Elder in the East: Week 3 in Taoyuan: Using sidewalk chalk can be expensive!

Construction site in Taiwan

What a week! Monday was Preparation Day. Tuesday we had District Meeting after which Elder Smith and I hopped on a bus bound for Taipei for exchanges with the assistants.

Anoop from Taipei

101

We got back just in time to teach English class on Wednesday night. The following morning, we got up early to prepare for zone conference. At the conclusion of zone conference, we began an exchange with Elder Giordano and Elder Pope. We went straight into our weekly planning session and had to wrap up quick to begin an exchange with Elder Heaton and Elder Weinberger that went right up to our YSA board game activity on Saturday night.

Board Game Activity

Finally we made to church on Sunday and kept busy right up to the last. Now, here we are Monday morning ready for the hike of our lives.

On exchange with Elder Weinberger

We're excited for a great week and have seen many a miracle as of late. My favorite miracle this past week took place on the way to Taipei. I struck up a conversation on the MRT with a young guy from Korea. He was heading to the Taipei 101 before heading back home the following day. Upon learning that he was interested in being an architect, I pulled out a picture of the temple in Taipei and asked him if he would like to go with us. His response was "Can I?" We took a picture in front of the temple while we waited for the temple tour sisters. In the mean time, a foreigner with perfect Korean (likely a return missionary) came up and started chatting with our friend. The sisters showed up not long after and off he went on the tour having the time of his life all along the way. God is in the details. We had to leave to go on exchanges, but it was a huge miracle to help our new friend see the temple without having to go out of our way in the least. All we need to do is extend the invitation. The prepared are out there.

New friend from Korea

We're super excited for our good friend Beck. I've witnessed a huge change in him these past few weeks as he has humbled himself and resolved all of his own concerns. His baptism is this upcoming Saturday, and we're just happy for him. He's already been attending the eternal marriage class for weeks now. After English class, Elder Balmforth and Elder Simonson put together a BBQ involving hot dogs and marshmallows. The Taiwanese were mesmerized as they roasted their marshmallows in the parking lot. The whole lesson was on cooking and camping and the students loved the activity. The spiritual share was also awe-inspiring to say the least. Elder Simonson took out a 1000$ bill (about $30 American) and described it as being of great worth like our lives. He then held up a lighter and asked if it was a good idea. They went crazy. He described how the lighter represents the difficulties we all face in life. He then poured gasoline on the ground and lit it to get the point across that the fire was no joke. After which, he doused the bill in water to represent baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. He then doused the bill in gasoline and lit it. The bill lit up in blue flames, but it didn't turn to ashes. It held together. This is the protection the Gift of the Holy Ghost offers us.

I was then able to share of a time I was driving a little too fast on the road down to the church and how I had an impression to slow down only to find a deer in the middle of the road. I was protected despite my poor decision (Hyrum, congrats on the new license! Watch the speedometer).

With Kenny, the Master Chef

Zone conference was both uplifting and inspiring. I learned a great deal about how to better use and appreciate the Book of Mormon in my missionary work. I had the opportunity to give something of a pep talk near the end of the meeting. However, as I was speaking, I was hit with a wave of almost overwhelming love and couldn't talk for a bit there. I was filled with love. It was the love the Lord has for his servants, the missionaries. I was overcome, and my pep talk became a testimony. Oh, how God loves us. In reality, that's not unique to missionaries or anyone for that matter. We are all children of God. He loves you perfectly. The exchanges were wonderful. I went with Elder Pope and Elder Weinberger who are both in training at present. Wow, the trainees in our zone are ridiculously amazing. They came out ready to work and we did just that. I learned a great deal from them and was grateful for the time we had.

The Art Park at Night

Church was enjoyable yesterday. I especially enjoyed teaching Gospel Principles with little notice. We did some quick preparation, but the Spirit was certainly involved. I learned a valuable lesson from the Spirit as I bore testimony at the close of the lesson centered on "Honesty." Honesty is vital to our happiness and success in this life.The first step of repentance is recognizing the need to do so. We must first be honest with ourselves if we are ever to repent: be changed through the Atonement of the Savior, Jesus Christ to become the individuals He intends for us to be. It is through our integrity that we realize the infinite potential each of us has as children of God. We had a unique experience at the massive art park in our area...we were well on our way with a massive chalk Plan of Salvation display with scriptures in Chinese included when I overheard one of the groundskeepers shouting into his radio. "The foreigners are going crazy with the chalk! The foreigners are getting crazy with the chalk! I need back-up!" Long story short, we had to wash away our beautiful display and learned that if we want to play with chalk in the future it's not free (roughly $300 American for 4 hours that is). We ended up leaving a good impression with all involved, but it was sad. Regardless, all is well!!!!

Congrats to Jaycie on the successful completion of her mission to Washington!