Last preparation day!‏ 11/14/10

Dear family,

This may be my last email home. Yes Amy I will still try to check my email next week but I may not have time to respond. It will be a crazy day.

On Tuesday was my last Zone Conference. I gave my reflections talk - all the returning missionaries give one. I was really afraid I would just cry all the way through it but I was okay. I talked about angels and miracles. It was really powerful. Maybe I'll share it sometime with you.

Today for my last Preparation day, Sister Brownell and I rode our bikes back up the mountain to the waterfall. It was beautiful in the mountains, I felt close to God. We did our study up there and most imporantly, buried a time capsule. We put in photos, stick figure drawings of our future families, our life goals, tracts, and some other fun things. I wish we had more time to prepare it... The plan is to come back in 20 years and get it. I'll be 43 then - it's near impossible to imagine being nearly twice my age but it seems like every year moves a little faster now.

The most notable investigator lately is Sister Wu. She is blind and absolutely golden. I bet she will be baptised in two weeks. I'm disappointed I won't be around for it. Teaching her is...amazing. She is so receptive.

The problem is how to help a blind person gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. As far as we know, only one Braille copy of the Book of Mormon exists in Taiwan, which Elder Opper found in Gaoxiong randomly just a few hours before I called asking him if such a thing even existed. Don't tell me angels don't direct this work. Things like this happen all the time. The Braille Book of Mormon is huge - seven volumes of enormous blue binders about five inches thick. Poor Sister Wu though, it is in braille English and it must be near impossible for her to understand. Imagine trying to read a book of scripture in a second language that you haven't studied in 15 years...in braille. We are trying to find a recording but so far have only been about to find an old translation in Chinese. We are working on it. Anyway, she is gold. I have to think more about what I want to say about her. She is brave and sweet and lovely and I'm so lucky to be teaching her.

I was looking around my dear little Beiqu ward this Sunday and I felt so proud of it. It is the most diverse ward I've seen in Taiwan. There are a lot of people with special needs and they are all met with love and compassion. There we were with blind Sister Wu, in another corner we had translation for a deaf sister, we have a parapelegic man in a wheelchair that the aaronic priesthood takes turns pushing a couple miles to and from church each sunday. There is crippled and homeless Brother Yang being the class leader in Gospel Principles. This really is the best ward that I have been in.

This week I started calling my new members and telling them that I am going home. I also wrote them each a letter with pictures and our address in Elko. It was nice. I called Song Shao Yi - my first new member back in Douliu. She said that she knew it was me by my voice even before I told her who I was. I couldn't say the same for her - the last time I had seen her I hadn't really been able to understand her lol. Sister Lin with the amazing smile is coming up from Yuanlin to take Sister Brownell and I out for dinner on Friday. Everyone I talked to was just so sweet and excited to hear from me and really missed me. I've been really blessed to be able to help so many people.

Alright, time is up.

FML
Sister Johnson



Cami's email to Donna:

Thanks for the detailed info on my return. It sounds like conference was nice. Did you remember to make sure that President Shumway will be available to release me?

I love you! Thanksgiving is almost here! The goose is getting fat lol.
FML
Sister Johnson