二十二週 - Week 22 - March 3, 2025 - 竹北/新店 Zhubei/Xindian

 大家好！

Highlights 

     -Actually hung out with my district (We went to 烤肉 KaoRou) (It was crazy)

     -I won the card game (humbly)

     -One of the friends we passed to the Elders finally has a Baptismal date!!

     -Led training in District Council??

     -Sister Vranes got the plague on the day we had the most lessons RIP

     -MIRACLE: while eating dinner outside of the train station in 新豐 (XinFeng) we re-found one of our friends that vanished off the face of the planet! It was seriously one of those miracles where you just know that God placed both of us in that exact location at that exact time. The joy I felt when we found him again was the kind of eternal joy that only comes from doing Gods work :)

     -Transfers!! I moved to 新店 (XinDian) and my new companion is Sister Lin :) 林姐妹

     -Discovered Banana milk 

READ THIS PART

I have learned a lot of lessons this week.

Lesson 1: God does not wait for you to feel like you are prepared to throw you into the fire.

So when the transfer board came out I was quite surprised because I found out I am second transfer training (President did in fact not give me a call). What's more, my new companion is from Taiwan! I feel incredibly inadequate! I wanted to have a native companion at least once but I was hoping God would wait until I knew Chinese!

Lesson 2: The world is in fact very small!

For context: my mom also served in 新店! At church I found out that one of her old companions is in the 新店 1st ward! She gave me my chinese name, 吳俐安:) (她的名字是潘姐妹) I didn't get to meet her on Sunday, but it was miraculous to be so warmly welcomed into my new area. 

Lesson 3: God truly does make weaknesses become strong--I have experienced it firsthand and will every single day.

During the second testimony meeting of the day (we cover both wards), after I bore my testimony a member came up and bore one of the most meaningful testimonies I have ever heard. He said that my mom was his 福音姐妹 (she taught him the gospel when she was here) and that he knew it was not a coincidence that I was here in 新店. I'd been feeling so inadequate as a missionary that day; my Chinese isn't perfect, I don't know the area, I have no idea why God wants me to be responsible for a newer missionary 等等, but his words struck me so deeply. I needed to know that it was not a coincidence that I am here. 

I think I understood more Chinese yesterday than I have a single day in my entire mission. God is carrying me. He knows that I am supposed to be here and therefore will make my weaknesses become strong so that I can do exactly what He has called me to do here. 

I can't do it alone! But I don't have to. It is the same for every single one of Gods children. I don't think I've ever seen so many miracles in my life.

Ether 12:27  

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I know that God is my Father in Heaven, and I am truly coming to a greater understanding of what that means. I hope you all can continue to do the same :)

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On a completely different topic--I was reading in Hebrews 11 today and thought I would share a fun insight I gained.

Hebrews 11

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

The human eye can't even see the entire spectrum of light--who are we to assume that the things we cannot see with our eyes do not exist? 

I find it so interesting when people say they don't believe in God. We humans have yet to discover the fulness of the rules that govern the universe! We don't know anything! Satan really wants us to limit our vision. The more I study the gospel as a missionary the more I discover the nothingness of man and the pointlessness of relying on our own abilities! 

God is literally an all powerful being who's entire purpose is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). Let us rely on His perfection instead of pridefully relying on our own limited knowledge and abilities. 

愛你們 (Love you)

再見

Sister 吳ardle

During a lesson one of our friends son drew his rendition of Heavenly Father on the board--fills my heart with joy. I love him

This is him and his mom:)

烤肉 with my district

Final picture of 竹北 (Zhubei)

Writing goodbye notes in Burmese?

I have no pictures of 新店 (Xindian) yet but here is a picture of my mom with some people from the 新店 ward! The brother on the far left is the one who bore his testimony yesterday:)