WEEK 16: Walkin' On A Dream!

Da Jia Haooooo<3 

I feel like every one of my emails starts the same way where I don't actually know what to say or how to explain how much I LOVE TAIWAN! This week was incredible. We celebrated the 4th of July by our friend Yo buying humongous fireworks, lighting them off, and getting kicked out of the park by the police. OOPS! It was all of us missionaries and investigators and friends and it was such a good time. Before we lit off the fireworks, Yo had everyone answer the question, "What brings light to your life?" I love this question! (fitting with the fireworks- you go Yo). At the time I answered "family and friends." But I thought about this question often throughout the past week and realized how many things bring light into my life. I love thinking about things that bring light because light is such a warm, happy thing! So many things this week brought light to my life:

1. Our English class students...they are incredible and teach me more than I will probably ever teach them

2. Whenever I realize I just had a conversation with someone in Chinese.

3. Having an investigator text us, "good morning, i love you!' 

4. Giant avocados.

5. Meeting a girl with a t-shirt that said "miracle" on it who ended up being super interested in hearing about Jesus Christ and set up to meet with us...She definitely gave us a not-so-subtle-hint hahah YAY

6. Having only face-to-face conversations.

7. Being given a pumpkin. hollaaaaaaa

8. Going out in the typhoon (taifeng)-that-never-came and everyone losing their minds wondering why were still sharing the gospel (By the way, we are all safe!! Thank you soo much everyone for your emails and concerns! It was so sweet to see those today).

9. Getting asked if I was from Israel? SICK (the good "sick")

10. Watching the sunrise.

11. Sharing the "Because of Him" video with a man on the street and he was legit holding back tears. I asked him what he was thinkin' when it ended and all he said was "everyone deserves a second chance in life."

That man, Li XianSheng is his name, is so right. I almost started crying tears of joy because of how right that was. No matter what mistakes we make in life, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father will give us a second chance. I love being a missionary and sometimes I wonder why I was given this opportunity. I am really imperfect and make mistakes every day- more than I can count! But I was so thankful to meet  Li XS who reminded me that no matter who we are, God has the ability to help us become better. HOW GREAT is knowing that we never have to be stuck? We can always move forward if we just try and if we ask. 

I love life so much. There is light everywhere in life, everyday! I have been looking for 3 things every day that have brought light to me and I realized that I can actually just go on and on and on. So yes, try it out if you have a couple minutes- I promise, life is even better that we realize it is!!

I love you all so, so much. Thank you for your concern about the taifeng, for your support and for your love. I love you and am praying for all ya Meiguoren!

wo ai nimen

xoxo

sista mo

PICS

1. We did some heavy duty fireworks and got kicked out of a park by the popo...I am not kidding like they were straight up 4th of July gigantic blow-up-in-the-sky fireworks!

2. CARN

3. We resorted to sparklers after getting asked to leave the park :)

4. The biggest smile because biggest avocado EVER

5. Today we woke up at 3:15 am and went with our district to watch the SUNRISE! The pictures do not do justice- it was heavenly. There are really no other words to describe it.

6. Elder Bellingham and I trying to yoga.

7. Da taiyang

Super Typhoon Nepartak

We are asking for your prayers for the people and the missionaries in Taiwan as they will be in the path of a Super Typhoon today and tomorrow.

http://www.taiwantaipeimission.com/

Noel and Jess

WEEK 15: 奇迹。 MIRACLES!

Ni haooo and 3-months-no-see!? 
I cannot believe it's been 3 months! Time be fly. This week was so amazing and I don't have the words in English or Chinese to explain how great this week was. MEH!

This week started in the IＮCＲEＤIＢＬE JiuFen. JIUFEN SO FUN!!!! (JiuFen is pronounced joe-fun) This is like the Asian equivalent of Hydra, Greece. Except you can't compare them. Wow okay so our friend named Yo (yes his name is literally Yo, coolest name, coolest person) rented a car to take us to JiuFen because it's an hour away. So we drive along the freeway until we get to the ocean! Then you got the ocean in front of you and you look to the right and you see this unreal city built into the lush, green mountainside. And we were all like "uhhh is that JiuFen?!" YEP IT WAS JUIFEN. Literally no one was really saying anything because everyone was speechless. It was unbelievable. The pictures below do NOT do justice!! Then we climbed about a billion stairs to get up to the yeshi (night market) and it was sweet! Packed with people, new foods, amazing smells, unique souvenirs, and 50 kuai giant fresh fruit smoothies! I don't know the conversion but I do know that it was cheap enough for me to get 2... ;) JiuFen was life-changing. Easily one of the most surreal and unique places I have ever been. (miraculous!)

The next miracle happened on Wednesday when Sister Bradley and I were out finding in the pouring rain. We were talking to a college-aged girl on the side of the street when 2 middle-aged women came up to us and asked, "Hey, can we talk to you?" Sister Bradley and I were like, "WELL YEAH YA CAN!" When we were done talking with the college girl, we went with the two women to a bread shop where they bought us an assortment of bread. (the Taiwanese are the best)  One of the woman named Chen told us in Chinese of couurrrssseee "My friend (her name is Mi) has been struggling a lot lately because of her husband. So she called me and we were on our way to visit her but then right when we turned the corner we saw you two and recognized you as "Shen de puren" (God's servants) and knew that you could help my friend."

Ummm WHAT? Sister Bradley and I turned to each other and both of our eyes were wide open with amazement and it was the one of the COOLEST THINGS EVER TO HAPPEN yet on my mission. We chatted with Chen and her friend for a while and then shared a scripture that has really helped me when I'm feeling mehh. 

Alma 26:12

"Yea I know that I am nothing; as to my own strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things."

I really love this verse. I have been able to carry conversations in Mandarin now without assistance with native Taiwanese and I can't tell you how true this verse is! Anything I am able to say is because of divine help. It's quite nice that we don't ever have to be alone in anything we do:) 

I love you all and hope this next week is GREAT for you.

love you more than I love biking in the rain.  which is a LOT.

bai bai!

sista mo

WEEK 14: I AM STILL LEARNING

Helllllooooooo da jia hao!?

This week was AMAZING! We started it off in the best way by going to the unbelievable Taipei 101. It is bigger than....a lot of things. Most things actually. The elevator that took us up to the top goes 600 miles per minute and it kills your ears, but it is part of the experience. I cannot even describe the view from the top! All those buildings you thought were skyscrapers look tiiiny and you can see the entire city of Taipei. I don't have the words to describe it! Pictures also don't do it justice soo you can take this as your 584th reason to come to Taiwan. ;)

This week we met a lot of amazing people on the streets and got to know our awesome church members. Yesterday, a member we call "Lu Baba" had us and the Elders over for lunch and fed us homemade vegetable gali (curry). I was seriously trying not to cry it was THAT GOOD. (Side note: We also have had gali for 6 other meals this week... #XINGFU. I have decided heaven must be full of gali.) He learned how to make it specifically for the missionaries so he could feed us and told us it is the only thing he can make. HOW CUTE IS THAT. He also told us his story of joining the church and it blew my mind. It was in Chinese so I may have ting bu dong'ed a little but the gist of it is this: He was a devout Buddhist Monk for many years. One day, on his way to a Buddhist temple in Taipei he saw a Christian church next to the Buddhist temple and wondered why they were different. He knew Christians prayed so he went to the Buddhist temple and said a prayer to know why. Then two days later he said "two weird, young waiguoren in white shirts" talked to him at a stoplight and super quick invited him to come to our church that next Sunday. WELP he took that as a sign from God and showed up to Church a few days later. He ended up getting baptized a couple months later and is now one of the mission leaders. He said how much his life has changed and how much hope he feels now. He inspires me soo much. He is one of the most humble, generous, and Christlike people I know. I love Lu Baba.  

I also wanted to tell ya about Cai Ai Lun <3 She has been meeting with missionaries for a while now and just told us she wants to be baptized! She told us she reads the scriptures every night & prays every day and that it has helped her find a lot of hope and peace since her mom passed away. Ai Lun really reminded me how amazing it is that we always have scriptures and prayer to help us through any trial in life. A lot of people here do not know who God or Jesus Christ are and the most incredible experiences I have had here have been helping people understand that they are never alone! 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! It has taught me so many lessons I didn't even expect to be taught haha. I think- actually I know- I take a lot for granted. I don't know what it would be like to never know God exists and I am so lucky to be able to say that! (THANK YOU Mom and Dad!) Even at times in my life when I didn't have a lot of faith, I still knew God existed and I could pray to Him. The mission has taught me how much I need the Lord's help and how much hope and peace the gospel has brought me.  I have also learned so much from the people. Ahhh the people! They are the most selfless, gracious, kind, and humble people I know. They go out of their way to make sure people around them are taken care of. For example: My tongban and I were stopped at a crosswalk looking at the map (cuz we got lost for the 329478930th time hehe) and this car turns, finds a parking spot like 200ft down the street, and this woman speed walks towards us. Turns out she speaks perfect English and asks "Where are you trying to go let me help you." This sort of thing happens multiple times every day. Then when we told her how perfect her English was she was like "I am still learning." I love that. That is the greatest view on LIFE! So humble and SO kind to pull over and go out of her way like that to help us. She has inspired me to take on that "I am still learning" attitude and apply it to everything I do.

I really can't explain how much I love this place. I miss you all like crazy but I love every second I get to be here doing the Lord's work. I love you all so much!

JIAYOU wode pengyoumen<3

xoxox

sister mo

PICS

1)  Taipei 101 building

2)   ""

3)   ""

4)  This giant ball keeps the 101 centered during earthquakes!! SERIOUSLY EPIC go youtube taipei 101 big ball during earthquake. be ready to be amazed

5)  awful pic of me but cute of my luv sister DENISON

6)  MY ANGEL COMPANION

7)  NIGHT MARKET madness

8)  they sell drinks in lightbulbs....WUT

week 13: MEIYOU SHIJIAN

Hello loves! 

This week was so busy and it really flew by. I am the slowest typer and I have only a couple mins for this email so it's gonna be a short one! (MEIYOU SHIJIAN!)

FIRST THINGS FIRST! Congratulations Ian and Savannah! Wow I am so happy for you two and hope your wedding is incredible. I love you both and am so excited to see pictures! (with the cardboard cutout in all of them) ;) <3 AHH SO EXCITING!!!

On Monday we went hiking on ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN! Yes. Elephant Mountain. And it surpassed all of my wildest dreams. It was a billion steep stairs up through this incredible green rain forest mountain. So epic. So majestic. But the greatest thing is that after each flight of stairs is a lookout to Taipei and it is absolutely breathtaking. The photos do not do it justice!! I also found a banana spider as I was walking by and it was the gnarliest thing ever. It was easily bigger than my hand...google it if you want. Or actually don't because they'll give you nightmares. But it made for a sweet picture!

This week we saw a bunch of miracles! One of the most amazing ones happened when we were on our way to Chen Mama's house to help her move. On our way over we were stopped at a stoplight and started talking to a woman on a motorcycle. We told her we were missionaries and she ended up saying "ummm I am already a member of your church" and the light turned and it was awkward cuz the convo just sort of ended..BUT she ended up following us and having us pull off the the side to talk to her! She hadn't been to church in 10 years because her parents (she is 30 something) didn't let her take their car to church because they didn't really support her. So she stopped going. SO we invited her to have dinner with us the next night. At dinner I asked her if she missed church and she said she missed it so much and has no friends and feels like God doesn't want to hear her prayers anymore. So Sister Bradley and I were like, "Well let's meet at the MRT tomorrow and you're coming to church with us!" Her face lit up and it was the cutest thing. She was so happy! Lessons learned: God's timing is perfect. Reach out to other people and include them! Love them! This is what Jesus Christ was all about, inviting everyone to come unto Him. I love the picture of Christ hugging the little yang (sheep) because it really is how He feels about every single person in the whole WORLD. He loves us so much! Ah love is my favorite topic. It really does make the world go round. 

That probably sounded a bit hippy but I hope you get the idea. I love you all!! I love Taiwan and I cherish every day I get to be here living and breathing and having no one understand my broken Chinese :') it really is the best. 

I hope you all have a great week!

all my love

mo jie mei

Week 12: lil snail, BIG CITY

Da jia hao!?

Ahhhh who what when why HOW do I describe how much I love Taiwan? This week was another week in paradise. This paradise is fei chang special though because it includes sweating all hours of the day, falling asleep during lessons and meetings, getting splashed by cars driving by, nobody wanting to talk to you, everyone wanting to talk to you, being a missionary, and LIVING IN TAIWAN. Living the dream. 

Ok, ok clearly I am not over the fact that I am in Taiwan. Just bear with me. Hao. SO this week started with P-day (preparation day) in Danxue! Danxue is a beautiful town by the water and is a 30 minute MRT ride from our apartment. We got there and ate some lunch, wandered around the shops, got dumped on by the sky, and had fish eat our feet. We also held a photo shoot with tiny snails :') Needless to say, it was such a good day.

The days besides P-day always kinda blur together because we do so much stuff every day. To give you a little rundown: we start the day with exercise at 6/6:30, then breakfast, then studies until lunch. Then we have lessons, meetings, street contacting, and bike riding riding riding. Let me paint a picture for ya: Imagine you go outside and it is the hardest rain you have ever experienced. But then try to imagine that it is raining TWICE as hard as the hardest rain you have ever experienced. You would probably go back inside. Or maybe you would just get inside a car like most people. OR maybe you're feeling a little adventurous and decide to put on a giant yellow trash bag to ride your bike 3 miles across town through the city, with every car splashing you as they drive by. BUT you are super safe and happy because you have your helmet OVER your giant yellow trash bag and look really really good as you go. And that's what matters. (see pic below plz)

As for the actual missionary work! I can't explain how inspiring it is so see the happiness the gospel brings to people. Most of the finding we do we ask people if we can pray for them. Almost every time we ask, the person is super willing and will sometimes ask if we can teach them how to pray themselves! Last night we met a woman named Fang XiaoJie while we were walking by the MRT station. She had bandages all over her body and asked us to pray for her health. She said that was the most peace she had felt in a very long time and asked US if we could meet with her again tomorrow! As we were leaving she kept thanking us for the "pingan and kuaile" brought through the prayer. I love people and I love prayer. 

I am running out of time so I can't do captions for the pics but I hope that everyone is doing well!! I am always thinking and praying for you (and *secretly* praying that everyone has a chance to come to Taiwan at some point in their life...:D )

Sending my love from Asia!!

xoxox

mo jie mei <3

p.s. from jess - so I sent Hailey the email below in mandarin chinese right after she sent the email posted above and she shot me a reply within less than a few minutes answering all of my questions!!!  I did the real quick type in google English-translate-to-Mandarin then copy & paste, but still she was faster in reading it and responding! UNREAL!

亲爱的妹妹黑利

我想念您和您的爱。 我不能再等待,听到您在做什么。 什么食物吃了这周的吗? 没有雨了很多? 你喜欢的所有的自行车吗? 您的购物篮的吗? 当你开始教英语课吗?

我永远爱您

妈妈

WEEK 11: I loooooovvvvvveeee Taiwan and I love being a missionary!

Family & Friends...

I AM IN TAIWAN!! After 9 weeks of thinking the day would never come, I am actually here and it is indescribable. I love everything. And I cannot stop smiling as I am biking in 100 degree weather, 100 % humidity, or pouring rain. The people here are incredible. The food is the best I have had in my life (besides mom's cooking of course). The city is sooo beautiful and the streets are unlike anything I have ever seen. AHHH everything here is so much more amazing than I will ever be able to describe!!

A brief rundown: We landed after a really smooth 13 hour flight and were greeted by our Mission President, Jace B. Jergensen and his angel wife Sister Jennifer Jergensen - they are amazing people. Then we spent the night at the mission home and I woke up the next morning at 4:00 thanks to jet lag :') oh also I blacked out again and hit my face on the bunk bed and then the closet and when I regained consciousness I was already crying. SO yeah hahah this was an important part of my week. (m & d I am totally fine I promise hehe)

So that morning we went to a dedicatory prayer sight and had a cool little introduction to the mission. Then we met up with all the trainers and got assigned our new companions. My companion/trainer is..... SISTER BRADLEY! She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. I am so blessed with companions. We will be together for 2 transfers/12 weeks! LET'S GO. We spent our first evening together meeting people on the streets. We talked for awhile with a man who by the time we were ready to leave asked if we would pray with him. He said that he had not prayed before but he prayed one of the greatest prayers I have ever heard. SO COOL!!

The next day we biked- and YES I survived my first time biking in Taiwan!!! It was really something else... I cannot tell you how qíguài (strange) the traffic system is here. There are lights on every street that count down either 90, 60, or 25 seconds and nobody crosses or turns until their light is green. Also there is a box for bikes at the front of the lanes at every light. SO you gotta weave your way through all the cars and get to the box. Then when there is like 2 seconds left, you start revving up (aka awkwardly pedaling forward with your foot and getting honked at for being uncoordinated) and then everyone is off! There's just me and my comp, two little wàiguó rén (foreigners) on our foot bikes while all the cars, buses, and motorcycles zoom by. It's a beautiful thing how well the system works tbh.

Our Zhǔjiào (bishop) invited us and the Elders over for lunch and made us some tomato egg drop soup. (Dad you would have died for this!!) But when they found out I was veg (side note: Taiwan is probably the easiest place in the WORLD to be vegetarian) because I didn't eat the duck, his wife went back into the kitchen and came out with a plate of vegetable fried rice....the Taiwanese are seriously the kindest people in the world!! I definitely felt bad but once they knew I was vegetarian it was a done deal. The people here :'))))

Here are some more highlights/random things:

1. The fruit here is the most flavorful I have ever tasted.

2. We met a woman named Gloria (her English name) on the street and she was so excited to talk to us. She ended up setting up another appointment to meet with us and is super interested in baptism!

3. In every park here (so many parks!) there are tons of fitness groups. They do dancing, Tai chi, meditation, running and circuits. What's the big deal? Everyone in them is OVER 85 YEARS OLD. I will take a video. Words don't do them justice. Let's just say I got lapped by a 90 year old.

4. A giant plate of curry here costs 80 kuài....THAT'S $2.45!?!

5. The Chinese is coming so much easier being here and immersed in it! I can understand the gist of what most people are saying!! I really, really love the language. OH also I was asked to share a brief testimony yesterday in church in front of about 40 people...in Chinese hahah!  I shared how Tiānfù (Heavenly Father) gives us strength to get through trials we couldn't get through ourselves. That is one of the greatest things I have come to know on my mission. Try it out- say a lil dǎogào (prayer) and see what happens! Yǒu xìnxīn yǒu bànfǎ! 

There is so much to say but so much that I could never describe through words. I loooooovvvvvveeee Taiwan and I love being a missionary. This is one of the greatest experiences in my life. Most of the time I am just in awe that this is my real life!!

I love you al! Write me and tell me how the life is in Měiguó (USA)!

xoxox

mo jie mei

PICTURES
1.  a super cute girl who thinks my hair is fake
2.  me and my comp sis bradley and our sick bike gear
3.  a view from our apartment in my first area,  ZhongHe -- a district in Taipei
4.  the dedicatory site (also another picture of this with our group is @ taiwantaipeimission.com)
5.  view from our bishops apartment
6.  a chocolate pancake fish

WEEK 10: Mo Jie Mei in Taiwan

Hailey Jane made it to Taiwan after a 13 hour flight from San Francisco and traversing 7000 miles!

We received this photo of her with her new companion and trainer from her mission President, President Jace B. Jergensen.

You can watch a short video of her arrival and see more pictures of her in Taiwan at the mission website:   http://www.taiwantaipeimission.com/
The photos and video are under the section "Dedicatory Site and Training with New Missionaries".

WEEK 9: I AM FINALLY GOING TO TAIWAN!

HELLO I AM FINALLY GOING TO TAIWAN! Today is the day!

I cannot believe it has been 9 weeks. It has felt like an eternity & at the same time, a day. The MTC has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have learned so much and met incredible people here. People from all over the world! I love how diverse this place is. I have been stretched and challenged in ways I didn't know were possible, but have made it through every struggle by the help and grace of God. I mean I can *prettymuch* get by in a conversation with a native Chinese speaker and it has only been 2 months?! WHAT IS THAT? A miracle. Definitely a miracle. 

So yes- the next time you hear from me I will be in TAIWAN!! 7000 miles over the Pacific! Words cannot express my excitement or gratitude for this experience. I love you all and your support and love help me through. Thank you for everything! 

p.s. you know how you say "geng-ho!" to express being all for something/excitement about something? well that literally translates to "more good" in Chinese! so YES you all know a Chinese word and it took all of us here 9 weeks to realize it! hahah

I love you all!!!

xoxo,

mo jie mei 

莫妹妹

PICTURES

1. A lil earth angel named Sister Austad.

2. One of my favorite humans - Sister Woo.

3. Our little MTC fam.

4. My tongban + Sister Woodruff

5. More of some of the greatest people I know.

6. Sister Woo on the left & Sister Zhang (from Taiwan!) on the right. Saying I am going to be tall in Taiwan is a bit of an understatement. hahaha

7. More cute sisters from Taiwan.

8. Sister Shih! SO CUTE LOOK AT HER!

9. Wode ai Sister Zhang <3

10 & 11. Some super hilarious eye magnifying glasses. The glasses obsession continues.

12. Chosen by the thug life (@ laura where you at)

13.  i know my arm looks huge/i look huge  and it is prob because I am standing next to the smallest/cutest person alive