September 1, 2013

My Dearest Family,
 
    Li Xiang Zhen was baptized on Tuesday. I remember Miao JieMei and I just hugging each other with happiness. What a miracle. I'm going to miss my "tiger mother" Miao JieMei - She always smiles when I call her that! She has no idea how much she has shaped and altered me for the better. Thursday, I went to the temple chapel in JinHua for the training meeting. I remember feeling a numbing sense of fear in my stomach as I realized that out of all the trainers, I was the one with the very least experience. Despite all these thoughts, I've tried to immerse myself in the truth that God has called me to be a trainer - and my answer to  every call will always be yes.
 
  We took the new missionaries out contacting their first night in Taiwan. I took one dear sister to the same place I spent my first night of contacting less than three months ago: the Chiang-Kai Shek memorial. I loved this so much! As I guided her, I was stunned and humbled at the gifts God has given me during these two transfers of my mission. We saw miracles as we placed Books of Mormons and taught lessons. What a fabulous experience.
 
  On Friday, I took an early bus ride and sat in the front row of transfer meeting with the rest of the trainers. This, again, felt sublime as memories of being assigned to a trainer still seemed so vivid and fresh in my mind. All the sisters stood up one by one and were assigned to their respective trainers. When the last one was called up, I knew she was coming home with me. Sister Tracy is the missionary that JiLong needs right now and I am thrilled I get to be her companion! She is from Seattle, Washington and has the most loving, calm, and West-coast "chill" personality. She is game for all the crazy adventures we have every day. I am so excited for all the miracles we're going to see together!
 
   Rain has been pounding JiLong the past few days. Saturday afternoon, I knew we had to get to three lessons despite the intense downpour. Decked out in our intense raingear, we marched street after street from lesson to lesson. While trying to reach our third destination, we found multiple routes blocked by 3-ft deep flooding, entire stores carpeted by the dark and heavy rainflow. After deciding there was no other way to get to our investigator (11 year old Li qian rou!), I turned to SIster Tracy with a big smile and said "are you ready for this?". I loved her response: "Let's do it!". Armed with our calf-length ponchos and umbrellas, we plunged into the flood and made our way across the street. As garbage floated past and motorcycles got stuck in the running water, I couldn't help but smile at such an unbelievable circumstance. I will NEVER forget such an amazing day.
 
 I want to share one more final miracle that occured that same evening. During our dinner hour, we were planning on doing an hour of contacting before helping the Elders get ready for a baptism they had scheduled for 7:30. However, I had a sudden feeling that we should try to go visit a 9 year old RC we hadn't been able to see for about two weeks. We went to her home only to find that she wasn't there. On the way back from the chapel, Sister Tracy a few steps in front of me, I saw a young woman walking toward us as she headed in the opposite direction. The strangest and most quiet feeling came over me and I knew that I should try to talk to her. As she came abreast of us I ran up to Sister Tracey, telling her to "wait!" before I darted back to this young girl. As we taught her the first lesson, she explained that she had been experiencing many trials in her recent life. She told us that the night before she had prayed to God that He would help her. "And then today, I come across the two of you!", she told us with a smile. I was deeply touched and humbled by this precious miracle. This is God's work.
 
  One more fun memory I want to share. I was asked to play my piano arrangement of "Praise to the Man" at the new member fireside last night. I love this song. Every time I play it, I feel as if it is my way of expressing how much I love the prophet Joseph.
 
What a journey!
 
Praying for you always,
Sister Barden