Letter # 73

WOW! What a great week....

This was one of the most successful weeks on my entire mission. I broke my own personal record for investigators at Church. Our three main families we are teaching right now were all able to come, and a lot of the single people we are teaching came through and were able to make it. Counting kids the grand total was 17 investigators at Church. Yay my companion and I were loving life yesterday. We knew that Saturday night there were going to be a lot of people at Church so we prayed a lot for it all to go very smoothly; and it did! The Ward did a great job at fellowship and talking to everyone and made great impressions for the Church. My companion are quite happy you could say.

One of the great successes was with the Guo family. The Mother and son are still planning on being baptized the 2nd of October and the Father of the family came this week to church just to inspect and see if it was okay for his family to join. We feel that it did not just make a good impression on him but in fact sparked interest that he never had before. I am excited to follow up with Sister Guo about it and find out what her husband really feels. But I sat by him all throughout Sacrament meeting and I saw that he was quite frequently looking at the Pamphlet I gave him and listening fairly intently to the speaker. It went well overall.

The Zhou family still as great as usual. They are really starting to get into Church and learning about it. I think most of all, is that they just enjoy the atmosphere of Church. The Kids run around like its McDonalds, and that is one of the reasons they like to go. The environment is good for the kids. But hey, whatever gets them to Church. This last week my companion and I gave them a Family Proclamation to the World and asked them to read it together. They said they would, but I still haven't had the opportunity to see what they thought of it.

Well this week overall has been incredibly busy. We are constantly on the move from one place to the next and it's hard for us to be on time anywhere. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It feels good being this busy. Its less time to think about my own worries and anxieties, and that is a great thing. The most joyful thing right now in my mission for me is the fact that I know that my companion and I are working extremely hard. We are trying to do what's right; and we are seeing countless blessings for it. Even though we are so far from perfect, the Lord really looks on the heart and know that we want to do what is right and so he steps and makes up for what we can't do. It is such a wonderful blessing to see investigators progressing in the gospel. That has to be my favorite thing from my mission, to truly be able to see the change that the Gospel has on people. "This Gospel, is a Gospel of transformation."

Oh I don't know if I told everyone about Brother Gao from my previous area Shipai? I actually found this out a while ago, and maybe just forgot to tell anyone. But anyway I think most of you should still remember the Gao family right? Well he is now the Ward's gospel doctrine teacher and he hasn't even been a member for six months. Crazy right? He is progressing so fast!

Okay well the story that I want to share from this week is a cool missionary finding story. So we had just finished a lesson with the Sister Guo and we were really hurried to get some dinner so we walked quickly over to where we had parked our bikes and as we were about to take off I realized that I had a quick call that I had to make before we left. Right as I got on the phone I looked right in front of me and there was this Mom and her two daughters sitting in this little restaurant right in front of us. I then looked at my companion told him that there was that mom in front of us. He immediately went over and started talking to her. After I got off the phone I went over and we all started talking. We found out that she was raising this 9 and 7 year old girls all on her own and that basically she had interest in involving God in her Family. She obviously was dealing with a lot of trials right now.
     Long story short she said that we could go visit her and we set up a time for later that week. When we got to her house to my shock they lived in a house or room that was smaller than my room in High School, and everything that they owned was jam packed into this little room. So we just barely had enough room to sit on the floor. I was so humbled when I walked into the room and the thought popped into my head like it has many times in my mission before "How could I ever have complained about anything in my life".
     The lesson that we had with her was quick because we did not have much time. But we taught her about family prayer and she said that she was willing to pray every night with her girls. She also told us that she has a desire to go to Church but that every time she thinks about going into a church a guilty feeling fills her heart and she feels unworthy. My companion and I just kind of looked at each other and thought "Wow", perfect!

This is why we have the Gospel. We are meeting with her again this week and we are going to invite her to be baptized. Please pray for her and her little girls. The Mothers name is Jia Yin Chen.

Okay well that is it for this week. The Scripture is Alma 32:13-14

And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy
and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.

And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?

Love

Elder Wei

Letter # 72

My first week with Elder Clavel was good. Average but a little bit of stress involved. We had so many people set up to meet with us for the first time. But almost all of the lessons did not show up. Fortunately we are teaching a lot of people right now so we were still able to see the progress of the Families and other progressing investigators. Which is sweeeeeet!

The Zhou family is doing awesome we feel. They came to a Fireside last night and we think they really enjoyed it. The dad was listening really intensely to the speakers. This Fireside is great. Its our Mission President that puts it on, and its especially for new members and investigators. So the people they invite to speak are all new members. Usually the talks are so good to hear and are powerful. I love hearing why people joined the church. It always invites the spirit, every time, without fail.

Well the Guo family is good. She wants her and her son to be baptized. But she is so scared that her Mother-in-law will lose her mind if she finds out that she joined a church. Her Mother-in-law is a Buddhist Monk and I guess is very high up in the Buddhist sect that she is in. So its a serious problem that we have on our hands. Obviously we could try to just meet the family but it could cause more problems. Sister Guo's husband doesn't really care either way from what we understand. The problem is just the Mother-in-Law. This "Family Opposing" is actually a really common problem in Taiwan. I am sure that I have told everyone before. Its the hardest concern to fix as well because as missionaries there is only so much we can do. The rest is left to prayer, and faith. This family needs big prayers right now. The Mother of this Family is
amazing. She wants the best for her kids. She is hands down one of the most diligent and committed investigators that I have had. After she puts the kids down for bed every night she grabs the Book of Mormon herself and starts reading it. and she is doing it all for her Family. Ya that's awesome. Please pray for her.

So one of the best things that happened this week was news that I heard from other missionaries, and it was news that came from the last two areas I served in. Basically I found out that a person who I had contacted at a stoplight in my last area (Xin Zhu) and started meeting with my companion and I, was just baptized two weeks ago. As a missionary that is one of the best things you can possibly hear. It makes all the hard days so worth it. The joy that you feel when you know that because you tried to do what the Lord expected of you and do your best to talk to everyone a person was able to come closer to their Heavenly Father. There is nothing sweeter than that. I also know that if I wouldn't have contacted him that day the Lord would have just found another opportunity for him to meet the missionaries. But I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of it. A huge blessing from the Lord!

Also, even bigger news..... the Swedish investigator we had when I was in Shipai just got baptized this last Saturday. I was asked to speak at his baptism. It was one of the best experiences from my mission. This man's story is amazing. His name is Sam Wallberg. He came to Taiwan because his wife is Taiwanese. Its kind of a confusing story but basically he met this Taiwanese lady and moved to Taiwan and got married to her. Sam's life has been so difficult. He has been involved in two divorces and he has kids that he doesn't even talk to, or really even know. How we met him is the best.... He self contacted me. Its a funny story. One night last January my companion and I were trying to find the address of this less active member and right as I turned the corner at this stoplight a big hand slapped me right in the back. I slammed on my breaks and looked back and there was a 6 ft 8 huge white guy standing there and in his thick Swedish accent said "why Hello."  I kind of just paused obviously being surprised, and then said Hi. He went on to tell me that he had a Swedish restaurant in the area and he gave me one of the menus. I told him I would go the next day for lunch. After that its a really long story but we started to become really good friends with him, and after months and about 50 plates of meatballs and mash potatoes he was willing to sit down and listen to us tell him about the Plan of Salvation. We ordered a Swedish Book of Mormon for him and by the time he started really meeting with the missionaries I was already transferred down to Xinzhu. But I remember during that whole process with him and biking by his shop and talking to him just about every single day. I remember thinking how badly he needed the gospel in his life. Well I when I got called back up to Taipei. I found out from my old companion Elder Duff that Sam had a date to be baptized. Well he was baptized last Saturday and the Baptismal service went really well.

Also another great thing is that the English ward in Taipei meets in the same building as our ward so I get to see him every Sunday. Oh ya! I forgot to tell you that the Elders that met with Sam after I left found out that his wife was actually a member of the church who was baptized 20 years ago, and now she is coming to church with Sam. It's amazing how the Lord is able to work it all out right.

Okay well the scripture this week is Alma 26:11

But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

Love you all

Elder Wei

Letter # 71

Well.... New transfer, and New companion.

Its going to be awesome. My new companion's name is Elder Clavel. He is from Chino, California. He is half Chilean and half Mexican, and his Spanish is just about as good as his English. So I am going to be doing some brushing up on my rusted non existent Spanish. I took two years in high school and remember 3 words. One of them is "bathroom".

I know I am a total embarrassment of the Public School system in Utah. But its okay, and I will repent of that ....eventually. If I decide to take Spanish in college I promise to work hard. Also I have the "Mandarin excuse". Because learning Chinese pretty much destroys anything that I learned before. It occupies your mind and then deep fries anything that has to do with another language. (English included).

Anyway he is a great missionary and really young. He is the youngest Zone Leader in the mission which means that he has possibilities of doing great things in the mission. He was one of the District leaders in our Zone Last transfer so I have already been on exchanges with him once before. He is cool, and we will get along just dandy. I really think that I have been blessed on my mission with my companions. I have always had fun companions. Well... for the most part. I think there is only one that was a little hard to get along with. But the rest have always been my good friends. I am so thankful for that.

Well it was weird for Elder Moreno to leave. he gets on a plane tomorrow, and that was a weird reality for me to face, knowing that my time is not far either. I didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to him or anything. He had to run into his final interview with president, and we had to get home. But I had a great last transfer. One of the best on my mission. I think the relationship I had with Elder Moreno was one of the best that I have had with a companion. We never even really had one disagreement, and we pretty much saw eye to eye on the way to do missionary work. This last transfer was also one of the most successful I have had. Like I said in my last emails. We have been contacting pretty much every Family we see, and it has really paid off.

Yesterday we had two families at church and it went great they all loved it. We were able to meet with one of the families last night for Elder Moreno's last lesson on his mission. We watched the Restoration movie with them and invited them to be baptized and they accepted. This Family is set to be baptized on the 9th of October. It is the Zhou family. I don't know if I have said anything about them in earlier blogs but this family is great. They are one of our best investigators right now. I actually contacted the Mom originally right outside of their apartment. She set up with us originally mostly because she is just nice and she had been involved with the Catholic Church before so she knew a little bit about Jesus Christ. The Husband of the family was the one that has really surprised us with his interest. He really is curious about our church and after last night he expressed his desire to know if it really is true or not. There are so many blessing in our area right now. I am pretty excited about next transfer and what is going to happen but I imagine for me personally it will be  the busiest transfer of my whole mission, which is exhausting yet so satisfying. So everyone please pray for the Zhou family and especially for their prayers to receive answers.

As far as the news last week. It was really HOT obviously. But no big rain. Well there was actually rain but it wasn't the rain that got us. We happened to be doing our Weekly Planning Session in our apartment the one time it rained last week. Ha ha, tender mercies of the Lord. Also because it was elder Moreno's last week we had lots of members taking us to dinner and lunch. That was sweet.

This last week was really stressful for us as well. We were pretty stacked with things we had to be doing. I was pretty tired all week. A lot of it is attributed to bad sleep. I don't know what it was about this last week but there was a couple nights where I kept waking myself up because I was contacting or teaching a lesson in my sleep.Elder Moreno kept saying that I constantly would sit up and start acting like I was teaching someone in the middle of the night and wake him up. I thought it was hilarious.

Well the scripture this week is in honor of my companion. Its Alma 26:12.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Love you all so so so much.

Elder Wei

Letter # 70

WOW! I am in week six in my 13th transfer, and my companion is going home next Tuesday. Things are starting to get a little weird here. But Elder Moreno and I were able to avoid a lot of the conversations about home. a.k.a...(Trunky Discussions). When I first got to this area Elder Moreno told me that because it was his last transfer he had a goal to try to not talk about the.....When I.... Before I..... get home conversations. He really wanted to stay focused and he and I both feel that we have done a good job with it. Usually we don't like talking about it, mainly because it freaks us both out.

Now when people in the mission ask the question "Hey Elder! What transfer is this for you?" or my favorite "How much longer do you have?"  This sudden cringe come over me reminding me that my time is short, and I HATE answering back. I think mostly because there is so much more I desire to do here. I feel like there are so many precious things that I am learning now that I would literally kill to have that knowledge and the attitude that comes with that knowledge as a younger missionary. It makes me sad and it hurts. But the truth of the matter, is that I think it is this way for almost every missionary. We all deal with the same things, and all we can do is just endure to the end and do your best. I am going to love and hate coming home at the same time.

Well the last week I thought was good. Basically this whole transfer has just been good. Our focus has been completely on Families this transfer. I don't think we even really meant to do that either. It was just kind of the way things worked out. I think mostly because Elder Moreno and I contact every single Mother we saw. But we are teaching so many families and its great.

One family in Particular is doing well. That is the Kuo family consisting of a Mother and her two kids. We have had great follow ups with her on the phone this last week. She told us that her kids had all these questions about the Book of Mormon and she didn't know how to answer, so she asked me if she could borrow some movies to watch to help her better understand so she could teach the kids. I was ecstatic when I heard that. She is an Investigator that is actually trying to do her best in keeping commitments; and because she is trying and "experimenting upon the word", she is starting to feel the difference in her life.

That's the trick really for everyone. Just do it, and you will see why. I think back at the best investigators that I had in my mission, and they got it because all they did was just simply DO what we invited them to do. It's impossible for a person who lives the gospel and obeys the commandments to NOT taste the fruit from it. I am so happy for this Mother.

* * PLEASE PRAY FOR HER EVERYONE!
Also there is another person that I hope everyone can pray for. It is a another Mother. Her name is Yu.

Yu has two daughters. We took them on a little bit of a temple tour yesterday and had a good lesson with her in the chapel. She has such a strong desire to go to church and have a better family, but her husband is very against Christians, so chances are he will not allow her to meet with us again. Please pray for them and especially her husband.

Well the week before was also my Birthday. My companion and I met with other Elders and went to the Outback Steakhouse in Taipei. I know ...not very frugal right? But I hadn't had a real American steak since I got to Taiwan so I was a little malnourished. It was divine! The Birthday was fun. It also happened to be on a preparation day so it was the double bonus birthday.

Last thing I want to share from last week is about someone that I think I have already told everyone about a few weeks ago. Sister Mo? She is the older lady in our ward that was the refugee from China when she was a little girl. She wrote this song/poem and sang it for us one night at dinner. It is a song about Jesus Christ and the greatest blessing God has for us which is him. This song she wrote has the old Asian sound to it and the way she sings it is awesome. It was such a cool experience for me personally because when she was singing the song chills just came over me and a special thought came to me. It was a thought that told me that God loves all of his children everywhere. That he is truly mindful of all. I will try to hold the feelings I had that night close to me, because they were strong.

Okay the scripture I want to share this week I might have already shared already but I want to share it again. It's Alma 26:37.

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

Love everyone so so much.

Elder Wei

Letter # 69

Hello Fam/Everyone.

Well this week went pretty well. We didn't do so well on numbers this week. It seems like our whole zone is struggling with the same problem. Everyone is working hard, including our own companionship. But It seems really hard to get the amount of lessons we need to be getting. One "Zone's" biggest struggle is bringing people to Church. I think I have talked about this a little before with everyone. But it is hard here.

Elder Moreno and I are working hard with the Families we are teaching but I realized last night, when I was thinking about the week that there was so much more we need to be doing, I realized that we have not been involving them or really getting them into the Book of Mormon the way we should. That is going to be one of my main focuses this week with our investigators. I am going to try to make it a big effort to follow up on their reading, and make sure that they are actually reading the assignments we give them.

The Book of Mormon is so crucial for the conversion of people, my own Testimony included. It's an enormous part of my testimony. The Book has so much power. It does bring change in peoples lives. It brings a new spirit and changes the way you think about everything. Most importantly, it testifies of the Savior.

I am doing this kind of personal study with the Book of Mormon right now. I took a new copy and started from the beginning and starting marking every time I see the name of Jesus, or any name referring to him in the color red. For example (Lord, Savior, Messiah). Then I mark every time it is Him speaking with yellow. Then I mark every time it talks about his attributes in blue, and then I mark every time it talks about the Atonement in orange. Doing this has done so much for me personally.

Something that is cool about the Book of Mormon is that I have passed 200 pages of it and there has only been three pages that haven't made reference to Jesus Christ. Pretty sweet huh? The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know because I have never read anything that has changed my heart the way that book has. Every time I read about the Savior in the book I can feel in my heart that what it is saying is true. I can't deny that feeling.

In no way is it to displace or discredit the Bible. The Bible along with the Book of Mormon has truly helped me to understand personally much of Christ's life and his ministry. The Bible and the Book of Mormon enhance each other and should be studied together. I love the scriptures, and I regret so much that I did not read them the way I should of when I was younger. But I have made a lot of big commitments with myself on how I am going to study when I get back.

Well one of the big things that happened this week was when my companion and I went on exchanges with the assistants. It was great because I was able to go with Elder McLaws. He is the Senior assistant and I had a lot to learn from him. A lot of it was his humility. But one of the things he told me was that because it is my current companion's last transfer and that I would be getting a new companion next transfer that there was a lot I had to do to prepare for the coming transfer. He basically advised me that my focus is going to have to be completely on the needs of the zone. In other words, we was telling me that thinking about myself is not really one of the options. This is something that I have actually thought a lot about the last week. I have looked back on my mission and realized that I have not been the best at this. I have certainly tried hard, but now is an opportunity to do it completely.

Well the Investigators are doing well we feel. I feel a little concerned about a few, mostly about the Deng Family. I hope they are going to make it. They are all going out of town this week and will be back next week. A couple of the Investigators are falling out right now and told us that they didn't really have time to go to church right now and that finding time to meet with us would be hard for them. One example is a Mom we we are teaching. Her name is Lo Li,and the other is Sheng Xiu Huang. He is a Father who just recently had a new baby with his wife.

* * * So please pray for them and their time to open up and their desire to grow.

The Scripture I want to share is one of my favorites. Mosiah 26:30

Yea, and aas often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

Love you all

Elder Wei

Letter # 68

Okay, we had some great things happen this week. Things are getting a lot of momentum in our area. We are  finding so many new people, and the best part is that they are all families. I have never taught so many families before in my mission. One of the biggest blessings is that they are actually doing it. They are all progressing, coming to Church and preparing to be baptized. The two main Families we are working with right now are the Teng family and the Kuo family. The Teng family consists of the Mom, Dad, 15 yr old son anda 2 year old daughter. They have come to church the last two weeks and they seem to be enjoying it. I think most importantly is that they enjoy the feeling when they are there. As for doctrine and the understanding of the gospel, their knowledge is very limited but if they keep following their feelings everything will be fine.

Its actually kind of an interesting story why the husband was so willing to hear the gospel. He told us two weeks ago that he had seen the movie The Passions of Christ a long time ago and that he cried through the whole thing. He said from that time on he always had interest in learning about Jesus Christ. He has told us that is just feels right, and that the Taoist and Buddhist religions are something he doesn't agree with.

The mother is investigating the gospel mainly just for the kids. She is scared that her 15 year old son is going to get himself into trouble. What Mom doesn't?.... The Son actually has warmed up to us a lot. At first He didn't really like us but after a couple visits and joking around with him a little bit he realized that we were normal people and so he actually started paying attention to what it is that we had to say. I love this family.

* * * Please pray for them.* * *

Unfortunately the Kuo Family was not able to make it to church yesterday. It was Fathers Day yesterday here in Taiwan. But they promised next week that they would make it.

That being said, one of the biggest miracles this week for us was the turn out to church. We had so many investigators that came to Church. One of the most successful Sundays on my mission. The Ward was really excited about it. It seems that the Wards here base a lot of a missionaries' success on the people they bring to sacrament meeting, which can make that difficult. Bringing people to Church on Sunday seems to be one of the harder things to do here. People in Taiwan are usually busy or really just like to relax on Sundays, which I guess does not sound that much different from the States.

One of the miracles I want to share from this week is awesome. (One of the best in my mission.)
So the story starts on a rainy night in Taipei (Go Figure). It was last Saturday night. My companion and I were heading back from the other side of the city. We had to Bike over there to give a baptismal interview.
As we pulled up to our apartment we parked our bikes and started heading to the elevator. We both kind of looked at our watches to see what time it was and we realized that we still had 5 minutes before we had to be in. We decided that we were going to say a quick prayer and try to get a quick set up with someone. As we walked outside and were getting ready to say a prayer we both spotted a family across the street. We quickly said a prayer and asked for help and hurried and biked over there. We knew we only had a few minutes at this point, But we were able to use our missionary tactics to corner them - Moreno came from the side and I flanked them from the front, so they didn't have a choice but to listen to us introduce ourselves.
Haha.

As we introduced ourselves they knew who we were. They said they had seen missionaries before. At this point we only had a minute to share something with them.  We shared a quick message about families and asked if we could come over.  The mom was more interested in learning English, but the dad invited us over for the next day.

We went over the next day and had a great lesson with them.  They are the Chang Family.  They have two kids, a thirteen year old girl and a five year old boy. The Five year old reminded me so much of Zeke and Grant it was hilarious. He kept coming over and sitting by me during the lesson while he was playing his Nintendo DS.

The lesson went well. We taught them about prayer and the relationship that God has with us. They agreed to meet with us again next Sunday. I'm so excited about this Family.

* * * Also please pray for them. * * *

Okay, I am a little out of time but the scripture this week is Alma 16:16.

And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming

I think this scripture is very appropriate for what is going on in our area. My companion and I are seeing so many miracles. I really believe with all my heart that there are so many being prepared in our area.

Have a great week everyone.

Love, Elder Wei

FAMILIES TO PRAY FOR:

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  Teng family
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  Kuo family
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  Chang family

Letter # 67

* * SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT * * 

Elder Chris Weinberger will be officially returning home on November 23, 2010!

His latest update:

Okay so I do not have a lot of time to write this letter.

For the most part went well this week. We worked incredibly hard. Even when it was the hardest to do it. It seriously gets so hot at times. I will still come out of my apartment in the morning and start the day and think, how can it be THIS HOT already. But it makes it more fun at times (That whole "I am going to conquer it" mind set).

Oh yes, a little info for the family. I am loosing weight. Yes, I am getting skinnier. So quick send me some cookies and sweets.

Well this week like the last was a little trialsome personally. I was being a little too hard on myself about some of my imperfections. But as I spoke with President Grimley about some of the things that were bothering me I had a very large spiritual impression last night about the Atonement. I felt so much peace last night when I thought of my Savior and his ability to cleanse us of our sins and help us with our imperfections. I was filled with so much gratitude for him and my Heavenly Father for providing me a way to overcome my mistakes. I feel in a way that my heart has been softened just a little bit more, even from just last night. There aren't words to express my thanks for him. Even though trials can be so painful, especially when your right in the "fire" of it, the growth afterwards makes it so worth it. I feel that even from last night I was filled with more desire to share this message.

Well the baptism went great this week. Really smoothly. My Companion was the one that ended up baptizing him. Also we were able to have 2 investigator families at church this week, which was huge for us. I think that is probably the first time that has ever happened in my mission.

Well I really don't have a lot of time this week to write but things are going well. Thank you for your prayers.

Elder Wei