TRANSFERRED TO HUALIAN!

I love Xie JM! 

Saying goodbye to Jerry! 

Skyping with Xie JM and Austin on the night of their baptism!! SO HAPPY FOR THEM! 

My cute new comp and I in the rain! 

Dinner as a district before transfers!

I got a chance to see one of my investigates from my first area!! She is getting baptized this week! 

Eating steak with some cute members from my companion's last area! 

Hey Everyone! 

This week was probably the craziest week of my entire mission! So bear with me, this email is going to be a little long 😊

This week started off with a super fun Pday where we went ice skating! I saw a lot of really good friends and we had a really good time! I had to say goodbye to a few good friends, which is always really sad. It's such a blessing that you can make really good friends on the mission, but its always sad to see them leave!

Then... TRANSFER CALLS CAME! Sister Lyman and I for sure thought we were staying together ... But we were surprised that I was getting transferred to Hualian!! I am going to be an STL (a sister training leader) and I'm super pumped to be able to go on exchanges with a bunch of cool sisters in this area! But, we were not expecting that at all! It's really far away (literally the opposite side of the island) so I had to say goodbye to even more people because it's very likely I will not see them again!

At English class that night, I had to say goodbye to my good friend Jerry. I've talked about him a lot in emails! He is incredible and someone who has helped me in many ways. We have grown and learned together and it was heartbreaking to have to tell him I was leaving. A few weeks ago, he helped me pick my Chinese name (which he worked very hard on) and then at English class, he gave me a very cool scarf with my name embroidered on it. Made me so emotional ! It was so thoughtful. Then he decided to come with me to English class (we teach kids class) instead of going to his normal class. He sat by me the whole time and it was just a really good way to say goodbye. As we were walking out, we started talking...Then he started tearing up. So naturally I started to as well. The mission is such an interesting experience. You come to a foreign land, not being able to speak the language very well, but somehow still develop incredibly strong relationships. The friendships I have developed on my mission will last forever and I'm so grateful for the chance to serve here.

Also after class, I had to say goodbye to Xie Jiemei and Austin. Luckily Xie Jiemei held it together but as I was talking to Austin, he started to cry too. I met them about a month ago and THEY GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK! I wasn't able to attend because I had already moved but I got to Skype and talk with them about it that night. (I'm so grateful for technology!!) They are very very special and are going to do some amazing things in the church. They are already planning a trip for next summer when I'm home from my mission to come visit me, literally the cutest thing ever.

The next morning, we picked up the new missionary coming in, and I said goodbye to Sister Lyman. This transfer really was a shock so we both hadn't prepared. But I'm excited for her to have this new experience in the good old land of Banqiao! All day Saturday, I was with Sister Eyring! She went home this week but she needed a companion after transfers. I helped her take care of a few things and also got to talk to a bunch of other good friends going home. It was a super chill day and actually perfect because the next day I woke up bright and early (around 4:30) and headed off to Hualian!

Sister Chen and I took a taxi to the train station and were trying to find where to get on the train. Because we got a little lost, I didn't have time to buy breakfast. (My train was a little earlier than Chen JM's) so we hugged goodbye and she went back upstairs to wait. It turns out my train ended up being a little late and I look over to see Chen JM running down the stairs, with breakfast in her hand!! She told me "you can't just not eat breakfast!" She is the sweetest thing ever. We hugged goodbye again and I rode on the train for three hours until I finally got to Hualian!!

When I got there, I met my new companion! Sister Xie!! She is from Taiwan and is super solid. She was baptized about three years ago and has a super super strong desire to share the gospel. She is also super kind and thoughtful. I had a super bad cough this week and she was super patient and kind the entire time. She also makes me super yummy food and is going to teach me how to cook some yummy Taiwanese meals 😄 I'm excited for this transfer together! I'm going to help her with English and she is going to help me with Chinese, we have already seen improvement!

Hualian is incredible!! So different than my last areas. Banqiao was one of the busiest areas in the misison, and Hualian is for sure a LOT less busy. I no longer have the constant fear of getting hit by a big bus! 🤣🤣 It really is a totally new experience and I'm getting to keep getting to know all the people here.

But on Saturday we had an awesome ward activity!! We called it the "Summer Palooza" but it was basically a water balloon activity! My companion and I filled up over 1000 water balloons and we for sure used all of them. All three wards in this area came and it was a lot of fun. It was a great way to meet a lot of new people in a fun way!

Ok, almost done! Lastly I want to share a super huge miracle! As Xie JM and I were riding to the church and started taking to this lady on her way to work. She was really nice and we literally had a two minutes conversation and she was willing to meet with us. A few days later, she came to the appointment...And brought her daughter with her! We had a bomb lesson with them and they are very excited to come to church with us this Sunday. We have a really good feeling about them and are excited to continue getting to know them 😄😄

That's about it for this week! Love you all! 

Sister Meeks