TAIWAN IS LEAKING!!
Taiwan is a little leaky. It has rained everyday for the past 9 days, and when I say rain I mean I am pretty sure there might not be any more water in the rest of the world, because I think it's all coming out of the sky here. But that's okay because rain always provides for good experiences and helps us to recognize a lot of the blessings that we have. Plus I love rain! But the other second part of my leaking title is that it turns out our new apartment isn't so great and it seems that almost everyday we discover a new leak in our apartment, most of them from the ceiling, but some of them are coming out of the floor. All the leak water is yellow. It's all rather lovely! Hahaha we have a lot of buckets set out because they can't fix the leaks on the roof until the rain is stopped and the roof is dry. So good luck to us, because there is supposed to be no end to the rain anytime soon due to a Typhoon that is supposed to be hitting the southern part of Taiwan this week (Don't worry mom, it's nowhere close to my area) Anyway that has been a whole lot of fun! We laugh a lot :)

Also, I think many of you will be happy to know that this week I ate a whole scoop of spicy ice cream! On Monday I set the goal and it seemed it just got on my mind and about 5 hours later I was attempting it. With great fear I went for it and took it out in a minute and a half because I think if I had eaten it any slower I may have died in real life. My stomach felt hot for a few days after, but it was definitely worth it for the experience. I cried a lot and spilled my milk in the store. 

Also while we were biking yesterday I swallowed at least 16 bugs and 5 more were found in my eyes and about 100 were stuck to my forehead. Taiwan is so good. Hahaha

The work has been a little strange this week! We feel as though we are putting in our very best efforts, but our results are not very tangible. We are working to identify exactly what it is that we can improve and think that as it always seems to, it might just come down to more faith. We are working with a member referral and she is great, keeping all of her commitments and I think that she will progress towards baptism very soon. We also were given an investigator by the elders who very much believes in our church and is excited to get baptized, but also very strongly believes in reincarnation, so that has tested us a little bit to try and work with her, teaching by the spirit rather than persuasion. We will continue to see how that goes. LinYongLiang is doing really well after being baptized a few weeks ago and we are so happy about all of his progress. He is pretty busy with work and doesn't have a lot of time to meet with us, but we talk to him everyday and he shares scriptures with us and things. He really is learning from the scriptures and I love that! We are working with members and trying to strengthen their belief in member missionary work. 

Today I have a testimony of families, the plan of salvation, and family history work. This gospel provides a way for every single person on this earth to be linked and live with our families in heaven, forever. Could there really be anything more marvelous than that? Sister Langley and I are learning lately that God is a God of guarantees. He gives us a condition that is always accompanied by a promised blessing and I know that as we do our part that God will come in with all of His love and power and raise us up to be something we never imagined that we could be. This eternal life is one of His guarantees. If we follow Him and keep His commandments in enduring to the end, we w

ill have those blessings. It is also our responsibility to help others receive those blessings as well. Family history and temple work is amazing and I miss being able to go to the temple frequently. I encourage all of you to go to the temple and take family names so that we might be able to strengthen our families and give everyone the ordinances that they need for salvation. I love you all and am so grateful for my eternal family. 

Hayley

P.S. Pictures: I caught a pet fish. #proudmompics and also Sister Peck has come to Taiwan! So good to see her. :) 

I live in Taipei but I serve in Yilan.

We spent like 48 hours of this week in Taipei! Hooly cow!!! I can't believe it. Hahah anyway, we had trainer trainee follow up this week for Sister Langley since she is technically halfway through training and since we were up there they just had us stay overnight and took her to a doctor appointment the next day for her foot/leg. However, plot twist, the doctor thinks she has a herneated (I'm not sure that's how to spell that) disc that is cutting off her nerve to her leg which is why she has so many problems. They said we might not to be able to bike. That would make me sad, but we want her to be healthy! So we are going to Taipei again tomorrow for zone meeting and to get her a CT scan to confirm the stuff! She is a real trooper and does all the good missionary stuff regardless of her pain! She is awesome!

Our district leader has got us 'looking for the rainbows' this week as we look for miracles in our everyday work. I feel that being grateful and looking for the miracles has actually made it seem like they happen more! Funny how that works. Either they were there before and I just wasn't seeing them, or God rewards our gratitude. Or both! Anyway, one of my favorites was that we were talking to this girl who was the most devout Christian that I have ever met in Taiwan. And I was just thinking "What can I possibly say to this girl that will help her know that our church is somehow different and actually correct?" The obvious answer being to testify about the restoration, which is what the spirit continually tried to tell me, but I tried to resist because I didn't think it would go well to be that bold. But finally after a good push from the spirit I was like "Fine! I'll do it". So I told her that we believe that even though all the Christian churches are way awesome, we actually only believe that one church is correct and that that is our church. We know that through a really special experience that we have Christ's true church on the earth today. And then asked if she was willing to learn more, honestly expecting no as an answer. But the Holy Ghost is better than me and she said she would like to learn more and set up a time to meet with us. It was honestly a miracle and a testament to me that God really does give us promptings of what to say, and as we open our mouths he will allow us to see miracles. 

Last night we were able to travel the couple hours to Taipei so that I could be a part of a musical number at the big Taipei fireside. It was an awesome experience and I loved being able to play my violin and using it to bring the spirit and testify to people's hearts of the truthfulness of this gospel. We got home a little late, with last minute permission from President, but it was a fun adventure. :) We ate spicy ice cream again this week and I got 16 bites in this time. My goal is a whole scoop by the time I leave in Yilan. The person who tried before threw up, so we will see. I think I can do it. We have had some good adventures this week, long bike rides, and eating a lot of cold sweet potatoes. Life couldn't get better. :) 

I'll just finish by saying that I know the Savior is our compass, our direction, a star we can look to for direction like on the night of His birth. Elder Eyring tells us that when he is tempted to feel selfish, exhausted, and not serve his fellow men, he gives himself a rallying cry. "Remember Him". I testify that as we remember the Savior and remember what He has gone through so that we might be lifted up to the Father, that we will see His light in our lives and we will become more like Him. As we lay aside our personal cares and concerns to give everything that we have to others, we will be blessed and given further abilities through the power \of the Atonement. I love you all and I love this work. 

Hayley

P.S. Taiwanese doctors look like the DMV and they just call a number on a c\screen while millions of people sit in chairs (picture enclosed)

From Hayleys companions blog. Sister Roberts is wonderful and we are grateful Hayley was able to have such an amazing trainer!

My new companion is Sister DeWitt. And she is the most sweetest, funnest, coolest Sister missionary you'll ever meet! Seriously. I'm so impressed with her. We get along so well and it's so so so fun! She is so much more prepared to be on her mission than I was. She's always thinking about the investigators and her Chinese is also better than mine was. She's so great! She's from Utah and yea. I don't know what else to say. We have been here 5 days together and we just are having so much fun!

That's pretty much it, but I just love being a missionary!!!!! I think the hardest thing this week was just knowing that everything that has happened has been God's will. Sister DeWitt is so fun and she's so prepared. And sometimes it's a little intimidating :) She had an amazing experience in the MTC and she just talks about her investigators like they were real investigators. She's just an awesome missionary and yes I'm a little intimidated. But I'm working on it.

Then Wednesday... we found out who was moving! Sister DeWitt and I were finishing watching some things for training and Sister Wong (my Sister training leader who I go on exchanges with) called me and asked who my new companion was. I asked who hers was and she said (in broken english) Cecily Renae Roberts! I was like "WHAT WHAT WHAT?!?!?!" So we finished doing our stuff then went to the 7 to find out who Sister DeWitt's new comp was. And it turns out that my other Sister Wong companion, (the one that I was with in San Chong), was training someone, but that she was having foot problems, and needed to be moved to a flatter area, so she was moved out of that area halfway through training and moved to YiLan and Sister DeWitt is training! Finishing training someone! How crazy is that??? I'm so proud of her cause that means I did my job, and she did hers. The goal in training is to help them be able to train if so called upon by the time they finish training. AND THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED!!! I've never heard of that happening though here in this mission! I'm so proud of her! 

MY HEART IS SO FULL!!!
We spent like 48 hours of this week in Taipei! Holy cow!!! I can't believe it. Hahah anyway, we had trainer trainee follow up this week for Sister Langley since she is technically halfway through training and since we were up there they just had us stay overnight and took her to a doctor appointment the next day for her foot/leg. However, plot twist, the doctor thinks she has a herniated

disc that is cutting off her nerve to her leg which is why she has so many problems. They said we might not to be able to bike. That would make me sad, but we want her to be healthy! So we are going to Taipei again tomorrow for zone meeting and to get her a CT scan to confirm the stuff! She is a real trooper and does all the good missionary stuff regardless of her pain! She is awesome!

Our district leader has got us 'looking for the rainbows' this week as we look for miracles in our everyday work. I feel that being grateful and looking for the miracles has actually made it seem like they happen more! Funny how that works. Either they were there before and I just wasn't seeing them, or God rewards our gratitude. Or both! Anyway, one of my favorites was that we were talking to this girl who was the most devout Christian that I have ever met in Taiwan. And I was just thinking "What can I possibly say to this girl that will help her know that our church is somehow different and actually correct?" The obvious answer being to testify about the restoration, which is what the spirit continually tried to tell me, but I tried to resist because I didn't think it would go well to be that bold. But finally after a good push from the spirit I was like "Fine! I'll do it". So I told her that we believe that even though all the Christian churches are way awesome, we actually only believe that one church is correct and that that is our church. We know that through a really special experience that we have Christ's true church on the earth today. And then asked if she was willing to learn more, honestly expecting no as an answer. But the Holy Ghost is better than me and she said she would like to learn more and set up a time to meet with us. It was honestly a miracle and a testament to me that God really does give us promptings of what to say, and as we open our mouths he will allow us to see miracles. 

Last night we were able to travel the couple hours to Taipei so that I could be a part of a musical number at the big Taipei fireside. It was an awesome experience and I loved being able to play my violin and using it to bring the spirit and testify to people's hearts of the truthfulness of this gospel. We got home a little late, with last minute permission from President, but it was a fun adventure. :) We ate spicy ice cream again this week and I got 16 bites in this time. My goal is a whole scoop by the time I leave in Yilan. The person who tried before threw up, so we will see. I think I can do it. We have had some good adventures this week, long bike rides, and eating a lot of cold sweet potatoes. Life couldn't get better. :) 

I'll just finish by saying that I know the Savior is our compass, our direction, a star we can look to for direction like on the night of His birth. Elder Eyring tells us that when he is tempted to feel selfish, exhausted, and not serve his fellow men, he gives himself a rallying cry. "Remember Him". I testify that as we remember the Savior and remember what He has gone through so that we might be lifted up to the Father, that we will see His light in our lives and we will become more like Him. As we lay aside our personal cares and concerns to give everything that we have to others, we will be blessed and given further abilities through the power \of the Atonement. I love you all and I love this work. 

Hayley

P.S. Taiwanese doctors look like the DMV and they just call a number on a c\screen while millions of people sit in chairs (picture enclosed)