Ohio (and a little bit of Kentucky)

Ohio has been an experience! I've seen Highway 666 to Celestial Street over this past week, and pretty much everything in between.

First, Cincinnati. We loved Cincinnati. Why? Perhaps it was the feeling you got that you'd stepped about 100 years back in time. Perhaps it was the beautiful architecture. Or maybe it was the fact that there are about six bridges over the Ohio River to get to Cincinnati and it's just fun to drive over bridges. Whatever the reason was, it worked, and we loved Cincinnati.

One thing that struck me while we were in Cincinnati was Kentucky Pride. I had no idea that it even existed, but there is a ton of state pride in Kentucky! We'd be somewhere in Ohio (but close to Kentucky) and say something to someone about how much we love the area when she'd reply, "Yes, Kentucky is the best." Even though we were in Ohio. Or we went to church in Kentucky and when someone asked us where we were from, I said that we were from Utah. She replied, "Oh, my sister lives over there in American Fork... But there's no way I could live anywhere but Kentucky." She said this second part rather quickly, as if admitting that a blood relative lived somewhere other than Kentucky was a blight on the family name.

One other part we loved about the Kentucky-Ohio border was the food. Oooohh, was the food good! We stopped at a family diner kind of place (Village Family Restaurant in Waynesville, OH) where I got a Texas BBQ burger with bacon and Pepper Jack cheese, fried potato skins smothered in cheese, chives, more bacon, and sour cream, and topped it off with a slice of peanut butter pie... and Dallin got a salad (he split the piece of pie, though). Did I feel like a fatty? Yes. Did I regret my choice? Not at all.

I was surprised at the amount of wildlife we saw while we were in Ohio! I saw some raccoons, dogs, deer, cats, opossums, and even some porcupines and a wild turkey... all dead on the side of the road. I think Ohio has probably the worst roadkill service out of any of the states I've been in... Or perhaps the animals just die so quickly that it's impossible to help. Whatever the case, I would have preferred to see all of those animals living.

Roadkill aside, Ohio really was awesome. Whether in the old cities or in the beautiful countrysides, it was a beautiful state. We're already looking forward to our next visit! Tonight is our first night in West Virginia - it already has a lot of character. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes....

The fall that made me famous

Dear readers,

It's been a while! After an almost year-long hiatus, I can honestly say that I'm thrilled to be blogging again. Many of you have seen news stories like this one about my spectacular fall that made Utah history and have been curious to know the whole story.

Last Monday was our six-month anniversary, and since it was also a holiday, we wanted to go out and celebrate! The activity of choice was canyoneering, a high-adventure sport that involves climbing, hiking, shimmying (I've never used my hips as much in my entire life), and wedging yourself between walls in a narrow slot canyon. The canyon we chose is called Chambers Canyon, where the narrow slot canyon occasionally opens up into little pods, called "chambers." Although it was my first time going canyoneering, my husband, Dallin, had gone many many times, often with his brother-in-law, Aaron who also came. My brother Daniel and his friend Sarah also joined us. Although more than half the party had never done this before, we were all excited to leave Provo for the day and to try something new.

Dallin, me, Daniel, and Sarah - unaware of the adventure we were in for.

As we pulled up to what looked like the middle of nowhere, we packed a couple of torn backpacks and set off for the canyon. It was a downward hike of about a quarter mile before we got there - full of treacherous rocks that seemed to fall right as I stepped on them (I should've known something was going to happen) and steep downhill slants - sweet. Then we got to the mouth of the canyon and had a quick "initiation ceremony" as we faced what seemed like rather difficult obstacles for beginners. We shimmied down first a 20-foot canyon (we used our hips and shoulders to wedge ourselves between the two walls and then moved slowly down) and then a 30-foot one, crab-walked over an overpass too narrow for us to walk through, and similar exercises. By the time we got well into the canyon, we were really enjoying ourselves and were loving the beautiful structures and colors of the sandstone slot canyon.

At about noon, we came to the diciest section of the canyon. Up until this point, I was able to bypass most of the narrow passageways simply through my genes - I was skinner than most of the people in the party and didn't have a very difficult time getting through even the most narrow areas. However, we got to a place where I was almost positive I couldn't walk through - and I didn't want to try. My husband went first and found that he could lodge himself between both walls about ten feet up and could cross - similar to how a child can climb on the inside of a door frame by pressing both his hands and feet against either side of the door frame. After Aaron climbed up, he found that there was a ledge, about 15 feet up in the air. If I got to this ledge, then I could climb over the passage, no problem. Well, I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn't get enough traction to get high enough. Soon Aaron came back, lodged himself between two rocks, and reached his hand down. He said that if I got up to his hand, then he could pull me up over his knees and then I could climb to the ledge. It didn't work - my upper body strength was so shot that I couldn't hold myself up, and so I wedged myself between two rocks and then gradually slid down. Soon Aaron came back with a rope. I wouldn't even have to pull myself up on the rope - just hold onto it, and Aaron would pull me up. I grabbed hold, and he pulled, but after having spent several minutes  prior to this trying to get up, my upper body strength was shot. I couldn't hold on much longer. Aaron, sensing this, jerked the rope up quickly to try and get me up, but I let go and fell about eight feet, landing on my left foot. As soon as I fell, I could tell that the impact had seriously messed up my ankle - sprained it at best, but more likely broken. The area where I fell was in one of the "chambers" of the canyon, where it opened to about five or six feet in width. Some people have mistakenly thought that I fell with my ankle lodged in a canyon, but I fell in an area so wide that I couldn't even press my body up against the sides to slow my fall. Behind me in this chamber was a little cavern with a slanted rock bottom. I sat down on the rock and Aaron sat by me and held me close while we waited for Dallin to scramble back to where I was. When Dallin did get back, we agreed that I couldn't move enough to get out of the canyon, so Aaron, Daniel, and Sarah would need to hike out of the canyon back to the car and call 9-1-1 while Dallin would stay with me. (Side note: it was a total miracle that there was cell reception back at the car - most canyons require about an hour long drive out of the canyon before there's cell reception. We were really lucky.)

Dallin sat behind me with his back against the sandstone wall so that I could have as much body heat as possible. He grabbed some medicine from the first aid kit we'd packed and gave it to me. Then we waited for about two hours until we heard Aaron's voice. He'd called 9-1-1, and there was a paramedic helicopter on its way. It was only a few minutes later when we heard the thrilling sound of a helicopter. Dallin and I both had tears in our eyes as we listened to our rescuers try and find a place in the rocky canyon to land. It was such an overwhelming feeling to know that you did not have the power to rescue yourself - you were completely dependent on somebody else to save you. It made us think of Jesus Christ and how dependent we are on Him to save us. After about another 15 minutes, we heard the voice of the paramedic, speaking with Aaron. Neither one of them could see us (turns out we were about 150 feet down into the canyon), and the paramedic said that it would be impossible for him to get us out of that canyon. He would need a more advanced team with ropes to come down and get us out.

Although this was sad news for us, we still were positive that we were getting out of the canyon, and that gave us hope. Dallin went down canyon a ways to grab the backpack and two sweatshirts that had been left for us. Even though he needed to go through the hardest part of the canyon twice in order to make that happen, he and I both knew that it was worth it. That canyon was getting colder by the minute. As soon as he got back and I put on another sweatshirt, I ate my brother's sandwich - I guessed that it would be packed to the brim with meat and cheese, and I was totally right. Turkey, ham, and cheese sandwich on wheat bread - just what I needed. Dallin fished around for some more pain medication and we realized that the pills he had given me before were Benadryl, not Ibuprofen. That explained the overwhelmingly tired sensations I had been feeling for the past hour... Dallin hiked up the canyon a little ways (aka he went up through the spot we'd already come through) and found another chamber about 10 feet up the canyon. However, this chamber was roomier and had a sandy bed for me to rest on. It was decided that we'd move over that way. That ordeal was probably the hardest part of the day - I was close to passing out from all of the Benadryl I'd taken, so I had to rest quite a few times. But thanks to Dallin's ingenuity, we found a way for me to get up to the sand bed and rest there. We waited there until about 7:00, when we heard another helicopter. And another. And another. Search and rescue had amassed a team of 17 people equipped with drills, ropes, and harnesses. Yet because of the difficulty of getting through the canyon and because it was getting darker by the minute, a helicopter took about five trips flying people above where I was located.

Then the drills started. We realized that the way I was going to get out of the canyon was on a rappel line - so anchors needed to be drilled deep into the rock. About an hour later, we finally heard the blessed words: "Ready on belay!" and the whirring sound of a belay line being let down. A man named Eric was being let down into the canyon, which was divided into two drops - the first one was about 80 feet down in a straight free fall and the second one was about 60 down and was a little less straightforward. When Eric made it down to the first ledge, we started talking to him and soon realized that his anchors were about 20 feet up canyon from where we were. The team would need to spend another hour drilling in a new location so they could get closer to us. By this time, my leg was in serious pain (it was probably heightened by the cold), and I was more anxious than ever to get out of the canyon. So Dallin and I sang songs to pass the time as we waited again for a crew member to get down to where we were. When someone - a man named Clayton - finally made it down to our level, we couldn't contain our excitement. We thanked him endlessly until he started making small talk with us - then we chatted with him like we were old friends. He was a really humble, down-to-earth, small-town kind of guy. He was our savior. After he got down to our level, Clayton told us that it was a good thing that we had moved into the cavern that we did - apparently the chambers on both sides of us were blocked by a boulder in a precarious position, making it extremely dangerous (maybe impossible) for them to get us out had we been in those locations. Clayton strapped me down in a stretcher on one belay line and then hooked himself up to another. We were going to ascend together. It wasn't a minute after we'd started, however, that we realized that the angle of the ascent wasn't going to work. So they drilled in a pulley (which thankfully didn't take an hour) and started the ascent. By this time, all thought and worry about the cold or about the pain in my leg disappeared: I was 100% concerned with making it up the very bumpy and very steep cliff wall alive. Although I knew I was harnessed in and these people were trained professionals (and Clayton was the most professional of them all), I still could not help yelling out "hold the line!" when it slipped, or letting small whimpers of fear escape my lips. Needless to say, I was extremely relieved when we made it up that first wall. The heavy coat and heating packs they gave me also did wonders to alleviate my fears. The second wall was much less hairy than the first one, but I was still breathing heavily and covering my face (partly because I didn't want to see how much longer and partly because there were falling pebbles and debris from the belay line against the cliff face) the whole time.

Once I made it to the top, a couple of paramedics - Cary and Dan - rushed over to me, asking me my name and how everything happened, etc. They were extremely nice and didn't stress me out at all, which was a huge relief. They asked about where I wanted to be flown to - Grand Junction or Provo, or just across the cliff to the car - which I thought was a little unfair. I was the one who might be in shock because of pain, adrenaline, etc., and yet I was the one expected to make a decision that would cost lots and lots of money. I decided to be flown to Provo since that was only a half-hour driving difference and I really did think that my ankle should be set as soon as possible. So they packed me onto another stretcher and mounted that onto the helicopter. Although I'd always wanted to ride on a helicopter, I never imagined that it would be due to this kind of occasion. I shared that with Dan and Cary, who laughed. I also asked them how much it cost to be flown in a helicopter to the hospital - they said that they didn't know, but they were pretty sure that insurance covered most of it (that remains to be determined). I think they could sense my distress, so Dan gave me some of his night vision goggles, propped up my stretcher so I could see out the window, and then let me look outside with his goggles. They were incredible - the landscape was crystal clear, and the stars were awesome. I could even see some shooting stars with them! I'm really glad they did that - if I'm going to have to pay thousands of dollars to ride in a helicopter, might as well make it enjoyable, right? (Funny side story: when I landed on my ankle, I didn't cry. When I moved, I didn't cry. When Dallin told me his estimate of how much it was going to cost to ride in a helicopter, I sobbed like a baby.) Dan and Cary hooked me up to an IV while I was on the helicopter so they could view my heart rate, respiration rate, and other stats like that. It was pretty interesting to watch my body's natural reactions as we hit air turbulence, as I received a shot, etc. Although there was some turbulence for about 20 minutes, the ride was for the most part quite enjoyable, and the landing was as light as a feather (REALLY glad it wasn't like an airplane landing - not sure my foot could have handled that).

IV - not my favorite, but it kept me alive.

The helicopter in question in Hanksville, Utah, USA.

When we opened the helicopter door, there was another stretcher with a crew that said, "welcome to Utah Valley!" Thinking that they meant Utah Valley proper and not the hospital, I said: "It's good to be back!" It wasn't until they all started laughing that I figured out what they meant. They wheeled me inside to my room and immediately informed me that my "friend," Tiffany, was here. They could see that I was obviously perplexed - I don't have too many close friends named Tiffany, and the ones that I do have don't live close to me. Then they said that it was my sister-in-law, Aaron's wife. I was so glad that she was there. They laughed at me when I figured out who it was and said: "Well, she seemed to think you were friends!" (Just for the record, we are. I blame everything dumb that I said and did on shock and pain-killers.) After letting me go to the bathroom (it was a long ten-hour wait) and taking some x-rays, they let Tiffany in. Then they had her go out again a few minutes later as they put me under and set my bone. According to the x-rays, I had fractured my ankle in two, maybe three places. I would need to undergo surgery the next day and starting right at that moment could not have any food or water. :) Thankfully, they were able to work me into the surgeon's schedule pretty quickly - I had surgery the next morning at 10 AM. It went well, relatively speaking: turns out my ankle was shattered completely on one side and I'd lacerated one of my tendons as well (making it a much slower recovery process). But the surgery went well: thirteen 4.5 mm-thick screws were drilled in, along with some metal plates. I can get them out later in the year if I wish, but I can also keep them in. We'll see how annoying they are and we'll go from there.

Post-op x-ray #1

Post-op x-ray #2. Look at all of those screws!

Ok. I can explain. While I was asleep right after my surgery, the physical therapy guy woke me up, whisked me out of bed, put me on crutches, and had me try to walk up and down the hall! It was a dangerous game. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had this "falls risk" sticker outside my door if they'd let me rest more than 10 minutes before putting me on crutches!

First night after the surgery - totally wiped out.

My oxygen regulator - I was supposed do breathing exercises ever hour or so.

On the night following my surgery, the teacher I work with, Mrs. Helquist, came in to see how I was doing and give me the news for the day. She's the best!

Everyone at the hospital was so kind and attentive - from the nurses helping me go to the bathroom every few hours to the surgeon himself. I also had some visits from friends and family that meant the world to me. I stayed in the hospital a little longer than expected - two nights - because we needed to wait for the pain to stabilize, and then we drove to my sister-in-law's house Midway, where I've been staying since Wednesday morning. My mom flew out the same day and has been a miracle worker. Not only did she comfort me and take care of me, but she also cooked 40-something portions of meals to get me through the next month or so. My sister-in-law, Camille, has also been incredible. Her baby is due any moment now, and yet she has been more than willing to give up her house and even her master bedroom to me so that I wouldn't have to face going up and down stairs. All in all, things are going pretty well. The pain has been manageable - it was pretty bad right after the surgery (apparently my body isn't a huge fan of having tons of metal screwed into my bone), but it has been more than manageable since then. I've been visited by many lovely people that have totally cheered me up. I've felt God's hand in my life through this whole ordeal, which has done nothing but increase my love and faith in Him. And last but not least, I've been more in love with my husband this past week than ever before. I can't imagine Dallin being more attentive and caring, and for some reason he thought that I was pretty level-headed in the canyon and that has made him more proud than ever to be my husband. So for a disaster of a six-month anniversary trip, things have turned out pretty well.

My mom working miracles in the kitchen.

Sister Winters - video, invitation

 

Dear All,

Thanks so much for your love and support of Sister Winters!  Bless you for your prayers on her behalf.  Here is a video David made of his surprising her at LAX and our seeing her in Atlanta.  http://wintersphotos.smugmug.com/Other/2013-04-27-Rebeccas-Homecoming/29156622_sPKz8n#!i=2483197668&k=Z72dXFK

You are all welcome to hear her report on her mission at our church building this Sunday, May 5th at 1:00pm at 5995 Spalding Dr. in Norcross.  

Thanks again,

Rebecca's mother

Sister Winters - April 22, 2013 Life's Greatest Roller Coaster

Dear family,

 

Thank you for your inspired and wonderful emails. They've added some fuel to the fire I'm trying to keep blazing until the end. I can't express how much love and support I've felt from "hearing" your voices through letters each week. Thank you for keeping me burning bright!

 

People often say that missions are an 18-month-long roller coaster. It is so true. And I've felt like the ride this past week has had particularly dramatic ups and downs. :) Thankfully with going to the temple and talking to President Day for a little bit afterwards, I was able to tell Satan to "get behind me" and rid the feelings of doubts that I wasn't doing well in my mind. But there were still some super-crazy things that happened this week. For example, I was talking to this lady on the sidewalk but she looked so unwilling to talk to me that she just started saying, "No thanks, I'm good" over and over again while not paying attention to where she was walking and walked into the street right as a motorcyclist was pulling over. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the sidewalk and said "WATCH OUT!" (in Chinese - I'm already bracing myself for the Chinese that I'll say all the time on accident when I get back). She didn't looked fazed at all - just kept saying that she didn't have time to talk and then walked away. So crazy.

 

I think Saturday was probably the craziest day of them all. That was the day we had planned to go to the temple with Yu Jiemei that morning and then have a baptism later that night (aka one of the best days of my mission). It all happened, but definitely not according to plan! We got to the temple at 7:40, 20 minutes before the first earliest session started. The temple president looked confused as to why we were there, so I explained that we were there to see Yu Jiemei. He said, "What?! But the session's already started!" And I said, "How is that possible? We got here for the earliest session!" I guess that sessions don't really "start" at a time if people are ready - they had everything set up. One of the temple workers sped off to the room as quickly as he could without running while I tried to see what could be done. When he got back he said that they hadn't actually said anything in the session yet, that if we got ready super-fast we could still join in. You better believe that time was the fastest we ever got ready for the temple! The session ended up being great - my first time doing it in Chinese. Yu Jiemei was crying by the end - she was so happy to be in the temple. I said, "You see? This is why we started talking about the temple right after you got baptized. This is the happiness we wanted you to experience." She just nodded her head. I love her so much - she's planning on going back to the temple next month to do work for her mom and grandma and then get sealed to both of her parents. I'm so proud of her. She is enduring to the end in the best and most real sense - she is rejoicing to the end.

 

That day we had a lot small things that went wrong that really weren't super-bad but were still a little tiring/stressful. For example, I forgot to turn on the heater and the water for Jing Xuan's baptism (you're supposed to get it started a few hours early) until an hour before, so I called the zone leaders. Poor Elder Patrick. This is pretty much a direct quote of how the phone conversation went:

 

Elder Patrick: "Hello?"

Sister Winters: "I need you to turn on the heater and the water RIGHT NOW."

Elder Patrick: "Relax, Sister Winters, we've had it turned on for a while. You're going to be fine."

Sister Winters: "Oh. *huge sigh of relief* Thank you so much. Sorry."

Elder Patrick: *Laughs* "We'll see you later. It'll be fine."

 

...I'm sure all of the elders think that I'm kind of insane sometimes. So we got the water worked out alright (and the musical number - Elder Slawson thought I was kidding when I said I wanted us to play a violin duet and didn't bring a violin. Note to reader: I was not kidding. But I got an extra violin). The only problem that needed resolving was Jing Xuan. We told her to come a half an hour early at 6:30. Didn't make it. 7:00. Didn't make it. Called. Said she'd be about a half and hour late. I said, "Jing Xuan, this is YOUR BAPTISM. Everyone is waiting here for YOU." Poor thing - she was sick and I think had to go take a bus on her own to go see a doctor and then I think lost track of time. That half an hour (it ended up being about 45 minutes) of waiting for her was pretty bad. Multiple people asked me if my other baptisms were like this, if this was a "normal" thing for me. It killed me to think that this was my only baptism in Shilin after working here for so long, but things were going so wrong. And instead of the members feeling like I'd helped them and served them, it felt like they wished I hadn't ever served there. There was even an investigator that came with her husband (who isn't a huge fan of the Church but was willing to see what it was like) who had such a bad experience at the baptismal service that she's not sure she'll ever get baptized now. Jing Xuan finally made it and the baptismal service itself went very smoothly, but there was still a big weight on my heart with how hard my "perfect day" had been and how I felt like the members viewed me. I poured out my heart to Heavenly Father (I can say that I've been doing that even more than usual in these past few weeks) and told Him about everything that's going on. I told Him that I knew it wasn't about me, but that I really wanted to be able to see some fruits of my labors and to feel like He was proud of me.

 

...And then yesterday I got my answer. And then got it again. And again. And again. It started out not too well - there were quite a few investigators who were supposed to be at church who didn't come. After the first hour, I asked Sister George if we could go to an unused room in the church so I could pray for a while. There were some small feelings of peace and clarity, but my mind was so full of thoughts that it was hard to concentrate on those feelings. The members were very sweet and would occasionally stop and squeeze my hand and say things like, "thank you for everything you've done here." Clear evidence that God heard my prayers. But then last night He really outdid Himself. Last night we had a "going away party" for Elder Darley (who's also going home) and me. It was very simple - we ate food and then both of us had 15 minutes apiece to share things about our missions. I was a little worried - I don't think I've ever given a 15-minute talk before, much less in Chinese. But the Spirit was strong as I bore my testimony about how much I loved my mission and the people in Taiwan. I was able to tell a few stories from preparing for my mission and from serving the people here. Tears were in people's eyes as we all "rejoiced and were edified together." It was the same way with Elder Darley. Something that was amazing to see at the activity was just how many difference spheres we're able to touch as missionaries. Yes, there were investigators present. But there were also members, less-active and active, new and old. There were even people from English class that I'd taught who were grateful for my service. There was an investigator who I met in my second week here in Shilin. She had just assumed that missionaries stay in an area for a certain amount of time that's set before they arrive - she was shocked to find out that I had a chance of moving each transfer but ended up staying. "God knew that I needed you here," she said. There was a less-active who I talked to who was in tears that I had to leave. When I got here, she had hit a super-low point in her life and has through God's help made some huge changes in her life. "Thank you for coming to Taiwan," she said. "If you hadn't come to Taiwan, I wouldn't have known where He is." There was a family that came late - I only visited them once, but it was at a time where they too needed serious help. Although they were normally very active, they had hit some huge setbacks in their lives and needed God's help. I feel like we came at just the right time. They hadn't been reading their scriptures for a couple of weeks, but with our invite to come fully back, they put their trust in God and are now fully active again. There was a less-active who came to church yesterday for the first time in years. She's a 70-year-old woman who we saw on the ward roster but didn't know anything about. Turns out she just needed people to show that they love her and want her back at church. Through only a few visits, she came to church yesterday. And loved it. And is planning on coming back every week now.

 

Like I said, Heavenly Father really outdid Himself. Last night I was overwhelmed with gratitude as I saw my prayers answered over and over again as I saw the lives of so many people that I've touched in the short time that I've served here. And I know that that number of people will continue to grow - President Day called yesterday to tell me that there are now an added 20+ people attending each branch in Taidong and that there are nine people getting baptized between the two branches next week. God loves us. It's so exciting to see the miracles happening on this small island. As President Hinckley said, "God must love the Asian people... because He made so many of them." It's true. Not only because He made so many of them (although that is definitely true), but because I've felt it. I love the people of Taiwan. And will love them forever. I've loved my mission. It has been more than everything I hoped it would be. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that He and Heavenly Father want us to be happy. I know that They want us back in Their presence. I know that only by following the Savior can we achieve real lasting happiness in life. In these past 18 months, I have found this happiness. I have been so, incredibly happy. I know that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is God's church. I know that this church and Jesus Christ's Gospel can change lives - I've seen it, both in others' lives and in mine. I love the scriptures and know that they are the word of God. I have loved sharing them and the Gospel with others - I have "rejoiced in it above that of the world."

 

Thank you again for your unfailing support over these past 18 months. Your letters have so often been the answer to my prayers and have been such a huge source of strength. Your prayers have also been felt - thank you. I will still need them this week as I finish with everything that I have to give. Please pray for us to find those who are prepared to hear these "good tidings of great joy." They're out there, they just need us to find them! We found a potential yesterday who is SO PREPARED and whose last name is "Wei" (same as mine, which isn't very common) who we're meeting with on Wednesday - those are the kinds of people we need to find. Thank you thank you thank you! I love you all and am excited to see you soon.

 

All my love,

Sister Winters

 

PS - Rena did not get baptized - she had a rough week. We saw her yesterday and were amazed at how changed her countenance was from not reading the scriptures daily. It really was a visible change. But then there was another change over that brief 30-minute visit as the Spirit worked on her. She will be fine, but she also needs your prayers. Thank you!

 

Sister Winters - April 16, 2013 "The dogs will capture you"

Dear family,

 

"Oh, what a beautiful morning!" Haha, I loved that part of conference. Actually, I loved all of conference. So good! I had many questions answered - both mine and investigators' - through the servants of the Lord. It was fun seeing the BYU choir too, although it was a little depressing to realize that most of the people that majored in music while I was at school were not in the choir anymore. Oh, well. I guess it helped me retain a nice "detached" feeling and I was able to just sit back and enjoy the music. It was funny - we met with one of our investigators afterwards and shared The Plan of Salvation with her. I asked her what her favorite part of conference was and she said the choir and the organ. When we were getting to the end of the lesson I turned to Mormon 7:7 and said, "You think that the choir today was good? Well, singing praises to God in the Celestial Kingdom is going to be infinitely better than that!" She got the point. :)

 

This past week was better than the week before, although numbers are still a little low. I've been kind of plagued this past week (well, and before that as well) with occasional "guilty" feelings like I'm not giving my all or that I should be ashamed of the work that I've given. But whereas before it was kind of an occasional thing that I could kind of brush off, recently it's been an almost continual wave - feeling bad, trying to feel good, finally feeling good, and then feeling bad again. Woof. Through it all I'm still trying to give it my all and keep sprinting to the finish, but I could really use your prayers. I'm going to the temple today (three times in the next two weeks, actually!), and I'm hoping that being in the house of the Lord can help me get a clearer idea of things as they really are.

 

There are some other people who need need NEED your prayers! Jing Xuan passed her baptismal interview but needs her parents to sign her permission slip and they haven't been willing to yet (they agree, but they don't see why they need to sign). We're fasting today and trying our hardest over here, but any help from the good ol' USA would be awesome. We still have faith that Rena can be baptized this weekend too, but she needs just as many if not more prayers than Jing Xuan does. She's really busy this week and we haven't been able to meet with her to help her have her interview. Plus the step of baptism will need a lot of faith on her part - Heavenly Father has answered so many of her prayers and she knows that, but it's still nerve-wracking for her to have a few doubts and still get baptized. She doesn't feel like church allows her to "rest" on Sundays as it should - she's shy and gets nervous in some of the more intimate classes where she has to answer. Thankfully about 90% of the talks in conference dealt with how the Savior can help us find true peace... she just needs to find some time to watch it. Cry unto the Lord!

 

Since Rena has been so hard to get ahold of lately, we actually tried to bike out to her house. It was quite the adventure - it's very far away in a part of the area that I'd never been to before. We got a little lost as we were driving to a more rural area with fewer houses. We finally saw this giant factory thing and pulled over to check the address. It was odd-numbered... we were looking for even. As we thought about where we should go/what to do, these giant dogs came out of the shadows in the distance and started barking at us in a very "get-out-of-here-right-now" sort of way. So we prayed. And biked out of there as fast as we could (I felt like the little girls hopping over rattlesnakes in 17 Miracles). And we made it out alive! And unscratched. And unbitten. Seriously a miracle - we met this guy afterwards and asked him for directions. He said that Rena's house was very far away. And that there were lots of dogs in between. And not only did this man say that those dogs bite people, but that "they'll bite you and then grab you. They'll capture you." And of course he said all of this with a creepy smile on his face. YIKES. Needless to say, we got out of there as soon as we could.

 

There were some good things that happened this week, though. As I'm getting close to going home, President has given us permission to call some of our recent converts who don't live in our areas. Last night I called Lu Jiemei, my first convert in Hualian and on my mission. She's doing so well - her kids are doing great and her testimony is still strong. She's still helping all of the sisters in the branch as she serves as the Relief Society President there. She's awesome! Both of us couldn't believe how quickly time has gone by. And then last weekend was absolutely wonderful as Becky came up from Taidong to visit me. She looked happier than I'd seen her in a while - she's great. It was hard to say goodbye again - especially since I don't know when I'm going to see her next. I told her that she needs to buy a webcam. We'll see if she keeps her commitment. :) And then of course this Saturday is going to be the best day of my life - going to the temple with Yu Jiemei (totally one of my favorite converts) in the morning and then double baptism (please!) in the evening! God is taking care of the people I've touched here. He's taking care of me. I love Him and am excited to keep serving Him with my all for this last week and a half!

 

I love you,

Sister Winters

 

PS - The rat is still there.

 

Sister Winters - April 8, 2013 "It's FOOLPROOF!"

[Editor's note: only 2 more emails left!! :)]

Dear family,

 

Dajia hao! Good morning - I hope you all loved General Conference. I'm getting so excited to listen to it this weekend, especially after getting some teasers of what will be happening. I know that the Law of Chastity talk was an answer to many prayers. This week is going to be great. Another plus about General Conference this weekend is that Becky will be coming up from Taidong to see me! I haven't seen her in almost six months and am looking forward to a very sweet reunion with her.

 

Before I forget, I need to tell you that I will not be writing next Monday - I'll be writing on Wednesday instead. Temple day! Twice, actually - I'll be going again later that week with Yu Jiemei to receive her endowments. Life is so so so good. I'm sure that will probably be one of the sweetest experiences of my mission - and probably my life.

 

This week... was not quite as good as I wanted it to be. I realized towards the end of the week that we weren't very good at keeping the invites from our zone leaders and it was seriously affecting our work. So I repented. :) And tried hard to be better. And things got better. Last week we had a zone conference where we talked a lot about using our time wisely. It was wonderful and just what I needed to hear. I want to use my time as wisely as I can, especially with a very limited amount left, but sometimes I feel like I could just use it more productively. The Assistants did an awesome object lesson to talk about using the Lord's time - Elder Peterson asked, "Who in here likes ice cream?" Of course my hand shot up, but there was another elder who literally jumped out of his chair... so he got picked. Anyway, they scooped a delightfully large heaping of mint truffle ice cream into a bowl for this elder and told him to eat it. "But wait!" said Elder Bowler. "I need to fix some things first!" So Elder Bowler got out some mustard and doused the ice cream with it. Then he got out a hair dryer and melted all of the ice cream and mustard into this nasty-looking soup. Then he added these weird crawly-looking things that none of us knew what they were. After that Elder Bowler announced that the ice cream was finally ready. We were all so sad - really good ice cream was just WASTED. Elder Peterson said, "Wasting the Lord's time should feel worse than wasting ice cream... and that's saying something." Haha it's true! I always feel so terrible when even a little bit of time is wasted. I'm so grateful we got this inspired training so that I can work harder than ever these next few weeks. The zone conference took me by surprise a little because I had to give my "closing testimony" - it made leaving the mission a lot more real. My eyes filled up with tears as I testified that this is the Savior's work. Leaving is going to be rough. Anyway, I guess the big idea that I want all of you to get from this email is that obedience is so important - even in the super-little things, like keeping a zone invite. I wasn't breaking any commandments, but there was still a big difference from not being completely obedient in the very little things.

 

Thankfully, even with my weaknesses, Heavenly Father is still blessing our investigators' lives. Probably the biggest example this week was in the life of Rena. Last week when we told her about the Word of Wisdom, she was a little disappointed. Anyway, I called her up a few days later and asked how keeping the Word of Wisdom was going and what blessings she was receiving. She said, "I've been keeping it." I said, "That's great! How did you have the faith to do that?" She said, "Well, you know how I've had a cold for ages? I finally went to go see a doctor about it, and he said that I could only drink a few specific drinks, and aside from that, I'm not allowed to drink anything else. That includes tea and coffee. So yes, I'm keeping it." I started laughing - I couldn't help it. "Rena," I said, "I can't really think of a clearer way that God would answer your prayers. You wanted to know if you really needed to keep the Word of Wisdom - well, here's your answer!" It was so great. She's progressing so well and is preparing for baptism. Yesterday in her ward they announced her baptism over the pulpit (even though she hasn't had her baptismal interview - yikes! Don't do that.), and she didn't freak out at all! She's planning on it. It's so awesome.

 

As far as other investigators go, Jing Xuan can get baptized on the 20th with Rena if (when) her mom signs the permission slip, and if Oprah has the faith to make the changes she needs to in her life she can also get baptized on that date. Annie and You Jiemei aren't looking too great for that date, but I'm sure that they'll keep progressing after I leave. Annie is still progressing really well - I think she just takes a little more time. One of our investigators broke a pretty serious commandment this past week and said, "I just can't feel the Spirit anymore. I feel so far away." I didn't really know what to tell her and prayed that I'd know what to say. Sure enough, when I opened my mouth, the words that came out were: "You need to repent. You need to talk it over with God. You probably will hurt for a while and won't be able to feel the Spirit right away, but I promise that if you just keep praying and keep repenting, then you will feel the Spirit again." Even though I'm sad that she broke that commandment, I'm grateful that she knows now that she can't break the commandments and expect to be happy.

 

There were a couple of funny things that happened this week as well as spiritual. One was just a random contact. We were at a stoplight and I was chatting with this guy next to me. He said, "How's America?" I said that I had no idea. He looked really surprised and said, "Wait, you're not American?" I said, "Oh no, I'm American. But I haven't been there in almost a year and a half, so I'm not sure how it is anymore. It was good before I left, though." It looked like he was still trying to process that even when he took my English class pamphlet and left. I laughed for a while afterwards about it - so did Sister George when I told her. She said that when I go back to the US I need to go up to every Chinese-looking person I see and ask, "How's Taiwan?" or "How's China?" Hahaha such an interesting question.

 

In further news, I'm sad to announce that the rat is back. We've found some rat droppings around the house (yes, we are that professional), along with some food wrappers that I'm 100% positive we didn't just drop randomly. Serious action has been taken. First Sister George set a trap of her own design - you put some food in the sink to bait it, and then you put some food down the hole in the sink... and you put some oil on the sides so it can't crawl back up! To use the words of Sister George, "It's FOOLPROOF!"

 

But it didn't work.

 

(Sister George wants to add that it's because the rat didn't fall for the bait, not because the trap itself was flawed.)

 

So our zone leaders bought a real trap for us instead - one where it just traps it and doesn't kill it, since the killing-type are illegal in Taiwan. Interesting, right? Anyway, that rat's a smart one - it hasn't taken the bait that we've set. Yet. I might buy a peanut bar at the grocery store today just to get rid of that rodent. I'll keep you posted.

 

Okay sorry, that was kind of an interesting note to end on. I love being here! I love being a missionary! I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love being Their servant. Life is wonderful and I'm loving it! Please pray for me to be able to SPRINT to the finish and to use my time better than ever these last few weeks.

 

Love,

Sister Winters

Sister Winters - March 31, 2013 Happy 63rd birthday!

Dear family,

 

There is love coming your way from Taipei, Taiwan! I hope you've all had a wonderful Easter and a wonderful $63 carrot cake. :) They don't celebrate Easter at all in Taiwan (the YW teacher even asked us to give a lesson on Easter since she'd never celebrated it before), but I still had a great holiday as I thought more about the Person I represent every day. I once again read the whole book of John in the week before Easter to get myself in that mindset - it was lovely. I love the scriptures.

 

It was a great week here! Things are still grand with Sister George. Oh! You asked about the earthquake here - I'm fine. Totally fine. Earthquakes kind of freaked me out in my first transfer, but then my trainer said that earthquakes happen here pretty much every day, and I felt better? Doesn't make sense, but that's the way it is. Anyway, I didn't hear about any sort of damage or anything, so I think everything's good here. Back to this week - a lot of really good things happened. Let me tell you all about it!

 

Our investigators are doing great. There's one that I found a few weeks ago - Anita - that has a pretty funny background story. Sister O'Brien had told me before that I seem to stop more for the more "mousy" people. Not sure if that's true, but that's what she said. Anyway, I was riding my bike, and saw this classy-looking girl. I smiled and waved, and she smiled back and said hello. I first had a thought: "she looks too rich to want to accept the Gospel right now," and then I remembered what Sister O'Brien said! So I rode back. And she set up a time! Anyway, her name's Anita and both Sister George and I thought that she was pretty good. But then she stood us up for our follow-up appointment that we'd set up only a couple of days before. And didn't pick up her phone all week. Not good. Sister George said, "Maybe she's out of town?..." But I of course said, "Out of the country? And she didn't tell us when she set up her appointment? Not likely." O ye of little faith - guess who came to church yesterday? Anita. She was super-busy all last week with meetings in China. Sister George said, "Maybe she's out of town?..." again and I just had to laugh. God definitely has a sense of humor.

 

Another miracle happened with someone else - Rena! She's an awesome investigator, but she has work every day in the morning/afternoon and then school at night until 10 - Mondays through Fridays, and sometimes on Saturdays or Sundays. Such a hard life! We've been hoping that she'd have more time to meet with us somehow. Well, we found out yesterday that she quit her job (it's okay, she didn't like it anyway). So now her afternoons are free! And she wants to spend them by meeting with us! So great. We shared the Word of Wisdom with her this past week - she's a little disappointed about not being able to drink tea. She said, "Drinking tea is something that I do every day that makes me happy! It's like prayer!" Haha, I think if she has that take on things, then she'll be fine with keeping the Word of Wisdom. She agreed to pray to God and ask if this law is really from Him. Please keep praying for her as well!

 

Oprah's continuing to do well. She had a really powerful spiritual experience as she was reading the scriptures - she felt like she wasn't worthy to go to church, but as she read the scriptures about Satan's power and how the Holy Ghost is the opposite of that, she said it was she "felt the Sun in [her] heart." And right after that, a member called her and asked why she wasn't at church. Oprah took that as her answer to her question of whether or not she was "worthy" - God needed her at church! So now her testimony is even stronger. So cool.

 

We had another great experience with Oprah as we gave her a temple tour this past Friday - it was her first time at the temple, and she loved it. But I think the best experience that day was one that I had with one of the Shilin elders' investigators, Brian. When the elders called us to set up the tour, they said, "Um, no pressure or anything, but we're kind of counting on you to give him the best and most spiritual experience that he's ever had since meeting with us." Yeah, no pressure. So I prayed and prayed as I was preparing that I'd be able to say the words that Brian needed to hear. It was a little crazy before his tour - two other people randomly showed up at the same time that he was supposed to come. So we ended up starting his a little late and splitting with another companionship of sisters so that we could do two tours at once. But I prayed that the Spirit would still be there, and He was. Very strongly, in fact. Elder Slawson was almost crying during the whole time. At the end, he asked, "Sister Winters, are all tours like that? I feel like I'm going to collapse with how strong the Spirit was." Apparently Brian has had some doubts about baptism because he's worried about possibly making his family sad by joining a Christian church. But in that tour, when I invited him to prepare to go to the temple by first entering the waters of baptism, he said "yes" in a way that made it seem like he was never more sure of anything in his life. Just gives you a little idea of how everything in missionary work is 100% the Spirit.

 

God is changing these peoples' lives! It's so apparent. It's so awesome. How can you not love life when you have experiences like these? I had an experience that made me especially grateful that I serve in Taiwan this past week. I saw a foreigner and started talking to him in English - chatting a little bit, and then started talking about the Gospel. I said, "Have you ever been to church before?" He said, "______ no!" And no, I am not going to fill in that blank. After he swore at me, he sort of smiled and said, "I think putting it that way makes you understand my meaning pretty clearly. You understand, don't you?" I smiled and said, "Yes, I do. Have a great day!" and rode away. I am so glad I live here.

 

Happy Easter, everyone. I know that Jesus is the reason for all of the blessings and happiness that we've had, that we enjoy now, and that we will have in the future. He is aware of every feeling and situation that we face. He is the way, the truth, and the light. He is the only way back to Heavenly Father. I love Him and do my best to honor His name. I hope that we can all do our best this year to "always remember Him," regardless of whether it's Easter or not.

 

I love you all and am praying for you always. Have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Winters

Sister Winters - March 25, 2013

Dear family,

 

Good morning! It's honestly been a fantastic week - the best one number-wise since I've been here. And maybe the best otherwise, too. I don't really keep track of these things. Life is wonderful every week as a missionary!

 

Investigator update: there are a good five people who have firmly set dates for April 20th. That's the last Saturday before I go home. PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM. Rena ("Layna"), Annie, Sister You, Oprah, and Lisa. They are wonderful and I've seen incredible miracles from prayers and faith on our behalf. Probably the biggest one happened yesterday: YOU JIEMEI CAME TO CHURCH. Yes, this is the same has-been-investigating-for-five-years-but-has-never-once-in-her-life-been-to-church You Jiemei that I've talked about before. I honestly still can't believe it. She was progressing and we were hoping and putting our whole hearts into it but then she hit a rut and said that she just couldn't come to church and I was devastated. And we didn't come for a while because honestly, I just didn't know what to talk about. But I think in that time she changed, because she made up her mind she was going to come at least once. And so she came. And she loved it. I could have kissed the members I was so happy and proud of how well they cared for her at church (okay, I couldn't have kissed them and wouldn't really wanted to kiss them, but you get what I mean). They were awesome.

 

For those of you wondering how my new companion is, I'm happy to report that Sister George is fantastic. Last Monday we were out finding on our way to dinner and then ended up finding a new investigator instead of eating dinner. I apologized that she was probably really hungry, but she smiled and said, "That's fine! Finding a new investigator is better than eating dinner any day!" I knew from that point on that we'd work hard together and see a lot of success. We're trying to get her to a point where she can train next transfer, so we'll need your prayers. I'm confident that she'll be great - yesterday she felt a prompting to ask one of our investigators if they wanted a priesthood blessing and it turned out to be a great spiritual experience.

 

We've still been doing more service lately, and it's been so awesome. Ya Ting's little sister (the one who was terrified of the missionaries) prayed on her own this past week at her lesson! So amazing. We're definitely seeing progress there. We also went to an orphanage for disabled children this past week and I gave a special violin performance. It's been so rewarding to use the talents God's given me to help His children here.

 

Time is running short but I wanted to share a quick insight on grace that I heard this past week. Christ's grace is like a mom paying for piano lessons. The piano lessons are a free gift from Mom that she has paid for. We don't pay for the lessons - Mom does. Even when we practice, we don't "pay" for the lessons - our practicing is a way that we show Mom that we're grateful for the gift she's given us. And that's what we do when we follow Jesus Christ. Nothing we can do can "pay the price" for our sins - we've sinned and we need Him to rescue us. But we live a Christlike life because it is our way of showing Christ that we love Him and are profoundly grateful for His wonderful Gift. We live a Christlike life to show that we accept His Gift. Anyway, you all probably got this already, but for me it was a lightbulb moment. I love Jesus Christ and I love that He is a God of mercy and of grace. I need it - every single day of my life.

 

Anyway, I'm loving life and I'm loving all of you! Make this week a great one!

 

Love,

Sister Winters

 

Sister Winters - March 18, 2013

Top o' the morning to ya! And happy St. Patrick's Day! ...Just in case you were interested, no, they do not celebrate that here in Taiwan. Even the missionaries don't - I wore a nice long green skirt to commemorate the occasion, but the other missionaries: nothing. Well, they were wearing clothes, just not green ones. Anyway, I didn't quite live up the occasion as much as I normally do, but I was happy in a green skirt. And I hope you've all been happy as you've had fellow St. Patrickers out in the USA.

 

This week has been a newsy one! First things first, I have a new companion! Sister George from St. George - fun, right? She was Sister O'Brien's MTC companion, so I already creepily knew all about her even before she became my companion. She's a hard worker and an obedient missionary and we've already seen miracles together - it's going to be a great last transfer. Oh! One more thing - she was trained in Taidong, of all places, and was able to tell me about two more people that I taught there who are now baptized. Life is good.

 

Speaking of Taidong, I've got great news: one of my recent converts will be able to go through the temple before I leave! She asked me to help her - I'm not sure if that means I'm her actual usher (we'll see about the whole Chinese thing), but I get to go through the temple with her on April 19th before I go home. I originally was supposed to leave on April 20th, which means I wouldn't have been able to go with her. But because the mission schedule changed with the MTC, I now get to go. I know that that is one of the many reasons that God lengthened my time here on island.

 

Another person that's moved up with Sister George into the district is none other than Elder Michael Slawson, who (if you remember) was my friend in my freshman year at BYU, then moved into my district in Taidong, and now moved up to the district here. Fate is a funny friend - we keep joking that when we both have our own families and are in our mid-forties or something that we'll randomly move into the same ward or something. I'll keep you posted.

 

Sister O'Brien and I made sure to love life before she moved - her last day with me was actually her birthday, so I made the most of that. Just in case you were interested, it is very hard to pull off a surprise party for someone that you're around 24/7. But I managed it, with the help of one of our members. She actually was surprised, which was delightful. And then of course eating Thai food for dinner made life even more delightful. All in all a very good day. :)

 

Okay, I've got a great story this week. So there's this member in Shilin named Donna who wants to go on a mission this year... but who hasn't been coming to church lately. Not good. We've been wanting to visit her for a while, but the only problem is that her house is on the very top of this huge mountain in our area. And she hasn't been answering our calls, so it seemed like visiting her was our only option. We knew she didn't work on Saturdays and actually had a big chunk of time on Saturday afternoon.... so we went up the mountain! Even after riding up to the top on a bus, and then changing buses to ride another one even further into the mountain, we still had a little distance to go on foot. I, of course, was sort of freaking out that we were spending so much time on only one person, but I kept repeating "leaving the 99 and going after the one" in my head over and over again. On our way up to Donna's house we came across a hiking party, led by a man with long hair and a very deep voice - perfect mountain man. They were actually going in the same direction as we were, and they invited us to join them. So we walked and talked with them for a while, but they were walking kind of slowly, so we decided it would be better to try and move on ahead. Well, surprise surprise, we still couldn't find the address and the mountain man caught up to us again. He was so nice and decided to accompany us on our quest to find Donna. His help really did come in handy, since he had an iPhone and Taiyu-speaking abilities, which were both things that we lacked. He used the iPhone (and directions in Taiyu) to find the house... and then used some more Taiyu to talk to Donna's grandpa when she wasn't there. Then he helped us arrange for Donna to pick us up at the top of the street. As we hiked back up to the top of the road, he came across a tree with some fruit and said, "You can eat the fruit of this tree. Here, try some." He picked one and ate it, so we did as well. He said, "This tree is a rare form of guava tree that's indigenous to the mountain climate - the fruit's not quite ripe yet, but still has a satisfying sour flavor." So cool. Then when we were waiting at the top of the street he pulled out some oranges that he'd picked on the mountain earlier that day - they were delicious. As we tried to stammer our thanks, he kept trying to make it seem like it was nothing. We shared a little about who we were, what we were doing, and what kind of message we were sharing. He in turn told us that he was a retired Chinese teacher who now serves as a guide for a bunch of different mountains. He said that "when [he's] not doing anything, [he's] on the mountain." I want to be like him when I grow up.

 

Oh, most important part of that story - Donna did not come to pick us up at the top of the street, but she was so touched that we would go all the way to the mountain to try and see her that she came to church yesterday. SUCCESS!

 

This week we met a girl named Jingle (yes, as in "jingle bells"). Sister O'Brien and I were contacting, and then I felt like we should go and talk to this girl on a scooter. But she was talking on the phone - not a super-good condition to talk to someone. When Sister O'Brien pointed that out, I said that we could still try and walk up slowly and hope that she'd be done talking on the phone by the time we got there, and Sister O'Brien said, "like now! She's done now! Go go go!" And so we did. And we talked to her. And she set up. Her lesson was fine (we had a few crazy things happen with the members that were there, but that's another story), but nothing really special happened until the end. She said that she's already Christian, and normally would not talk to other Christian churches to find out about what they believe. But when she saw us on the day we contacted her, she felt like she should hang up her phone so she could talk to us. And then when I tried to set up a time, she said that she asked God in her heart, "Do you really want me to do this?" and she felt like she should. And then when I called her the day before her appointment to confirm, she said the same thing happened. "So," she said, "I already know that what you're saying is what God wants for me. I already know that it's good." Talk about cool, right? I loved hearing that, and feeling like we were a direct answer to her prayer.

 

Speaking of answers to prayer, I've had a few more experiences lately where I've been an answer to someone's prayer. It's humbling and powerful. I really do think that that's one of my favorite things about being a missionary - really feeling that you're a tool in the Lord's hands as you answer prayers. I think the best part is that I can keep trying my best to do that (and get better at doing that) every day of my life, and not only for a year and a half. I really do love this work. It is marvelous and life-changing. Please keep praying for our investigators and for me. I love you all! Have a fantastic week.

 

Love,

Sister Winters

Sister Winters - March 11, 2013 "…And Which One is the Fattest?"

Dear family,

 

Good morning and welcome to another week of my life! It's been great, as usual. Let me tell you about it:

 

So first and foremost, lately for service I've been teaching a few music lessons. Half-price if members bring a friend! Just kidding, they're free. :) It's been a good way for me to show my love for the members and help them. I think it will also bring in some awesome missionary opportunities. There's a member who's sister has been TERRIFIED of meeting the missionaries. But she went to a baptismal service the other day, met us, and then decided that we weren't scary when I taught her how to play my violin a little bit. She said she wants to learn piano and I offered to teach her a little bit. Well apparently since that time she's been asking her sister non-stop when she can see the missionaries again and learn piano. I'm hoping that as she becomes more familiar with the Church and what we do (maybe starting and ending our piano lessons with a prayer?), she'll be more prepared to accept the Gospel. Woohoo for service!

 

Oh, speaking of Zoya (that member I was just talking about), she served me this past week by teaching me a little Taiyu. "Taiyu" is "Taiwanese," or the mother tongue of the Taiwanese people. Unfortunately, it doesn't really have a written form - it just is passed down from generation to generation. It's based off of Mandarin so if you're really familiar with Taiyu you can kind of guess the Mandarin words you don't know based off of syllables.... but I haven't gotten there yet. Anyway, I was on the subway with Zoya and she was very patiently teaching me useful phrases like "I'm a missionary!", "How are you today?", "Have you eaten yet?" (the traditional greeting here in Taiwan - love it), etc. It was really fun. And really hard to remember (further proof that my Chinese abilities are all God's help). Anyway, I got to use them this week! I was calling a number that the elders gave us and the lady wasn't understanding anything. Finally I started using my very basic Taiyu to talk to her. I asked her if she understood Chinese and she said, "Tiabo, tiabo" ("I don't understand, I don't understand"). So I hung up, turned to my companion who was looking at me with a dazed expression and said, "She doesn't understand Chinese." Then I heard a laugh next to me and realized that the high school student sitting next to me had just heard (and understood) everything that was going on. I asked her if she spoke Taiyu and started chatting with her. Before we left I asked if she had interest in English class - she said that she didn't. I said hopefully, "Well, what about the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" She looked at me for a second and said, "Yeah, alright." So she set up! And all because of a wrong number of someone who tiabo'd!

 

We also had a lot of miracles when we did temple tours this past Friday. One of them was seriously one of the coolest miracles I've seen on my mission. I was on exchanges with Sister Ochoa (our new temple sister), and we had some time to find. So we went to say a prayer to start our finding. Sister Ochoa asked what we wanted to achieve in the hour that we had to find people to teach. I told her that we hadn't found any new investigators all week, so I hoped that we could find someone who lived in Tianmu or Shilin. Keep in mind that Tianmu and Shilin are about a half an hour away, so the chances of finding someone by the temple who lives in Shilin are very slim. But we said "the prayer of faith," and left the chapel full of fire to find. So... we talked to everyone. And met some people who were interested... and a lot of people who weren't as interested. :) And then we had about fifteen minutes left and I felt like we should cross the street to talk to this lady on the other side who was coming down the sidewalk. When talking to her she first said, "I'm not interested!" But then stopped to listen to us. After about thirty seconds she said, "Actually, I've been to your church before." Apparently her aunt is a member and she still remembers going to church with her, even though it was probably 40 or so years ago. We kept talking to her and she agreed to let us say a prayer - right afterwards she asked, "So why is your church different from other churches?" We asked her how much time she had - if she had 10 minutes, we could give her a tour of the chapel right next to the temple. She said, "Oh no, I really am busy." And then talked to us for another ten minutes or so. :) And then she said her own prayer at the end! It was great. After our lesson, we tried to set her up for another time to do a tour, and she said, "Oh, I live far away... it wouldn't be convenient." I asked (with bated breath) where she lived and she said, "I live in Shilin." It was like Sister Ochoa and I had had an electric shock. I got her phone number and she agreed that I could call her to set up a time and then bore my testimony that I knew that God wanted us to meet her and help her accept the Gospel. Then she went on her merry way and Sister Ochoa and I walked away with shocked expressions still etched on our faces. God had answered our prayers! Even with such a small thing, He was still willing to listen and help us.

 

Another much smaller but still great miracle happened later that night when the elders brought in a Swiss woman and her Taiwanese friend to take a tour. We taught them about the Restoration (neither of them had much of a religious background) - in English, which was hard for both of us. We were getting to the First Vision and I started praying, "Please, Heavenly Father - I need to be able to recite the First Vision in English, which I'm definitely not accustomed to. And I need to do it smoothly so that these people can feel the Spirit. Please help me." Well, it worked! Everything came to my mind perfectly and the tour went very well. I think they both left edified and interested to learn more. Mission accomplished.

 

As far as other miracles go, we've had some great ones with our own investigators in Shilin and Tianmu. Probably the biggest ones this week were with Oprah. As you all know, we met her a couple of weeks ago and she's shown a great interest in the Gospel. Originally we had set her date for April 27 (the normal 8-week period between meeting the missionaries and the baptism), but after we did that we felt like it was way too long. Plus we'd set a goal for having baptisms in March. And we needed to achieve it! So we decided to act on our goal and invite Oprah to move up her date to March 30. She was willing! She loves church and the feelings she has when she's there, when she prays, and when she reads the scriptures. Yesterday she shared an experience about how she was on her scooter, going to the church when she realized she was out of gas. But she didn't want to be late for church, and she couldn't see any gas stations close by. So she said, "I was praying so hard in my heart, saying, 'Heavenly Father, I want to go to church and I don't want to run out of gas. I want to be there on time. Please help me.'" And she had enough gas! She knows that God answered her prayers. I love Oprah!

 

I also love Rena (pronounced "Layna" - apparently it's Japanese?), another one of our investigators. Yesterday was her first time at church - I was worried it was going to be her only time at church, since her acceptance of our invite to go to church was "I guess I can give it a try this once." Of course with an enthusiastic response like that, I started praying that Rena would like church and would feel the Spirit. Well, she came, and in her words, "when the speakers started after the sacrament, I just couldn't stop crying - I was so touched. I don't know why." I know why - Heavenly Father answered my prayers. She wants to come to church every week now.

 

I think the fact that these two investigators like church is even more of a miracle when I think about how weird Sunday School was for both wards. One of them was a super-deep discussion about exaltation and whether or not we thought it was super-hard to become like God, and the other one had to do with prophets. Actually the one on prophets was really good - there were just a few weird parts. We opened up Gospel Principles to the page with all 16 modern-day prophets and then the teacher started asking, "Which one is the youngest?" "Which one is the oldest?" "Which one has the longest beard?" "Which one is the skinniest?" And then... "Which one is the fattest?"

 

ONLY IN TAIWAN.

 

Truth: I'm scared to death that I'm going to come home, see someone I knew before my mission, and then say something like, "Wow, you've gotten fatter since I last saw you." Can you see why? Anyway, after the fat question and then commenting on how Joseph Smith was the most handsome of all of the prophets, we moved on to spiritual things and everything was good again.

 

Dajia, life is GOOD! I love being a missionary. I love all of you. Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Winters

Sister Winters - March 3, 2013 Blessed are the Christmas Carolers!

[Editor's note: Rebecca is coming home on April 27th!!  She is speaking in our church meeting at 1pm on Sunday, May 5th and all are welcome to attend.  The address is 5995 Spalding Drive, Norcross.  She has even promised to take me to the Asian market where we will buy food and she will prepare Taiwanese food for any and all who would like to come to our house after our block of meetings.  I promise no jellyfish, squid, or octopus will be served.]

Dear family,

 

Zaaaaoooo! I'll miss not saying "zao" or "zao-an" to people in the States - it's so much more fun to say than "morning" or "good morning." Maybe I'll just say it to people anyway and deal with others' weird looks.

 

Anyway, good morning! Thank you for your fantastic, fabulous, fun emails. This week's been a good one - not any baptisms (yet), but they're coming! Soon. But more about that later.

 

This week's supply of funny stories is a little lower this week, but it's still been great - a lot of miracles. First let's start out on this week's Chinese BofM study highlights:

 

Mosiah 4:9 "Believe in God...." in Chinese it actually just says "Believe God." I really like that subtle difference. The Chinese are very detached in their beliefs - "oh, if you believe in that god then he exists, but if you don't believe, then he doesn't exist..." etc. This scripture just says for us to believe God - there's no choice on whether or not to actually believein Him, because He already exists, regardless of your choices. Just believe Him and follow Him and you'll be happy.

 

Mosiah 14:2 "...there is no beauty that we should desire him." I've always thought that the wording on that is interesting. The word desire in Chinese is translated into "xianmu," which means to envy or admire. Makes a lot more sense in my mind.

 

Favorite - Mosiah 15:18 "O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings..." In Chinese the word for "bringeth good tidings" is "baojiayin," which is also the word for "to carol," or "to Christmas carol." O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the Christmas carollers! So fun. I love Chinese.

 

This week I celebrated my Taidong one-year anniversary. It's crazy to think that it's already been a year since I was transferred to a place that I love so much. I actually found out some news about Taidong this past week from some people - three people that I taught down there are getting baptized in the next two weeks! It made me so happy to hear that. The sister who told me said, "Yeah, you're still famous down there - every person we talked with was like 'Wei Jiemei this' or 'Wei Jiemei that.'" I'm not worried about being famous in Taidong, but I'm happy to hear that people I love and care about still remember me. I had a miracle with Becky this week as well. No, she's not baptized yet, but I'm still confident she will be someday. Anyway, she's been writing me ever since I left and she's never seemed very happy, which of course has been worrisome for me... especially since I can't do very much about it while I'm in another area - I've just been praying that she'll be alright. This past week I had three missed calls from a number I didn't recognize. When I called back there was no answer, but then I got called by it again a few hours later. I answered, and a voice said, "Is this Wei Jiemei? ...This is Becky." We're not supposed to call investigators from other areas unless we have special permission, so I was so surprised! But it was so good to hear her voice and talk to her for a bit. I know that her calling me was an answer to prayer - she was able to be reassured that I still love her and care about her, and I was reassured that she'll be okay, even if I'm not in Taidong still. I know that God answers our prayers.

 

Even though I loved Taidong and Hualian, I do feel that I love Shilin and Tianmu as well. This past week in church I just felt a surge of love for the members and investigators that I have here. I finally feel like the members are giving me referrals and are familiar with who I am and what I'm doing. And we're moving forward! Yesterday Sister O'Brien and I had a fun time in one of the ward's YW's class - we'd brought investigators to their class the past two weeks and the girls were AWFUL. Cold, unfriendly, and unwelcoming - even after we cajolled them to at least sit with our investigators. A week before yesterday I went straight up to the YW leader right after class and asked if Sister O'Brien and I could share a "special message" with the YW the following week. So yesterday was the day of our "smackdown message," as Sister O'Brien and I called it. We opened up 3 Nephi 27:27 and talked about how we need to be like the Savior. Then Sister O'Brien and I did a series of role plays as the investigator and the member - one where the member was super-cold, one where the member was way too friendly in a fake sort of way, and one where the member did a great job. I was the member and Sister O'Brien was the investigator, and between my over-exaggerated acting and Sister O'Brien's perfect responses, we had the whole class roaring in laughter. And I felt the Spirit confirm to me that I think they got the point, which is the best part.

 

As far as our investigators go, the ones that we're planning on with March 30 hopefully (their baptismal date is actually the week after that, but I have faith we can move faster) are Annie and Oprah. Oprah's actually scheduled for the day I leave, but I still have faith that she can get baptized sooner than that. Sister O'Brien and I don't want to rush anything, but we do want to help our investigators as quickly as possible! I'm positive that as we have faith and move foward with the Spirit then we'll see miracles. We saw one with You Jiemei this week - we'd been praying for her to have spiritual experiences, and this past week at the end of her lesson she started to cry as she pleaded with Heavenly Father to give her time to go to church so she can be baptized and go to the temple with her family. God's working miracles on this small island!

 

I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Winters

Becca watching Jacob open his mission call (she was sitting in the mission president's chair):

 

Sister Winters - February 25, 2013 Buddhist Rituals

Dear family,

 

Goooooooood morning from Taipei, Taiwan! It's been a great week. Here's the scoop.

 

It was wonderful having things get back into groove a little more after Guonian. I know that some people say that missionary work is boring because it's the same thing every day for a year and a half, but honestly, I find it nice to get back into more of a routine. As you know from previous emails, my life still ends up with having plenty of variety and spice, even with the same schedule day after day. :)

 

So first things first, let's talk about the mission conference. It was very short (only a couple of hours long), but very powerful. It's funny how in the MTC you're just filled to the brim with devotionals and addresses and stuff like that but here you're always hungry to hear them. Anyway, Elder Evans and Elder Watson did a great job. One thing that was frequently mentioned at the conference was faith. Elder Evans quoted President Packer and said that faith is as real a power as electricity - that really struck me. I know that I have faith, but the idea of "using" it like one "uses" electricity was something I hadn't pondered much before. I'm working on trying to make that idea a reality. Another thing that I personally got from the conference was more of a resolve to continue studying Chinese after my mission. I know all of you are probably thinking, "Well, duh," but it honestly isn't something that I thought I'd give a ton of time after my mission. Since I'm so close to graduating and already have my plate full (more like overflowing) of classes I need to take, I just assumed I wouldn't be able to give much time to Chinese. But I think that I want to at least take a couple more classes to get me more on my feet in Chinese - although I would say that I have a fairly good grasp on the language, I am still completely aware that I've only scratched the surface as far as a study of this complex language and its characters goes.

 

Speaking of which, I forgot to mention that I have a goal to finish reading the BofM in Chinese before my final interview with President Day. I'm in Mosiah right now (reading the teachings of Abinadi), and if I want to finish by my last week I'm going to have to read 10 pages a day. Whew! Wish me luck. Even though it's a little frustrating how long it takes me at times (my speed-reading capabilities are completely non-existent in Chinese), I really have loved studying The Book of Mormon in Chinese. The knowledge of the meanings behind characters adds a new life and perspective to the words in it. For example, instead of "mansions of my father," it says "My Father's home." I love that feeling of home, rather than a mansion. Or in Enos 1:12 where Enos says that he "prayed and labored with all diligence," in Chinese it says that he "exhausted himself with the most diligence I could muster." It adds even more feeling. So fun!

 

In other news, I went on exchanges to Danshui this week. It was great, especially since I didn't throw up this time. That morning we met a very interesting investigator who worked at this health shake shop. We went to go meet with her but the first thing she said was, "Here, drink! Oh, and take off your tights! We need to do a body scan!" So of course, not wanting to be rude, we drank a little bit of a protein shake and took off our tights so we could do a body scan. I'm not sure it was completely reliable, since she was able to extrapolate a whole bunch of statistics merely from my giving her my height, age, and from standing on a scale. But in case it is real, I should tell all of you that I'm quite skinny, that my bone mass is pretty good, that my "body age" is 19, and that I should get more muscle because "if someone hit you, it would hurt because you don't have enough meat on your bones." So that's that. The lesson wasn't that great - she seemed pretty interested but then got up in the middle of the lesson to show us some Jehovah's Witnesses pamphlets and was kind of hard to talk to after that. Plus my companion that day apparently had a body age of 44, so we both left the place a little less happy than we were when we went in, haha.

 

By this point you all are probably wondering (or have completely forgotten) what my subject to this email is all about. Well, in our morning exercise routine, Sister O'Brien run alongside the river to this "adult playground" where they have all of these exercise machine things that really probably don't improve your fitness but sure are fun to play on. Anyway, Sister O'Brien is a huge yoga fan and normally takes a few minutes of this time to go by the riverside and meditate and be one with nature and all that jazz. This past week, we had an exercise buddy - an old man who just happened to want to play on the same exercise machines at the same time we did. This means that when Sister O'Brien went to go do her yoga a few feet away, I was left with this old man (there were other people around too and Sister O'Brien really was super-close, so don't worry). Anyway, my exercise buddy asked what Sister O'Brien was doing over there by the riverside - I told him that I forgot how to say "yoga" in Chinese. He identified the word and said, "is that right?" I said that I wasn't sure, since I really didn't know the word, but he was probably right. He said, "Yeah, that's a Buddhist ritual. The whole sitting position with the hands out like that... Oh yeah, and the whole sitting-by-the-riverside thing.... Yep, total Buddhist ritual." It was hard to keep a straight face as I told my trainee that she would have to stop doing Buddhist rituals in public places so that she would do a better job representing the Church. :)

 

Last story: we have a new investigator who is AWESOME. And even better, her name is Oprah. As in Oprah Winfrey. It makes me smile every time we say her name. The elders found her and gave us her information. Anyway, I called her up and told her that we'd wait for her at the entrance of the church at our appointment with her. She said, "Really? I'm so touched that you would do something like that for me! Thank you so much!" Yeah. So nice. Anyway, she was really willing to work toward baptism and try to understand for herself if these things are true. And then yesterday she came to church and loved it! She said that she felt like everyone was a big, happy family, and that although normally she doesn't open herself up to people, she felt very accepted and welcomed at church. Then she said that she really likes prayer - I asked her if she'd prayed since we'd met the time before, and she said that she'd prayed that night, the next morning, and then right before she went out. During her lesson the night before I'd asked how her mom would feel if she (Oprah) didn't talk to her ever. Oprah said she'd be really sad, confused, and probably a little mad. I said, "Well, Heavenly Father loves us even more than your mom loves you, and He desperately wants you to talk to Him." She said the next day that that really made sense and she's been trying to talk to God more through prayer... and feels like He's answering. She also loves the Book of Mormon and already has some favorite scriptures picked out. I feel like God is blessing this area and that these seeds that I feel like I've been planting for forever are finally starting to blossom. It's a good feeling! I know miracles are happening and will continue to come.

 

Alright family, that is it for the week! Please keep praying for our investigators - You Jiemei, Vicky, and Oprah! You can pray for Becky, too. I love the work here and I love you. Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Winters

Sister Winters - February 18, 2013 Jellyfish… jelly…fish

Good morning, America! It's been a full week. Full of miracles, funny experiences, and most of all, full of food. I'm still full from last week! Guonian was insane - imagine eating eight or nine Thanksgiving dinners in a row. Now you know how I feel. Sarah, to answer your questions, yes, Taiwanese kids have the whole week off (their winter break doesn't start until the end of January, so it still covers Chinese New Year). I wouldn't say it's the most important Chinese holiday, but it's definitely the longest. The purpose before was to scare away the "year" monster, but now I think it's just to spend time with family. People here say it's like Christmas in the States since people spend their time with their families at home, but of course Guonian doesn't have anything to do with Jesus Christ, while Christmas definitely does. This year's probably most exciting dish that I had was jellyfish... twice! It was actually kind of crunchy and good... weird, right? Seriously, though, we were really blessed this week - guonian sometimes is a nightmare for missionaries (everyone's gone and nobody wants to talk to the missionaries because they're busy relaxing for once), but there was no significant dip in our numbers. We actually exceeded our mission's "golden standards" in some areas.

 

There was something really exciting that happened this week - something that I never imagined would happen on my mission. So I was in our kitchen leaning against the wall while drinking a glass of milk (I know, living the good life, right), when I saw a black splotch scurry from underneath the stove into the laundry room directly across from me. I was not too close to it, so it could have been a cockroach, but I was pretty sure it was a rat. I walked back into the main room with a sort of dazed expression on my face and Sister O'Brien asked what was wrong. I said, "We might have a rat in our laundry room. And there might be more." So what else could we do, except go into the laundry room and check? There were some blue fabric things on the ground, so I started trying to dig through them and see. When I picked one of them up, there was a RAT that fell on my skirt and then scurried away. I'll have to be honest - normally I am the one in my companionships who is the strong, yes-I-will-kill-that-bug-for-you kind of person. But when the rat fell out I yelled, "It IS a rat! And then ran away and slammed the door to the laundry room... with Sister O'Brien in it. Just kidding. :) Sister O'Brien was right on my tail (get it?), but everything else was true. So I called the operations assistant and told him what was going on. He said, "That's bad. Like really, that's very very bad." There were a million responses that I could've given to that slightly-obvious comment, but I decided to just stick to agreeing with him. He encouraged me to call President Day to see if the zone leaders could come over and help us get the rat. So I called President Day and told him our situation. To my surprise, his first question was: "Are you sure it was a rat? Was there hair on its tail?" I was pretty sure that it was a rat, but I asked Sister O'Brien just to be sure. She looked back at me resentfully and said, "I wasn't looking at its TAIL, surprisingly enough. Shouldn't the fact that there is some RODENT in our house be enough?" (Side note: just because Sister O'Brien looked at me resentfully doesn't mean that she's a resentful person. She's quite lovely and a wonderful companion. Ok, that's all.) Anyway, we eventually got permission and the elders came over... with no results. Apparently there's a hole in our screen door to the great outdoors in our laundry room - our new pet probably used that to get in and out. The elders played the part of looking disappointed that there wasn't a rat after all, but I'm pretty sure they were actually relieved they didn't have to add "rat-killers" to their long list of responsibilities... I would be, anyway. We had interviews with President this past week and I found out that there was an apartment of elders who also had some rat issues. But whereas the sisters tried to use a broom (or elders) to try and get rid of the problem, the elders ended up using the freezer. Yes, you read correctly: there is an apartment in the Taiwan Taipei mission with seven or so frozen rats hanging out in their freezer. Anyway, we've tried to plug up the hole in the screen door and so far have not seen any more black splotches scurrying across the floor... I'll keep you posted, though!

 

A few of you asked about how our investigators are doing, especially the new ones who set baptismal dates. Because of guonian and everyone and their dog going to a different place in Taiwan, it's kind of hard to judge, but it seems like most if not all are doing pretty well. We had a really great "breakthrough" moment with one of our investigators this past week. Her name is Sister You (pronounced "Yo", like Yo Yo Ma), and she's the one that has been meeting with the missionaries for five years. One of my fellow BYU violin studio members was actually her missionary for a while - she loved him, so once she found out that we were classmates it really was a miracle to her. We've helped her come to the chapel once (her only time since meeting with the missionaries), because she's normally busy with her work. So yes, you can pray for her to come to church. :) Anyway, she has two kids and they're pretty "pi," or misbehaved. One of them is a sullen-looking 10-year-old named Anthony. He ran in while we were teaching his mom this past week and she made him stay in for a little bit while we taught them about faith. Now, Anthony clearly did not want to be there - he was pouting and trying to get free from his mother's grasp, etc.. We were talking about faith, and suddenly an idea came to my mind. I secretly grabbed a $10 coin from my wallet and held out my fist and said, "Anthony, I have $10 in my hand. Do you believe me?" He shook his head, still frowning. I said, "Really? Why not?" He said, "I can't see it." I said, "Well here, give me your hand. Don't look!" and I slipped the $10 piece into his hand instead. His face was so funny - it lit up like a lightbulb with a look of surprised delight, and he and his mom started laughing just from the look of sheer incredulity that he had. I said, "Now do you believe that I was holding a $10 piece in my hand." He said, "Yes, now I know you were." I said, "Why? You can't see it!" And he said, "Yeah, but I can feel it." I told him that was like faith - we can't see God, but we can feel that He's there and that He loves us. The Spirit came into the room and I think everyone left that lesson uplifted and with greater faith. I've never used that analogy before, but it was perfect for that situation - I love how God really does guide us in even the most minute details of our lives.

 

Last fun story from the week - yesterday at church we had a senior missionary couple from Hualian speak. It was so good to see them - last year when I was there, they had just gotten their mission call to serve in the Taipei temple. Anyway, it seemed from yesterday's talks that they're doing great. It was like coming home to hear them speak and share experiences - I think that a part of my heart will always be in the East Coast of Taiwan. Elder Jiang saw me in the front row when he was speaking and said, "I have a special story to tell Sister Wei" (me). He then proceeded to go on, "As you all know, Sister Wei does an excellent job of playing the violin. Well recently, my own granddaughter started playing the violin. I thought it was strange, since in Hualian, not very many people play. As I asked her mother why they chose the violin of all instruments, I found out that it was from watching Sister Wei play the violin. She did such a beautiful job of playing that my daughter-in-law wanted her own daughter to be able to have that same gift." When I heard that story, I almost cried. I was only in Hualian for six weeks - and it was at the beginning of my mission, when my Chinese was at its worst. And yet through God's help and the gifts He's given me, I was still able to make a difference and beautify my first area. I know that Elder Jiang's story was an answer from God that He's pleased with the work and effort I've given. Now I just need to keep sprinting to the finish!

 

That's all for new and exciting news this week! There's a mission conference tomorrow - I'll tell you all about it and the other adventures I encounter in next week's novellette.

 

I love you! Have a wonderful week!

 

Sister Winters