To Live Again

Sister Barden from Taiwan - August 24, 2014
Dear Family,    The mission has had a lot to think on this week. A few nights ago, I was pacing the room and taking phone calls before we went to bed. When our District leader called for our nightly report, I sensed something wrong from the heaviness in his voice. Even before he told us what had occurred in the mission, a pause in the phone conversation prompted me to quietly ask "what happened?".The answer seemed to hit my stomach like a heavy brick. Dear Elder Xiong and Elder Thredgold died due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning in their apartment... Suddenly, a lot of thoughts crashed over me. I imagined two families picking up the phone call from a shaky-voiced Mission President. I pictured Sister Day in a small apartment packing clothes, name-tags, carefully marked scriptures that would be eternally entombed with the emotion of the tragedy. I thought of the tender announcement being read among a solemn group of apostles at their weekly meetings.... And suddenly, a lot of feelings burst in my heart.
As I've thought about many memories of Elder Xiong,  and just a few instances of interacting with Elder Thredgold, the reality of the resurrection has left such an impression on my mind. The deaths of these Elders have weighed heavy on my heart... just as they have for every missionary in our mission. It's not Easter, but I can't stop pondering about the events of Easter morning as Mary sat at the tomb and mourned for the Savior.      The apostles had been given indications that the Savior would not always be with them. Even if they did not fully comprehend what was about to befall our Savior, they had received some foreshadowing of events to come. But Mary... the tragic loss of her Lord must have seemed sudden. She was absolutely and emotionally not ready for Him to be taken away. When we read the accounts of her weeping at the tomb, we don't know how long she must have sat waiting. It could have been a short time... it may have been hours. Most profound, is the power of one spoken sentence to totally expel her sorrow and replace it with pure joy. The simple, absolute truth that Christ had conquered death caused her fears and sadness to be completely transformed into hope and wonder. I know a solid foundation of faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to morph the sorrowing depths of our hearts into vessels of peace and happiness. Because of the resurrection, these Elders will see their families again... and all will be well.
     We saw incredible miracles this week. I don't know where to begin. A mother with three young children came to Sacrament meeting.... a former investigator who lost contact with the church was found again. He said a kneeling prayer asking God to help him become better and told us he felt very peaceful and especially happy at our lesson. We contacted a young man, taught him about baptism and asked to meet with him another time.... this young man then told us his cousin was a member of our ward. On Sunday, this member cousin came up to us and thanked us for contacting the young man. "A few weeks ago he was very drunk and we got in a terrible argument. He called us to say that you had contacted him. Thank you for helping us to smooth things over". In the Yilan train station, we found a young woman whose parents are both very ill. As we taught her about the Resurrection and the Plan of Salvation, her face softened and she wanted to learn more.     Oh, the blessings! God is working here in Yilan... it is such a privilege to see him change hearts.    Remember that life is fragile and precious. Be safe - have joy! I love you all!

Sister Barden