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| Our One YEAR mark today--in Taitung w/ Hualien ZLs Elders Nader and Cheung |
It's been one year! What a wonderful year to reflect upon --so many blessings of serving in such a beautiful place, with a rich culture of tradition of family, good will and many with an open heart to the gospel. The church is growing here and there are about 80,000 members strong in Taiwan. We currently have around 140 missionaries (soon to reduce to 125) : 90 American, 29 Taiwanese, 15 Filipino, 1 Korean, 1 Brazilian, 1 Peruvian, 1 Australian, 1 Canadian, 1 Italian and 1 New Zealander. About a third of our missionaries are sisters. No matter where they are from, they bring such a brightness of faith and testimony and unique gifts of the spirit. We feel we have the best missionaries in all the world and that as Elder Homer told us "it's always a great day to be a missionary in Taipei" or anywhere throughout the Taiwan Taipei Mission. Every day we feel so privileged to get to serve in this capacity in such a beautiful place in every way with the most incredible missionaries in the world!
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| Sealing Day in Taipei! Mr & Mrs. Chandler Bruce! |
We are Still rejoicing over our new son in law! Yes Chandler Bruce and our daughter Anne got married!!! Look at this darling pair! My heart is so full with gratitude for the blessings I have received these past several months that I told Mike that I don't feel I can ask for one more blessing for a very long time. I am truly grateful for the health and safety the Lord blessed us with as a family and for the Bruce family to all be together in the Taipei temple for Anne and Chandler's sealing on May 10th. I was so touched by Chandler and Anne's willingness to come to us in Taiwan as well as our family and the Bruce family's willingness to make that huge sacrifice. We could never have asked that of any of them, but they willingly chose to do it for our benefit for which we will be forever grateful It was such a miracle that all traveled safely and were well--even with jetlag! This was the subject of many months of prayer. Getting everyone here safely and everyone be well enough to enjoy it. |
| Family fun sending off lanterns at Pingxi |
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| Hiking Xiangshan Mountain |
We hit the ground running with climbing Xiangshan mountain, walking thru Dongmen market, a day trip to Pingxi, eating juabings and cocos and other favorite eats! The most fun was the wedding musical the night before the sealing which all the family participated in at the gorgeous dinner our friends, Brent and Brenda Christensen held for us at their beautiful apartment at "the Palace". Their AIT chef Claire made a delicious feast of roasted chicken and mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables and Brenda made homemade rolls! It was all scrumptious. Then each sibling and the parents gave a short toast/words of love as we went around the table and talked about how much we love Anne and Chandler. That was priceless. I was so touched by each tribute said and the love felt in the room. And we hadn't even gotten to the musical--MulAnne!That was touching and funny too! It began with all the Chinese connections Anne has had since birth--her being told she was adopted from China when she was 18 mo old (we had taken all the kids except her on a Beijing trip), Spencer's nickname for Anne of "Ching Chong Cheesy" since she was a baby, her randomly having all Chinese names come up on her first trip to the temple to do Baptisms after family names, Matthew teased her that her Chinese ancestors were counting on her!) and her working at a Chinese take out as a delivery girl in high school. The stories in the musical were provided by the mothers and then the lyrics of the Mulan songs were changed to fit their story. Anne and Chandler were great sports--even being willing to wear a Chinese hat (Chan) and a double happiness veil (Anne) throughout. Thank you to my incredible sisters as this was such a fun way to get to know each other and to laugh together and cry together too as we felt such love for these two amazing people who are now grown up and leaving the nest! My personal favorite Fun Facts about Chandler were that there is an award in his high school called the Chandler Bruce award that they now give for those who have a good attitude and hard work ethic and that he has a strong dislike for pumpernickle bread which he announced loudly as a little boy when he thought it was being served for the Sacrament bread! haha. What an amazing guy! And what a joyous and tender evening it was. Another Highlight was playing for Mike while he sang his "Reflections" to Anne as she has grown and is now a bride...Mike and I cried writing the words to that song and I cried hearing Mike sing it! (cue Mulan "Reflections" music..)
Where's my little daughter? Dancing 'round, singing songs on your gui-tar--
Used to be, you would write sweet songs to the ONE you'd love, And you'd wish upon a star!
Who is that girl I'd SING, ev'ry night, fast to sleep,
When did all those years of "Daddy's Girls" go by?
Somehow I can not hide tears tonight, tho' I'll try
Now as I "reflect" up-on, how you've grown inside...
Look at you, all at once time's past and you're now a bride, such a lovely daughter
Can it be, a new man has won your heart?
But we see, that with him you truly can be yourself
And you've found your better-er part!
Who is that bride we see, look-ing into eternity?
Temple blessings now reflecting in your view?
My prayer for you each night, as you hold each other tight,
Is that you'll reflect God's love--share your love soo bright!
May your lives reflect the love, that you FEEL tonight!
On the next morning, I drove Anne with Gma Win to get their hair done, picked up homemade heart sugar cookies from the Beck family (bless them!) for the occasion of our wedding luncheon at our apartment for our wedding party including our dear sealer --Elder Peter and Maxine Meurs of our Area Presidency-- and then raced over to the florist to pick up all the wedding flowers! I was so blessed to be able to find my way to all
these places IN THE CAR DRIVING solo without Mike! That's a miracle I tell you! He was back at the house getting all the fruit cut up and the food ready--we had boudze and fried rice and amazing fruit and then the yummy cookies for dessert! It was such a miracle we all made it with the timing! And here came the bride! Anne looked so beautiful! Before we sat down to eat we had the little granddaughters present (Rose, Millie and Charlotte) sing "I Love to see the Temple" and we literally could look out the window and see it as they sang! We also received a special gift of a water color of the Taipei temple, painted by aunt Amy Robinson! What a special gift for all of us to enjoy! The moment had arrived and I walked across the street with Anne and her dress and Chandler! Surreal to see my baby as a bride! This sealing day had finally come! As we sat in the temple together with the sealer--Elder Peter Meurs and his wife Maxine, Eddie and Win, Mike and I and each of our other children with their spouses, Chandler's parents Corey and Kirstin and his sisters, Brighton and Cambria, I felt such gratitude and joy. I knew this joy was a witness of God's plans for eternal families and that if we all keep on the covenant path we can be together forever with God one day. I also realized in a powerful way that I wanted to share this joy--the message of eternal families and God's plan of happiness which Jesus Christ is central to--with everyone and all that I can. This joy is not meant to be ours alone. This is why we and the other missionaries have left our families is to help others know how to have an eternal family and to know they have a Savior who can lift them from the darkness of sin. I'm so grateful for God's plan of Happiness and I know this is what our Savior paid such a huge price for--to provide the opportunity for each of us to be able to return to God's presence and be sealed as families. This was a HEAVENLY moment I wanted to savor and always remember as a family and individually!
After the sealing and family pictures in front of the temple, Mike drove Anne and Chandler to the National Palace museum gardens for more pictures of them while the rest of us toured the 101 and then got ready and set up for the wedding dinner at the Grand Hotel. This is a special spot for Taiwan as it is where an Apostle Mark E Petersen dedicated Taiwan for missionary work. It will now hold another special place in our hearts after having Anne and Chandler's special wedding dinner there. We were so blessed to have many of the stake presidents and their wives join us in celebrating and our Bishop and his wife and RS president and wife and a few other dear family friends we've made here. We were all so joyous and so excited to get to introduce our family to our "Taiwan family" and they were so wonderful to celebrate with us and congratulate Anne and Chandler. It meant so much to us and I feel it was strengthening to our relationships with our associates and families we love here in Taiwan --especially as it is such a family oriented culture. It was so touching and special to hear tributes from Lauren and Brighton --the two older sisters of the bride and groom and tributes from the Bruces as well as we gave ours. We showed a slide show of the two growing up and set to music they grew up with and some songs Anne sang or wrote and sang as a little girl. (much to our joy but to her embarrassment!) but then Mike surprised her and all of us by singing a song he sang to all our children at bedtime "Daddy's little Girl" and old Mills Brothers song and then he had the pianist play it while he went over and asked Anne to dance! How special that he got to dance with his daughter at her wedding and that he didn't have to miss that opportunity entirely. He even dipped her at the end it was as if they'd rehearsed it! Darling. The highlight for me were the remarks of Anne and Chandler at the end of the wedding dinner and they will forever touch my heart.. Anne bore testimony that Marriage is of God and how through the events of her meeting Chandler and their courtship and all the arrangements of their marriage and sealing that she knew God knows us individually and knows our needs. She bore testimony Chandler was an answer to her prayers and who and what she needed--Chandler shared that one of the qualities mentioned in his patriarchal blessing was that she would be SWEET and that quality described Anne so well to him (Sigh!) He also shared that when he and Anne realized they were right for each other, they then had to discuss the big question of where and when should they be sealed? There were three choices: 1) Wait three years for Shelley and Mike to return to the States? (Nope--can't wait that long!) 2) Go ahead and be married in the States without Mike--NO, they couldn't feel right about that 3) Go get married in Taiwan so Mike could attend. And that was the end of the discussion as far as they were concerned . (Crying emoji! Could you be any sweeter?) Once they decided on Taiwan, bless them, they never looked back nor wavered, though there were huge hurdles to surmount--and sacrifices made of having friends and all the family there. They have been so courageous and strong with all they had to do to be sealed in Taipei!!!After the dinner we all lined the hall and front lobby and gave them a send off with Ribbon wands that Sister Bruce had made and they jumped into a black car that drove them back to Taipei. They went to Yong Kong in their wedding clothes and got a mango bing! They also walked over to a Taipei tourist shop to get a souvenir Taiwan Island and the store owner insisted on buying it for them when she found out it was their wedding day! You have to Ai Taiwan!
The next day the Bruce's flew back to the States (including the new Mr. and Mrs for their honeymoon) while the rest of us had some family fun at the beach in Fulong seeing the huge Sand Sculptures! (see pictures)
Before I left for Utah's reception I had a sweet surprise! It was the night before Mother's Day and I was busily packing to leave for Utah the next morning. I got a text from Elder Smith and Elder Weber saying: "Sister Peterson we are working on a video we need you to come approve--it was true they were working on a new video for new missionaries that we had asked them to do and though I was busy and it was 9:50 at night and I was packing, I thought I better run down and support them because they were doing this for us! So I went down stairs to the office and the office elders and Aps were there and they said: "Sister Peterson will you come sit in this chair and watch the video for us? just push this button. So I did and to my surprise it was a video of our missionaries--two by two saying "Happy Mother's Day Sister Peterson" thank you for all that you do or we love you, etc. It was all I could do to keep from bawling! I should have known something was up because of the cute little grins on their faces when I had walked into the office. The fact that they would do that for me was truly incredible. I felt so loved and warmed by their love and their kind words. I love being a mission MOM! I told them it wasn't fair because I couldn't hug them with my arms but I was hugging them with my heart! My cup ran over a bit down my cheeks too! What a special Mother's Day gift, I will never forget!!! Bless each and every missionary who took time to do that for me! I felt so blessed to be able to be a MISSION MOM and have all these wonderful sons and daughters to love and was so blessed to see two of them who have gone home and who stopped by Anne's reception in Utah. The love that fills my heart when I'm with them is overwhelming.. (pic of me w Sister Amelia Phillips and Aleissa Love at reception)It was such an answer to my prayers that I could be a mother and to enjoy this special time even though we were an ocean apart and in answer to that prayer we were blessed that all came together in such a lovely way and worked out after months of trying to plan everything as best we could from long distance and in a foreign place where I didn't know how to communicate or know where to go for flowers, hair, food, photography, etc. We were blessed every inch of the way by friends who offered to help and or recommend vendors. To have a temple right across the street --how could we be more blessed? Each detail, each help from others was a beautiful blessing, including the venue in Utah for Anne's reception. I was blessed to be able to "be a mom" while being a mission mom and return to Utah for their reception at Wadley Farms in Lindon.
I flew with Lauren Brandt and Grahammy back to Utah through Japan and Seattle. (see pic of us in airport w Graham) It took me/us several days to overcome jet lag but every day we did a little bit and it all came together for all the wedding reception prep. I am so grateful for Lauren and Brandt offering to let me stay with them and drive their car and house me so I could also spend every minute with them and w Baby Graham. They were such a huge help and Lauren was an angel helping me at the reception as were my sisters and Chandler's mom and sisters. I was so grateful for dear friends and family who came in support of Anne and Chandler and for me! and for Mike! Dear friends Debbie Bromley and Carol Brandi from Danville FLEW in for it! I cried! I can't say a hundredth part of all the thanks I owe and the love I feel! It turned out beyond what I had hoped! A highlight was when Matthew and Clark danced with Anne when they did the Dad n Daughter dance. Seeing them swoop her up and trade off with her was such a joy. What darling big brothers! Spencer was in Japan with his family or he would have been a third dance partner! And even with the rain, the sparkler send off was perfect for this sparkly pair so starry eyed! I did the happy dance once their "just married" car drove off and away! 
A Bonus blessing was that the next day I was in town for Clark's 30th bday and their adorable little Lucy's baby blessing up in Park City. Again--the blessings upon blessings! My cup runneth over with so much love for each of our children and their families! What a truly special day to witness that sweet blessing and feel part of that family occasion. A week later we received a phone call from Clark who tearfully shared with us that he had been called to be the Bishop of the Manhattan YSA ward. He was most concerned about Ellee who would be without his help on Sundays. Bless her for being willing to shoulder this call with him. They will be amazing ward parents to these lucky YSA's and help their faith in Jesus Christ be strong! I know this will not be easy, but bring tremendous a blessings in their lives to serve in these capacities.  |
| Lucy Michelle Peterson's baby blessing in Park City Utah with all these wonderful bearers of the Priesthood in her family surrounding her. It was a beautiful blessing of love given by her Daddy Clark Eddie Peterson. So grateful I could be there for this special event in our family! |
The Lord continued to bless me upon my return to Taiwan because I had no time for jet lag! President M. Russell Ballard was coming for lunch and a mission tour with Elder and Sister Gay of the 70, (he had set me apart) Asia Area President, David F. Evans and his wife Mary and Presiding Bishop Dean Davies and his wife two days later. It was a joy to prepare the table and a luncheon for President Ballard and these General Authorities and their wives. What a privilege. I kept having to pinch myself that I could have the opportunity to serve such an amazing group of servants of the Lord--even one of the Lord's Apostles--a prophet, seer and revelator. I was so touched by President Ballard's kindness and ability to put us at ease from the moment he set foot in our apartment. He immediately asked about my parents and how they are doing and offered right on the get go to get a picture of us with him "for your daddy!" How kind was that? And he said "stand here between me and your husband--you'll be the rose between two thorns!" So cute. I had the joy of helping President Ballard get a plate of food and sitting next to him with Mike. Over lunch he wanted to talk about missionary work! He said if we could just get our members to get on their knees with your missionaries and ask who that ONE is that the Lord has prepared for them to share the gospel with--think about what that would do! Our wards would double in size if each person just shared the gospel with ONE! He said he was confident as we prayed and earnestly sought the guidance of the Holy Ghost we/our members would be led to them! When he met with our missionaries it was spell-binding! His energy was incredible and his desires for them so clear! He told them that they were "here under the divine direction of the Savior of the World and that all missionaries are assigned by an Apostle to their mission and that those impressions to the Apostles were real. He told them "you can't just be a teacher--you need to be the GREATest teachers in the world" because they were called to serve at a time where social media has captured , almost addicted, Heavenly Father's children to keep them away from the gospel. They don't have much time to think" ! You need to find a pause in people's lives. Find and teach so the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost can "connect". Missionaries need to be "wide awake" and alert to have the spirit of the Lord and know what to teach. The Lord has held back "the most bright and most precious to carry the message in this day and time.!" What is the best door approach? I don't know--but the Holy Ghost knows. Live worthy so that the Holy Ghost can inspire you! It shows on your countenance. Our message can apply to everyone in any circumstance if you are prepared and understand the big picture! More important what people feel than what they know. He told them to begin each day with a smile and that when it rains--shout Hallelujah I get to go out and be persecuted for the Lord's sake! Teach every day. Teach with and for understanding. Ask questions to be sure what you taught was understood. If you're having a hard day, pause. Think about the Savior. You have been called to serve Him. Trust Him! You will have power from on high. We bless you with health, strength, courage and knowledge of the gospel, and willingness to go forward with faith and trust in the Lord." I'll never forget him calling MIke and I up to stand by him. He told the missionaries we'd be called of God to prepare them for their future service in the church. Then he shared his testimony of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I felt the literal power of his testimony. I knew what he was saying was true with every fiber of my being. What a privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with him as he was bearing witness! I stand with our prophets and Apostles that this is Christ's church on the earth today, restored through the prophet Joseph Smith for these latter days! What a privilege to have the "singular" experience of having the acting President of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the longest serving General Authority, also Elder Robert Gay from the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Evans--President of the Asia Area and the Presiding Bishop--leaders of these Quorums all present with us and to sit at their feet and be taught precious truths by them. President Evans reminded the missionaries "You are an extension of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. You were each called by one of them. Build up the church wherever you serve! One scripture quoted by Elder Gay touched my soul from D & C 112:19: "Wherefore, whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an effectual door shall be opened unto you, that they may receive my word. "
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| Mission Picture with President Ballard and Gen Authorities |
The joy and privilege of having all our missionaries shake the hands of and Apostle of the Lord and be taught by the other Brethren and their wives was a singular opportunity --so incredible and strengthening. We nearly floated down to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial where we took a mission picture on this historic day of all being together with the Lord's Servants. What a heavenly day!
My Birthday was truly memorable--We went and did interviews in Miaoli and the day before a member Sister Pie surprised me, along with the missionaries there in Miaoli who were having their interviews with a cake and b'day candles! They sang to me and everything! Soo sweet and such a surprise!The next day we drove out to Keelong for an Ocean baptism of five new members! It was a b'day for them too--their birthday in becoming a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! The setting was stunning with the gorgeous jungle cliffs surrounding the cove where the baptisms would be performed and it was a gorgeous sunny day after a week of pouring rain! As each person walked out into the water with their baptizing Elder, I was so moved. The waves helped baptize one man and I was a bit worried for a second, but Elder Bell was so strong he pulled him right up again! The missionaries and members had all fasted and prayed the weather would clear up so they could hold the baptism and their prayers were answered with not just warmth from the sun but an abundance of warmth from the spirit present1! East Stake president Shum had made it a whole stake activity and rented buses for the stake to come support these new members and get to know them while doing a beach clean up afterwards. I was touched by his talk in welcoming the new members and asking all there to strengthen and support them in whatever ways they would need which would mean being their friend and watching over them. Love was washing all of us over on this incredible day! 
He couldn't eat or drink because of the swollen tongue and throat! He lost 20 pounds in just two weeks and became very weak. We wanted to cry because of his misery and suffering and he was several hours away on the south side of the island. We prayed and fasted for this missionary who tho he could barely even talk or do anything remained positive and full of faith and would always say to us as we'd call to check in, I'm sure I'm getting a bit better! His companion was so full of faith too, and took good care to make sure he gave him whatever food he could eat and cared for his needs until finally on my birthday--the best gift i received!!--was the news that this Elder could finally eat a bite or two of food. He has now returned to full energy and strength thanks be to priesthood power and faith, prayer and good care. Our other Elder with the tumor is so full of faith it makes me cry as well. He said to me after we found out he had the tumor and he might possibly have to go home: "Sister Peterson, I know God gave me this tumor for a reason. I can't wait to find out what it is. I'm not worried at all!" Such faith! I told him, Elder your faith has made you whole, no matter what the outcome. He had surgery here and is recuperating well. We await the pathology report, but so far doctors think it is benign and what was going to be a possible six week recovery and a return home/early release scenario has turned into a 7-10 day recovery and staying here to finish the rest of his mission. We are so in awe of his companion too who stayed in the hospital with him--sleeping on a flat bench. This naval academy midshipmen said to me when I asked him how he could sleep on that he said: "It just reminds me of the navy! No problem Sister Peterson!" I am daily in awe of these wonderful servants of the Lord and the maturity of their faith as well as their approach to daily challenges--especially serious and scary ones! This love of companion for one another and unselfish Christlike ministering is such an evidence of their love, faith and trust in the Lord.
If anything we've learned on our mission it is to "Trust in the Lord and Trust in the Spirit!" which is what our recent AP Elder Dan Smith who just completed his mission shared in his reflections letter from his mission. Elder shared with us an amazing experience he and his companion had in trusting in the Lord to be led to a family to teach: “I was training Elder Rodrigues and there was a night which we had some time to go finding. I remember I told my young companion that we’d pray and then go to the first place he felt we should go. After the prayer we went where he felt we should. We only had time to talk to one person once we arrived there. That person got baptized a few months later and is now preparing to serve a mission! From this experience I learned : "Trust in the Lord, Trust in the Spirit!" Now this same Elder Rodrigues is training a new missionary! This is his (Elder Rodrigues and trainee Elder Nano, both from the Philippines) written personal account of the experience they had in finding a family to teach by putting their "Trust in the Lord, Trust in the Spirit!"It all started at a Tuesday morning As usual, we have district council in the afternoon. We live 30 minutes away from the chapel and so it's almost automatic for us to do a study somewhere along the way to the chapel. However, during that planning time, we had a prompting that we should do companionship study at a particular 7/11, not towards the direction of the chapel, and even at the border of our area. We decided to go there. As we biked, it started to rain and we passed by lot of convenient stores. We wanted to stop at those convenient stores to avoid getting wet and save time. Luckily, the spirit was there again, telling us we should go to that particular 7/11, and so we did. We got there, and made sure we looked for our purpose. We talked to some people before sitting down, but none of them had interest. We finished our companionship study, and we still knew that there has to be a purpose. And so we talked to people that weren't there before. We saw this guy, and talked to him about families. Our bikes were parked right in front of him and we had a wild idea to ask him to read the characters written on it; "No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home". He LOVED it. We tried to set up with him, but for some reason he didn't set up. We asked for referrals and then left him with an English tract. Wednesday came, English class time. A new mom walks into our class. During speed dating, I asked her where she learned of our English class. She told us that she was looking for a English class and ganghao her husband gave her the tract. She also shared how when her husband came home the previous night, he was so excited to tell her about his encounter with the missionaries particularly, the conversation about families. Apparently, the Tuesday we first met the dad, he was pondering on the topic of families. They went to church the following Sunday and are now preparing for baptism." "Trust in the Lord, Trust in the Spirit!"
On interviews one of our Filipina sisters shared these life-saving experiences from Trusting in the Lord, Trusting in the Spirit ....Before her mission, Sister Charity Pangan as a college student got out of her class at 10 o’clock at night. She was
very very hungry and wanted to get something to eat. There was a night market
within walking distance of her school and she thought she would stop and get
something to eat because it would be a half an hour jeepney ride before she
would be home and be able to eat there. But she got a strong prompting from the
Holy Ghost: "No, you need to go home right now!" It was hard because she really
wanted to eat right then but she obeyed the prompting. She went home ate and
went to sleep and woke up the next morning. She noticed on her phone a lot of
activity on Facebook and wondered what it could be. To her shock she read that
the night market where she was going to stop and it had been bombed right when
she would’ve been there and people died there. She was overwhelmed realizing
that could’ve been her and that several lives were lost that night. She was so
grateful she had listened and had followed that prompting from the Holy Ghost
which literally saved her life. I thought as she shared this, not only did the Lord have a work for her to do, but because she had developed the gift to recognize and obey the promptings of the Spirit, her life was miraculously spared, and would be many times because of others also who were praying and led to follow the Spirit as well.
Once when she was a girl living in the Philippines
their ward youth went to the temple in Manila by ship. When they came out
of the temple it was storming outside blowing really hard and raining as
in typhoon conditions. Her leaders said maybe they should wait before
getting on the ship and ultimately decided to spend the night there in
Manila rather than take the ship back home. This would mean they’d have to
find another means of transportation for their whole group but they follow
that prompting to remain in Manila. The next morning they learned that the
ship they would’ve taken had sunk in the stormy waters. How horrible that
would’ve been to lose all those youth and leaders. Again having follow the
promptings of the Holy Ghost they were spared. Trust in the Lord! Trust in the Spirit!
On Father's Day I was given the opportunity to "Trust in the Lord, Trust in the Spirit!" as well. Mike and I had been assigned to participate in the South Taipei Stake Conference but only MIke had received a speaking assignment to train in the Sat evening session. I thought how nice--they don't have time for me in the program! Well on Sunday....I noticed they had a half hour left and it was all for the stake president. I had the thought come, they have extra time, you may be called on to speak. Well the spirit is always right! Next up,...."We'd like to have Ping Jie Mei and Ping Huijhang share brief testimonies with us!" My heart raced and I thought "What should I say?" and the Spirit said: Share your testimony of Jesus Christ. (Trust in the Lord, Trust in the Spirit!) That is one topic you can never go wrong expressing testimony of. So I shared that in America it was Father's Day that day and so I had been thinking with gratitude about my father and especially my appreciation for his unfailing testimony of the Savior. What a foundation of strength his testimony has always been for me. My gratitude for my Heavenly Father and Savior had increased as well that week as Mike and I read the Come Follow Me reading on Gethsemane and how He pleaded with His Father to Let this cup pass from me--not once but THREE times he begged to not have to go through with the suffering but then submitted His will to the Father's saying "Not my will but THINE be done. " He willingly submitted not just because of His great love for us but FIRSTLY because of the love He has for the Father. What TRUST He had in His Father and throughout His life --all He did pointed back to the Father, to glorify HIM, not himself. The sacrifice of the Father knowing the agony of His Son's suffering is as hard as to imagine as the pain Christ suffered in Gethsemane and Golgotha. I stand all the more amazed and grateful to be here in Taiwan to help others know they have a loving Father in Heaven and a Savior to lift them and love and save them from the darkness of sin and of death.
留在聖約的道路上! 加油
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