March 31, 2014

Hello Family! Happy Spring!

We had an incredible week! We were blessed with so many miracles. The Lord helped us in our finding time. We were led to many prepared people that accepted lessons and were willing to meet with the missionaries. One night, Sister Chu and I only had around thirty minutes to find. We said a sincere prayer and went to work. We were led to an older man walking his dog. As we spoke with him, he began to tell us about his children. He told us that as they have become teenagers, his relationship with them has become strained. He wondered if church would help his family and said he would be willing to listen to our message and be baptized if he felt the church was true.

Another new investigator was set up to meet us on Saturday afternoon, but he didn't make his appointment. We called many times but weren't able to get ahold of him. That evening, just before another investigator's baptism, he called us to say that he was waiting for us at the chapel. We immediately invited him to the baptism where he heard a newly baptized member bear a powerful testimony about the restoration and the happiness the gospel has brought her. When we asked him what he felt during the baptism, he only responded with one word "Awesome!". He has a baptismal date for next month!

Another sweet experience took place on Sunday after church. A sweet girl we recently began teaching shared her growing testimony and how she loves the special feeling she felt whenever she came to the chapel. She told us she really wants to learn more about God. She told us she felt loved at the chapel... she felt that everyone was her family. It was clear that she didn't want to leave. We helped her understand that she was feeling the spirit. As she left, she gave us huge hugs "I love you!" She told us. We love her light!

I learned so many things this week. Recently, we've been making a greater effort to work with the members in our ward. This week, we saw so many miracles from member service. We saw the youth working hard to pass out fliers during a finding activity. One member, while contacting with us on the street, passionately told everyone around her why she was a member of the church and how they could know it was true. The Bishop asked if he could meet with all of the JinHua missionaries every Sunday before church so missionary work could be discussed and lifted. God is pouring out his blessings through these incredible members!

I also learned a lot from our investigator who was baptized this week. Her name is Chen Ming Jun. She is radiant. What really stuns me about Chen JieMei is her... excitement.. her fire. She wanted to be baptized as if it was the only thing that mattered in the world. Every night we called her and could hear the anticipation in her voice, every time we saw her she was all smiles, loving all of the members and thanking us for the lessons we have had the opportunity to teach her. She has let the gospel completely into her heart. Before her baptism, a member started bearing her testimony and began to cry. Chen JieMei reached out and started comforting the member.... She is already Mosiah 18: 8-10 personified! As she bore her testimony after her baptism and in Church following her confirmation, she was glowing. She has a complete sense of wonder about the gospel and an excitement and love of the church that is so bright.. nothing can make her feel discouraged. I want to be more like Chen JieMei, I want to forever maintain a "sense of wonder" about the gospel. If we're always loving the journey, grateful for all of it (bumps included!), we will let the light and joy of Christ completely fill our lives. I love Ammon's example when he says "my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God!". I want to never lose the "sense of wonder" about the gospel.

Sister Chu and I had a fantastic week before transfers. We worked hard, saw so many miracles, and had lots of fun! We really had a most ideal final week together- I'm going to miss her! She's opening a new area down South in TaiDong! Sister Chao is my new companion! She is also incredible! I love Sister Chao's commitment to the work - she's always willing, always ready to do anything it takes to fulfill her missionary purpose. We've had a great start. We've been seeing miracles, learning together and laughing as we go. She also attends BYU and we knew each other in the MTC! I can't wait to see all the wonderful lessons we will learn together this transfer. We're going to give it everything we've got!

Loving life, Enjoy Conference! Tell Debbie and Craig I love them and am thinking about them this week.

Love
Sister Barden

The Church of All Nations

I feel I could fill pages talking about all the miracles we saw this week! A few weeks ago, a woman came to the office asking if she could be baptized. She is a former investigator who was previously unable to accept a baptismal date because she had a concern about the Law of Tithing. As we met with her, she expressed a great desire to be baptized, but still was unwilling to give ten percent of her income. This week, as we shared the blessings of tithing, reviewed the Restoration and invited her to pray about the Book of Mormon, we saw a miracle in her heart. Her testimony grew, she received an answer about the Law of Tithing, and committed to obey it. When we offered a specific day for her baptismal date, she beamed and told us in an energetic voice. "Oh I hope I can be baptized sooner. If I could, I would want to be baptized tomorrow!" Sister Chu and I are stunned by her faith. What a miracle! Another special miracle I want to share took place on Saturday during temple tours. Sister Chu and I were on a short exchange with Sisters Tsai and Sister Mao and Sister Mao and I were scheduled to give a tour to an RC who was recently baptized in Zhubei. I was so excited because I hadn't seen this dear friend (Peng Dai Jun) since her baptismal date in December. I was stunned by the light in her face. She was overflowing with happiness. She told me she had just been to the temple to participate in baptisms for the first time. As she described how she felt in the temple, she couldn't stop smiling. "It was so special" she kept telling me. She told me she wants to serve a mission and has already started talking to the Bishop about her plans. As she told me all this, my heart so full, so big. When I hugged her, I thought of the scripture in D&C 18 that talks about how great our joy will be if we bring but one soul into the kingdom. Seeing her come out of the temple was one of the happiest moments of my mission, of my life. Peng Dai Jun also brought a non-member friend to take the tour with her. As we taught them about baptism at the painting of Jesus Christ, we invited her friend to be baptized. Peng Dai Jun then shared one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard about her baptism, about how it had blessed and changed her. "Yes" Her friend responded without delay. This friend said she was willing to learn about the church and set a baptismal date because of the changes she has seen in Peng Dai Jun's happiness. Such a beautiful miracle! 
This week was a difficult week but it was also one of the most beautiful weeks of my mission. Many times this week, I've been thinking about a place that continually reminds me of the things I have been feeling. There is a famous church in Jerusalem called The Church of All Nations. It is situated on the Mount of Olives beside a garden of knarled olive trees. It is known as the traditional site where Jesus Christ knelt in the garden of Gethsemane and experienced the Atonement. Inside the massive church, rows of wooden benches are arranged under a vast ceiling of mosaic chipped blue tile, made to look like the evening sky. The most unique characteristic about the 'Church of All Nations' is its dark atmosphere. Windows are sparse in the church to give an illusion of night. I can only imagine this must have been designed to give a sober feel and to represent the night that Christ suffered for the pains of the world. Every sabbath I went to the 'Church of All Nations' was such a unique experience. It created the perfect environment to think, to remember the Savior, to quietly ponder if I was doing everything I could be doing to be better. I always left recognizing a need to change. My most striking memory about the 'Church of All Nations', however, is not the time I spent lost in thought in it's chapel... it was what happened when I walked out the big, iron doors into the sun.  
The contrast from cold marble to warm sunlight...heavy silence to a lively Jerusalem...rough wood pews to planted flowers was stark and wonderful. Every time I left, I felt a little different than I did before I entered. I grew to love the 'Church of All Nations', not because it was the most peaceful or beautiful church in Jerusalem, but because it helped me remember how much I needed the Savior, because every time I stepped out.. the sun seemed brighter, the city seemed much more beautiful, and I felt even more loved by my savior Jesus Christ. Recently, I feel I've been in a 'Church of All Nations'. I've experienced some new challenges, I've more clearly seen some of my weaknesses, I've seen a greater need for the Atonement in my life. I've felt the changing, enabling, strengthening and comforting power of the Atonement in beautiful ways. I know that whenever we leave the 'Church of All Nations' in our lives, our capacity to love is increased, our perspective is altered, our faith in Jesus Christ is intensified. I've felt joy and peace this week in ways I have rarely felt before. I'm so grateful for every day of this precious mission, for every person in Taiwan who has left an eternal impact on me. This week, I feel the sun has never been brighter, the rice has never tasted better, Taiwan has never been so beautiful, and the gospel has never been so extraordinary. I love this mission! 

Love, Sister Barden

Sister Barden from Taiwan March 10, 2013 

Dear Family! 

Sister Steed and I saw miracles in Hualien! One of the most beautiful miracles we saw occurred as we were knocking doors. We only had thirty minutes before we had to leave for our next destination. After starting with a sincere prayer, we started moving down the street. After about five doors, we came up to a lit house filled with the sounds of children. A kind woman came to the door, immediately invited us in, and told us that she was Christian. She also told us she had seen our missionaries before and that they had given her a Book Of Mormon. She also told us she would like to listen to our message! We shared our purpose, talked about baptism, and taught her to pray in the brief time that we had together. Miracle!  Sister Steed has a great desire to be the best missionary she can.

 

I had a wonderful experience with Sister Lee. As we worked together in Taidong, Sister Lee seemed to be a consistent and able missionary. She has a gift for giving others joy and naturally teaching the gospel in a simple and fun way. She told me she is enjoying being with Sister Pieper and they are seeing miracles together. We had a beautiful lesson with a young boy who is getting baptized very soon. We taught him a simple principle and helped him to practice his prayers. As Sister Lee taught, I could feel her love for this little boy and the powerful spirit that was present in the lesson. It was a beautiful thing to see.

 

This week, I have been pondering how I could magnify my calling as a missionary. While focusing on this topic, I started thinking about service and how I can do more to give to everyone I have the ability to serve. I began thinking about ways that I might be living beneath my capacity to serve.. (my companion, investigators, ward members, other missionaries) and pondering how I can develop increased awareness to recognize more opportunities. Unselfish service is something we need to work on every day. Every day, we can always do more to "forget ourselves and go to work" to choose to turn outward instead of inward. I know that the real measure of one's life is not found in possessions or even in positions, but in the simple answer to the question "how many people did you help?". In Ether 7: 20-27, I find a beautiful example of the importance of selfless service in the example of Nimrod. These verses describe a time in Jaredite history where two kingdoms were constantly at war with one another in selfish desires for power. However, when Nimrod's father is killed and Nimrod inherits the kingdom, a remarkable thing occurs. Nimrod gives his kingdom to Shule. He simply gave up his kingdom to the forces that killed his father. The following verses continue to describe how the peace following this "forfeiting" of the kingdom brings prophets and times of peace and righteousness. I am in awe of Nimrod and his example. When Nimrod gave up the kingdom, he gave up a life of prestige, power, and maybe even submitted to the possibility of imprisonment or death. However, I know that Nimrod's act spiritually and physically saved generations of his people, providing a service perhaps more influential than the rule of King Shule. I hope that God will help me to have increased sensitivity to recognize where I am falling short of my potential to serve. I hope that I will also never hesitate to give when I see an opportunity to help. I know that the more we give the more we gain…  the more we prepare, teach, and share, the more we learn and the more we have to give.

Love you always, 

Sister Barden

Sister Barden from Taiwan March 3, 2013 

Hello Family! 

 

Miracles! We had a great week. This week at church, a mother who has attended the JinHua ward for three weeks came for the last time before her return trip to America. She was glowing. As we sat with her, she told me all about her daughter's faith (her daughter is a member in the States) and how much she wants to have a better relationship with God. With an open face and a big smile, she told me that she has rejected learning about the gospel for years, but because of miracles she has experienced while battling cancer, she has started praying to God every day. "I don't know if I'm doing it right..." she told me "but I hope he understands!". I already love this incredible mother who I firmly believe will soon be baptized in Seattle. 

 

We had another miracle occur by accident. This Saturday, our ward had an activity. We were calling all our investigators, RCs, and LAs to invite them to attend when I mistyped one of our investigators names in our phone contacts data base. As result, I called an old number in the phone with a name similar to, but not the same as, the actual investigator I was trying to contact. When I realized I was talking to the wrong person, I instantly invited her to attend the activity with us. This woman ended up coming and staying until the end of the activity. She shared some intense challenges she has been facing in her life. "I've been praying for help," she told me, "and then I got a call from you. You are both my angels". We're meeting with this sweet woman next week. 

 

This week, Sister Chu and I have been focusing on inviting more of the spirit in everything that we do. I was reading a fantastic Conference talk about 'Teaching with the Power and Authority From God'. I am so grateful we have a life-time to continually learn how to be more sensitive to the spirit. Sometimes, I worry that I am putting my own opinions or thoughts about what an investigator needs over the quiet voice of the spirit... or I think that I have become so practiced in contacting that I forget to occasionally say those extra prayers about where we should go... and that we will be guided to know what to do. Maybe increased sensitivity to the Holy Ghost comes with increased humility and obedience; an expression of our desire to always have the spirit with us.  I particularly loved one part of the article that discussed how others are converted through WORD and POWER. It says "The word of the gospel is written in the scriptures, and we can obtain the word by diligently searching. The power of the gospel comes into the lives of those who so live that the Holy Ghost is their companion and who follow the promptings they receive." Thus, through studying diligently and being obedient we qualify for increased sensitivity to the Holy Ghost. I love that this principle is so simple, but through time we have the opportunity to continually work at it and better understand it. That is one of the beautiful things about the gospel... The gospel is very simple, but over time we have the opportunity to deepen our understanding of it. I want to work very hard at being more sensitive to the spirit in all that I do. 

 

Sister Chu and I had a great week. As we sought the spirit in all that we did, we saw increased success in our contacting and teaching. We are working hard together and having fun in the work! I'm really grateful that Sister Chu is helping me better understand Taiwanese culture and some of the characteristics of church members in Taiwan. It's helping me to know how I can more effectively serve the members. I'm so lucky to be her companion! 

 

This week we're heading back to the East Coast for three days - should be exciting! 

 

Love you always!  TJ- congrats on passing your driving test! 

Mckenzie Christensen - CONGRATULATIONS!!! I couldn't be more excited for you! 

 

Sister Barden