Letter # 31

Hey family!

Well my eyes are black and I am exhausted. These last two weeks have been so exhausting. My comp (Elder Constantino) and I are doing awesome. We are loving the area we are in and the investigators are going well. We actually are teaching three families right now and it is going great. Everyone is progressing. But I am afraid I will not be in Longtan next transfer so that will be sad. I'll just pray real HARD!

Well two of the new members are Sister Lin and Brother Zhong. They were baptized last transfer and they're doing awesome. Zhong was an 18 yr old kid that I met at a stoplight about 2 months ago. Now he is doing amazing. He comes and teaches with us in our lessons. He said something in one of our lessons that made Missionary work just that much more worth it. He told the person that we were teaching that he wouldn't be here if it wasn't true. He told her he would not waste his time on Sunday coming to church if it wasn't true. He bore his testimony strongly and he has only been a member for a few weeks. He is also talking to us about plans to go on a mission. To me that is one of the most rewarding things of a mission, to be able to see the people you teach progress.

Also Sister Lin is amazing. She comes and teaches with us all the time. Her testimony is so powerful. It blows me away. She sounds like she has been a member all her life. Anyway she got accepted to go to New York for college in a few months. Her English is really good so she will just go to a normal ward in New York. She also is really excited to see all the Church history sites. Well my companion and I went on a couple adventures this last week. We were riding our bikes in this super rural kind of jungle going to an investigators house, and we saw this small road to the side that was blocked off so cars couldn't get in..........we of course jumped our bikes to see where it led. As we road a minute in this Jungle we came to this big tent. I was so freaked out. As we peaked our head in we saw a bunch of boxes. I first thought they were Drugs for sure (ha ha ha). But anyway me being my curious self I opened one of them and there was a huge vase in it. Again being curious I opened the lid ..........................and behold ASHES! yah, human remains in the vases. We found all these urns deep in the jungle. I felt like Elder Indiana Jones. (haha) I was freaking out. My companion wasn't real happy but it was funny! We ended up biking out of there as fast as we could.

Well this week has been another great week as far as investigators and more personal growth. I have noticed that as my Chinese has gotten better and communication isn't becoming the biggest problem. I have really started to grow such a love for them. I remember when I first came to Taiwan. I thought the Culture was so weird and in all honesty I thought the people were a little weird as well. But as I started being able to listen to what they say I realized that I was wrong. I have realized one firm fact that I can never begin to deny. That is that we are ALL children of our Heavenly Father. It has become so apparent to me. It has strengthened my testimony so much to understand the most simple principle of the church. It ironically been the thing that has changed me the most and taught me how to love others. I love it here! I can't think of anywhere else I would want to be.

Well I don't have a lot of time as usual but the scripture is Alma 26:37 I know God is mindful of all his children.

Love you all so so so so so much.

WEI Zhang Lao

Letter # 30

Hey family.

Well Transfers came around again, and I got a new companion. His name is Elder Constantino. He is from Italy and his dad is in the Mafia! Just kidding he is from Kaysville. He is an awesome guy. I was friends with him before so the awkward first couple weeks with someone you don't know has been completely avoided. Its just weird not being with a Native. I have been with Natives for about the last 5 months. It also helped me realize how bad my English is. My grammar is terrible. Its just weird being in the house not speaking Chinese and constantly having to ask "what, say that again?" But I am totally stoked about having an American Comp.

So the baptism went really well last Saturday. She asked me to baptize her. It was sister Lin. I am pretty sure I have already told everyone about her. She is someone we invited to English class about a month and a half ago. We were able to start meeting with her and a month later she was baptized. She is one of those people for me that makes me feel like there was no doubt that I was supposed to be called to Taiwan. She actually is exactly like Lauren. But she is a High school Music teacher. In Taiwan a teacher is a pretty respected job! But she wrote her own song on the piano and played it at her baptism. It was unreal! All the members were blown away.

So saying goodbye to Elder Woo.... That was hard! I learned too much from him. I changed more from him then any other person on my mission by far. Most of the time it was never anything he said. It was all his actions that stood out as the example! Well he goes home to south Taiwan tomorrow. So this last weekend we were taken out to eat every night by the members. We went to these places called Hot Pots where you boil all the food in front of you. Its so good! But ya I have been stuffed for the last few days. Sometimes with things I didn't wont to put in my mouth!...... On Sunday night we went to the bishops house for dinner and is wife made this Beef noodle soup for us. It was good but as I started eating I started to notice this weird looking meat and it was chewy and hard to eat. I asked what it was........ Big mistake! I was eating a bowl full of Cow STOMACH!

I wouldn't dare not eat it. One its the bishop two because that stuff is expensive here. But as I was able to muscle past the gag reflex I was able to eat the whole bowl. An hour later I wanted to die! I had a stomach full of stomach. It was NASTY!

Besides my nasty food stories all is going really well here. We just gave two more people baptismal dates for the first week in December. I am way excited about it!

Well I gotta go, But in honor of my new companion I am giving you one of his favorite scriptures. Alma 41:14-15. It talks the blessings of Righteous actions.

Thank you all for your prayers. Your in mine!
Love you

Wei Zhang Lao!

Letter # 29

Hey Family!

Well good news. The two baptisms last Saturday went really smoothly. Well for the most part. One of them had to be baptized 2 times over because we kept seeing that his foot was coming up at the last second. It was kinda funny because when he finished the second time he left already and was on his way to the bathroom to dry off and stuff. My companion and I were debating whether his foot had actually come up or not. To be safe we had him come back and do it again. It was kinda awkward at the time, but their testimonies at the meeting were really touching.

They both are really young. One 18 and one 21. The 18 year old, his name is Zhong. He talked about before he ran into the missionaries God to him was just a Buddhist statue, or something you go bow in front of. He said that now he feels that when he prays he feels good knowing that he has a God or heavenly father he can communicate with. He said that he knew God was listening to him! It was awesome. He is actually someone I rode up to at a stop light and asked him to pull his scooter over about two months ago. He has met with us ever since. What a miracle!

This coming Saturday we have another Baptism. I will tell the story about that investigator next week. She is even more of a Miracle!

Well anyway tomorrow we have this huge conference with the mission. One of the Quorum of the Seventy is coming to talk with us. He is also interviewing missionaries. I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen to be interviewed by him. Yah ...I am a little nervous, but of course excited at the same time. It will be a sweet experience. I am praying hard for some inspired questions I can ask him. So this Friday I find out who my new companion is. That will be weird!

I feel like I have been with Elder Woo forever! I really have such a testimony I was put with him for a reason. One because we are complete polar opposites. A complete Humbling Experience! Something everyone knew I needed. But from him I have learned some lessons that will effect me for probably as long as I am alive. I have been with him 3 months, but learned more in those three months than my entire mission before I was with him, times 2. I am really so grateful for the positions I have been put in. Even though at the time of those trials I wondered how I could ever keep going! But I did, and the Lord knows what he is doing. That I know with all my heart!

Well this week I had no time to email so I will give more news next week and some funny stories, and of course the news on who my new companion is. Well the Scripture this week is something I have been sharing on the street a lot lately. It is 2Nephi 2:25, Men are that they might have joy! Joseph Smith said that "happiness, is what God desires for all his Children"! All of them! I know that's true. Sometimes I think we as people forget that our Heavenly Fathers desire for us is to have Joy, nothing less. That is what all trials and all heartaches lead up to. Joy and happiness that only the Savior can bring.

Love you all!

Wei Zhang Lao