Don't Shy

Dearest Dearests,

Wow! Well, see you next week over Skype. You know what that marks? That marks my one year on the Island. Oh man how did that happen? It really was just yesterday I was Skyping you all last Mother's Day and trying to impress you with my horrible Chinese. How was Missy's birthday? This week was so amazing. The Lord is always in the work but it was really easy to see it this last week.

I haven’t told you about the most wonderful investigator yet. She is a Sister Chen. Her English name is Beryl. Yes BERYL. Also we have an investigator whose English name is Deace. How do they come up with such good names I'll never know. But this wonderful Chen. Wow! I love her so much. We had the most wonderful week with her. We met her about 4 weeks ago and have been teaching her for 2 weeks now. Back when Sister Mangelson and I were companions we went contacting in the park and we ran into this Lai JM. We invited her to English and we wanted to teach her so bad. Everyone needs the gospel, but you could tell she really needed that gospel light. She just looked so worn. She came to English and the next week she brought her friend, that Chen JM. Two weeks ago after our spiritual share on the Book of Mormon, Chen JM came up to us and said she wanted to learn. The first time we prayed with her and taught her she was just crying and feeling the Spirit so strongly. We shared about the Book of Mormon and invited her to start reading it. That was two weeks ago and she has blown through Jacob. HOW? We haven't even done anything and she has the most faith and trust in God. It was just a testimony how this is God's work. Our goal was to get her to come to church this week. We prayed and fasted and encouraged so hard and she came. Not only did she come but she brought her little 1 ½ year old daughter with her (she left her 4 year old at home with her husband) and was just tending to the cute, squirmy child and trying to listen. She has the cutest kids, I don't understand it at all. It's so distracting in lessons. While we were sitting in sacrament meeting I was just so touched and wanted to cry looking around and seeing all these faithful mothers who bring their children to church by themselves because their husbands aren't members. It's the most touching thing. I really hope we can start teaching her husband as well. We invite him to listen and he kind of sits there but Chen JM just quotes scripture to us and says oh "his heart is hard like Laman and Lemuel". She's so funny. She is absolutely amazing.

And then there is Emily. We met her just at a 7-11 and wow! We taught her a first this week and when we testified of God being her Father she was so touched and just never even thought of that and so moved because her relationship with her Dad isn't that good. When we invited her to be baptized the Spirit was so strong and I'd never seen someone so happy about that thought of baptism right off the bat and it was so crazy because I felt it too and just that pure happiness. The Spirit was there! Usually people are afraid or hesitant but it was just so different with her. The Lord DOES prepare hearts.

I just have to get this off my chest. So in Taiwan the people are the nicest in the world. I don’t know if there is a nicer group of people. They are so nice and they just think everything is good, including every religion. This week I was just thinking of how whenever we share about the gospel people say "oh yeah it's just a church and you pray when you need help or are sad, but my life is good and I'm happy". Every time they say that I just think NO! Yeah the gospel will lift us and the gospel will help us in times of need and improve our lives, but the gospel isn't here just to improve our lives those are just the fruits of living the gospel. What the gospel really is the way (2 Nephi 31: 20-21). It's the way back to God. Our special message isn't that you can have happiness our special message is that we have a living loving Heavenly Father that WANTS us to have happiness and gave us a PLAN to find that happiness in this life and the next. Oh man. It's not just for those that are sad, need help, or need direction but it for everyone. Whether or not we want to believe in Him, God is there and we will be brought back to his presence and he loves us so so-so-so much. So much! The gospel is for everyone no matter what their circumstance. So isn't it so important to live and share it? Yes. I feel like I'm just in one of those cry repentance modes were I want to go super powerhouse cry repentencey. I just really love these sweet Asian brother and sisters.

 I read a talk "The Abundant Life" By Elder Wirthlin. I highly recommend it

"One of the great comforts of the gospel of Jesus Christ is our knowledge that this earthly existence is merely a twinkle in the eye of eternity. Whether we are at the beginning of our mortal journey or at the end, this life is merely one step—one small step.

Our search for the abundant life is cloaked not only in the robes of this mortal clay; its true end can only be comprehended from the perspective of the eternities that stretch infinitely before us.

Brothers and sisters, it is in the quest of the abundant life that we find our destiny.

As illustrated in the story of an old, discarded horse that had within him the soul of a champion, there is within each of us a divine spark of greatness. Who knows of what we are capable if we only try? The abundant life is within our reach if only we will drink deeply of living water, fill our hearts with love, and create of our lives a masterpiece."

Family, I love you sosososo much. See you next week!

xoxoxo

Sister Burr

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