! This is really one of my favorite times of the year. Easter, Conference, and Birthday. ...and home... ;) I hope your Easter was as good as mine was yesterday. It was a great time to reflect on the Atonement and all the things I've been able to do and overcome because of it. I want to steal a quote from Elder Holland, "Today we celebrate the gift of victory over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we have ever had, every fear we have ever faced—to say nothing of our resurrection from death and forgiveness for our sins. That victory is available to us because of events that transpired on a weekend precisely like this nearly two millennia ago in Jerusalem." I feel like Easter deserves an even bigger celebration than Christmas. I love Easter. I personally am so grateful for His Atoning sacrifice for me. I've learned so much on my mission about what His Atonement is and how to use it. ...and I'll never stop learning. I've had my fair share of falls, sorrows, discouragement, fears, and mistakes. But through Christ, I've been able to repent, be healed, recover, move on, have hope for the future, and press forward. My plaque scripture is Moroni 7:41 for that reason. "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." Through His Atonement I've received so much hope. I know that through Him, we will all be "restored" to a perfect state with God. And that's not just something that comes right before the final judgement. If we repent everyday, we can have our own little "restorations" to Heavenly Father everyday. So my invite to you this week is to "restore" yourself to God everyday, by repenting everyday. I've been trying to do it again lately, and while it's hard, it's absolutely worth it. 願意嗎?
That's my thoughts right now about Easter and the Atonement. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." (The Living Christ)
   Our 2 biggest miracles of the week were from being bold and inviting to baptism. As I said last week, we've been focusing on the baptismal invite in 12 Week and Companion Study. So I feel like God's been giving us a lot of opportunities lately to practice in real life.
   On Thursday night we visited our Golden Family, Xu JT, from last week. It was amazing. Their house already feels like a member's house. They fed us dinner and were asking us tons of questions about missionary work in general while we ate. Perfect time for some How to Begin Teaching! When we were talking about church attendance the Dad said he suggested to his daughters that they go to church just every other week, but his oldest daughter said no. So then we were a little nervous, thinking she wanted to go less than that. Then he said, "She loves church and wants to go EVERY Sunday." We were in shock! Amazing!
   After dinner we shared a really basic lesson 1 with an emphasis on the Book of Mormon at the end. Their Aunt who had been visiting last week had already given them one, but they weren't exactly sure what it was still. Perfect opportunity! We read the introduction with them. The parents asked perfect questions and gave us perfect answers to all of our questions. They were soaking everything up! It was one of the coolest lessons of my whole mission. As we were sharing I felt like I needed to extend the baptismal invite. Lately I've been giving the baptismal invites to Sister Xiao to give her practice, but this time I felt like it was my turn, and that I needed to give her an example. I was a little nervous because I didn't want to scare away this perfect family with the thought of such a big commitment. But I know that Preach my Gospel is an inspired book and we should be inviting to baptism after the first lesson. I know we are blessed as we follow it's counsel, no matter the outcome. So I followed the spirit and said whatever came into my mind. They all readily accepted the invite to be baptized, and even set dates. It was such an amazing and fulfilling feeling to be bold and follow the spirit.
   When we got home that night, Sister Xiao excitedly wrote their names up on our white board and said, "Until now I wanted to get my visa really quickly. Suddenly, I want to stay in Zhudong until May so I can see them get baptized!" So it hurt a little bit at first, but the Lord has his ways to make his children happy and motivated. So I'm grateful that we've been able to see these miracles! I've been praying to know how to help Sister Xiao love Zhudong as much as I've grown to love it, and God has truly been answering.
   On Sunday they all came to church, wearing Sunday clothes, and got there even before our RC's. The girls were brave enough to go to Primary and Young Women's this Sunday. And the Mom and Dad fully participated in a discussion in Gospel Principles about the Atonement, of all subjects. It was a great Easter Sunday. This family was sent to us straight from God. I'm a little sad I probably won't be here for their baptism, but that's what FaceTime and Skype are for right?
   The other miracle of the week was a resurrected investigator on Saturday. I called her on Monday and thought to myself, "We haven't met with her for a month. If she doesn't answer or set up with us we aren't going to keep meeting with her." Well, she answered, apologized for being so busy lately, and readily set up with us! So even then I was a little bit skeptical. Friday night during planning I told Sister Xiao to plan on setting expectations, stating our purpose, then probably dropping her. In the lesson the next day, our member asked a few really good questions at the beginning, that let us see where her desire was. Just simple questions like, "Why did you start meeting with the missionaries" and "What has changed in your life since starting to meet with them", let us see that she had seen the gospel start to change her life and her family and she wanted more. Again in that lesson I felt impressed to invite her to baptism. Then I thought, "Ummm we were just about to drop her and now we want to invite her to be baptized? What??" But again I somehow got up the courage and faith, followed the spirit, and invited. And again the Lord worked a miracle and she also readily set a baptismal date. It was so amazing. I know that when we open our mouths they will be filled with what the Lord would have us say. We just have to put our fears and doubts aside and get out of the way.
   I'm grateful for all of the humbling that has taken place the last few weeks to allow me to get out of the way of Heavenly Father's work. I hope these last few weeks we'll still be able to see miracles and help His work go forward. 永遠向前進!
-Sister Oviatt

IT'S RAINING FAMILIES!!

It was a week of full rain! Really HUGE thunder storms and also MIRACLES from God. It was truly a miraculous week. I won't even get to write half of the miracles we saw this week. We really tried to work hard, seek the Lord's will for our area, and follow the spirit. It was one of those weeks where we were lucky enough to see some of the fruits of our labors and faith.
This weeks miracles involve 4 families. Yes. 4. I'll quickly explain why each of these families was a miracle to us this week.
--On Tuesday, we went to visit an LA family that has a steak restaurant. After we ate there, we were SO full, almost guo nian full. It was uncomfortable to even walk. And it was POURING rain all day, so we were soaked to the bone and freezing. But, we decided to stick with our plan to go finding around the LA's house. 30 minutes and about 20, "We're Buddhist" "Go home, it's raining" "We don't have time" 's later, someone let us in! She was a mid-20 year old girl living with her grandma and grandpa while she tried to find work. We sat down and taught all 3 of them how to pray, told them about our purpose as missionaries, and found out a bit more about them. The girl, Lu JM, shared about how a few years ago she'd met some missionaries from another church, but had a really bad experience. We were amazed that she still let us in! Then my awesome companion, Sister Xiao, did some great How to Begin Teaching, without even realizing it, to help her better understand how we're different from those other missionaries. Sister Xiao taught about how we are just there to teach her about Christ and His church, but she can choose whether or not to accept and act on the message. We aren't here to force her into doing anything, or to even get baptized. Just to guide her in learning about our message. It's up to her to use her agency to choose what she wants. It was amazing and I was just in shock. It really made Lu JM feel a lot more comfortable with us. The more we shared with her about the gospel, the brighter her eyes got and more interested she became. Then she said we could go back and visit her again later in the week. We were so grateful as we left her house that night that God had led us to find His prepared children.
--Next family, Zhan JT. 2 weeks ago, Sister Tan and I found a cute family with a Mom and a Dad, and 5 year old twin girls. We talked to them for a bit about their religious background, and found out that they were christian, but haven't been to church recently because of the kids and their work situations. They still pray every night, and occasionally read the Bible. Their home definitely had the spirit because of their righteous efforts! But when we found them they were going to Taoyuan for the Lantern Festival, and said they were busy for the next 2 weeks. Usually that means you call them 2 weeks later, they're still busy, and eventually they disappear. Fast forward to this week. I felt like we needed to go drop by and see if they would be home, but I had no idea where they lived, I only remembered the street name. Well the Lord really needs this family to be found because I was able to follow the spirit and find their house in just a few minutes. And, the Dad and twin girls were home! We prayed with them, and invited them to church, which they readily accepted. It was so amazing to be able to see them again. Unfortunately, probably because of the rain, they didn't come to church yesterday. But I know that God has led us to find them twice, so I have faith that everything will work out!
--Next family, Chen JT. Remember a few weeks ago when I shared about the son who had gotten into drugs and the mom who we started teaching, who was really worried about him and wanted him to learn more about the church? Well this weekend we were finally able to meet with the Dad, too! They both have so much faith, and really want the best for their son. We taught and testified a lot about how the gospel has blessed our families and could bless theirs if they kept meeting with us. They were just soaking everything up! At one point our member asked, "How do you expect God to help you?" Then Chen DX, responded, "I don't want to ask what God can do to help me, I want to ask God how I can serve him." I was just in shock. No words. He gave lots of great answers like that that really showed his desire to follow God. At the end of the lesson, I felt really impressed that we needed to invite them to be baptized on May 7th. Specifically for Xiao JM to do it, because that's what we've been talking about in 12 week lately. It took her a little while to get to it because she was nervous, but she did it! It was really great! Unfortunately, they didn't accept, mostly Chen DX. Peng JM was a little bit more willing, but still didn't fully accept. They started talking about how all religions are good as long as they teach people to be good citizens, serve others, and stuff like that. It was a little discouraging, but I know that it is NEVER bad to act on a prompting. I know that I felt an undeniable witness that we were supposed to be there teaching them. I know that God has his plan for them. I don't know what it is, but I know that as long as we keep following the spirit and doing His will everything will work out. It may not end in this family getting baptized, but as long as God's work is going forth, that's all that matters.
--Last family, and possibly the most miraculous. Xu JT. We're sitting in church and I'm getting a little discouraged by the rain, and the fact that the 2 families and some other investigators we'd invited to church all hadn't come. Then I looked up and saw a family I didn't recognize sitting in the 2nd row. One of the stake high councilors in the ward came up to me and said they had never come to church before and that we needed to go introduce ourselves to them after sacrament meeting. So we did! We found out that one of them was a church member from Germany visiting her family here. She invited her younger brother, his wife, and two teenage daughters to come to church with her and they all did! They all happily came to gospel principles with us, then the mom and two daughters came to Relief Society with us. They fit right in with the ward. It was so miraculous!! They really loved church and set up for us to meet with them this Thursday! The older sister from Germany told us that her daughter had just started her mission 2 weeks before, but was waiting in Germany for her visa to go to the SLC temple square mission! Just like Xiao JM, except different mission! Pretty cool! As she was leaving she gave us hugs and said, "Take good care of them for me." And we promised we would. So even though we only had 1 investigator at church, we still were able to have a miraculous Sunday!
God really loves Zhudong a lot. He is raining families down on this ward right now. And the elders have been finding more men lately, future Melchizedek Priesthood holders! I know that God is truly preparing the hearts of his children here to receive his gospel. I am so lucky to have front row seats to see these miracles happen! All of these people are being found right here at the end of my mission, so I may not get to see the fruits of these labors, but as long as these people are in the Lord's hands, it doesn't matter to me who baptizes them. I know that everything will work out for those who trust in the Lord.
Sorry for the long email this week! It was so amazing though. This week I've really been trying to be more humble, and believe and practice what this verse teaches, "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (John 8:29) I know that as we always do things that please HIM, not man, He WILL NOT leave us alone.

Do the important things!

-Sister Oviatt

I'M TRAININGGGGGG!

So. It was Tuesday night and Sister Tan wanted to go out to eat at a "nice" restaurant for one of her last meals. (If there's a such thing as "nice" in Zhudong.) So we're waiting for our food at this Italian pasta place and President calls. I assumed it was about her going home or something, so I gave her the phone. Then it was actually for me. President asked how my day went, how the transfer had gone with Sister Tan, then he says, "Sister Oviatt can you do me a favor?". Then I just assumed it had something to do with being English unit leader. NO. "Will you be a trainer for your last transfer?" The shock that came over me when he said that didn't leave until at least 3 days later. I literally felt like I was in a dream.

Then the next morning I got morning sickness. JK. We got food poisoning and spent all day Wednesday inside throwing up, going to the bathroom, and sleeping. It was awful. The next day, Thursday, we went up to Taipei in the morning, dropped off Sister Tan, cried a bit, and went up to the training meetings and got my new baby! Since they stopped doing transfer meetings :'( they have been introducing the trainers their new trainees a little bit differently. They have the trainee go up to the front and read a letter that sounds just like our call letters, "Dear Sister Xiao. You have been hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You have been called to serve with... Sister O.. I don't know what this says..." President Jergensen then says, "Oviatt" Then I jumped up out of my seat and gave her a huge hug. It was literally more stressful than the power point they did before. So there's the big story of the week. CRAZY.

Sister Xiao from Taichung, Taiwan and is a visa waiter waiting to go to the Oakland/San Fransico California Mission. She just turned 19 in December, but has gone on 4 "mini-missions" in the Taichung mission to the south of our mission. She's been a missionary before for a total of 8 transfers! So she knows a bit about the work already. Oh and her Chinese is perfect so that's cool(; She lived in Riverton, UT for 2 years when she was 16 and worked as a soccer coach, so her English is pretty good, too! Yesterday in Gospel Principles the teacher asked when she would be leaving and she said oh probably in just 2-3 weeks. Elder Sumsion, who also waited for his visa to come to Taiwan, and I had to laugh a little because we remembered just over a year ago when we were saying the same thing in our reassignments... 12 weeks later! hahaha

I've had so many different emotions this week. I've felt overwhelmed, stressed, lost, alone, and even a little trunky sometimes. But yesterday through taking the sacrament and just a good Sunday, I've been able to refocus and calm down. I've felt that this is what the Lord needs me to do right now. I've been so humbled this week. I think the HARDEST time to train is probably your last transfer. You know what you're doing. You've got your routines and you've been doing them for a while. It's hard to then be with someone who's brand new to missionary work and relies on your guidance. You really have to kind of forget your routines and what you think may be right to do, and follow the spirit. One time I was getting kind of down on myself about how the first few days had gone, then I remembered a line from Preach my Gospel that helped me last time I took over an area after a companion went home. "Avoid comparing yourself to other missionaries and measuring the outward results of your efforts against theirs." We cannot compare ourselves to anyone else. We should not be afraid of man, but of God. We should take our validation vertically from Him, not horizontally from the world around us. I felt like as long as I was in good standing with Heavenly Father and he accepted the work we'd done, it would all be okay. I've really had to humble myself so much this week to realign my will and expectations with God's. I've had to relearn to rely on Him for acceptance and guidance, and not rely on man.

So here goes the last 6 weeks. I feel like it will be a big "cumulative test" of ALL the things I've learned on my mission. From visa waiting (GA), to having a Taiwanese companion (Sister Mao), to training in my last transfer (like Sister Pieper), to taking over an area after killing a companion (Sister Tate), to helping a companion get used to a new mission (Sister Komatsu), and just learning how to love this work. I know God has a sense of humor, oh, and He has a very specific and perfect plan for all of us. He loves YOU.

We're ready to continue to see lots of miracles in Zhudong!

-Sister Oviatt

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March 7, 2016

What a week. Pretty successful considering we went to Xinzhu and Taipei this week!!

One of our new investigators from this week was actually our investigator's mom. We found him way at the beginning of February, but haven't been able to meet with him for a while. We kept calling him every week to invite him to church and to try to set up with him, but things always came up. Normally we would've dropped someone like that, but every time we called either his dad or his mom would answer the phone. His mom sounded like such an angel on the phone and was just so sweet and patient with us. Finally last week we asked if we could meet with him at his house, because we wanted to meet his mom. She was honestly showing more potential than him. So we went out and tried to find their house last Saturday with a member, but after 45 minutes of biking, walking, and asking for directions, we gave up. We set up again for this Saturday, hoping to finally be able to meet with his mom.
We called the member again and met up with her at the church. This time her husband brought down in their car! God loves us, because when we finally found his house, they lived up 2 HUGE hills and we just never would've found it if we were on our bikes. God really needed this daughter to be found. We pulled into their driveway and she was waiting for us outside. She came right up to us and told us how grateful she was that people from the church had come to help her son. She told us more about his situation and how he'd been getting into drugs in the last year and didn't have a job any more. She really loves her son a lot and is scared for the direction his life is going right now. Right when we got into their house I felt confirmation from the spirit that she was who we were supposed to be focusing on. She was the reason we found him. We planned on sharing a lesson directed more towards the mom about how the gospel blesses families, and it was exactly what she needed. She was just like a sponge. She soaked up every word and was just so engaged and interested in every thing we said. Her son kept going off about his Taoist beliefs and how our church is just like the things he already knows from Taoism. His mom would just get a sad look on her face and say, "I think this is all from him playing with the drugs." She needs the peace and comfort that this gospel can bring her. At the end of the lesson, she readily set up another lesson with us for the next Saturday. 
I am so grateful that I've been able to see God work these miracles here in Zhudong, and my whole mission in Taiwan. Sister Tan is going home this week, and it's really hard to see. We've done a lot of reflecting and talking about our missions during our down time. She's taught me a lot about this work in our time as companions, and this last year. If I could sum up everything she's taught me it would be to never forget the essence of the gospel. It is when we lose sight of that that we lose our way. The gospel is as simple as one relationship, us and Heavenly Father. If what you're doing is strengthening that relationship, then it's a good thing. If it's not, then you should repent and get back on track. I'm so grateful to her for reminding me of this truth. It was something my mom taught me all growing up. Thank you Mom! :) Sometimes we need more time and more people for us to fully learn the lesson. I'm grateful that God is patient enough with me to let me have the time I need to learn these lessons!

I hope all of your relationships with Heavenly Father are good and you're taking time everyday to work on it. :)

-Sister Oviatt