It sounds like you all had a wonderful day! I loved looking at your pictures and reading your sweet words of gratitude and joy. You did all my favorite things! eat, go to usu, go to the temple, and eat! I am so glad you got to spend time with grandpa and grandma. I sure do love being with them! 

All I have to say is.. THANK YOU!! and you all are legends among our zone in Hualian.  The cookie mix and the instant potatoes warmed everyone heart this week.  I think you almost had some elders in tears. haha.  Our pictures are priceless.  We had an incredible Thanksgiving.  I have never been so grateful in my life.  There are no words to express how incredibly grateful I am for this chance to serve the Lord here in the land of Formosa in the Mandarin language to these beautiful people.  Only tears come when I begin to think of this amazing blessing God has given to me.

  This week SO MANY things happened and there is no way to explain everything but in a nutshell..

1. Elder Stevenson from the quorum of the 12 apostles came and spoke to us.

2. We went to do a temple session with the members of our east coast zones. 

3. Had the best Thanksgiving ever.

4. Had Missionary Leadership Conference

5. Had a Ward Thanksgiving party and talent show.

In each of those experiences I received so much revelation. I had my testimony built so much and joy over flowed from my heart. 

But I feel that I should share two stories with you this week. 

On Thanksgiving morning right after studies, we went to our Relief Society Presidents home to meet with Our sweet investigator named xu yuan zheng. She is a mom who was living in another city but was beaten by her husband and so she ran away to hualian and took her two girls with her. She barely has enough food to allow her kids to eat.  If she doesn't make enough money the day before, her girls and her go with out breakfast the next day.  Because of this struggle she is unable to attend church.   She is searching for help from her Savior and she has a huge desire to know if this is all true.  She is weighed down with so much stress and hurt but she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Her smile warms my heart. While Sister Hendricks and I were praying and planning for her, we felt that she needed the plan of salvation and we needed to talk more about Adam and Eve.  How Adam and Eve must have felt so much pain and had so much stress and worry when they ate the fruit.  And none of us can probably even imagine the joy and hope that they felt twhen God presented our Savior for them. I talked about this in my farewell talk but as we studied more about it, Sister Hendricks and I both had eyes full of tears by the end of our companion study becuase of our love and gratitude for the Savior. 

In the lesson, we prayed that the spirit would direct us and help us know what to say.  We spoke slow and listened intently to what promises we were to promise and to know what God wanted his precious daughter to know. The lesson was full of the spirit and we all are brought closer to our savior. At the end of the lesson we extended the commitment. I said "sister xu, are you willing to come to church this sunday? and she looked at me and said no. She said she had no way. 

In my heart I had a feeling. I knew she had a way. I knew that God needed her to come to church so she could have the support of Him and the wonderful members of our ward. She needs the sacrament. She needs the spirit. 

So I look a breath and just listened... I then testified of Gods love and I opened my mouth and God promised her that she will have enough money and food to make it. and that she needs the blessings of the atonement in her life.  I then again said Sister Xu are you willing to come unto the one who will help you and heal you?.

It was so powerful to hear what God wanted to say to her. I was nervous and in my head I was thinking I AM A 20 YEAR OLD GIRL! I don't understand this womans pain. I don't have a job or the stress of providing for my family. Who am I to tell her what to do? But at that time, something in my heart said "I can tell her". As missionaries, if we listen, we are able to be the mouth piece of our father.  Its an amazing thing.  I am nothing, as for my strength I am weak, but I will praise my God.  For it is through his grace and love that I have seen so many miracles in these 17 months. 

While being on this journey, I have also come to a sense of my own nothingness.  

On the train ride to the bu for Missionary Leadership Conference, I was making goals for my week and started to have a little anxiety. I wondered what of the many weaknesses that I have should I focus on working on this week (my second to last full week of my mission).  I found myself in the bathroom of the train, in tears pleading with Heavenly Father to tell me wht to do and what he wants me to change. 

In the meeting, an elder said something that hit me. He said "The more we become consecrated to God, the more we see that there is to give to him." 

Is that so profound? 

I have thought so much about that this week.  

When I came on my mission, I thought, "hey I am pretty humble!" yeah right. and then I also thought "Hey I am a pretty hard worker." yeah right. 

As time has gone on, I have had times where I have looked at myself and thought "I have definitely become worse on my mission!".  But from that elders comment, I started to realize... The more I come unto Christ, the more I will realize I can give to him. the more I can give up to be like him. The deeper I can search within myself. The harder I can work. The more christlike I can become.  

Every day I have been shown my weakness and everyday I wake up to another.  But I am grateful. For if there was no chance to be better, I would never learn. I would never be brought to the feet of my savior to plead for forgiveness, help, and saving.  

I want you all to know that a very imperfect Sister Griffin is going to walk off that plane in a couple weeks.  But the change is that now I know why I am so imperfect and I know where to go to receive healing and strength. 

I am so grateful that when Adam and Eve partook of that fruit, God in all his mercy and love provided a Savior. 

I am grateful that I know him better now than ever before. 

I love these people and I love this gospel. Those are two things that will never change. 

love, Sister Griffin

This is Sister Pendergrass and Sister Kirkham