Preface: I've come to grips
with a saddening reality this week: no matter how much I would like
to...I simply can't bring all of you to Taiwan with me. My time to
communicate is very short, and so, I'm going to condense my content a
lot to a few really cool/important things rather than trying to cram a
week into an hour. I think it will be for the best :)
All
is good. The typhoon was pretty crazy, but, at the end of the day, it
wasn't much more than a good Missouri storm. We were safe. Thank you for
all the prayers that went out on my behalf. The Lord heard your prayers and our prayers and we were safe!
On Sept. 12th for P-day we went to Water Curtain Cave:
Here are some beautiful pictures from the Far Glory Hotel that I described last week:
It was also Mid Autumn/Moon
Festival this week. Lotta good food...
Whether because of the holiday or the typhoon there wasn't much open during the Mid Autumn Moon Festival so we ate at 7-11!
I
talked about "absolute truths" in one of my earlier posts and about how
sad it is that the idea of absolute truth (moral right and wrong among
other things) is disintegrating and the implications this has for
society as we know it. There's an incredible address I heard this week.
It's a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency. It was given at a CES devotional. In his address, he shares a story of 4
or 5 blind men who come across an elephant. They all try to describe
what they've found. One finds the tail and describes it as furry and
slender. Another finds the leg and describes it as rough and thick.
Another finds the trunk and describes it as wet and like a snake.
They're all telling the truth. They're all right, yet they get into a
debate over what it is they've found. There's much to be learned from
this account and from the rest of the address as well. If you have the
time, I invite you to read and think about the talk. It opened my mind
to a lot of new insights and I learned much. Here is the link What is Truth?
There are a lot of mosquitoes and yes I get bitten.There are a lot of crazy bugs! Some cultural differences: The bathroom is
weird...the shower is the room (like the toilet and sink are part of the
shower...). They also have the squatter toilets without the seats. It turns out we can have a warm shower it just involved changing a battery. We also have a water filter at our apartment and at the church, we just have to remember to get a new one when the current one stops working. I'm getting a haircut later today.
These pictures are from P-day on September 5th:
The Zone:
We somehow failed to plan for Sunday
meals again. We scraped together something like food...almost...for
breakfast, and we then finished it off for lunch. Dinner was still in
question (as part of keeping the Sabbath Day holy we don't shop). As a
result, we weren't sure we'd eat, or, if we did, how cardboard would
taste with ketchup over it...yeah...however, despite our poor planning,
the Lord saw fit to bless us. We arrived at church to find that the
members had prepared a huge slab of banana bread and a bag full of
pumpkin bread steamed buns. We hadn't told anyone we needed food, but we
ate last night...and we ate well :) See Luke 12:22-31 --22 "And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
24 Consider the ravens:
for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn;
and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
27 Consider the lilies
how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you,
that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 ¶But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." This also reminded me of a talk given by our prophet, Thomas S. Monson We Never Walk Alone. God provides.
Fun Extremes: This
week we ate both McDonald's and Pizza Hut...tasted like home. On the
other hand we were given some spicy squid paste for all your breakfast
toast needs ;)
My favorite food is quabing or juabing but there are SO MANY GOOD FOODS HERE!
Gift of Spicy Squid Paste:
That's kind of how the food is in Taiwan. It's either REALLY good or REALLY...well...not like home exactly...
We
had a lesson this week with Wang Ya Hui. She's incredible; she keeps
commitments and desires to be baptized. However, her parents actively
oppose her and will not allow her to go to church. We've continued
meeting with and sharing spiritual thoughts with her each week to keep
her spirits up even though she's had all the discussions. We shared
"Yinwei Ta" ("Because of Him") with her this week. It's an incredible
video about what the Savior means to us--what is possible through Him.
This is my invitation for the week. Look up and watch "Because of Him;"
then, share it with a friend or family member. It will lift both you and
them :) Because of Him
We make goals and plan daily so that
we might meet the goals we have set. This process is always done
prayerfully. However, recently our plans never seem to go...well...as
planned. We get to the point that, for all intents and purposes, our
goals are impossible to achieve. At first, it was rough, but now, these
are my favorite times. I call these times "Miracle Time!" Simply because
we cannot do it on our own. We've done all we can. We say a specific
prayer to help us reach whatever goal it is we wish to attain that seems
impossible.Then, we go. It has been amazing the miracles we've seen.
(D&C 123:17)--17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
Last P-day, we set a goal to have one "peike" (a
lesson where we have a member present with us as we teach). We
literally called through the entire ward list. There was no one.
However, I knew the Lord wanted us to reach this righteous goal we had
set prayerfully, and so, failure simply was not an option. At the same
time we had done all we could. That is, all we could besides pray. My
companion and I said a prayer that we would be able to do the will of
the Lord and have a peike that day. I then coerced my companion into
letting us make a couple more calls (one each). Nothing. However, I
still believed we would have a peike that day. Later, on the way to
Zhixue (about a 30 min. bike ride in top gear), we got a call about 5
min. out. It was Brother Su from the ward. He asked if we had a lesson
he could peike for us that evening...yeah. We had a peike. It didn't
come together until 5 min.before our lesson, but it came. We can trust
the Lord. Don't be afraid to pray for specific help. There is power in
specific prayers.
I heard a song this week by
the Nashville Tribute Band. I'm not sure what it's titled, but it talks
about the relationship between Joseph and Hyrum Smith--their
brotherhood. It talks about how Hyrum Smith followed Joseph to the end,
through all persecutions and sufferings imaginable...even unto death. I
got a little emotional as I listened and thought of my brother, Hyrum. I
love him, and he loves me. I applied the lyrics to him and how I would
follow him to the end regardless of what roads that would require me to
travel...because he's my brother; I love him (don't worry I love you too
Emmy, Mallory, Lucia, Alanna, mom, dad, and the whole family...even Charly-our dog). What I'm
trying and praying to be able to do is to see everyone we meet, every
person we run into on the street, as I see my brother...to truly love
and care for them.
Alma 17:11 "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls."
There's a quote. It reads:
"Every person you meet is worth dying for, at least that is what the Savior taught."-Emily Firestone
And
He sealed it with His blood. He suffered and died for all of us...but
He would have done it just for you, just for the person sitting across
the room, just for the man smoking on the street corner. Just for you.
He loves you perfectly. I wish to share that love. Let this be our
common goal; just imagine the good we could do :)
Elder Reed Dickson
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ReplyDeleteThank you! We keep you in our prayers, too.
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