Transfers are Coming!

Hi Family!!

This week has had a lot of new experiences and surprises, but has been alot of fun. Sister Weng and I were doing companionship study on Tuesday morning when we got a call from President Grimley. I was kind of nervous, because getting a call from the mission president out of the blue can never be good. Haha. But he was calling to tell us that a new sister would be coming early to the mission and Sister Weng would be training her and we had to go to Taibei that night to pick her up! We screamed for the next half hour of studies. Sister Weng has never trained before and I REALLY didn't want to move away from Zhubei. It's true that Heavenly Father really takes you away from comfort when it's time to learn something new. This past transfer has seriously been one of the happiest experiences in my life. I've learned SO much, and LOVE Sister Weng! Some nights I would just come home and be so happy that I would just pray in thanks. It was sooooo awesome. Zhubei is wonderful and I'm finally getting to know the wards. But I can see that sometimes when you get too comfortable, you're not moved upon to learn as much. I feel like my teaching skills have improved this transfer, but I have other skills that could be built with a change of surrounding. I'm just a little afraid of my new companion/area. Sister Weng and I just had such a good time, it'll be hard to top that experience. Sister Weng is so cute. Sometimes she makes faces that look like the bull from Bugs Bunny and makes me laugh so hard. I just love her. She teases me and I love our companion studies. They are so edifying. She loves the gospel but she's very real. Anyway, I'm really sad to leave Zhubei. It's the "Yingxu Di" or Promised Land. I'm so afraid of being sent to a big city. So many people stresses me out and I'm afraid I'll get hit by a bus or something. Apparently taxi drivers hate missionaries...

ANyway, so Tuesday night Sister Weng and I went to Taibei and stayed in the temple hotel thingy while we waited for Sister Li, our new companion. Sister Li is American Born Chinese, so she speaks complete fluent Chinese and English, her parents are Chinese and she grew up in Provo. So she actually came 2 weeks before the transfer, just like me. So now we're in a trio until next preparation day. It's interesting how Heavenly Father always puts you in situations that help you further understand others. I'm now in the same position as Sister Scott from my 1st transfer. I'm the 3rd wheel missionary sleeping on the floor and living out of a suitcase. Actually, we just separated one of the bed's mattress and box springs so our beds are actually right side by side. It's kind of fun. Like a slumber party every night. My bed is in the middle of the floor, which is nice, because that's the coldest part. Here are the things I'll miss most about Zhubei:

1. The Hotpot restaurant (restaurant in the loose sense of the word...) with the all you can eat ice cream and pop
2. The Leprechaun Man. That's actually not a very nice thing to call him...he's actually this really cute handicapped man that hangs out outside of an investigator's hair salon. He has fluffy hair and side burns and always wears shorts and a green vest, so he REALLY looks like a hobbit or a leprechaun. But he always waves at us when we pass and he's so excited to see us. One day a man was just giving out peanut butter popsicles and when he gave L. M. one I've never seen a human being that happy. It was so cute.
3. Our huge beautiful chapel
4. The Relief Society President and the 1st Ward Bishop who collects the stamps.
5. Lai Weiting, my first transfer baptism.
6. Sister Weng!!
7. The BEAUTIFUL scenery in Xinpu, Xinfeng and the Haitan.
8. My own bathroom and a clean, new apartment.

Anyway, that's really not the best of even a small part of how much I love Zhubei. But anyway, I know where ever I go, it will be because the it's the Lord's will and I'll still love it. I find out on Friday where I'll go. Scared!!!

So we had a neat experience the other day during exchanges. We got kind of lost looking for a less active member's house because it was dark, and the address was wrong. So we were biking in an old part of Zhubei, surrounded by very old homes and rice fields, when we passed a woman who just walked out of her house. Sister Collyer contacted her and the 3 of us (Me, Sis Collyer, and Sis Li) bore testimony and tried to get her to set up a time, but finally she just said no and we left. But I told the Sisters that while we were trying to convince her to meet with us, I had had a feeling that we shouldn't ask, we should just start teaching. But we'd lost our chance since she now didn't want to talk. But we then decided that the NEXT person, we would just start teaching. Two minutes later, we stopped to check the address and saw a man smoking outside his house. We acted on our decision and taught the man the first lesson. He was 67 years old and we gave him a Book of Mormon and will meet with the Elders! It was just neat because the Spirit was really strong in the lesson and all 3 of us are very new missionaries --Sister Collyer and I with horrid Chinese and Sister Li only out for 2 days. It was neat. I really know that when we depend on the Lord, the power of the Atonement can enable us to do great things. The other day an investigator asked why missionaries who are so young go out and preach the gospel and we shared with her Alma 36:6-7. And this scripture is very true:
"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
"And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and be very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."

Missionary work and life is just a miracle sometimes. I think Heavenly Father works in every detail of our lives to try to bring us back to Him. It's just our choice to follow Him and listen/notice His enticements. Over a month ago, Sister Weng and I talked to this man cleaning out his van. We tried to set up with him but he kind of laughed at us and said "here's my card but I'm not interested". So we took his card and just held onto it and thought nothing would ever come of it. Then we laughingly gave his card to the Elders the other day and the man came to church and is now taking the lessons! Miracles! I fully believe that in that month, the Lord used that time to prepare him to be more receptive to the gospel, so when the Elders called him, it was the right time.

Anyway, life is good! I love you!! I'm working on my handwritten letters to all of you!! Dad, I need your physical address! Love you!!

Coley