3rd week in Taiwan September 12, 2016

Greetings! I hope this past week has been a good one. If not, no worries; that's what this week is for :) I've decided to break it up into days this week so here we go:

Monday: P-day! We went down to the beach and played sand volleyball and ultimate frisbee. Afterwards we went to get Cuabing (shaved ice, but not...quite heavenly and not found in the states). The laundry machines in our apartment don't always work...usually not, but we always find some way to clean our clothes. Emailing was hard last week. I was brought to tears as I wrote to my family; I don't think I ever fully comprehended and appreciated the love we have for each other before leaving them. However, I resolved to lose myself in the work after receiving an email from my mom about making the people here my family. Missionary: one who leaves that family for a short time so that others can be with their families for eternity. I was able to forget myself by looking outward with the desire to serve and bless the people of Taiwan.

Also, the bike of one of the zone leaders was stolen from our garage. We watched the security footage, but we couldn't ascertain as to how or by who it was stolen. I've started locking my bike (even though "no one in Taiwan steals anything"). We had the most amazing homemade bread for lunch. It was soooo good.

YUM!

I also had to do some repentance. I'd been carrying too much weight on my own. I altered my expectations for myself to a little more realistic. I turned to the Lord and sought out His will. I felt that He was pleased with my work thus far and that I need to be patient with myself. It's really amazing the miracles He's worked already in helping me adjust. The Lord has paid the price of all our suffering. Give it to Him. You were never meant to carry it alone. There is joy to be found in repentance.

Tuesday: We visited some members (shared gospel messages with them and asked them if they knew anyone whom we could visit). They didn't have anyone, but we offered to help them in any way possible. My companion conducted a baptismal interview. Meanwhile...he had me go through and call everyone on the ward list to set up times to meet with them. Yeah. Wow. I used to think it was scary to make calls back home in English, but I was to call "strangers" (to me) in a foreign language and attempt to figure how to say their names in the process. Here's the miracle. I wasn't scared. I wasn't stressed. I was calm and was able to make many calls successfully. It was funny though: I accidentally called and tried to set up with the members we had met with earlier that day and due to some misunderstanding on my part this phone call would have been rather amusing to any third party.

We also had zone conference; it was amazing! We had several wonderful training sessions and set goals for moving forward as a zone. The APs were also there for exchanges with the zone leaders, and so, my apartment that night consisted of 2 Assistants to the Mission President, 2 Zone Leaders, 1 District Leader, and me. It was fun. We went to a beautiful part to tract at one point. It was gorgeous, but unfortunately, most people were at school or work. We also met with a man due to the craziest series of "coincidences" (though in missionary work there is no such thing). He got a call in the middle of our lesson, talked for a bit, then handed us the phone...much to our surprise, we heard the voice of the senior missionary couple serving in the area. Turns out, there are roughly 30 families in the area who we may come into contact with as a result of this event. It would be too complicated to explain with the time I have, but it was definitely a miracle. 

Wednesday: This day was amazing! I woke up and learned that the xiaoheiwen (black Taiwanese mosquitoes) had gotten me the previous day. I was covered in bites and terribly sore from biking. Also my fingers are pretty torn up. I felt miserable physically, but wow was it a wonderful day. I really lost myself in the work and really loved the people. Everyone we talked to...I just wanted what was best for them. I wanted to serve them and felt so happy. We also had pasta for dinner. With a fork!? It was really awkward to wield, but still oddly effective for eating my dinner. We had banana milk too (good stuff).

We also got permission to translate for the police as a service opportunity. We taught Peter Pan today. That's literally the translation of his name. He and his daughter are amazing. They almost seem as unreal as Peter Pan. We also got to teach English class. I love teaching English to these people; they're so cool. I also realized that while I have had a lot of stress...I haven't had any distress--I have the resources necessary to meet the demands placed upon me. Chief among these is prayer. Without fail, when I pray for comfort or strength, the Lord responds. I trust Him. Through him I can do all things. I'm finding my companion to be more and more amazing over time. We also engaged in "phone caroling" in the evening.  I also narrowed my many good goals to a few "best" goals so as to be able to better accomplish them and relieve stress. It's better to have a single focus and move to other things as you complete them.

Thursday: I went on exchange with Elder Miner (one of the ZLs). He does things very differently, but I was able to get new perspectives/ideas and learned much. He also bikes like a maniac...adventure was out there...and we found it. A member took us to eat at a place called the Farglory hotel. It was an all-you-can-eat place situated on the top of a mountain on the coast overlooking the ocean (very high-class and delicious). We thanked him repeatedly to which he told us the best way to thank him was to fill our mouths with more food...so we did. I've never been so full. I also got to lead a ward correlation meeting with the ward mission leader. I was blessed to be able to express the things I needed to.

The Farglory Hotel

Friday: The skies fell down. It poured...I didn't think missionaries could swim, but they clearly can in some cases. The water literally came up to the axles of the wheels on our bikes in some places. The roads were rivers. However, we were blessed in our efforts and found two investigators we hadn't been able to find since my arriving in Taiwan. We also found a huge spider. It crawled by my foot and snatched up a cockroach as we were talking with someone. It was the size of my hand, but not near the size of the banana spiders we saw up in the jungle. they're about the size of my head if not bigger in some cases.

 The spider

 During studies this morning, I studied about how to work with members in PMG. Near the end of studies, I suddenly wanted to find my patriarchal blessing. I knew where I had left it, but it was gone along with other important paperwork like my immunizations record. I freaked out for a moment after a thorough search. Then, I prayed. Shortly thereafter I found that the desk had eaten them and they were beneath the drawers inside the desk. However, with the papers I had lost was another paper. It was a list of ways to involve members in missionary work--what I had been studying all morning! The Lord works in mysterious ways and we may not always understand why things are happening in the process, but, in the end, it will work out. God has a plan for each of us. We can trust Him.

It has rained and rained 

(and this was before the typhoon that was on it's way)

 tons of rain+silk tie+white shirt=bad idea

Saturday: I was sad for the people today. I wasn't down myself, but sad for them. We talked to so many people from so many different walks of life today. Yet, no one was willing to listen. The gospel could bless their lives so very much...they are fond of saying "bu yong" (it's of no use to me). If only they understood...we'll keep at it though. Somewhere there's someone who's willing to listen. I also discovered a major cultural divide--service. I studied service in my studies this morning and resolved to serve everyone we met. However, my efforts didn't go over very well. In America, service is viewed very positively and you offer to help until they let you or you just jump in and help. In Asian culture, service is closely tied to weakness. To offer your help is to suggest that they are incapable themselves. So very sad, but service is really hard to come by here. I learned these lessons slower than my trainer would have liked today...but I just wanted to help. I'm still determined that there are those out there that could really use our help, but for the time being I'll focus on how we can help most--bringing them unto Christ.

I realized that there's a weird phenomenon when I bike. My satchel bag rests across my chest as a seat belt would, and so, in my mind I think I'm wearing a seat belt. I didn't realize this till we went somewhere without our bags one day and I suddenly felt very vulnerable. It's really kind of funny. I call it my "safety bag/bag belt." There was also a ward activity celebrating the moon festival. It. Was. A. Party. The members are like one huge family. They had a feast prepared. They had a karaoke competition. There was dancing, singing...they were so goofy and so much fun. The atmosphere was wonderful. Us, as missionaries, performed a few pieces and finished with a 6 person piano-guys-style "heart and soul" accompanied with original missionary lyrics written by a couple of sisters in our zone. That was fun...and we actually won some "ice cream" bars and fruit for our performance. 

Sunday: I've really adjusted. I dreamed in Chinese last night. I'm able to understand and communicate in Chinese. I even woke up two minutes before the alarm went off feeling happy and ready to tackle the day. I'm still working on the difference in portion sizes... ;) Spiders took up residency in my helmet today. Yep.

I led a discussion in gospel principles class today on tithing without knowing how to say "tithing." That was interesting, but we got through all right. We also met with the 1st counselor in the stake presidency. This past week several general authorities, the stake presidency, and our bishop were in the area of my companion and I. They've been impressed that it is the will of the Lord to start a new branch in the southern part, FengLin--nothing...to a full operational branch...in 3 months. We need 60 members and at least 4 active Melchizedek priesthood holders to accomplish this. I felt impressed my first week at church that the Lord intended to double the size of the ward. It seemed crazy, but it appears it was His will. There are many obstacles to overcome. The bishop's son was in a serious accident just after they undertook this initiative. He is in the hospital with internal bleeding. This takes our best resource and ally out of the equation. It is a testimony to me of the reality and possibility of us accomplishing this goal of starting a branch in FengLin. The adversary is aware of our efforts and will do all he can to stop us, but we will continue. There will be more opposition down the road, but I'm committed, and I trust the Lord. 

I've thought a lot about what the gospel means to me this week. It really is everything. My friend Ben Hale told me about a talk entitled:  Do We Really Know What We Have? I'm having my parents attach it to this blog post, please read it.

  If you haven't obtained a copy of the Book of Mormon yet, please do. Read it and pray about it. Ask God if it be true. He will manifest the truthfulness of it to you. 

"I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience." -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

This week hasn't been easy, but, in the work of salvation no price is too much to pay. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! Have the best week!

All is well,

Elder Dickson