WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS!! These are all the missionaries who are going together to Taiwan Taichung. One of the sisters is serving in Leeds England, but this is all of us! 🙂 We were all so excited!!
This was probably the biggest week yet! So many things happened!!
So, we got our travel plans this week! I have been chosen as the travel leader, so I am in charge of making sure everyone gets to Taiwan safely and I’m in charge of calling people if anything goes wrong. Our flight leaves at 11:25am (Utah time) next Tuesday, the 8th, so I will be calling you all before then in the airport! I can’t wait to talk to you all! 🙂 We fly from SLC straight to Tokyo and then to Taipei. We will land in Taipei around 9:25pm on the 9th, and then we will be picked up by our mission president and drive a couple hours to the mission home in Taichung. It’s so exciting! I can’t wait to get to Taiwan!!
I hope you have all read the Church Report about Elder Holland visiting Asia. I read it this week and it was so inspiring to see the work that is happening in Asia and to know that I am part of that!! I can’t wait to start working in Taiwan and help others come unto Christ. One of the counselors in our branch presidency is from China, and he was actually in Macau when Elder Holland spoke, so when he came back to the MTC, he was able to tell us a little more about Elder Holland’s address and the things that he said. That was really cool! I am so excited for the day when China opens up to missionary work!
This week we made a lot of progress with our investigators! Right now we have two investigators, and we finished teaching the lessons to both of them! They both accepted baptism, and they have their baptismal interviews later this week! I hope everything goes well and they feel good about this decision! They are both so ready to make this commitment! Yesterday was a crazy day – between lunch and dinner, we had two lesson with investigators in english, a lesson with a less active member, and a lesson with our other investigator (we went over the baptismal interview questions with him). It was a lot of work, but they were all really good lessons. We spent all morning preparing for the lessons, and then we just tried really hard to have the Spirit with us and teach them what they needed. Almost all of the lessons went differently than we were expecting. We prepared, but then during the lessons, we were lead by the Spirit to know what to teach. It was an amazing day. I am so excited to do that same thing in Taiwan with the people! I love teaching the gospel and I love watching the gospel change the hearts and lives of God’s children. Being a part of this work is such a blessing. I feel so blessed to be going to Taiwan, my dream mission! Ah, I can’t even describe how thankful I am for this opportunity.
I receive a lot of personal revelation and guidance during my personal study this week. I love that hour that we have each morning to study the gospel and further develop our faith. I am almost done with the Book of Mormon (I started it a few weeks ago) It’s been really amazing to be able to read it so much everyday. Every time I read it, I learn something different and I always receieve an answer to my prayer. One thing I have started to do everyday is start out my personal study with a question. Then as a read, I look for the answer to the question, and I always find the answer. The Book of Mormon is so amazing. I know it is the work of God, and it is such a blessing to be able to read from its pages each day.
One thing that I was struck by this week as I read the Book of Mormon is how many times the words “instruments in the hands of God” appear. I had never really noticed that it says instruments, plural. When you’re using an instrument with both of your hands, that is all that you’re doing. I love that it says instruments. It shows that God is using his missionaries and His children as instruments in both of His hands. Everything that He is doing is to bring about His work. “Behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Everything that God is doing is to bring to pass this work, and we all need to be sharp and useful tools for the Lord to use to make this work happen. He is counting on us!
So….on Sunday, we had a music devotional. It was probably one of the best nights ever. Richard Elliot, the organist for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir came and played several pieces on the organ for us. My companion and I were sitting literally right next to the organ and watched him play. It was SO amazing! He’s so talented!! After he was done, David Archuleta bore his testimony and then sang a few hymns. It was SO powerful. I will never forget the Spirit that was in that room! David Archuleta just got home from his mission in Chile a couple weeks ago, so it was really amazing to hear his testimony and about some of the experiences he had on his mission! He was so excited for us! It was really such an amazing devotional! Afterward, people went up and shook his hand. I was the last person he shook hands with, then he said “God bless you.” He was so amazing. So. So. Amazing. You could just see the light of Christ in his eyes, I’m so grateful for him and Richard Elliot and for the talents that they shared with us. I loved it!
Well, that’s all I had time for today, but I love you all! I love this gospel, and I love the Lord. I am so grateful that I have the chance to go to Taiwan in less that a week! I know this Church is true and I am so excited to share that with the Taiwanese people!! Talk to you when I’m in Taiwan! 🙂
Love,
Sister Jordan Berrey
Sister Jordan Berrey
Remember to write me!!
Sister Jordan Michelle Berrey
Sister Jordan Michelle Berrey 