Taipei Jinhua Chapel-Public Service

Sister Xin-Ai Yu’s name was a blessing given by her father—hoping she would be loved and would also learn to love others. She was born in 1956 in Shigang, Taichung, and moved to Tainan with her family when she was three. A childhood experience revealed her natural inclination to help others: once, she saw a neighbor’s child crying and looking for her mother. With sincere enthusiasm she said, “I’ll take you to find her!” Instead, the two little girls ended up getting lost and were taken to the police station. Her older sister later laughed as she recalled Xin-Ai eating snacks the officers gave her while proudly saying, “My dad catches bad guys!” It was her first “adventure”, and it showed the helping heart she had from a young age.

After moving to the Shui-Jiao-She police residential community, children from different military dependents’ villages often argued or fought, but Hsin-Ai was always the one who stood up for others and took care of everyone—earning her the nickname of the neighborhood’s “big sister.”

In elementary school, she was selected for the track and field team. During a relay race, she stumbled and fell when passing the baton. Feeling she might cause her whole team to lose, she immediately got up, ran through the pain, and successfully passed the baton. Though at that moment they fell behind, her teammates later worked hard to catch up and eventually won first place. The principal publicly praised her perseverance during the school assembly. This experience taught her that when you fall, you must stand up on your own; and it helped her understand that 10% of life is what happens to us, while the remaining 90% is how we choose to face it.

Sister Yu has loved handcrafts since childhood, likely influenced by helping with OEM in the dependents’ village to support her family. Those experiences made her hands skillful and helped her discover the healing power of creating things.

One of the greatest blessings in her life came in 1973, when she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of nineteen. Two years later, she served an 18-month mission in the Kaohsiung and Taichung Missions. Those days shaped her life and allowed her to experience the joy of service and the strength that comes from God.

Over the past fifty years, whether serving in the Primary, Young Women, Relief Society presidencies, or as a Sunday School teacher, each calling has been a blessing of learning. She now serves as the ward music director and feels God’s love flowing through her service.

Sister Yu is grateful to know Jesus Christ and to understand that He is her Savior. Through faith and repentance she has learned to forgive and to give thanks. Whenever she faces trials, she finds strength from God through prayer. As the scripture says, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

She firmly believes that this light has always been there, guiding her—from the brave young girl in the village to the grateful woman she is today.