Baptism!!!!!!!!!

This week I learned that this work is completely worth it because WE HELPED A GIRL RECIEVE BAPTISM!!!!

Her name is chen you ting I told kyle about her a little already she is such a miracle and I love her so much! She is really amazing. She is 18 years old and a college student. She was so prepared to hear the gospel and willing to accept every aspect of it. I was so happy for her when she came out of the font all wet and smiling! But the coolest was when she recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost. We were really worried beacause we had no way of contacting her because her cell phone had broke and she had not shown up and it was 10 minutes into the meeting. My companion and I both agreed we had never prayed harder for her and as she walked in I felt testimony that this really is Heavenly Fathers work and he will provide a way for his children to recieve these necessary ordinances. I know this work is of God and that if we will trust him he will provide miracles. I was reading of Alma and really this work could get done with out us. If God really wanted he could easily provide undenyable proof that he is God and teach us all the ways himself but that is not how it is done. Rather he allows us to grow. And I love him for that. I am grateful for the opportunity he has given me at 19 years of age to be here seeing these miracles and coming closer to him.

 

This week was a bit cold here. As it is starting to rain and have wind. So its still warmer than there but its a chill kind of thing because we get wet and then are biking.. anyway I learned to dress warmer. I went on an exchange with the Sister Training Leaders this week and wow what an amazing experience that was! I learn so much from other missionaries and their ways of teaching. Also I have discovered Taiwans most precious store- Mian bao dian! Bread shops!! They are little bakery's FULL of fresh delicious breads and they are so cheap!!!! So yes America, you are lacking my friend. I really love Taiwan so much I really feel a part of it now and even though I really stick out I feel so at home.

This week I saw many miracles with the Language. I was discouraged because my training is almost up and I do not feel qualified to train as the goal for all new misisonaries is now to be able to train after 12 weeks of training. My companion expressed to me her hopes for me and as I prayerfully asked the Lord what he expects of me in the next and last 3 weeks of my training I felt assurance that the Lord would help me and even thought I may not be called to train I will be qualified if I do my part and work hard. I saw the gift of discernment of tongues begin to be given to me and I am so thankful for a Father in Heaven who will help me when I need it.

 Oh and p.s. everyone yes I like the food now :) Some of it I still cant eat but for the most part I now can and like the food I am given! In fact I am needing to start to be more careful because I dont want to return with more of Kimberly than what I left with if you know what I mean! Which if anyone loves me a lot and wants to send me some excersize routines I would not oppose :) You are all amazing I love ya lots!

- Yao Jie Mei!

Catching Up

So everyone I am doing very well and I love Taiwan so much! Its kind of weird. The first two weeks I was like, "WHOA Im in Taiwan!" And now every once in a while I'll see something super Asain and I'll be like huh thats kinda funny I saw that in a movie once and then I'm like, OH yeah! I'm in Taiwan! For instance the movie Karate Kid the new one shows a park that the boy goes to in China look at the little toys they use they are REAL and they are not toys- they are excersize equipment... so yes I am still working on figuring out why all the people here are so small when they eat the way they do and excersize on those... Mystery.

 This last wednesday we had a Halloween party! So not only am I a whole day ahead of you but already far ahead in celebrating holidays! Dont worry everyone the future looks good! The party was because of our English Class. A way of contacting and serving for us here is by teaching a free english class every week and on the 6th week we have a culture party to let them learn a little bit more about our culture which also turns out to be really fun for the missionaries as we get to have a piece of our home here in Taiwan. And can I just quickly say that the whole "fun" of being scared is really confusing. For a part of the activity they told scary stories thankfully in Chinese so I didnt really understand completely but I had an Elder translate for me and even though it wasnt complete I was still scared- needless to say I do not like the feeling and I would much rather just feel safe and protected. Yep! But no need to fear I am in the safest country in the world! Where the missionaries have body gaurds attend us at all of our meetings! Haha! So at every lesson we have a goal to have a member present and for one we invited a member from the Bishop uh... rick ba? And we found out at the end of the lesson she had thought the whole time he was our body gaurd! Uh, whoops. Guess we didnt introduce him very well! Ha! good thing the people here are so forgiving!

   I am really blessed. I have an amazing companion who says very funny things and I wish you could all hear her because it would make your day. I will share with you one of my more favorite things she said this week. We were in companionship study and I had just finished sharing what I learned in my personal study from the Book of Mormon and she looks at me suddenly and says. "Yeah! I think, Why does the Book of Mormon not have how thier love stories in it!" Haha I was a bit confused as to how that went into her mind but I am glad it did because I laughed pretty hard for a while about it. I am finding that Taiwanese people think a lot faster than American people do and I am often trying to catch up to her pace of thinking so I can understand why she is saying the things she is saying I think this will help me a lot in life as I am finding maybe its not that they are fast but that I am slow! :) A learning experience everyday. And I am so so grateful to have a companion that doesnt speak crazy good english. Because we stayed at another sisters appartment for one night this week and they were two from America. I think it would be very tiring to come back home after a day of misison work and have to do so much more communicating! I am really grateful for the time I have to be quiet at home and be content with small sentences. We do talk dont get me wrong but it is really nice that we both value our personal time to ponder and think about the day. yes so thats that.

   This week I learned a lot about family history and why it is so so important! Please do it. I had never really thought much about how it is a part of missionary work until recently, and IT IS! I was thinking about how frustrating it is here when we have a super prepared investigator to receive baptism but cant because her family opposes and then I realized how frustrating it must be for the missionaries in Doctrine and Covenants 138 who have taught all those people who are so ready and willing to make covenants but cant because we have not yet done their work! Please do family History. I know it is a part of the work that Heavenly Father intends to be hastened. Use the technolodgy we have to do the Fathers will. I know your lives will be blessed as you help in hastening the work of the Lord. I love you all and am grateful for this gospel!

- Sister Thornley Yao jie mei

 Some Random Asian Writing in the Sand

 Chinese Writing In The Sand

 The Ocean and Mountains

 The Train to the Ocean

Temple

Hey everyone sorry this week is going to be really short because this week we got to go to the temple!!!!! So my p-day was moved to wednesday and because we live so far away we have very little time for any other p-day stuff but I will try my best to get a good letter written adn forgibve my spelling I am typing faster than I can correctluy bit I dont have time to fix it so,,.. use your imagination!

 

Alright So okay everyone yes Conference was AMAZING I am so thankful the Lord has provided us with the technolodgy that I could watch it in my own language although my companion for one session was not so lucky as we got reproved from our district leader at a split so we could both watch it in our native tongue... so... yeah that was a bit awkward and I am so grateful for Chu Jie Mei being so amazing and better at english than I am at chinese so that I could watch it in english!!! And can I just say that everyone really needs to build their testimonies because ocbioulsy something big is going to come with the push for missionary work we are all really called to this work and the Lord needs us to do it so that well yeah we just need to do our part okay?! It was really neat seeing how really watching with real intent changes the way the message is heard. I recieved so many answers as I am sure you all did as well! We are so lucky to have our lives be lived in this time where we can hear the word of God and know what we need to do in this likfe to gain exhaltation in the next!! I will write more about my thoughts and stuff about it next week-

 

So for this week I saw so many wonderful miracles and crazy things happen! To start off I will tell my experience of how wonderful it is to be a naive little ting bu dong(ing) missionary here in Taiwan ( which means I hear but dont understand). So my companion an I were tracting door contacts in a bit of a scketchy area at night but what part of taiwan housing isnt so it was so normal and wonderful! Well we were not having much success and all the people there must not have been Taiwanese becuase they were really rude and were acting more like well more like Americans than Taiwanese. Well we went up to a next "house" full of old women with well it explains the reason why I needed to bring all the deodarant I did kiind of people. And they were less than polite. And suddenly my companion asks "do you sell something here?" I am thinking 'whaaa??? this is totally not a store why would you ask that??"" then she tells her to look up and read the sign so I look up to follow the motions even though I wont understand well I see the character that is in girl and in good so I am not really sure what it says and I say in complete oblibvion oh I am so sorry I see but cant understand (which yes is not as weird in chinese to say) Then my companion asks "Is it real?"  and anyway her and my companion have a bit of a tiff of words to whcih I dont understand and then I hear "you can change your life" from my companion and then I am next chasing after her cause I didnt know we would be leaving so quickly. Okay, so turns out that we had just contacted at a prostitute house. MMM... yes they have those in taiwan too which apparenlyt my companion didnt know because who would ask a mean old woman if she is really a prostitute? Haha anyway :) One of those times where I am grateful I was not able to understand and rather than being scared or freaked out just be completely oblivious to it all and still happy as ever to be here in Taiwan serving the Lord!

 

Alright now for a more spiritual note- We have been teaching an older couple who own a littel lunch box store which are supere common here and well they are bnot making musch money so we eat luch there a lot. Anyway their profress has been quite slow and so we decided we would only spend 15 minutes with them and say prayers and read some scriptures then leave and if we see them progress we would start to teach them lessons again. And as we studied the importance of the book of mormon this week we really felt good about our decision to do this and help them gain testimony of the Book of Mormon and develope a habit of reading it. I saw such a sweet tender experience. The husband who has normally been more interested that I am a foreigner than a missionary really touched my heart. He told us one day he had studied that night and memorized how to pray. And then he said a very sweet and simple prayer to which I dont know one hundered percent what he said because everyone here when they pray do so so quietly that I cant hear and understand at the same time but I felt the spirit so strongly and my love for them grew so much. I am so grateful for prayer and the love Heavenly Father has for us and that he really does want to listen to us and all we need and want. He is so wonderful!

 

Okay I am running out of time so I will finish up I have so much more to say I hope I dont forget it next week!! You are all so great and I love you all I appologize I didnt get to reply to everyone today I had 28 emails to read and an hour to do it all! Keep sending them I love you and let me know if their is anything I can do!

-Mason and BryLee- HAPPY BIRTHDAY i promise I have not forgotten you and I am working on getting you both a present from Taiwan! Love you guys!!

 

-Sister Thornley Yao Jie Mei.

Learning learning learning

Well Hello Everyone!!!

 

What an exciting and eventful week!!! So to start off I have not seen conference yet so... I hope you are all grateful to be in America where you hear it live!! But I will get to hear it this Saturday and Sunday and I am hoping in English!!! Although I do have an amazing miracle to tell about this. So we got to watch the Relief Society Broadcast because we had an investigator willing to come and watch however they were not able to provide a way for me to listen in English which I was expecting and so that morning I said a prayer that I would be blessed with the gift of tongues and be able to feel of the spirit dispite the language that the message would be conveyed. And I know that God hears our prayers and blesses us according to our needs. I who have been learning Mandarin Chinese for 12 weeks was able to understand two of four very sophisticated talks. I know the Lord was the only way that made it possible through my faith and my works. Miraculously the translators had chosen to use words that the previous week I had studied in my Language Study. And I know that this is only through Heavenly Fathers help. I am so grateful that I know God lives and that I know the relationship that I have with him.

 

This week was one of trials and testing of our faith as missionaries here in YiLan. When I got here we had SO many investigators who were all crazy excited and willing and this week they all seemed to loose a fire within them. As we called to schedule we found many heart breaking responses that they do not wish to meet with us. It was not easy to see them fall away and loose interest and took a lot of self evaluation on what more I could do as a representative of Christ. We have not given up on them for every soul is great in the sight of God. But I have also come to realize that perhaps the Lord has different people who are also needing the attention of missionaries and who will be more prepared at this time to accept the message and come unto Christ. I know that as I improve and strive to be a worthy representative the Lord will put those prepared Children of his into our paths and I will see more miracles than I have yet seen. I am learning to truly be grateful for trials and hardships because they really do provide the humbling necessary to turn to the Lord.

 

This week I was privledged to have the Temple Sisters come and do an exchange with us here in YiLan and I am so grateful for the example of amazing missionaries!! I have so far to go and so much bigger things to become but I know that through the Lord I will be able to become the missionary he wants me to be. I love the hymn that says perfectly what we all are doing in life I'll be who you want me to be!

 

This week I also learned how to make Donggua Cha! And dont you worry my fellow buddies I will stock up on the necessary things to make it for you all when I get back beccause you are not living until you have had this drink it is SO good! And also I am not sure what America's deal is but I dont know why we dont have more drinks like they do here They are SO SO good!!!! So anyway I will open up stores when I get back and be rich so you may want to start sucking up to me. So yes, the food is getting to be more likeable for me. Which is a huge blessing and my trainer is being so good at helping me remember I need to try new things because I may like it! And most often she is correct.

 

Also the black eye mystery has been resolved! I am still not a hundred percent sure what caused it but It is gone and I did not have to go see the doctor so again the Lord blesses his servents. Mom you cant get scared- so most everyone here thinks it was because I was bitten by a poinsonous misquito which is bad news cause it was so close to my eye and they all thought I should go to see the doctor but as I followed the counsel of my amazing missionary mom Sister Day and with faith prayed that my body would be strengthened no doctor was necessary and I am healing very well! Also a thank you to Emily for teaching me about the figure 8 thing as I am sure that that helped a lot too!! I am so grateful for all the miracles I am seeing and I am so excited to see what else the Lord has in mind for me. I love you all and hope you all have many blessings and miracles shown unto you!!

 

-Sister Thornley/ yao jie meiWell Hello Everyone!!!

 

What an exciting and eventful week!!! So to start off I have not seen conference yet so... I hope you are all grateful to be in America where you hear it live!! But I will get to hear it this Saturday and Sunday and I am hoping in English!!! Although I do have an amazing miracle to tell about this. So we got to watch the Relief Society Broadcast because we had an investigator willing to come and watch however they were not able to provide a way for me to listen in English which I was expecting and so that morning I said a prayer that I would be blessed with the gift of tongues and be able to feel of the spirit dispite the language that the message would be conveyed. And I know that God hears our prayers and blesses us according to our needs. I who have been learning Mandarin Chinese for 12 weeks was able to understand two of four very sophisticated talks. I know the Lord was the only way that made it possible through my faith and my works. Miraculously the translators had chosen to use words that the previous week I had studied in my Language Study. And I know that this is only through Heavenly Fathers help. I am so grateful that I know God lives and that I know the relationship that I have with him.

 

This week was one of trials and testing of our faith as missionaries here in YiLan. When I got here we had SO many investigators who were all crazy excited and willing and this week they all seemed to loose a fire within them. As we called to schedule we found many heart breaking responses that they do not wish to meet with us. It was not easy to see them fall away and loose interest and took a lot of self evaluation on what more I could do as a representative of Christ. We have not given up on them for every soul is great in the sight of God. But I have also come to realize that perhaps the Lord has different people who are also needing the attention of missionaries and who will be more prepared at this time to accept the message and come unto Christ. I know that as I improve and strive to be a worthy representative the Lord will put those prepared Children of his into our paths and I will see more miracles than I have yet seen. I am learning to truly be grateful for trials and hardships because they really do provide the humbling necessary to turn to the Lord.

 

This week I was privledged to have the Temple Sisters come and do an exchange with us here in YiLan and I am so grateful for the example of amazing missionaries!! I have so far to go and so much bigger things to become but I know that through the Lord I will be able to become the missionary he wants me to be. I love the hymn that says perfectly what we all are doing in life I'll be who you want me to be!

 

This week I also learned how to make Donggua Cha! And dont you worry my fellow buddies I will stock up on the necessary things to make it for you all when I get back beccause you are not living until you have had this drink it is SO good! And also I am not sure what America's deal is but I dont know why we dont have more drinks like they do here They are SO SO good!!!! So anyway I will open up stores when I get back and be rich so you may want to start sucking up to me. So yes, the food is getting to be more likeable for me. Which is a huge blessing and my trainer is being so good at helping me remember I need to try new things because I may like it! And most often she is correct.

 

Also the black eye mystery has been resolved! I am still not a hundred percent sure what caused it but It is gone and I did not have to go see the doctor so again the Lord blesses his servents. Mom you cant get scared- so most everyone here thinks it was because I was bitten by a poinsonous misquito which is bad news cause it was so close to my eye and they all thought I should go to see the doctor but as I followed the counsel of my amazing missionary mom Sister Day and with faith prayed that my body would be strengthened no doctor was necessary and I am healing very well! Also a thank you to Emily for teaching me about the figure 8 thing as I am sure that that helped a lot too!! I am so grateful for all the miracles I am seeing and I am so excited to see what else the Lord has in mind for me. I love you all and hope you all have many blessings and miracles shown unto you!!

 

-Sister Thornley/ yao jie mei