Sister Lydia Jensen-Taiwan, Taipei Mission: Week 19-Oct. 15, 2018

India?!

Hey fambam!

I am currently sitting in a random park near our house rediscovering the fact that Taibei truly never sleeps! Our firealarm went off at 5 am and so we got up and checked everything and it was all fine so we went back to bed and right as our heads hit the pillow it went off again! it's legit so loud! I think waking someone up that early is very exposing of your true character Haha Sis Larsen was thinking about who to call and where to go and what to bring and all I was thinking of was all the different ways I could smash, dunk, smother, etc. that indestructible little noise maker. After turning it off just to have it go off again like 10 times (you can't remove the batteries, we tried ;) ) we decided to go to the park and do emails until the rest of the mission world woke up at 7. When we walked outside, I was shocked! There are still tons of cars and mopeds and people at restaurants and old people doing their strange exercises at the park and others at 7-11! The city never sleeps!

This week was so good because GENERAL CONFERENCE! Need I say more? ;) All the questions I wrote down before were answered literally in like the first 30 minutes! And then answered again in later sessions! I am so grateful for our truly inspired living prophet and our Savior, Jesus Christ who leads and guides this church through him.

Between sessions on Sunday, the ward provided lunch and all we did was stand in the chapel while people handed us food! We just went down to say hi but everyone wouldn't stop giving us food! I have to say, that's definitely the first time I've eaten corn in a chapel! I love Asian wards! They give the missionaries bags of food every Sunday!

This week was a little rough. A couple of the people we are teaching stopped responding or dropped us and Sis. Larsen is getting a little sick and I still don't know what's going on or who is who. BUT Conference was such a miraculous way to finish the week, and we had exchanges with the STLs which was SO GOOD! I went with Sis. Hurst! She's super funny, spunky, outgoing, and is the definition of friendly and talks to literally everyone! She gives everyone Hi-fives all the time, too! I love her so much! She gave me so much hope for learning Chinese because it seems like everyone I talk to (and she validated that this is true) had some connection or experience with Chinese before coming to Taiwan (for example, Sis. Larsen lived in Shanghai so she could already read the Book of Mormon in characters a couple months into her mission). But Sis. Hurst is just like me and started from the bottom! Haha we bonded a lot over the struggle of never knowing what's happening and not being able to remember any members names, etc. And she gave me so much hope that I will eventually be able to be an effective instrument in the Lord's hands if I am patient and never give up! I can't remember if I told you this already, but I have a goal to finish Book A (all gospel terms) and take the test before Thanksgiving! Its gonna be hard, but I have faith!

Funny things: Someone this week told sis. Hurst that I look like I'm from India! What?!

On Saturday night, we visited a less active family and when I was halfway through the first vision, I totally blanked! Just gone! I had to look at sis Larsen for help and still after she got me started again I like stumbled a lot but finally got through it... Luckily they were a less active family, not a new person, and they were very forgiving and complimented my Chinese a lot as we left (completely out of the kindness of their hearts) and sis Larsen said you have to mess up the first vision at least once so now it's out of my system

We also played Spot it with them because it was an FHE thing and the elders from our ward came too.

We put up Christmas decorations we found in the closet from past sisters and have been singing some Christmas songs, so it was such a funny moment when we were headed home after visiting someone and it was raining and we randomly started singing Silver Bells (because I thought "city sidewalks, busy sidewalks" or whatever the words are) and we sang like the whole song duet-style while biking through Taibei at 9:30pm in the rain in the middle of October

I love missionary life! Haha

Sister Trouble (she chose that English name, shes so funny, shes the one that always sends random pics to mom over FB messenger) thought I was hilarious on Wednesday because we had a meeting about the Halloween party and then went to get dinner before English class and it was pouring rain so everytime we would get to an uncovered part of the sidewalk, like crossing the street, I would say "yi, er, san!!!" (1,2,3) and then we would run to the other side! Sis. trouble would laugh so hard (probably cuz my Chinese sounded so funny) and her laugh is like a cackle it's so funny.

Scripture of the week: John 15:12-13

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I love these verses so much and I love how so many talks in conference were about leaning on the Savior through our difficult times and turning outwards makes our own struggles easier. I know this is true from experience. One of my favorite conference quotes was "The wounded who nurse the wounds of others are God's angels on earth," from Elder Anderson. I feel like I have so often been the recipient of help and service from amazing people, angels, who were going through so much more than I was but they selflessly turned outward and made my burdens lighter. I hope those of you going through your individual Gethsemane experiences may find peace and pasture in our dear Savior and Shepherd this week.