The Gospel Path to Happiness

Christmas at the beach.

English Class

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Love you all and miss you like crazy. It's so weird to be away from home during the holiday season but it's amazing to be sharing the love of Christ with the people of Taiwan instead. It's been amazing to see people change and grow in the short time I have been here. 

But the start of this week was awesome! I got to Skype with my family and it was SO good to see their faces ! There were many tears shed *cough cough mom* but so good. While it is so hard to be away, I know this is where I am supposed to be! Being on a mission really has helped me realize how important family is. It's such a blessing to have someone you can be with for eternity! 

So Christmas was on our preparation day so we decided to spend it at the beach! It was cold and windy but still so fun. (all of the people we told thought we were crazy because Taiwanese people think it's freezing right now but in reality this week has been in the 60s and 70s!) After that, I got the chance to play piano at a baptism. The spirit was so strong and the amazing convert that was baptized bore such a powerful testimony! We brought an investigator (Ni Jiemei who I talk about later in this email) with us and it was exactly what she needed to hear. It's amazing how powerful the spirit can be in a room...So cool! Then we finished off the night by having a special Christmas FHE / Dinner with some of our Filipino members. They are always so welcoming and made us feel right at home! Overall, it was an amazing Christmas :)

Oh! Christmas Eve also was awesome! One of our ward members threw this huge party and invited tons of people ! After a awesome dinner and a short Christmas lesson, we went caroling around the neighborhood! Never thought I would be singing Jingle Bells in Chinese on Christmas Eve in Taiwan. But it was really a cool way to bring the light of Christmas to a bunch of people. As everyone walked away after the song, a set of missionaries would stay and talk to them and we saw a bunch of success. I love members and their willingness to help the gospel progress in any way they can find. 

With the spirit of Christmas behind us, we had an AWESOME week! We had so many cool experiences and saw lots of miracles. One of these is a lady named He Jiemei. She was referred by a member and she is amazing. We met her at our ward party last week and when we were trying to get her contact information on Line (an app kinda like Facebook Messenger) her contact automatically pulled up without us doing anything! That's never happened before so she took it as a sign from God it was her time to come closer to Christ. As we met with her for the first time, she shared how she already can feel God's love when she prays. I just can't express how much I already love her and how ready she is for the gospel. She told us that we were her angels and it made me feel so special. God really does know us perfectly and knows exactly what each of his children need to succeed.

Another miracles was with Ni Jiemei. We met her about two weeks ago and she just committed to baptism ! She came the baptism on Christmas day and thought it was super special. She said she had a "sacred" feeling throughout the entire thing. The next lesson we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to the End) and she accepted our invitation to be baptized! She even self set her own date. I can really feel the Light of Christ in her and I know good things are coming for her :) 

This week in my personal study, I focused a lot on a talk from the 2017 Ensign "The Gospel Path to Happiness" by Elder Holland. Such a good talk! In short it says "Your best chance for being happy is to do the things that happy people do, live the way happy people live, and walk the path that happy people walk. As you do so, your chances to find joy in unexpected moments, to find peace in unexpected places, and to find the help of angels when you didn’t even know they knew you existed improve exponentially." Then it gives us five ways we can "Live after a manner of happiness." As the new year approaches, I invite all of to read this talk and find ways you can be more happy this year. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and experiences. 

You are all the best and I miss you so much. Hope everything is going well! 

Best wishes from your favorite missionary in Taiwan, 
Sister Meeks 
毛姊妹

Just little updates on all my baptismal date investigators :) 

李怡慧 Li Yi Hui

She had an amazing experience over the Christmas holiday !! She said she was at a party with some friends, exchanging gifts and such, and that they were all drinking beer and black tea. When she told them she was fine with just drinking water one of the people there blurted out "It's because she's become a Mormon!" (This is the best part) Her response to their comment, "Yes I am." She then expressed to us the blessings she's seen from keeping the Word of Wisdom. She really is so amazing and knows that the commandments our Father in Heaven has given us will bless her far more than any popularity status. She currently only has to learn about 1 more major commandment and has a baptismal date set for January 20th. 

倪靖婷 Ni Jing Ting

She attended one of the Elders' baptisms last week, and this week when we met with her we more fully explained the ordinance of baptism. She is one of the most focused listeners I've ever met. As we teach the lessons, she looks at us expecting more and always stops us so she can review by reading the pamphlet for herself. She's just so solid. That day, as prompted by the Spirit, we set a baptismal date with her as well ! And, she set it herself ! She picked a day late in February that she felt comfortable with. It was a cool experience seeing how her attending a baptism really peaked her interest in being baptized herself. 

陳姵如 Chen Pei Ru

She has been in Japan recently, but we met with her again this last week. We over viewed the Restoration before giving her the invite to preview the Plan of Salvation pamphlet. We explained to her that the Plan of Salvation will answer 3 main questions (Where did we come from? What is our purpose here on Earth? and Where do we go after death?) and she immediately exclaimed "I've always wondered!" She then had to control herself long enough to give us a closing prayer, and soon after started fanning through the pamphlet, looking for answers. I love seeing people get excited about the gospel. When it's investigators especially, I just get on a whole new level of happy. It was awesome.

何雅婷 He Ya Ting

He Jie Mei is a woman we met at the Christmas performance activity and we recently met with her for the first time. And, friends, she believes in MIRACLES. As we talked with her she expressed many of her trials with us; and it was so neat to hear that instead of turning away from God in her hard times that she decided it's time to hear more. She's a member referral, so she's been to a lot of church activities. But, she said that it was different with Sister Meeks and I. She said it's like we're here as angels, sent to her. She specifically said "Wode shijian yinggai daole." ... "It's time." I'm so excited to see her progress. As we explained the importance of prayer, she even cried ! The spirit was just so strong, and it's true ... she's so ready for this gospel to rock her world <3 

親愛的陳怡君 Chen Yi Jun

OHHHHHH BABY !!! Chen Jie Mei got married this last Friday, and her baptismal date is set for this coming Friday (the 5th). Her baptismal interview is this coming Wednesday and she is so READY !! She has not smoked for more than 2 weeks now (almost 3) and her testimony is one of the strongest I've seen on the mission. Her life has taken a 360 flip ever since I've met her. And, I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity God has given me to know this beautiful daughter of His. I am seriously so so excited. 

Merry Christmas

Heya Everyone! 

Merry Christmas!! Since I don't have a ton of time today, I figured I would just send some pictures this week! Love you all!! 

Sister Meeks

Two weeks in

1. The streets of Taipei! 

 My comp and I getting super yummy street food!

This is in a grocery store! It's so big they have little escalators that are magnetic so the carts don't roll off!

Our cute little Christmas tree we got for 3 dollars :)

Us waiting for the train in the freezing cold and HUGE rain!

Hot Pot! SO good! 

Investigator who treated us to Hot Pot. Literally met with her once and they she took us out!

Hey everyone! 

Week Two in the Beautiful land of Taiwan! What a blessing it is to be serving here. While I don't understand most of what is being said, I really do love the people so much. They are so kind and generous. We have seen so many miracles happen because of other people. It really is amazing and surprises me everyday!

Last Pday we went to Taipei to practice for our huge missionary choir event! On Christmas Eve, we have a huge program put on by the missionaries and we have been inviting everyone we can! We have so many talented missionaries and we really are going to touch the hearts of people through music. It was also really nice to see a bunch of people I knew from the MTC! Always good to connect with them.

But this week moved a little bit slower than last because my companion has been super sick. She is such a trooper though. We have had tons of lessons this week and she really has just pushed through the sickness. One of those lessons was with Chen Jiemei. She has a baptismal date of the 30th and we couldn't be more happy for her. She has been making some really big changes in her life and her faith is so strong. She takes promises with God and repentance very seriously. While she has a few more things to work through, I have faith she will still be baptized on the 30th. 

English class this week was also very exciting! We were talking about the body this week so we taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." I'm not sure how well they know the words but they were pretty cute! (I attached a video of it) It's always super chaotic but really fun. A lot of moms come with their kids so we have been able to find investigators every week! We have a special Christmas class next week and a lot of people said they are going to bring friends. So exciting!

On Thursday a investigator took us to a Hotpot ! Literally so so so so so yummy :) It takes a super long time to eat so it was really nice to get to know her more. She is a young mom who really loves her family! She doesn't have any specific religious beliefs so we are trying to help her develop a relationship with God!

Another cool thing that happened that we were doing studies at a store and this random guy came up to us and just started a conversation. We found out that he is a Less Active member and is going to move into our ward in the next two weeks. He said he saw us and it reminded him how much the gospel has helped his life. So he decided he is going to come back to church! He then got us free drinks and thanked us a lot for our service. Literally is so sweet and it really showed me that we help people even when we don't talk to them! Missionaries have a cool impact on lots of different types of people. 

But this week has been really special because I have been able to feel the Christmas spirit so strongly! When we share about Christ and his birth, people's attitudes change and it's amazing to see. So, I invite you all to come up with a way you can better remember Christ this week, leading up to Christmas. You can start by watching this AWESOME video :) 

TAIWAN AT LAST!!!

Heya Friends and Fam! 

I AM IN TAIWAN! I REPEAT I AM IN TAIWAN!! I never thought it would happen but it finally did. I received a call from President Love last Saturday night and I left Monday morning. I cannot thank my companions, members, friends, investigators and everyone else in Missouri who made my time there fantastic. It was such a good experience and I would not give it up! Can't wait to hear about all the success that will continue in that area. :)

But since then it has been a whirlwind! I flew from Kansas City to San Francisco, had about a 4 hour layover, then flew straight to Taiwan! While the person next to me didn't want to hear about the gospel, we still had some pretty good conversations :) Then I landed and I couldn't get through security because I didn't know the address of where I was staying! So after many failed phone calls, I finally got it and made it through. People see your missionary nametag and just automatically think you can speak Chinese so there was a bit of a struggle there...(They didn't understand why I didn't understand them!) But President Jergensen was waiting for me and is so awesome! He is over 6 feet tall and is a very loud person so he was easy to spot :) 

Then, because I came mid transfer, I went straight to my area and met my trainer. Her name is Sister Nielsen and she is AWESOME! We get along so well and have tons of fun. I am serving in the Zhubei area and it is so awesome. I am already loving the people here. 

In the morning, we got up and had a lesson with an investigator. (Fan Jiemei) She is so cute! She ordered us breakfast and then we started talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She had a lot of really interesting questions and she wants to pray about a baptismal date! YAY!

Then we had district meeting and it was awesome. I was literally blessed with the best district ever. They are so funny and so nice. We have a lot of fun together. One of my MTC friends (Elder Swensen) is in my district so that was really nice to see a familiar face. 

Some members took us out for dinner...literally ate so much food! She saw I liked something so she ordered another plate...after I was full! 

Same member., rockin' her Christmas tree hat. She is literally so cute.

Me and my cute comp at the Grand Hotel! 

Us having dinner at the Stake President's house. Crazy thing is I know his daughter! She came to BYU one summer and we are already Facebook friends! Small world! 

My view from our window. The building with the blue roof is our chapel!

The temple in Taipei! 

We then had our first English class! My companion and I teach the little kid class and they are so cute! I'm not sure how much English they learn but we have a lot of fun. They call me teacher Meeks and it is the cutest thing I have ever heard. We were playing musical chairs and this little girl (probably 3 years old) gets out because of an older boy. She proceeds to stand on the chair and give him a piece of her mind, very aggressively! It was so funny in her little high voice and she has so much sass for a 3 year old and it made my day. 

Then we went to Taibei to meet the other new missionaries who came from the MTC. My trainer hasn't trained before so she had to go figure that out. I also got to see another friend from the MTC (Sister Elliot!) She is awesome and I was so so so so so happy to see her :) Then we went and got our new money and bought our smartphones! Each missionary gets one here and it is very convenient. It really helps the work progress. We can use convenient ways to communicate with people and planning while we are out and about is so much easier. We are really blessed to be able to use this technology to further the work. 

The rest of the week was full of meeting with investigators (We have 3 with a baptism this month!) and different activities. Then Sunday came, which was crazy. My companion and I are over three wards so we went to a solid 7+ hours of church. I had to introduce myself in all the sacrament meetings which was terrifying but really good too. Everyone is so nice and always compliments your Chinese speaking abilities (even if you just say your name). Our wards are really the best and we also have a super nice chapel we get to meet in. 

Basically I'm loving my life here in Taiwan. It's a whole lot of crazy but a whole lot of amazing. I can't wait for my Chinese to get better so I can help the people here even more. 

So, random stuff about Taiwan: 

1. There basically aren't any traffic laws...people just kinda do what they want

2. People love when you try and speak Chinese! Then they just laugh at you when you mess up. 

3. Food is super cheap! Really though...the most I've spent on a meal here is like 3 American dollars. 

4. People don't match their clothes...bright green and orange are totally ok together :) 

5. The water makes you sick so you can't drink it! 

Love you all and hope you are having a fantastic week! 

Sister Meeks

Address: 

4/F, #24, Lane 183

Jin Hua Street

Da-an, Taipei 106

Taiwan