Dogs and Go Green

Yes, I've been slacking horribly lately and haven't posted Sister Fernley's letters or pictures for awhile. Here is her letter from 6/15:

Hello my dear family!

I'm so glad that you all got to Idaho safely and are having a good time. I hope Jemma has a blast with cousins and that all are happy and enjoying family time. I loved all the pictures (as usual). The black and white is really fun.

I'm sending a ton of pictures through dropbox. Last Monday Sister Anderson and I went to FoGuangShan with two of our members (one is one of our RCs). Apparently they have Budda's finger and tooth preserved inside somewhere, but we didn't have time to go see. One of our members was talking to me when we went inside and saw the place where everyone will go and worship and bai bai. The last time she had gone there was about two years ago (right before she was baptized). She said last time she went and bai baied, but she was really excited to tell me that this time she isn't going to bai and worship the Buddhist gods. It was a really simple thing, but I was so proud of her. It showed me how much this gospel can change people, and really how much they have to change here. Christianity is such a foreign concept for many of these people.Its hard for them to wrap their heads around the possibility of only one God and a loving God at that. 

I truly respect the Taiwanese people so much. They are all so devoted to their religion. They respect family and stay with their culture and tradition more than any other people I have seen. But so many aspects of Buddhism or Daoism are completely opposite of Christianity that it often feels strange to me. Here the color red is a symbol of worship and happiness. Every night while we are riding home we can look out over the rice fields and see glowing red lights in everyone's attics (most people put their shrines up there). It's hard for me to imagine that that is comforting and a place of peace for the people here, because to me it is so foreign and frankly is a little creepy. I'm so grateful that I was privileged enough to be born into this gospel, to know that we have a Heavenly Father who is a LOVING father. He is kind, merciful, and knows each and every one of His children. What greater comfort could we have? What greater blessing could we have than to know the true character of God? And because we have such a great blessing why would we refrain from sharing it with all those around us?

This week we had a really good plan that even if only most of it worked out we would have been able to hit mission standards, but as most weeks have been going lately most everything fell through. Even despite all our set backs we were still able to do pretty well, and even though our plans didn't turn out the way we would have liked we were given many things to laugh about to give us the happiness and hope to carry on. The Lord really does pour out His tender mercies small they may be.

There was one day we ended up eating lunch at the 7-11 (a common occurance). I glanced over my shoulder at a movement behind me and didn't really register what I saw. As I did a double take I realized there was a dog lying down in the middle of the aisle behind us. I casually nudged Sister Anderson and said, "there's a dog." I don't think she believed me at first, but then she looked back and we both started laughing. At first I thought he belonged to one of the customers in the store and kept waiting for him to walk out with his owner, but after about ten minutes everyone that was in the store before had already left and the dog was still there. I guess he decided it was too hot outside so he just walked through the sliding doors into the 7 to take a nap. I think the funniest thing about it is that the workers and other customers didn't care. If we were in America the dog would be kicked out as soon as discovered. Here everyone just laughs and goes on with their business. The dog was in the store for about an hour. He would get up and walk outside then decide it was better inside and would come back in for a few more minutes. About the time we were ready to leave he decided it was time to go and very nonchalantly walked out and went down the street to go back home. 

The day before the dog in the 7 we were walking down a street contacting when one of the elder's LAs (the guy who always wears plaid pants) pulled up by us asking where I bikes were. We made small talk for a minute then as he was pulling back into the street and started driving down the street he called to us, "keep the faith!" But in his Taiwanese accent it sounded more like "keep the face!" Surprisingly I've remembered that all week and at times when we are feeling a little discouraged it reminds me why we are here and that faith is what will pull us through. Faith is the answer to everything. It starts out small, but has a huge effect. 

We also survived several dog attacks this week, thanks to the protection and help of the Lord. We were going to try and visit You Jiemei (one of our RCs) when two dogs started chasing after Sister Anderson (who was in front). She started biking as fast as she could and I would have too on first instinct, but for some reason I thought that if I biked really slow the dogs wouldn't fall back and start chasing me as well. I did just that and it worked! They got tired of running after Sister Anderson, turned around and just stopped and watched me slowly bike by. I have no doubt that the Spirit was guiding me and Heavenly Father was loving enough to still a couple of dogs for me. 

Then later on in the week we were tracting, so our bikes were farther off, when we turned down a side street to tract some houses farther back from the road. We rang the doorbell at one and went to go farther down when this dog started charging out of the shadow toward us. We both wanted to run and started back when Sister Anderson stopped and said, "don't run." So we both turned around and started trying to walk as calmly as we could down the street. We kept our eyes forward and tried to ignore the snarling dog behind us. Miraculously the dog stopped running and simply stood in the middle of the street barking, and made no more effort to run after us.

I have never had more dog stories in my life! I swear all dogs have a missionary radar! They see the tag and instead of closing doors, curtly ignoring, or laughing like everyone else here they chase after us. If only it was the other way around, and the running being intended to talk to us instead of wanting to bite or hurt us. That would be great! 

Anyway as far as our investigators go we were actually able to meet with them a lot this week. Most weeks our LA or RC lessons are the most, but this week we had a lot more other lessons. Not a lot of progress has happened yet, but we've been able to share a lot more and are trying to help them come closer to Christ and develop their own faith and desire to change.

We actually had an appointment with Huang jiemei for Wednesday. She had asked us before to ask our ward members to help her with some Go Green thing she does, but we didn't quite understand what she wanted us to talk to them about so she said we could come over and she would explain more. We thought it was going to be like any other lesson and we would still have time to teach so we asked Lu Jiemei (one of our members who went with us to FoGuangShan) to come with us.

We met Lu Jiemei and led her to the house, then as we walked in we were greeted by Huang Jiemei and about ten other people dressed suits and skirts. (The funny thing is the first thing that went through my head was "they're all wearing church clothes." Can you tell I'm a missionary?) Turns out it was their Go Green meeting and she had invited us over to hear their presentation. We felt super bad, because Lu Jiemei had come with us and probably didn't have a lot of time. We told her she could leave, but she was nice enough to stay and help us out. 

They actually asked us about our church and Lu Jiemei was able to talk about the Restoration and the basic beliefs of our church. Several of the people were there so we had a good discussion about religion for a few minutes. Then the conversation changed and we listened them talk about saving the world and their Go Green stuff for a while. It was getting about time for us to go when Lu Jiemei asked us when we needed to leave and if we were going to share a scripture. Thanks to her we were able to break into the conversation and have time to share a scripture. While we were listening to them talk about Go Green I was wracking my brains to figure out what to share and what scripture to share that would have some relation with what they were talking about. Luckily I remember the scripture  Ether 12:4 that talks about because we hope in God we can hope in a better world....perfect. So I shared that scripture and tied it in with their Go Green efforts and testified how because of God and the gospel we have hope and can improve our world. 

It was probably one of the most stressful spiritual shares I have done yet. I don't know why, but having a room full of professionals most probably at least twenty years older than me, dressed in fancy clothes, holding a Go Green convention terrified me. I didn't want to offend, go completely off topic, mess up with my Chinese etc., but I did want to testify and tell them what I knew of the gospel and how it really can bless our lives. Thankfully I had Sister Anderson and Lu Jiemei to my right smiling and supporting me every time I looked over. I got through my share and as I finished the whole room started applauding. It was hilarious! I have never been applauded for a spiritual share before, so I can cross that one off the bucket list now. Then as we stood up to leave everyone in the room stood up to bid us farewell. It felt really weird, and it felt really nice to go to our next appointment and sit down in a normal, informal lesson. I felt a lot more in my element, but was glad I had the chance to testify.

We were able to meet with our LAs granddaughter the other day and pretty much just reviewed the first lesson on the Restoration. She remembers most things from when her brother was taught by the missionaries. She is so excited to be baptized and I believe that she could be a great example to her family. We showed her the picture from the pamphlets of the first vision and she asked which one was Christ. We both pointed to the one on the right because that's the only way we can tell which is which in the picture. She grabbed the pamphlet and closely inspected it and replied, "oh yes, because the one on the left has a longer beard. It must be Heavenly Father." So our nine year old investigator can now differentiate between the two by the length of their beards.

Cai Jiemei and her husband still haven't come to church. We are going to try and go to their door next Sunday morning. We have some Word of Wisdom issues to work with with Cai Jiemei, but they both say they get really happy when we come over so we know they are feeling the Spirit. 

We met with Wang Jiemei again at her work and invited her to be baptized. She brought up the concern of already having been baptized (into the Baptist church), but didn't say no. She just wants to understand more before she takes that step.

Aside from that we are going to try and get a hold of several potential investigators that canceled our appointments this week and will continue to hope the Lord puts more prepared souls in our paths.

I love you all and pray for you every day. I'm so grateful for you and for your support. I know that with faith in the Lord we can do all things!

As always, there's another miracle just around the corner.

With all my love, 

Sister Fernley

ps. tell Jemma I would love any flower as long as she picked it. My other favorite color besides green is blue and that I love her more than I can say. Infinity and beyond!

"The miracles start rolling in…"

Another message from Sister Fernley. It sounds like she is doing really well and staying healthy and happy. We are so glad to hear that she and her companion get along so well. She mentions some pictures, but we didn't actually get them. Stay tuned--this post may be updated with pictures in the near future if they arrive.

Here's her latest message:

Hello again from Qishan!

Before I say anything else....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! Sorry I didn't say that last week. I wrote in my planner and everything so I wouldn't forget, and I forgot. I remembered as soon as the computer timed out. Anyway I love you and hope you had a great birthday! 

I also hope that this week was good and full of miracles for all. We had an incredible week! I couldn't wait to tell you all!

So I don't know if it was this way for you when you went on your missions, but President Blickenstaff has set standards for our mission on the amount of lessons we should have, baptismal goals, investigators at church etc. He always tells us that if we hit these standards weekly we will baptize monthly and it hasn't been disproved yet. But this week we were able to get closer to the mission standards that I ever have in Qishan. We were so close! We hope that if we work really hard this week we can hit them, because hitting the standards in Qishan would be an accomplishment we would be really proud of.

We had ZTM this week which is always a huge pick-me-up. I've said it before, but I love being in large groups of missionaries. It always seems to lift spirits and lets you know that you aren't the only one struggling and trying to preach the gospel on this tiny island, because sometimes it feels that way. Our zone leaders are awesome and always have really motivational training meetings. This month they were focusing on baptisms. Last month our zone didn't do very well, so they asked every companionship to pick a name of an investigator that could possibly get baptized this month and write it up on the board. Like we do every month we all wrote down the names and are praying for them every night. They talked a lot about having the faith to go out and find someone who could get baptized and invited us to fast that we would be able to have a baptism this month. It was a really good meeting and gave me a lot to think about.

While we were on the bus on our way back to Qishan I was thinking a lot about stories that other missionaries had shared and miracles they had seen. It made me doubt myself a little bit because I don't have a lot of experiences like that, but then I remember the less noticeable, but just as significant miracles I have seen on my mission. I haven't seen a lot of baptisms, but I have seen two struggling areas progress like crazy. I haven't personally found a lot of investigators, but I have seen a lot of progress in myself. Anyway, I decided that I want to give up my doubts to help further the building up of the kingdom here. I have faith and I know with God anything is possible, but I still have slivers of doubt when we are tracting, contacting etc. I want to stop that and have complete faith in everyone I come in contact with. I want to have faith in the power of God and be more open to seeing His hand in this work.

So, point being I had a really thoughtful ride back to Qishan and when we got back we saw the miracles start rolling in.

We got off the bus and started walking back home to get our bikes when I saw someone inside the bus station react at us walking past. I did a double take and saw that it was Yu Rong (the young women that always comes to church that I contacted at the 7). We turned around and sat down with her for a little bit. I asked her if she had been praying and she said she had prayed twice every day that week! I then asked her what she felt and she said she didn't really feel anything. I then asked her if she believed God existed. She replied, "a little bit." I was super excited! That is so much improvement for her! We invited her to pay attention to her feelings when she prays this week.

We were also able to meet with her for a minute after church yesterday. We taught her the Gospel of Christ and invited her to be baptized. She absolutely does not want to be baptized and says she only comes to church for friends. I asked her if she felt she had made friends and she said not really. So we think there is obviously something more than just friends bringing her to church, she just doesn't want to admit it. She is going to have a really hard time giving up Buddhism and accepting Christ, but I hope some day she will. Shao Jie helped us with our lesson and afterward kept asking why Yu Rong didn't want to get baptized or why she didn't really believe. She was so cute and had such a hard time understanding why someone wouldn't believe. She's convinced Yu Rong has a little bit of faith, and I agree with her. Hopefully we can help that grow. 

After we met with Yu Rong at the train station our front plan fell through so we tried to go visit one of our LAs. We had practiced asking members for referrals during ZTM so we decided to do the same with her and got a reaction we didn't expect at all. She started talking about how her work got changed so she could come back to church and wanted to bring her three grandchildren. (The oldest of whom has already been baptized.) She started figuring out how old they all were and if her granddaughter was old enough to be baptized. Turns out she's nine and her grandma wants us to teach her so she can be baptized. This little girl is so cute and wants to be baptized so bad. She has already been to church once and remembers a lot from when her brother was taught by the elders. (She practically taught the plan of salvation during our spiritual share in english class.) 

We walked out of that lesson shocked! We now had a new investigator who could be baptized by the end of the month without a problem. We just need to review the lessons with her!

And then the miracles just continued. We got a referral from an LA to go and find her friend who is also less active and bring her back. (She helped her get introduced to the gospel and remembered how happy she was when her friend got baptized.) We had a million lessons on Thursday. We were going from lesson to lesson to lesson (which has never happened here before). We went to Wang Jiemei's house (the old lady with the giant Book of Mormon) the same day she finished the Book of Mormon. We decided we want to get one made that's even bigger because she is having a hard time reading her's again. We went to our RCs house and determined that her son could get baptized as soon as we reviewed the lessons as well. He was taught along with his mom and sisters, but wasn't old enough to get baptized yet. He is an incredible example for his sisters and always reads and prays. 

Then on Sunday we had a lesson set up with someone we had called off of dead stack. Sister Anderson and I are both a little hesitant to call business cards, but decided to be brave one day and call one. It's always a little nerve-wracking going to appointments when you don't know the person or how they will react, but as we pulled up her sons called out to her that we were there and she was really nice and welcomed us in. We answered a few of her questions about what missionaries do and where we were from and then she very matter-of-factly asked, "So what is it you would like to share with me today?" We talked about the Book of Mormon and our Father in Heaven and Prayer and testified of the Restoration. After that was said I asked her why she was willing to meet with us. She replied, "I guess it was just the will of God." Turns out she was baptized into the Baptist church several years ago, but hasn't gone in a while. She told us we could come back to her house or her work anytime as long as we call her first. 

I was saying before that a lot of the times I doubt and don't expect reactions like this, but the Lord is definitely teaching me not to doubt and has shown us so many miracles this week. So I've learned that I need to have faith; have faith that people will accept our message, that investigators can be found, and that miracles continue to happen every day. I think this week the Lord was just nudging my memory and reminding me that this is His work and we can see it roll forth in our work, no matter where we are serving.

I love serving here in Qishan. I love the members and I love that we can find things to laugh about every day. This week we actually had a lot of rain, but every time the rain pours we seem to be inside and as soon as we are about to go outside the rain stops. It doesn't happen like that every time, but most of the time that's how it is. According to what the elders say, they seem to be outside every time it pours. So Sister Anderson and I decided that Heavenly Father must love us more. Haha, just kidding! But it is a funny coincidence.

The other day we ended up having a race with the elders from Meinong to Qishan. We had passed them while they were stopped at a corner and rang our bells as we went by. Several minutes later they come zooming past us with smug grins on their faces. Sister Anderson and I decided that we couldn't let that slide, so we sped it up and passed them a few minutes later. We thought we had the upper hand and slowed down a little when we got to the bridge into Qishan and found the elders waiting for us and the head of a secret bike trail. While we were waiting at a red light the turned and went over the bridge ahead of us. We thought it was really funny and were ready to give it to them, but were able to get momentum off the bridge and passed them while they were stopped at a red light. It was really silly, but it made the rainy bike ride to Qishan a little more fun.

This week we also heard a news report about a guy doing CPR on a squirrel  and died laughing. We got asked to stay and eat dinner at one of our LAs house that night, but their family eats while watching TV. So Sister Anderson and I sat awkwardly staring a different way and were singing hymns in our heads so we wouldn't listen. Then we started hearing english and heard this story about the squirrel. We both started cracking up! The family had no idea what we were laughing at and probably thought we were a little crazy.

Anyway those were some funny things that happened this week. The pictures I put on dropbox are of all the water bottles and cereal boxes we've gone through the past couple of weeks. I though dad would appreciate that we are drinking water :). The other is of my desk after personal study. It tends to be like that most days.

I love you all and love hearing from you every week. I pray for you every night and thank Heavenly Father that He gave me such an incredible family. 

As always, there's another miracle just around the corner!

With all my love, 

Sister Fernley

Another week in Qishan

I didn't realize I was so behind on Sister Fernley's blog! Here's the message from June 1:

Hello my dear family!

It sounds like this week has been fun filled and full of new discoveries (at least on Jemma's part). The water balloon fights look like a lot of fun! I remember when I was little dad always seemed to have a force field as well. Maybe that just comes with being a dad. Haha. I love hearing about all the fun summer activities that are going on! I miss those lazy days just going to the park and spending time together as a family. It is such a blessing to have times and memories like that. I'm so grateful for families and that the gospel focuses so much on family. That's always one of the main principles I go to when we are contacting or tracting, because focusing back on the family is one thing the world really needs. 

This week has been full of a lot of small miracles. Our investigators have started progressing! It's still very slow, inch by inch, but we are ecstatic at the small triumphs they have and the hurdles they are conquering. 

We were able to meet with Li Yu Rong on Monday (the young women who always comes to church), and taught her about the plan of salvation. When we asked her where she would like to go she replied that she would be happy going to the Terrestrial Kingdom. I've actually heard that from a lot of Taiwanese people and it is frustrating beyond belief. They all think the Celestial Kingdom is too high of a goal and don't want to put the effort in to go there because the Terrestrial is still pretty good and they are find with mediocre blessings. We tried to explain to her that she wouldn't be able to be with her family and friends forever in the Terrestrial Kingdom to which she replied that she doesn't need family or friends. That being with them forever would be too annoying. Sister Anderson they said she probably wouldn't have any TV, books, etc which had a little bit of an impact on her. 

BUT she did pray at the end of our lesson!!! We have been trying so hard to just get her to try and she never would. So we were really excited when she actually prayed! It was a little strange, and a little hesitant, but its progress (a lot of progress for her). She didn't show up at church on Sunday, but we are going to try and see if we can find her at a 7 tonight.

On Tuesday we were able to go contact a member referral we had gotten a few days earlier. We actually didn't have to do much. One of our members has been telling me for several weeks that she has a friend who wanted to come to church, but was always too busy to come. She told me when she came she would introduce us and set up a time for us to meet with her. This member actually ended up setting up a time on her own, so she called us told us the time and the place to meet. Her friend turned out to be this super cute 14 year old girl. Her family has been friends with this sister in our ward for years and she seems like she could have a lot of potential. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she said she was willing to read. I hope she does! Her family is struggling a little bit in their relationship so she really wants to help her family, and what better thing is there to help families than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our member was really nervous to peike (attend our lesson) because she hasn't done it for a while, but she was great. Most of the time we just sat back a let her teach. That's my favorite: when we can turn the lesson over to the members because they have a lot more influence than we do. This sister has also offered to peike any time we need for this investigator. I'm really excited to see how everything goes with this girl, she seems really willing to learn.

After receiving that referral and having our first lesson with her we were both extremely happy. I think that is the first true referral I have gotten on my mission! It was so great! We really do need the members. I think if we had gone and tracted that house they wouldn't have listened, but because one of their friends introduced us they were a lot more willing.

We were able to meet with the Cai family a couple of times this week. We're starting to think that we might need to give them over to the elders. The last time we went over Cai Jiemei started leaving and doing other things as soon as we started talking about the gospel. Her husband was still really intent and involved in the conversation, and when their son is home he is the same way as his dad. We are going to try a couple more times and if she really has no interest we will have to give them up. Cai Jiemei's husband actually called her out on leaving and got her to come back in and sit in on the lesson, but she didn't look too happy about it. Anyway, we have yet to see them show signs of progression, but for now they are still willing to meet with us. We'll take what we can get. 

One thing I have noticed lately with our investigators right now is that they really want the gospel and the church to help their kids, but aren't willing to let it help them as well. They can't expect this message to be important and change their children if they aren't willing to show by their examples that it is important to them as well. It just shows me more and more how important our examples are to our family and our children. We say as missionaries that we can't convert others beyond our own conversion. I think the same goes for our families. We are all individual and have our own spirits and testimonies, but I think the conversion we see in our family members plays a big part in our own testimonies. I am extremely grateful for the strong foundation we have in the gospel. I love that we have a long line of ancestors who were all members of the church. But most of all I love that that legacy has remained. I think we will always have lost sheep, but I am grateful that those who are strong in the gospel outnumber those that are lost. It should make it so much easier for those of us that are remaining to go and lift up those who are lost. 

Huang Jiemei has been really busy lately and has had family over on Sundays or had a wedding one week so she hasn't been able to come for a while. We went over Friday night and taught her the plan of salvation. She understood it all really well and even started teaching it to her son after he came in. She wants to help her children so bad! She had a friend tell her that if she had her kids read the Bible they would become better, so she asked if we could get her one. We told her that the Book of Mormon might be easier for her son to start with and as soon as we said that she grabbed their copy and told her son to read the verses we had just shared with her. That may not be the right method, but she has the principle down. 

We also had a Family Home Evening activity held by the ward this Sunday and Huang Jiemei and her whole family (even her husband) came! They even dressed up in church clothes. It was really cute! I think they are a little shy because they seemed content doing their own thing even when members would go over and try to friendship them, but I think they had a good time. At the end when we were all asked to share blessings we have been given because of the church Huang Jiemei even said that she has learned we are all children of God and that He loves each one of us, then closed in the name of Jesus Christ. It was so touching! When I went over and talked to her about it she was worried it was too simple. But really isn't simple the best? 

Shao Jie this week has come across the start of many trials in the gospel. She for the past week or so has been talking non-stop about going and doing baptisms at the temple when the ward goes next. Her dad and uncle both gave her permission, but her grandparents don't want her to go (and here the grandparents are the presiding authorities). Her grandparents mean well. They are afraid of Shao Jie being and inconvenience (because of her handicap). Shao Jie said she cried and cried because she was so devastated she couldn't go. We keep telling her to continue to have faith and God will someday provide a way. Her new favorite saying is "You xinxin, you banfa!" which means if you have faith there will be a way (its our mission theme). I guess I said it once and she picked it up. I love visiting with her because her faith really is so strong. She is an incredible example to me and I have been truly blessed to know her. She has only been baptized for just over a month and has already read to Alma 58. 

That is most of what happened this week. We did have an elder who served in Qishan a little less than a year ago come back with his new wife this weekend. He is a legend here! Most of our RCs are from when he was here. While he was training they helped eight people get baptized. So He and his wife came to church and attended the FHE activity. I was able to help out and translated for his wife in Relief Society and for part of the FHE activity. She's also a recent return missionary so it was really fun to talk to her and get to know her. Sister Anderson and I did comment after that we both felt really awkward seeing them interact together though. We're going to have a hard time going back to college and singles wards :).

Other than that we biked a lot, prayed a lot, laughed a lot, compared ever increasing tan lines, calf muscles and and level of sweatiness, and as always continued to find those people who are prepared to receive the gospel in this corner of the wilderness in Taiwan. 

By the way I'm getting an incredible watch tan line, and some good ones on my feet. Before it wasn't super noticeable, but now my arms are a completely different color than the rest of me. It looks like they could be from a different person. Also dad was really concerned about me drinking water. I'm drinking water, I promise! Actually though ever since I have come on my mission I haven't had any problems with dehydration like I did before. And honestly I don't think I'm drinking much more than I would back home. I heard of a sister in our mission who had celiac before and it has completely disappeared on her mission. I feel like I have a similar blessing. I'm still being really careful though, I'll be fine, the roads here aren't that busy anyway :). We do make frequent stops to go inside and get ice-cream or take a water break to get out of the heat for a few minutes. 

Also I was super excited to hear about the trip to Alaska! I thought if you all did it it would probably be while I was gone.

I love you all and love hearing about your weeks. My time is about up, but please know that I love you all with all my heart. The knowledge that I have a family that loves me keeps me going every day. I know families are forever and love sharing that message with these people. Many don't accept, but at least we are giving them a chance. Like Sister Hill used to say, "you prepared them one step more to accepting the gospel." I love my companion! She is so much fun and we are becoming best friends. Qishan would be a lot harder without her. 

Well until next week, remember there's always another miracle just around the corner. God loves us and will always give us tender mercies.

Love you with all my heart! Give Jemma a giant hug for me and tell her shes the best sister I could ever ask for!

Sister Fernley

Almost Halfway...

Here is Sister Fernley's latest message:

My Wonderful Family,

Sorry I don't have any pictures this week. Last week we got everything we needed to done as fast as we could so we could go home and sleep. That seems to be are activity of choice recently on preparation days.

Today is actually move call! I will remain here in Qishan for another move call with Sister Anderson! This whole week we've been talking about it and came to the conclusion that neither of us moving would be the best solution. Thankfully we were blessed enough to get it. We figured if anyone was going to move it would probably be me, but I didn't feel ready to move. I don't feel like I have done all that I could do here yet. So I am really grateful for the next six weeks (hopefully I don't get moved on a mini move call) I have to serve here in Qishan. I'm not going to lie, it would be really nice to get moved to an area that isn't as tiring, but at least I have Sister Anderson still. Being with her will make everything a little more bearable. We'll just continue to laugh our way through the move call, and hopefully we get to see more miracles as well. 

I feel like when I first came to Qishan we saw the area and our work as missionaries improve like crazy, but this last move call all that improvement kind of puttered out and we were stuck. Hopefully this next move call we can see the area improve again and find those people that are prepared, but ever evading us. 

This last week we were able to go back to Cai Jiemei's house and got to teach their whole family the first lesson once we were able to get them all to finally sit down. We were there for almost three hours, I know way too long, but we were determined to get the first lesson in. They were actually pretty accepting of the message. We gave them a Book of Mormon and they said they are willing to read it. They even asked a little bit about baptism! It didn't feel right to go in that more in dept then, but when we go back hopefully we will get the chance. Their son is actually the same age as me and was also pretty intent on the lesson. We think his parents mostly just want him to go on a mission because they don't want him to always play computer games. They keep asking if he can go out and preach with us. But I guess it doesn't matter how people get in contact with the church, what really matters is what they do when they actually hear our message. They tell us to go over to their house whenever we have time, which is the best thing to hear as a missionary. :)

Huang Jiemei didn't come to church again this week. We went over to her house last night and no one was home, so I think they might have gone out of town. I hope we can still get in contact with them though and continue to teach them. They are so prepared to listen and their family just feels right. 

As far as investigators go that's about what we have right now. Zhong Jiemei has dropped because she keeps standing us up for lessons and completely lost all desire to change when Yeh Jiemei left. Oh well, she was prepared one step further and maybe someday she will make the commitment to change.

This week was a little hard, and not as successful as we would like, but the Lord gives us so many tender mercies to make up for the disappointments.

I can't remember what day it was, but we had just left our apartment for the day and we riding past the fire station in Qishan when we saw Lu Jiemei's husband (not a member) just outside. He works there and called us in. We went in and he gave us the giant slices of watermelon they had just bought off of a produce truck on the side of the street. So we spent the next ten minutes sitting with the whole fire and EMT department eating slices of watermelon. It was so much fun! I even felt a little nice to back in that element again. (But where I am now is better :p)

Then we had another day we were calling some phones at a seven and one of the Elder's LAs walks in and greets us with a loud, "Sisters!" We seem to run into him at sevens a lot. He's a little bit crazy, and off his rocker sometimes, but he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He always buys us drinks or food despite all our protests. The past couple of times he has bought us strawberry milk (they have all kinds of fruit milks here), but he always buys the brand with tea in it. This week he did the same and even bought us the microwaveable dinners they have there. It wasn't very good, and we were a little disappointed about not going to the restaurant we were going to go to, but it was an incredibly nice gesture.

We also had one morning where no one was home that we wanted to go visit so we decided to go contact on Lao Jie, or Qishan Old Street (the biggest street and a historical site in Qishan, look it up on google). By now I've talked to pretty much every street vendor that sets up shop on that street, and most of them are still really nice to us. This week we stopped and talked to this old lady selling flowers similar to the Bird of Paradise flowers. We talked to her for a minute and as we were getting ready to leave she grabbed this giant bunch and insisted we take them. We tried to protest, but the vendor next to her (who we are good friends with) also came over and kept insisting she was giving us flowers for Ye Su (Jesus). We couldn't really object so we reluctantly took them, then walked around the block to go give them to Shao Jie (our RC) because we didn't know what to do with them. 

Then last night we were tracting in Meinong and tracted into this extremely nice couple, Brother and Sister Huang. Sister Huang insisted we come inside to eat some fruit. So we went in and were treated to two giant plates of fruit. We ate and talked to them about missionary work. They knew a lot about us and have been tracted several times by missionaries in other areas. (They move around every six months.) Every time they let them in and treat them to fruit. It was a welcome that was definitely needed after the rejection of the week. They told us if we were ever in the area to stop by to rest because they are like our aunt and uncle. It was so cute and I was so grateful for their hospitality. They aren't prepared yet (they kept saying all religions are the same), but someday they will be.

I'm trying to think of what else happened this week, but I can't think of anything else. We biked a lot, tracted a lot, contacted a lot, ate a lot, and tried to continue on and do all that we can to find those prepared to teach. 

So that's about it. It has gotten super HOT here the last week. Lately there have been two choices of weather. It's either raining, or blazing hot. I can't decide which is better. I still don't have any really good rain gear, so I've been wearing the cheap ones you can buy at the sevens, which are basically just a plastic bag with sleeves and a hood. I hate them. You don't get quite as wet, but eventually the rain soaks through enough that your skin is wet and then the plastic sticks uncomfortably to you, or its raining and its still hot so the plastic holds in the heat and steams up because of the humidity. But at least I'm staying relatively dry and hopefully sometime soon I can find some decent rain gear. 

I played my violin the other day at our english class party for the Spiritual share. It felt good to play again, but boy and I rusty. I also can't wait to get some sheet music. Composing is not one of my talents. 

I loved seeing what Jemma has been up to. I honestly think it's hilarious that she likes to sit and watch out the door. It's simple things like that I'm starting to miss. It's also one thing I love about Taiwanese culture. During the day all of the elderly that are friends on a street just get together and sit by their houses or on the side of the street and just talk. It always looks so relaxing and peaceful every time we ride by. 

It also looks like she had so much fun with Olivia and Reagan. That is so cute! What a fun idea! I'm glad she got to go. I loved her email that she sent me this week. It made me laugh! And I can't wait to play Trouble with her when I get home (I'm glad the games are rousing). 

Well, my times about up, but I loved hearing about all that's going on at home. The humming bird pictures were amazing! The classes sound hard, but I hope they are fun and rewarding. The missionaries are awesome! (It actually made me super happy they came and visited you. I know as we work together this work will move forward faster than it ever has before. The Lord works through small and simple ways.) 

I love you all! Have an incredible week! I will try to do likewise. You are always in my prayers and I thank Heavenly Father every day for the wonderful family I have been blessed with. 

Remember...there's always another miracle just around the corner.

With all my love,

Sister Fernley

Also, I hit my half way mark in the next week. Can you believe it? So crazy! Time goes by way too fast!

Still looking for miracles in Qishan

Our message from Sister Fernley arrived with several photos! Here they are:

Dearest family,

This week has definitely been interesting. President Blickenstaff has invited us to pray for miracles every day, and as we have been trying to do this we really have seen so many miracles come forth. I feel like this week has really helped me look for the small things again, and realize that no matter where we are serving we can see miracles and the work of God roll forth. I can be here in Qishan, or I can be in Taizhong, but both places have missionaries sent to them and both places have great potential to see miracles. 

So to just highlight a few things that happened:

Tuesday morning after studies we went over to the morning market here in Qishan (which is where everyone is in the mornings) and tried to get back in contact with one of the shop owners we had contacted a few weeks ago. Yet again her shop was closed, so we went on and contacted in the market. We were there for maybe five minutes when this old lady came up to us and invited us to come to her house. We hadn't even told her we were missionaries yet, but we went along with it and followed her down the street to her house. (It doesn't matter their first intent in talking to the missionaries, they can still accept the gospel) We talked to her and her son who is handicapped for a little while. It was really hard to teach, but we finally were able to introduce prayer and pray with them. They didn't sound too interested, but you never know. At least we planted a seed.

That same day we tracted into someone who had been tracted by the sisters that were here back in August and let them in. I couldn't find a teaching record so I assume they only went once, but they told us we could come back. 

Then as we were riding to where we were going to powerboard for our english class I glanced to the side of the road and saw this guy and thought he looked like someone who would listen, but because we aren't allowed to talk to men unless our companion is right next to us I didn't pull over. Then down the street about ten minutes later I saw him pulled over on the side of the road again. I though that was a little strange, but didn't think much of it. We then stopped at the gas station so Sister Anderson could go to the bathroom. While I was waiting outside that same guy pulled up and awkwardly tried to act like he was calling someone or washing his hands. Then when Sister Anderson came out he followed her out. I figured he was following us so I gave him an english tract and invited him to come. Then we left to go to our powerboarding spot. As we were parking our bikes he stopped at that stop light, hesitated, then drove up to us. He then started talking to Sister Anderson and asked her about church. I tried to help her explain about church, but he wouldn't look or talk to me...just her. Then as he was leaving he put his hand out for a hand shake and said to her (in english), "Hi, I'm Stephano." So we're not too sure about his motives, but we had to give him to the elders anyway. They called him and he said he doesn't have any time until next month, we'll see what happens.

Then on Wednesday we were sitting at a 7/11 eating lunch and doing language study. The guy who came and sat by me saw me studying my character flash cards and asked me why I was in Taiwan. (He asked in english, most people seem to assume we can't speak Chinese and try to talk to us in english). We were then able to explain who we were and what we were doing here. He was a Christian so he was really curious how our church was different with other churches. So we were able to teach a little and invited him to attend the church in Gaoxiong (where he lives). Then the lady sitting on the other side of him scooted over when he left and asked us if we were the Mormons. She had overheard our conversation and wanted to know why we couldn't drink coffee. She had heard a co-worker or someone decline coffee because they were a member. So I was able to explain a little bit about the Word of Wisdom to her. Neither of them gave us their numbers, but were both really nice. Suffice it to say my language study was shot, but we were able to plant some really good seeds.

That same day we were also able to go meet with a lady we contacted a few weeks ago at the morning market. We were able to sit with her and her husband and answer a lot of their questions about missionaries. They actually thought we were Catholic missionaries (there are several families here on missions). When we told them we were different I was afraid they weren't going to listen anymore, but they were still willing to listen. We had a basic first lesson and talked about prayer. They were both willing to listen, but we are also not too sure about her motives. As we were leaving she told us we could set up with her son and teach her son the gospel because she wants him to go on a mission. We told her he would have to believe and get baptized first, and she still wants us to teach him. We're going to see this week if we can teach them as a family.

Friday all of our lessons fell through, it was a rough day, but we got through it!

I don't know if I've told you about one of our LAs named Xu Zhao Hui. We found her in the list we have of members and went to go find her. She fell asleep on us the first time we went and visited her and kept telling us she did not want to accept our church. She was offended by someone shortly after she was baptized and hasn't been back since then. She has one leg, an incredible mullet and acts really drowsy all of the time. Since the first time we visited her we've seen her one the streets a lot and say hi to her as we pass by. We have also stopped by and written her notes, and gave her a new Book of Mormon. We stopped by her house this week and almost got a lesson in with her, but she feel asleep before we could share a scripture. She seemed a lot more open to us though and was a little happier. It is just really awkward, and hilarious when you are talking to someone and mid conversation they pass out on the couch. We just wrote down the scripture we were going to share and set it in front of her so when she woke up she could read it. Maybe if we keep fellow-shipping her she'll come back to church someday.

Sunday we didn't have any investigators come to church, but Shao Jie had her little brother come with her. I guess their uncle (who is a less active member) told him he would give him food if he went to church. So he did, haha! The stake president also came and talked in Sacrament meeting. He is also really on board with missionary work. He asked us all before we left what our biggest problem was. We just said we didn't really have any investigators and he replied with, "it's because you don't get referrals do you? What about peikes, do members attend your lessons? I'll talk to the bishop." He's so cool! If everyone was as enthusiastic about missionary work as he is the work would move forward like a tidal wave.

That night we went and visited Huang Jiemei (our only investigator right now). She didn't come to church so we were a little worried. Turns out she had guest over that morning, so couldn't come. We taught about the Gospel of Christ and invited her to be baptized again. She told us that she thinks her destiny with Jesus Christ (it sounds a lot weirder in english) has come and that one day she will get baptized, but she will let us know when she's ready. She is just worried about not completely obeying the commandments (well coming to church, we haven't gotten to the rest yet) after she is baptized. She said she would feel like she was betraying Christ. We tried to explain to her we aren't perfect and just need to try our best, but I don't think we will push it again for a little bit. Her ten year old son sat with us too and was really into the lesson. The last time we were there he sat by me and was intently looking over my shoulder and reading my scriptures I had open. Huang Jiemei asked him if he wanted to be baptized and said she thought it would be a really good thing for him to have guidance and follow Christ. He was seriously thinking about it, but wasn't sure. We invited him to pray about it, but I think he is really interested. Maybe he can help his mom and be an example for her. This family has a really good feel about them, I know someday they will accept the gospel. They are what's keeping us going every day in Qishan right now.

I loved seeing your pictures! That exhibit looked like a lot of fun. Jemma looks like she had fun playing in the tube. I miss our family outings, but time will go faster than we know and I'll be home. I'm about half-way which is crazy! I'm glad you're getting the pictures too. Sorry there aren't a ton. We aren't allowed to take pictures other than P-Day. So I'm trying to be better. 

As always I hope you are all doing well. That you are happy, healthy and always looking forward with hope. I pray for you always, and can't wait to tell you about the miracles that come forth this week.

There's always another miracle just around the corner.

With all my love,

Sister Fernley

Skype Call for Mother's Day

We got to Skype with Sister Fernley last Sunday night, and it was so fun to see her and hear her voice. She sounds incredibly happy and upbeat…and tired. :) Here's the quick message she wrote after our chat:

So I just talked to you, and I don't really know what else to say. Honestly this week not much happened. We taught Huang Jiemei last night and she is incredible! She is reading the scriptures and we are trying to get them to pray as a family now.

Other than that we are just trying to find new investigators and trying to stay happy. It's hard, but we know that God is on our side and all we can do is our best.

I went on exchanges to Tainan again this last week. I love Tainan! It was fun to be in an area with more city and people to talk to for a little bit. Someday I hope that becomes my area, but I will go where God wants me to go.

 

Tell Jemma I love her with all my heart! I loved talking to her and I'm so glad she loves Pre-school. She is getting so big! I can't believe it.

 

That's about all I can think of. I love being a missionary! I love Taiwan. I love that I get to learn Chinese. I love my companions. I love Nantou, and I love Qishan. It will be interesting where the Lord sends me next or if He keeps me here, but until then we will keep working our hardest and looking for the miracles just around the corner. I know there are people out here to teach, we just need to find them.

 

With all my love,

 

Sister Fernley

Fun and exhausting times

Sorry--I forgot to post this last week. Busy times around here! Anyway, here is Sister Fernley's latest message:

My Dear family,

I don't know what it is about this move call, but I am exhausted! Sister Anderson and I are giving all that we can just so we don't fall off our bikes while we are riding. It's really pathetic. When I first got on island I was really proud when my biking ability was growing. I would switch my bike to a higher gear every week until I got to the top and could ride a lot faster. I think I've hit the point where that ability is going to slowly deteriorate. My legs get tired a lot faster, and what used to seem pretty easy before seems ten, well...maybe five, times harder. I thought it was funny when dad was talking about how he was getting old, because its exactly how I feel on a mission. My eyes aren't getting worse yet, but my body hurts like it never used to before. Haha! But I'm glad to make the sacrifice. And I guess that just shows that I'm trying my hardest. I had a goal in the MTC to go home and be so tired I collapsed, knowing I gave my all for a year and a half. I don't think that goal is going to be hard to hit, I'm on my fifth move-call and already feel like I could just fall over anytime if I let myself.

Before I forget we are planning on Skyping you on Mother's Day! We will probably do it Monday morning here, so your evening there. We haven't been able to find someone to help us yet, but the elders might have found a computer we can use. If all else fails we can go to a wenka. So we will probably try to do it around the same time we did for Christmas? Not too sure yet...sorry!!!

Anyway, enough of that. We are tired, but we are also two happy missionaries. We are trying really hard to keep a positive and happy attitude. Its not very hard with Sister Anderson though. She is really easy to get along with and we are already really good friends. 

 This week has been a trying one. We've gotten stood up for so many lessons. We would have lessons set up and even find members that would help us peike and then would have to call the member and cancel because the investigator canceled. Friday after weekly planning even ended up being a complete day of tracting because everything fell through. By the end of the night we were exhausted and didn't want to tract anymore doors, but of course we did. We didn't really have any success, but we did have a lot of time to talk which made it not as bad.

A few tracting stories from the week:

On Friday afternoon we had picked a neighborhood to tract and as always there was a Daoist temple nearby. We were walking down to the next row of houses when when this 60 year old man walked by us. As is typical here he looked at us and said a barely understandable "how are you?" and started chuckling. (Men yell it out their windows to us all the time. I'm not sure if they really know what it means and that it implies an answer should be made, but we get it a lot.) He then went and sat on one of the chairs right outside the Daoist temple. Then every single time we walked past or within eyesight he would yell another barely understandable "how are you?" and chuckle like a mad man. It was hilarious! He was possibly drunk or maybe just a little crazy, but it made tracting a little more bearable.

I can't remember what day it was, but we were yet again tracting another street and tracted into this 90+ year old man. His hair was completely white, he didn't have any teeth, and he was living completely alone. We tried to talk to him, but he didn't speak Chinese he only spoke Taiwanese. We could pick up a little bit of what he was saying and just about guess the rest. He tried really hard to give us money saying that he lived alone and didn't need all that money for himself. We thanked him profusely, but told him to keep it for himself and continued tracting the street. He stood out on his porch or sometimes walked out into the middle of the street holding his can of change just watching us. When we were walking back to our bikes he stopped me and once again tried to give us some money. He ended up grabbing my hand and shoving a 50 kuai coin into my hand (just a little under two dollars) and wouldn't take it back. We thought about going back and giving it back, but felt awkward about it. So I now have this 50 kuai coin that will always remind me of the goodness of people. There are so many good people here and sometimes I forget that amid all the rejection and scorn. He was so willing to help us and even though he had every right to save for himself he was willing to give some of what he had to two American missionaries that he didn't even know. 

Really not much else happened this week. Huang Jiemei (the mom who brought her kids to church last week) came to church again this week! Sister Anderson and I walked into church and had quite a few LAs and RCs at church but no investigators. We were a little discouraged, but glad that we had some people come. Then during the opening prayer we heard the door open and someone start walking to some seats in the front. Sister Anderson and I both peeked to see who it was (hoping it was her). And it was! We were so happy.

We went and visited her Sunday night and finally finished teaching the first lesson. She's not quite ready to commit to baptism yet, but she has an open heart. She is willing to learn and listen, but just wants to understand a little more before she is willing to accept. Several of the members have already talked to me and mentioned that she seems like a person who will be really open to accepting the gospel. She loves the values that her kids are learning at church and loves that we focus so much on family. What is even more miraculous is that her mom is completely open to it too. 

The older generation here is very traditional and don't like the idea of their family members breaking from tradition. Their culture here also includes the children having the responsibility to bai their parents and ancestors to help them in the afterlife. The parents are afraid that if their children become Christian they won't give them the respect and help they need when they are spirits.

Anyway I hope that we can continue working with her and that nothing happens to allow the interest she has now to go away. She leaves for China in a couple of months, so we need to use the time that we have the best we can.

Of course Shao Jie came to church again this Sunday, but I was so proud of her because she fasted! She didn't even need us to remind her. We went to go meet with her and she brought it up and asked us exactly what she needed to do. She is incredible and continues to amaze me!

We've also been able to meet with some new LAs. Sometimes LAs are really frustrating. They know what they need to do, they just don't want to do it. We do have some awesome ones that have extenuating circumstances that prevent them from coming to church very often etc, but most of them are just lazy. 

We have been focusing on a Ju Jiemei lately and try to visit her at her barber shop when she doesn't have customers. The few times I have visited her she has almost bragged about not coming to church and being less active, but says that she has a lot of faith. So the next lesson we had with her I shared the scripture in the Bible that says "faith without works is dead." She laughed...because she knew she wasn't doing anything. 

Then we found a new LA who was offended by a member and won't come back. We tried to teach her, but she kept saying she didn't wan't to accept "Mo'ermen Jiao," but she already has.

We've seen these two on the streets several times and they try really hard to avoid us. It might just be that I'm a little stubborn, but I don't want to let them crawl into the wood work again. They are frustrating sometimes, but they are precious children of God. They had testimonies once and have just forgotten it. I hope maybe if we show them that we really do care about them and are trying to help them they might be willing to come back.

We also have an LA that we go visit every Sunday afternoon who we are currently trying to get to stay for more than just one hour of church. She always pulls out the excuse that her husband will yell at her if she stays too long. This week though she also talked about how on Sunday the vegetables and food she goes and buys is all sold out at the market by the time church is over. After she said that Sister Anderson and I paused for a little bit, not knowing quite how to start, then taught her about what keeping the Sabbath Day really includes. We tried to invite her to not buy anything on Sunday and she continued to make a bunch of excuses, one of which being a particular vegetable is only sold on Sunday so she has no other time to buy it. It was an interesting lesson, and we got pretty blunt again. 

After that lesson Sister Anderson and I were talking about how so many of the prophesies in the scriptures are fulfilled today. We were talking about how our LA was complaining that our church has so many commandments that other Christian churches have, and that the world is flattering people away from the truth. And then there's the story of Zezrom who believes he is a man of learning and denies Christ, wanting a sign before he is willing to believe. We have been coming across so many similar instances and really are seeing the scriptures being fulfilled.

I'm finding that recently I've had to confront and say things to people that I never thought I would say to someone in my life.I hate that we have to sometimes, but other times its really satisfying. We are literally crying repentance to the people.

And that's about it, and on a more positive note we have a lot of potential investigators. We have several people that we need to go back and visit or get in touch with that we have contacted recently. We're hoping some of these people will stick with us so we can find some new investigators. Almost all of the investigators we had before have dropped, so we are back to square one in finding new people to teach.

I almost forgot about another Sunday miracle we had! We have a Sister in our ward named Lu Jiemei. She is Vietnamese and has been a member for just over a year. She is incredible and she and her husband are so good to the missionaries. We go over there for FHE a lot and share with her family. Her husband isn't a member, and I'm not quite sure why. Every time we have gone over and talked about the scriptures he is right here participating in the discussion and sounds like a member.

We were sitting in Sacrament meeting and only had about ten minutes left when Lu Jiemei's husband walks in with their little daughter and sat down in one of the empty chairs in front of us. Lu Jiemei was sitting in front of us so I saw her face when she turned around and saw her husband walk into church. She was shocked and amazed. She moved over to sit by her husband and was just glowing for the rest of church. As far as the missionaries know he has never come to church before this week. I know Lu Jiemei is an incredible example to her family and hope and pray for her that her husband will some day be willing to be baptized, hopefully this Sunday was just the beginning.

I also forgot to tell you last week...don't be mad...but I bought a violin! I've been dying without one and have wanted to find one to just play for a few minutes. Then a couple of weeks ago Yeh Jiemei emailed me telling me there was a violin in Gangshan on sale for 4500 kuai (about $120). So she helped me buy it and brought it down during the baptism. Sister Yeh's new companion bought one too and says its actually a really good violin for the price. I'm so excited! I never realized how much I would miss it until I didn't have it anymore. Hopefully it can be a tool for helping our members and those we teach feel the spirit.

Anyway I love you all, my time is about up. But I did get your package and absolutely loved it! I love those pictures of Jemma. They are now up on my wall and make me smile every time. I can't wait to talk to you! Have a great week!

There's another miracle just around the corner!

Sister Fernley