Sister Winters - May 21, 2012 "Hey you! Let's play zoo!"

Dear family,

 

Hello hello hello and welcome to another transfer here in... "The Promised Land," or Taidong! I feel so incredibly happy to be here again. And I'll probably be here for another transfer after this one, too - my companion (Sister Rosander) is in her last transfer right now, which means that I'll probably be here to help the next missionary know her way around Taidong. That being said, surprises could still happen, so we'll see. We had a lot of success this past week, along with this past transfer - we focused a lot on lessons and peikes (lessons with the support of a member), and we were super-blessed and hit all of our goals. This transfer we'll be focusing on members with a baptismal date! So please pray for us in that regard.

 

Last Monday I went to one of those "the family HAS to go here" kind of places - we drove out to this bridge (the dragon boat bridge? The 8 hump bridge? Whatever it's called, it has 8 humps on it) that led to this island, where we hiked to the top of it. It was AWESOME. Everyone was like, "it's so hot here!" but I was totally just loving it - I think summer vacations to Disney World have trained me well with being okay with heat/humidity. :) I'll include a few pictures in the email, and I should be making a CD today. Thanks for your patience!

 

Last English class was pretty fun, too. I've been demoted (or promoted?) to the Beginner's Class (my Chinese needs to be better in order to teach them) for English. At first it was really hard - some people get bored because it's too easy, other's think it's too hard (sound familiar, music majors?), so I needed to find something that would keep everyone interested, on the more "advanced" side of the bell curve! Last week I came up with the answer when I decided to talk about animals. A lot of people knew most of the animals I talked about, but then we kicked it up a notch and played "zoo." Family favorite in the USA, and a huge success here. Everyone loved it. Music (or zoo) saves the day again! It was really fun afterwards in my "spiritual thought time" because our talking about animals allowed me to share a couple of Bible stories that deal with animals (Daniel and the Lion's Den, Jonah in the whale). Unlike the States, where pretty much everyone has some sort of familiarity with Christian background, only one of my students here knew what happened in these stories, so it was totally new. I had a really fun time struggling with my lack of vocabulary for the stories (how in the world do you say "Nineveh" in Chinese?!), and using both really dramatic hand gestures/facial expressions (I know that's really hard for you to imagine) and drawing on the chalkboard to tell it. They were all smiling and even laughing in some parts - and I think they really understood the spiritual significance, too. Doing that has inspired our district to do a SCRIPTURE STORY MOVIE ACTIVITY with the members! We'll get everyone together in groups, give them a scripture story and a little time to practice, and then they'll act it out, record it, and we'll watch it later. :) I'm so excited.

 

*Author's note: I have also played "Don't Eat Pete!" with my class, and they loved it too. Maybe I'll play "yah!" or some other FHE game next. :)*

 

And now, the best part of the week: Liang Mama's baptism! She's so incredible - I love her so much! She's been taking care of this 90-something-year-old person who lives really far away this past week, so we hadn't seen her at all - only called. So I had reall missed her. But then we saw her on Saturday for her baptism and we were all so so so happy. I performed solo violin for the first time here in Taidong (I did one of those Jenny Oaks Baker arrangements), so it was nice for me to be able to make friends with my violin again and to work hard on a piece for Liang Mama. She seemed to like it and to be so touched by what everyone said to her. Before the baptismal service started we were just sitting in the chapel with her, listening to prelude music, and she touched her heart and said, "I just feel so good. I feel so happy. Thank you so much for bringing me to this and for helping me feel this way. I'll never forget you two - don't forget about me!" She also said that if she wins the lottery, she'll use the money to come to America and visit us... whoops. :) New Member lesson #1: gambling. Anyway, the Spirit was so strong - once again I was left pondering how no matter how old we are, no matter what our situation is, we need the Gospel (I loved what you shared about that, Aunt Bev - thank you so much!). No matter how old we are, we can feel the Spirit. And no matter how different we might be from another person, we can still form friendships with them that will last forever. I'll always love Liang Mama - she's one of those people that I know that I'll want to keep in touch with for the rest of my life.

 

I feel so lucky to be here and to form these kind of relationships with people! Heavenly Father is blessing me so much. I'm trying to keep working my best to express my gratitude to Him. I love you all, have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Winters

(Sorry, pictures didn't work today!)

Pictures of Sister Winters

Sister Winters - May 14, 2012 Happy Mother's Day!

(That is supposed to be read in the accent of Frosty the Snowman, by the way.)

 

Dear family (especially Mom),

 

Happy Mother's Day! I love love love love LOVED talking to all of you yesterday. You all sound like you're doing so great and happy. Even though I was kind of crying (okay, really crying) by the end of it, I really was just so happy to be able to talk to you. I feel so blessed to be part of the best family in the world. I've got a little less time to write today, so sorry that it's not as novel-like this week.

 

First things first - this week is promising to be the best week of my life, because Liang Mama is getting baptized!!!!! Can't wait can't wait can't wait. I'm a little worried about the fact that she's 68 and is getting baptized, but you know what? Everyone needs it, she's not scared, so why should I be worried?

 

I'm flattered that you all thought my Chinese was good - unfortunately, I still have a very long way to go. Last night I was street contacting and I heard Bach's Fugue for the Violin in G Minor. I yelled to my companion, "I've played that!" And then raced to see where it was coming from. Although the violinist was good (and that's a beast of a piece), he was still making a few mistakes so I knew it wasn't a recording. Anyway, I found the guy, he stopped when he saw me, so I said, "HEY! I can play that... that... that..." I realized I didn't know how to say "piece." I know how to say "song," but all of that training in instrumental education was telling me that I can't call it a "song," since there aren't any words in it (I'm hope you're proud of me, Dr. Dab). Anyway, so I just ended up looking a little bit like an idiot as I kept on saying "that... that... that..." and he finally said (in English): "...violin?" I said, "No! I mean, yes, but I mean.... Bach?" Then he nodded and smiled in recognition as he said: "Oh! Bach." I guess there are just some things that can break language barriers, Bach being one of them. :)

 

Something that I thought you'd all enjoy: the Chinese always try to downplay everything that they do as being worthless. For example, you'll compliment someone by saying that their son is intelligent, and they'll say, "No, he's actually very dumb." Or say that their wife is beautiful and they'll say: "She's pretty ugly, actually." It's pretty funny and sad at the same time. Well, last week I had a new encounter with this principle. A lady in the branch called me and said she wanted to give us some "really disgusting food" that she didn't want and it was "so disgusting" and she wouldn't eat it, so... did we want it? My first thought was to say, "well, I know we're missionaries, but seriously, do you really think we're desperate enough that we want to eat really disgusting food that you don't even want?" But she brought it anyway and it was really, really good - then I realized that she was doing that Chinese thing! She couldn't call her food "delicious," or even say anything about it that could be interpreted as positive - she needed to make a big deal about how it was terrible, etc.

 

Okay, spiritual thought: I was a little sad after I had to hang up with all of you, so I prayed for a long time and then opened up the Book of Mormon. I'm starting the book of Helaman this week, so I started with the intro of that book. It was divinely inspired for me to read that part, because the introduction talks about how the book of Helaman deals with the people until the coming of Christ - it used that phrase a lot. Christ was the center of that book (of Helaman), and is also the center of the Book of Mormon. He is the center of our church, and should be the center of our lives. I realized that even though I was missing you all at that point, Christ is the center of my life, and I'm grateful that I have this chance to serve Him with everything I have right now.

 

That is it for this week - again, have a wonderful Mother's Day, and a wonderful week! I love you.

 

Love,

Becca

 

Sister Winters - May 7, 2012 Summmerrrtiiiimmmeeee!...

..."And the living is eeeaasssyyyyy...." Well, not quite "easy," but it's so great. Sorry, I promise I do not listen to Gershwin here (even though I love it) - I just felt like the quote was very appropriate. :)

 

How are all of you doing? Well, I ask that, but actually, I know how all of you are doing already. :) Thank you for your emails! They sure make me happy. I got some more letters and the package with the clothes (total surprise) this past week, so thank you for those as well! Yesterday I actually took about a full half an hour to get ready (instead of the usual 10 minutes) and felt like I looked pretty good with my straight hair and my new clothes, so thanks for helping me with my image out here. :)

 

ANNA! Congratulations, my dear friend! I'd heard about those "yeah, my friend got married suddenly out of the blue while I was on my mission" stories, but it was still a complete, delightful surprise to hear all of the juicy, roommate-chat details. :) Your announcement looks fantastic, you two look so happy, and I'm so excited for you. Where will you be teaching next year? Wow. I really am so happy for you. :)

 

Anyway, summer's pretty much here. It's so funny to see how different the Taiwanese reaction to summer is from Americans'. In America, everyone goes outside to get some sun. There are lotions you can rub on your skin to make it look more tan. In Taiwan, everyone stays inside to stay white. If staying inside isn't possible, they'll wear long sleeves, scarves, hats that shade their faces... anything to keep from getting "black black," or tan. Oh yeah, and there are "whitening" lotions to help you stay nice and pale. Different standards of beauty, I guess! :)

 

I thought the kids would like a little update on the food here. Most of it's really really good - I've found that I've changed a little in my preferences, though. I can now eat bell peppers (I'm still not at the point of loving them yet), I really love mushrooms (they have a zillion different kinds that they use here), and I'll just pop cherry tomatoes in my mouth and think it tastes really good (they eat them like any other fruit here). As far as gross foods go.. this week I decided to try "health vinegar" - in addition to having a lot of mushrooms, they have a lot of different vinegars, including some that you can just straight-up drink. Yeah, I drank it all. And yeah, it was gross. :)

 

Joseph! Have I got the story for you! I was stopped at a stoplight this past week, and I put my hand lightly on the brake. Well, I felt this little pain on my hand so I looked down and saw a leaf. My brain had just processed the thought, "wait, how could a leaf hurt me?" when I realized I had an ENORMOUS PRAYING MANTIS on my hand! Crazy! Well, I was trying to get it off and it was holding on with it's little pincer arms flying everywhere. So I got out a little pamphlet and scooped him onto there (I wish I had had my camera) and then set him on the wall. It was so crazy - I kept looking down at my hand later that day to make sure his bite or pincers or whatever had hurt my hand wasn't poisonous or anything. I still have most of my fingers so I think I'll be fine. :)

 

I loved hearing about McKenzie's wedding reception! It sounded so magical - I'm going to expect mine to be doubly magical when I get back! Just kidding. :) This past week we had companion exchanges in Hualien and I actually got to attend a wedding reception there. It was so awesome to see friends there (shout-out to Ashley and Kamille!), a few of whom have gotten baptized since I left. The reception was really cute - we all had these little cards with tape on the back where we would write our well-wishes. Then when the bride and groom walked by we'd stick our cards on their clothing. They also had this part where they sat down and had this canopy full of balloons and confetti fall on them. Precious.

 

People here in Taidong are still awesome, as usual. Funny contacting story - I invited this guy to go to English class on our way to a less active member's house and he said that he didn't have any time (probably the most common form of rejection here other than "my family worships our ancestors"). I must have looked really disappointed because he kept apologizing. THEN when we got to the member's house a man on his motorcycle stopped next to us. I looked up and it was the same guy! In his hand were some little flowers that smell awesome (you put them in your house as like perfume) - he said, "I really am sorry that I can't come, but I really just don't have time. Sorry." And then he sped off! I couldn't believe it. People don't normally give me flowers when they reject me, but still - they're super-nice.l I feel so blessed to be here. :)

 

Okay, last thing and then I'm OUT (hope all of you kids got that reference) - we have this investigator named Becky. Maybe it's because her name is so similar to mine that I started to love her right when I met her. Or maybe it's just because that's how missionaries normally are with their investigators. :) Anyway, whatever the case, I love her, and want her to get baptized so bad. BUT, she says that she still hasn't "felt" anything. We got a dinner invitation from an awesome family who've been baptized for about 25 years (SUPER-LONG in Taiwan). They invited a family to meet with us there at their house, but the family ended up not being able to come. So we asked if we could invite an investigator to come along. They said yes. My companion and I both thought of Becky. The only problem is that she's really shy, so we were worried about her feeling uncomfortable. But, miracle of miracles, she came! It was so great. The Spirit was so strong in the Tsai family's home - and Becky could feel it. President Tsai asked about Becky's baptismal date - she said it had already passed, and she hadn't set a new one yet. I said, "actually, Becky feels like she hasn't gotten an answer yet. Can you describe how you feel the Holy Ghost?" Then President Tsai said, "how do you feel right now in our home?" She said that she felt really peaceful, really good. He said: "that's the Spirit. That's it." And she understood! We'd try that so many times with her, but it hadn't worked. It took a good, faithful family to love her and to love each other and the Gospel to help her feel the witness of the Holy Ghost. So, when you have missionaries over at your houses, make sure that they can help their investigators feel the Spirit! Talk about the Gospel, how its blessed your life and your family, and they'll feel something. Things still probably won't be easy with Becky, but they'll be a lot easier because of that experience. Pray for her!

 

Well, time's running out but I just wanted to let you know that I love you and I feel your prayers in my behalf. Oh yeah, and that I'm SO EXCITED to talk to you all in less than a week! You all are the best. Love you!

 

Love,

Sister Winters