Chinglish is still my first language

 Sooooo

小sister Hu went home! And now there are just sister kou and I holding down the 花蓮fort.

This week after 3 years our President and Sister Peterson went home! We love them and had a few sweet devotionals leading to their departure. 

Meanwhile President Yang is getting ready to lead! He's from Taiwan, AND he went to the same college as me in sweet USU (go Aggies, yeeeh)~

Taiwans covid situation is....

The same pretty much. The numbers have gone down quite a bit but quarantine got extended to July 13th, QQ 美娜 will have to wait a bit longer.

We went on a secluded hike wearing masks in the SCALDING heat but it was just what we needed after a week of all video calls. So beautiful and a good reset for us all.

I had a moment this week, not super sad but it was a pretty bleh feeling, I was not made for the indoors QQ. We were cutting up veggies in the kitchen when the music turned to I'll go where you want me to go. The words "It may not be on the battle's front, the Lord will have need of me" cut real deep and all of the sudden my perspective changed. I'm where I need to be and if I'm meant to spend the rest of my mission indoors, I think I can come to terms with it.

If we're doing what we can (sometimes that's a little, sometimes a lot) God will help us through. 

Ok so these pictures:

1. sweet oldy lady and her cat

The rest you can see I just wanted to emphasize the precious gem that is Sister Yang

I can ride my bike with FOUR handlebars

 We got an exchange bike from the mission office sent all the way down here and this sister had to bring it all the way back so I rode two bikes home one day and I'm a little proud of it.

This week we went a little WILD, Sister Hu is going home so we decided to set a massive goal of 12 new friends and through a lot of miracles we got... 13! People in this area are sharing with their friends and because everyone is at home, their siblings are picking up the phone, and we're finding that they also want to know how to be better. MIRACLES.

Sad news, 美娜 is not getting baptized because of local laws and it's not safe for her to go all the way up to Taipei so that will be postponed but it's a good chance for her to meet more people and such哭哭

Cutie Sister Kou is gonna be my last companion on the mission! I'm so stoked to see soooo many miracles~

Last, happy fathers day to all those dads! Little braggy moment, my dad is the BEST. He's helped me through all the ups and downs of my mission and my life. I've seen him work hard even when he's tired, I've seen him serve even when it is not convenient.

 He has taught me that I have great worth and because of this I want to let others know that they do too.

 His dad jokes are pretty good too, ha.

Love you, stay safe

蘇曉葵姐妹

小fishies

 okeyyy so this week we fed fishies (my comp calls them 小fishies [sheeow  feeshees] say it with me)

and guess what we are a TRIO woowoo cute sister Kou is coming from the Oakland California mission and we are so lucky to have her in Hualien for a few weeks!

let's see what else has happened...

*we had an indoor picnic on our floor from 胡姐妹s good friend

*President and Sister Peterson are going home in about two weeks so we had a last zone conference with them 哭哭

*last week we walked all the way to a super far beach and it was beautiful

*美娜 passed her baptismal interview! That means under super strict guidelines and only four people in the church at a time, she can get baptized! She's been waiting for a while and we love her

*We also love the cute people we met this week! That includes a snappy little kiddo in English group, a sweet grandma who has a way noisy cat when we call, and our front desk guy who gives us fish food every time we go down so we can feed the lil fishies in our complex.

Even we are still at home most of the time I feel like we are still able to find and nurture meaningful relationships. Some of our friends are really progressing and people are starting to realize that when life gets hard it's important to have a clear vision of who you are and why you are here.

"As we come to trust God, sometimes through pleading in our darkest, loneliest, most uncertain moments, we learn He knows us better and loves us more than we know or love ourselves."

- Elder Gong Oct. 2020

I know this is true and I've felt it for myself.

Stay safe, love you!

蘇曉葵姐妹

ps enjoy the sneaky zone conference screenshots and the last picture is a drawing my comp 歐姐妹 from before drew~

look at all those chickens

 嗨嗨 this week we've been stocked up with lots of lessons! We're crazy busy but also it's weird at the end of the day when your body's not that tired but your brain is FRIED

It's been kind of a rough week but we know what we're fighting for so its good times~

Also I dont know if it's me getting cabin fever but also I think my hair is getting darker from not being in the sun I dont know but probably its fine haha

One call we had this week we were talking with a sweet friend and an earthquake hit! The conversation went like this:

"...oh, right can we set up with you again on friday?"

"yeah that, oh earthquake, yeah that's great, we can call in the afternoon"

It was the most nonchalant acknowledgement of an earthquake I've ever heard and it cracked me up.

Anyway stay safe and love you lots!

D&C 6:34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.