Progress and walls . . . literally!

Hello Everyone!

Wow this week was one of the slower ones on my mission. Not really for any particular reason except we weren't able to teach as many lessons as we usually do but I am so very grateful for every single moment of learning and growing. So I guess in review.

ZiQi has a date! WAHOO! He's going to be preparing for the 23 of July but we're going to have to meet with him a lot to get him there. Jian (who also has a date... I don't remember if I mentioned that before.) he's also doing super well. Since we invited him to church he's been every time for the last four weeks and he still loves it! We taught some of the commandments this week and he told us he was totally willing to give up coffee and tea. Which was really nice since our second meeting with him he brought us tea to show his gratitude. Sister Deng threw hers away but I just dumped mine out and kept the bottle for a keep sake. Caleb fasted yesterday! He came and smiled all through church and he and Jian and the elders investigators are all friends and once they all get baptized they're all going to keep each other strong and it's such a blessing! for Alex it finally clicked with him this week that the book of Mormon had to have come from somewhere and now he's finally reading with real intent! We found a new this week who is from Tiawan and he's living with his family and his mom is actively trying to discourage him from meeting with us which was really hard on us at first because we thought he felt the same way but then he keeps calling us and asking to meet with him. So we'll see how that goes!

We also officially fixed the car this week! Yay for air conditioning. Yay for working blinkers! yay for a lot of blessings!

Really though we have been so blessed this week. Sister Deng and I have really been trying to work in unity and it's been helping. We still have a long way to go and we still make mistakes but it's all going to be okay.... I just know it! God knows it too after all this is His work.

Sorry I forgot to take pictures this week because I was charging the battery and then just forgot to put it back in my bag so not very many...

Anyways I'm running a little low on time today due to writing president Clayton his last letter.... I'm so sad that he's leaving but I trust in the prophet and I know that he called president Shields for a reason. A phrase I've heard a lot this week is that 'You aren't assigned to a mission, you are assigned to a mission president. Similarly a mission president is primarily assigned to the missionaries.' President Clayton has helped me so much and I while I can't imagine what the next half of my mission is going to be like without him I know that similarly president Shields has been called here for a reason.

So President Clayton asked for his last letter to include some of the miracles we've seen so I'll share a little with you today!

So, as for ways this mission has changed me. I'm sure if I were to list them all there would be quiet the extensive list but I'll try and shorten it down to some of the greatest miracles I've seen thus far.

His name is Tangier. He told me that he was so grateful for this change in his life and knew that it was going to be everything he strived for. Her name is Angela. Her parents are less actives and she looked at me and asked why everyone didn't understand the book of Mormon was true. His name is Caleb, he fasted this last Sunday and smiled all though the meetings. Her name is Kate. She's struggling but she is a daughter of God. His name is Ted, he wants to know if this church is true because he wants to know if he'll ever see his mom again. His name is Jim. He almost didn't meet with us, but the joy in his face when we asked him how his temple trip went is something I will never forget.

They are people and they all have names, they have stories and less then a year ago I didn't even know that they existed but now I feel like they are a part of me. Studying for them has changed my perspective. Praying for them has changed my desires. Loving them has changed me.

This is God's kingdom on the earth. We are his hands. He will not let us fail.

I love you all and I hope you all have the best of weeks!

-Sister Skinner

The only pictures I took this week were of walls... sorry about that. We needed to verify that we put in our new CO alarms and then I was thinking about my dear sister Beth who has a birthday this week so I took a picture of the wall above my desk.