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Sister Burr
Taiwan Taichung Mission
#498-11 Wuquan Road, North District
Taichung City, 40446, Taiwan
Republic of China

amanda.burr@myldsmail.net
taiwantaichungmission.blogspot.tw

Monday, September 30, 2013

Life in DaYa


Beloveds,

Sweet family. I'm sorry for the short emails lately. The pictures attached is my last District in Gangshan. That was our Harry Potter Party (thanks for the music Tori). It was a hit! We had them write letters to an "American Friend" So I have about 50 letters starting off saying "Dear American Friend," It's the best. Wow. The work is going so well right now. So I'm in DaYa. It's by Taichung so I'm in a bigger city! No more fields and mountains for this girl! My companion Sister Park is the funniest. She mumbles Korean in the morning. I met her in the MTC and I say this with so much truth, the moment I saw her I loved her. She was in the laundry room and couldn't figure out when to put in fabric softener so I went to help her. Who knew 6 months from then we would be companions! She's fresh off training and I took over the area so the first week and a half was a big adjustment but we are finding the needs of DaYa and trying to meet them. A mission is so fun because it's like a puzzle. You need to find the needs of the area, ward, companionship, investigators, and district and then just do your best to meet them. DaYa is on fire. It has one of the biggest chapels. It was so humbling and just aweing to go from a ward that met on two separate floors of a building to a three story chapel so so humbling. I'll send a picture this week! The sweet lady in the picture is Wendy. She is amazing. She started following the Word of Wisdom before we taught her it. Daya has so many prepared souls so this is a really exciting time! The work is going so well! I'm learning Korean along with Mandarin. Oh this ward loves to feed. I guess this is where the mission weight will finally come in. No worries!

We have really been focusing on the Book of Mormon and helping them have experiences through the Book of Mormon. Oh man oh man. I love the Book of Mormon because it really does hold the answers and really is an absolute channel to personal revelation. I know as we continue to do this we will continue to see miracles and conversion! Nothing is sweeter than conversion. Nothing is sweeter than seeing investigators find answers by themselves through the Book of Mormon. Family this really is the Lord's work and I'm so thankful to be a part of it.

Oh the other week I got to do exchanges with my trainer because she is sister training leader. That was so wonderful! I was able to ask her "have I progressed at all" because she has known me from the beginning on island. I knew I had but It was nice to have someone say "oh yeah!" It was so nice teaching with her again!

There is a District 3!! I can't wait! I love the Districts.

Love you all so much!
Sister Burr
Sister Park
Wendy

Sunday, September 22, 2013

The Big Picture

Beloved Family,

Hello from Taiwan. Wow. First week in a new place, with a new companion, taking over a new area, and taking on senior companion. It has been great and full of work, work, work.

It was really hard to leave Gongshan, but I love this new area. I'm just working with my companion to figure out what we need to do for DaYa and the vision we have for it. I love looking at big pictures. The family sounds so good! Thanks for the support. I've been out almost 5 months in Taiwan. It’s so crazy to me! My Korean companion really is the funniest.

It's so much more responsibility as senior companion because not only is there the area, our investigators, but also my comp to help out. I'm not worried. I'm excited. I know God will help and I love her. Love is such a foundation!

Love you!
Sister Burr

Monday, September 16, 2013

Move-Call Madness

Family,

So today is move-call madness and I don't have a lot of time to write so I'm going to drown you in pictures. Big things happened.

A. I moved from the South (Gaoxiong) to the absolute North you can get to my mission. It was a 3 hour train ride. So fun. I'm now in DaYa District in Taichung. My border touches some of the Taipei Mission. I'm going to see a lot more Missionaries and of the Mission President so that is very exciting! And they have a brand new HUGE chapel.

B. Sister Park is my new comp. She is Korean. I have now had an American, Taiwanese, and now Korean comp. She is so cute and when she speaks Chinese wrong she mumbles in Korean. I loved her the first time I saw her in the MTC.

C. I guess I'm no longer a new missionary (but really I am) because I was just made senior comp! Ah! Scary? Maybe. Doable? Absolutely. I have a lot more responsibility now but I really feel okay! I'm just happy to do the work. It was so sad to leave Gangshan. I didn't tell my recent convert I was moving until the end of church because I knew I'd cry. I did. I've seen her from the start and she has changed and we've grown together.

Oh man family. I really love the people I've been fortunate enough to meet.

Love,
Sister Burr
My new Korean companion Park JM, it's her birthday
Clearing algae from the baptismal font
God's Taiwan sunrise canvas
Golden Fox - done by yours truly
Gongshan Chapel
Gongshan District and members
Harry Potter Party
Gongshan member and investigator

Sunday, September 8, 2013

I'm a Missionary in the ROC and I'm a Mormon


Good Evening you Princes/Princesses of Wales and Kings/Queens of New England,

Beloved Family, our sweet Grandma Morgan. Oh, my heart. I love the memories that we had with her. What about all the times Mom wanted us to sing, play the piano, the violin, and just perform for her and we didn't want to. I'm so grateful you made us do that mom. Her bells! Her cookie jar! Most of all her great legs and heels and sweetest spirit. She really is so wonderful. I hope the funeral goes well and know I’m thinking of you all. xoxo

The work is going so wonderfully. Why you may ask. Well because it's the Lords' work 100 percent. I've really seen the little things that have led up to where I am now and so thankful for every experience I've had in my life and all the wonderful people I know and my family. This mission has really brought about a sense of appreciation for all I have and know. Life is so fun with Sister Lai. We are so similar that life gets pretty fun/crazy. Did I tell you we are putting on a yoga activity in the park and inviting all our neighbors and they having a spiritual share after? Yes. It'll happen this week. Activities are GENIUS. They are low stress environments that help us meet people. We have met some great people through our activities. If you have any good ideas for some send them my way thanks.

The sweet 12 yr old Huang. He parents are still on the fandui path and say no, but that's okay. We are working hard to get the members to befriend her family and trying to teach them. When we asked her why she wanted to be baptized she said because she wanted the Holy Ghost and she wants to meet with us to learn more of Christ's Gospel. YES! She is tender. Remember how I looked when I was 11 or 12 (Alex you mocked me once) That's her.

Chen. Our sweet jail lady. It's so funny to me. Sister Lai gets so mad at Chen JM and she will kind of yell at her and scold her. It's funny to me, but also makes me go like this "o_O ahhh". She has been lying to us and brought a friend to church who was just yuck. He was so controlling over her. I hated it so much and then they went out to smoke after sacrament meeting. Yikes! Does this cause discouragement? Not at all. I feel like President George Albert Smith when he said "If I can get my arm around [those who need help] and help them back on the highway of happiness by teaching them the gospel of Jesus Christ, my happiness will be increased thereby.. you cannot drive people to do things which are right, but you can love them into doing them". I love that because I love love. It's absolutely the most powerful thing when it is pure and comes from God. Love and obedience are key to happiness in this life.

Su. Our sweet Su JM. She is well on her way to hit her goal. She wants to go to BYU. She is 21 and loves to wear platform shoes and miniskirts. She likes to take pictures at church with her ipad and she loves the Gospel. She was baibai before and didn't know about God at all. in fact she was afraid to pray to him. Now she is going against her dad to follow God and be baptized, come to church, and keeping the Sabbath Holy and bringing friends to church.

I love meeting people. Today we are going to 85 in Gaoxiong. It was the highest building until Taipei 101. We are going with my RC Zhang JM. Remember her? She is so cool and does archery.

Family I love you so much.

Love ,
Sister Burr

1. It’s so smoky in the internet cafe we write at we wear these masks. Everyone loves W.O.W. here so much and some crazy dancing game. It's so funny to me, but also sad to see them sitting here for hours.

2. I love biking so much. I finally know how to put my skirt so it doesn't get caught in the gears. No problem!

3. Everything In Taiwan is cute. Especially the food.
 

Monday, September 2, 2013

Jurassic Sunsets In Taiwan‏


Sweet Family,

Another week in the land of fruit, mosquitos, and the nicest people in the world. I didn't realize it was September until half way through the day yesterday. How did it happen so fast? Sister Lai and I have been working so hard with the members and establishing the land of Gangshan. I'm working with some of the funniest people right now.

First off, there is little Huang JM. She is 12 and really I feel when I'm teaching her, it must be how the missionaries that taught mom must have felt. She was so ready to accept the gospel and to develop her faith. She is friends with the bishop's daughter. The bishop's daughter brought her to church and we set up a meeting time and now she is all prepared for baptism, but we don't have her parents’ consent so there is no way. We brought dinner to her family's house to try and meet them but they weren't home. The problem is they are never home. She brought it up with her parents and her dad said she is too young to decide. Yikes! So please send some prayers her way. Pray for her to have courage and to her parents to have understanding. xoxo. She gives the best answers. She really does understand God is her father and you can see it changing her and her answers to questions really testify that she has been learning who God is to her. That’s the happiest thing. When people realize their relationship with God. If I could do one thing for each person I meet, it would be to help them understand God is their Father in Heaven who loves them so much. "The things that are important to us become important to Him because he loves us so much "(Elder Cornish).

The beloved Chen JM. She is a hoot and a half. She just got out of jail. She is my dream. Beetlenut is this disgusting drug/fruit thing that people here chew. It turns their eyes like shark eyes and stains their teeth red. They spit on the street so the streets are all stained red. Scary? Maybe. She was a Beetlenut Girl and she would sell it, but now she wants to change. My dream was to help a Beetlenut Girl because when I see them on the street selling it my heart just dies. I'm so worried though because I can just feel Satan working on her and I hate it. It makes me so mad! It also makes me so determined. She contacted the missionaries because her jail teacher said we could change her life. Beautiful isn't it. And true. We have met with her 5 times but haven’t' finished the first lesson. It's strange. It just doesn't feel like the right time to teach her it. She just isn't ready for it, but we are teaching her about God, hope, and faith, and love and families. We brought her to a member's house last night and it was probably one of the most peaceful and spiritual times on my mission. It was perfect in every sense. Such good food! Hymns playing in the back (in ENGLISH) and we talked about the gospel as we ate then had a great lesson on Christ being a light in our life, but more than anything Chen JM felt the spirit and love of that family. That just made me think of how you really do start teaching the gospel in the home. The Brother whose house it was said, "I decided to have conference talks play in the back while we eat dinner because the gospel just isn't supposed to be taught in church". How true is that! It is supposed to be a part of our lives. Our everyday lives. It needs to sink in to our very actions and beings. I loved that so much. I learn so much from these members. We are meeting with Chen JM tonight. She loves scriptures which is fantastic!

I've really come to know what it means in Jacob 4:8 to find comfort in the scriptures. Just this morning, I found answers to questions that I had! I've really been hitting the books hard and finding those scripture gems I can use to answer questions. I love using the scriptures to answer people's questions.

I'm convinced 100% that I need to study diabetes. I have always loved learning about diabetes and now I'm convinced I need to study it. Three of our investigators have diabetes or a loved one with it! What is with that?! I wish so badly I could tell them all that I know and do their carb/fat/protein counts, but I can't because I don't know the language and that's not my focus right now. I've been learning how to really teach people and helping them see how the gospel can help them in any sense. It's a leap of faith to teach people and not just a lesson. A lesson is so easy to teach. All you do is talk the doctrine and it's as simple as that, but when you teach to someone then you relate their concerns, dreams, desires, and problems to the gospel and it's unexpected. I don't know what they'll say so it's a leap of faith to believe that the gospel lesson we want to teach will relate to them, but it will! It really will!!

Wow. Family life has just been so beautiful lately. The jurassic sunsets (xoxo Tori) and just every trial and every happy moment!
I love you all so much!
Sister Burr
xoxoxoxo
Jurassic Sunset
Xu MeiMei, a less-active member
Member Visit
Mission Activity
Mission Life - Gangshan Style