Austin - Madison Wisconsin - January 31, 2011

Queridos Hermanos y Hermanas,

This week is transfer week. I was with the zone leaders on splits when the transfer text came. I will be staying in Milwaukee with my boy, training for another transfer. The only moves in the whole zone where both district leaders and another English missionary who is actually going to be a district leader after only 6 months. In fact, there are rumors that he is going to be our district leader now which means he won't be going far. Oddly enough, this Elder's name is Elder Calder and when I first saw him when he first came to the field six months ago it was quite a weird time warp situation. Elder Logan Calder was actually going to be my roommate at BYU when I had selected my housing in the fall. But he decided to go to UofU like 5 days before the semester started. It's really funny because I tell him all the time whenever we are having a good time or laughing really hard at a joke I'll say to him under my breath, "Hahah...ooh, man, we would have been best friends...." I make him feel guilty for switching to UofU all the time.

Speaking of splits with the zone leaders, the investigator up there with cancer, Meliton, is doing sooo well. Gosh that guy has got some faith if I've ever seen it. We gave him a blessing a few weeks ago and I felt really strongly that he would be healed and I've been surprised with how long it's been taking. But he reassured me by telling me that he has already been healed. Either way things turn out, Christ has already paid the price. His soul is healed. Wow, that was a pretty powerful moment. He desires so much to go to church and be baptized but he still has two more chemo therapy treatments. Also, the zone leader's Mexican investigator gave a lot of his friends and family as referrals to them. But a lot of them only speak Spanish. Sooo, it looks like I'll be going up to their area a lot more than usual.

The other day it was reeeally cold and we were waiting for at a bus stop (like always) and I noticed the street light pole. It looked for metallic, very cold, very smooth. I could not help but have the urge to put my tongue on that pole. So when my companion turned his back I stepped over to the pole and touched my tongue to the pole. It stuck. But I only touched the very tip and it came off pretty easily. So I called over to my companion and then stuck my tongue on the poll again, just enough so that I could pull back and it would stretch my tongue and really look like it was stuck. He turned and saw me and so ever calmly asked, "What are you doing?" And then I pulled back to detach it but it was stuck on there pretty good. He realized that I really had it stuck on there. I really started thinking that I might actually have my tongue stuck but I pulled really hard and it ripped off, taking quite a bit of skin frozen to the pole. We both started laughing really hard but then my tongue started bleeding and it seriously didn't stop for like an hour and a half. Gosh, it was so funny. I want to do it again and do it with my whole tongue but have a bunch of warm water to get it off easily so that I can take pictures of it. Good idea, right? Right??

Sounds good. See ya'll later.

Elder Papritz

ps. Since the Green Bay Packers are going to the Super Bowl, I got an email from the mission president saying that every missionary needs to be inside by 4:00 PM on Sunday studying or planning. I was wondering if something like that would happen, I can't imagine any real missionary work could be done anyways. But I thought that was funny, we are actually not allowed to proselyte or even go outside after 4.

Amy - Jilong, Taiwan January 30, 2011

Qinai de Jiating,

Happy Chinese New Year!!! I hope that you all are having great week.We certainly did here in Jilong. I'm just going to say, Alden you better get ready to hit the ground running because there are so many prepared people here. This week Sister Howell and I have continued to see so many miracles. I feel like Ammon in Alma 26, "Of my own strength I am weak... I do not boast of myself but I will boast of my God." I know that Sister Howell and I are not perfect missionaries and yet Heavenly Father is continuing to bless us with so many miracles. My Chinese is still not very good and yet I know that as I open my mouth and talk to people that Heavenly Father is filling it and is helping the people understand me. We taught this one lady named Sarah who was a phone referral from another missionary. She was really willing to set up with us and when we asked if she believed Joseph Smith's experience she said yes. She also said that if Joseph Smith could recieve answers to his prayers that she could too. She was really willing to set a baptismal date and she even came to church on Sunday. She is wonderful. You are going to LOVE serving here Alden. The people are so humble and willing to hear the Gospel. Yang jiating (Green and Joy) are doing great. Green came to church for the third time and is making so much progress. His wife has yet to come to church yet. She has to work on Sunday at a shoe shop but she said after Guo nian she can come to church. So we are hopeing that she will come. If not, we will turn Green over to the Elders to teach.

Everyone is preparing for Guo nian (Chinese New Year). A lot of people don't really want to meet with us because they are "too busy" For guo nian everyone cleans their homes and prepares a lot of food. The ward sent around the calender to feed us for guo nian. Oh dear, we have two appointments a day the whole week of guonian. From what I have heard from other missionaries is that they feed you a TON of food. On Wednesday we have two dinner appt. because an investigator, Song yuan ting, wants to feed us. I am so nervous. I have such a small stomach and I dont' eat much. So we will see if I will survive. haha I am really excited for my first guo nian in Taiwan. Yahoo!! I will send you pictures next week of the festivities.

I hope that everything is going well at home. I can't believe that they already sent you stuff about me coming home! I don't even want to think about it! It still seems so far away. I am already at the end of my 3rd transfer. Yikes!! Time is flying. Mom, I am so proud of you for handing out a Book of Mormon to that lady in Costco!! Way to be a great missionary!! I will keep her in my prayers. Keep it up! There are still a lot of prepared people for you to help. Pray everyday for opportunities like the one you had to share the Gospel and Heavenly Father will give them to you. Jia you!! I love you all so much. Thank you for you love and prayers. I have felt them and I am so grateful for all of your examples. Wo ai nimen!!!

All my love,

Yang jiemei

Autumn MTC January 26 , 2011

SZERVUSZ BARATAINKAT ES CSALADOT!!!!

hello family and friends!!

I HAVE BEEN HERE A MONTH!!!!! wowie wowzers!! Time is flying (yet going eerily slow at the same time, must be a weird MTC phenomina) This week is our 5th "mtc week" so on Monday I will be half way done!! I can't believe it/Can't wait!!! I am so ready to be in Hungary... get me to the goulash and bratworst and Hungarians!!!

So since everyday is basically the same: wake up, study the gospel, study the language, go to gym, have a devotional, study the gospel, study the language..... there is nothing really that exciting to report. Other than we were told this week that Hungarian is like learning 4 languages in 1..... so that's awesome for my non-language brain. Everyday i keep thinking "i wonder if this will ever feel as comfortable as walking into a trauma or doing cpr, or taking care of a heart transplant"....etc ... haha. i am such a science brain, but the language is coming slowly but surely. Like it was weird the other day I was reading the book of mormon in hungarian...i got done with the verse and realized " mi csoda! i knew everything that verse said!"...miracle. ALSO this week I memorized the entire 1st vision!!! so awesome.. it sounds soo beautiful in hungarian.

Hungarian lesson for the week: An example of how long hungarian words are: the word for "Trials" is Megprobaltatasaiankat! ..... 20 letters to our measly 5 in english!

Also there is a word that means "cleaner" like "windex cleaner" .... and it sounds like "tasty toaster".. haha.... except you change the A sounds to E's.. but basically the same "tasty toaster".

So i would like to report that I am carrying on the strong Papritz/Wettlaufer tradition of DOMINATING in 4 SQUARE!..... gym time is all business, and I bring my A game and put the elders to shame. so much so that I have an elder that seeks VENGENCE on me everytime... like whenever I get to king he takes out all of his rage on me, a poor little sister missionary, becaue I got him out ONCE a WEEK AGO in am amazingly brilliant shot I took that got him out, causing the crowd to roar basically lift me on their shoulders and him getting booed off the court. i meant, that's a essentially what happened...and he's holding a grudge. haha.. but really....it's the best.

It's crazy cause our "older" hungarian missionaries leave on MONDAY!! that means WE'RE THE OLDER ONES!!! AHHHHH!!!! I don't know enough hungarian to be an older!! but the awesome thing is their flight plans came and they fly into PARIS!!! awesome.. so in 5 weeks i'll be enjoying a wonderful layover in paris on my way to budapest. no big deal.

Well I love you all!!!!! keep strong! the gospel is true!!!! I love serving the Lord.

all my love x a million

Szeretlek

-Papritz Nover

p.s. MELISSA WARD YOU'RE A MARRIED WOMAN!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Austin - Madison Wisconsin - January 24, 2011

Hello,

Gosh this week was so cold. By far the coldest days of the winter. We had a couple below zero days and with the windchill....we just didn't go outside if we could help it. I've never experienced anything like it. You literally cannot have your hand exposed for more than 20 seconds and your nose just starts dripping and you can't even tell because it's so numb you can't even feel it. Which is incidentally very embarrassing when talking to someone and you have a three inch snot drip coming off the tip of your nose.

In other news, the Green Bay Packers are going to the Super Bowl. I'm hoping this will bring the state out of recession and will boost moral throughout the land, soften hearts and make spirits rejoice for missionary work! We'll see.

Last week we visited our most recent convert in the hospital. He was in a lot of pain after getting his appendix removed. It was a cool visit, we talked to his less-active mother and got to know her better. Scott (the recent convert) asked to get a blessing and asked me to do it. It was a cool moment, I felt confident to reassuring him that he'd be leaving the hospital the next day and that he'd be able to prepare in time for a piano competition he has. I found out days later that he did leave the hospital the next day and I'm sure he is going to be more than prepared for the competition. He is so good at piano. For his senior recital (Senior in highschool, that is) he is going to memorize a 30 page concerto by Schumann. I looked over it for a minute. It's nuts.

I had interviews with my mission president this week. It went really well. He let me know that I'd have another transfer with my boy to train him. There are a lot of missionaries in the mission that are not doing well. They taken to rebelling, breaking rules and really slackin' during the winter, including missionaries that had come out with me to the field. He sincerely thanked me for not falling in to that.

Cool experience! We went to the Chicago temple with an investigator that I had met when I was with the zone leaders on exchanges. He wanted to check out the temple and Elder Partis and I were going to do a session while he did some other errands in Chicago. But we go there and we found out it was closed for cleaning! We still walked around the outside and we had a cool lesson with the investigator but it was still a very decent drive to come all the way for nothing. So I decided to talk to one of the guys there to see if we could help out in cleaning at least. He let us come in and we got to work with these couple of Mexicans that were there cleaning the temple. They were so hilarious, and they were surprised that we had come from Milwaukee and that we were Spanish missionaries too. It was a cool experience just cleaning near the baptismal font and the lockers in the bathrooms (I can now say I've gone in the girls bathroom of the temple). Then afterwards we went in to the Celestial room and that was cool. Then they gave us these pretzel snacks so now I can say too that I've had snacks in the temple. All in all a cool experience. It was cool talking to them about their experiences of being alone in the temple for long periods of time. They had some cool stories.

Love you all. Thank you for the letters and emails of support and other cool stuff like that.

Much love,

Elder Papritz

Amy - Jilong, Taiwan January 23, 2011

Qinai de jiating,

How are you all doing? This week has been great. Rainy as usual but great. I really feel like I am back at home with this weather. Sister Howell and I continue to see miracles here in Jilong. Our problem still is that many of our investigators won't come to church. They tell us they will but then they don't. So that is something we have been racking our brains to improve. Also this week we set up a lot of peikes (members in lessons) but they all fell through!! Either the member couldn't come or the investigator fanged us our canceled. This next week we will improve. We are going to go peike crazy!

So this whole last week we have been without warm water. We have had to take ice cold showers. We have a water heater in our apartment but it for some reason quit working. We thought it was the battery but when we changed the battery it still didn't help. Finally yesterday our landlord came over with her husband and checked to see what was wrong. The husband worked some kind of magic so now we have hot water!!! Sister Howell and I took long showers this morning. I have never been more grateful for hot water. Our apartment has tile floors and no heaters besides our little space heaters so it gets rather chilly. We have survived though.

On Saturday we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Taipei and do temple tours. At the Taipei temple right next door is the Chin Hua chapel. On the second and first floor they have a gallery of paintings that are used for temple tours. Its kind of like the tours done in Salt Lake. We introduce about the church and the basic principles of the Gospel. We also explain the purpose of temples. It was a wonderful opportuntiy to meet new people and introduce the church. I felt like I was a Temple Square Sister. haha The Spirit was so strong in our tours and many people gave us referrals. Luckily being so close to Taipei I will have the opportunity again to do temple tours. I love it.

As far as our investigators they are doing really well. Yang dixong (Green) is really progressing. We weren't able to meet with him and his wife this week but when we asked if he will come to church he said of course he would. After church the ward had a lunch. The ward really likes Green and have been really great in fellowshipping him. He is practically a member!! His wife had work so she wasn't able to go to church which is a bummer but hopefully she will come next week. We also have another investigator Huang Li Qin. She is amazing!! Sister Howell and Xiao taught her for a while but then she suddenly quit talking to them. About two weeks ago we got back in contact with her. She is so strong! She will be baptized on the 12 of February. She has been praying and occasionally reading the Book of Mormon (she promised to start everday reading in it though). She has even been sharing the Gospel with her friends. She will have no problems preparing for her baptismal date. We have continued to see so many miracles here in Jilong. Heavenly Father really has prepared so many people to hear the Gospel. Sister Howell and I have a goal to improve our contacing. We plan on in one day contacting 101 people as a companionship. When we reach that goal we will take a trip to Taipei and go up Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taiwan and use to be in the world until one was built in Dubai). Its massive!! So thats our goal. So far we have contacted about 50 or so as a companionship in one day. So we are half way there!! I will keep you updated on that goal.

I hope that you all are doing well. I am so grateful to be able to serve the Lord here in Taiwan. I love it here and I love the people!!

All my love,

Yang Jiemei

Autumn MTC week 3 January 19, 2011

family and friends!!!

WEEK 3! LESS THAN TWO MONTHS UNTIL I'M IN HUNGARY!!!! I AM COUNTING DOWN!!!! not that I don't enjoy it here, but my heart is in Hungary and I'm just ready to be immersed in the language and start teaching and taking care of the missionaries and making all of this REAL!

So this week I learned a little bit more about my nursing responsibilities. I had 2 long classes with a bunch of OLD OLD OLD people who are going to be medical area authorities...so it was me and these old couples, and one of them adopted me as their granddaughter. They were APPAULED that I couldn't go to salt lake with them for extra trainging and to go out to dinner. (duh.. i'm a missionary, i can't just get up and leave this place).. then they were so shocked I wouldn't have access to a computer to do all of my charting that I will do in the field. So they showed up the next day and called me to the front office and said "WE HAVE A LAPTOP FOR YOU!!"...the exclaimed it like it was christmas day! i was shocked...cause obviously I CAN'T JUST HAVE A LAPTOP! ... so they said oh don't worry we'll get it approved for you...haha. so the next day they went to this big wig medical meeting with the Chief medical officer of the church and members of the 12, and he (Dr. Doty) approved me to have this laptop so I could chart and keep track of the missionaries and it's getting reviewed on the big church committee and it's getting recorded in the records of the church that I was the first "groundbreaking" mission nurse...(as they put it)... so they just HANDED BE A BRAND NEW LAPTOP!!.... i said well let me get your address so i can return it to you, they said nonsense.. it was mine. So i now have this "approved" laptop stowed away in my luggage that I'm taking to hungary. FOR FREE!!.. i'm so glad though, it will help so much with my nursing stuff.

so nursing stuff I will do includes, triaging missionaries and making sure they're healthy. making sure to maintain good relationships with hospital adminstrations and doctors in the area so that the missionaries can be treated. making sure to be in contact with the Embassy and departments of health, so that we can stay on top of any pending "pandemics" or outbreaks that might be hitting the area. also, being an advisor to the mission president and his wife on health issues. doing community classes and health classes.. etc etc. sounds like it will be pretty fun! on top of teaching the gospel in hungarian!!! booyah!!! One of the elders created this elaborate way to remember directions in hungarian with this layout of Mario galaxy! every direction mario went had a corresponding hungarian word! man that stuck! I learned that soooo fast! that is my way of learning. So now I try to relate everything to mario...haha... but the language is not going to come easy, it's getting trickier and tricker everyday with some new surprise rule or "exception" to the rule everyday. But slowly things are starting to connect. unfortunately my brain is a science brain, where I visualie everything. There's not much visualization in language....so here goes!

oh yeah..hungarian. well it's still crazy! each day the language sounds like something different I said today "it sounds like arabic, french, italian, russian all rolled into one"... on thing is for sure... it doesn't sound like ENGLISH!!

Hungarian lesson: Mi Csoda! ..... you say it like "Me Choda"... (yoda with a CH)....so Mi Csoda means "What the miracle!".. which is the hungarian way of saying "what the heck?!"... SO just yell that out when you need to.

This week has just been a lot of language and gospel study. I'm loving it, growing tons and tons..and already feel like if this all ended today and I had to come home cause I got like a broken leg...i would be a totally better person, just a bit more refined in the gospel...and more diligent in life. etc etc.

Here's a bit of my testimony in hungarian: En tudom hogy, Isten mennyei atyank. Gyermekei vagyunk. Eg az igaz eghaz a foldon! (sorry i can't get this keyboard to do the funky dots on top, just imagine them there)

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Love, Sister Papritz your hungarian.

Amy - Jilong, Taiwan January 16, 2011

Qin ai de jiating,

The scripture in Moroni 7:35-37 is true!!! Heavenly Father truly is mindful of the people here in Jilong! He really does answer our prayers and the prayers of others. This week we have again seen so many miracles. The biggest one of all is amazing! So, while I was on exchanges with the Dan shui sisters, Sister Howell and Sister Theissen held down the fort here in Jilong. They went and visit a lady that we knocked on her door about three weeks ago. We taught her a lesson and set up again with her. She told us her daughter and son in law were interested in hearing our message. We thought,"sweet! two new investigators!" Little did we know that we were an answer to prayer. Everyday Sister Howell and I pray that Heavenly Father will put prepared people into our path. The son in law said that he has been waiting for people like Sister Howell and Sister Theissen to come and teach him. Apparently he had some big event that caused him to pray for the first time. He told God that if he would send someone to teach him he would listen and obey. The NEXT DAY or so we knocked on the door of his mother in law for the first time. She told him about the two Americans who came over to teach a message and he knew that he this was his answer. When Sister Howell invited him and his wife to baptism he said, "I have already commited to follow God, Yes!" Then he turned to his wife and asked if she was going to join him and get baptized too!!! He also came to church on Sunday. That was the first time I met him. When I saw him before I was introduced to him I thought he as a member! He was wearing a white shirt and tie and black slacks. He looked like a member! I was so suprised when Sister Howell introduced me to him. Sorry his last name is Yang. His Engish name is Green and his wife's name is Joy. He will have no problems getting ready to be baptized. I am so grateful that we followed the promptings of the Spirit and knocked on Wu mama's door. We wouldn't have found him otherwise. This experience makes all the hard work and rejection worth it. I know that Heavenly Father is truly preparing the people here in Jilong for the Gospel.

Things with Sister Howell are still great. She is so awesome! We have so much fun together. She is a little absent-minded and sometimes forgets things and where we are going but it makes it really fun. We just laugh about it and keep going. She has been out in the field for about 8-9 months. Her chinese is really good. She has such a love for the people here and our members. I don't know if I told you in my last e-mail obout our district. There is one set of Elders here in Jilong. Elder Chen and Huang both are natives. They are awesome! This is Elder Huang's first transfer. Both are such strong testimonies. We have a lot of fun together. Our district consists of another set of Taiwanese Elders and Sister Tanner (my awesome roommate from the MTC) and her companion Sister Yang. Our distirct is so awesome! I love them. Its so great to be in the same district as Sister Tanner. We have already had a lot of fun. Last p-day we went and ate at this BBQ place. It as a buffet. We had charchols and our own little kind of BBQ pitish thing. We cooked our own meat. It was sooo good!!!

Well I hope that you all are having a great week!! I love you all so much. I am so glad that Chris could come and visit you. I'm sad I couldn't be there. Have a great week!!! Wo ai nimen!!

All my love,

Yang Jiemei