Rebecca at the Well: Sister Winters - August 6, 2012 "Got any John the Baptists?"

Dear best family in the world,

Aloha! Thanks for all of the news this past week! I loved reading about the last storm of vacations that everyone took. I'm so glad everyone had a wonderful time - as the Chinese would say, "Kan de chu lai," or "it looked like it!" Seeing all of the cousins together was probably my favorite part - I love my family!

Well, even though I didn't go to Disney World this week, my week was still good. Things are coming along with our investigators (Annabelle disappeared though, pray for her!), and we're still seeing miracles, so life is good. This week is the last week of the transfer so we're dedicated to work as hard as possible to make this last one the very best. Both Sister Burton and I have been scared of leaving paradise but we're hoping we're here for one last transfer together - I've been praying for that at least (if it's Heavenly Father's will), and let's just say that I wouldn't mind if you did as well.

This week was a little rough on Taiwan because of a typhoon that hit the island. On Monday the wind started howling and on Tuesday the rains started pouring and on Wednesday we cancelled English class because President told all of the missionaries that they needed to go home that night before 6:30. Oh, and make sure we have a two-day supply of food and water. That was a little bit of a bummer because we love English class, we were meeting with some people we hadn't met with in a while, and well, it was sunny in Taidong. You can imagine our surprise the next day when we woke up to sunshine and we got the news that everyone was having a "typhoon day" and we all had to stay inside. Sister Burton and I were a little uncertain what to do with ourselves at first but were just starting to get settled on the idea of taking a nap when we got another call from our district leader. He had good news: he had called the mission president, told him that the weather was fine in Taidong, and had gotten permission for us to go outside! I'm a little embarrassed to say that we had kind of a mixed reaction to that good news. But you know what? I didn't get a nap, but I'm still alive. And I'm grateful that I went out and worked. :)

You're all probably wondering about my email subject. Well, with four hours in the apartment at night, you start to try and think up new things that you can do. After cleaning the apartment, writing records, and making phone calls, we decided to go on a treasure hunt. In the corner (more like wall) of one of the rooms in our apartment are five+ boxes overflowing with stuff that was left by previous missionaries. I've always wanted to see what's there but I never have time to just go exploring. Well, this past Wednesday night let's just say that I did have time, and I found some treasures in the process. The biggest find of the night was a card game: Bible Go Fish. I was so excited I could barely stand it - I asked Sister Burton if we could play it. So we got on our PJs, pulled out some chips and soda that we had bought for our two-day supply of food, and pulled out Bible Go Fish. So funny. I loved asking Sister Burton: "Do you have any Jonah and the Whales? Yes! How about Daniel and the Lion's Dens - uh, I mean, 'Daniels' and the Lion's Den? Hmm. Whatever it is, do you have any of those?" It was a party - missionary-style. Perhaps not quite as fun as going to the beach or Disney World, but hey, right now I take what I can get. :)

Funny random thing about Chinese that I found out yesterday: I think that I've already talked about how people always say here that they're busy. They don't have time, they've got things to do, etc.. I've felt the bad effects of hearing that all day even more than usual this week as I've had little kids in elementary and middle school (who are on summer vacation) tell me that they're busy. After I told them plainly (maybe too plainly) that they're twelve, they're out of school, and what things could possibly make them busy right now, only still to be rejected by the same excuse of "I have things to do," let's just say I was getting close to impatient. Last night I was talking to one of our members about how the Taiwanese are always super-busy, and she said, "Yes, I know. And I know that Americans have a lot more time." Then she went on to tell me about a common saying in Chinese (that I still haven't heard before, but oh well) - if you're busy and someone asks you if you have time to do something, you say: "No, I can't do that. I don't have time like those Americans." That, according to her, is actually a legitimate saying in Chinese! I was so surprised. And thought it was so funny. Hopefully you did as well.

Okay, time for the spiritual part: this week's topic is attitude. I love my life! And I love that my attitude about life and the work can influence others. It's been neat to see that throughout my mission. Anyway, I was thinking about that a little bit one day when we were out tracting on Tuesday. It was pouring down rain, the wind was blowing, and it was still really hot. And we were outside. :) But we kept at it! And because we kept our attitudes positive, we were able to really love our time out working. There were so many things that were a delight to me during that time: colorful doors, a grandma that looked exactly like Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter, old houses with ivy creeping on the sides of them, and even a house with no electronic doorbell so we had a rope that attached to some literal bells that we had to ring instead! I loved it. At the end of our time tracting Sister Burton looked at me and said, "Is it weird that I'm totally loving this right now?" I laughed and said I was feeling the same way. I really feel so blessed to be able to do such happy work.

Alright da jia, my time is running short. This next week should be great and probably full of interesting experiences - starting with a potential we just got from the elders who believes that Jesus was an alien. It's going to be a fun week.

Thank you for your love and support! I love you all.

Much love,

Sister Winters