This week was pretty normal. It went by really fast. I'm slipping right into the role of the senior companion I think. I can see my teaching skills and my lesson leading skills improving. Sister Holm really helps a lot too. She is only on her 3rd transfer and already her Chinese is really very good. She is a bold girl, and doesn't hesitate to tell anyone what is what. Its both a strength and a weakness. But I appreciate it most of the time. We have had some pretty good lessons this week.

We have a baptism this week, someone that I've only met once but Sister Holm is very excited to see baptized. I'm glad. We were going to have another one of our investigators get baptized on the same day but she was very very hesitant, she didn't want the interview. When I called her the night before however she agreed to it. She came and had the interview but she did not pass. Elder Yu, our district leader told me that she was great with everything, except that she has had an abortion, and she doesn't feel worthy to be baptized. We met with her yesterday to talk about it after church. She was very edgy, trying to hide behind jokes and laughter. But I was lead by the spirit and I think I asked exactly the right question. She hid her face in her hands and sobbed as we talked to her about repentance and forgiveness. She said that she feels that she has changed, she knows her past mistakes are wrong, and she would never do them again. But she cannot forgive herself for them. We talked to her about the atonement and how it makes us clean. Then we invited her to discuss with her father in heaven the matter and to ask him to help her forgive herself. When we told her she would need another interview with a different leader she said she wanted to take it slowly. We told her that we thought that she was ready, and that baptism was the way she could become completely clean and then asked her if she could have the interview on Thursday she said ok. It was a miracle. The spirit was very strong in the lesson. We hope that she can receive her answer.

Besides that not a too whole lot is happening here. Well besides the slow revival of XinZhu before our eyes. We are getting small miracles here, but those are what count. We are working on bringing this place back to life.

That's my report for this week. I hope you all are happy, healthy and successful. Remember you are loved all the way from Taiwan. I hope the week is great for every single one of you.
Love
Sister Melissa Thiessen

melissa.thiessen@myldsmail.net

Taiwan, Taipei Mission
Sister Melissa Thiessen
F4, No.24, Lane 183, Chin Hua St.
106-42 Taipei, TAIWAN

BBQs & Clean up the World Day!

Mid Autumn, Barbeques, and moon cake.

This past week was a good one, and it went by so fast. Tuesday my companion had a training meeting in Taibei, which is two hours away by train, so I got to head over to the neighboring area, Xinzhu with my dear Sister Wyder and her companion (my Mission little sister, we have the same trainer) Sister Holm. It was a fun day. We got to meet a very interesting family, the mother is Taiwanese, but when she was little her family moved to Brazil and she married there and had three kinds (two of which are grown) before they all moved back to Taiwan and opened a Brazilian pizza place. Because only the mom speaks Chinese though it is hard for them to remain active since they completely have no way to communicate at church. Only the mother speaks Chinese, and the father is learning, the oldest son speaks some English but besides that they only speak Portuguese. Where are you when I need you Jacob? We got to know them a bit and it was really cool. I enjoyed a day with Sister Wynder and Holm.

Since it was the last week of the transfer we had move call madness in district meeting, that's where we all guess where everyone is going to move. Everyone wrote me down as staying, my companion sister Choi had been in Zhubei for 5 transfers, a really long time. She only has 2 transfers left. They all had me down for staying and going da (senior). There were 22 new missionaries coming to the mission here this transfer and so a lot of areas were opening and there was a lot of growth.

This weekend is a huge holiday in Taiwan, its called the Mid Autumn Festival, or the Moon Festival. It is basically a big day for everyone to get together as a family and bbq, and eat these little moon cakes (like a round pastry stuffed with all sorts of things). So there was a lot of qingke (or people inviting us to their house to eat) going on this weekend. We had one on Friday night and all of us missionaries went. We had a lovely time and ate lots of delicious foods. I ate a whole squid among other things. I got to talk to the elders in my district a bit and we swapped conversion stories. It was a very good night. Saturday we went to the beach for a service project "Clean up the world day". The second ward in my area picked up trash all afternoon then we got to play in the sand a bit. When we left we were all filthy. It was pretty windy and it just picked up all the sand and nicely coated all of us. It was wonderful fun, and we got to be all gritty the rest of the night for our lessons. Sunday we had two more qingke's. One was at our Ward Mission Leader's house, and he has a lovely home, very nice for Taiwan. Unfortunately it is on top of a mountain. Fortunately this time we had a ride because we didn't have bikes. Brother Li is also a professional chef, and so the food was of course delicious. That night we had another qingke with one of my favorite Sisters. Sister Ni is a wonderfully giving and kind woman with a towering testimony harder than stone. She is awesome. She has two sons, 17 year old twins who are absolutely amazing. They are both future stake presidents in the making. They actually really remind me of my little brother. Their house is also very very beautiful, and also on top of a mountain...hah. We had stake, Costco rolls, and the most delicious and beautiful meal. It was followed by a miracle. Real Apple Pie. I haven't had apple pie, or any kind of pie, in a year. Oh good heavens it was amazing. Also brownies, another treasure, and Costco ice cream. Wonderful.

Today. Move day, but lets back up. Thursday is the day all the trainers get their calls. I was wondering if Sister Choi was going to train seeing as she has very little time left on the island. But no call came for her. This started me thinking, and worrying. I was worried that move calls would find us in the same situation, me still junior companion and with Sister Choi. I have grown to love that little Korean. She is a good person and in the end very forgiving. But I was so ready for a change. I was so ready to spread out and try to wobble along as senior. Because last transfer's shocking disappointment I was afraid that it would not come this transfer. So on Friday night when we were traveling home late and I heard the phone ring on sister Choi's bike I about screamed. When we stopped and saw that it was the assistants I let out a whoop of joy that was so loud it startled the poor old lady in the house next to us. Move calls, Sister Choi was remarkably staying, again, in Zhubei. And I was remarkably moving...again...to XinZhu. I was kicking Sister Wynder out because she was taking my dream job of the temple sister. She will do great there. I am new door to ZhuBei now in XinZhu with my little sister Sister Holm.

We will pretty much be whitewashing, or starting from scratch here. Most of the investigators they had died off last transfer and its pretty dead. The area is HUGE though and we cover three wards. There is a lot of space, and a lot to do and start in this area, my first time as Da Tongban (senior companion). I'm excited to start, and a little overwhelmed. I have to take over in the wake of the Amazing Sister Wynder, Everyone's favorite sister. They are pretty huge shoes to fill up. I am going to need to stretch myself pretty far to take over after her. But I have high hopes...now if only I knew what I was doing...

Well that's all I've got for now. I hope you all are well and keeping steady. Remember that there is someone in Taiwan that loves you! (and is waiting for your mail... :) )

Sister Thiessen

melissa.thiessen@myldsmail.net

Taiwan, Taipei Mission
Sister Melissa Thiessen
F4, No.24, Lane 183, Chin Hua St.
106-42 Taipei, TAIWAN

365 Days!

365 Days.

Well I guess its been 369 now.

Thursday I passed my year mark out on the mission. Its been a whole year since I watched Jamison and my Mom drive off and I was left to walk into the MTC. That's a scary thought, its been a long time since I've seen all of you. But I know its a worthy sacrifice. It was really cool how the anniversary played out. I got to be on exchanges with my good friend Sister Esther Wynder that day. When I found out at the beginning of this transfer that I was going to get to go on exchanges with her I started praying that we would be exchanged together on the year mark. See, the Lord does hear and answer every child's prayer. We had a wonderful time, it was like being companions again haha. We went to an all you can eat steak house for diner to celebrate. Then we may have stayed up all night talking... We had a good evaluation of how far we have come in this year's time.

Its really funny the wisdom that ends up hitting you in the face out here. I guess living a purely religious life for 18 months will do that to anyone eventually though. Its funny, before my mission I would here other people say that their mission will have changed their whole life. It will affect them, and their marriage and their children and their family, and I thought how is that possible? I didn't get it. Its starting to become clear. Melissa Wallentine, my moms friend that lives in Utah and teaches at BYU, she told me before my mission that she couldn't imagine being a mother or a wife without serving a mission. I know what she means now! Its not just about the gospel either, its about people, dealing with people and about relationships. I've learned how to be a better friend and companion. I've learned how to talk to people and relate to them better. I've learned how to be more confident in myself and my abilities. I've learned about what I want in a marriage, in a family, and in life. I have learned what it is like to have a clear view of the future as I would like to build it. But also of course I understand the gospel better too. I get it, like I really just get it. I get how this all works and the important that the gospel has or should have in our lives. I guess before my mission I thought of our church largely as a Sunday thing, I mean there are a lot of commandments or rules that I kept the rest of the week, and once I went to BYU there were more reminders, but it was still as if my life and my religion had a division. But true religion is a lifestyle. Its an everyday application that brings the world into perspective. This gospel is so important! And it should be woven into the way we live our lives in unity, no lines or divisions. When that happens, we find happiness. We find our relationship with our Heavenly Father and we find the really important things in life. I get it now. I understand not only that the gospel of Jesus Christ can change people, but how it does, and I understand better what we have to do to let it.

I think about why I was supposed to come out on this mission. My decision was a really quick one, really spontaneous. The more I think about it the more I think that maybe it was really just about me. Ok, I am not getting self-centered here. I think that the Lord needed me to come on this mission to be able to have the growth and the realizations that I've pulled out of it. I hope that I also have helped people, and I still have time to do so, but I also am very grateful for what I've learned. It has given me a desire to go back and start a life. Before my mission I was just fine with moseying along, I didn't really want to get married or start my own family really. I knew it was going to happen...someday... but I wasn't really wanting it right then. I wasn't ready for it. It was some distant big commitment I needed to make. Well this mission has given me a fire for the family, and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't have excitement for the time when I can start my own. It is one of the biggest desires that I have now. I am so ready for that. Its a redirected course from where I was headed before.

I still have 6 months, but its going to go by so quickly, as I know it will for all of you too. Time is funny that way. Its all down hill from here. Next week starts a new transfer, I don't know what will happen. Maybe I will move again. But I will only have 4 transfers left. I had better hurry up and suck all the rest of the knowledge out of this experience. Haha.

This week our investigator who was supposed to be baptized had a crisis. Her mother ended up telling her absolutely not. Her mother agreed before, but after having a talk with her aunts minister she completely changed her mind. Our investigator called a member Friday night in tears and very distraught saying that her mother had been yelling at her and said she could not get baptized. We mobilized the missionary damage control team and said member drove us all the way our to this investigators house (which is a goodly distance away) and we tried our best to comfort her and talk to her mother. Her mother would not hear sense, but we were able to give our invst. a blessing (the zone leaders came with us) and assure her that she could still get baptized some day, even if she had to wait. She will be going to college next week, and she can continue meeting with the missionaries and going to church down there. She is such a pure spirit, and this really affected her. I hope that her faith can endure this and that she will be able to press on at school. It was a very dramatic weekend.

Anyway, that's all I have time for. I love you all, write me and know that I appreciate every letter.

Sister Melissa Thiessen

melissa.thiessen@myldsmail.net

Taiwan, Taipei Mission
Sister Melissa Thiessen
F4, No.24, Lane 183, Chin Hua St.
106-42 Taipei, TAIWAN

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