Happy Thanksgiving!

Family and Friends!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you all have a great week celebrating with family and friends! I am so grateful for you all--your support, love, friendship, and prayers. They are all felt! Here in Taiwan, Thanksgiving isn't celebrated too much--except our cute little branch had a fun Thanksgiving dinner Saturday night. Just like what Bryan said last week, all the Christmas things are coming out and they are started to play Christmas music--mostly everyone also doesn't know why we celebrate Christmas either.  I am so excited for this next month that I have to spread the word about Christ's birth and ministry!

Family, I am glad you are having a great time in Hawaii! Too bad it has rained a lot but glad the rain hasn't stopped you from having fun!

Saturday was the biggest highlight of the whole week!! 菜仁和 got BAPTIZED!! He has basically been an eternal investigator and now everything worked out and he was able to be baptized!! What a miracle! His mom is currently living in ZhangHua so she took the train all the way here to 玉里 to attend his baptism! She is a nonmember and feels like she is not quite ready to give up some things in order to be baptized! But, she loves the influence that the church has on her boys and wants them to grow up with the gospel principles. 仁和 is really a twin to 仁平 but he is considered the 'older brother' because he was born before 仁平. He is really shy-due to a really really challenging and hard childhood- but has really opened up to Sister Coleman and I this last transfer it is really cute! Every time he was asked why he wanted to be baptized, he would tell us that is it because he is excited to get rid of all his sins! At his baptismal service, his brother 仁平 shared his testimony. It was so adorable. He said that he was so happy his brother could get baptized and become a church member. He also said that he hopes his brother will read the scriptures and pray everyday. :) How cute coming from a little 9 year old :).

After his baptism, our branch had our Thanksgiving Dinner. Bro. Gunn (a member from America in our branch) cooked a turkey--American Style. But, 高弟兄, was the one who cut it up and they have no idea how to cut a turkey..haha...he basically was chopping it up like he was killing it...haha. It is safe to say, there was not a piece of meat left on those bones! Other than that and some Taiwanese style cranberry sauce, the rest was Taiwanese food! It was really fun to be able to chat with a few of our members and spend time with them! We are really working hard to unite this branch. There is so much drama and hatred between the members here but through these activities and showing our love to everyone, it has helped so much. The branch has slowly started to become as one.  Years of built up troubles are trying to be solved. It is definitely not easy but it is needed in order for this branch to grow and succeed.

This week, we went and also said goodbye to our Filipino investigator! She got permission from her boss to take her two week vacation time and is going back to the Philippines for her daughters wedding! We were so excited for her! She told us that chocolate in the Philippines is really expensive so Sister Coleman and I went and bought a few chocolates for her to give to her children! She was SO excited!

Friday night we go the the small night market in 玉里 and English Board. To be honest, I have not always really enjoyed my time during English Boarding BUT this last week was SO fun! We got a new sign to bring and we went with the Elders! Everyone was so much more interested. Because 玉里 is so small, pretty much everyone here has heard about our English class so as we have become more creative, more people are starting to come!! While we were English boarding, I stopped and talked to this cutest female for a good 15-20 minutes. She is from BanQiao--Taipei area. What an amazing lady. We literally became best friends and exchanged contact information and she wants to stay in contact with me when I return home from my mission!!. I asked her if I could ask the missionaries in Banqiao to get a hold of her and she said of course!! Team Jesus!!

Sadly, Sister Coleman got sick this week so most of Wednesday and Thursday, we spent some hours inside so that she could rest and recover. But, Heavenly Father truly blessed us this week even though we had to be inside for a few hours!!

I love serving. I am so GRATEFUL for this wonderful opportunity. I love representing my Savior, Jesus Christ and having the opportunity to spread his gospel to all. I know this church to be true. I know only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ can we be saved from sin and death. I know that Christ loves and know us each individually and wants the best from us. Trust in Him. Trust in the plan that Heavenly Father has given to us all. Align your will with His!

I love you all so very much. Thank you for your examples. Thank you for your testimonies!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Have a great week!!

Sister Haacke

 Our cute little 玉里.

  

As we were finding this week out in RuiSui, we met this cute old lady---she was a little crazy but SO adorable! She took us into her home, and cut up oranges for us to eat. Pretty much every older person you ask to take a picture with, they always say no. But when we asked her, she was so willing! So we took  a picture with her.

  

And this is a picture of us and Valis, one of our new investigators in RuiSui! She is AMAZING!

  

 Our portable font!

  

 Sister Coleman and I with 菜仁和 and 菜仁平.

  

 Our branch President, a young man who baptized 仁和, and their mom!

 Some kids in our branch.

  

 Gao DiXiong cutting the American style turkey.

  

 Sister Coleman and I Thanksgiving dinner. Dad, sadly there is not any fast food places in YuLi--they don't have pizza, McDonald's, KFC, or anything here...so we will probably be having some fried rice and zhua bing for our thanksgiving meal :) :) 

  

 

 Sister Coleman and I with 陳子令 and  陳元怡 they are also twins in our branch and are the only members in their family! They are 15 :) and YiLang photobombed our picture. :)