Week Seventy-Seven: 2/9/2015 to 2/15/2015--It's Almost the Year of the Sheep!

Hello Friends, Family, and Acquaintances,

I hope you're all doing peachy keen! This week was about the same as last week. Monday-Friday were kind of discouraging, but the weekend made up for it eleven-fold! 

First, the mission news. 12 missionaries have had their visas cleared and will be coming in on February the 25th! There are also 7 more who haven't received their visas yet. We hope they'll be able to come in on the 25th as well, though. So we will have a transfer on March 2, at which time I'll probably be swept off to other Taiwanese realms and start what could be my last adventure in this hemisphere of the globe.

In other news, Fourth is looking good to be baptized on the 28th. We shared the Word of Wisdom with him on Saturday and he said he was willing to keep it. He also finally got a Tagolog Book of Mormon so he's super pumped about that. Keep him in your prayers! 

We also met with a girl named Sister Ding on Sunday. She's the girlfriend of a member who hasn't been in a while, but has recently started coming to church more frequently. She's kind of quiet, but she seems very interested and sincere. She set a goal to be baptized on April 4th. Her boyfriend is also super funny. He came last week for the first time in a couple years. Let me paint this picture for you. Keep in mind, he's like, 17. I was on the church balcony looking down and I see this kid strutting up to the gates of the church. He's wearing pointy shiny black shoes, skinny jeans, a white shirt and tie with a slim-fit navy blazer to top it off. He's super funny. When I called him on Saturday to ask if he was coming to church again, he was--and I quote---"taking a stroll." Maybe that doesn't sound all that exciting, but you'd have to meet him. He's a hoot! Pray for them.

In scripture news, I read a really awesome scripture this morning. It's in 2 Nephi 22:2, but can also be found in Isaiah 12:2. It reads:
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." 


I love that verse! It's so simple, but such a powerful testimony of Christ and His role in our lives. A testimony to which I can say, "Amen" and feel it in my bones. If you want a testimony like Isaiah's then read the scriptures! They testify of Christ, they rejoice in Christ! They can make you whole. That's my share. 

I hope everyone has an awesome week! Love you all:)

-Elder Smith 

Today's song is "Truth Reflects Upon Our Senses"

Also, a picture of us and a member with his dog and his brother. Sorry for my face...

Week Seventy-Six: 2/2/2015 to 2/8/2015--Obedience Brings Blessings

Dear Everyone,

This last week wasn't as great as I would have liked it to have been, but there were some major miracles that happened for which I am super grateful. As fare as lamesauce things that happened, people cancelled on us/didn't show up to their appointments way more than normal this week. That was really depressing because a lot of them seemed really solid. I always wonder what the reason for people not showing up is, but most of the time, they don't communicate very clearly/stop answering their phone completely, so I have no idea if it was something we did, or if they heard something bad about us, or what. It kind of stresses me out. But I suppose I can rest assured that if I've done all I can, I can trust the Lord that he will make up for my weaknesses. He is "able to do [his] own work."(2 Nephi 27:20) 

Another let-down is that the new missionaries are still waiting for their visas. Elder Gong(Asia area president) will be meeting with the Taiwanese consulate today to discuss a lasting solution. President said he is still hoping they will come within the next couple weeks, so no moves yet, but whether they come or not, we'll have a move day in two weeks(so on the 23rd in the middle of Chinese New Year). That'll be fun:) So yep, I'm still in Tainan. I love it here! But I'm getting ripe. 

So now for the upside, the miracle! Yesterday, Fourth committed to be baptized on the 28th of February. It was funny. Yesterday when we met with him and shared stuff, he seemed like he was grasping it super quick(which was cool, because we were pretty pressed for time), but we had no complaints. At the end of the lesson, we learned that his member friend had already told him everything we were going to teach him today. It's a nice system. Jemaal(the member) gives him a lesson preview, and then we can just go over it and answer and questions he has. He's looking super solid for being baptized in 3 weeks. It seems like what really did it for him was seeing Dhylyn be baptized and then share her testimony. That really impressed him and he wanted that for himself. 

It's super cool to see what a powerful influence one's testimony can have. I think it's because when people say they know something important is true and that thing really is true, God can then witness to all those who hear that it really is true. It's a weighty feeling calm and clarity. It kind of reminds me of resonance as explained and demonstrated to me in Physics class. It just speaks to your soul and resonates with you. I know God is real. He is as real as me or you. He lives and He loves us. He is the source of all truth and light. If we seek him, he will answer us. I know that. And because He's real, we can "with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast.” (Ether 12:4)

Love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week:)

-Elder Smith

This week's song: #103 "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer."

Week Seventy-Five: 1/27/2015-2/1/2014--Baptism weeks are always the toughest. But they're the best.

Good morning(evening) everyone!!

Elder Smith here. This week was pretty fantastic. It didn't start out so fantastic, but it ended really well. Actually. The very start was pretty great because I got to go to lunch with Elder Colvin(my MTC companion) and Elder Dawson(also from the MTC days) at this sweet BBQ place with all-you-can-eat Haggen Daz ice cream and ninjas on the roof. That was pretty tasty and it was fun catching up with them. They're both doing really well.

Anyway, after that, it kind of went down hill. We found 2 new investigators, but one kind of disappeared after his dad expressed his disapproval. Then the other one who we thought was super solid(she asked us when church was, committed to go, and seemed really excited to read the Book of Mormon) called us the next day and said she read the scripture in Luke16:13 that says "No man can serve two masters...you cannot serve God and mammon." then proceeded to let us know that she felt as though mammon suited her better and that she wouldn't be coming to church on Sunday. She was pretty polite about it but EXTREMELY mislead. We're still scratching our heads and massaging our wounded hearts over that. I also felt pretty alone this week in my desires to be obedient and diligent. That's never fun:(. Anyways, I was feeling kind of stressed and a little discouraged when Saturday morning came around. That was lame because we had a baptism that day. Luckily, the Lord came to the rescue just in time as always. He sent me Isaiah this time(that's a first). Isaiah 49:14-16 to be exact. It reads: 

14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me but he will show that he hath not.

15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

I felt so much love from those verses. I knew that God was very much aware of me and my struggles and I just felt like things would be okay. And they were! That night, Brother Lu and Dhylyn both got baptized. It was a great service. Dhylyn had to get baptized twice(my bad), but other than that, it was all smooth. I feel so blessed to have been a part of that. I hope I can stay in Tainan a little longer and see it all pan out, but I'm afraid that when the new missionaries come, I'll be the first to go(I've been here over 6 months which is a long time in this mission).

I love you all! I hope you have a great week. We also had a Harry Potter party this week for English class. You can check out the pictures on Facebook. I think I'm tagged in a couple. We played quidditch dodgeball. And now I know how to say quidditch in Chinese along with a host of other Harry Potter vocabulary. 

Love,

Elder Smith

Pictures!

​From left to right: Brother Ramos, Elder Crook, me, Dhylyn, Sister Ramos, Elder Stevens

​left to right: me, Sister Lu, Chichi, Brother Lu, Lulu, Elder Millheim(first missionary contact Brother Lu had in Taiwan), Elder Stevens 

This week's song: "'Tis Sweet To Sing The Matchless Love"

Week Seventy-Four: 1/20/2015 to 1/26/2015--Happy Birthday, Elder Stevens and a double baptism next week to boot!

Hello Everyone!

This week, like every week, has been kind of a roller-coaster. Every day is full of a bunch of different emotions and experiences. As a missionary, you feel so invested in the happiness of the people you're serving and when they won't let you help them or you can tell they don't really take what you're teaching seriously, you feel so devastated and helpless. It's a lame feeling. But! When they let you help them--when they listen, accept, and apply what you teach--you just see their lives change and you see their countenances brighten and it's one of the best feelings ever! This week, we had a little bit of both. First of all, Brother Lu AND Dhylyn are getting baptized next Saturday! We're pumped, the ward is pumped, and most importantly, they're both pumped. I feel so blessed to be able to witness them make this decision and follow through on it. It was really cool last night because I was able to call a lot of the Elders that have worked with Brother Lu over the past year and let them know he's finally getting baptized. They were all so happy! It made me happy. I went to bed last night super warm and fuzzy inside, that's for sure:). 

As for our other investigators, Yonghan is doing pretty well. Last night, we met with him at a different member's house and he shared a really simple, but sincere testimony of how prayer has made a difference in his life. That was really good to hear. We were kind of worried that he wasn't really taking in anything that we were saying, but it was good to find out that he's let at least a little bit sink below the surface. Sister Lan's about the same. Junwei finishes testing today, so he'll start having time to meet again which is awesome! Other than that, though, not much else to report.

We had Stake Conference this last weekend. President Blickenstaff came and spoke which is always good. His Chinese is pretty good! I was also able to see some people from Yongkang that I hadn't seen in a while. I don't remember if you all remember, but there was an RC I worked with there named Brother Lee. He's doing WAAY better now! He looks so happy, he's lost weight, and he helps the missionaries a lot, it sounds like. It's super cool to see that huge change. 

We also surprised Elder Stevens yesterday for his birthday. That was fun:). I feel really bad, actually, because I told him we were meeting a new investigator and he prayed for them twice in our companionship prayers. Both times, I felt like a terrible person. I probably should have thought of a different excuse to get him there without suspicions. Anyway, the other missionaries and some members were all there to surprise him and gave him cake and pizza, and stinky tofu. By the way, I had stinky tofu for the first time yesterday and it was really tasty actually. It tasted like squishy
Dorito cubes to me. yum:). but yeah, all in all, a pretty good birthday celebration! 

That's about it! Love you all! 

-Elder Smith 

This week's song: We Are All Enlisted

Week Seventy-Three: 2015年1月19日

Hello Everyone! 

This week has been pretty good. We had interviews on Thursday in which President Blickenstaff gave me some really good advice. He's so wise! I'm so grateful he's my mission president. I miss our 25+ minute interviews that we got to have when I was in Magong. 10 minutes feels way too short. 

One shocking realization I had. We only have 3 more weeks of training! Where did the time go?? Another shocking realization: Elder Stevens doesn't know what indie is. I made an off-hand reference to a tie he was wearing, saying he looked super indie(it was teal with little cartoon bat shapes all over it) and he totally 聽不懂'd. That Chinese means he heard but he didn't comprehend. And he has no frame of reference for it, so it's impossible for me to explain. I've given up.

Our investigators are doing pretty good. 

Brother Lu will most likely be baptized on the 31st. He feels like he needs to do it and he's waited long enough. He'll be giving us a definite answer on Thursday, but he sounded pretty set on the 31st. Pray that he'll recognize answers to his prayers. 

Dhylyn didn't come to church and we weren't able to meet with her yesterday because she had to go to Gaoxiong(Kaohsiung) to get her records renewed or something. She just said it was about some papers that were really important for her work. So that was too bad. But we'll be seeing her this weekend and she's also pretty excited to get baptized on the 31st. 

Yonghan(the EQP's younger brother) is doing ok. His brother's giving him a lot of pressure, but he's holding up well. He committed to quit smoking by the 28th and that he'd keep the rest of the Word of Wisdom starting now. We hope he follows through. He had a cool experience last week with receiving guidance from prayer so that was heartening! 

We met with Phoebe again for the first time in quite a while. She said she really believes the Book of the Mormon to be true because when she reads it, she "has a feeling [she] doesn't know how to describe." It was really cool to hear her say that. She's still a little hesitant about being baptized, but hopefully she'll be able to warm up to it. Her main concern is that her family will think she's weird if she's a Christian and they're all Buddhist/Taoist. Pray for her too!

This week, I read a talk that one of my MTC teachers showed to me. It's called "There Are Many Gifts" by Marvin J. Ashton. It's super awesome. If you'd like to read it, here it is: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/10/there-are-many-gifts?lang=eng

Everyone has a gift or two. They might just be gifts you don't recognize all the time. "The unexamined life is not worth living" as Socrates said. So examine your life! Seek God's inspiration as you discover your own gift(s), then use it to bless your own life and the lives of others, "that all my be profited thereby."

Love you all! Have a good week:)

-Elder Smith施長老

P.S. This week's song is "Israel, Israel God is Calling"