Slight ADDRESS change!

For all of you who like to send Sister Yancey DearElders and snail mail, her new box number is #113. Thanks!

Transfer!

Word to know:

Transfer:

 term used when missionaries are transferred from one area to another, or to home at the completion of their mission. Transfers are held within a Mission generally once a month when new missionaries enter the mission from the Missionary Training Center. Usually held on a Preparation Day, a select group of missionaries within a mission are moved at the discretion and inspiration of a mission president. Missionaries are generally notified a few days before in order to prepare for the move. For most missionaries, transfers take place every 3 to 4 months, but the time frame can vary widely. On rare occasions, a non-scheduled or special transfer can occur, due to situations of extreme illness, disobedience, or other significant event.(mormonwiki.com)

Ni Hao!

 

This has been my hardest week in the MTC so far.  A lot of things have happened.  I have learned a lot of lessons though.  There were some needs that needed to be taken care of in my zone, and on Thursday, all of the sisters got new companionships.  This was really hard for me because I really loved my companion Sister Jorgensen and I didn't want anyone else, but these changes were definitely inspired by the Lord and for everyone's good.  This week we also got moved to a different room in our resident hall (sushe).  I like our new room because it is bigger and the air conditioner works.  I am still with the same 6 girls.  My new companion's name is Sister Madison Reid.  She is from Omaha.  With the changes, I was also put into a new district, the pilot district.  The pilot district speaks more Chinese and has progressive investigators.  The changes were really hard at first, but I am getting used to them and like them.  I still really miss Sister Jorgensen however.  My Branch President told me that the reason he put me with Sister Reid is because she has the best Chinese in the Zone; she came to the MTC already knowing a lot of Chinese.  He thinks that I am congming (intelligent) and that I can learn a lot from her.  I think that my Chinese will improve a lot faster now.  My first day after what I call our "transfer", I helped teach my first lesson in Chinese.  I was intimidated and scared that I would say the wrong thing, but the Lord helped me.  We have now taught 3 lessons together, and they are getting less scary.  I meet one of our investigators this evening.  I like the transfer because in the pilot district, I actually feel like a missionary.  We teach progressive investigators, so our planning and studying has more purpose and focus.  I love it! 

 

The biggest thing I have learned this week is that I need to rely on Heavenly Father more.  I have been struggling with this thing and that since I got to the MTC, but trials are given to us so that we can learn and grow.  Joseph Smith-History 1:20 says, "...It seems as though the adversary  was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me?  Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?"  This is how I feel.  Whenever I am trying to do something really great, my life gets super hard.  It also reminds me of Lehi's visions of the Tree of Life.  In 1 Nephi 8:8-9 it says, 8And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have^amercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

9And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious ^afield.  I like how it says according to the multitude of his tender mercies.  The Lord has so many blessings for us, and he is just waiting for us to come unto Him so that they can be realized.  I do believe that the Lord is constantly blessing our lives, but when we come unto him in prayer and obedience to his commandments, we are better able to recognize and appreciate the blessings.  I also like 1 Nephi 8:24 which says, "And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, ^aclinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the^bfruit of the tree."

 I love that it says clinging to the rod of iron.  It doesn't say touching or holding, but clinging to the rod of iron.  This is how we stay close to the Lord, by clinging to the word of God and the doctrines of Jesus Christ.  This is how we avoid and withstand the "powers of darkness".  The Book of Mormon is such a great gift that Heavenly Father has given to us so that we know how to return to live with him.  I love it, and I love it more and more each day!

 

When we had our transfer and even before that I recognized that I need to work on hope.  In Preach my Gospel, it says, "Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you...When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. 

 

I love you all, and I am so thankful for your dearelders (Dearelder.com) and letters!  Keep them coming!   This is the true Church of Jesus Christ that was restored from the Church that existed anciently when Jesus Christ was on the Earth.  I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God and that he really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is also a true prophet of God.  This (my mission) is the hardest and best thing I have ever done!  And so worth it!

 

I love you!

 

Yan Jiemei

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A Note from Rachel: Request a free Book of Mormon at this link!

Ni Hao!

Ni Hao!

 

I just lost five minutes of my time because my computer shut off.  Sweet. 

 

This has definitely been the most difficult week here so far.  Emotions are running high with everyone.  I am realizing that the MTC magnifies emotions, the good ones and the bad ones.  Sister Jorgensen is sick with an ear infection, and a virus similar to mono.  I fell an hit my head really hard at the beginning of the week.  They thought I might have a concussion, but I am okay.  The extent of my injuries were a goose egg, that is still here, a spliting headache for 4 days, nausea, and extreme fatigue.  I am doing okay now.  It has been hard because Sis. J and my schedule has been really messed up.  We have missed a lot of class with her needing to rest, and we have had at least 7 doctors appointments to interrupt our week.  Because of this, we had felt really unprepared and behind with Chinese and our lesson for TRC.  The Lord has given us a tender mercy!  Somehow, what Chinese normally takes a week to learn, I learned in about an hour.  Our lesson went really well, and it was a spiritual experience.  The Lord really blessed us.  It reminded me that the Lord is mindful of everyone's individual circumstances, and he loves us.  And also, it is not always about us, the missionaries.  The Lord is mindful of the people who are seeking the truth, and as missionaries, we are instruments in the hands of the Lord.  As long as we heed the promptings of the Spirit, he will use us to help others come unto Christ.  Qian Laoshi told us that God gives us trials in the MTC, so that we will be ready in the feild, so that we can help specific people in the feild.  That really helped me to take my trials and look at them in a different light. 

 

I went to the Physical Therapist the other day for my foot that I hurt in Alishan.  It happened to be the father of Sis. J's fiance.  We didn't plan that.  Hehe!  I got to call mom that day to ask for insurance info.  That was really cool, but I felt weird because I wasn't sure what I was allowed to say, and if I could ask about anything besides what I needed.  Being at the PT was actually kind of fun.  He felt my feet, watched me walk and diagnosed me with a plantar fasciitis.  He said that I also walk wrong, and it is causing all sorts of problems with my alignment, foot, ankle, hips, and back.  I am trying to retrain myself now.  He also took a cast of my feet and it getting orthotics made for me.  I feel like I am too young for feet problems.  Haha!  He also gave me exercises to do to strengthen the right muscles in my legs and ankles.  P.S.  It has been warmer here lately, and I started to wear my cute crocs.  They are sooooooo comfortable!  It feels like I am wearing slippers. 

 

On Friday, I got interviewed on camera for a reality show/documentary about missionaries.  That was a cool experience.  I hope they use my clips.  The show will probably be on BYUTV and will air in about a year. 

 

The older group of Chinese missionaries are leaving tomorrow, and so Sister J. and I got called as the Music Coordinators in my branch.  Yea!

 

Yes, Perry, they still tell us to SYL (Speak Your (Mission) Language).  I have stepped up my game and it is helping my Chinese a lot. 

 

I have a new departure date for New York.  I am now going to be in the MTC until May 10, 2011.  This way, I can go to NY with all the other missionaries from other language programs. 

 

Okay, here are some scriptures for the week.  1 Corinthians 6:19  19What? know ye not that your ^abody is the ^btemple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your^cown? .  This helps me to remember to treat my body with ultimate respect and a holy place for my spirit to dwell.  The other scripture I like this week is: 1 Timothy 4:12 12Let no man ^adespise thy youth; but be thou an ^bexample of the believers, in word, in ^cconversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in ^dpurity.

 

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be a missionary.  The is best thing that I have ever done and I know that the Lord is blessing me constantly.  I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and everyone of us, so that we can be happy, learn and grow, and return to live with him someday.  Come unto Christ is the way that we can do that.  Thank you everyone for your letters and support.  Dearelder.com is great!

 

I love you!

 

Sister Yancey

Yan Jiemei

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Ni Hao Wode Jiating!

Wo de qin jiating he pengyoumen!

Thank you so much for your letters and support.  It is so much fun to hear about everyone's lives, and Dearelder.com is pretty much the best thing ever.

This week has been up and down for me.  I am definitely learning a lot about myself.  I went to the counselor at the MTC for my anxiety, and I think he is going to be very helpful.  This week, he just got to know me, but I see him again tomorrow. 

I fell in gym.  I was playing 4-square, and I am not going to lie, I am getting pretty good at the game.  Hehe!  I dove for the ball and successfully got an elder out.  In the process, I skinned my knee. 

I went to the doctor this week for my foot.  It has been hurting a lot, and I figured it's better to be safe than sorry.  He got x-rays and my foot wasn't broken, but he says that I probably have plantar faciatus, but  there is definitely something more than that wrong with my foot.  It is not healing correctly, and he wants to send me to a physical therapist.  That should be fun.  Hehe!

Last week I when I went to the temple, I met a woman who told me her conversion story.  It was very powerful.  When she was young, some missionaries came over to her house and he dad basically yelled them and told them to leave, but before they did, one of them bore a pure and sincere testimony, and that was all it took for her to want to learn more about the Church.  The Spirit touch her so strongly in that moment.  It taught me the importance of bearing my testimony, and the thoughts of my heart. 

She also told me another story about a girl and her mission call.  She always felt that she was going to go Spanish speaking, so she learned spanish.  Her dad suggested that maybe she would get called to Brazil, so she learned Portugese.  When she got her call, it was to Japan.  She was confused and angry with God.  When she got to Japan and knocked on her first door, the person who opened the door greeted them in Portugese.  She taught them the gospel and helped to establish the first Portugese branch in Japan.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I got new scriptures this week, and they are beautiful!  Hehe!  The one's I brought were already starting to fall apart, and definitely would not make it through my mission.  I love my new one's!

TRC went great this week, better than any other week.  We had native Chinese speakers to teach this week, and that was really cool and exciting.  (Normally we have teachers pretending to be Chinese investigators.)  We taught one guy from China, and two girls from Hong Kong.  The Spirit was really strong, and Sister Jorgensen and I taught with the best unity yet.  This really is the true Church of Jesus Christ, and the Spirit testifies of that to the hearts of those we teach.  We talked for about 15 minutes in Chinese, and then taught the actual lesson in English.  This week it was about The Plan of Salvation.  It felt really good to talk to a real Chinese person, and them be able to understand my Chinese.

Recently, it occured to me that I am not thinking critically enough about the gospel in my study sessions.  I don't come up with many questions and I never know what to study.  I started to pray that I can use more critical thinkinig, and the Lord has blessed me.  I am getting more out of the scriptures and learning more about the gospel.  Don't forget that if you need something, ask the Lord.  In 2 Nephi 32: 4 it says, "...if ye cannot understand them, it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but ye must perish in the dark."  So, I encourage you to counsel with the Lord, and then will you recieve answers. 

I was having a particularly bad day the other day, and I got a blessing.  I was blessed that I would serve my full mission and will overcome my trials.  I am thinking of the ED and anxiety.  It was a beautiful blessing, given by one of my favorite elders who has grown so much here.  He struggles with depression and it has been a wonderful experience to see him progress and become stronger and stronger in his testimony.  I was also told, that if I complete my mission, I will overcome my personal seven-headed dragon.  The Lord is mindful of each and every one of his children.  He loves us and wants to help us.  We must come unto Him and let Him help us.  That is what I am learning lately.  Faith leads to action.  Alma 36: 3 "...whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

I feel like the experiences I am gaining and the lessons I am learning on my mission, I cannot learn/gain any other way.  And I am so grateful to the Lord for allowing me this opportunity.  I love the gospel!  This really is the Lord's true Church.  Joseph Smith really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and the true was revealed to him.  And it can be revealed to all of us.  We can know of surety of the truth for ourselves.  All we need to do it sincerely ask in prayer. 

I love you all so much!

Wo ai nimen! 

Sister Yancey

Yan Jie Mei

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MTC Pictures!!

These pictures are a bit out of order but you get the idea.

Studying

I just arrived to the MTC!

Me and Sister Jorgensen at our favorite place to study.

Check out my tag!

My room and roommates.
Back Left to Right
Sister Lethco (Sacramento), Me, Sister Reid
Front Left to Right
Sister Lee (Gilbert, AZ), Sister Jorgensen (Kaysville, UT->My Companion!), Sister Smith (Highland, UT)

Sister Jorgensen and me.

Ni Hao wo de jiating he pungyou! (Hello my family and friends!)

Ni Hao wo de jiating he pungyou!

 

Wo ai nimen!  Xie Xie for all of your letters and dearelders.  Recieving mail is such an encouragement and brightens my day!

 

They took picture of the large group of missionaries at a Devotional the other night.  It is going to be used for an article in the NY Times.  Keep an eye out for that.  The Devotionals here are amazing, definitely a highlight in my week.  I had an epiphany at this last devotional.  The topic of perfection came up, and I usually hate that topic, because of my perfectionistic tendencies.  This time, the Spirit clarified to my heart where I needed a better understanding.  We are taught that me must strive to be perfect, and I had always interpreted that to mean that we needed to be perfect in every way (grades, intelligence, body image, social interactions, etc.) , but I learned today that when the scriptures say that, it is talking about sins.  When we do sin, we are imperfect, but we can become spotless and perfect again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  It is such a wonderful gift, that our older Brother would suffer for our sins, so that we can become perfected through Him. 

 

We also had a Mission Conference this week, which felt like a devotional.  I felt so inspired to work harder and be a better missionary at this last one. 

 

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I am breaking everything.  This week, my camera and my alarm clock both broke.  Remember when I joked about breaking my camera so i could get a new one, well, it broke all on its own. 

 

Sister Jorgensen and I got to leave MTC campus the other day for her dermatologist appointment.  It felt weird.  I am getting very comfortable with my life in the MTC.  My schedule is rigid and very structured.  Yes Rachel, sometime I do get tired of my life being micromanaged here.  Sometimes I just want like an hour to do whatever I want, but I have consecrated my life to the Lord, and it is good for me to be always busy, doing the Lord's work. 

 

Chinese is always on my mind.  Our teachers speak mostly Chinese to us, and sometimes I understand and sometimes I don't.  I spend my MDT (Missionary Directed Time) studying Chinese and trying to memorize as much as I can.  It is so amazing how much I have learned in such a short time.  I have only been here a little over 2 weeks.  The Lord has definitely blessed me with the gift of tongues. 

 

There is an Elder in my district who really struggles with anxiety and depression.  My heart really goes out to him.  Anyway, I feel like I want to help him if I can.  One thought came to me that I shared with him.  Whether we feel happy or sad, it is a choice.  We are in control of how we feel.  Sometimes with life's misfortunes and chemical imbalances, it may feel really hard, but the Lord will lift us up if we come unto Him.

 

I have been feeling anxious a lot lately, and I know that it is the adversary trying to bring up past problems and bring me down.  The other day, I was having a bad day, and one of my Laoshimen shared a really good scripture, and I thought I would share it will you all.  It is Mosiah 24:13-14, "And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.  And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."  It was exactly what I needed to hear and it spoke to my heart.  During trials it is good to remember the covenants we have made at baptism.  It will help to motivate us to do good.  We can't carry our burdens alone.  They will crush us.  We need to give our burdens to the Lord, through prayer, faith, and giving up pride.  I talked to my Branch President about my anxieties and I am going to talk to a counselor at the MTC.  Maybe they will have some good things to say to me, and I can once and for all overcome my anxieties and learn how to manage them.  I know that if I come unto Christ, He will help me. 

 

I have learned a lot about myself since I have been here.  The Lord loves each and every one of His children.  I love that I can be focused on the work and be myself.  All the sisters love me here, and that feels great.  They think I am witty, personable, and chill.  I love it!

 

We had our second teaching experience (TRC) on Saturday.  This time, we contacted for about 7 minutes in Chinese and bore our testimonies about how the gospel and bless families, and then later, we taught the same person in English the first lesson about the Restoration of the Gospel.  It was really good experience.  We learn that we must obtain the knowledge and the Spirit will guide us what to say.  That is so true. 

 

I know that this is the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and that it was restored from the Church that existed anciently when Christ was on the Earth, through Joseph Smith.  I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God and that he did indeed see the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is also a true prophet of God.  I know that the Lord loves all of His children and wants each of us to be happy. 

 

Wo ai nimen! 

 

Sister Yancey

Yan Jie Mei

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.