Dear Elders and Sisters,
As you know, Sister Blickenstaff and I were recently blessed
to spend two weeks with our daughter who has completed her full-time mission in
Korea. I am so grateful for the experience of being in the mission field during
the time that she served. We could easily understand the various stages of her
mission as she struggled to adjust to missionary life, learn a difficult
language, learn the many skills necessary to be an effective missionary,
develop companionship unity and the ability to think of others before thinking
of herself. It was truly a joy to observe the small changes that took place in
her heart and mind that ultimately allowed her to find joy in the work and feel
that she had accomplished what she had been called to do.
The time that she spent with us in Taiwan was very precious.
We love Taiwan and were happy to have the opportunity to show her some of the
beautiful places here and let her experience the culture, food, etc. We also love each of you and were so
thrilled that she could come at a time when she could meet you. The most
enjoyable thing was just the opportunity to talk with her and observe the way
that she conducted herself. She has the same fun personality and sense of humor
that she has always had, but she has added to that spiritual qualities and
maturity that are the result of personal conversion and service to others. We
are so grateful that she chose to serve a mission and we know that her
experiences will bless her and her future family in ways that we do not now
fully appreciate. We know that each of you can experience the same growth,
maturity and change for the better that comes as a result of selfless service
and dedication to the Lord’s work. Thank you for all that you are doing to
serve Him and serve others.
Christmas phone calls are almost here! Please note the
following guidelines:
·
You are allowed to call or ‘Skype’ anytime on
either December 25 or 26. If your family requests another date, please obtain
permission from me. Please determine the best time in advance.
·
Your calls should not exceed 45 minutes. If your
parents are divorced or separated, you may talk with each parent for 30
minutes.
·
Please do not call anyone other than your
parents unless you have obtained permission from me.
·
You are allowed to use member’s computers in
their homes in order to Skype. Do not linger on computers to play games or look
at inappropriate things. Remember that members are always watching you to see
if you are PMG missionaries. Do not let them down!
·
In all that you do and say, seek to uplift your
family and bear witness of the Savior. Let them see the ways in which your
mission experience has changed you.
It is with great disappointment that we will not be
receiving our visa waiting American misionaries this transfer. Please continue
to pray for their safe and expedient arrival. Pray that the Taiwan government
officials will communicate with us the reason for their application approval
delays and how we can resolve the issues at hand.
Lastly, we currently have 22 baptisms in the month of
December. There are two more weeks in December and 51 investigators with week A
or B goals. Please continue to exercise your faith and do all that we can to help
others to come unto Christ this week. We can hit our goal of 60 baptisms this
month! We want a white winter wonderland in the Taiwan
Taichung Mission this year!
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