Christmas Is Just Another Day of Missionary Work For Missionaries

 Here's a video of a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greetings from the Taiwan Taichung missionaries (Click below):

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope all of you back home are still enjoying this beautiful holiday season!  I know I am, though perhaps in a bit of a different way than I am used to.  Christmas, as predicted, wasn't a very big event.  Sister Schultz and I celebrated by going to our favorite Japanese noodle place and also by going to a Italian place called NuPasta.  Both were really enjoyable, though perhaps not the most healthy, but hey, when are the holidays ever healthy? Haha!

So this week, once again has passed by in a blurr of fun and missionary work.  It was a bit different though, since we were trying to change things up.  Since coming to Taiwan, I've learned that missionary work, isn't quite missionary work without creativity, laughter, and having a good time.  Of course, there is a balance between fun and being dilligent, but we are still expected to be ourselves out here.  Because the Lord called us to be missionaries, not robots.  He gave us all of our talents and we are expected to use them.... Even if that means making a very cute poster to powerboard about the true meaning of Christmas and then singing Christmas carols and hymns to try and attract people to come over.... That's how we spent a bit of time on Christmas Eve and Christmas.... Well.... It was a bit less than effective, since Our singing wasn't really that attractive nor loud enough to be heard above the average noise level of Taiwan....  Also, I can't really write Chinese and Sister Schultz can't either.... so there was one mistake on our poster, which made me really sad... But Elder Xu, the Taiwanese Elder in our Pingdong district said he could "kan de dong" (understand when he read it.) So... It's all good.  I hope we made someone at least feel the joy of the Christmas Season.  If not, it at least made Sister Schultz and I really happy, so we could do this work with a more joyful spirit. :D

The rest of our Christmas day was less than exciting though.... We just had to teach English, like we do every Wednesday.... But, there was a bit of a change.  I am now teaching Chuji Ban (Begginner's Class)!  Why is that, you might ask?  Because all of you know how much I "loved" teaching Xiao Peng You ban (the Kid's class) (Which I really did end up being fine with teaching the kids... they were just loud and wouldn't listen.... but I got used to it).  Well, I have been switched to being the teacher for the Begginner's class because Ping Dong now only has 4 missionaries, as opposed to the 6 that we used to have.  Elder Bardsley and Elder Teerlink have left us this mini move call.... (Elder Bardsley is now back in Utah after completing his 2 years as a missionary, and Elder Teerlink is now up closer to Taichung) So now with three American missionaries and one Taiwanese missionary, teaching 4 different classes of English, it made more sense to put the Taiwanese missionary over the little kids than have him teach the other classes.  I kind of miss teaching the Kids.  The adults are so boring.  They just want to learn English straight from the text book, and not from playing fun games and making Christmas cards.... Ah well....  I hope I can be a good English teacher for them.... but I'll have to adjust so I can figure out how to teach adults and not kids.... Haha! :D

My favorite day was December 26th, since I got to skype with my family back at home!  I loved seeing all of your facesfaces and talking to all of you!  I love all of you guys!  You all look grown up... hehehe!  And you all look happy and healty! I wish I could be there celebrating the Holiday Season with all of you, but I guess I'll just have to wait till next year.  That will be fun. :D 

This week was also fun, since we had Companion Exchanges again!  Sister Schultz went to Sanmin, and I stayed in Ping Dong with Sister Ward, who is a very stellar missionary and sister training leader.  Sister Ward and I had a great time, and we saw a lot of miricles as well as had a lot of cool/interesting experiences.  Well, first off, we ended up talking and sharing a message with a Sister Huang (who is not a member of the Church, but her neighbors are and so they sent us over to help her clean).  She had read our small hand out over and over again, and was quizing us on the inside, and she said she believed it all!  She also really wanted her own Book of Mormon.  But when I told her we can spend our whole lives studing it.  She gave me a funny look and said, "But if I read it one time, I'll pretty much have memorized it all.  How can you read a book over and over again?"  Well, it turns out her reading comprehension and memory is almost super human.... Hopefully she enjoys reading the Book of Mormon, and hopefully she learn through prayer the truth of its words.  She told us straight up, before we even mentioned it, that when she finds out what we've been sharing is true, she will get baptised! Soo Cool! We are going to take her up to her words. :D Haha!

Also, we learned this week (also when I was on companion exchanges) that our Chinese investigator (Chen JM) will probably not be getting baptised.... Since she doesn't have time before she goes back to China due to school things....  Also.... She is terrified of water.  After sharing with her about the Gospel of Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) she said she was good with all of them, and really wanted to Endure to the End, but.... she isn't so sure about a baptism by water.... We told her to pray.... Hopefully that will help her increase in Faith, so one day she will be able to follow the Example of Jesus Christ and be baptised into his church, so she can Endure to the End.....  So... Pray for her!  I know the Lord is watching out for her, but now there's not much that us missionaries can do, especially since she is leaving....

Funny moment of the week!  Sister Schultz and I were pulled over, looking for an address, when a Taiwanese lady came over and started talking to us.... Well, when Sister Schultz turned her head to face the lady, the lady's eyes got big and she said: "Whoa! Ni de bi zi hen da!" (Woa! You're nose is really big), and she turned around and walked away......  Sister Schultz and I couldn't stop laughing.  Taiwan people are so cute and funny!

So, I should probably wrap up this email soon, as it is growing rapidly.... I must really like to type.... Anyways, before I go, Ihave a few more things that I want to share with you/say:

HAPPY NEW YEARS!  Do you know what my favorite part of having a new year?  It's the thought of having a new clean slate to work with! A new chapter in life's journey and the possibilities are endless! A year is a long time if you think about it.  Many things can change, and many moments can pass by.  So how do you use your new year effectivly?  How do you get the most out of it?  By making goals!  I've never been much of a goals person, until I came on a mission.  And even now I need more work on it.  But Goals help us grow.  They help us reach our potentials.  They can be fun or practical.  The first thing about goals though, is that you have to write them down in a place that you will see them often.  Goals that aren't written down are just wishes.... And by seeing them often, you can make sure you are working towards accomplishing them.  God gave us time so we could learn and grow.  He gives us each and every moment, every day, every week, every month, every year etc. to prepare ourselves to come back into his kingdom.  He sent us hear to learn and grow.  He wants us to progress and gain experiences.  But our time here is precious.  By setting goals we can use it wisely.  So set goals this year.  And work to accomplish them.  And I know, that by doing so, you will not be dissapointed with this new year.

I love you all! And I hope you continue being awesome!  Thank you for all of your support and love.  May you feel the love of God in every moment of your life.  Pray always.  Be Faithful.

Love, Sister Nicholle Peng