Sister Museus, October 26th, 2010

Ni Hao Jiating (Hello Family), I miss you all very much and get excited to hear from each of you. Your emails always help me get through each week since missionary work is so strenuous and tiresome (both physically, mentally, and spiritually). However, things are going great in my new area. My companion and I are teaching several lessons a day, which means I can practice my Chinese more and we are in an air-conditioned church. However, the downfall to this is that we cannot find as many investigators. But, the investigators that we have are progressing so well. We have the best peike (a member who comes to our lessons and helps teach the lesson by providing their insights, experiences, and testimonies) her name is Sister Huang who will come to at least 5 lessons a week. Last night her and her husband came to an investigator's house to meet her parents and help us get parent permission to get her baptized. For the past couple of months Sister Peng has not be able to get baptized because her parents didn't think she was ready and still wanted her to bai bai (worship her ancestors). However, they came over last night and explained to them the importance of ancestors to our church and provided their experiences, etc. Because of them we will be having a baptism this weekend and another one the following weekend. The second baptism is to a girl named Sister Lai who is a mother and enjoys the gospel so much and is willing to do anything for it! She passed her baptismal interview this Sunday and will get baptized in two weeks! So far things are going great and I love seeing success from our efforts. Sister Liu is an excellent missionary and knows how to communicated well with our investigators and the people here in Taiwan (since is from Taiwan). I feel like I have more confidence with my Chinese with her and I speak it more often since we are teaching more and since we talk a lot in Chinese. I don't feel as intimidated as with my last companions since she is trying to learn English better from me by asking me questions and I am doing the same with her. Sister Liu and I continually practice teaching the lessons back and forth to each other in Chinese which has really helped me speak more clear and freely. Today for our preparation day, Sister Liu and I went to Taizhong (Taichung) to go and eat at "TGI Fridays". It was delectable! I ended up getting some yummy grilled chicken. I miss eating American food, but eating fruit, ice drinks (bing), and bread has helped me lose weight. I do need to be better at eating less still if I want to continue losing weight. After our yummy lunch we stopped by a cultural store where they sell so many goodies (Taiwanese paintings, wood work, pottery, etc......the kind of stuff that we all like to buy. I will definitely take you all to this place when you come to Taiwan). I ended up buying some really neat paintings that are hand-painted on scrolls. I will definitely be saving them for some of you, especially one for Mom and John. Mom, it was so good to hear from you again. I'm sorry that you had a dream that I came home and that you thought you saw me riding a bike. Sometimes I have dreams that I'm home as well with all of you....these kinds of dreams make me miss you all even more. I guess one of my weaknesses is...after having something deprived from you (such as my family and great homemade food and American food) you miss it even more since you are not around it and you cannot keep in contact with it. However, going to college away from home and serving a mission here in Taiwan has helped me realize even more how important families are (especially since I share this message every day) and how much I miss and love each and every one of you. Anways, I'm glad to hear that Mama Norma is doing well and her health is progressing. Thank you all for taking care of her since I can't be there to help her. I'm also glad to hear that everything is still okay with the business even though the economny is still horrible. In addition, I'm glad you were able to get away for a while and spend some time in Phoenix. I hope we can do that when I return home (which is in less than 11 months). I love hearing from you Mom each week. Thank you for always writing me. I miss you so much Mom and think about you every day. You are such a shining light in my life, please remember this! Whit, the area is something to get use to since it is a lot bigger than little Huwei (a lot). My language is coming along a lot more since I have a local companion and since we are teaching a lot more lessons throughout the week. We already have two baptisms coming up and we even have two progressing investigators who are amas (grandmas who are in the 80s and 90s, you can't get older than this, better late than never!). It was funny to hear of your all nighter with Lexie doing your scrapbooking. If I was there I would be with you two as well. I need to catch up on my scrapbooking when I return home. I'm glad to hear that you are taking care of Mama Norma, thank you for doing this. In addition, I'm glad you went to Amanda's luncheon (even though she got married way too soon). It was funny hearing you speak of missionaries talking about their experiences. I guess I will be one of those people when I return home :). Paige, it is always good to hear from you, especially since you are so funny in your emails. You scared me a bit when you talked about going to the hospital, but I'm glad to hear that it was only a air bubble from eating so much fruit and veggies. I've also been trying to eat more fruit and veggies lately so I can continue to lose more weight. It was really nice of you to celebrate Charles' birthday so big and fancy. I apologize for not being able to celebrate with you and the rest of the family. I'm glad you loved your letter that I sent you and I'm also shocked that you received it so soon. I will write you another letter soon when I get a chance. Love and miss you Paige, keep up the good work! I miss you all very much. I was going to show so more pictures of my last day with Sister Roper and some new ones with Sister Liu, but I ran out of time. PLease forgive me and I promise to send them to you next week. Please send this to sister Roper when you have a chance her email is:anneroper4@gmail.com and if you any of you want to hear her homecoming talk just email her and she will tell you the place and time. It will be at the end of this month. Love you all.SIster Museus

Sister Museus, October 25th, 2010

Hey Everyone, It was so good to hear from so many of you this week. I'm glad Mama Norma is doing well and the rest of you. This week has been very busy and crazy. First, we had a scary incident happen with an investigator who has epilepsy (who get seizures all the time and she can't control them). She had one while we were teaching her and it scared me. It almost seemed like she was possessed by something and I felt so useless since I didn't know how to help her. I just sat there stunned and shocked with what was going on. I just don't know how Paige, Ash, and Whit do as nurses. I could never know how to help someone in that situation or in any scary situation like that. In addition, on Friday night our carbon monxide monitor went off in our apartment and we started smelling it. We could the assistants and they immediately came and picked us up and drove us to the mission home in Taichung (about 15 minutes away by car). We were able to stay in a carpeted and fully air-conditioned home with the mission president and his wife (all four of us since I'm in an apt with two other sister missionaries....and one of them is Sister Brownell my MTC companion). I got the best rest there in the mission home and in the morning President Bishop and his wife cooked us breakfast. It was really nice having something homemade again. They made us scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and some frest fruit. After our studying time, the assistants took us back to our apt. so we could start our missionary work for the day while they fixed the problem in our apt. Thank goodness our last president made us install the carbon monoxide alarms in our apartments or we would have had some health problems. We also had Combine Districe Training Meeting this week where the zone leaders and the mission president taught some missionary things, checked our daily planners, and had an interview with the president. In addition, we had stake conference and afterwards we had our baptism. I don't have any pictures to send you since my camera died on me, but I will send some through the mail next week or send them in my next email with Sister Liu's camera. The baptism went well and we were so excited for her to want to make these great baptismal covenants with God. We were going to have a baptism next week, but we can't since the ward has a temple trip since we will do it the following week. Today, my whole apt and I went on a crazy hike in the mountains. It was a blast even though I fell off my bike two times from exhaustion. We stopped a fun Buddhist temple and took some fun pictures and grab some free souvenirs. We then stopped at bat cave and got our feet drenched in the tunnels. Afterwards, we biked up to a waterfall and found out we came at the wrong time of the year since there was very little water coming down the mountain. However, it was a very beautiful hike and bike ride. I'll make sure to send you more pictures next week when I have more time. Mom, it was sad to hear that you might have to sell the condo. I love spending time there as family, but I understand that things are still not going well with the economy and all. I hope I'm not being a financial burden. I will try my best to spend less money. Just make sure to look at my account once in a while to make sure that I have enough money in there. I apologize again if I'm causing this problem. For the most part I get along with my companion even though we spend so much time together. Our focus is our investigators and not each other so we never get too bothered my each other. It was so good to hear from you Paige and how much fun you had at the corn maze. I will definitely have to go next year with you and everyone else. I can't believe Boston is getting so big. I will make sure to keep Charles in my prayers as well as you and the rest of the family. It was funny to hear about you cold call experience. I have the same problem with people thinking I'm very young or very old. Whit, thanks for you email. I'm glad Rob is doing well and it will be exciting to see you and the family next year. Thanks for always keeping me updated with things. Things are pretty busy here, but I like it that way since time sees to fly by faster. We do have a baptism coming up, but not for two weeks since the ward has temple trip in the way. John, it was really good to hear from you. I don't know where I put my 2009 taxes for work or school unless they're in my drawer somewhere. However, I know you can all Zupas in Provo and they will get you a copy. I also know if you call BYU they will also give you a copy of my tuition and such. I hope this helps, if not let me know I will try and remember where they are or what other help I can give you. Thanks for all you hard work John. I love you family and I apologize that I wasn't able to write more to you. I love you all and keep doing what is righteous. Miss you all! Love you Always,Sister Museus

Sister Museus, October 11, 2010

Hey Everyone, It was so good to hear from those who wrote me this week. It has been a very bumpy roller coaster ride. We were so close to having some baptisms before Sister Roper and I left Huwei (since we received a call from our President Bishop that they would be closing the area for a while since very few sisters will be coming for the new few months. It was still sad to receive this news since no missionary wants to close their area and have over their investigators and area book to the elders. We ended up having no success in our last move-call together in Huwei, however, we planted many seeds in many hearts and several of them will get baptized in the new few months after they resolve some issues such as Xiao Ba (she told us she's getting married in November and will get baptized in December after her college class ends since it gets in the way of attending church for her). In addition, Linda will soon get baptized after she continues to gain a testimony and can answer the baptism questions without any doubts. Moreover, Sister Ji who I contacted and added will also get baptized in the near future. She is going through a hard time with her husband, but feels that the church makes her feel like she is home and is saving a seat for her. She came to part of General Conference and brought her cute son as well. In addition, others such as Sister Liao will also get baptized after she fixes her working schedule so she can always come to church. She was actually influenced by her "big boss" who started the "Sunrider" company and is a Mormon. Sister Liao started investigating the church after she noticed that her boss was a Mormon. We also have a family that we've been working with that we handed off to the elders and I can as well see them getting baptized and going to the temple together as a family. At first it was very difficult for me and Sister Roper to accept that we did not have any baptisms during this move-call (and especially since it was Sister Roper's last move-call and the only move-call where she did not baptize). However, we both learned how to be more diligent, worthy, and obedient missionaries. We also saw many tender mercies that took place. In addition, for me I learned how to love my mission. It was very difficult to drop off Sister Roper at the mission home and say goodbye to her. We actually pulled an all-nighter as we talked and talked to each other about everything. We then got up at 5:30 am to catch an early train to Taichung so we could spend some time in the big city and she could show me around since my area (Taiping) covers a lot of Taichung). We ate a delicious bakery that had cranberries and cream cheese in the middle. Sister Roper loved the bread so much she wanted to go later before she headed back for the U.S. Afterwards, we spent an hour talking to others in the mission home until my new companion arrived. It was and still is very difficult for me to say goodbye to a great companion that I had for 3 months. Sister Roper helped me see the positive in everything and everyone. She made sure to tell me that every person I meet is a golden investigator and a child of God who needed and must hear the gospel. My first companion made missionary work so stressful, but Sister Roper helped me enjoy every minute of it even through the rainy and deary days when everyone was missing their appointments and no one was on the road to contact. I will always be grateful for such a fun, loving, and very funny companion. Sister Roper could get me to laugh at anything no matter what mood I was in. She reminds me so much of Morgan Hill in so many ways, since they see life in a positive light and make everything very funny. In addition, she has such an amazing voice that I would always ask her to sing some of my favorite hymns. Hearing her sing the hymns so well always brought the spirit and made me think of all of you and dad. Don't be too surprised if she gives you all a call at the house and Alex as well. Sister Roper wanted to let you know how I am doing through her and wanted to get some great music from Alex (since Alex and Sister Roper have very similar tastes in music). I hope this is okay with you family and doesn't make you too upset to hear from someone that I just served with. She may not call for a month or so since she will be visiting her family in Ohio, California, and be taking a vacation in Hawaii with her dad. Mom, I've mentioned your gourmet food so much that Sister Roper is dying to eat some of it; maybe you could invite her over for dinner and she could share some of the fun experiences we had together (but be careful because she doesn't eat meat, except for fish but she told me she will probably start eating meat again since she does miss it). I hope this won't be bothersome to any of you, but if you do end up talking or meeting with her you will be able to hear first hand experience of what I've been doing on my mission. Well, General Conference was really amazing to watch on Saturday and Sunday the past weekend. There were so many good talks given by the prophet and other servants of the Lord. There were so many of them that reminded me of so many of you that needed to hear it. I hope each and every one of you took the time to watch and listen to them and if you didn't you will read them in the "Ensign" this coming month. What a privilege it is to hear from them every 6 months and I wish I could hear from them more often. The words they speak to each of us is help guide and direct us in this frightening world. Some other great things that happened the past week was the generosity shown by so many members in the Huwei ward. On Tuesday and Friday night two of my favorite members took Sister Roper and I to eat at some very lovely restaurants that served delicious food. I was able to have some yummy lemon chicken one night and the other I had some yummy bacon and onion alfredo pasta. I wasn't use to eating such good food that it didn't settle well with my stomach both times, but it was to die for good. In addition, two weeks before that the Relief Society president and her husband took us to a hot pot place where you add whatever vegetables and meat you want to cook in your own personal pot of broth. We also ate a lot of desserts with them since it was an "all you can eat place". Moreover, we received delicious brownies from a white family in the ward (which were so good since you cannot find brownies here in Taiwan unless you by the mix at "Cosco") and several other gifts from the ward. We also took several pictures with them and gave out our contact information. All of them were grateful for our service and were sad to see that there would be not sisters in Huwei for a while. Now I am in Taiping with a new companion named Sister Liuo who is a local missionary (from Taiwan). She is really nice and can help me increase my Chinese skills. I was lucky get a local who speaks really good English and has more of an American culture, but she does have diabetes so I will have to checkup with her on it and makes sure she is following the guide lines to keep her blood sugar at a good level. Sister Liuo actually was in Huwei before me and was companions with my trainer, Sister Anderson. The world is such a small place. In addition, I'm following Sister Roper's footsteps since she started her mission in Taiping and struggled with her first companion and grew to love her mission with her second companion she also had for two move-calls. Anyways, I love you all and it was so good to hear from you. Thank you Mom for keeping me updated on things and answering my questions that I sent. I'm glad you had a fun time in Cali with John. Please continue to take care of Mama Norma and I can't wait to bake yummy pies with you! John, thanks for the sweet email and I'm glad you enjoyed my letter. Thank you for always pampering and spoiling my mom too much, I wish I had someone who would buy me such nice rings :). Whit, you sound quite busy, but thanks for taking the time to write me this week. Keep me updated with your school work and nursing. Thanks for giving me the deets on Amanda (as well as Mom doing that for me too). I love you all and continue to pray for you daily. I miss you and can't wait to see you again! Love you Always,Sister Museus