Sister Samantha Haacke: Hope

FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Wow, TIME FLIES!! This week was pretty crazy and also pretty exciting! It went by wayyy to fast! So much happened this last week and more will continue to happen this next week.

Before I forget, I will not be having Preparation Day next Monday. It will be moved to Wednesday. I am so lucky. My last two days in Taiwan, I will be able to go to the Temple TWICE! Our Mission is having their temple day a few weeks early due to mission tours next month and it happened to fall the day before I report the the Mission Home!

As for this week, we had a busy week in and out of our area. We had zone meeting this week, exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders, and General Conference! So with all these events, we weren't able to do much work in our area but we were still blessed with miracles!

We met with a referral this week. Tang DiXiong. Brother Tang is 21 years old and from the South but working here and doing his required military service. Well, in the end, he has a ton of interest and really wants to know for himself. Liang JM was our peike and she was so great. We shared the first lesson with him and our peike asked him, "Do you have any doubts about what the missionaries just taught you?" At first I was like...what are you asking? Then, it opened up and Liang JM shared when she was investigating the church several years ago and the doubts that she had and how she overcame them. It was really neat to hear this strong member bear testimony about the power of prayer and really pondering the Scriptures.

While on exchanges, Sister Maxwell and I were meeting with one of their investigators, Jian DX. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he does everything except for the illegal drugs. When we showed him a picture of all the things he needed to avoid, he points to all of them and said, "ding, ding, ding etc" We made a calendar with him on how he is going to give up smoking. This lesson was neat because after we left, he called us two times that night thanking us for the great lesson and giving him hope he can give up smoking. Helping others change their lives for the better is so so amazing.

We also met with a man, Li Ji Xuan, in whom I also met with last transfer when we were on exchanges. Man, this man has changed. I'm telling you, I am so grateful for the gospel and how it changes lives. He is also working on giving up smoking and has a baptismal goal for the end of this month.

Also, while we were on exchanges, I saw a picture of dad on the front of someone's instrument store. As we were reading the article with the picture of dad, we noticed the people in the store were all looking at us, we decided to go in and ask if we could share a short message with them. Well, we first met the wife, Zhan JM. I pointed to the picture of dad and said that he was my dad. Then she went off and started to show me all these other pictures and rewards her husband has received from Melaleuca. He is pretty far up there. Well, we shared something small with her and she became a really awesome potential investigators. Several hours later when we were returning to grab our bikes from the front of the store, the husband was outside and came over and said, I know your dad! haha Well, we talked with him and I got a picture with him. Dad, he knows you are not working at Melaleuca anymore and he was sad. But, he was really neat and told us that he has met with missionaries before but is just so busy right now, he doesn't even have 30 minutes to be able to sit and take the lessons. One day. So, I'm just meeting people all over the place that know you dad! haha (This was in BeiTou)

General Conference was absolutely amazing. I could write pages and pages of what I learned and received inspiration on but because I am really short on time today, I won't. But, all I can say is that I am so grateful for a living prophet and Apostles that lead and guide our church today. I sustain and support our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson and I am so grateful for the counsel he gave to us about making choices. Conference is literally the best thing ever. I also heard from several Elders the Priesthood Session was wonderful--especially Dieter F. Uchtdorf's? haha

This week, I really took some time and studied about hope.
I love in Preach My Gospel under Chapter 6- Christlike attributes it defines hope as:
Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. It is believing and expecting that something will occur. When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement. The scriptures often describe hope in Jesus Christ as the assurance that you will inherit eternal life in the celestial kingdom.

I especially loved the first line, Hope goes along with trust so much. It also goes along with faith. But I feel like faith is like diligent work. Through that diligent work can we develop our faith. I also love how we can measure our hope. Just like PMG says, When we have hope, we are confident, optimistic, enthusiastic, and patient throughout our trials. Hope comes through patience (and if anyone knows me, that is something I have really had to work on on my mission).

Hope reminds me of a scripture in Alma 58 while Helaman and the 2000 stripling warriors and armies are in battle:

10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God,that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.
11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea,insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

When we have hope, I know the Lord will deliver us out of all of our trials. He loves us and wants us to succeed. He is willing to help us and willing to lift us up off the ground--only when we lift our hand up to Him.

I know my Savior lives and loves each and every one of us. His gospel and teachings are PERFECT. He is the head of this church and I am so grateful I have the honor of wearing His name on my chest everyday.

Time is really clicking down and my emotions have honestly been everywhere. But, I can say, I am starting to get just a little bit excited to head home. I can't think about it very much but I am excited to see you all again!

I love you all and have a great week and a half! I'll write once more next Wednesday :)

LOVE YOU!

Sister Haacke

P.S. Crazy experience with our CO2 Alarm this week. Our mission just got new ones and I think the are WAY too sensitive but they all for our health right? Well, I just didn't sleep at all Wednesday night because it went off at 4:30 in the morning. My companion just continued to sleep but I was honestly scared for my life. I opened all the windows and checked the old CO2 alarm but it wasn't going off. It went off again at 5:30 and then about 4 times between the hours of 6 and 6:28 AM. I then finally called our operations Elder and we had to leave our apartment for the morning, in the end, there was no CO2 but it was a sleepless night for me. :)