A Land So Far Away Still Owns My Heart

Hello family!

I cannot believe this is the final letter that I will be sending home. After all the many weeks of letters it is almost coming to an end. I wanted to make this one more special, so I am going to write as if I were giving advice to myself as a young missionary.

However, first the miracles of the week.

Last Thursday we had about an hour to contact before lunch. We went out and no sooner had we walked out of our apartment then we run into this cute lady, Gu3 XJ. She is one of the happiest people I have EVER meet. We talked with her about our church. She set up to meet with us the next day. We met with her Friday and it was great! She is so golden. She told us, “I have been looking for something that will bring me happiness the past 3 years. This is the first time I have ever contacted a Christian church.” I testified to her that I knew that this was God's planning that she run into us. She has some really interesting views. I can't wait to meet with her again this Thursday!

Saturday we were able to meet a cute girl, Hong JM. It turns out that she is also Christian too. We give her a tract and she asks, “Where is your church located?” We were also able to share with her a little bit about the Bible and BOM.

We were able to meet with our less-active Tang JM and her daughter. She wants her daughter to be baptized, so we are helping teach her daughter. It was a really good lesson. He daughter is so precious.

On our way home we ran into a Li3 XJ. She was so cute! We shared with her a little about the BOM. She told us that she likes to pray because she finds answers when she prays!! I love hearing that!

Saturday night we called a former investigator and invited her to church. She came with her two daughters!! We accompanied them to Primary. The girls participated in the games and it was awesome. We are meeting with them this Wednesday. I am so excited to meet with them.

Now on to reflections about missionary life.

First off, all the clichés about a mission are true. You will feel all the emotions possible on a mission. There is no emotion you will not feel. The highs and the lows will all be there.  The lows will seem to last forever and the highs will seem to be but a small moment. Learn to embrace the highs and push through the lows!

Always remember why you came on a mission! You should have come on a mission because you love Jesus Christ! This work is all about HIM!! He loved us so much that he came here and suffered for us.

I have truly come to know my Savior through my mission. My relationship with Jesus Christ was good before my mission, but it is 200 times better because of my mission. I have felt a little little bit of the pain that he bore while on earth.

Your family really does have you on a pedestal. I realized how much your family looks up to you. They picture you every day working your hardest to do this work. Your job is to fulfill their dream! I love to picture the faces of my family members and imagine them praying for my success. This pushes me to be better.

You feel the Spirit more than you think you do! I think a lot of the time we doubt whether it is the Spirit or us. I believe that if it inspires you to do good, then it is the Spirit. A good idea is a good idea--don't question it! If you are obeying the commandments and doing your best then God will not allow you to go down the wrong road. He wants you to succeed because this is HIS work!

There is nothing better you can be doing right now than this. Nothing at home is better than this. On tough days (there will be many) remember that this is the best thing you could be doing! You will be grateful for the challenges in the end. Just focus on the work, and everything else will take care of itself.

The atonement is real. You need to learn to really apply the Atonement in your life. You will need it for when you make mistakes (which you will). You will have to learn to wrestle with God in mighty pray to receive a remission of your sins. There is also another part of the Atonement that I think a lot of us forget. The Atonement will also comfort us. When you feel no one understands you and you have nowhere/no one to turn to, THAT is when you need to turn to the Lord! The Savior will know EXACTLY how to comfort you!

Obedience brings blessings. If you want to see miracles, you have to pay the price. That price is obedience. I believe more than that you need to have a good attitude about the commandments. It is a lot easier to be obedient when you have a desire to do it. I mean a sincere desire!

Allow the Lord to shape you. I feel like being on a mission is being put it a refiner's fire over, over, and over again! It is hard. There will be many nights of tear-stained pillows. There may be days when you break out into tears on the street or in sacrament meeting. These trials are meant to push you to your limit. They will stretch you in ways that you never imagined possible. As you look back you will be grateful God saw it fit that he put you in the refiner’s fire!

Notice the miracles big and small. We cannot tell God the exact miracle we want. Our job is to be grateful for whatever he allows us to see. At the end of every day I love to have my companion and I say 3 miracles from the day. Some days it is harder than others, but once we get started, miracles just start flowing out of our lips.

I have loved being a representative of Jesus Christ these past 18 months. I have loved sharing the gospel with the people of Taiwan. I am grateful God let me come on a mission. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that he did see God and Jesus Christ. I know that because of his vision he restored Christ’s church again on the earth. I know that we have all the truth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that we can all return to live in God's presence if we obey the commandments! The scriptures are the word of God. I love the power that comes from reading the scriptures. I know that the power I feel is the spirit of God.

I love Taiwan. I really am torn in two because this land truly does have a piece of my heart! I will always be ever grateful for the people I have meet on my mission. They have touched my heart and changed my life!

I have so much more to say but no time. :( Love you all with ALL my heart!

Love always and forever!

Sister Latimer

I Love to See the Temple

Hello family!

I can't believe it's that time again to write you all! Time is so weird. I can not keep track of it anymore. I feel as if time is just swirling around me.

I hope I get time to write in all my thoughts.

Last week we were originally going to meet with one of our members but last minute she had to cancel. We had some extra time to contact and that was good. The road that we were on is super busy. People are buying food, going home, or going to work. We had been there for a while and were getting discouraged. Then we start up this conversation with a cute girl in her 20's. We ask her where are you going she tells us I am on my way to work. WE just start sharing with her our purpose and she stops. We end up sharing with her the first lesson. As we shared with her Joseph Smith's first vision I looked at her and could see how she was feeling the spirit. I know that it was the spirit working in her.

Saturday was my favorite day! We were temple tour sisters. I love being able to be so close to the temple. I am grateful for the spirit I feel while I am there. Also miracles abound at the temple.

Our first lesson was with a man at the park. He was super nice. We shared with him about the BOM and the temple. He told us that he has no religion. We were able to get his number and give it to the missionaries in his area.

While we were teaching him we get a call from the temple sisters saying that one of the elders gave them a call telling them that a group of 10 foreigner college students just walked into the chapel wanting a tour.  We booked it there.( usually takes 13 got there in 5) We get there and the elder had already started the tour for us so nice. He told us that they are interested in the temple and that they had already shared with them a little about the restoration. We take them up to the temple window and show them the temple book. They had so many good questions. I wish I could remember them. We asked them what made them come in. They responded. We don't see a lot of temples where we come from and we were interested to see what it's all about. I was really impressed. They came from all around the world America, Thailand, Chile, and Mongolia. We used English to teach them.

Later that day we were contacting and we ran into a man. He told us that he had a class. I asked him what time do you get out of class. He told me 5:30. I told him after class could you come to the chapel. He said maybe. I wrote our number on the back of the card and told him to call us when he is on his way. We went to dinner about 5 pm. We finish eating and still had time. However, I get this feeling that we need to go back to the church. We get back and no sooner had we entered the door an elder runs up to us and says a man is looking for you Lei JM. I was like who. The elder goes on to say that you gave him a temple card. It then hits me it's the man.

We were able to give him a great tour! From the time we first meet him to then he had already read the track we gave him. He was like Joseph Smith prayed to God etc. We ended up just focusing on the Temple. He   liked learning about that. He gave us his information and we were able to give it to the missionaries in his area!

I love you all! I pray for you every day. I love this work. I love being able to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I love that I can share this true message with the people of Taiwan.

I know that this church is true. I know that God knows each and every one of us. I know that God hears and answers every single pray. I know that he is mindful of us.

Love,

Sister Latimer

Hello my dear family!

I love you all SO much! Time is truly flying and emotions are all over the place. This week has been good but has had its challenges too. It really has hit me that I can not see God in my reflection and that is why I am having these challenges.

Next week i will be e mailing on Wednesday!

Last Monday we hit the streets ready to see miracles. WE had been contacting a while and run into a Chen XJ. She asks us how much success do you have from what you do? We ask her what do you mean. She goes how many people actually do join your church and how many people stay. I told her that I don't know the statistics. However, I told her that any success we have is not ours but is God's. We shared with her about the BOM and Joseph Smith. She told us that she went to church with her friend once and she did not understand a lot of the words they used. She asked will it be the same in your church. I told her we have a class called Gospel principles and you can go there and they will teach the basics of our church.

The next person we meet is a Ni2 XJ. She is so cute! We shared with her the BOM and baptism. It was really a great lesson. We asked her if she would want to be forgiven of her sins and she says yes. We testified to her that through baptism she can be forgive of her sins. She set a date to be baptized on May 31! She has test all this week but set up to meet with us next Tuesday night!

Thursday night we were able to go out contacting with Bonnie one of our YSA. She was super nervous. She struck up this conversation with a mom. It turns out the mom is also Christian. We shared with her Joseph Smith's first vision. She says that she is too busy to meet not but we gave her our number. I hope she calls one day.

The next person we meet was also a Christian. She tells us I was baptized 2 months ago. We talked with her about Joseph Smith and the BOM. We were able to give her our number before she left.

Friday was AMAZING!!!!!!! Elder Wilson (he actually replaced Elder Perkins) came and did a mission tour. We were able to receive training about how to better use the BOM in teaching. It was so powerful.

Saturday we meet a Xu XJ. She is so golden but she does not have time to meet because she words every day from 10 am to 10 pm! We shared with her BOM and baptism. We were able to give her a copy of the BOM and she was excited to go home and read it. We were able to give her our number.

Lately the Bishop Li has really been focusing on Less Actives. He has given us list after list. We have been going through them and are excited to work with them.

I love this work. I love being able to share with the people of Taiwan the message of the restoration. I know that this is the true church on the earth. I know that God gives us challenges to help us become like him.

Love

Eliza