Monday, February 20, 2017

Week 14 in MiaoLi, Taiwan

My camera is causing me great difficulties, and we have a train to catch. I will do my best to capture this week in a short email.

Last P-day we were able to see Manapan Mountain which holds the remnants of how Taiwan defended against the Japanese during WWII. The views were amazing!







There are spiders on this side of Taiwan also!

 







Our district


Swinging out to Strawberry Mountain







Tarzan or Kung Fu Panda






Training is going very well. I've been on my knees a lot asking for heavenly help, and I've had it :) Elder Raley is incredible; he's very sincere, personable, and willing to try new things. Like...falling into a farm. We were biking along a small, back-country road when my companion was ran off the road by a passing motorcycle. He made a decent drop that landed him in a pool of mud and freshly-watered crops. Luckily, he wasn't injured in any serious way. He had a great attitude throughout the whole thing. He kept apologizing to the startled farmer as he tried to stand up amidst the unsuspecting plants he had landed on. The other miracle was that my notes/scriptures that were in the box on the back of my bike he was riding emerged untouched despite being submerged in the muddy pool. Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.
 
Grandma Shana sent us Valentine's Day treats! frosted rice crispy bars
 
 
This was after being washed down with a hose!  He was a really good sport about the fall.
 

 
Where we live
 
 

Dallin is the man. He attends seminary daily. I was able to assist in helping him receive the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday. He's also an incredible member missionary. He shares the Plan of Salvation with everyone he knows. We went to invite a less active member to church on Saturday only to hear that Dallin had already invited him. He's truly converted.

We saw miracles everyday this past week. Monday evening we were seeing anything but success. We stopped, said a prayer, and counseled among ourselves. We both felt prompted to visit a family we had met the previous week. Upon arriving, we were rejected. Now what? We decided we must have felt impressed to come and see them because there was someone in the neighborhood in a preparation to hear the word. After knocking all the houses, we still felt that we needed to visit the original family. Several members of the family rolled up in a car just as we arrived at their door the second time and they greeted us warmly. A few days later we got a call from Brother Zhang in the bishopric. He told us the family we met are friends of his family and that they started asking them about our beliefs after we visited them. There is power in prayer and counseling together. Sometimes you just have to push through.

We taught the Restoration this week to a man who has had an incredibly challenging life. In his closing prayer, he asked only for his pain to be taken away. It was a great blessing to see his joy as we shared our message of hope. The greatest feeling of all was watching him walk way--a skip in his stride and a Book of Mormon in hand ready to face the world. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can heal any hurt. 

It was also cool to run into everyone in Miaoli who's ever been to or lived in Oklahoma this week; Elder Raley was clearly meant to serve here. 

The message we share is literally for everyone. It's not like we're trampoline salesmen in which case an elderly couple that doesn't have grandkids come to visit on a regular basis would have no need of our project. No one is allergic to what we bring. It is quite truly for all mankind. It's needed. It is the key to joy in this life and eternal happiness in the world to come.

I love you all!  Have the best week!  
 
 
 

All is well,
Elder Dickson
 

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