On Nov 18, 2013 Lauren Barden in Taiwan wrote:
Dearest Family!
 
I have some great stories to share. On Wed. night, one of our RCs came up to me and told me her mother wanted to be baptized. I was surprised because her mother had stopped meeting with Miao JieMei and me at the beginning of July due to family opposition. Her mother came to church this Sunday and we sat down to talk with her about her desire to be baptized. She explained her amazement at the changes she has seen in her daughter's happiness and the good feeling whenever the missionaries came to her home. She said she wanted to understand God better and wanted to be baptized quickly. It was a powerful testimony to me of the good influence of this RC as she has grown and progressed in the gospel. Miracle! Companion exchanges also brought many miracles. When I went to Tucheng with Sister Gummow, we didn't have more than 5 or 10 minute breaks between lessons where we found new investigators and visited LAs who hadn't been contacted in some time. The spirit truly guided us to be in the right places at the right time. Exchanges bring miracles!

This week, I read about the Israelites in the book of Exodus. The interesting pattern with the Israelites is that, despite the miracles God gives them, they forget to remember and trust Him. Soon after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites begin to accuse Moses of leading them into the desert only to die from lack of food. God then blesses the Israelites with manna, their "daily bread". God could have used many miracles to sustain the Israelites while they wandered, but he choose to send them bread daily. The manna helped remind them of how real and necessary God was in their lives. They could not physically live without Him for much longer than a single day. The law of Moses was also full of rituals and symbols to frequently remind the people to remember God and his role in their lives. Remembering is important. When we remember we have gratitude. I realize that sometimes, when I get discouraged or frustrated, I am like the Israelites and forget to "remember" the blessings of God in my life. Gratitude is so important!

   Love. This week I thought about love and how it is the key part of this work. There are times when I feel the spirit tapping my heart- telling me that the moment I am experiencing is precious, that it is a gift from God, and that I will never forget it. I've never experienced love in the way i've felt it here on the mission. I felt those sweet "tappings" as one of our investigator's little daughters used her beautiful,soft voice to pray to her Heavenly Father. I felt it when one of the Relief Society sisters gave us a letter that I could not read, but felt its meaning all the same. I felt it when I wrapped my arms around one of our young investigators who was crying because she had just experienced a very difficult week.  These moments are so precious - I'm grateful for every one of them. I hope God never stops teaching me how to love. It's the most beautiful feeling life can ever give us.
 
All you need is love :) - truly
Love you all
Sister Barden
 
ps- ALY KELLER. You're going to be marvelous! I'll be thinking of you this week. Knock em dead ;)