Well I can't put it any better than President Day did in his email this week:
"For those who have not yet heard, Taiwan’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has issued 10 visas for our visa-waiting missionaries. On February 25, we anticipate welcoming the following missionaries to our mission:
Sister Wing Kei Dindi Chan
Sister Natalie Tate
Sister Zoe Hendricks
Sister Kess Kirkham
Sister Karisa Lindsay
Sister Annie Oviatt
Elder Adam Pack
Elder Andrew Sessions
Elder Spencer Smith
Elder Dexter Tan
Continue to pray that the other visa-waiting missionaries will get their visas granted before Guonian. While these 10 coming in are a welcomed blessing, we still have 15 going home, which means unless some additional missionaries arrive, our missionary may still have to close or consolidate 3 more proselyting areas this coming transfer.
Don’t stop praying for our visa-waiters."
I AM SO STOKED!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!
The waiting is over!!!... except only for 10 of us. :( There's 3 other missionaries from my district in the MTC that still don't have theirs. That seriously breaks my heart! I'm so sad for them. I really hope they're just a few days/weeks later than us. I hope they don't have to wait too much longer. This wait is SO HARD. I especially feel bad for Sister Facer. She's been serving in this mission waiting for her visa since the end of October. Next Wednesday will be her 3 transfer mark out here! I've been able to practice Chinese with her 2 times a week over the phone though, so I know her Mandarin is AWESOME. I feel like she hasn't lost anything since the MTC! Every time we talk about visas she's so faithful and strong. She has faith that she's still supposed to be here and that this is where the Lord needs here. She's really been an inspiration for us other 4 visa waiters in the mission. I know she'll continue to be a great missionary out here in Georgia. :)
Well I've kinda been freaking out about my visa and not managing my email time too wisely today. ;) So this email might be kinda short! I had quite a week here. Just a few quick miracles.
First off we had a GREAT impromptu meeting with Virginia on Saturday. She's had 2 of her close friends in DC die this week. So we challenged her to read Alma 40, even though she can't read well. We followed up with her on Saturday and she'd read most of the chapter! AND not only that, but she remembered what it was about! This was a HUGE miracle for her, because she has some issues with memory and comprehension. We've taught Pre-Earth life to her about 5 times now. ;) So the fact that she read it and remembered that it talks about resurrection and what happens to our bodies and spirits after we die was HUGE. She told us it brought a lot of peace to her heart when she read it. We're trying to help her recognize that this is the spirit testifying to her that what she's reading is true.
Then a little later she told us, "Well I want to get baptized, but I'm afraid it will be too cold!" That was the first time she's said straight up that she wants to get baptized. She's been baptized twice in different churches already, so that's been her main hang up. So for her to finally say that outright was amazing! She's been getting a lot of WONDERFUL support from the women in our ward. That's made a big difference for her. It does make us a little nervous though. We don't want her to convert just for the people. The member we had with us at the lesson told her that. She said, "The gospel is perfect. The organization is perfect. Christ's church is perfect. The people absolutely are not. The members of the church are imperfect people trying to become better and more like Christ." We're really going to stress that to her this week. We need to make sure she's getting baptized because she truly believes that's what Heavenly Father wants her to do. So that she can receive remission of sins, and enter into the gate that leads to eternal life with our Father. She has to join for the right reasons, or else it won't matter. Wow. That was a great meeting. If I had time I'd tell you how much of a miracle it was that that meeting even happened. As I said before, It was completely impromptu! I know we needed to visit her that day! It really helped brighten our day as well.
Next miracle real quick. A few weeks ago I wrote about Miss Margaret, who'd had cancer, and we prayed with her. Well we decided on Friday to stop back by and see how she was doing. She told us about how much she appreciated that prayer on that day. Then she kind of bore her testimony of Jesus Christ. She told us, "I don't care what denomination you are or what church you go to, I think the most important thing is to know that Christ is your personal Savior and Redeemer." Then she stopped and looked right at me and said, "I could tell from your prayer that you do." That hit me so hard. I don't really remember what else she said after that. But I started tearing up. All I could do was nod my head and say, "I do."
I KNOW that's why I'm on a mission. Because I do have a personal testimony and relationship with Jesus Christ. I KNOW He is MY Savior. HE makes me whole. Because I know this, I want to help others come unto Him. I KNOW it is only through Him that we can be together with our families forever, be clean from sin, and have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I want to help others receive these 3 great gifts that Heavenly Father has for us. I know that we can only receive these gifts through Faith in Him, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for each of His children. He wants us to take advantage of His Son's Atonement so that we can return to Him.
I hope y'all have a great week!
Please keep praying for the Taiwan Visa waiters! :)
-Ou Jiemei
