Week of Miracles!

Sister Gummow is enjoying her new responsibilities and opportunities to go on exchanges and teach with a variety of Sisters in her Zones.  She had some great experiences and really enjoys being near the temple again!

"Dear Family,

I just have to say that the lord really does love me.  Ha ha after all these difficult times on my mission I feel like the lord just pulled open the  windows of heaven and poured out blessings upon me.  It is really incredible.  We found 8 new investigators this week!!!  3 of which are a golden family.  They have 2 little boys who remind me of Matt and Daniel so much.  It is really so crazy.  I realize now how much the Lord was preparing me to help out these next generations of missionaries.  The sisters that I am over are so awesome and I can't wait to work with them.  

This week was super fun because I got to go on exchanges two times already, one with the temple sisters and one with the sisters in Shilin who are Sister W (sister B's first trainee), and Sister G (my friend from the MTC).  It was seriously so fun to be with them and we saw miracles on all of the exchanges.  

Some of the cool miracles we saw were as me and Sister B (current temple sister) were contacting we were able to meet a really awesome golden investigator.  Sister B used to be in this area, so she was actually leading me around when she got the impression to change where we were going and to stop at a place right by where we currently were.  We walked down the street and about 10 minutes into contacting ran into a girl who had met the missionary sisters before, but because she was going to study at a small island wasn't able to set up a time.  She was so excited and set up a time for Tues.  She is awesome and ironically her English name is Kelly :).

The other cool miracle was when I was in Shilin with Sister G.  We had a few hours of contacting so we set a goal to try and use family history during one of the hours because we just had specialized training all about family history.  So we wanted to find a younger girl using family history.... and guess what - it happened!  We ran into a girl who was already christian.  As we started talking to her we were able to discuss the traditional culture and why parents often oppose their conversion to the christian church.  We were able to help her understand we still love our ancestors.  We set up a time for them to meet with her and any of her friends who may be interested next week.   Sooo cool!  

Best miracle of the week was meeting with our English class student xxxx and her son.  She has been coming to English class for awhile, but missionaries were never able to find a convenient time to meet.  We were not only able to set up a time, but when we came we found she was interested in this for her whole family.  Her sons are adorable!  In English class we had a spiritual thought about the Book of Mormon.  She said that that week her son ran into a problem and he told his mom... "it's ok mom I can go find the answer in the book of Mormon" and he promised her he would read it.  This week they committed to reading and praying everyday.  They are often busy on Sundays, but they committed to finding a time to come to church as well.  We are set up for next Sunday and will get to meet the dad too! 

I seriously feel so grateful for this gospel and my wonderful companion.  We are going to be going on exchanges quite frequently, but it is nice to know that when I get back we are really unified in not only our goals, but how we do missionary work.  I am always exhausted but so so happy.  I was happy that after our first exchange Sister G told me she knew that the Lord wanted me there for a reason and she thought I could do a lot of good among the sisters there.  

I am grateful that all my experiences here have taught me so much.  It is so cool to use those challenges and trials and to help other people.  I look forward to all the miracles we will be seeing this week as well.

The temple was an amazing spiritual uplift.  I missed it so much, but was so lucky to be able to go so quickly after getting back to Taipei.  Sorry I didn't tell you all about temple day... I didn't know either, just a nice little surprise after getting back from Taidong.  It was also fun because one of the temple workers is our member in Taidong so I got to see her.  I will also get to go on exchanges back to my old area- Neihu! sooo fun! 

I can't believe Joanna is going on a mission!  She is really going to make a fantastic missionary.  Missionary work on missions isn't necessarily easier or harder... just different.  The Lord really knows what we need and He helps us grow so much on our missions.  I am so excited for her and all the things she will experience.  I also have another little friend for you to friendship.  He is moving to Utah to study English and prepare to serve a mission.  He is the MM leader in our wards son and he always helps us peike.  He is awesome!  He is only 18 though and it's his first time away from home.  He is excited but nervous.  He is still trying to find a place to live and I was hoping you guys might be able to help him out.  He wants to live near BYU campus.  

I love you all!  Thanks for all your support!  Jia you!"