I'm Dreaming of a White, Hot Springs Christmas Baptism

     

Hello everybody!

     Exciting news, our investigator Ding Jie Mei (Sister Ding) is getting baptized this Saturday! WHOOO HOOOO! SO excited! It has been miracle after miracle with her. It was so cool, after she skyped a church leader in Taipei (she had to clear up some more serious stuff but she's good), we all talked with our second counselor and ward mission leader filler-in, Brother Gunn, about locations. We only have a blue tub we get out here in the church for baptisms, but we feel like we need a better location.  Revelation struck like lightning, and Brother Gunn was like, "I remember a member who has hot springs in his backyard we can use." We called him up, and he was cool with it! 

     This Saturday, we will have a hot springs baptism! We missionaries are aiming for a white, baptism Christmas in the zone. It will be the first baptism here in Yuli since July.

   

 We are moving our apartment down to the 3rd floor. We are the first missionaries for more than 10 years who are leaving the apartment. The one downstairs is bigger and more beautiful, so I'm excited! Not the moving part, but everything else. 

     It's been really cool to see all the miracles and tender mercies of the Lord.

     Here's a recap of the week:

Monday

      Ate lunch with Americans Travis and Navi, who were going back to Taipei then flying home a few days later. They were so awesome, we will really miss them. They will probably come back to Yuli in the spring, but we don't know if we will be here.  My companion and I then bought some Christmas stuff. 

Tuesday 

     Went to Reisui and taught English class. Taught winter words, such as snowflake and gingerbread house. We even made snowflakes with them. It was their very first time, and they all did pretty well!

Wednesday 

     

Went to Taidong and had zone meeting. Discussed how to teach members to do their own missionary work and how to do better street contacting. Afterwards, we ate at Sam's Burgers, an American restaurant with Peanut Butter burgers on the menu.  At the train station coming home, I met a famous Japanese Professor who I think said he invented the lights scrolling? 

     Also, met with an investigator and her friend. They are 23- and 18-year-old Americans from Oklaholma and North Carolina, who are teaching English here for a year. Super cute and religious girls. We think her friend is ready to hear the gospel, she said she was looking for the truth and tried finding it, but gave up so she believes in everything. Carmen might be a little harder (she knows her Bible scriptures and her parents were missionaries for her church in Romania for years), but we will keep trying. 

Thursday 

     Met with Ding JM, taught her tithing and fast offerings. She took it well. Also preparing her for her baptism. 

Friday  

     Companion went to the hospital (more like the doctor's office) for health problems. Met with Ding Jm again and went over baptismal interview questions. She had to clear up some more serious stuff in a baptismal interview, so she had to skype a church leader in Taipei instead of having Elder Budd the district leader do it. 

     Also, we went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. We usually go up to Hualian, but they came down here, since our area needs help (Sister Scharman has been sick for the past two weeks, so we hardly went outside and visited investigators.) It was so great to be outside and doing real regular missionary work again. I went with Sister Toronto. She grew up in Beijing, China and knew my aunt, uncle and their family in Beijing (her dad's a lawyer there). She's super amazing. She really has helped me, and even said I had the patience of Job, being inside all the time with a sick companion while the branch is struggling. It's okay, I have been feeling like I've getting better at patience and have received the Lord's help. 

Saturday 

     Continued exchanges. Met with an old investigator whose English name is Fish. She's a cute mom with a 7-year-old son, but her husband worships ancestors and protests her getting baptized so she's not willing to get baptized anytime soon. 

Sunday 

     I spoke in church. Talked about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (they loved that story) and how he used his trials (his red nose) and gifts to serve everyone. I like that story because, like the Savior, he was persecuted for being different, but in the end loved and served everyone. I  Also talked about my mission farewell talk I shared last year, which was based off of President Uchtdorf's talk last year at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. He talked about the LDS charities who went to Africa and donated wheelchairs. One African guy who lived far away heard about it and asked his friend to take him, which he did. When he came, he got on the wheelchair the charity let him use, and he flew, enjoying every moment. After 10 minutes, he came back and thanked the charity, thinking they were just letting him use it for a bit. They told him that he could have it, that it was a gift from strangers on the other side of the world who loved him. He tearfully expressed gratitude. 

     I then invited the ward to ponder this question: "What will you give the Savior this Christmas?" I then told the ward that I was giving him 18 months of my life as a missionary for my Christmas gift. I'm renewing it this Christmas as well. I invite you all to ponder that question as well and see what you can do for the Savior this Christmas. 

Spiritual Share:

     While we were packing for the move, we listened to a famous talk on my companion's USB and her speaker from Elder Holland called "Lessons from Liberty Jail." He gave it at BYU a few years ago. It was so amazing, it was about receiving revelation during the hard times. He even quoted a historian who called Liberty Jail a temple, because that's the hardest time in Joseph Smith's life (coldest winter in Missouri history, can't stand up in the jail since the men were too tall, bad food and poison in food which caused them to be sick and delirious, no blankets, all just bad things). He had to endure such a hard thing to draw closer to God and have faith that He is always there. Elder Holland then said that we all will at some point in our lives, have our Gethsemene, and that we need to prepare and be strong enough to always follow God and pass the test of discipleship.

I invite you all to read or listen to it. You can find it on past devotionals at byu.org

Lessons from Liberty Jail 

     We also listened to another one about how the adversary will not give up on trying to destroy our souls. Whenever right before, during and after something happens (sometimes when it's spiritually significant), he will try really hard to bring us down and make us fear, which is when we see the bitter pains of hell like Moses did when he feared (in the Book of Moses) after he received a really cool vision, but he remembered Christ and called on his name for help. He then invited us to prepare ourselves and be true disciples so that when the hard times come, we will be ready.

     Love you all and have a Merry Christmas!

-Sister Brinkerhoff