The Final Stretch

Oh my goodness, I really CANNOT believe this is my last move-call! How on earth does that happen? It seems like just yesterday I was on the plane coming here... and ZIP! But, exciting things are happening in GangShan!! Guess what?  I have a new companion! Sister Watterson is the daughter of the  last, last TaiZhong Mission President, and I just love her to pieces.  I wish I could tell you so much more about her, but due to a little adventure today (we got on the wrong train, missed our stop and then didn't get back to our area until an hour and a 1/2 before we need to start proselyting! Oops!)  I don't have much time to write. But, I'm so lucky to have her as my companion, especially for this final stretch. She's incredible, and I know it's going to be one of the most amazing move-calls ever.   Also, another companionship of Elders got added to our ward, so now there's 6 missionaries here, serving in the SAME ward!! This ward is so amazing, and it's going to grow SO much because of their faith  and the hard work of 6 missionaries laboring for them. A funny thing is that our new District Leader was in my district as a trainee, so he's seen me serve  from the beginning to the end! So crazy! But anyway, it's going to be way fun to have the addition to our district and ward.  :)

 

Another cool thing is that  my companion just moved to   Dong Hai/Feng Jia  (my second area ) to be companions with Sister Fleming!! AHHH It's so crazy! So, I got to call Sister Fleming yesterday to get all the information for the move, and I asked her about some situations of my recent converts there, and the most amazing thing is that the Peng Family is going to the temple on March 10th.... in 12 DAYS!!  And I get to go with them!! Oh my goodness, I cannot wait! It's going to be the happiest day of my entire mission, seriously. Anyway, I am just so incredibly happy, and it's going to be the best move-call of my entire mission. I wish I had more time to write all the miracles that have been happening, but I'll just have to wait until next week to tell you all the amazing ones that are going to happen!!!!

 

I just love being a missionary! I love each of you SOOOO much! Hang in for the final stretch!

 

All my love,

Sister Morey :)

I want each of you in the Celestial Kingdom with me!‏

Dear Family scattered all over the place!!

 

Mom! You made it "back"!! I'm so jealous you get to go to the Women's Conference in Hong Kong! I'm sure it's going to be amazing and a real blast seeing all your best friends :) Please say hi to everyone for me, especially the Finamore/Young family! Jake, I hope you have a good, safe time in Canada! I want to hear all about it :) Adam and Jordan, I hope your day's work in Provo was fun and rewarding. I hope you all have a great Monday!

 

This week was another good one. Wow, missionary work is so hard but so rewarding. Monday started out great with having Family Home Evening with a used-to-be less active mom and her kids (we only met with her once and she came back herself, WITH her two youngest kids! They haven't missed a week of church since, and have been some of the most faithful members). The husband (not a member) wasn't there, and the oldest daughter wasn't there either. Ye jiemei was really sad when we first got there because she had just gotten off the phone with her teenage daughter who left home and is living a rebellious life and won't tell her parents where she's living. It was so heartbreaking to see Ye jiemei so pained, but it was also really touching to hear her share her testimony with her daughter. I gave her a big hug, and told her to keep having faith and that she'll return eventually. We enjoyed a really fun FHE with another family present and it reminded me the simple joys that come from spending time together as a family, learning gospel principles together. Needless to say, we laughed a lot and Ye jiemei was feeling a LOT better by the time we left :)

 

 I KNOW the power of the Atonement is real and that families can be united together for eternity, but it's no small feat! Faith, repentance and doing the basics (reading the scriptures and praying daily, having weekly family home evening, and attending church each Sunday) are becoming more and more important to me as I see how lacking any of those starts to weaken a family. But at the same time, they're so simple it can be accomplished with diligence and hope that the blessings and spiritual protection willcome as those bricks of faith are placed consistently, one by one, on the foundation of Christ. That's the beauty and simplicity of the gospel.

 

We've also been teaching a sister named Joyce lately. She has so much faith and can feel the Spirit very easily. It's been such a joy to teach her because she has such a desire to live a righteous life and turn things around. She's had a really rough background and the first question she asked me when I talked to her on the phone was, "I just want to know, why do bad things happen to good people?" The next time we met we helped her know that God loves and knows her, that this life is full of difficult trials (sometimes because of the choices of others), but that God will not let us be tempted above that which we are able, but will provide a way for our escape. We taught her that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that escape, and that with God, we can bear all things. She responded with so much faith and has been developing that faith through prayer and scripture study ever since. She says she's really been feeling more peace in her life as she's been developing her relationship with Heavenly Father through prayer.

 

I just love this gospel so much. I know it's true with all my heart. It can answer any question, heal any pain and give any honest seeker of truth confidence and assurance. It fills people with hope. I can't imagine my life without it. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for teaching me when I was young. I love you so much, and I love you, Adam, Jake and Jordan, more than I can say. I want to be with you for eternity SO bad, and I can't imagine living in the Celestial Kingdom without any one of you. Please, let's not have any "empty chairs!" I know it takes diligence and faith, but it's worth every sacrifice because life is filled with the sweetest joy that will continue on for eternity. And, as Adam once said, "eternity is a long time." Don't let anything compromise that so we really can live together forever, ok?

 

All the love a sister and daughter can ever give,

Sister Morey <3

Short Note :)

This week was crazy mostly because lots of abnormal things happened (like having a zone scramble where each missionary in the zone served with a different companion for a day; and making a trip to the hospital for my companion to get an endoscopy done to check up on her stomach ulcer... that was SO fascinating!! Haha, you know me... it was just about the coolest thing ever to watch. I just wish I had a narrator to go along with it, but it was still cool to apply some of my anatomy/physiology knowledge!). BUT, despite all the craziness of the week, we still had one of the happiest moments ever... a baptism!! He jiemei is super cute. Mom, she reminds me so much of you. She "dances" as she walks and does cute stuff like that. Seriously, she's just about an Asian version of you, haha :) Anyway, she's the mom of the second counselor in the relief society presidency and she was so excited. It was so tender to hear her daughter's talk and how happy she was to have another family member join with her in the gospel. They love studying the gospel together, and the thing both of them are most excited is attending the temple together. She's converted through and through. I have no worries about her :). It was one of the most memorable baptisms not only because the whole ward was so excited for it, but also because everyone was so happy that no one remembered to turn the water off and as we started singing the opening song the baptismal font started overflowing! Ahhh! My companion and I started laughing so hard, but also ran to the back to get some mops, hahaha. Many of the members also responded and started finding various ways to get the water off the floor. It was really so funny. He jiemei was so good and tried to stay concentrated by holding up the hymn book high enough she couldn't see, and always keeping her eyes focused on the speaker... till the very end and I'm sure she just couldn't keep from watching the moppers anymore, haha. Needless to say, it was definitely something I'll never forget!

Anyway, I don't have much time this week because we're going on an adventure to see some really pretty flowers! But I'll share more next week :)

All my love,

Sister Morey

I Love Being a Missionary!

Mom and Dad, thank you so  much for your precious letters each week. Even though some of them are shorter than others (as mine are some weeks!) I can still feel your love pouring from them. I did today :) Adam, Jake and Jordan, even though I don't hear from you every week, I can still feel the depth of your love despite the distance and scarcity of words. I love you all with all my heart. I hope that you can feel that through this simple message! I often think of what each of you are up to and hope with all my heart that the things you're doing are wholesome, worthwhile, and help you develop your talents. Each of you are so gifted, and time is so precious... I hope you can find more joy in doing good things! I've learned so much on my mission the difference it makes in how we spend our time, and I've seen the same pattern in so many lives of the people I serve. Maybe each of you can think of some fun activities we can do together when I get home, OK? I can't wait to spend more time with each one of you. <3

 

This week has been another awesome one. I just love being a missionary :) For some reason my mind is drawing a blank as to anything major that happened this week... except that He jiemei passed her baptismal interview with flying colors! We're so excited for her baptism next Saturday. The ward is really excited too, especially because it's one of the Sister's mother! That's the best feeling to be able to complete (or at least be one step closer to completing) families.

 

Mom and Dad, thank you SO much for getting everything set up for me when I get home. You have no idea how much that means to me and how much stress it relieves. It will make the transition so smooth. It sounds like the class schedules are perfect! Especially the Chinese one :) even though I know it'll be challenging.  That would go perfectly with the Chinese summer camp job if that one works out!  I really can't say how much I appreciate you for helping me so much with everything! I have to say I laughed when I read that Dad already started the application for me teaching at the MTC, haha :) Sure, that'd be great!

Sorry this email is more odds and ends. Today emailing is a little shorter because we had POWER CLEANING day to start our POWER WEEK! That means we leave the door a 1/2 hour earlier each day and eat meals on the go to have extra proselyting time and get pumped up after the Chinese New Year low. It's gonna be fun! Anyway, I realized just how much I love cleaning and how good it feels to have a completely clean apartment! What a good start to the week :)

 

I love the gospel so much. I am in so much awe at how much my testimony has been strengthened of the Restored Gospel and the simple but profound truths it contains. I love following the prophet and living up to the promptings of the Spirit and feeling such deep love for others as I help them in any way I can. That kind of life is so rewarding, peaceful and full of joy. Righteousness is the happiest way to live! And I'm so grateful that I have the gospel to show me how and that I can practice it every day, especially as a missionary. Life is hard. But there is always hope as we press forward in faith. Just keep doing the things your heart whispers to you (that voice of the Spirit) and things will work out. That I know with all my heart!

 

Love, Sister Morey :)