Sending in My Running Shoes

A few Zone Conferences ago, President Hsu told us a story which I will now attempt to recount. He included many details which I have forgotten, so I'll have to be a bit general in the interests of accuracy.

Years ago in a European country, a church leader asked all the young men within a certain age group to send him their running shoes. The first three whose shoes he received were the first to be called to serve missions. They had demonstrated their willingness to obey the Lord (and his chosen servants), even when they didn't know the purpose of the instruction.

The other day during personal study, it occurred to my heart that I should begin writing my weekly email for my family only (i.e. not to be shared via blog). I don't know why, although I expect the instruction has some value for its own sake (unlike the sending of the running shoes, which probably weren't of much use to the man who received them). When it comes to things like this, I'm working on being more trusting--I mean, willing to act before I understand. Even if I sometimes misinterpret my feelings, by doing my best to follow the Spirit, at the very least I develop and demonstrate willingness and desire to receive and obey guidance.

I hope the things I've invited Mom and Dad to share have been informative, useful, or inspiring to someone outside of my immediate family. I'm sure over a year of weekly insights from me is probably more than enough for most people anyway. And anything else I could write in the next six months could not possibly be more valuable than the message that striving to follow the Holy Ghost is the only way to get done what we're here to do.

Getting Sweaty

Hello! It's getting ever toastier over here in Taiwan (I still remember one of the first reactions to my mission call from a student in my Game Theory class who had served a mission in Taiwan: "Get ready to get sweaty"). The last week has been full of the usual sort of excitement: Zone Conference, interviews with President Hsu, agonizing over the salvation of souls, etc. Zone Conference was excellent. The emphasis was Preach My Gospel chapter 13, which is all about working in unity with local leaders. In my experience so far, this usually requires a conscious and continuing effort, but one well worth making.

We went to help a member weed her flowers the other day. And if you're picturing a little flower border by the front walk, think again. She's a flower farmer, with hundreds and hundreds of flowers potted in a netted enclosure a fair distance from their house. She also has children, including a 3-month-old baby. Walking into her kitchen felt like a trip back to Mexico, plus running water (anyone who has seen the kitchens where my food was prepared in Mexico will know what I mean by that--unfortunately that group is rather small). The work of weeding wasn't too heavy, but definitely overwhelming to go at alone. I told her I was sure my mother would be pleased to hear I've been weeding (one of your favorite pastimes, right Mom?).

I received a couple of blessings this week that really gave me a boost. One had to do with our investigator, Kivi. It occurred to me a few days ago that we could copy the beginning part of Joseph Smith History and drop it in her mailbox for her to read and ponder on. We did, and when she showed up to her teaching appointment last night she had read it. She said she could understand why we wanted to give it to her, because it helped her understand his experience and our approach to other religious denominations (which is very important to her--she doesn't like hearing churches criticize each other). I realized that I really had no particular motive in giving it to her, except that the thought had popped into my mind. To her, it felt like we understood her needs and how to meet them, and to me, it was another witness of the One who actually knows her needs and will help us meet them if we just do as we're directed.

Mission Change

Because of a realignment of boundaries among the Taiwan missions, Emily will become part of the Taiwan Taichung Mission on July 1st. Her new mission mailing address is given in the sidebar on the right and should be used for anything sent to her after June 20th.

Li He

Ten days into this move and it feels like only two! Here are some things I've learned this move:

1) Some Taiwanese. Did you know before that Taiwanese is its own language? Oh yes, and now I can say the following things, thanks to Sister Lin:

Hello! (Li he)
How are you? (Li he be)
Where are you going? (Li bei ki dou wi)
I don't know. (Wa m zai)
I know God loves you. (Wa zai xing ai li)
How about we sing some songs? (Wun qiung gua he be)

We sometimes visit and old ama (ama=grandma/old woman) who is a church member, but can't go to church because she's so old and infirm. She likes us to sing hymns to her. Her Taiwanese is better than her Chinese, so last time my companion (who is fluent in Taiwanese) chatted with her for a bit. I'm trying to learn how to say some things so next time we go I can make a little contribution to the conversation (hence the last two phrases).

2) I don't know how to make this one into a quick phrase, so I'll just tell the story that taught it to me. I heard this story in sacrament meeting from our district president, who heard it from an area 70, who heard it from one of the apostles (I know the chain's getting a bit long, but everyone except for me is a pretty strong link, and I'll do my best not to mess it up):

Some apostles were meeting to decide something. They couldn't reach a consensus that felt right. They decided to go study the scriptures and reconvene. Still nothing. They did it again. Same result. The third time, they used unmarked scriptures from the library (i.e. not their own marked up scriptures, but new copies that didn't have any writing/highlighting). They got their answer.

A Busy Week!

Yes, it was a busy week, an exciting week, a good week. We taught more lessons this week than we did any other week of the move, which is good, because we're supposed to be full-time teachers (so say the general authorities/church leaders, and I believe it). The point, of course, is not to keep score of our success by counting our lessons, but to spend more time teaching because that's what we're called to do, and teaching with convincing and converting power is essential to accomplishing our purpose. So part of the process is learning to teach, and another is finding people to teach; both are necessary.

But I see you're all very anxious to know about my move call (well, at least two of you, *coughcoughparentscough*). I'm still here in dear Ping Dong, but my beloved Sister Chen has left me for Tainan. I will miss her. My new companion is Sister Lin (yes, another Sister Lin besides my trainer; I can think of four Taiwanese sister missionaries with the surname Lin in our mission off the top of my head). She is from "Zhong Bu" (the middle part of Taiwan). Her parents' home will actually be within our mission after the change in July. She's the only member of the church in her family, and she was baptized about two years ago. This is her third transfer. Good things will happen this move.

A Return to Power (or, in Better Words, an Opportunity to Serve)

I am once again the English leader. I don't know if I ever talked about being the English leader before. I know I've talked about English class every Wednesday. There is a weekly English meeting before English class that all the missionaries attend at their respective chapels. The English leader conducts these meetings, as well as collecting weekly numbers for total students, new students, students that set up to meet with us, etc. I was the English leader my first three moves (I think sometimes the leaders like to give new missionaries their own responsibility, so they get invited to be the English leader). This move's original English leader moved last week, and I have once again been given the opportunity to reign. I mean, serve. Actually, I'm quite looking forward to it. My former companion, Sister Stratford, gave an excellent share on English class last Zone Conference, and I feel refreshed and recommited. The thing about teaching English class as a missionary is that you end up with a group of people who have voluntarily walked into the church and are sitting at least somewhat attentively in front of you. It's amazing. And on top of that, once you really believe in your heart that God will lead you to prepared people, it suddenly seems very obvious that at least some of these people who motorscoot themselves to the church are among those you're supposed to be finding. So I'm excited to be the English leader and think about how we can make use of this opportunity, even if it's only for a few weeks.

Blog Mama Failure

I neglected to post anything last week. Sorry! Here's last week's installment:

Today we took a trip to the National Aquarium in Hengchun. President Hsu decided to organize this for the mission, with half going this week and half going next week. It was a rejuvenating change. I never cease to be amazed by the variety of aquatic life on earth. And, firmly believing in a world created by Christ under the direction of Heavenly Father, seeing the spectrum of things on earth gives me some insight into the character and creativity of God.

I've decided to enjoy the simplicity of my life now as much as I possibly can. It feels like part of my responsibility to focus my thoughts on the work at hand, which can sometimes be difficult, but overall is a huge blessing. I don't usually have to think much further than a few weeks down the road in terms of making concrete plans (aside from occasionally pondering on my eternal goals and what matters most in life in general). I know this will not always be the case, but maybe there are some lessons to be learned that will carry over (Sermon on the Mount, anyone? "Take no thought for tomorrow...").