Amanda Burr: 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