So. It was Tuesday night and Sister Tan wanted to go out to eat at a "nice" restaurant for one of her last meals. (If there's a such thing as "nice" in Zhudong.) So we're waiting for our food at this Italian pasta place and President calls. I assumed it was about her going home or something, so I gave her the phone. Then it was actually for me. President asked how my day went, how the transfer had gone with Sister Tan, then he says, "Sister Oviatt can you do me a favor?". Then I just assumed it had something to do with being English unit leader. NO. "Will you be a trainer for your last transfer?" The shock that came over me when he said that didn't leave until at least 3 days later. I literally felt like I was in a dream.
Then the next morning I got morning sickness. JK. We got food poisoning and spent all day Wednesday inside throwing up, going to the bathroom, and sleeping. It was awful. The next day, Thursday, we went up to Taipei in the morning, dropped off Sister Tan, cried a bit, and went up to the training meetings and got my new baby! Since they stopped doing transfer meetings :'( they have been introducing the trainers their new trainees a little bit differently. They have the trainee go up to the front and read a letter that sounds just like our call letters, "Dear Sister Xiao. You have been hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You have been called to serve with... Sister O.. I don't know what this says..." President Jergensen then says, "Oviatt" Then I jumped up out of my seat and gave her a huge hug. It was literally more stressful than the power point they did before. So there's the big story of the week. CRAZY.
Sister Xiao from Taichung, Taiwan and is a visa waiter waiting to go to the Oakland/San Fransico California Mission. She just turned 19 in December, but has gone on 4 "mini-missions" in the Taichung mission to the south of our mission. She's been a missionary before for a total of 8 transfers! So she knows a bit about the work already. Oh and her Chinese is perfect so that's cool(; She lived in Riverton, UT for 2 years when she was 16 and worked as a soccer coach, so her English is pretty good, too! Yesterday in Gospel Principles the teacher asked when she would be leaving and she said oh probably in just 2-3 weeks. Elder Sumsion, who also waited for his visa to come to Taiwan, and I had to laugh a little because we remembered just over a year ago when we were saying the same thing in our reassignments... 12 weeks later! hahaha
I've had so many different emotions this week. I've felt overwhelmed, stressed, lost, alone, and even a little trunky sometimes. But yesterday through taking the sacrament and just a good Sunday, I've been able to refocus and calm down. I've felt that this is what the Lord needs me to do right now. I've been so humbled this week. I think the HARDEST time to train is probably your last transfer. You know what you're doing. You've got your routines and you've been doing them for a while. It's hard to then be with someone who's brand new to missionary work and relies on your guidance. You really have to kind of forget your routines and what you think may be right to do, and follow the spirit. One time I was getting kind of down on myself about how the first few days had gone, then I remembered a line from Preach my Gospel that helped me last time I took over an area after a companion went home. "Avoid comparing yourself to other missionaries and measuring the outward results of your efforts against theirs." We cannot compare ourselves to anyone else. We should not be afraid of man, but of God. We should take our validation vertically from Him, not horizontally from the world around us. I felt like as long as I was in good standing with Heavenly Father and he accepted the work we'd done, it would all be okay. I've really had to humble myself so much this week to realign my will and expectations with God's. I've had to relearn to rely on Him for acceptance and guidance, and not rely on man.
So here goes the last 6 weeks. I feel like it will be a big "cumulative test" of ALL the things I've learned on my mission. From visa waiting (GA), to having a Taiwanese companion (Sister Mao), to training in my last transfer (like Sister Pieper), to taking over an area after killing a companion (Sister Tate), to helping a companion get used to a new mission (Sister Komatsu), and just learning how to love this work. I know God has a sense of humor, oh, and He has a very specific and perfect plan for all of us. He loves YOU.
We're ready to continue to see lots of miracles in Zhudong!
-Sister Oviatt
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