Meeting with Investigators

Family,

I loved reading quickly through the family email this week about your fun road trip! It sounds like you had a blast together and being able to go to Mount Rushmore and other National Parks! I am glad you had fun and made it home safely! 

Today I don't have much time because we are going to NanZhuang with the Elders and our Mission Leader, Jeffrey, soon so I will get in all that I have time for! 

This week was another great week in Toufen. It was much harder though. Our success in finding was a lot lower than it has been in the past couple weeks. Infact, we didn't really get any new investigators this week which is always really sad and hard but we made it through and hopefully this next week we will be able to see more success in finding! 

However, we were able to meet with a new investigator this week. The first time since the night we knocked on her door. Her name is Huang Yi Wen and she is absolutely adorable. The night we met her, we asked her if there was anything special she wanted us to pray for her about. She told us for her husband and her to be able to have kids but that it would take a miracle. As we met with her this last week. We shared with her the Plan of Salvation. it was really neat. Her and her husband have an amazing relationship. They have been married for 11 or 12 years and have been so happy. (Extremely rare here.) They love each other so much and support each other in everything they do. He and his family is Buddhist but she told her husband and he supports her in becoming a Christian. She said her husband is really excited and happy we are starting to meet with her. While we shared with her the Plan of Salvation, everything made sense to her. It was as if she already knew it! We extended an invitation for her to be baptized on July 11th and she accepted! When we invited her, she teared up and explained how before, she wouldn't have accepted but that we are her 3rd or 4th connection to Christianity. 1st: Her older sister is a Christian and lives in Taipei. 2nd: When she was younger I guess these two ladies came to her home and 'baptized her'. She feels like Heavenly Father is giving her another chance to really come unto Him. I am really looking forward to meeting with her more.  

Also, every Wednesday night we teach English and the last 30 minutes of English class we have a spiritual thought. One of the Elders investigators', Peter, attends the class I am currently teaching--Intermediate--and I shared about faith. We discussed three questions using the Book of Mormon. What is faith (specifically in Jesus Christ)?  How can I grow my faith? What blessings can I receive from having faith? For the second question, we read and discussed Alma 32:28. I really thought nothing about my spiritual thought after class until Thursday night when we were walking up the stairs to our chapel for coordination meeting with Jeffrey, the Elders and Peter were walking down the stairs and Peter said, "Thanks for your spiritual thought last night. It really helped me." I was honestly really taken back and so thankful for the kind words he said to me. Later, the Elders explained how it helped him gain the needed motivation he needs to give up smoking. Peter has been working on giving up smoking for a while now so that he can make his baptismal date by the end of this month. He is currently on 3 cigarettes a day (I guess this is the most challenging number to go down to 2?) and he was at a point where he was about to give up but when we read Alma 32:28, he had a thought that it all comes with time and as his faith and trust in the Savior continues to grow, his habit of smoking will become easier and easier to give up. 

This week, Lai Ming Jin introduced us to his son who is 18 and his Sister-in-law! They were at his home when we went to visit him one night! It was really neat! His son seems really interested but it was really hard because his aunt wants him to focus more on School right now. He is in high school year 1. When he graduates from High school--which is still a couple years--he will be moving back in with his dad but I hope and pray his aunt will give him the opportunity he can come to church with his dad. Lai Ming Jin is so missionary minded right now--wanting to share the gospel with everyone he comes in contact with--with his new boss, friends, and family! In fact, his friend, Chen DX, that has been meeting with us for a while with Lai Ming Jin has a baptismal date also for the end of this month and he is all good to go except for smoking--which he is currently giving up--and Lai Ming Jin keeps asking us to continue helping him make his baptismal date! It is so neat! 

We were also able to meet with a mom and daughter we met while knocking doors 2 weeks ago last night. At first the mom was really nervous to meet with us and one of the first things she says is that she just wants to learn about our church but not join it. We told her that is totally fine and that our purpose is to help her come to know Christ and then it is her choice to choose to join His church. We shared the Plan of Salvation with her and she really opened up, asked some really good questions, and seemed really interested. At first she thought that entering the Celestial Kingdom but after explaining, she now wants to go there! 

Lastly, I have really come to realize this week the importance of personal scripture study. I am so grateful for the hour I have every morning to personally study the scriptures. Great strength and guidance comes from studying the scriptures. I know and I can promise you as you open the scriptures every day, whether it  be 5 minutes or 50, Heavenly Father will give you the extra direction and power we need in our lives to make correct decisions to make it back to His presence! 

I love you all so much! I love being a missionary! I love the work, the people, and most importantly, I love my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ with all my heart. I know this church is true!!

Love you all! 

Have a great week!!

--Sister Haacke

 

We ate lunch with the Scheese family and Jeffrey on Saturday afternoon--they are so nice to us! We had tacos with REAL cheese and AMAZING apple pie!

 

 

Sister Cardon, President Day, and I. Last Monday we went up to Taipei for me to have my quarterly interview with President! Amazing experience! President Day is truly a man called of God. I am so sad at the end of this month he will be returning home but I am also looking forward to meeting our new mission President!

 

 OH. and I tried Stinky ToFu this week...yes...it is pretty gross..Definitely something that is going to take some getting used to. Our investigator, Qiu DX brought it with him to our lesson.

 

 It was Elder Dixon's birthday this week. We went out to eat with Jeffrey and Huang JM to celebrate!