Week 63: Merry Christmas!

It was the night before the Christmas party

and all through the STL's house,

not a person was breathing correctly...

one laughing

one crying

one praying

one calling the ambulance....

:) Ready to hear what happened this week? Haha ok :) We went one exchanges this week with our wonderful XiZhi Sisters and one sister has bad allergies. Well she ate a cracker and we had just finished our pingu. (evaluation) and suddenly she goes "Sister...we need to go to the hospital right now" And we're all like what the heck??? She's super calm about it but she's like, my tongue is swelling and face is going numb. She has a deathly allergic peanut allergy. But this wasn't a peanut reaction. I say "Do I need to call the ambulance?" She says "Yes" SO I call 119. And her companion talks to them on the phone. One thing happens and the next, and a couple hours later, we are sitting in the ER room while she's super drowsy because she took Benadryl (on purpose) to stop the allergic reaction. It was a fun day. I got to ride in the front of the ambulance and I felt on top of the world!!! Haha. She's fine and it wasn't too bad. :) I love her. 

Other than that, everything was great this week!!!! We had the Christmas party on Thursday and it was so fun to see the whole mission together!!!! The Spirit was so wonderful. SO many missionaries together!

Friday we went caroling and it was super fun. We biked to members houses and sang as we biked :) 

Saturday and Sunday were the Christmas choir performances. It was incredible!! We had a lot of investigators come and it was just a wonderful experience. I wish I could write more about it but worlds just really aren't enough. Sunday was incredible. Christmas!!! Mom's packages came just in time and so we had presents to open on Christmas morning. Sister Tinsley also loved all the cute little stocking presents. :) Sunday we had 6 people come to church which was awesome!! Then a lot came to the Christmas performance. Next year, we switch church to 1:30! Yikes :) We had dinner at the Bailey's and it was incredible. A real, homecooked American meal! Incredible homemade rolls and delicious dessert! It was perfect! Words cannot describe how much I love them. The Baileys are a senior couple that are in our district! They work with family history and stuff. Then Christmas night we had the choir concert. It was incredible. I sang a solo of What Child is This and I just felt so good. The last time I sang it I just felt as though it was my testimony to the world. To these people, and to the Savior. I know that He lives. I know that He loves us and I know that Jesus is the reason for Christmas. 

It was so good talking to family for Christmas and i Just feel it sealed the deal. I love being a missionary and don't ever want to do anything else! Have a great week and more next week! :D 

Love,

Sister Roberts

羅姐妹

Week 62: What is warm? I forgot! Merry Christmas!

Well..... it's cold. But it's not cold....

Taiwan is so weird! There were two days this week where I was FREEZING and I don't know if it's cause I've been in Taiwan too long and have adjusted to the weather or if it actually was cold. And I'll never know because we don't 

​have ​

a thermometer. 

​T​

hat's ok :) I just have been really cold. We've pulled out the space heaters and I've worn gloves, and my coat, and a cardigan, and tights at least all of those once this week. But I am very grateful because today is the 19

​th​

 of 

​D​

ecember and it's warm...like almost hot.  Anyway

​,​

 Not snow but I'm not complaining. I use

​d​

 to like the cold. 

This week was pretty good. We went on exchanges twice this week and it was pretty tiring. Tuesday-Wednesday was the SongShan sisters!!! Sister Miller (my previous companion) and her new comp, Sister Reinhard. I was with Sister Reinhard. Then Thursday-Friday was with the YiLan Sisters!!! oh I forgot to tell you Sister Wong (my Taiwanese companion) is white wash training in YiLan!!! So I got to go on ex

​c​h

anges with her!!! FUN!!!!! It was really fun to be with her again

​.​

 We bought matching jade rings :) 

So I told you last week (and thanks to my mother for the reminder) that I would tell you about our investigators because apparently I don't do that enough. ooops. They're only the most important part about my life

​!!​

First most progressing 

​investigator ​

is probably 

​C

 Ama. I've sent cute pictures of her before. But she's pretty much ready to be baptized but she thinks she doesn't know how to pray except she does. She's even willing to take the bus to church every week. We are just going to make sure she's overcome some concerns. She's so precious and brings me so much joy. Her understanding of the gospel is very childlike but she tries to understand and she's so smart. I love her. 

Next is 

​N

. She basically should already be baptized. She comes to church every week, understands the scriptures and is just awesome. But things are just

​ ​

a little slower for her because she THINKS she doesn't understand. But really she does. We will read a scripture with her and will ask her what it means and she'll say I don't know. Then we will simply explain it, then she'll say "so it means..................." and it was better than our explanation. She's awesome and so ready :) 

Next is 

​Y

 JM actually I haven't met her yet haha. Because we've only met with her when we've been on exchanges and Sister Tinsley has gone. But she has a baptismal date and is super great!!! Apparently she smokes and drinks everyday but she want

​s ​

to change. So here we go!!! 

​G

 is already Christian and we've been meeting wit

​h ​

her since the beginning of this transfer. She's a part of another Christian church so she has some weird habits but the more we meet with her, the more normal she is. Like for example. Well first, this church is called lin liang tang. And every time they feel the spirit they move their tongue up and down. Weird

​!​

 But that's ok. She just wants to know what is true and she is reading and praying and she's already ditched us for church for two weeks. But she promised us she would come this next week. 

Then we have another Ama as our investigator. Her name is 

​Z

 Ama and she's actually  another ward in Taibei's bishop's mom.  She's also Christian and also has weird xi guans (habits) but it's ok. We're working on it. 

Those are our baptismal date investigators right now. As for other investigators we have a lot but one especially who I adore. Her name is 

​J

. She wants to know if God exists. But she has a lot of concerns. For one she thinks religion is just a story that people create for emotional support. Another thing is that she doesn't think she needs to be baptized because she thinks she can get the blessings of the church without being baptized. So we're still working on it. But she's doing everything she needs to. She's come to church for two weeks now, done a temple tour with us, prays everyday, and promised us that she will read the BOM for at least 5 min everyday. Pray for her. I know she will get an answer but I'm also afraid that she's just doing these things to do it. And I don't know if she believes that she will get an answer. But she's incredible and just so sweet and funny. I asked her (and I've asked her multiple times) the reason why she is meeting with us and willing to do this. And she said for one, she likes us. 2, she's curious and wants to know. So yes. I love her. 

I think that's it for real investigators right now. They are all incredible. and I love them so much. We have others but those are the most progressing. We have a lot of teaching this week too. Basically every hour is set up and there's hardly any time to find. But that just means that we are going to see miracles when we talk to people in between lessons. I love being a missionary so so much. 

I'm so grateful that I can speak Chinese and I can't believe it. Every single day, whether I'm speaking to someone, or reading characters, I'm just blown away. The gift of tongues is real!!!! 

I've really been trying not to think about how much time I have left....but it's so hard. I hit my year on island this week. So a year ago from this week....I came to Taiwan. Scary!!! At the same time it's really motivating. I'm just trying to stay focused. The thing that is distracting is that I'm just so sad about leaving kinda soon....I still have time but I can't help but feel so sad that this time is ever going to end. Anyway

​, i​

t makes me cherish every moment and I am so so happy right now because of this time that I have. I love these people so much. They mean the world to me and I can't explain how grateful I am. 

This week is Christmas and I can't wait! This Thursday, we have another all together mission party. Which president again had to get permission for!!! it's going to be incredible!!!! And then this weekend is the special choir concert performance that is going to be broadcasted to you :) Yay!!!! 

​I​

 am singing a solo and am so excited!!! I love you all and I love this work. Have a great week and just remember to remember Jesus Christ this Christmas seaso

​n​

!!!!

Love,

Sister Roberts

羅姐妹

Raw egg sauce ... ummm

actually it was pretty good ... it was egg & spice.  Fun to be with sister Miller again!

the drinks in Taiwan are so yummy!!!

Becky & Kelin came to visit me!!!  I love them!

Becky & Kelin

Sister Tinsley making the pain face

District lunch & exchanges with the Song Shan sisters!

Week 61: YongHe week #3 ... Zone conference & Choir

Holy smokes where do I even begin with this week. 

Monday was fine, nothing too special. Just went to choir. 

Tuesday we had zone conference! Two of them. Sister Tinsley and I went to South first, and President showed up!!!! Crazy! And apparently he whispered to some sisters next to him "They are doing a really great job" SO I'm grateful that our trainings (that were his trainings) went well haha. Then we went to Song Shan!!!! :D For East zone conference which went well. Not as well as South but that's ok. It was so fun to be back in Song Shan. But it was different. It just wasn't my area anymore and just felt a little different. Really interesting. I tried to explain it to Sister Tinsley but it didn't really work. But it's the same way I felt when I went back to YiLan. 

Tuesday night and Wednesday we were on exchanges with the JingMei Sisters. Sister Calderwood and Munsee. They are so cute and we had a lot of fun. I was with Sister Calderwood and we both made goals together to run every morning. I just am going to run for 30 min every morning. It'll be great. I learned a lot about myself this exchange. Just about who I am, why I am confident and why I'm not, just things like that and it was great. 

Wednesday night was English class which was fun :) I love kids a lot. Sister Tinsley complimented me and said that I'm good with kids. :) She's sweet. 

Thursday we had WPS

Friday was a day set apart by the mission to work with members. So literally all day, we were meeting with members. Literally every second of the day we were traveling somewhere or in a lesson. It was great!!! We are working with the members in the ward to help them make their own family mission plan. We help them think of names and then specific actions that they can do to prepare their friends. Not give us referrals, but to prepare their friends. :) It's been incredible to see the members get excited about the work and we're going to keep doing it! :D 

Saturday, all day we were doing choir things. We went to sing at a school and then came back and had some "free time" that we used effectively while we waited for the English ward nativity to start (which we sang a few songs in). I saw the Weddle's, the Sevy's and yea I love them!!! It was a great day and I loved seeing the nativity!

Sunday, miracle day. We obviously didn't have a lot of time to missionary this week but we still got green key indicators! And it mostly happened from Sunday miracles. We had people come to church, got member lessons, found a new investigator who also brought her friend to the lesson who then set a baptismal date, and then we had a couple of investigators come to the nativity Sunday night too. Basically it all just worked out and I just know that it was God. 

We have some awesome baptismal date investigators and other awesome investigators. I don't have a lot of time right now so I'll write ALL about them next week. I love you so much and I don't ever not want to be a missionary. I hope every one knows how incredible this work it. I just feel like my life is full. There's nothing else I would rather be doing right now and it scares me to think about coming home...a lot.   But I'm not thinking about it too much. I love you all. I know this church is true I know that Jesus Christ lives, and I'm so grateful for Him and His influence in my life. I know that He has helped me become better and overcome weakness and mistakes and I know that through Him, we can all receive eternal life. I love Him and I love representing Him. 

I love you all and have a great week. We are starting week #4 of the transfer....Christmas is coming and so is the end of the transfer!!!!

Also, family, I'll get back to you with a time for skyping next week. :) We have to figure out where we are going to do it first. 

Love,

Sister Roberts

Zone Conference

English Class ... I love the kids!!

On the bus to choir practice and performance

APs & Office Elders

Me taking a picture of a member who took a picture of me

Nativity sets from all around the world!

Sister Tinsley making calls on the train

Week 60: Missing an Hour of Jedi Council

Hi guys,

So this week was a blur....I feel like they are all starting to be like that. I feel like the only probably that I'm having right now is getting everything done that I need to get done and just staying on top of things. Sister Tinsley and I work really well together but we have a hard time calling all the people we want to call and do all the things we need to do... so it's kinda stressful. There just doesn't seem to be any time to do it. We teach two English classes, one on Wednesday and Saturday and we can't find the time to plan for them. And things like that. I'm tired all the time and I don't even have time to write in my journal. Especially with choir practice on p-days. We get up early so we can do things before hand but really it all just ends up being really crunched for time. And then afterwards, we don't have much time either. I am really learning how to rely on the Lord. I know that God will not let our area "fail" just because of our stress and weakness, and we see miracles. Somehow things get done, somehow we still are on top of things even though we feel like we are drowning. I'm learning. 

I think the ultimate stress factor is time. I feel like the only conflict that Sister Tinsley and I have, is that I'm stressed with time and I feel like she's more relaxed about it. It's not a conflict at all really. I just get really stressed when we are time crunched. Which is basically this whole transfer. But it's because of the standard that I have. I want to be on time. I want to be obedient etc. I'm not stressed to the point of "i can't handle it" but it's just enough to always keep me on my toes and always rushed. It's just stressful. And I hate the feeling of being late and of not getting things done because we don't have time. 

This week (in reference to my title) we attended MLC or Jedi Council as Sister Tinsley likes to call it. Well we got up at the normal time. 6:45 am so we can be out the door and exercizing by 7. We get out the door, down to our bikes and Sister Tinsley kinda gasps and goes "DO you have the keys?" I stop walking, standing there horrified and turn to her and say "Do YOU have the keys?" We basically cry and are like shoot. Because our door is a automatically locking door. And there's absolutely no way to get in. Not only that, but we didn't have our phone either....I told you we had been tired...but we did have flashcards haha. Yikes. So luckily Sister Tinsley has the AP's number memorized because of some crazy story that happened in Hualian. Well we call the AP's and they are like the zone leaders are coming. So we go to the church to wait for them (which is really close to our house) and about 8:15 they arrive. They had to bike here from XinDian. I don't know how long it was. But they have the wrong keys! MLC starts in like 45 min...it started at 9. And we are still in sweats, stranded. The zone leaders bought us breakfast and then they left. Before they left though, they called the AP's and one of the office elders comes down but doesn't get here for another hour. We get into our house about 9:30. Get dressed and ready ridiculously fast and get there by 10. We missed an hour of Jedi Council.....oh well. 

Other than that it was a pretty pu pu tong tong qing qing song song week. (a childs way of saying ordinary and relaxed week). Our investigators are doing great. Chen Ama is doing great. She didn't come to church this week though but that's ok.....not really. She lost her baptismal date because of it. But mei you wen ti. 

Nancy is our most progressing investigator. Shes' awesome and is basically already a member. She always comes to church and she saw me paying my fast offering and she goes "Can I do that?" I was like...um I think so. Haha she's great. She just fits in. Her only problem is that she says she hasn't felt a difference in her life yet. That she hasn't felt that these things are true or not true. Her date is the 31st of December. Pray for her. 

New Jessie is also doing great. She's the one that we met at English class the first week I was here. She is curious and is willing to learn but not willing to set a date and isn't really sure if these things are going to work out. But she came to church last last week. Just sacrament at 10:30 (the last hour) and she liked it I guess. We really really with a lot of effort invited her to church this week. All three hours. She was very very hesitant. She doesn't understand why she needs to come. Her main concern is that she thinks people have created religion for emotional support and that religion makes everyone be better which is what she wants in life but she doesn't believe 100% that God exists and things like that. She's just not sure. But she understands that she has to pray and read and come to church to understand. But she didn't understand why 3 hours. But I told her very longingly "Jessie, this is literally the reason I came all the way from America. To invite people to church. To God's church" Or something like that. And she came :) She's like Only this week. And only because you came from America. She liked it but she didn't like the sitting for so long. It's going to be a slow process with her but she's willing. I also talked about meeting her family. So she might let us. 

That's pretty much it for our main investigators right now. We've just been so busy trying to plan exchanges, and getting everything done. Zone conference is this week and Sister Tinsley and I are over the East and South zone, so we will be going to two zone conferences and giving training there. Training according to MLC. So excited. 

I'm doing well. My body was better this week. And I love being a missionary. Time goes really fast and I hate it. I realized this week how hard it will be coming home..... really hard.. But anyway. 

I know this church is true. I know that it will fix any broken heart, any pain, any sorrow, any trial that we face in life. Because of Jesus Chris. He suffered for our sins, our pains, our sorrows, our sicknesses, and because of Him, He knows how to help us. I know with all of my heart and soul that He lives. I had a very touching moment this week. Actually last night. We have an investigator from a friend of a member and she's already Christian so she's had some hard time accepting the restoration. This was only our second time meeting with her but she wouldn't say anything when we invited her to do things. I bore my testimony and it was the first time that I've cried while doing it. At least that I can remember. I just felt the Spirit so strong tell me that this is true. And that this would bless her life. I know it, I live it, and I love it. God lives. This is His plan for His children. For us to overcome our heartache and sorrow, our sins and our weaknesses, and to be better. I love you all and I'll talk to you next week :) 

Love,

Sister Roberts

羅姐妹

Cua Bing

Taiwanese Nativity

You know your companion is an artist when she makes pictures out of our left over ginger and soy sauce hahahhaa.