Letter # 48

Wow what a long week. I am exhausted. Every night I hit the pillow I am dead! My companion and I are now having some issues. The last area he was in was A LOT different. I had interviews with President Grimley this last Friday and he told me some reasons why my companion was put with me. Basically my companion is not very happy with me. I think a lot of it is that he is just not used to it yet. Like I said his last area was A LOT different. From what I have heard him and his last companion were a little more relaxed. I'm kind of in a position where I don't really know what to do. I keep trying to be as patient as I can talking to him and figuring out what is bothering him so much, but we never seem to come to a conclusion. I am pretty sure any missionary will tell you that the worst thing is not getting along with one of your companions. It is like the hardest thing in the world to do missionary work when you and your companion are not on the same page. I think all I can do is just try to do my best. I think we just need to have a really long talk about it.

Besides all that things are going great. The Gao family is really doing awesome. For the first time the wife sat down with us and listened to the plan of salvation. The husband has a baptismal date right now. They really liked the part about the Celestial kingdom and families being together forever. It made complete sense to them. I think that was the thing that really turned the wife around and got her thinking about it. They have a son that is about a year and a half old. It's hilarious because his dad has a fairly big head and the son looks exactly the same. I crack up every time I see them together! Please pray for the Gao family.

As far as the other investigators, we are teaching a few people now that are in there 20's and also a 16 year old high school student. They are all doing really well. I don't know if I have told everyone but we have this Swedish friend that my last companion and I met about a month ago. He is like 6 foot 6 and he is hilarious. He opened his own Swedish restaurant right around the corner of our house. I was able to use some of my manipulating skills to work out a good deal with him for Meatballs and Mash potatoes (Ha-ha). Yes ...there are Meatballs and Mash potatoes in Taiwan (Believe it or not). Sorry Mom, but some of the candy you send me is going to compensate for the deal we made. He also gives us some Swedish Candy in return. His name is Sam Whalberg. We ordered a Book of Mormon in Swedish and are still waiting to get it. He is really anti Church and religion so we are trying to take it from a small approach.

I am getting a little skinnier. I eat these special Taiwanese sweet potatoes every morning. They are kinda like yams. But I think its paying off. In other news, Elder Woo (My Last native companion) is getting married in just a couple weeks. I am going to see if I can go to his sealing in Taipei.

Oh, something funny about my companion: We were contacting someone yesterday and the lady we were contacting stops dead sentence and looks at my companion and says "Your Mandarin is weird" "Where are you from?" I started busting out laughing we both thought it was hilarious. Its actually kind of a big joke in our mission. All the Natives when they go home have these accents because they are put with us foreigners and they have to listen to us 24/7 and it starts to wear off. It cracks me up.

This weeks spiritual message is going to be about something I think I talked about a few weeks ago. Its WORK! Something my brother John told me right before I left. It has been something that has not left my mind my entire mission. I believe something the Lord really wanted to teach me on my mission was that of work. I feel as time goes on I am beginning to understand what it truly means to be diligent and what the Lord really expects out of his servants. I have spent this last week evaluating a lot of the things I need to do to become a better missionary. I have realized that it truly is a process. I think back at when I first got to Taiwan and blows my mind thinking of the things I didn't know and understand. It is truly line upon line how we learn. That is Heavenly Fathers way of teaching us. I feel like the true trick to it is the word DILIGENCE. I think that is one of the most crucial things we can learn in this life. We have to learn to be diligent in everything we do. Otherwise there is no progression. and if there is no progression there is no point in this life. For that is the very reason we were sent to earth. ...so that we could continue on in progression and become what god wants us to be.

The Scripture I want to share is Alma 34:32-33.

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God;
yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to
perform their labors.

And now, as I said unto you before,
as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore,
I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate
the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life,
which is given us to prepare for eternity,
behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life,
then cometh the night of darkness
wherein there can be no labor performed.

I love you all so so so so so so much.
Thank you for everything.

Elder Wei