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

​

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

The Book of Mormon is BEAUTIFUL.

Happy leap day! We had a pretty decent week this week. I feel like it had a good balance between finding, teaching, and teaching our RC's and LA's. I think the miracle of the week was finding 6 new investigators.

On Tuesday we were out finding and ran into this neighborhood where every door we knocked was greeted by an amah(grandma) or an agong(grandpa) saying, "No. We're Buddhist." "We don't have time." "Our beliefs are a little bit different." and other things like that. We even met one amah that said, "I don't believe in your church. I believe in the 4 children." Then we were like, "Oh you have 4 kids? Cute!" Then she responded, "No. I don't. But the 1,000元 bill does." 
​We laughed, then told her that there is more to life than money, and went on our way. It was just a neighborhood full of Buddhist, greedy, grandmas, and grandpas. Earlier in the mission I would've been a little dejected by this, but we kept going with faith and didn't get distracted.

Sister Tan then felt like we should walk up an apartment building and start knocking it. I was thinking, No. My hips hurt. My back hurts. There is no elevator. No. But we went up anyways. Guess what? The first door we knocked let us in! Her name is Fan JM. She is an aborigine, and has been a Christian her whole life. She just hasn't really gone to church much in the last few years because her family life has gotten really busy and hard. She is divorced and has 2 boys. From what we understood one of her sons lives with her husband in the town over and the other boy has ran away from home and she doesn't know where he is. When we prayed for her she asked that we just pray that he was safe and had peace. She said I don't care if he doesn't want to come home, I just want him to be save and have peace. Sister Tan and I both started to tear up when she said that. She has so much pure love for her children! She was willing to sacrifice her seeing them, for them to be happy.  It reminded us of the love that each of our mothers have for us. 

We were then able to talk about how our church is different from other churches and give her a Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is beautiful. The spirit is beautiful. I wanted to share with her a scripture about how God loves His children no matter where they are or what land they're in, but I couldn't think of it. So I got out the Book of Mormon and said, "Can we share a scripture with you?" But I had no idea what scripture to share. Later I found out that Sister Tan was trying to figure out what scripture to share, too. We started explaining what the Book of Mormon was, how it's the same as the Bible, how it's different. Then the words, Alma 26:37, came into my mind. It's been one of my favorite verses of my mission. I'll share it again, in case you forgot. "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen." She was really touched by that scripture, and Sister Tan and I were shocked at how well it related to her situation. Thank you, Holy Ghost! Her work is really hard, and the schedule isn't very set, but she was still willing to set up with us again. We haven't seen her since then, but we know that the Lord will put the prepared in our path. When she needs us again God will make it happen.

Other than that cool miracle, we met some other cool people on the street, had a pretty good English Class, miraculously met with some LA's, and got dropped by a few baptismal date investigators.

There's your week in Zhudong! This next week is Sister Tan's last full week as a missionary. It's been really hard & weird to say the least. Killing a companion, then dying the next transfer will be a challenge. I feel like I'm dying twice. But we've really gotta stay focused this week and build up this area! Pray for us!

His work never ends.

-Sister Oviatt

February 21, 2016

This week was one of the longest most tiring weeks of my mission, but a very fruitful week. Every ounce of pain was worth it! We had exchanges on Monday, went to the temple on Wednesday, and then on Saturday we went to the temple again with our RC, then her daughter got baptized in the afternoon. We were only working in our area for 4 days this week. Plus the fact that we're old missionaries, in a huge, hilly area, with weak, breaking bodies, that added up to us using lots of rice socks, ibuprofen, back braces, ankle braces, and icy hot. We now have a testimony that God works through the weak and simple. D&C 1:23, "The fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers." He is a God of miracles!

The greatest stories of the week came from Xiao JM and Chao JM. On Friday we were meeting with them one last time before Xiao JM went to the temple and Chao JM got baptized. Xiao JM had a really interesting insight into the difference between her past as a Buddhist and her life now as a Christian. She said that before when she would pray to her Gods she would always just ask the God to do things for her and give things to her and then just wait for the Gods to make it happen. She said that she's felt our church is different because she prays, but then has to go work for those results she wants. Faith includes action. We were so impressed that someone who has only had contact with Christianity for a little over 3 months had that kind of a testimony of prayer. She's so amazing and such a great example to us!
Saturday was another day on my mission that I'll never forget. We woke up dark and early at 4:30 to get on the 5:30 bus with our members to go up to the temple. When we got to the temple our RC, Xiao JM, was so nervous! She kept asking us what was going to happen, how she was going to remember the names of the people she was helping, what she would wear, how she would do it, if the people were going to accept her service, etc. She was taking it really seriously and wanted to know that she was pleasing Heavenly Father. She said that on the bus up to Taipei she felt her ancestors saying to her, "Hurry! Help us get baptized!" It was pretty amazing. We weren't able to help her get her family history done in time, but now that she's been once and has gotten the nerves out of the way, we hope that next month when she goes back up with her family names it will be a really special experience. When I opened the door for her to walk into the temple, I had the feeling come over me that I was opening the door for the salvation of many more souls than just Xiao JM. I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to go to the temple twice this week.
When we got back to Zhudong we held Chao Wen Jing's baptism. It was a great baptismal service. She has had to overcome a lot in the last few months to get to where she is now. She's learned a lot about humbling herself before God, keeping His commandments, and loving herself. She bore a sweet simple testimony after her baptism and in Relief Society yesterday, about humbling ourselves and how good it felt to be baptized and confirmed. These two sisters have really been a testimony to me that the gospel changes lives, and it changes families. It was great to see them after church yesterday together with such a different light in their eyes than the first time I met them 2 months ago. I am truly involved in such a great work. I don't want it to end!

-Sister Oviatt

新年快樂!

Happy New Year! This weekend was the start of Chinese New Year! There have been CRAZY fireworks all weekend. Saturday night the Buddhist temple next to our house was doing fireworks the whole night. It was SO LOUD.

Also there was a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in the southern part of Taiwan. Pray for the people in Tainan!! This is basically the Chinese people's Christmas today, and some people have to spend it mourning. :( YES, We felt it all they way up here! It was super early in the morning and it felt like it lasted for a while. It was kinda freaky! ...mostly cuz it was so early. A few nights before I felt a little one while I was brushing my teeth. Pretty crazy living on an island! :) I love it. 

Last week we went to XinZhu to get a charger for my camera and they threw in a card reader for free! YES. But when we were getting off the bus, the heels of my boots broke off because the glue got wet from the rain. Ratchet shoes. SO. I had to go drop $60 to buy new boots for the cold Zhudong winter. :/ It was a weird PDay. But today we are gonna have a good pday cuz we're going to get cheese stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut. HAPPY NEW YEAR. It's gonna be a good p(izza)day. (that was all Sister Tan. I promise.)

We had a surprisingly good week, despite the crazy guonian(new year) activities and the fact that we're the oldest companionship in the mission with breaking bodies. We were able to use whatever healthy time we had to our advantage. This week we're going to be healthy ALL week and use every single minute. We don't have any time to waste! The hardest part of this week was probably getting a call from our MM leader on Wednesday night. He said that he'd been talking with the bishop and were going to postpone our investigators baptism 2 weeks later than we'd planned. They said because this weekend is the start of guonian no one would be in Zhudong for her baptism and that next week would be the same. So Wen Jing's new date is for the 20th of February.

I was so sad and frustrated when I got of the phone with him, because we've been working so hard with her to get her ready for that date. She was also planning on going to the temple with her Mom on the 20th to do baptisms for her Grandma. But as Sister Tan and I have been talking about it more, we know that it was actually according to God's plan for her. We've been helping her through her repentance process. We found this week that for her to really be converted and have a "full baptism" she needed to completely finish her repentance process. She has some things she needs to confess and talk over with her mom in order for her to be completely forgiven. We'd told her to pray about making restitution with her mom a few weeks ago, but she decided she didn't want to. Then this week whenever we've asked how she feels about repentance she just says it's really painful and hard. She obviously hadn't fully repented or "felt to sing the song of redeeming love". (Alma 5:26) Now we're grateful that we have an extra 2 weeks to make sure that Wen Jing really understands the Atonement and repentance. I don't want to baptize just anyone who has finished all 5 missionary lessons and says they love Jesus. I want to Baptize Converts!

Have a good week! Don't forget to REMEMBER! (Helaman 5:12; Alma 5:26)

-Sister Oviatt

The temple brings blessings!

What a week. Transfer week always brings surprises! I am grateful to be staying with Sister Tan in Zhudong for her last transfer. I know this is where we're both supposed to be right now. 

I had no idea what to expect going in to this week. Part of me thought I'd train in Zhudong, part of me thought I'd whitewash train somewhere in Taibei, and another part thought I'd stay in Zhudong and kill Sister Tan. 

Then Wednesday came and we got no texts. I felt really weird all day on Wednesday after that. I was just a little confused and it started sinking in that I was probably gonna die in Zhudong and never train. Then on Thursday morning when I opened my Personal Study, I prayed to have strength, to know what my purpose was in these last 2 transfers, and to know that He still had a plan for me. I felt prompted to first read my favorite hymn, How Firm a Foundation, then to read pages 1 and 47 of Preach my Gospel. 

How Firm a Foundation has always comforted me my whole mission. My favorite verse is verse 3, "Fear not I am with thee, oh be not dismayed. For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand, upheld by righteous omnipotent hand." It has taught me that God is always with me. He will not forsake me. This time though, verse 6 stood out to me. " E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove my sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love; And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn, Like lambs shall they still, in my bosom be borne." I'm old. I've been feeling old ever since I moved here, physically and just in the work. It doesn't matter where I am, what I'm doing, how far I am in to the mission. He is with me. 

Then I opened up to page 1 of Preach my Gospel. My eyes immediately jumped to the first box, "Your Purpose". "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." Then I heard the spirit tell me, "Sister Oviatt, your purpose is the same no matter what. It has not changed." Immediately tears started to come to my eyes. I knew that I am still a Full-Time Missionary for the Lord. It doesn't matter where, when, or who I'm with. I'm still a missionary. 

Next I turned to page 47. It was lesson 2, the Plan of Salvation. It was confirmation there is still a plan for me. It is an ETERNAL PLAN OF HAPPINESS. Then I read the box at the bottom of the page, "Helping others learn about Christ". "Missionaries are to testify of Jesus Christ and invite all to come unto Him that they might be saved." The spirit came to me again and said, "Sister Oviatt, this is also part of your purpose. Testify of Me. Teach them who I am. You know me." My purpose is still the same. Teach & testify of Him. The picture at the top of the page is of the Christus. It reminded me of my Christus statue that Sister Farr gave me and all of the times in the last year He's saved me. He LIVES! I need to use my testimony and my experiences to help others come unto Him. I am so grateful for the Spirit's guidance and the peace He gave me. I am so lucky to get to just focus on His work for the next 12 weeks and nothing else. I get to be a normal missionary!

This week our investigator, Amy, passed her baptismal interview! Her baptism is this Saturday and her theme will be John 15:13-14, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." She's really had to change a lot in her life and repent to get to the point where she is today. She's had some issues with a few different commandments, but she's humbled herself a lot. It has all been motivated by love. Love for her Mom, love for Christ, and love for her Father in Heaven. We're so excited to see her take this next big step in her progression to her goal of the Celestial Kingdom.

On Saturday we got to go to the temple with one of our LA's and her son who just turned 12. On car ride up they didn't talk to each other at all. Her son just played on his phone and didn't say a word. She asked us to sing hymns for her on the way up. We went and did baptisms with him and he was really nervous. He probably felt a little awkward and out of place. But of course the temple workers and the other youth doing baptisms there were so patient towards him. He seemed to like the peace and calm in the temple, though. Then after, we did a temple tour with him. He talked more than Sister Tan and I had ever heard before! He seemed a bit more confident and knew the gospel better than we thought. Then his Mom finished at the temple and they went out to dinner together. When we all got back to the car, they were talking and smiling together. They chatted the whole way home, and he even offered to share his fries with her! It was such a great testament to us that the temple really brings families together. It literally changed their relationship. It showed us how important it is to get these RC's and LA's to the temple. And our own families. :) Next up is Xiao JM and Amy on the 20th! :)

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-002-temples-are-a-beacon?lang=eng

Well there's your quick rundown of our week in Zhudong!

Love you!

-Sister Oviatt

IT SNOWED IN TAIWAN.

IT SNOWED YESTERDAY. IN TAIWAN. IT NEVER SNOWS HERE.
it was REALLY light, but it was still snow! My companion is from singapore, so she's never seen snow. Yesterday she was pretty excited, except today the sun came out and she was like. oh I like the sun better than the snow I decided. haha! It hasn't been this cold in almost 10 years I heard!

This week was really hard, because my companion was sick like I was last week, and it was SO COLD. But it also included one of the most memorable days of my whole mission. I am really amazed that we were able to have such a successful week, even with Sister Tan being sick from Tues. to Sun. We only worked full days on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. It really felt like we were in a lot this week, but when we were counting our numbers and looking back on the week last night, I saw that we actually were able to do a lot with the little we had. It just showed me how much potential we have when we're actually healthy and going 100%, not 60%, like this week. This week will be so great. Now that the infection has run it's course in our apartment we will be able to go 100% this week in this amazing weather. :)
Saturday we had a baptism! It was Xiao Su Qin from last week's email. It was the best baptismal service of Sister Tan and I's missions. The theme for her baptism was Alma 56:48 "And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it." She is exactly like the mothers in this story. She has shown so much faith in the Lord and has not doubted Him. At the beginning we were just focusing on her daughter, then she slowly started having interest and developing her faith. Then she had to overcome a word of wisdom problem, and had to learn how to repent because of a law of chastity problem in the past. She was so strong through all of these obstacles and met her original date! It was so fun to introduce her to the ward. When we were telling them about her and all the things she's been through to get baptized, Sister Tan and I almost started tearing up. She just kept looking up at us and saying, "I'm really just grateful to you two sisters, and to Heavenly Father for teaching me." We were taught by her. She's been a great example to her 19 year old daughter, Chao Wen Jing, who is on date for 2 weeks from now on 2/6. Xiao JM's husband died about 9 years ago, so it's just her and her daughter living together. Their life has been really sad, but we've been able to see how the gospel really changes lives and changes people. It's been such a blessing to know these two.
After the baptism, we met quickly with them to discuss with Wen Jing how she felt at her Mom's baptism. At one point in the lesson, Xiao JM said, "Can I share something I didn't want to share in my testimony before? When I was getting out of the font I could feel that my Mom and Dad were there, along with a lot of my other ancestors. That's why I was nervous and didn't say very much when I was bearing my testimony, because I could feel that they were there listening." The tears that we'd held back earlier in the day all came out when she said that. The spirit filled the room stronger than I've felt it probably in my whole life.
Later that day as we were biking through the 4 degree Celsius weather, I remembered something that happened one day as we were biking up to teach them. They live about a 40 minute bike ride up a hill away from where we live. One day it was especially hard to go up the hill for some reason. Then I suddenly had a thought come to my mind, "You need to go teach them. Xiao JM's ancestors are pulling for you and need her to get baptized. They are helping you get up this hill. They need you." I made it up that hill with no problem after that. I had totally forgotten about that experience until Xiao JM brought up her ancestors after her baptism. It was just one baptism. But the effects of the "one" are being felt for generations, in the past AND the future. What a privilege it is to be a missionary. "How great is your calling!"
I'm a little bit nervous for transfers this week, but I think because Sister Tan only has 1 transfer left, and we've only been together for 1, not a lot is going to be changing. We've got a lot of work to do out here in Zhudong. It's such a special place!

Pray for us to not freeze!! Taiwan doesn't have heaters like they do in America!

-Sister Oviatt

Sick week... :/

Really quick. 3 months from today is my 21st birthday... and my last PDay. SO WEIRD. I literally feel so old lately. and I don't like it. I love being a missionary.

This week was kinda lame, but also miraculous. I was out for 4 days with a dumb cold. BUT our investigator passed BOTH of her baptismal interviews this weekend and is getting baptized this Saturday! YES! Also, yesterday the weather was awful, but one of our investigators still came out to Sacrament, toting 2 toddlers! She had told us earlier in the week that she probably wouldn't make it, but she still came and loved it(: Such a big miracle!

As far as the work this week, it was a little rough, but somehow it still managed to not look too bad. We were in all day Thursday, then we had 1 lesson Friday afternoon. Later Friday night, I tried to bike 40 min, up a huge hill, to the city that 3 of our most progressing investigators live. We made it up to our first appointment, but our investigator's mom, who is a member, saw the state I was in and insisted that she take me to a doctor that night. So she drove us back into the city to see a doctor. He gave me some medicine for my normal, but annoying cold and we went home.

But one good thing did come out of going to the doctor! I got a full Chinese name finally! :) The receptionists couldn't understand that I was just, "Sister Ou" and demanded that I have a first name. So our member picked, "歐家妤" "Ou Jia Yu" for me. It is so perfect and I love it. :) "Jia" means "home/family" and "Yu" means "beautiful/fair". I've been waiting almost a whole year for a Chinese name and now I have one!
We then stayed in again on Saturday, because I was so beat from the huge trek up to Er Chong Pu the day before. We did go out to our chapel for our investigator Xiao JM's baptismal interview. We were so glad to be there when she came out of her interview, telling us that she's passed and was excited to get baptized this Saturday. She was a little nervous about her 2nd interview the next day with President Chang, but still faithful. Yesterday she had her interview, and passed! She will be getting baptized this Saturday! We are so lucky to get to see this miracle. She has come so far in just the month that we've been teaching her and that I've known her. She started out having no interest at all, to now being excited to become a spiritual daughter of Christ and have a new start. She's been a huge example of humility and faith to Sister Tan and I. A big testament that this gospel does change people and families! Next, we're really going to work on her daughter, who is preparing to get baptized 2 weeks after her mom. We're hoping she'll realize the blessings the gospel has given to her mom, and then have the faith that it can change her, too. I'm so grateful for this opportunity I've had to meet both of them!
I hope that today will be my last day of having this cold, then the rest of this week we'll be able to get out and work. There's a lot to be done out here in Zhudong, but none of it is impossible. I really feel like this is where I'm supposed to be right now. I'm so grateful for the lessons I've learned thus far in my mission to get me where I'm at today.
"Forget yourself and go to work" is literally the best piece of advice I could give anyone preparing to go on their mission, or on their mission right now. The only way to find yourself is to lose yourself.
加油!!!
-Sister Oviatt

January 5th 2013. The day the Taiwan Taipei Mission cried.

Well this week we had Zone Conference. The church is rolling out some BIG changes for us! 1. We have a new focus/vision for the year. "Teaching repentance, and baptizing converts". I think as we teach repentance more and help people to see the blessings of repentance, they'll be more fully converted and then be able to better endure to the end. This will definitely be something we want to emphasize more with our investigators now. I know that my own personal repentance and conversion has meant all the world to me. This week I've been focusing on D&C 20:37. I've broken it down into the different requirements and everyday I've studied one of the requirements it talks about and why it is an important prerequisite for baptism. I've had some really great studies about baptism and I'm not done yet, so I'm excited for next week. Next change, 2. When we go on exchanges, both missionaries leave their area and go work in the leader's area! So weird. and 3. the last, possibly biggest change this mission's seen in a LOONG time. Also the reason for my subject line today, NO MORE TRANSFER MEETINGS! Anyone that has served under President Day knows how awesome transfer meetings are. So full of energy and tradition. But now instead of meeting up with everyone in Taipei, having a big meeting with a slideshow and a 100 clapping crazy missionaries, we just get on a train and go right to our next area and meet our new companion. I literally had to pray to know that not having transfer meetings was the Lord's will. I know I'm crazy. But it's going to be so weird for our mission to adjust to that. haha #missionarylife I think it just shows how the work is hastening and the Lord needs us at our best to bring about His great work of salvation. Getting close the end has also taught me how precious time is. I'm a little sad that I'm coming down to the final months of my mission, but I'm comforted... and overwhelmed.. by the fact that His "work and glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." is an ETERNAL work that will never end. 

Our biggest focus for the next week will be on Chao Wen Jing and Xiao Su Qin. It's the Mom and her 19 year old daughter I've been talking about the last few weeks. Their interviews are scheduled for this Saturday and we will be finishing up the commandments with them tonight. We taught the Law of Chastity to them yesterday after church and it went... not as smoothly as we'd hoped. We knew the daughter, Wen Jing, has had some chastity problems in the past, but she REALLY was not accepting yesterday. She was going on about how if it's love and two people are together then it's fine. She is going to need a lot of faith to overcome this. We're trying to help her understand that living the law of chastity helps us see what true love really is and it helps us respect ourselves so much more. Then her mom said, "Oh it's okay she's just young. She'll grow out of it." So that was a little bit scary. But other than that, we are pretty certain that the mom will be baptized next Saturday. Wen Jing might need a little bit more work. Keep praying for them!! They are our two most progressing and promising investigators right now, so they will be a big focus of our efforts this week.

We're still trying to get a good balance between retaining and strengthening the investigators we have and then going out and finding new ones to keep our pool fresh. Yesterday we did find a really promising new investigator while finding, though! He is a fairly young dad with a daughter who isn't even 1 yet. We were able to share with him how the gospel has blessed our families and how it will help his. He was really excited to hear the message of the gospel and to pray with us. He set up with us for next week to meet with him and his wife almost without hesitation. :) I feel like there are a lot of good things going on here in Zhudong! Lots of people coming unto Christ, including me.

Thanks for the love and prayers and support. They are felt!!! :)

-Sister Oviatt

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Jan. 3, 2016

i cannot believe it is 2016... and that i'm going home in 3.5 months. wow.

the coolest thing that happened this week was that i got to go on an exchange with sister kirkham! she was my mtc companion! since we got on island we've seen each other like 3 times. she was serving in taipei when i was on the east coast, then when i moved up to taipei she moved to the east coast. finally this transfer we're in the same zone! better yet, she's my sister training leader, which means once a transfer i get to switch companions with her! so this time they decided that i'd stay in zhudong with her and my comp and her comp would go serve in their area for the day. i was pretty nervous because i've been here for 2 weeks, and if i failed it would be with someone i know and am friends with! i was also a little bit nervous because we hadn't seen each other in a loong time, so i wasn't sure how our friendship would be impacted. BUT it all turned out great! we had a good time sharing our stories about how we've used christ's atonement to change on the mission and to become better people. and of course laughed about how dumb we were in the mtc. :) and one of the best parts was that our plans didn't completely fail! we taught some good lessons, had a good time finding, and had a decent english class. it was fun to do REAL missionary work with one of my best friends.

this week was a really successful week as far as the work goes. we were just 1-2 lessons away from reaching all of our goals! and i've really been able to see our investigators change and learn through the gospel. it's the best feeling. 2 of my favorite investigators are Amy, Chao Wen Jing, and her mom, Xiao Su Qin. Amy is 19 and it's just her and her mom at home. i remember the first time i met with them they were so loud and didn't really listen to us and just kept talking and arguing. now they sit quiet through the lesson and their answers are so good!.. most of the time(; they are really learning how this gospel can help their family and why it is important. they pray and read the scriptures together almost everyday. i am so proud of the changes they've made and i really hope they'll be able to meet their 1/23 baptismal goal. pray for them! :)

last thing real quick. i just watched this mormon message about the new year called look not behind thee. it's been a problem i've had on my mission a little bit. looking back to bad times and regretting or feeling guilty, or looking back to times that seemed better than what i'm doing right now and wishing i could go back to the old area or comp. but we can't live like that. we have to keep moving forward, just like i said last week. this video was a good reminder that at the new year we should look to the good things to come. look to hope and light. look to Christ. 

love y'all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

-Sister Oviatt

Lovely Christmas week in Zhudong/Taipei

Dec. 27, 2015

We had an AMAZING Mission Conference this week. It was a really good time, and all of the parts of it were done really well. My testimony of the Saviour and His birth were really strengthened this week. :) I was really grateful for the opportunity I had to share, "The Living Christ" with the mission. I was SO nervous to recite it in front of the mission, especially because I didn't have it 100% memorized. But I still had faith in my prompting to do that, so I went ahead and did it. The response I got after was so great. So many missionaries told me how grateful they were that I followed that prompting, because that was what they needed to hear. I'm so grateful for the many opportunities as missionaries we have to share our testimonies of our Saviour.
As far as Zhudong goes, this week was surprisingly successful! Even though we had 2 full days out of our area up in Taipei, we managed to get 12 member presents and 6 other lessons! I also wasn't really feeling good this weekend, but I fought through it and now I feel 100% better. Amazing.
One cool miracle was that yesterday we were waiting for our investigator to come to a lesson, when this lady next to us asked if we were, "jiaohui de". (from the church) So then Sister Tan and our member for the next lesson started talking to her and ended up having a member present lesson with her while we waited. Then she set up with us to meet with her whole family, so she became a new investigator! It was such a cool miracle!
We also have 3 REALLY solid investigators that I believe will be getting baptized in January. One is a mom and her 19 year old daughter, and another is a 12 year old boy whose mom is really strong in the church, but his dad isn't a member. It's been so amazing to see the changes these people have made in just the week I've been here. It should be a white January in Zhudong!!
My "ponderize" scripture of the week is D&C 128:22. "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, onto the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad." At the end-ish of the mission it's so easy to "go backward" and have regrets or should have done's, but we can't do that! Go forward! On to the victory! And if you're not happy while you're sharing(or LIVING) this gospel, you're not doing it right. REJOICE!

Love y'all!

-Sister Oviatt

I MOVED AGAIN!

Dec. 20, 2015

I had a "one and done" in Songshan!

I'm now out on the west coast of taiwan in a little city called, Zhudong. It literally means bamboo east. There's also "new bamboo" and "bamboo north" that's about 45 min west of us. That's where the closest missionaries are. Yep just us and the elders out here in Zhudong. It's super small and reminds me a lot of where I started my mission in Taidong, except there's no beach and it's not a tourist spot. But there's a lot of open space, mountains, and the air is so much cleaner than it was in downtown taipei!

My new companion is Sister Tan! She was my sister training leader when I came to Taiwan, so I've already gone on exchanges with her before! Crazy!! I love her so much. She's had a big impact on my mission already! She is from Singapore, where one of their national languages is Mandarin. So basically I have a native companion. It's great. She's dying in 2 transfers, one before me! She's really hoping that I'm her last companion, but she also really wants me to train my last two transfers. So we'll have to see what happens!!

My last companion, Sister Bowman, REALLY didn't think she was staying in Songshan. She'd been telling everyone for the last week, "this is probably the last time I'll see you! bye!" She's a funny one! Now she is companions with Sister Good!! They are now the Songshan STL's! My STL's now are a native, Sister Luo, and SISTER KIRKHAM. It's been so weird.. haha lots of adjusments!!!

Being in an area for just a transfer is so weird. Just last week I had started to love finding in Songshan. We had a REALLY nice steak dinner with a member, who happens to be the #3 contractor in all of Taiwan, then had 3 hours of finding that night. It was literally $60USD per person. We were both SO FULL. But I ignored the "pain" and just kept finding and walking and talking. Then all of the sudden Sister Bowman said, "Do you want to head back to our bikes now?" and I said, "Yeah I think we should go somewhere else to find now, too" Then she said, "No we have to go home now. Shijian dao le!" I couldn't believe it! I was almost as surprised then as I was just a few hours later when Elder Ploeg said I was moving. Just when you start to get comfortable with a companion or an area, or both, the Lord calls us somewhere else to learn and have new experiences. I'm trying really hard to find out what the Lord wants me to learn from this very new area.

so yeah. a lot has happened the last 4-5 days! Tomorrow is the mission christmas party, wednesday is an english class leader meeting(yeah i got my favorite assignment as english unit leader this transfer. SCORE.), thursday is the ward christmas party, and then friday is christmas! SKYPE! :D So i guess the next 4-5 days will be eventful too!

(i gave up on the ratchet shift key at this internet cafe. sorry.)

Well that's about it. LOVE Y'ALLLLLLL!

-Annie

Last week of the transfer!

Nov. 13, 2015

Well another week is gone. 

A long week of rebuilding our area and sharpening our finding skills. We think this next week will be even better as we get to meet with them and really explain to them what this message means to them. 

We had some cool experiences getting to sing with the mission choir this week, too! Saturday we were at JinHua all day singing for the English Ward nativity. It was such a great way to celebrate this season. Plus the tree was up and we looked halfway decent so we took a cute matching scarf companionship picture. :) 

This girl has been my rock this transfer. I am SO grateful for Sister Bowman. Some days it can be hard, because our personalities aren't exactly .. similar? She's really intense sometimes and expects a lot of me. But after this week I know that she's exactly what I needed at this point in my mission. She's helped me get refocused on the work and see WHY I'm still here. One day in Personal Study I looked back at some of the things I wrote in my study journal last transfer and I saw how immensely different my perspective is on my mission. I know that a big part of that is because of Sister Bowman. She has been such an example of obedience and hard work to me. I was so scared when I knew she'd be my companion. But now I wouldn't change a thing. I needed her to help me find myself again. I feel like a much more Christlike person and a more consecrated missionary. :)

Lastly! WE HAD A BAPTISM LAST NIGHT! Li LeEr (which directly translates to happy child. such an appropriate name for her)  is a 13 year old with a really hard life. We are so grateful to have been able to teach her and help her know God and Christ. We know this decision will bless her and her family's life forever. The sweetest part was when bishop was welcoming her to the ward. He talked about how special of a spirit she is and how proud Heavenly Father is of her. Everyone including him started tearing up. It was a special day. :)

Talk to you next weeeeek!

Always remember the WHY of everything.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

-Sister Oviatt

Weird week in Songshan!

Dec. 6, 2015

This week was crazy! One of the biggest surprises was at a Temple Tour meeting on Friday. Usually only the sisters that live close to the temple go to this meeting, but this time President had all the Sisters in the WHOLE MISSION come! Even the East Coast!　I got to see some of my friends I've only seen 2-3 times my whole mission. Like Sister Kirkham!! :)

We didn't go out on Thursday except for 2 lessons at night, because Sister Bowman caught the stomach bug Sister Farr and I caught last transfer. But I got her on the Supao(Gatorade) and water 48 hour fast right when I knew it was the same bug. Then she rested on Thursday and Friday, as much as was possible. She also took medicine that her doctor in America gave her that's supposed to kill all the bugs and bacteria in your stomach. So between all those things she was able to almost fully recover in 5-6 days. Pretty amazing!

One of the highlights of the week was definitely singing in the Missionary choir. It has been such a blessing to get to feel of the Christmas spirit this year in this way. I have loved being able to show my gratitude to the Saviour through sharing my talents with others. I have been saved and redeemed by His power SO many times on my mission and I'm still continuing to learn how to use it. I'm grateful to use music to show my gratitude and to strengthen my testimony of Him. Music is really so powerful!

Another thing that has been strengthening my testimony of the Saviour this week has been my preparation for the Mission Christmas party. I'm working on memorizing "The Living Christ" and then Sister Facer is going to play hymns in the background while I recite it. I'm so nervous! But I'm so excited. I was just reading the Book of Mormon in personal study this week when I felt a prompting to go read The Living Christ in True to the Faith. I really loved it as I read it. Then I felt that I should memorize it for the Christmas party and have someone play the piano in the background. So that day I called Sister Jergensen and she said I could do it! It's kind of hard, but it's really helped me to better understand the Saviour's divine mission and His matchless life. I think it's a good way to keep my thoughts focused on the Saviour, not just for this special Christmas season, but also when I get discouraged, I just start reciting that in my head and I can much more of the spirit with me.

We are having a baptism next Sunday! She's a sweet 12 year old girl, who lives with her RC Aunt. She passed her interview on Saturday. Her Dad had been 反對ing for a while, until about my 2nd-3rd week here. So after we got his permission we finished the lessons and she can get baptized now! It's been really amazing to see her change in the few weeks that I've been here. Sister Bowman, her Aunt, and her member fellowshipper have been able to see even more changes in her behavior and decisions through this process of investigating the church. We're really excited especially to have the guidance of the Holy Ghost after she's baptized. We know it will have a huge impact on her in her life! :)

This week I've been so grateful for God's gift to us, His Son. I want to invite all of you to watch this video and think about what an impact the Savior has had on YOUR life.

https://www.mormon.org/christmas/purpose-of-a-savior

He really is the true gift of Christmas, and of our WHOLE year! :)

Love y'all!

-Annie

AMAZING WEEK!

Nov. 29, 2015

Literally so much happened this week.
First. On Monday I FINALLY passed off the Phase 2 language test. Now I'm on Phase 3 which is all learning how to read and write characters. It's hard, but I'm still working to have the gift of tongues. It's real!
After I took the test we went to our mission Christmas choir. Missionaries in the Taipei areas can go to a special practice for 1.5 hours on PDay to practice for a traveling choir. We're singing about 10 songs and we'll go to a bunch of wards all around Taipei and perform at their ward Christmas parties! So in a few weeks I get to go back to my old area in 永和and中和 to perform! So excited! I have really gained a testimony of music on my mission. It can really heal us, and it brings in the spirit so powerfully. We are so lucky to get to use this gift of music to spread the gospel next month! :)
Then on Tuesday ELDER STEVENSON came to our mission. What an amazing opportunity we had to hear from an apostle of the Lord. Fun fact. He was President Jergensen's boss for a long time at this company that he started. President eventually got all the way up to VP in that company. They're really good friends and it was so cool to see these 2 men with so much respect for each other and each other's families interact. His sweet wife gave us good counsel on how to be ‘PRO's' by Praying Reading and Obeying. It was a really good talk and a great reminder. Then Elder Stevenson spoke for about an hour and a half about ... missionary work? He talked about a lot of different stuff. From how intimidating his first apostle meeting was to stories about his kids when they were growing up. Before they spoke they had all of the missionaries walk up to the front to shake his hand and give a hug to Sister Stevenson. What a privilege. I'll just quickly share one of my favorite parts from his talk. He showed a picture of a family right when they met the missionaries then a few years after they were baptized. The light of Christ is SO REAL. The change in their faces was so amazing. We are here to bring the light back into their eyes. In order to help bring about this change we can't see them as they are. Strangers. Taiwanese. Smokers. Rich people. Buddhist. Daoist. Riding their scooter to work. We have to see them how Heavenly Father sees them. They are ALL His children. They are ALL our brothers and sisters. They need what we have. They've already chosen Jesus Christ once, so we have to give them the opportunity to accept it again. He didn't say all of that. Some of it was my commentary, but that's the jist of what he said. The closing song was The Spirit of God. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.
Right after the Mission Conference I had an exchange with SISTER GOOD! If you don't remember her, she is from TX, was in my MTC district and I met her at the BYU@UT game last September right before we reported. We were also roommates in Taidong when we got to Taiwan. Now she's my Sister Training Leader. It's so crazy! So we got to be companions for a day on Tuesday. It was really good to reflect on how far we've both come in the last year. I was really grateful for that little tender mercy in the middle of the week. Love my 顧姐妹!
Then. Sunday happened. MIRACULOUS DAY! Sister Bowman and I have been trying to find ways to rededicate ourselves to the work and find our "mission visions". So on Sunday we did a special fast to be able to know things we needed to improve on or change to become the missionaries Heavenly Father needs us to be. ...2 investigators cancelled on us... Did we give up? NO. We went out finding. We'd planned to go to this park we went to my first Sunday. We got rejected for 2 hours straight that time. I really didn't want to go back. At all. But we said a prayer and started finding. We talked to a lady on a park bench with a kid in a stroller. She was SO willing to listen and really wants to come to church. She's a little scared of how her husband will react because he's never met Christians, but she really has interest. :) Then we talked to another girl who was about to go on a run. We immediately just clicked with her. She said one of the sweetest prayers I've heard. She really wants to know Christ and how to find happiness. She'll be out of town for the next week but really wants to meet when she gets back. THEN we met a cute family walking a dog. They were golden too!!! The biggest miracle may have been that all 3 of them lived in our area! Taipei is a big place, but everyone works here. It's been SO hard for us to find investigators that live in our area lately. :) The biggest biggest miracle was that we ran into our investigator Brother Aaron, the Asia Area Oracle VP... at a random park in the middle of Taipei. There was a miracle with a Book of Mormon, too. but I don't have time! We've literally been trying to set up with him for a month, but being a VP is hard work. I FINALLY MET HIM!  Yesterday was a true testament to me that, "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of everypeople, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen." (Alma 26:37) I know that God was looking out for all of us last night. Because of our willingness to sacrifice, He BLESSED us. And then I got on my email today to see that my sister Jessica was fasting for me yesterday, too. She is so great! She has no idea how much I needed that yesterday. :) Thank you!

I hope y'all have a great week! Talk to you later!

-Sister Oviatt

Second week in Songshan!

Nov. 22, 2015

This week went by much faster than last week! Even though this week we didn't do as much. One of our investigators had to drop us because her grandma and grandpa are SUPER opposed to her getting baptized. She was supposed to have her interview yesterday. And all the rest of our investigators are in China for business because we serve in the richest part of Taiwan. One of our investigators is the Oracle Asia area VP. Everyone is sooo sooo busy. So finding everyday it is! It's hard. It's real missionary work. It just wears you out in every way. But at the end of the day when you know you've done your best, it feels great. :)

Exciting news is that tomorrow one of the new apostles, Elder Stevenson, is coming to visit our mission. His son in Taizhong is finishing his mission today so he decided to come visit our mission, too! :) So cool! I'm in a mission choir that gets to sing for him tomorrow, too! The whole mission will be there, so that's exciting, too! I'll get to see all my friends that got sent out to the East Coast that I haven't seen in a long time.

This week when we were out finding we saw the cutest little ama! (pronounced "ahmah"=taiwanese for grandma) She told us she was 85 and where all 4 of her kids went to college. They all went to really good schools in America and her english was really good!... for an 85 year old(: Her favorite thing to say was, "This is my english composition booK. and that is s9 piano." She said it over and over again. SO CUTE! Then we asked if we could sing a hymn for her so then she started singing happy birthday in english! It was so great. We sang "Dearest children God is near you". It was really cool to sing of those truths to this sweet old lady in the middle of Asia. :) 

You gotta find the little things sometimes. Like eating Pizza Hut Hawaiian cheese stuffed crust pizza for lunch one day. Getting a soft chocolate chip cookie from Subway in the middle of finding. Telling someone you're from Texas and they ask if you're a cowboy. It's the little things that keep you going. :)

Find them.

-Annie

First full week in 松山！

Nov. 15, 2015

It was a really long week. Something about being in a new area with a new companion just makes the week go by sooo slow and it just wears me out! But we saw lots of miracles this week!
Monday, after PDay, we got invited to go to the 金華街 Jin hua jie chapel and do a part of a special YSA temple tour. We got to stand in front of a picture of the Christus and bear testimony of Jesus Christ. The YSA would come down the staircase in front of us with blind folds on. When they got down we started singing, "I stand all amazed", then when we were done they took their blindfolds off and we just told about our testimonies of Christ. There were about 5-6 groups we got to do that with. It was such a cool experience and I'm grateful that I get to bear testimony of and represent my Savior everyday! :)
On Tuesday before lunch we went knocking for a little bit. Knocking in Taipei isn't really knocking though. You go up to an apartment door and there's a box with a bunch of doorbells on it. So depending on the apartment you could have access to like 18 households just standing in one place. Pretty crazy. So after you ring the doorbell you wait for them to either talk to you through the speaker box, or they unlock the door for you and you walk all the way up the stairs to their house door. Anyways. We're ringing this apartment building and we get to the last doorbell (of course) and we wait for like 10-15 seconds and we look at each other and Sister Bowman says, "繼續！" It's her favorite thing to say. It means continue. Just as we turned around we heard the 'click' of the big door unlocking. Someone let us up! We walked up to the 4th floor and met a cool girl and we got to have a lesson with her. She asked us to pray for her parents who just got diagnosed with cancer. She was really receptive to our message. Then we asked if we could come back next week and share more.. She said yes! It was only the second time my whole 8 months in Taiwan that I've actually taught a lesson and gotten a new investigator while ringing doorbells!  Such a great miracle! You never know what plans the Lord has for His children!
On Saturday we got to go visit some members in a little town east of song shan. It's called Nan Gang. We got out there and Sister Bowman was like no wonder they took missionaries out of here last transfer, there's no one here! Then I was like OH MY GOSH! I WENT HOME! I WENT BACK TO 台東!  There really weren't very many people there and the apartments were only like 5 stories, unlike in song shan! Plus one side of the city has these mountains/hill things that are so pretty! The air was so much cleaner! I loved it(: Sister Bowman thought I was crazy. I want to live there. Close to the city, but it's not the city! haha!
That's pretty much it for this week! 3 of our investigators were in China or Hong Kong for work, so we had lots more time to go finding! I am so worn out! But it was a truly miraculous week and I'm learning so so much! Change is so hard. But it's good for me.
This week I've been reading 2 pages of Preach my Gospel everyday. I want to finish it by the end of my mission. I read a really great quote from President Lorenzo Snow. It says, “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”

I know He didn't send me here to fail. He is always watching over His servants and all of His children. Sometimes missionary work is hard and you feel alone or like what you're doing isn't worth the stress or the pain, but when you know whose errand you're really on, it helps a lot. :)

That's why “How firm a foundation" verse 3 is my favorite verse out of any hymn. He is with us!

加油！

-Sister Oviatt