Sister Samantha Haacke: Second Chances

FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

WOW It's been a great week!

Family, I will be Skyping home Monday morning my time around 7:30ish....be expecting a call between 5 and 6 on Sunday night! I can't wait to talk to you all!! Sounds like you all had a busy week! Staying busy at the apartments and getting ready for summer! Alexa, Sorry you have a cold! That's no fun, Lachlan-glad you are having fun with baseball! Marissa-I cant wait to play tennis with you! I'm glad you have come to love it! Keep working hard and stay focused! :)

Funny story--we are currently working with a less-active and helping him prepare to receive the Priesthood and he speaks really good English. When we talk with him, we use half English and half Chinese in our lessons. So this week, while I was on the phone, he was telling me how he went to get bread at a 7 and he said "Earlier today as I went to go fetch some bread at the 7....." it made me laugh and reminded me of Alexa when she was doing her homework and she asked me to 'fetch' her pencil for her...:)

Since I just wrote home on Wednesday (due to a change preparation day last week), there's not too much to say...But, the work here in TouFen is awesome! I love this area with all of my heart. The people here are amazing. This week, after working so hard, we finally got 20 LESSONS! That is the mission golden standard and its' been our goal this transfer to make it to the golden standard--I'll get to that here in a sec.

So, Wednesday after the temple and quickly emailing home, we took the MRT and went to Shiang Kai Shek with some other Sisters-Sister Jensen and Sister Phelps. I have a picture with me when we lived in China and visiting Shiang Kai Shek with Marissa, Bryan, and I in front of it. It was cool to be there again! We were able to watch the changing of the guards too--so neat!

This week we were able to meet with quite a few people. Lu Pei Ling cancelled on us again this week--which is really sad...she reads the Book of Mormon and feels the Spirit but is just really nervous to get baptized and doesn't quite understand why it is important to come to church. Gan Qiu Yi is doing really good! Hong JM was our peike this week and we discussed the fundamentals of the gospel and gave her the articles of faith to study this week. Liang Man Ting hasnt been to church for 2 weeks and our only way of conversation with her is through her aunt and Facebook. Her aunt has told us she has been really busy with school and her parents are making her study. Yellisha accepted a baptismal date this week for June 6th! She is very confused about the Priesthood though because she got baptized in Indonesia a couple years ago.

This week, we also had a great lesson with Lai Ming Jin, he read 1 Nephi 1 and told us all about it. He keeps telling us he is not very smart because when he was young-starting at age 17, he would drink all the time and that made him not so smart so we have to keep reminding him he is smart. We talked to him this week about Joseph Smith. He doesn't quite know if he believes it is true--BUT he came to church again this week and brought his friend again like he did last week!!! He loves church!!! Sunday night, Yang JiaTing also invited him and his friend over for dinner with us missionaries and their family and he asked Yang DiXiong so many good questions. What is so neat (I think I said this last week...I can't remember) is that Lai Ming Jin and Yang DiXiong used to be really good friends but then they lost communication. Then through attending church, they were able to see each other again. Yang DiXiong has been great fellowship for him.

I really am so grateful that life is full of second chances. Heavenly Father is telling me I just need to give people more than one chance to hear about the gospel--good thing I'm learning that now right? I think back though with my first lesson with him when I was on exchanged with Sister Smith and then now and he really is prepared. It might take him a while to overcome his bai-bai, worshiping his ancestors, habit but it will come slowly but surely.

QIU DiXiong also came to church this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Saturday night, we decided to call him and invite him again. Sister Fisher told me to use my 'magic fingers' to call him. Whenever she calls him, he either doesn't answer or says that he can't meet but for some reason when I call him he answers and normally can meet haha...We we called him we invited him to church and he said OK I'll be there! But call me at 8:30 and wake me up. IT WAS SO NEAT to see him there! He was 30 minutes late due to a phone call but I really hope he learned something. When I was also talking to him, he told me he feels like he has no purpose in life. I told him we can help him find a purpose. We met with him Sunday night and started to discuss the Plan of Salvation. He believes in reincarnation and that life doesn't really matter that you are just supposed to bear through it and hope for a better 2nd, 3rd 4th and so on lives....I really hope his heart can be softened to understand the love Heavenly Father truly has for him.

We also we able to meet with Li XianShang on Saturday night. We talked to him about the first half of the plan of salvation as well. He is Buddhist but knows a lot about Christianity. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and asks really good questions. For most of our lesson with him, we were discussing why God commanded Nephi to kill Laban.

Saturday night, as we were doing DPS, we figured we needed just 4 more lessons to reach 20 lessons this week (Lesson is with a less-active, investigator, or someone on the street, has to have 2 prayers and a doctrine from Preach My Gospel has to be taught) I wanted badly to get 4 lessons on Sunday. Knowing it was possible, we scheduled as best we could. After church, all of our plans basically went down the drain but we were still determined to get the lessons we needed. We called Xu DiXiong since we weren't able to meet with him during the week (The one who we are helping get the priesthood) and Qiu DX and we had some plans to stop by some less actives and investigators homes. It was all looking good until Qiu DX called us and said he couldn't meet anymore....After dinner, we needed just one more and what is crazy, is literally as we were leaving Yang JiaTing home, Qiu DX called us and asked if he could meet with us right then. We quickly found a Sister to help us peike and we met with him.

Miracles happen so often on the mission. Yesterday was a more obvious miracle but everyday, Heavenly Father puts miracles in each and everyone of out paths to keep us going and tell us that He loves us and is aware of us. I know He loves each and everyone of us no matter who we are, where we are from, or the mistakes we have made in our past.

I love missionary work. It is so great. I know this church is true! I am so grateful I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. and now, I have the privileged to be able to bring others to the knowledge of our Savior.

Love you all!! Have a great week!!!

Love,

Sister Haacke

"Therefore, be ye strong...; fear not, for the kingdom is yours." D&C 38:15

ShiangKaiShek: