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