Sister Chai – Powerful Woman Leader and Spiritual Giant

Sister Chai and her husband were our mission presidents in the Philippines Manila Mission. She came in with such power and grace and while most mission presidents’ wives were not involved with training missionaries, Sister Chai boldly took her place as a leader training not just sisters, but elders as well, even in zone leader training. She encouraged the sisters to become “sister scriptorians” and to lead with love and knowledge. She was also a good listener and wanted to know what our struggles were and she really listened with love and attention. She didn’t ever write off something that was hard. She acknowledged that hard things happen and that was such validation to us. She also valued having fun. A few of us missionaries who had finished our mission in the Philippines decided to visit once Pres. & Sis. Chai were reassigned to Oklahoma. We stayed up so late one night as we chatted and reminisced and saw slide shows of funny pictures, even one of Pres. Chai wearing her nightgown and we played silly games and laughed so hard. I will never forget the joy and friendship and love we all felt together. She was very much one of the most influential examples to me of a strong woman leader and has given me so much confidence and hope that I have drawn upon so many times. She is truly a spiritual giant with vast influence and is a true disciple of Jesus Christ. I will never forget her.