Sister Barden in Taiwan - Sept. 21, 2014

Dear Family,

Things in Yilan are going well! We're continuing to see incredible finding miracles in the most interesting places. This week we met a Jenny Jian. Her family invited us into their home and allowed us to teach them about the Plan of Salvation. Most incredible was the father's interest in the lesson. He told us that his father had passed away not long ago. Jenny had genuine interest, and her father began encouraging her to go to church and learn more. It's always so wonderful to find prepared hearts in even the most traditional Buddhist neighborhoods.

We also had an incredible lesson with a member and her young cousin. She's been a member most of her life but she has never had the courage to share the gospel with most of her family. They took us to this expensive noddle place that was very busy.... it was really hard to hear in the beginning! But... as the lesson progressed and we talked about baptism, a familiar good feeling came. As this young man heard the testimony of this sister, his curiosity deepened. He committed to read the Book of Mormon and to better understand what baptism meant and if it was true. My favorite part was watching the excitement in the member. As her cousin accepted our invitations, her eyes became happy and then amazed. She told her cousin to call her whenever he had a question about his scripture reading.

I love seeing the members get excited about the work! Their efforts are so powerful!

I have been mulling over some interesting insights this week. I've been thinking about my mission as a whole and putting together some of the powerful lessons God has helped me learn. I've been thinking about the Lord's pattern for helping us understand truth. The most important truths can only be learned by the assistance of the Spirit. Another person can tell them to us, or provide guidance as we learn for ourselves, but the Holy Ghost alone provides a "mute comprehension" of important, universal truths.

I've been thinking about the phrase "study it out in your mind" and what that means. I love this phrase. Sometimes, "studying it out" is much more exerting than we think it will be. An apostle once stated "study it out" means a degree of patience, of labor, of persistence commensurate with the value of what you seek". Thus, for the truths and understanding most worth knowing, a great deal of experience, prayer, searching and often time accompany the answers to our most important questions.    I'm grateful I have the chance to 'study out' the principles most worth knowing on my mission. I'm grateful God often waits for us to ask questions instead of just giving all the answers. I'm glad He helps me work for those answers so I know the truth He teaches me is very valuable. ...and I never need to stop learning!

Love you all - Jia You this week! (add oil! )
Sister Barden