Monday July 29, 2013

Monday July 29, 2013  Dear Family and friends,

Thanks for your letter mom! Wow . . . I am so impressed with all the walking you are doing!! Every week you have more stories of crazy walks!! You are definitely prepared! I always forget when you leave, but I'm thinking it's soon. Have so much fun!! This is a copy from my letter to the president: (I'm so glad Sister Sutton mentioned that she just copy and pasted, because these are all the things I want to tell you and now I'm not wasting any emailing family time!)

"This week has been good! We've been trying so hard to teach new investigators, and we've had a few . . . one who came to church!!! This is the first time I've had an investigator come to church outside of the one who was already coming every week when we first came. It was kind of ironic, because in our first meeting this Investigator told us she'd gone to another church, but didn't like it because they believed homosexuality was wrong, and we also know that she lives with her boyfriend. The lesson in Relief Society was on Elder Bednar's talk "We Believe in Being Chaste." At first I was thinking "Oh no!!!!", but then I realized that there is probably no one better to explain this topic than an apostle, and now it's out in the open. And we even talked about it a little after and she didn't seem too upset (although she recognized she wasn't keeping it). And throughout church she was listening and flipping through the BOM to read the scriptures and things.  Sunday school was about the Plan of Salvation, which might have been a little confusing, but now when we teach it hopefully she will remember a little and it will be easier to understand. I really hope we can keep meeting with her!!

Another exciting part of the week was teaching lessons Friday night . . . we had lessons with two new investigators at the same time, so we had to split. I was pretty nervous, and I know I made lots of mistakes, but it didn't go too badly! Mostly due to peike's--I was so grateful for them.

Last Monday, Sister Sutton and I started a forty day fast-- a fast from anything that "pokes" at our spirit. We are trying together to have a better attitude and more fire and desire for the work, and so we decided to take this challenge (purposed in an article someone mailed to Sis Su). It's been . . . harder than I thought for some things! There are two big ones for me, in line with avoiding distracting thoughts. One of them has been easier to not think about (mostly because it's about events happening at home, and thinking about missing all of it is painful). But the other is something I struggled with before the mission, and after covenanting with the Lord I wouldn't think about it . . . its gotten way harder! I think Satan is definitely working against me. But I love working together with Sister Sutton on this. I think our unity gets better and better as time goes on.

Sister Sutton has mentioned that it's been hard for her to have a good attitude this past week, which is something we're trying to work on together, but I'm not sure the best way to help her. There are some things, but I'm trying to think of something that will really help--I know probably the best thing I can do is just to have a good attitude myself, so I'm working on it. She is awesome. I love Sister Sutton and she is SUCH a blessing to me. I'm really grateful she is my companion!!"

That's my letter to the president!  The sun shines fairly often . . . but it's cloudy a lot too-- plus we're almost always wearing helmets when we're outside, so I haven't gotten as much sun as I'd imagined. We ride bikes everywhere, but most of the time things aren't too far . . . except last week we spent a lot of time helping that member family I talked about last week (Cun1 family) paint their house . . . and that is really far away!! So we spent a lot of time on bikes last week. The streets aren't really built for bike riding, but Taiwan is full of scooters and some bikes (and even just a lot of people walking around), even in this country town, so people are really aware of us as bikers. It's not dangerous really at all.

JULY 24TH, TRULY PIONEERS
RACHEL PAINTING?  WOULD NEVER BELIEVED IT WITHOUT THE PICTURE TO PROVE IT.

 Good luck to Austin!! I want to say he's going to . . . Florida, right? I'm glad you got to go to his farewell! I hope he did awesome!

Tell Denise Crane congratulations for me on her big float, and thanks for the emails! 

If you ever want to write through dearelder again, that might be fun! I know it cost a little money, and it's not as quick, but it's so fun to get something in the mail!

About the skirts: I can't go to other sites besides the missionary ones, so if you see something awesome, definitely send it! Plain but brightly colored skirts that are durable material but more flowly/not tight are best.

I love you so much!!! I miss you. Thank you for the faithful letters every week. Zai4jian4!

Love,

Sister Rachel Caroline Edwards

Pictures came this week.  Here they are.  I'll try to make some sense of them. 

Eating a 1,000 year old egg.  How do they know it is really 1,000 years old?  Rachel says, "I loved it" 

Rachel's 1st baptism.  And our new member is excited and full of fire.


I WONDER IF THESE TWO COMPANIONS EVER CONFUSE ANYONE TRYING TO TELL THEM APART.:

THE REAL QUESTION IS: WHO IS WHO.  IT IS ALL IN THE EYES.

"MY COMPANION AND I BOUGHT THE SAME SKIRT LAST WEEK AND WORE IT TO SPECIALIZED TRAINING ."  

AWARD GIVEN FOR THE BEST CAPTION TO GO WITH THIS PICTURE

I GOT A PACKAGE FOR MY BIRTHDAY.  HOW EXCITING!!

THE FOOD HAD ALREADY BEEN OPENED AND TASTED.  NOW THAT IS THE KIND OF GIFT ANY MISSIONARY WOULD LOVE.

EATING CHICKEN.  ARE THE GLOVES TO KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN OR BECAUSE THE CHICKEN IS SO HOT IT WILL BURN YOUR HANDS?  THE QUESTION IS, ARE YOU GRIMACING OR SMILING?

VISITING SITES OF INTEREST.  WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT SITES THEY ARE:

EVERYONE LOVES THE CHILDREN

GETTING BRAVE.  EATING STINKY TOFU WITH CHOPSTICKS.

A LOVELY FAREWELL TO ALL.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

Monday July 22, 2013

 Monday July 22, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                               

Thank you all for your letters! I had a lot of letters waiting for me in my inbox today . . . and I loved it!! I probably won't get to most of you today, but I will try to catch up next week!

1. The typhoon was exciting! We had to stop proselyting at 5:00 pm . . . but then the Typhoon didn't really hit hard until later that night. But when it did . . . it was crazy!!! The hole in the wall for our AC is bigger than the AC is . . . and the cardboard and plastic covering the rest of the hole did NOT survive! In the middle of the night we were up with tape and whatever we could find trying to stop the rain from coming in. Regardless of our efforts, we had quite a bit of mopping to do in the morning. My first Typhoon!!

2. Training lasts two transfers, so I'm still with Sister Sutton for this transfer . . . YAYAY!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE her!!!

I haven't heard from Doris:(

This is my letter to the president:

This week started off slow; Sister Sutton's cold had gotten worse, so we stayed inside Monday (not our p day because of the temple) and went to the doctor. She got some medicine and started to finally feel better a day or two later! The Temple on Wednesday was amazing. I didn't quite realize how much I missed the temple until going back. The spirit of the temple seemed so much stronger without having it in my life for the past 6 weeks, and preparing a little more for it than I usually do. It definitely answered some of my prayers.

Sister Sutton and I have really been having a hard time with getting progressing investigators. This week we had around four new investigators, so I hope to be able to continue meeting with them! One of them was really cool. A YW in our ward brought her good friend from middle school and we had a good lesson AND she set a baptismal date. Our first invitation extended and successfully received. She is just a happy, friendly, and open person who has a really good example of what it is to be a member of the church through her friend.  For example, when we asked her about prayer, she said she had prayed with her friend. However, yesterday at church the investigator's friend told us that that the investigator's dad didn't want her to continue, It looks like we probably won't be able to meet with her again. AH! That was so disheartening! Especially after struggling so much to get investigators and FINALLY having someone who really seemed to want the gospel.

We also spent some time at a member's house in our ward who is going through some big trials. The dad is in a wheelchair, and the mom just got back from the hospital, where she had been for the past couple of weeks because of cancer. They have several young kids. As we shared  our testimonies of  the Savior and His power, I really felt . . . so much love for this family.

I love you!!! Thank you for your letters!! Everyone! They mean so much, even if I don't respond, they really do.

Love,

Sister Edwards

Monday July 8, 2013

Dear Family and friends,

Some sad news! As of Tuesday they clarified the rules on music more clearly and my iPod won't work because it can play videos!  Thank you for working with me. Maybe you can send some CDs and I can buy a CD player.

Also not this upcoming week, but the week after that, we have a temple day! But it's on Wednesday, so that's when our p day will be. Also it takes like 2 hours (3? I forgot) to go to Taipei, so we will have to wake up really early and I'm not sure if I'll have time to write at all that day . . . just a warning! But I'm so excited to go to the temple!! Our district will get to go early and do initiatory too!!

I'm so glad to hear you had your annual 4th of July breakfast!! I was thinking about that on the fourth and hoping you were cooking, eating and  celebrating.

Yes I did get all your letters when I first got there and I LOVED it!!! Thank you so much everyone!!!!!  I love hearing from my family.  Thank-you everyone. . We're especially pressed for time today because we are going to a less-active young woman's house and she will teach us to cook, and then we're going to the beach after, and we still need to buy food and do laundry and studies! I'm so excited for the beach and lunch today though.

Speaking of food! Has anyone ever tried brown rice milk before?? It is so good!!! Most of the time I prefer eating my treats versus drinking them. For example, in the MTC I never drank anything but water ever. But in Taiwan they have these delicious milk drinks! Brown rice milk is thick and sweet and DELICIOUS! Also winter melon tea mixed with milk! Mmmmmmm. . .  :)

Wow weather in Utah!! From what I remember you telling me last week, I think it's hotter in Utah than it is in Taiwan! Although the humidity sometimes means sweating more than I think you would in Utah. We have had some BEAUTIFUL sunset skies in the past 3 or 4 days!! One day I will get Sister Sutton's pictures and will show you.

Tell the grandmas and Auntie I say hi and I love them!

Coolest miracle this week! It's called Doris (her English name. In Taiwan English names are used more--like it's not quite the same as having a Chinese name in America). We were looking for a member's house to do a little thank you thing, but we couldn't find it (well, really her car. We were going to put some cute flower sticky notes all over her car with a ka3pian4 -card-). Then we were trying to cross this street and a woman walked past us and we started talking to her. Her name is Doris, and I felt the spirit testify to her through me that God has a plan for her, and I know she felt it too because I could see her eyes starting to tear up. She told us she thought that maybe God planned our meeting. I'm not sure what is going to happen with her, but that is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me. She made an appointment with us, but when the day came she came to the church and told us she couldn't meet right then. She didn't want to give us her phone number ... so there's really not much we can do but pray for her. I really hope she remembers what she felt and decides to call us back. If she did call us it would be another miracle because I've never had somebody who got our number and we didn't get theirs and they called us. But I've never had a first lesson on the street like that either!

We also have met several times with a Ye4 JM, and I . . . think she has a lot of potential . . . but it could really still end in nothing. But I love her! Yesterday we met her mom and her mom told us we look like Barbies. It was so funny. Old Chinese people are SO CUTE!

Out of time! I love you!

Sister Edwards

Monday July 1, 2013

                                                                                     Monday July 1, 2013

Dear Family,

This week was a fast one! Filled with way too many meetings. Half of our proselyting days were mostly filled with other things (and even among the other two we had some meeting things taking up a lot of our time)! But it was inspiring! 

We had a Zone conference on Wednesday, and I spent most of the meeting feeling the pressure of all I need to do, and the VERY LARGE difference between my responsibility and that expectation building up that I should be doing more. . . but then, towards the end, something changed (I'm not even sure what), and I stopped feeling like I was buried under all the things I couldn't do, and started feeling motivated to go out and be better (which was the point I am very certain). Then the next day we had a split with the temple sisters (sister training leaders I think?) . . . and their example was really inspiring. Those two things combined made me a lot more excited and motivated to talk to everyone and to work hard. Which is still easier said than done, but I have been a lot better lately at talking to everyone! Now I just need to start actually figuring out what to say when I talk, because so far I've usually just extended really blunt invitations to our English class . . . :)

This week the sister that the Elders gave us was baptized! It was neat-- she was so nervous before her baptism, it was kind of cute. But her testimony was really touching. I didn't understand all that much, or really much at all, but the sincerity and strength of her testimony was obvious, and it was so neat to hear. She already is an amazing and strong member. And don't worry, at church yesterday she gave us all the times during the week she is free and available to pei2ke4 (I think the translations is something like "accompany lesson" --pei2ban4 is the word used for companionship, as in companionship of the holy ghost, and ke4 is from ke4cheng2, which is lesson. So it means a member who accompanies a lesson.)! We will still be seeing her because of new member lessons, which will be fun.

Wow splits with the temple sisters!! I want to have that much confidence, faith, and . . . go-do attitude!! We went knocking on doors (my first time! we normally just contact on the street) and miracles! We went to a street right across from the church, which means missionaries have probably been there lots, and just started. The second house the lady let us in and we shared our family pictures, asked about her family and taught her to pray. She was wonderful! She told us she's lived there for 10 years, and we were the first missionaries she's let in! She loved praying for her family--we could really tell, because when Sister Sutton and I went back yesterday and asked her about it, she proceeded to demonstrate her prayer for us! She is so sweet. When we asked, she said she believed the Joseph Smith story . . . but you have to understand Taiwan and it's religious culture in order for that to make more sense. Because she also said she believes everything. She is Buddhist and for her and a lot of other people there is no conflict in believing lots of different religions. She said that we could come back, but she didn't want to waste our time either. Ah! That is so frustrating!

 We have another investigator, who is similar--she has been taught  through the plan of Salvation and is curious, reading the BOM and asking questions, but then still completely believing in her Buddhist beliefs and not seeing the conflict. I hope as we continue to meet and especially as we share more about Christ and the Doctrine of Christ the spirit will speak to them and more understanding will come.