Sister Samantha Haacke: Weirdest Day of the Mission

My dear family and friends!

SHOUT OUT TO LEXUS! Congrats on getting engaged! I am so excited for you!!!!

What another great week it has been in the field. I don't know how I am going to be able to express everything that occurred this week.

For Sunday, You'll have to wait until I return home to hear all about this day. It's fuuny, leaving our house Sunday morning, Sister Wong prayed we would be able to see miracles today and, literally Sunday, was the craziest most weirdest day of my entire mission. I think it beats the day where the baptismal font collapsed in YuLi, Typhoons, etc...everything :)

But, what I will write about Sunday, we saw a lot of success at church today! We had Zhou Ming Yu and her two boys come again. This woman and her boys will for sure be baptized in the next few months. Zhou JM wants it more than anything. The only time though that she has to meet is on Sunday so we can't teach her the lessons very fast. Jian DiXiong and Yan JieMei also came to church for the first time with their 1 year old son. And May also came!!

Sunday evening, a woman, Li JieMei, who moved from my previous area, Tao4, about the same time I did to SanChong dedicated her home last night. She came up to me in church and invited us to go and she said a lot of Tao4 members were going to be there. So when we went, I walked in and everyone freaked out! It was so so funny! It was super exciting! I am so grateful I was able to see a lot of the members in whom I loved so much one last time because I never really had an opportunity to say goodbye to any of them as it was a surprise to me when I got the call to transfer and train. It was a great dedication.

Sunday night, we visited Li Xun and one of her daughters, Kim. Rui Cong came with us. It was a great small FHE. Kim is really starting to open up!!!

Saturday was the first day of no rain for about the last 2 weeks! It was literally a miracle from above!!! We met with a new investigator who came to English class for the first time this last week. She brought her 14 year old son!! The son has been to a Christian church before but she has never been. We shared with them about the Plan of Salvation and eternal families. I think it really hit home for them. They were willing to set some baptismal dates. Church will be a bit faith tester for them since it is so early in the morning and Sunday is their only day they can sleep in though :) Saturday night, we had a little Easter activity at the church with the LuZhou Ward. LuZhou ward actually hosted it but invited us missionaries and our investigators. It was fun to dye eggs, have a little Easter egg hunt for a chapel tour, and some American pancakes for a little dinner :)

Friday: Part of Friday has to do with the Sunday story, which will just have to wait because it is so long.

Friday, we had a cool finding experience. It was raining, and we were walking on this road. I decided to turn down this lane and when we turned down, there was no one down it. I thought, why did we decide to turn down here, then, just as I was about to turn back, this man comes up and says are you Christian? Yep, we started talking and he became a great potential investigator. He is Christian as well, hasn't been to church for a while. The Lord really leads us to the people who we need to come in contact with!!

Thursday we had trainer-trainee follow-up meeting in Taipei.

Wednesday: Had a really neat experience with our investigator Liu Zu Mei. She is the one in the wheelchair. She has been pretty sick and we taught her about the priesthood and the power the priesthood has. We asked her if she wanted to have a priesthood blessing. Well, we set it up on Wednesday afternoon. Due to some meetings in Taipei, a set of LuZhou elders ended up coming and doing it for her. But, I know it was Elder Anderton and Simonson who needed to come and do this blessing. We had a really good short, powerful lesson on faith and how according to our faith, God will answer our prayers. This woman is a woman who says she doesn't have any faith. haha So it was a really powerful experience. We gave her the blessing and the Spirit was so strong. Her home was literally filled. It was the greatest feeling ever. Words cannot describe this experience. No, her sickness wasn't immediately taken from her and she is still dealing with it, but I know this blessing gave her the strength to continue forward and endure through her life's challenges.

When I first met Liu Zu Mei, I thought she was the cutest, most innocent lady. Well, as we have began teaching her, her little 'other' side has come out. haha She is so funny, sarcastic, but also has some really strong opinions. I can't wait for you all to have the chance to meet her.

Tuesday, we had President interviews. Those are always so good

Monday: For p-day, Sister Wong and I went to this Frozen exhibit. So neat. Frozen is still HUGE here!

Yesterday was so special being able to celebrate Easter. Christ's Resurrection. I came across these scriptures this morning in my personal study and I thought they were so applicable to today. 2 Nephi 25:12-13:

12 But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars;and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.
13 Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulcher for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name.

Nephi has just finished recording Isaiah's prophesies and bears his strong testimony about the Savior. I love how Nephi explains his soul delighted in the fact he was able to prophesy about the coming, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this opportunity I have been given that I can wear Christ's name on my chest. The time continues to fly by. I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to represent Him. Like Nephi, my soul truly delights in this work of salvation. The Lord is truly on the MOVE and He needs us as his servants to work our hardest to bring all who will listen unto Him!

I love you all!! Have a great week!!

ALSO SHOUT OUT TO MARISSA!!! YOU'RE 16!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY (FOR ME) TOMORROW (FOR YOU)!! I LOVE YOU!!!

GRANDPA H.: I also want to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! On Tuesday! Have a great day! Love you!

Family, also thanks for the Easter package full of sweets! It was a great surprise! I love you all, mom, I loved your note and that quote. Exactly what I needed to read! LOVE YOU

LOVE YOU!

Sister Haacke

So, when we visited as a family when we lived in China, we took a picture right here, well, the characters have now changed but other than that its the same!