Week 9 in the MTC and Week 1 in Taiwan!

Hello Everyone!!!!!

For starters, I apologize for no letter last week! I will tell you what happened:

So for as long as I was in the MTC, we thought we were leaving on Thursday, May 17th, and were all totally prepared to leave that day. So, Monday of leave week comes, and we are in class, and we all get called to the travel office. The Taipei missionaries were leaving Tuesday and we were like, what if we end up leaving Tuesday as well. We were talking about how crazy that would be, and that we didn't have anything ready or anything like that. So we get to the travel office and they were like, Well, you have had a change in travel plans. We were like...what...when are we leaving, and she said, tomorrow at 8 AM!!! We started to freak out!!!! No one was packed, no one had done laundry, and we were still supposed to have class all evening till 9 PM! So we run back to class, tell our teacher what is going on, and he goes to talk to his boss to see what to do about classes. We ended up staying in class for the rest of that shift, and then we had dinner, called our families to let them know what was going on, and then came a fun time. I had sent a skirt to alterations, and it wasn't going to be ready till Wednesday. Problem, since I was leaving on Tuesday. So I went to the front desk and asked what I could do. They said someone was in Alterations, waiting for a sister to pick up some clothes, so we run, but there wasn't anyone there. We went to the clothing center, and there was a sister there who was able to get security to come open the alterations door for me so I could get my skirt. Problem averted =] So we did laundry that night, were up super late packing, and then were up at 5 AM the next morning, ready to leave at 8! We flew from SLC to LAX (so much better than to Michigan!) and then to Taipei. We had a 3 hour lay-over in LAX so I had time to call my family, and then it was off to Taiwan!

 

Now, before I talk about my first few days in Taiwan, I'll talk about my last week in the MTC.

The two big things besides leaving were my companion, Sis. Taylor, leaving and in-field orientation. So Sis. T ended up getting a temporary assignment to Arizona until her visa comes. It was sad to say goodbye to her, but we've decided that, we are both individually going to be amazing missionaries, so that our mission president will put us together and we can be the dream team =] I can't wait till I get to see her again!

 

The other thing was infield orientation. We spent all of our last Friday in in-field orientation, where they had 6 workshops that we went to all.day.long.....it was from 8 AM to 9:30 PM. It was long, but good =] I enjoyed it.

 

We also had our last Sunday. My generation sang in Church. We sang the EFY medly, in Chinese =] It sounded soooooo good!!! I just love the people I was in the MTC with. They are so wonderful! We also had our last temple walk, where we were able to take a generation picture, as well as tons of other pictures. So wonderful, since we didn't have time our last night, because we didn't know it would be our last night!!!

(Here we are in that Generation Picture.)

(This is my district and I at the "big map")

 

 

Now, the part everyone has been waiting for!!!!

 

TAIWAN!

(Here are all the new Taizhong Missionaries.)

 

The flight over was pretty uneventful. Except for getting to meet Elder Russel M Nelson in the SLC airport. That was pretty great =] My MTC companion, Sis. W, placed a Book of Mormon on the airplane which was pretty cool. When we arrived in Taiwan, we went through customs and what not and went  out to meet our Mission President, President Bishop, and his wife. The assistants were also there as well. We left the airport around 10 PM and arrived at the mission home around midnight. On the bus we all introduced ourselves and filled out a ton of paperwork and such. It was great. There were also 2 others sisters and an elder who came from the Philippines MTC. So that was fun! The sisters all stayed in the Mission home and the elders stayed with the zone leaders. The first day we were up at 6 to go running with the assistants at 6:30! I also knew this was coming and was prepared. It wasn't too bad. The rest of the day was training. We had a great Taiwanese breakfast and we had hot pot for lunch! I was so excited! That night we went out to dinner at a really good Chinese restaurant, and then the event I had been preparing myself for: Dan Jones! Dan Jones was an early Church missionary who went to England (I think...) and he was famous because he converted 1300+ people, and he stood on a stool and preached. So our Dan Jones experience was that we went to a night market area, sang Love at Home, and then stood on a box and bore our testimonies! After that, a more experienced missionary took us and we went contacting! I was so nervous!! I hate talking to people I don't know! But after my sister took me and did the first one, I did the next, and it was so great! We talked to 10-12 people and we got 6 referral cards and I placed a Book of Mormon! It was so fun and I loved it! And in true Taiwan fashion, it was raining, which I heard hadn't happened in a long time =] So after that, it was home and then to sleep =]

 

The next morning was up at 6 again and the assistants picked us up at 6:30 to go running. This time they were timing our mile...so we ran to the stadium, and then they timed us. My goal was 12 minutes, since I had done it in 12 mins at the MTC. I did it in 11! I was so proud of myself, and know I'll only improve from there =] After showering and getting ready, we went to the church where we had breakfast and then it was time to have our last training meeting and meet our trainers!!! So we walk into the church and we are all picked by a missionary to sit with. Sis. Lee picked me. I knew of Sis. Lee because, when I got my call, I googled Taiwan Taichung missionary blogs, and hers was one that I read a lot before my mission. I of course didn't want to sound like a stalker, so I didn't say anything =] Since I had seen her the day before, I was praying that she would be my trainer, especially because President Bishop said she was training. So we had our meeting and at the very end, we were all given hong bao's (red envelopes) that had the name of our trainers. There were 4 sisters, so 4 trainers. The first two went up, and were given their trainers, and neither of them were given Sis. Lee. So then, I knew my chances were good, since the other sister left was a native and the other trainer left was native. We went up at the same time, and my prayers were answered!! Sister Lee was my trainer! She is only here for 2 more moved calls, and so we'll be together until she goes home =] I am so grateful and so blessed to have her as my companion!!!!!

(Here I am with my new companion Sister Lee.)

 

After that, we went to lunch for one last group time, and then it was off to our areas. My area is called Beiqu, and for anyone who knows Taizhong, knows that Beiqu has the mission home in it, which means I didn't have to travel anywhere! It was so great! We live a whole 1 minute bike ride from the mission home/mission office and church. Our whole area takes like, 15 minutes to bike across (its crazy small) but I love it! Its right in the city and reminds me a lot of China. So wonderful! We went to some appointments our first night and we did some tracting as well. While tracting, Sis. Lee let me chose which directions we wanted to go, so we ended up at this park, where there was this super cute ama. We talked with her and shared a short lesson with her, and set up a time to meet with her again this week! I am excited and hope she comes =] And of course, as soon as we finished talking with her, it started to rain. Like, crazy hard! We went and sat for a few minutes, to see if it would lighten up, since we didn't have our rain gear with us, but it didn't. So we ran back to our bikes. And then biked to the church, and we were soaking =] Sis. Lee said it hasn't rained like that all year. I just said it was Heavenly Father's way of testing me to make sure I wouldn't have a bad attitude about it =] Which I didn't. Yes, it was uncomfortable to be super uber wet, but it was fun =] And it wasn't hot so I couldn't complain too much =] We have about 8 investigators and a few potential investigators. We have 3 investigators with baptismal dates and several stellar recent converts! One is a 10 year old boy, and he is just amazing. He is the only member in his family and is just so stellar!

 

(Here I am on my new bike.)

 

This weekend was super weird because we had two other sisters in our area for 3 days because move call and so, while it was crazy, it was a blessing because then Sis. Lee could focus on training me on all sorts of things, while not neglecting our investigators and recent converts. So it really worked out great!!! The left today though, so things will be going back to "normal" now =]

 

Yesterday was my first day at church! Sis. L and I don't sit together at Church, we sit with investigators or recent converts. So I sat with a recent convert who speaks some English, and that was great. We had 4 investigators at church, and 2 potential investigators (who we are meeting with this week!) Sunday school and relief society were great too. I understood much of Sunday School, and some of relief society, but pretty much none of Sacrament meeting. But that's ok. I'm finding I'm doing ok with the langauge. I can understand some, and I'm not afraid to respond if I know what they asked or whatever. Everyone keeps saying how great my Chinese is. Its ok, but I have sooooooo much to improve on!!!

 

Well, I don't know what else to say! I'm so sorry this letter is so crazy long! If you've made it to the end, you are amazing!!!!!

 

Anyone who wrote me a dear elder after last Monday, I'm sorry, but I didn't get it =[

 

But! If you write me in Taiwan, I will write you back! It's super cheap (like 50 cents) to send letters to the States, so I'll totally write people! But don't feel pressured to write =] You can also email my mom a short note at idohair4u@sbcglobal.net and she'll forward it on to me.

 

I love you all so much and am so happy and grateful to have this opportunity to be a missionary in Taiwan! I love you all!!!!

 

 

Oh! And the best part! I can attach pictures now!!!!!!!!!

 

So here are some pictures from the last week in the MTC and the first few days in Taiwan! The file names give a brief explanation of the picture.

(Here I am with Sister Bryce, who grew up with the Busaths in Sacramento.)

 

Love you all!

 

OH! I got a full Chinese name!!! It is Peng2 Ming4 Jie2 (this computer won't let me type the way I know how =[ so I attached a picture). Peng doesn't have a meaning, Ming was given to our whole district and means destiny, and jie means outstanding person =]

 

-Sis. Busath

Taiwan Taichung Mission

#498-11 Wu Chuan Road

Taichung, 404-46

Taiwan

 

Week 8 in the MTC

你好！

I can't believe I've been in the MTC a whole 8 weeks!! In a week from Thursday, on May 17th, I leave for Taiwan!!!

 

The most exciting thing that happened this week was we got our travel plans! We report to the travel office at 5 AM next Thursday, fly from SLC to Detroit (?!?!) and then from Detroit to Taiwan...We aren't sure why we are flying through Detroit...If my elders calculated it correctly, it is about a 17 hour flight from Detroit to Taiwan...lots of time to talk to the person sitting next to me right =]

 

Another exciting thing: Our "investigator" got "baptized"! While it wasn't a real baptism or anything, it was still amazing! We met with Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 on Monday after his baptism, and he was so excited that he got the gift of the Holy Ghost. He told us all about why he loved it. We also talked about temples, and he loved that as well and really wants to go to the temple and have his grandmother be baptized. So that was great. He also has a friend that wants to meet with us as well, so we will be meeting him tomorrow and hopefully will begin teaching him as well!

 

Our other investigator, 張姐妹　(Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4) is getting baptized this Saturday, so that is exciting too!

 

We went to the temple today and did family names for a Chinese sister here in the MTC. She is from mainland China and it was so cool to be able to help her and do family names for her! Such a great experience! The people lived back in the 1500's and 1600's. It was just such an incredible experience to be able to do temple work for people from Mainland China. Loved it!

 

So I said that I got travel plans, and so did the rest of my district, but it doesn't look like my companion, Sister Taylor, will be going with us, as she doesn't have her visa yet. We are praying that it will come before we leave, and that a miracle will happen and they will be able to get a plan ticket, but if not, she will be reassigned to another place until her visa comes. She is excited either way. She is so amazing and I just love being companions with her!

 

Tomorrow, our district is going to be interviewed by Public Radio International, a part of NPR, for their program, The World! They got in contact with the MTC and the MTC told them that Mandarin was the language to do, but why they picked our district, I have no idea, but we are so excited! My companion and another sister in our district were chosen to be the "spokes-companionship" even though they aren't companions, but there is still a chance that we will all get talked to. I'll let you all know how it goes next week.

 

Well, I don't feel like there is much more to share. I think it was a bit of a slow week. Next Tuesday will be my last preparation day, and the last day I'll be able to get mail, packages or Dear Elders will be next Wednesday, May 16, so just a heads up =]

 

Before I go, I wanted to share two scriptures. The first is Alma 26: 12 about humility. I've come to realize how important humility is, and how much we benefit from being humble. The second was shared with me by an elder who was practicing his english. It is Ether 12:27 and talks about how through the Lord, he will make weak things become strong. I know this is true. I look at how much the Lord has done for me in my life, and how the things I struggle with have been improved upon through my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that as we are humble and we look towards Heavenly Father for help, and as we use our Savior's Atonement, they will help us to overcome any and all trials that we face. I would invite you all to read these two scriptures and to think on things you may be struggling with. I invite you to pray to the Lord for help in overcoming them, and I know he will help you. He loves you, he loves us all, and he wants us to be happy in this life.

 

I love you all and am so grateful for your love and support for me! I love being a missionary and I can't wait to get to Taiwan and to be able to share this marvelous gospel with the Taiwanese people!!!

 

-Sis. Busath 彭姐妹

 

For one more week my address is:

MTC Box 107

Taiw-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

 

www.dearelder.com

 

Once I'm in Taiwan, you won't be able to dear elder me for free, it will cost money. So no worries, you don't have to dear elder me after I'm in Taiwan.

Week 7 in the MTC

I can't believe I'm already on week 7! We have two weeks and two days left till we leave!

The most exciting thing about this week was I got a new companion, Sis. Taylor! So I am no longer in a trio, though I'm still in the same room and I'm still in the same district, I just now only have one companion instead of two =] She is so great and I love her so much already! She is from Bountiful, UT and is also going to Taiwan Taichung with me! She took 2 years of Chinese at BYU and did study abroad, so she is here in the MTC on the advanced program. She's been her for the last 4 weeks doing English and learning how to teach in English, and then, in theory, she will be leaving with us in 2 weeks to go to Taiwan! I say in theory because we don't know that she will get her visa in time =[ That will be quite sad if she doesn't. Anyway, we've been having a great time so far, and I'm really enjoying being companions with her!

 

We also got new missionaries last Wednesday! 9 sisters and 17 elders! So great! 3 sisters are going to Taichung, the rest are going to Taipei, and the elders are going to Taichung, Taipei, Australia, New York, Singapore, and one is even going to SAN JOSE, CA! I told him he had my ideal mission call =] I would have loved to go back to San Jose, speaking Chinese, but I'm still excited for Taiwan =]]]

 

Investigators: They are still well, but we moved back both of their baptism dates to allow for more time to finish preparing them. Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 will be getting baptized on Saturday May 5 and Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 will be getting baptized on Saturday May 12. We are thrilled!

 

This past Sunday was great too, as I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting! Every week we are given a topic and we are all to prepare a 3-5 minute talk in Chinese. Then, after the sacrament is passed, they announce who will be speaking. I knew I would be speaking as there were only 3 sisters who hadn't spoken yet, and seeing as it was the new missionaries first Sunday (and I'm not bragging by ANY means here) I just knew the branch president would be asking me to speak. And he did. So I was mentally prepared for it, but it was still nerve wracking, even though I had it all written down in front of me and had practiced it several times. He often takes notes on those who speak or give prayers, so afterwards I asked how I did and he said wonderful. He said my tones were great and there were only a few grammar errors. He also thanked me for being so prepared =] So that was fun!

 

We also had the MTC president, President Brown come and sit with us at dinner that night. That was a treat! He's sat with our elders several times before, but never us, and I secretly wanted him to =] We got to know him a bit better and he gave us a "scripture test". He asked where we could find scriptures on different topics, mainly all the Doctrine of Christ (which is Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end). I was so amazed at how much I have learned about the scriptures since getting here! That was one of my biggest weaknesses was I didn't know where to go in the scriptures to find different scriptures about different topics, but after talking with him, I realize I know much more than I thought I did =] So that was great!

 

I also realized this week that I've been relying too much on my companions when we teach. During the first lesson that Sis. Taylor and I taught together, I realized that too often if I don't know how to say something or I don't know what to say, I just turn to my companions and they will speak. While that is definitely a good thing, I realized how much I was doing it, and so that is something I am going to work on this week is being more prepared myself to answer investigators questions and also preparing better vocab wise. It is definitely much harder teaching with two missionaries then three!

 

Chinese: Definitely coming along! My new companion and I have vowed to only speak Chinese till we leave. While it's only been 1 1/2 days, we've done really well so far! It is so much easier to speak Chinese constantly when your companion is willing to do it as well! So I'm grateful for her and her example to only speak Chinese! I know the Lord will bless me as I strive to do my best!

 

So my mom asked me a question, and often I will just answer back to her, but I decided I'd answer this one for everyone. She asked me: "Do you ever wonder what you've gotten yourself into?" And the answer is yup, sometimes I do! It doesn't happen too frequently, but I've definitely had moments where I've said to myself, why am I here serving a mission? Why am I here spending 6+ hours a day studying Chinese and the gospel? Why am I here, away from family, friends, school, entertainment, everything? I always stop myself and I think back on the moment I decided to serve a mission and I remember. Its because I have something so great that so many people in the world don't have, and I want to share it with them. I know that knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ and applying its principles in my life has blessed me so much, and I want nothing more than to share that with others. I want others to be able to be with their families forever, and the first step to that is accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and following his example and being baptized. I know that is so true! So on those days when I wonder, what have I gotten myself into, that is what I say to myself, and then the thought goes away, and I get right back to work, even harder, so I'm better prepared to help those I meet!

 

One other thing. I was reading in Mosiah 14 (I think) and it was talking about the intercession of Christ. I've heard that often, and never really understood what it meant, so I decided to take some time to try to figure it out. I read all the footnotes, and the footnote scriptures footnotes until I'd read them all. I had a little bit of an idea at that point, but still wasn't sure. So, I decided to go to my Chinese Book of Mormon and see what word is used in Chinese. The word is dai4 qiu2 (I think). The dai4 is the same dai4 in dai4biao2 which means, representative, and dai4 by itself means to stand in place of. Qiu2 means to beg, so putting them together means, someone who stands in place of something/someone else and begs! And behold, I had my answer! So that was just a really cool example to me of how I can use Chinese to better understand what words mean =]

 

Oh, I also passed the 3 month anniversary of my car accident and collar bone surgery =] I can't believe its already been 3 months! All is well!

 

Well, I love you all so much! I don't know if I've said, but if you don't check my blog, you should because I believe there are some pictures up there: www.sisterbusath.blogspot.com

 

Thank you all for your love, support, prayers and especially letters! You don't know how much those mean to me!!!! You all are too kind!

 

Love, Sister Busath

 

MTC Box 107

Taiw-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

 

www.dearelder.com

Week 6 in the MTC

Where is the time going!!! In 3 weeks from Thursday I'll be leaving for Taiwan! This week (6) has absolutely flown by!

My Chinese is getting so much better and I'm just amazed! I spoke only Chinese on Friday (well, up until about dinner...) and it was just amazing how much I was able to say! Our lessons have been going great, and I definitely feel the Lord's help every day in learning the language! I've also started working a bit on characters (recognizing more so than writing) and I love doing that too!

So I mentioned last week that we had a fire alarm go off. Turns out it was a heat detector that malfunctioned, causing the alarm to go off, but all was resolved. Later that day, the MTC had us watch an earthquake preparedness video, which really got us all freaked out. We found out later that night that it was a State-wide mandated video watching =] But! I still encourage all of you to check your 3-day supply of food and water and make sure you have a first aid kit and flashlights handy! So important to be prepared!

Big news!!! Our second "Investigator" Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 is getting baptized! We were struggling with how to help her understand how the gospel can bless her life now, and so we read "The Family: A proclamation to the world" and that seemed to really hit with her. She loved it! She actually said her favorite part was about how husbands should preside over the family and take care of their family. Her husband works a lot and she understands how important it is to have him involved in their family, so our next goal is to get her husband to meet with us. We gave her a Book of Mormon to give to her husband, so we'll see how that went. She is getting "baptized" on May 5. And Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 is getting baptized this Saturday! He also brought a friend with him two meetings ago (last Friday) and so we taught his friend then, and again yesterday (Monday), but he is "going" to Shanghai today, so we won't be able to meet with him again. But we were just so excited! Having his friend there gave Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 the opportunity to share his testimony and allowed us to see how his testimony has been growing! Such an amazing thing!

We started on a new schedule yesterday. They are going to be tearing down one building, and they just completed a new one, so every missionaries schedule changed. Its ok, not too bad. We don't go to the temple in the morning anymore, we go in the afternoon, which I guess is ok, but I really liked going early morning. It was nice to start preparation day off by going to the temple =]

We were called to the travel office yesterday to sign our visa applications...which means they haven't got our visas yet...which worries me, since we are leaving in 3 weeks!!! I hope they are able to get them on time! We also have 25 new missionaries coming tomorrow! 8 sisters and 17 elders! We are so excited!!!!! We also have an ADL (advanced Chinese) sister who will be joining our branch this week or next, and departing with us (she is also going to Taizhong!) so chances are, our trio companionship will be split up, and my branch president said, chances are, he will put her with me, which will be just fine =] I've met her and talked with her, and I really like her, and I think we'd get along great! So we'll see! I'll let you know next week for sure!

I also have two friends here in the MTC right now! Sister Evans is going to Detroit, Michigan. She and I were in the same freshman ward (she will be leaving the MTC next week) and Sister Carter, who was in my ward last year and lived across the hall from me =] She is going to Bangkok, Thailand. We have the same schedule and our classrooms are on the same floor so I see her often. It is so fun having people I know in the MTC!

We had Sis. Ann M Dibb, 2nd Counselor in the YW General Presidency (and President Monson's daughter!) speak to us in Relief Society this week! She is so amazing and I loved everything she had to say! She brought a lot of counsel from the prophet for us, and I loved receiving that!

Last Tuesday, we had Elder Larry Gibbons of the Seventy come and speak to us! He talked a lot about the importance of involving members in the work and how important it is!! SO! Here is my invitation/challange to all of you: I invite you all to have the missionaries over, and invite a non-member friend or family member over as well, and facilitate a meeting between your friend/family member and the missionaries. I know how important it is to refer our friends and family to the missionaries and how important it is to be a member missionary! I hope you will all accept the invitation and have the missionaries and a non-member friend or family member over as well. I know your family will be blessed for your missionary efforts! If you aren't a member of the church, I invite you to go towww.mormon.org and find out a little bit more about why I am serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know this is the only church on Earth that has the fulness of Christ's Gospel. I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants us to be happy. I know that we can live with our families forever. If you didn't know that you can live with our families forever, I encourage you to go to www.mormon.org and find out about why we believe we can be with our families forever!

I love you all and I am so grateful to be a missionary for the Lord! I am learning and growing so much and I can't wait to get to Taiwan and share everything that I have to share with the people there! They are my brothers and sisters, and I want them to be able to know what I know.

Thank you all for your letters! They mean so much to me! Thank you for the love, support and prayers. I feel them all the time and I know they bouy me up!

Love you all!

-Sister Busath

MTC Box #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

www.dearelder.com

Write me =]

Week 5 in the MTC

Wowza! I have been in the MTC for 5 weeks already!!! And today is my 1 month till Taiwan birthday! I am so excited!!!

Exciting things from the week are as follows:

1) Our investigator, Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 has said he will get baptized!!! He is a little worried he won't be prepared for his April 28th baptism, but he is willing to do all he can to prepare! We have been teaching him the commandments, and he has been willing to accept them all! He thinks its a little weird to not drink tea, but since we extended him the committment, he hasn't had any tea! So wonderful!!! We are so excited for him! (for anyone who is a little confused, he isn't a "real" investigator, it is our teacher role playing as an investigator, but we strive to make everything as real as possible). I can't wait to get to Taiwan and have real investigators say they will be baptized!!!

Our other investigator Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 isn't progressing as well. We are struggling a little to help her understand why the gospel is relevent in her life today, and not in the next life, but we hope we can have her committed to baptism by next week!

2) On Sunday, for our fireside, Elder M. Russell Ballard came! This was the third apostle we've had since I've been here (Elder Oaks and Elder Packer have also come). It was so great! I loved it! Also at that fireside, Elder David Archuleta sang! I was hoping he would sing before he left. He sang the Spirit of God and it was so beautiful! He sang a verse in Spanish (he is going to the Chile Renagua Mission) and he totally teared up at the end of that verse, and even more so at the end of the song, but it was so beautiful and I'm grateful he shared his talents with us while he was here. He left yesterday (Monday) for his mission to Chile. For the closing song of the devotional we all sang a really neat version of Called to Serve. Oh boy was that powerful! They likened us to the Strippling Warriors and it was just so neat!!!

3) We are getting 6 new missionaries tomorrow! They are ADL missionaries (advanced something language) and they already are fluent in Chinese. Not native, just fluent. They've been in the MTC (we think) for 3 weeks already doing Englishl and then will be with us (we think) for 3 weeks doing Chinese, then off to their missions! Then next Wednesday we get a huge group of new missionaries!!! I've also met several sisters and an elder recently who are going to Taiwan Taichung that aren't coming in till July, so that is fun!

4) My companions and I and one other sister from our district sang in church on Sunday. We sang Love at Home. It was pretty good, seeing as we didn't really practice much =]

5) The best: We were rudely woken up this morning at 1:30 AM to a lovely fire alarm. We all bolted out of bed and were like, that's not someone's alarm...thats a fire alarm! I grabbed my shoes, a jacket, my watch, name tag and ID badge and my coordinating sisters binder because it had evacuation procedures in it. We all got out, and were waiting in front of the gym and a security guard asked us all if we knew what happened. We said no (which means it wasn't a drill) and then he asked if we saw smoke or fire, which we also responded no. He let us in the gym (which is thankfully right across from our residence) and were there about 10 minutes when they let us back in. So, no fire, just had to wake up at 1:30 am =]

Well, I know this is a bit of a short letter, but I didn't take very good notes this week about what to share, and I can't think of anything else to share. I'll end with a little spiritual note, since I forgot last week. This week I've been reading the first 4 or so chapters in Mosiah, which is King Benjamin's address to his people. I had never really studied it before, and I am just so engrossed in it!! I love it! The words he speaks to the people, telling them about repentance and about coming to Christ, and about the coming of Christ, I just love it all! I would encourage you all to read it! Also, Alma 32 was another section I read this week. This one is all about faith. I was really reminded that having faith isn't having a perfect knowledge of things, for if it was, then we wouldn't need to have faith in anything. It also helped me to remember that it is so important to have faith, for without it, we won't have much of a testimony, and it is so important to have a testimony. So many things that we believe, we believe because of faith. So I also encourage and invite you all to read Alma 32 and see how you can work on increasing your faith.

Thank you all for your love, support, prayers and letters!!! I love each and everyone of them, and am always so grateful that you take time out of your busy days to write me. You don't know how much that means to me!!

Love you all and have a great week!!

-Sis. Busath

MTC Box 107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84003

www.dearelder.com

Write me! I'd love it =]

Week 4 in the MTC

DaJiaHao!!!

Wow! Am I really done with week 4?! We have been here for almost 1 month, and have 1 month left to go!!

 

This past week has been a great week! Lots of great times!

 

1) Chinese: Well, it's finally gotten hard. I definitely am not moving through it as fast as I was when I first got here, so that just means I need to work harder, since I still have so much to learn! I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting last week, in Chinese! It was great =] We have taught the first three lessons in Chinese now, though we break them up so we don't all have to learn all the vocab right away, so I don't know quite all the vocab, but as far as teaching a lesson goes, I can get through any lesson, minus using correct grammar =]

 

2) Our mu dao you men (investigators!): We are teaching two "investigators", Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 and Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4. Both are progressing really well! We invited both to be baptized last week, and while neither said yes, they didn't say no either. We will be asking Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 again tomorrow, and we have high hopes that he will say yes. He is really progressing well! Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 came to church with her boys again last Sunday and she enjoyed it and her boys are beginning to make friends! She is definitely getting closer to being baptized as well. It is such a neat experience to be teaching investigators, even if they are just our teachers, but for me, I really take the experience seriously and don't look at them as my teachers, but as real investigators. I can't wait to get to Taiwan and to begin teaching investigators!

 

3) 8 hours of sleep is so not enough: We are to be in bed at 10:30 and wake up at 6:30. We don't do so bad at this, which is great. The week before conference we were up at 6 because of Choir, so it's nice to be sleeping in till 6:30 again, though this is by far not enough sleep! I wonder how I'll feel when I get to Taiwan and I'm biking all day and teaching lessons all day, and not just sitting in a classroom all day =] It will be crazy! Though, I know the Lord will bless me with the energy that I need =] For this is His work, not mine, and I know He won't let me fail.

 

4) Chinese Sisters on our residence floor: We have two Chinese and two Taiwanese sisters on our residence floor and we love to talk with them! One in particular comes over often and we just talk and talk. She is serving her mission English speaking, so often she will speak English and we will speak Chinese back to her. She is a convert of two years, and so she told us her conversion story, and it was so great to listen to it in Chinese and to be able to understand her!!! That was so awesome!

 

5) Easter: Easter was a fast Sunday for us. Normally on Fast Sunday, we have a Mission Conference Sacrament Meeting at 10 AM, but because of Easter, we had it at 9 AM and we had President Packer and his son Elder Packer come and speak to us, as well as Elder David Evans of the 70, though he didn't speak to us. The choir sang "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer" and it was a really cool rendition of it. Pres. Packer talked about the Savior and about His resurrection. One of my favorite things he said was that we are given trials to make us stronger. I whole-heartedly believe that! We can all come out of our trials stronger than we went into them! The rest of Easter we had a lot of study time, since we didn't have lunch. Then we had a district meeting, which I've equivated to Sunday School, as we have a lesson, then we had just a branch sisters meeting with our Branch President and his wife (where they told us that we shouldn't flirt with the elders...good thing we don't =] ). Then we went on the temple walk!

 

6) Temple Walk: It was a stunningly gorgeous Easter Day! We were so excited for the temple walk! This was only our second one, and conference weekend, it was cold and rainy, so this was super exciting! There were so many families out at the temple! Made me miss everyone. BUT! We were about 15 minutes away from leaving, and I had just been hoping to see someone I knew, and lo and behold, I saw a family that I lived in China with, The Gouffs! Sis. Gouff and her kids had come to the temple to get some Easter pictures! I was so excited to see them! Their son is in 2nd grade and in a Chinese immersion program, so my companions and I talked in Chinese with him a bit, and that was so much fun! I was so grateful to be able to see them =]

 

7) TRC: The TRC is the Training Resource Center. Members of the community, both LDS members and non-LDS members can come and volunteer to be taught a message. We go in and teach them, in Chinese! We were a bit nervous, not knowing who the person was, or what their background was, but knowing we needed to share a message with them. It really makes you rely on the Spirit to teach, which I've learned is so important! We had a great first experience with the TRC and I can't wait to do it again next Saturday!

 

Well, I think thats about it! I can't think of much else!

 

Oh! To answer a friend's question: I am in the MTC for 9 weeks. Normally it's 12 (unless you are fluent, or pretty close, then it's 6) but I'm part of a new pilot program, and will only be here 9! I leave May 17th!

 

Thank you all so much for your love and support! I truly appreciate each and every letter and Dear Elder! You all are so wonderful, and I am so blessed to have such amazing and wonderful family and friends!

 

I love you all!!!

 

-Sister Busath

 

MTC Box #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT, 84604

 

OR

 

you can Dear Elder me!

www.dearelder.com

Week 3 in the MTC!

Da Jia Hao!! (Hello everyone!)

Wow! I can't believe I'm already done with week 3 of the MTC!! Its so crazy! This week went by super fast and I hope the weeks keep going fast because I can't wait to get to Taiwan! But once I'm there, they can feel free to slow down =]

I have tons to talk about today so hopefully I'll be able to get through all or most all of it!

We'll start with conference! I hope you all watched it! If you didn't I highly suggest you go back and watch it because it was all amazing! Especially Saturday Afternoon, because, you know, some really awesome missionaries, me in particular, sang =] For those of you who missed it or couldn't find me, go to LDS.org and click on the Conference section, then click to watch all of Saturday afternoon. We sing at 1 minute, 30 minutes and the very end. As for where I am, when you are looking at the whole choir, I am in the middle section, on the left aisle, 6th row up, second in from the aisle. I'm inbetween a sister with a bright pink cardigan on and a sister in a bright yellow shirt, and in front of a sister in a white blouse. The sister to the right of me was my freshman roommate, Sister Doying, and the sister right behind me in the white blouse is one of my companions, Sister Walbrecht. I am most seen in the first number (Glory to God on High). I'm in the first three shots of the sisters singing, so look for me!!!

My mom had some questions about conference that I forgot to bring, but here is a little about the behind the scenes of us singing. We had 8 rehersals, not including the day of. They were all at 7 AM every morning the week before conference. To be in it, you filled out a paper with your experience and it was pure luck if you got in. They didn't have time for auditions. If you missed rehersal, you lost your spot, so it was super important to be at rehersals. The morning of we met at 9 AM for a dress and grooming check and then left at 9:45. We were all bused up (7 or 8 busses) and went directly to the little theater to rehearse and have a snack. After that we were lined up to go to the choir loft! I've been to the conference center many times, and so I know how huge it is, but it is a wild experience being behind the prophet and looking out at everyone instead of being in front of him watching the choir =] We didn't get to meet the prophet (which was sad) and he didn't even speak in our session, which was also sad, but it was still a marvelous and once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget!!!

So that was conference. Another exciting thing this week that many of you may or may not have heard about was that David Archuleta came into the MTC! I knew he was coming in last Wednesday so I was looking for him. I didn't see him till the next morning in Choir. I figured he'd be singing with us, and I walked right past him. The following morning I saw him and his companion, said good morning and he said good morning back. I've seen him several times a day since. Mostly at meals. I've been told he is going to Chile, but I know for sure he's going to some spanish speaking mission. I do feel bad for him though because a lot of people have been very intrusive. We just have to remember that he is here for the same reason we all are: to serve the Lord. I admire him for his choice to serve the Lord! If you watch the end of the last song we sang in conference, Praise to the Man, he is zoomed in on at the last shot, so you can see that he really is a missionary =]

This last week my companion and I and our elders that are going to our mission got a letter from our Mission President, President Bishop (we all got individual letters =] ) It was a letter asking for the character for our last name. Mine in peng (second tone). This computer doesn't have chinese on it, so I'll have to write it out next week. We were all so excited! We even took a picture together with all our letters =]

Conference in the MTC was great! We watched the Sunday sessions, and inbetween we got to go on a temple walk! My companions and I hadn't been yet since we had been going to choir, so this was our first time. We went with our zhang lao men (elders) and it was so fun! We finally got to get some good district pictures, so I'll have to print them and mail them home. (I really wish we could attach pictures...can't wait till the field, then I can!). I also can't wait to do another temple walk =] I love it!

So today the older generation of Chinese speaking missionaries left =[ It is like 30 missionaries! Over half our branch!!! We don't know when we are getting new missionaries, but we don't expect it for another 3 weeks or so =[ So we are now technically the "older" generation, even though we've only been here 3 weeks! So crazy! Two of the elders in my district are the new zone leaders, and I'm the new coordinating sister. Our district is just so awesome and I love them all!

Chinese is going really well! I forgot to tell last week that we finished teaching Cai4 Pei4 Fen1. We had a big surprise with that one, but since I know there are some future missionaries reading this, I won't spoil the surprise, since all new missionaries have this same experience. I'll just say that after teaching Cai4 Pei4 Fen1, we got a new teacher =] We have two new investigators, played by our teachers. Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 is a 24 year old college student who thinks its interesting that we speak Chinese, and Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4 is a 36 year old married mother of two boys. We have had 3 lessons with Wei4 Di4 Xiong1 and 4 lessons with Zhang1 Jie3 Mei4. Both have "come" to church and are reading the Book of Mormon and praying. Zhang Jie Mei is really progressing and we plan to invite her to be baptized tomorrow! I'll let you know how that goes!

Well, I know that was a super long letter, but this past week was just super amazing!

I want to sincerely thank ALL of you for your letters and Dear Elders! I am absolutely amazed at the love and support I have from my amazing family and friends. I sometimes feel a little guilty when the District leader is passing out mail, because I always have the most (which I NEVER expected to be the case) but I am truly, truly grateful for every single piece of mail! I am blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! So thank you all!!!!!

Don't forget to keep Dear Eldering/Writing me! Because I do appreciate it, even if I'm not able to individually thank each and every one of you =]

With that, I just want to share with you my favorite conference talk, which was by Elder Scott in the Saturday Afternoon Session about the Holy Ghost. We weren't able to take paper with us on the stand, so I don't have any notes about it, but it is the one talk that I felt was so amazing! The Holy Ghost is such an amazing gift, and I am so grateful to have it! The MTC is just filled with the Spirit, and I'm so grateful to be surrounded by it all the time! It is also amazing the power that the Holy Ghost has in teaching investigators and truly converting them to the gospel. I know that without the Holy Ghost, I wouldn't be able to teach people the way I am able to!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! I love each and every single one of you and I think of you all often!

Thank you for your love, support and prayers!!

Lots of love,

Sister Busath

MTC Mailbox #107

TAIW-TCG 0517

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

Here are all of the books she has to use and carry around.

And here is Andrea with our good friend Drew Austin.

Here is Andrea with the people in her district.

Andrea with her companion and roommates.