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...").

Dazzle Them

Another week has flown by. Oh, speaking of weeks, this move will have seven weeks instead of six. I'm not sure why. So today is actually very close to the midpoint of the transfer. It seems impossible for so much time to have passed already (but it simultaneously feels like a long time...How does that work?). I suppose everything has been carrying on as usual, although life never feels anywhere close to monotonous or routine.

Last week on Friday we had Zone Conference in Kaohsiung. It was excellent, as usual. One thing I really liked from that was a statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, one of the twelve apostles. It's from "The Gift of Teaching", a segment in a worldwide training broadcast that the church does regularly (though I'd never seen any of it before my mission). He was reminding us once again that the Holy Ghost is the teacher, not us. I don't remember his exact words, but he said something along the lines of: "Don't try to dazzle them with your brilliance. Dazzle them with the brilliance of the gospel." Good for me to remember that if the thing being shared is of infinite worth, nothing could be more persuasive than simply a clear view of the thing itself.

Teaching, Learning, and Translating

Elder Bednar's visit was wonderful, of course. We had three hours with him, which was mostly spent asking and answering questions. I think one of the most memorable things for me was the understanding I gained about teaching with the Spirit, being taught by the Spirit, and letting the Spirit be the teacher. I felt that Elder Bednar taught this most powerfully by his example as he invited us to be active participants in the experience. He made it very clear that he knew he was not the source of our learning. This taught me a lot about how I should approach gospel teaching, but also about how I can open myself to be taught. The process of actively identifying and asking our heart's questions allows us to be sensitive and open to the Spirit's teaching us the things that we need to learn. Sometimes we may actually voice our questions, in discussion settings, but the process works just as well in a meeting like General Conference, or in studying texts like the Book of Mormon, where we can't actually vocalize our questions to the speakers or authors. The reason it can work is that the Spirit already knows everything and everyone involved. When the speaker/author is speaking/writing by the Spirit, and the hearer/reader is trying to hear/read by the Spirit, and actively searching for needed guidance, silent questions can be asked and answered at least as well as if they were spoken aloud. In fact, sometimes questions we didn't even quite realize we had can be answered, because God knows our needs better than we know them ourselves. Anyway, it's a marvelous process, and one that I'll probably be learning to facilitate for the rest of my life.

I had another new and interesting experience this week. This past weekend was district conference for the Ping Dong district. We attended the general (open to everyone) session on Sunday morning. I was asked to translate for a woman from the Phillipines. She's been living in Taiwan for more than 10 years, but she says her Chinese isn't good enough to understand "deep" topics. I'm not sure how much it helped her, but I did my best. I've never translated and listened at the same time. (I think there's some kind of phrase for that, but I don't know what it is). Some speakers were a lot easier than others, because of their speed and the vocabulary they used. My listening comprehension has improved over the course of my time in Taiwan, but it can vary a lot based on who is talking, and what he/she is talking about. It took me back to my summer at the U.N., where I regularly attended meetings and often took advantage of the translation for comments in languages other than English or Spanish. I have a whole new appreciation for the skill set those translators have. Despite the fact that my translation was far from perfect, I felt a lot of blessings and help to be able to listen in Chinese and speak English at the same time, and I was grateful to be of use.

A New Adventure

Here I am, after my first 10 days in beautiful Ping Dong. I do like the south. I mean, our whole mission is basically the south, so I guess I'm referring to the south of the south. It's definitely warmer than Yong Kang, and the temperatures are gradually rising, but it's still quite pleasant outside. Also, the trees are beautiful, the fruit tasty, and the bugs many. (I could do without the last one, but there's probably something good coming of it.)

I think it's always sort of an adventure to move into a new place and get to know everything from scratch. Last weekend we watched General Conference, and this weekend we'll have District Conference. (A district encompasses several wards or branches, but is smaller than a stake, and is presided over by the mission president. Ping Dong City is part of the Ping Dong District, which includes my first area--Chao Zhou--among others). As a result of these out-of-the-ordinary church meetings, getting to know the two branches we cover is a little slower, but we've gotten to meet with a fair number of members. I love members everywhere. From the start of the move, Sister Chen and I were already talking about trying to increase and improve coordination of missionary work with the members. Then Elder Perry, one of the twelve apostles, gave that talk in General Conference in which he brought up "member-oriented proselyting programs", which reinforced some of the ideas we had been mulling over. General Conference is always like that--it always seems to address exactly the things you need right when you need them.

The other night while we were waiting for someone outside the church, two members from Chao Zhou showed up for a single-adult family home evening activity. Sister Stratford and I met them and started teaching them while I was in Chao Zhou, and they got baptized a couple months after I left. We've kept in touch via letters, but I haven't seen them since they were baptized. When they saw me, they both burst into tears and threw their arms around me. I was, of course, thrilled to see them as well. I think there are some very close bonds that form when you share part the testimony-gaining process with someone. These bonds apparently transcend communication barriers, because my Chinese back in those days was probably borderline unintelligible, putting it mildly.

Tomorrow we'll have a special treat: Elder David A. Bednar (one of the twelve apostles) is coming to Taiwan. In the evening he'll do a fireside for members/anyone, but in the afternoon, the missionaries get our very own three hours with him. President Hsu says he'll likely just open the time to our questions, so I've been thinking and praying to see if there's anything I should ask. I've got a couple ideas, but we'll see when the time comes what feels right. Maybe other missionaries will ask the questions I really need the answers to (to which I really need the answers?). Either way, it's going to be a great experience. President Hsu has asked us to come an hour early to the meeting to prepare ourselves spiritually. I know there will be a lot to learn there, from what he says, but also mostly from what the Spirit says, so we've got to get ourselves ready and receptive and attentive. I'm excited!

Ping Dong

Hello all! I've returned back to lovely Ping Dong! I say returned, because Chao Zhou, my first area, is actually in Ping Dong county. My new area is centered in Ping Dong city, which, unsurprisingly, is also in Ping Dong county. I'm here with Sister Chen, who was born in Kaohsiung and then moved to Taipei when she was 10. This is her 5th move as a missionary (I almost wrote "on island," which works for foreign missionaries, but not so well for those who have been "on island" their whole lives). Of course, saying goodbye is always a bit sad, but I feel really good about being here. I'm so glad I got to be in Yongkang for four months of my mission; the people I met and miracles I witnessed there will always be very dear to me, and I feel like I gave my best there. But it's exciting to move, and to know that being in Ping Dong with Sister Chen is exactly what I need to be doing right now.

On Saturday, our investigator Sister Huang got baptized. It was so wonderful to be there. I think it is a special tender mercy for a missionary to get to see an investigator from her first time meeting with missionaries until her baptism. Before people ever meet with the missionaries, they are prepared to receive the gospel, and learning/growth continue long after baptism, but the missionary's primary responsibility comes in for that first step of learning the basic gospel principles and determining to live by them. So to be allowed to witness someone develop and recognize her own testimony to the point of being willing to commit to live it forever is pretty amazing. Conversion really is a change that comes from the inside out. As Sister Huang said when we met with her the day before her baptism, when you have faith in God, you want to obey. If you ever think about disobeying, you can just remember Him, and then you won't want to anymore. The obedient acts spring out of that internal conviction and belief. There are still leaps of faith to be made. For example, the first time we invite someone to pray, she may have never prayed before, and have absolutely no experience to tell her it will do anything at all for her. But if she has hope that the blessings we describe could be real, she'll go try something she's never done before, and create an opportunity for her own spiritual experience. After the trial of faith comes the blessing of an answered prayer, which would never be possible without praying in the first place. Suffice it to say, I think I've learned a lot about the conversion process. I've thought a lot about the scripture (which I may have quoted before) that says, ". . . he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles. . ." (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 15:17). As the Lord works through people, a significant part of His purpose is to show those people, His instruments, His power. I know that as a missionary, I have been an instrument of the Lord, and as the instrument I can tell that the real power or driving force has very little to do with my own abilities.

Inspired Referral

Another exciting week! We had a really miraculous experience with a member referral this week. We try to ask everyone we talk to who they know who would like to meet with us. As you might imagine, most people would be more receptive to an invitation from a friend or family member that a stranger (with poor Chinese) on a bike at a stoplight. Last week, one of the members, Sister Zhao, invited us to call some of her friends to set up a time that we could meet with them. One of them she expected might not be interested--actually, what she said was, "Ta yinggai hui ma wo ba" (She'll probably scold/reprimand me). When I called her friend, after the first few minutes of conversation, I thought Sister Zhao had hit the nail on the head, but then she suddenly said she'd be happy to set up a time. When we met with her, we found out that her father recently became very ill. She's obviously very concerned about him. As we taught her how to pray, and encouraged her to pray for her father, she was geniunely grateful for a way to petition blessings now when her family especially needs them. I was really grateful to be with her to share the thing she needed right when she needed it. Through no design of our own (Sister Zhao had no idea until that lesson that her friend's father was sick), we ended up in the right place at the right time. It's a great feeling.

Move calls are this Friday, and move day is on Monday. I feel like I've really learned a lot this move, and the whole time I've been in Yongkang so far. If I stay here, I'll be excited to still be in this area. If I leave, I'll be excited to meet a whole new group of people and see what I can learn and how I can strengthen the area. When I was thinking about putting in my papers, I realized that I was hoping I could go to Latin America, because I really love Hispanics, and I would love to share the gospel with them. I tried really hard to get rid of that preference before I got my call, and by the time I opened the letter, I really didn't care. Move calls are basically same way; I already know that I love this place and these people, so I might naturally hope to stay, but I'm learning to be excited about the people and places I don't know yet, because if that's where I'm called to go, that's exactly where I need to be. Being where I need to be is much better than being where I want to be. But I think Sister Ma would like to stay here, and it's most common for one companion to move, so I sort of hope I move, so she can stay in Yongkang.

Inspired Leaders

Hello! Summer is creeping in upon us. For anyone who may have scoffed at my chills in the mild Taiwanese winter, I have only this to say in my defense: Yes, it is much colder in Iowa (or Utah, or Ohio) in the winter than it is here, but you don't put on a skirt and bike around in it do you? No. Also, when your home is colder than it is outside and the unreliable water heater sometimes robs you of a hot shower, however mild the chill may be, it can get down to your bones and stay there. But it is a blessing that the winter is not slippery, and in the end, really not that cold. I'm also grateful that it doesn't rain nearly as much in the winter as the summer. There are many aspects of Taiwanese winter for which I am very grateful, but I won't pretend that I never passed a cold day.

This past week we had our interviews with President Hsu. I look forward to this once-a-move opportunity to sit down with him, one-on-one, and talk about anything. He's so in tune with the Spirit and our needs. He always seems to know exactly what to say, even if it takes me a few weeks to figure it out. When I think back on the counsel he's given me since I got on island, I realize how much it has shaped the way I've worked to improve and change. To think that he does that for hundreds of missionaries during his time as mission president is amazing. I'm sure without divine assistance it would be impossible; he simply doesn't have enough time to get to know our needs that deeply on his own. Every interview, he says an opening prayer. He asks for the guidance of the Holy Ghost. And then he'll usually ask me a question, maybe about how my companion is, or to find out what's been on my mind recently. He'll invite me to ask him questions, about the scriptures, doing missionary work, personal concerns, etc. Sometimes it seems that his answer doesn't quite respond to the question I asked, but the miracle is that he tells me exactly what I need to know right then; like answering the question I wanted to ask, but didn't know how. That's one of my strongest witnesses that he is called of God, and that it is God leading the work, not a man.

Dual Equilibria

The week flew by. One of the highlights was definitely our investigator Sister Lin's baptism on Saturday night. She's been wanting to get baptized ever since I met her last month. The preparation process was none too easy; she had to do some really difficult things to get there, but she did it! The member turnout was really good, which is a wonderful way for someone as they become a brand new member of the church to feel the love and support system they're inheriting. Her boss, who is also the stake president, rushed back from a meeting in Kaohsiung to perform the ordinance. She was probably the least nervous of anyone I've seen yet to be completely immersed in water.

After the service, we all gathered in the kitchen for celebratory goodies. She told Sister Ma and me that from the moment the baptism was completed she felt happier than she had in a long time. She was positively glowing. Her husband, who is not a member of the church, attended, along with their two children. At church on Sunday, she was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. The confirmation is necessary to complete baptism. When we're baptized, we covenant with God that we are willing to take the name of Christ upon us and to obey His commandments. He cleanses all of our past transgressions, and through the gift of the Holy Ghost allows us to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost as long as we're worthy. That blessing helps us uphold our part of the covenant, because the Spirit will protect us and teach us what is true so that we can make good decisions.

To prepare for this covenant, a person needs to develop faith in Christ and change his/her life to be in harmony with God's commandments. That process of repentance is ongoing, continuing far beyond baptism, but it has to be begun before baptism. Seeing Sister Lin so full of light and joy, especially after walking part of that preparatory road with her, provided another witness to me of the power of the gospel to make us happy as we apply it, and also that blessings really do come after the trial of our faith. Also, I think I learned a lot about how painful changes really can be worthwhile when they are for the sake of something true.

Somewhere in the cobwebs of my pre-mission memories I remember an simple economic model in which there are two equilibria. One is more desireable than the other. However, if you're already at the less-desireable one, you have to go through some sort of costly process to get to the more desireable one. During the process, you may temporarily be worse off than you were when you were just sitting on the original equilibrium, but if you stick it out until you get to the more desireable one, the long-term benefits will outweigh the cost of getting there. I think that's sort of like the repentance process. Everything seems to be going along just fine, and then you find out that something you're doing isn't what God wants you to be doing. In the process of changing, you may be more sad or experience frustrations that you didn't have before. But in the end, you arrive at a place that is happier than you ever were before, and through your continued obedience, you can enjoy that state forever. I love the gospel. And economics.

(Note: If anyone who actually understands the model I alluded to reads this and is appalled by my oversimplification and likely errors, please try to take account for the knowledge atrophy that has taken place over the last 10 months in terms of anything I ever learned in school. There will be plenty time to relearn things later.)

(Another sidenote: In a previous email, I referred to the phrase "xing ku." My recent studies in Chinese characters have brought to my attention that the correct pinyin is actually "xin ku.")

An Exciting Change

Let's start with some of the most recent news: As of July 1st, the three missions in Taiwan will become two missions. It sounds like the Kaohsiung Mission will be absorbed into the Taichung Mission, and part of what is currently the Taichung Mission will become part of the Taipei mission. The timing coincides with the end of President Hsu's three years as a mission president. This is, of course, a decision which can only made by the first presidency of the church (the prophet and his two counselors), doubtless with much consultation with the area authorities. I don't know all the reasons for this change, although I suspect that at least one factor is the shrinking number of full-time missionaries. It's so exciting to feel like my day-to-day life is governed by revelation directly to a living prophet! There's not much for me to do now except prepare spiritually for the change and testify to the members that it is inspired. I am completely confident that this is exactly what should happen, because I have complete trust in the leaders through whom the revelation came. I'm still going to seek a personal confirmation of this specific decision. That confirmation will be important to maintaining the best attitude throughout the transition. I'm sure there will be a few challenges along the way, but also lots of good things; in fact, I suspect that the challenges will be all for the best as well. Plus, as an added bonus, I get to be in the same mission as my dear MTC companion, Sister Nelson.

Last week we had Zone Conference again. This time it was centered around using time effectively (the move focus). I think every missionary there learned lots of ways to repent, or to become better. At one point after some teaching about what it means to use time effectively, little ways that we might waste time, etc., Sister Hsu (President Hsu's wife) asked, "So how do you all feel?" An elder managed to sum up our collective emotion with a single word: "Guilty." We all laughed, even though it was basically true. It's good to feel guilty sometimes, though, because recognizing what needs to change is usually a necessary step to changing it. Sister Ma and I learned a lot of ways that we can do better, and started putting them into practice that very day. Now we're seeing the blessings of following our schedule with more precision, doing our daily planning session each night according to guidelines that get us focused on the needs of people, etc. Repenting is so good. It's a little painful at the beginning, but things always get better than they ever were before if you just stick it out. There's always more to improve on, but the Lord has a way of pointing out the things to focus on at any given time.

As part of Zone Conference, Sister Hsu shared a video on bicycle safety. Though the contents were helpful, it was a pretty hilarious movie. I think my favorite part was when the narrating voice (appropriately deep and solemn to impress upon our very souls the importance of bike safety) pointed out that some missionaries may think because they are on the Lord's errand, they could not possibly incur physical injury, but, he warned us, "you are still subject to the effects of natural laws." I'm not sure I've ever questioned that point, but I'll try to keep it firmly in mind.

Meaningful Goals

These last 10 days have flown, but so much has happened that it feels like forever ago that I emailed home. I forget sometimes that Sister Ma and I have only been companions for that brief week and a half. She really is a wonderful companion and missionary. She has a lot of faith and energy in everything she does, and it gets me really excited about things. She's an especially good example to me of goal-setting. Missionaries set goals quite frequently--at least every night in our planning session for the next day, and also goals for the week in our weekly planning session. Still, I feel like I have so much to understand about goals and how to use them. There's a quote in Preach My Gospel (the book missionaries, and also church members, study about how to do missionary work; it includes material to be taught to investigators, but also chapters on topics such as how to do the work by the Holy Ghost, how to use time effectively, developing Christlike attributes, etc.) that says:

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principle of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." (Elder Ballard, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, PMG p.146)

Every time I read this quote I realize that I have some repenting to do in this area. I have definitely not yet mastered "the principle of setting a goal," let alone "the techniques of living to reach our goals," but I believe that it must be critical to reaching my full potential. I also remember something I learned from our Zone Conference last move. We had a visiting area authority, Elder Anthony Perkins (area authorities are church leaders who preside over specific geographical areas of the world). He told us that when he was younger and called to be an elders quorum president (a local leader in a ward or branch of the church), he and his two counselors sat down to set some goals. They set goals about things like what kinds of lessons they would have every Sunday, how many activities they would have, what percentage of the brethren in their quorum would do their home teaching, etc. He then took these goals to the bishop. The bishop reviewed them, and then gave him some correction. He pointed out that the goals were not centered on the salvation of souls. They then reconsidered their goals, and were able to make meaningful differences in the lives of individuals. Elder Perkins pointed out that their original goals weren't bad, but they weren't getting at the most important point of their service. So recently as we set our companionship goals, and as I consider my personal goals, I've been trying to think more than usual about the real purpose. Why do I want to memorize Chinese characters? Why do I want to be familiar with the scriptures? Why do we want to find some number of new people to teach every week? All of those are means to a greater end, like being able to read the scriptures in Chinese with those we teach and expound to their understanding and the strengthening of their faith. And their increased understanding and faith are only a part of the larger process of enduring conversion. The good news is that the Lord still seems willing to work through us even though our efforts are always imperfect; I'm grateful to say from personal experience that whether or not we receive Lord's blessings is largely dependent on our doing our best, not on how good our best is.

A Shocking Twist of Events

Last week Sister Angulo and I were 99.99% positive that I would be transferred today. Looks like the .01% came back to bite our predictions, because I'm still in Yongkang. Sister Angulo moved to Guiren (only about 30 minutes by taxi from Yongkang), and Sister Ma moved from Guiren up here. I was definitely completely shocked when we got our move calls, but I'm excited to stay here and to keep working with the same people!

Sister Ma is amazing. She's ABC (American-born Chinese). Before the mission, she was going to school in Idaho, but she also worked as a fire fighter--the kind of crew that gets flown in to areas that have forest fires and stuff like that. Pretty awesome. More importantly, she's full of faith and hard work, and I'm really excited to get to be with her for six weeks. I'm so blessed when it comes to companions! Actually, I don't think I've met a single sister missionary in my mission that I wouldn't be excited to serve with. It's been quite a while (since my second move) since I was the one who knew the area best out of the companionship. This is when I get to see a lot of blessings in terms of remembering where things are, knowing who we need to go help, etc. as my companion gets to know the place and the people. I know she'll also have help to learn and remember quickly so that we can work together to the blessing of this area. We have several investigators that I believe will be prepared for baptism this move. I'm so grateful to be a part of that process.

It's going to be a good move.

Temple Blessings

We all went to the temple last Wednesday and it was AMAZING. The closest temple is in Taipei. Our mission goes once a year in two groups (i.e. half the missionaries go one week, the other half go the next week). Because the trip is every February, and I'm only in Taiwan for one February, this is the only time I'll get to go during my mission. I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity at all. The temple is unlike any other place. As soon as you walk in, the peace starts to settle in. Changing out of street clothes into all white sort of completes the process for me. It feels like all the fog and complications are cleared out and only the most precious and simple truths are left. It was especially nice to go with the other missionaries and my mission president. Temples allow us to do the ordinances necessary for salvation in the Kingdom of God. Through the ordinance of the endowment, we make sacred covenants and receive knowledge and blessings that allow us to return to our Heavenly Father. Through temple marriage, God is included as a party to the marriage covenant, and families become sealed to live together again after death. Endowments and sealings, as well as baptism and confirmation, can all be performed in proxy for the dead in the temple. All missionaries will receive their endowments before they begin their service, so we were all doing that ordinance in behalf of people who have already died. It is a wonderful opportunity to do something for someone that she cannot do for herself. It's also a huge blessing to go remember our promises to the Lord, the blessings He promises in return, and to receive enlightenment on our concerns and questions. Suffice it to say, I think we all felt spiritually rejuvenated by the whole experience. I can't imagine any success or accomplishment in the world that could possibly bring more satisfaction to me than the feeling of being in the temple with people I love around me.

It is by grace that we are saved, after all that we can do.

The exact reference for that scripture in 2 Nephi chapter 20-something is eluding me, but let me say that I have learned once again how true that is. Every night when my companion and I plan the next day, we begin and end with a prayer. We usually take some time to individually ponder and pray over who we should visit or what activities we should do, and then we compare our impressions and make the best plan we can. This week we got several confirmations that the Spirit does help us to do what we could not do ourselves. I can think of two people who we visited, one former investigator, one less-active church member, who both asked us how we knew to come at just the right time. The former investigator's father died recently (which we didn't know), and at the time she visited she normally wouldn't have been home, but that day her schedule was a bit different. She said seeing us was like seeing old friends. It was such a blessing to be with her at that time. The less-active member is going through some back problems that may require risky treatment. We showed up the night before her examination, which she was very nervous for. We were able to get two priesthood-holding men from the ward over to give her a blessing (to understand what the priesthood is, I recommend checking mormon.org or lds.org). She said every time she's having especially many trials, the missionaries show up. I know we do all we can, but in the end it's grace and guidance from God that saves us and allows us to do what we need to do.

Family History Extravaganza

Well, the festivities are basically over, and the routine is mostly back to normal after a few weeks of turbulence. One of the major variations from our usual was helping out at a family history activity in Tainan city. Last Wednesday through Friday, the Church here hosted a family history open house in a school behind a Buddhist temple. As we all discovered, Tainan during guo nian is bustling, so there were lots of people around. We were there Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning and afternoon, and parts of Friday handing out fliers on street corners and inviting people to come check it out. Family history seems to be of particular interest to Taiwanese people, who are culturally (and religiously) inclined to honor their ancestors. I think about 3000 people attended. They were often excited to hear that the Church could help them trace their ancestors for generations. Some were also curious to know why a Christian church would be doing this sort of research. One of the things I would really like to get more into after my mission is family history. There's a lot of interesting things to learn about the stories and background of one's own family, but the best part is getting to take names to the temple to do ordinance work. We believe that certain ordinances (baptism, confirmation, endowment, sealing in families) are necessary for exaltation. However, a fair God would have to make provision for those who didn't have opportunity to complete those ordinances on the earth. At the same time, He would also be unfair to force anyone to accept them if unwanted. So members of the church go to temples to perform ordinances in proxy for the dead, believing that those spirits will hear the gospel in the spirit world, and then have their own decision of whether or not to let the ordinance apply to them. As the saving ordinances apply across generations, families are linked together through sealing for eternity. I love this doctrine because it does illustrate how fair God is, and how meaningful our families are; despite inequalities on the earth, in the eternal scheme, each person has an equal opportunity to obtain eternal life with the people most dear to us.