Sister Hendrick's Missionary Blog: Here's some news for ya....

Hello! Guess who my new companion is?

Sister Haupt!!! WE'VE BEEN REUNITED!

I seriously couldn't believe it! We can't attend the transfer meetings on the East Coast, so all I got was a phone call telling me who my new companion was. And I have seriously never been more excited. It has been so much fun being companions again after a transfer long break haha. I have never heard of this kind of thing happening, but I'm not even questioning it! It's really amazing because we've already worked together before so being companions again has helped me see how much growth just one transfer brings. Sister Haupt was like already so amazing, and now she's just grown so much. It's so hard for us to see our own personal growth, but wow it is really really cool being her companion again to see that growth first hand.

Also, basically everyone on the East Coast got some sort of change, so we have a bunch of new missionaries to get to know! Including Sister Peng!! She's serving in YuLi so I will get to go on exchanges with her :) I have been so blessed to work with all of my companions more than once. Maybe Sister Luo will come down to the East Coast and I'll be able to work with her again one more time.

Anyways, it has been such an amazing week! Super crazy with having Sister Griffin go home, and then taking over the area and what not. But I just feel so happy. I've been studying a lot about faith lately and I've realized that I have lacked a little bit in faith for a big part of my mission. At least "unshakable faith". I've been working harder on that, and as I've really studied that this week and applied the things I've learned, I've been so much less stressed, I laugh more, I enjoy the work more, and I just feel so much more content with everything. Once I literally grasped the fact that I can trust in God, it changed everything. I don't have to worry about what to say in lessons if I've prepared. And that goes the same with preparing to go on exchanges with the sisters, or preparing to take over an area, etc. All the little things we do as missionaries don't have to be stressful or even boring if we just trust that God has it all taken care of. This is His work, and we are just the instruments.

Sister Haupt and I talked a lot about that this week and we feel like together, we have the faith sufficient to really help this area. Our desire to do this work has also really grown since we were last companions. I've never been so excited to talk to everyone every day, because I know with all my heart that these things will bless them. I know they need it.

Well, I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas!! We got to go to a hospital and sing Christmas songs in English as a zone this week, and it was so much fun. They don't really celebrate Christmas in Taiwan like at all, but the members here make a pretty big deal about it. Even though it's still like 60-70 degrees every day, and I'm away from home and family, I'm still so grateful for the opportunity I have to spend Christmas on this island of Taiwan, sharing the message of our Savior's birth. There's not anything I'd rather do!

Sister Hendricks