Meet.................Elder Stevens/文長老！

Hello Everyone!

For the first part of this week, not much happened because Elder Efros had tons of people who wanted to say good bye to him. Instead of just having a big bye-bye/picture-taking session Sunday night, we had one on Wednesday after English class and on Thursday after Book of Mormon class as well. That was a hoot:) Elder Efros and I split ways early Friday morning when I took the 6:51 train up to Taizhong to meet my next companion. Elder Efros went up to Yuanlin which is a little south of Taizhong. He and his companion are white-washing which will be fun for them and his companion goes home in a month so he has to learn the area pretty fast. That'll be a good challenge for him! 

So about my new companion, Elder Stevens. That's him on my right. To my left, we have Elder Dawson and his trainee whose name slips my mind at the moment. We'll be in the same zone for the next few months. That'll be fun! He was in the MTC with me and we got to be pretty good friends.


So as you can see, he's super tall and 帥. He's from Ohio. So I've only had 2 companions from Utah so far! Wooo. I think that's a record. He's pretty well rounded. He's smart, talented in music as well as athletics, he loves Celtic music(shout-out to the late Elder Gish), and he's just a pleasure to be around. He's already got some field-experience under his belt because his Visa was delayed. He spent 2 months in Layton, UT. Much different from Taiwan, but it's made it easier for him to just kind of jump into things here. Also, last but not least, his Chinese is off the wall good! He's really modest and self-critical about it, but it's way better than mine was when I got here. His tones are surprisingly accurate. He can't understand what people are saying very well yet, but that comes with time. He keeps getting down on himself and I just have to remind him he's only been here for 2 and a half days. On Saturday, he also took the lead in committing one of our investigators to baptism. It's Brother Wu. He's 17 and plays rugby. He's super cool. Unlike most Taiwanese kids, he's really good at analyzing literature and applying it to his life so hearing him talk about his experiences in the Book of Mormon is always super inspiring. He accepted a goal for the 25th of December, but then said his parents want him to wait a little longer until he's thought it over clearly. I respect their decision. I'm hoping we can find a time this week to talk to them about it. He really is a super awesome kid! All the Young men love him. I can see him becoming a really solid member. 
   We also really hopeful for Phoebe, Brother Su, and Brother Lu to make some good progress in the next few weeks and maybe even see someone be baptized in December. That's what we're going for:)
   Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Our ward is having a feast this Saturday, so maybe I'll get some real turkey this year and not just the bowl of turkey rice I had last year! Below is our turkey we drew for the ward FHE activity covered in gratitude hand feathers. So lush! Look at all that gratitude!  

-Elder Smith

P.S. This week's song is "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." Despite what I say in the intro, it actually ended up sounding real good if I do say so myself. Enjoy. And because I didn't sing all the verses and the lyrics are so fantastic, here are the lyrics:

1. A poor, wayfaring Man of grief
Hath often crossed me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief
That I could never answer nay.
I had not pow'r to ask his name,
Whereto he went, or whence he came;
Yet there was something in his eye
That won my love; I knew not why.

2. Once, when my scanty meal was spread,
He entered; not a word he spake,
Just perishing for want of bread.
I gave him all; he blessed it, brake,
And ate, but gave me part again.
Mine was an angel's portion then,
For while I fed with eager haste,
The crust was manna to my taste.

3. I spied him where a fountain burst
Clear from the rock; his strength was gone.
The heedless water mocked his thirst;
He heard it, saw it hurrying on.
I ran and raised the suff'rer up;
Thrice from the stream he drained my cup,
Dipped and returned it running o'er;
I drank and never thirsted more.

4. 'Twas night; the floods were out; it blew
A winter hurricane aloof.
I heard his voice abroad and flew
To bid him welcome to my roof.
I warmed and clothed and cheered my guest
And laid him on my couch to rest,
Then made the earth my bed and seemed
In Eden's garden while I dreamed.

5. Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death,
I found him by the highway side.
I roused his pulse, brought back his breath,
Revived his spirit, and supplied
Wine, oil, refreshment—he was healed.
I had myself a wound concealed,
But from that hour forgot the smart,
And peace bound up my broken heart.

6. In pris'n I saw him next, condemned
To meet a traitor's doom at morn.
The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
And honored him 'mid shame and scorn.
My friendship's utmost zeal to try,
He asked if I for him would die.
The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill,
But my free spirit cried, "I will!"

7. Then in a moment to my view
The stranger started from disguise.
The tokens in his hands I knew;
The Savior stood before mine eyes.
He spake, and my poor name he named,
"Of me thou hast not been ashamed.
These deeds shall thy memorial be;
Fear not, thou didst them unto me."

Remember the Savior. We have so much to thank him for. Let's pass it forward!

Week Sixty-Four: 11/11/2014 to 11/17/2014--I'm Going to Have a Son! An Heir! A Wee Laddie!

Dear Everyone,

Elder Smith here. The one in the Taiwan Taichung mission. This week was great! Elder Efros and I have been working pretty well together as of late and we saw lots of success this week as a result. 

Brother Lu is working towards his 12/6 baptismal goal. I hope he hits it! That would make his family so happy. We also met with Brother Li(the guy who came up and contacted us in Jiali). He's awesome. He wants to be baptized, but he has to go to military training for 2 months, so we'll have to put that on hold for now. The good news is I'll be here to see him come back:). Phoebe prayed with us for the first time. That was pretty awesome. I love meeting with her because she really thinks about things and makes sure she understands them before we move on. That's such a relief as a teacher because that way you know you aren't just wasting words while your student is falling hopelessly behind. She also came to church yesterday. 

So, the big news. I went to a leadership meeting this last week for people who just recently became a senior companion or will become one within the next few months and we found out there that 21 new missionaries will be coming on island this Friday! We then got a call that Saturday saying that Elder Efros will be moving, but they didn't tell us why or where he was going yet. That was a little weird. We weren't sure why. Then, President Blickenstaff called on Sunday and told me he wants me to train one of those new missionaries. We then knew why Elder Efros was moving. And I also got super excited! I've wanted to train for a long time. I know it's going to be stressful and possibly a little tiring, but from what other people have said, it's also going to be SUPER fun and a chance for me to learn a ton. I'll be picking up my boy on Friday. So yeah, a profile on him will have to wait until next week because I have no idea who he is yet. I don't even know if it's an elder or a sister(psych). But yeah, I'm really stoked for that! Missionary friends, any and all advice would be welcomed with open arms!

Love you all! 

-Elder Smith

P.S. This week's song: God of Our Fathers, We Come Unto Thee

also, a picture of a really cool motorcycle/scooter I saw:

Week Sixty-Three: 11/3/2014 to 11/9/2014--Halloween and Missionary Work

Hello everyone! 

This week, none of the people we're meeting with made much progress:(. Everyone was pretty busy or just didn't show up. I'm hoping next week will be better. One person who did make some progress was Brother Lu. On Tuesday, my companion and I had to split up with members so we could visit him and attend a meeting. Elder Efros went to teach him and I stayed to attend the meeting. He did awesome! They taught Brother Lu about baptism which is something he's been concerned about for a while and helped him set a date for when he wants to be baptized. The goal we set was December 6, 2014. Pray for him! I don't know if I've said it before(probably a million times), but their family is super awesome and I really want them to be happy not just for this life, but forever.

We had a super rip-roarin' Halloween party at English class on Wednesday which was fun. I borrowed Elder Efros' jacket and became a swashbuckling missionary pirate. My beard is pretty epic. Check it out:

​

The lady standing in front is Vicky. We taught her a couple times, then the sister missionaries started teaching her. Elder Page(our district leader) is on the right.I have no idea who the little girl is...

Also, Danny, a good friend of mine here, had a dinner on Saturday night just because. Here he is sitting in his place of honor:

The Chinese I wrote on the board says "the spot reserved for Danny".​ If you can't tell, there's also bugles coming out the side and a halo on top. 

We also played a really intense game of ninja at FHE on Sunday with a lot of people. My legs are so sore. The spiritual share was also really good. I don't know if you all remember Elder Uchtdorf's talk "Lord, Is It I?" If you need a refresher, see here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/lord-is-it-i?lang=eng Elder Galura shared some pretty good thoughts. I think as humans, we always have the tendency to think we're better than other people and not really take criticism no matter how much it may apply to us. The struggle is trying to change that, to actually seek for, and respond well to criticism. That's something I think Elder Washburn(my 2nd companion out in Magong) and I really did well as a companionship. We were really open with each other. When we gave criticism, we could have confidence that our intentions were good and we helped each other a lot. 

Love you guys! This week's song is Amazing Grace because everyone needs more of that:)

-Elder Smith

Week Sixty-Two: 10/28/2015 to 11/2/2015--Forming a New View

Hello Everyone,

Elder Smith here. This week has been pretty rad, not going to lie. It started out pretty normal but then, like, things just started happening and before you knew it, it was awesome! Let's take a look at these things.

First, let's talk about people. Phoebe is progressing slowly but surely. She's been reading in the Book of Mormon and she loved 1 Nephi 11:25 which says: "And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God." She came to the scripture study class where we talked about the tree of life and she really liked it so it was cool for her to read in the scriptures what all the symbols meant. It's awesome to see her reading through and really trying to understand what's in there.

Bro. Cai(the guy who had a baptismal date) is also progressing slowly, but surely. We shared the God's plan for us with him yesterday and he really liked it.

Vicky is awesome! She's kind of become a joint investigator with the sisters because her boyfriend attends their ward but she lives in our area. They shared about Joseph Smith and she took it really well:) I don't know if y'all remember Brother Su or not, but we met with him again this week and he brought 2 of his kids! They were sweet and it was awesome getting a vision for how the gospel could help them grow closer and improve both individually and collectively. It's a beautiful thing:)

Brother Lu is getting really close to baptism. I can feel it! His wife is encouraging him a lot. We're meeting with him on Tuesday and I'm really hoping we can help him to make that commitment that will bless the lives of him and his family members. He's awesome. And they will be fantastic!

Now for activities. We did the Plan of Salvation chalk activity at the train station this week! For the 20 minutes before we got told to clean it up, it was super successful! There were tons of people coming up and checking it out and asking us questions. 



Here it is. We didn't finish it before the train station official told us to clean it up:( We'll get a permit for it and come back next week, though). That'll be sweet! 

I also think it would be fun to go busking and play church songs. Like put the case out with fliers inside of it for people to come grab. I was just blown away at how much success came from it and I'm super excited to do some more creative activities like that. Let me know if you have any ideas! What would make you think "yeah, I want to talk to those suspicious white people who wear shirts and ties, ride bikes, and walk up to strangers talking about religion"? Let me know!

Alright, last thing. I set a goal this week to read from Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel this week. For those unfamiliar with PMG, that chapter is all about Christlike attributes. I read about humility and came across this scripture in D&C 67:10. It reads, "And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual."

That's an awesome promise! As we strive to be humble--to strip ourselves of jealousies and fears--we will be able to know God. The veil will be RENT! Powerful imagery right there. I hope we can all get to that point.

Love,


Elder Smith

P.S. This week's song. It'll blow your mind maybe. Sorry, I kind of goofed at one part. Forgive me! But enjoy! "Come, Follow Me."

Week Sixty-One: 10/21/2014 to 10/27/2014--Interviews and the Best Church Meeting I've Ever Seen!

Hello everyone,

This week was filled with challenges, but there were a few miracles too. What I've found on the mission is that the number of failures or disappointments needs to be super high before it can bring down the great fuzzy feeling that comes from a miracle. Like 300000000:1 or something. Miracles are awesome!

We met with Brother Lu this week again(I don't know if you remember him) and that was awesome. I'm always stunned--and I don't know why--by what a huge difference it makes when investigators are reading the scriptures and praying often. They just become so much more teachable and closer to God. We shared with him the talk "Windows of Heaven" by Elder Bednar from last October's general conference. It talks about tithing and the subtle, but significant blessings that come from it. It's super awesome. Everyone should check it out. We then invited him to take time every day to write down a subtle, but significant blessing the Lord gave him that day. It was awesome, because his wife(who's a super sold RC) was able to share an awesome example. I have hope for him. I really want to help them be sealed in the temple as a family. They're so awesome! Pray for him:)

We also started meeting with this 17-year-old kid who we'll name Jonny for our purposes here. He's sweet. His parents don't object to us meeting with him, he's super interested, and he plays rugby. So he's pretty great. But seriously, he payed more attention in church than most people up on the stand. I'm excited for him! 

Brother Cai(the guy who set the baptismal goal) kind of blew us off this week, so I'm not sure what's going on, but we'll keep trying and see how we can help him.

Brother Lee(the guy who pulled over to talk to us) is kind of odd. I'm not really sure at this point about whether or not he'll be a solid investigator. He's going to another church and it seems like they may have told him some things about us that weren't entirely true. He was asking us if we still use the Bible and things like that. We'll see.

Interviews were awesome this week. President Blickenstaff can see into my soul, I swear. He knows exactly what I need to hear. It's great! He's a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

So yeah, yesterday's church meetings were awesome. They were all about temple work, eternal families, and family history. Coincidentally, we had talked about those very things with a couple investigators and RCs that week. It was an answer to prayers. I think it was especially good for Brother Lu as he's considering whether or not he wants to establish an eternal family. Pray for him! 

Love you all!

-Elder Smith

P.S. This week's song is "Because I Have Been Given Much" enjoy!