Letter # 62

Hello Family.

This week flew by really fast. It just seems to go faster and faster as the mission goes. But I have some great Miracles that happened this last week.

The first is a story from last Monday.  So it was coming to the close of our Preparation day and we were hurrying to the store to buy a few things before it hit 6:00. Because technically by 6:00 we should be completely finished and should be out on the streets by that time. So as were biking we literally had 3 or 4 minutes to make it. At that time all I had in my mind was just get to the store as fast as possible. But as we were biking down this alley we passed a man and I don't really know how to explain it. But it was almost this clear as ever feeling or thought you could say that came to my head. The thought was a very distinct "Stop, and Talk to Him."  At that time I slowed my bike down and looked at my companion, he knowing exactly what I was doing, and as I groaned a little bit inside because of the time, I decided I had to turn back and that I couldn't let it go. I rode up to the man very quickly and told him who I was. I introduced myself as a missionary and started asking him a few questions. He was incredibly attentive the entire time, which in all honestly did surprise me to a point. I told him that we didn't have much time but that I would like to set a time with him and try to share more about our message. He agreed and gave me his number. A few days later I called him and he was very willing to set a time up with us.

We met with him for the first time yesterday afternoon. As we sat down with him we asked him why he was willing to meet with us and he said that one of the questions I had asked him was a question that he has had for a long time that has remained unanswered to him. The question was "What is the purpose of this life?"  He went on to tell us that when I had asked him that question he thought back to the curiosity he had always had towards this unanswered problem. As we met with him yesterday we testified of the fact that there is a God, and he has a very specific plan for all of us. We taught him the full Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he seemed more than willing to set another time with us for next week.  Next week we are going to share with him the Plan of Salvation which will give him all the answers to the questions he has right now. It really was a miracle that we experienced.

I really know with my heart that God has been preparing this person for a very long time. His name Jun Wei Huang. He is 27. Everyone please pray for him.

Well the next miracle is also a story but I will be shorter about it.Last night we had about a half an hour before we had to be in and we were biking our way back from the Church and contacting people on the way. While my companion was talking to someone I was biking up and down the road looking for someone to talk to and then I spotted this man getting ready to walk into his Apartment building. I kind of rode over to the curve and yelled out "Ni Hao, Wan an" Which is like hello, good evening. He stopped and looked at me, and after realizing I was a missionary, immediately turned away and started walking into the building. I then told him I just wanted to give him a pamphlet and he still didn't really want it. But I eventually was able to get my bike over to him to give this guy one of our tracts. As I gave him one of the tracts I shook his hand and asked his name and asked if he had seen missionaries before. A little reluctantly he said yes as he smiled. I then just tried to just kinda cut to it because I knew this guy did not have a lot of interest.

I then just asked him "are you happy" I then asked again and said "Can you honestly say that you are happy with your life?" He paused for a few seconds and then said to me "Hi Hao" which means ok/not really.  After that we had a really good conversation and I told him a little bit about what it is that we were sharing. At the end of the conversation, he was willing to set up a time with us for next week. That was a huge miracle for me and strengthened my faith so much. I cannot even begin to explain how happy I was after the contact with that guy.

Well as far as investigators go right now.... We are teaching this mother and her son. They are doing so Awesome right now! They are the Woo Family. They are planning on getting baptized at the end of July. They both came to church for the first time yesterday and it went really well. So also please pray for them. The rest of the week was okay. In the midst of all the wonderful things there are always trials. That has kept me on my toes these last couple days. Also this last week I have been going on more exchanges with missionaries in our zone. I love doing that but sometimes it gets really stressful always going from apartment to apartment. Other than that all things were about the same this week.

So the scripture I want to share is in Mormon 9:19-21.
Its all about Miracles.

And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.

Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

I love you all. Thank you so much for the support.
I love my family so much,
and I am so thankful for everyone.

Elder Wei

Letter # 61

Well, Hello my Family/everyone else. Good week here.

I know I talked a few weeks ago about it being hot. Well ya it really is getting that hot. These last couple days have been so brutally humid. One night we went on exchanges with another companionship in our mission and I went and spent the night in their apartment. Wow did I learn a lot about counting my blessings. First off they had no AC, and that does not fly here in the summer. They also had a mold infestation in there apartment and some elders from the past have gotten sick from it, and when I wanted to cook my noodles at night I had to cook with a flashlight lodged in between my shoulder and my neck because the lights were broken. Ya conditions not being the best for those two elders. The next morning I called the office and told them about the situation. They said they were going to try to get them out as soon as possible. So again everyone back home, count your blessings. Don't take little things like that for granted.

Well this last week like I said went well. I had the opportunity to go on two exchanges this last week. Every Transfer we have to go on exchanges with all the district leaders in the zone. Both of the times I wasn't the one that exchanged with the district leader. I went with the junior companions, and it was a huge learning experience. During both of the exchanges I learned that both the younger missionaries were an example to me in multiple aspects. I realized that as I have gotten older I have forgotten a lot of the little things that younger missionaries still hold on to them from the MTC. It was awesome. One of those things being, humility. For the Most part younger missionaries are always so willing to learn just because most of the time, they don't know any better. I learned that I should always be seeking to learn how to improve myself as a missionary. No matter what transfer I am on.

The other big thing I learned was not having "seasoned missionary pride." A lot of missionaries including myself get caught in the rut of thinking that they "know how to do it,"  which means sometimes we forget the important basics and standards on how to do things. For example, missionaries are expected to be good planners. It was funny because when I was making the plan with this other elder and I thought we were finished. He quickly asked me if we should make a back up plan for a certain lesson that we were having that day. Me being prideful said no, and that the person was for sure going to be there and we didn't need to. We then decided to make one just in case if the person could not meet with us. Lo and behold, the next morning I get a call from that person telling me that he couldn't meet us and had to reschedule. It was a good learning experience to remember to stay humble and to keep learning.

Well not much news on the investigators this week other than we found a new Family of five which was awesome. Well all is good. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I love you all.

The scripture this week is my companion Elder Yeh's favorite scripture
Helaman 5:11.

And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.

Elder Wei

Letter # 60

Hello Family.

Greetings from the new area. Xinzhu or (Hsinchu). You can spell it two different ways, but if you want to look it up on the Internet or anything you have to use the second spelling. So I have successfully made through my first week here. It was a very difficult week I might add. I don't really know how to explain it, but I will do my best. When I first got here I had no idea what to expect. By the second day I was completely feeling more and more incapable of doing this. There was so much I realized that I didn't know.

My companion on the other hand has been a zone leader for a very long time so he seemed so relaxed about everything coming our way. For me I didn't really know what to do. It was a weird feeling this last week. It was almost as if  I had transformed into the missionary that stepped off the plane in Taiwan for the first time. I guess more humbling was needed.

Last night I had a talk with my companion and we discussed all the things that were troubling me. My companion gave me the advice that this is a time when I need to learn how to really listen and to follow. I completely agreed. When I was saying my prayers last night I had realized that the entire week that I had just been whining in my prayers. I then realized that the Lord is probably sick of my whining about how hard it is, or constantly asking him what do I do? Or how to do it? I really believe last night that I might have learned a very important principle in the Gospel. That being, "quit being a baby and just do it." So last night in my prayer I committed to just do all that I could on my part and expect for Him to make up the rest and teach me how.

This was something I had heard in the MTC a thousand or more times but never really understanding how to just do it. I woke up this morning with a lot better feeling knowing that I had said the right things in the prayer and that the decision I had made was right. I am looking forward to what this next week has for us. Actually despite the feeling last week, we were still able to find 6 new investigators, which is really good for our area. It needed it big time. So we had interviews with President this last week and he told me that they are putting lots of good missionaries in our zone lately because in the past this whole zone had a very large problem between the ward members and the missionaries here. I guess there was a lot of trust issues in the past.

They are really trying to build this zone from what President said. So this next transfer my companion and I will be having meetings and will be in really good contact with the Stake leaders. Partly I am excited because I have not been exposed to this on my mission. Most of my mission has been made up of just going outside and finding!

Oh, fun fact! The city of Hsinchu is the largest in Taiwan for producing electronics. So all those computer chips and all the cell phone parts that say made in Taiwan are most likely from our area. So open up your cell phone and check.

Well the scripture I want to share with everyone is 1 Nephi 4:6. Its good.........Its about Nephi........ and goes along with what I was just talking about.

And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.

Okay love you everyone!
Love and Peace from the East

Elder Wei

Letter # 59

Okay so big things have happened. I received a call last Friday night from President. He called me to be a Zone leader. He then told me that I was moving down to this city called Xinzhu. Then he asked if I was willing? I paused and then told him that I would do my best. I went over and told my companion that I got the call and that I was leaving. Originally I thought if I were to get the call I would have been really stoked. But I wasn't. I was actually really worried. By the time Sunday came around I started to get really excited about it though. The one thing that made me nervous was that I had just completely convinced myself that there was no way I could do it. But I had a lot of prayers about it this last weekend and I just came to the conclusion that I was right. I have lots of shortcomings and am probably not ready to do it. But this is probably the best opportunity I have ever had in my life to completely rely on God for something. I am going to need so much help.

Well I am back in the south. Xinzhu is close to central Taiwan but is still actually a fairly big city. It took me a about an hour and a half on a train to get here this morning and I am so exhausted. I didn't sleep well at all last night. We have the biggest zone in the mission and from what I was told, this zone had the most baptisms in the mission last transfer. So that is sweet.

I have another native as a companion. His name is Elder Yeh. I actually have already served once with him before. He was in my first district when I got here to Taiwan. So there is no award first couple days or anything. Leaving Shipai was not as hard as I thought it would be. Saying goodbye to the Gao family made me sad. Sister Gao is still really coming along. We took the whole family to a Fireside the mission was putting on last night. It was really good. They talked about the purpose of life. The Spirit was incredibly strong, and it was again a very confirming feeling knowing that this is truly the place where happiness is felt.

I love the Gospel. The Plan of Salvation means more and more to me every time its taught. I don't have much time to write this week but I will try to do my best to get it all to you next week. I love you all so much.

The homework this week is 2 Nephi 2.
Its all about the Plan of Salvation.

Elder Wei

Letter # 58

Hello everyone, well as much as I talked about the heat last week, it cooled off a lot. It rained for a few days (go figure) and then it just wasn't as hot as it should be. But we will see how this goes next week.

So this is the last week of this transfer, and I am coming on six months in this area. My companion and I are pretty convinced that I will probably not be here next transfer. But in all honesty, I don't really care. As a missionary it's hard not to think of the possibility of what could happen to you when you are in the last week of a transfer, especially when you have been in an area for a while. But I really am okay with anything.  Obviously there is that little excitement about going to a new area but I try not to think about it too much.  Whatever happens, happens.

Today for preparation day we are going to the temple. I am really excited. I haven't been since February. Its so nice to actually be able to just sit and relax just for a little bit especially in the city of Taipei. Don't get me wrong I think I like the city more than I like the country most of the time, but silence is not a privilege that is really given here in the city of Taipei. So I am looking forward to it.

So the investigators are doing well. The Gao family is also well. We met with them again for Family Home Evening on Monday. The plan my companion and I decided to take with their lesson this time was to use the Baptismal interview questions to locate the problem his wife was having. It worked great because we were able to find the root problem on the first question. That being "Do you believe that God is your Eternal Father?" She responded with saying that she believed in God, but was unsure about the Father part.
   From then we took the lesson another way and told her all about God and the love that he had for her and her family. I talked to her about the example of the love that she had for her 2 year old son, and how that love is indescribable. She agreed and went on to say that God's love is much more than that. A love that we can't even understand in our minds. We gave her the assignment of getting on her knees and asking God if he really loved her. She said that she was willing. From what brother Gao told us, he said that his two year old son will remind the parents of saying their prayers nightly. That cracked me up. Kids learn FAST!

The other investigators are good. We have lots that we are working with and in contact with. But getting them to the next level is the trick we are still really struggling with. We can do all that we can to one point. But in the end they have to make the decision to move, or not.

One is particularly moving well. I think I have told everyone about him. His name is Jun Min Yeh. His baptismal goal is for the 26th of this month. We taught him the Word of Wisdom last night and he had no problem at all committing to it. He came to church for the first time last week and liked it from what he said. He did say that the Bishop didn't look very happy up on the stand. It kinda made me laugh a little but I explained that some bishops are just not as outspoken as others.

Well on funny news my companion and I are under attack. Literally. These 8 year old twins that live in the neighborhood where we are and they have attacked me 3 times now to the point where they are grabbing my shirt and wont let go and then holding on to our bikes when we try to escape. Then when we manage to struggle free and get on our bikes they chase us down the street. Crazy right! The first time there was like a whole pack of them. Lately it has just been the two twins.  Pray for us that these attacks will cease. I might have to buy some candy or something to negotiate with them on a cease fire or a treaty of peace of some sort.

Anyway all is well I miss you all so much. Things are great. This last week I have spent so much time in the New Testament and I love it. I love when Jesus throws down on the Pharisees and the hypocrites ha ha.

Well the assignment this week is to read Mathew 5.
Much love.
Love peace and chicken grease!

Elder Wei

Letter # 57

Okay hello family.

Well the time has again come on my mission.... a time when strong Elders turn to little boys, a time where sweat literally becomes the sixth sense of a human being, a time where wet towels can turn to instant mold (armpits included),..... Its Summer time in Taiwan! Ya its here and its hot! My companion had one afternoon this last week that was rough! We got a little bit of heat stroke by the time we had hit 4:00 and we both were pretty wasted. That afternoon we did not have any lessons so we were outside on our bikes all day. Luckily after that day it started raining and it has been that way to the last two days. Other than the weather report, things have been good.

This last week as far as investigators go has been good. Set two new baptismal dates with people which was really exciting. One of the people is this guy named Jun Min Yeh. He has met with us for almost two months now and is progressing well. He was baptized into another Church before, but is extremely curious with the message of the restoration. He will be coming to church for the first time this coming week.

In other news the Gao family has run into some adversity and a bit of a faith trial. From what Brother Gao told me, he had been on the Internet looking up things about the Church and he ran across a lot of anti-lds stuff and came across some chat room where people openly talk about their religious views. Ya....trouble! So basically these last few weeks he has been hearing a lot of stuff and is starting to have some doubting thoughts. We are going over to their home tonight to have family home evening with them. So please pray for them. They need everyone to pray that they will be able to recognize what is true in the midst of the confusion that face. One of the members of the Bishopric will come with us to visit them and help answer some of those questions.

Well yesterday we had a big stake conference. It was all of the Taipei East Stake. It went really well. Elder Watson spoke. The members in Taiwan love this man. He has been a Mission President here multiple times and now he is in the area Presidency over Asia. His Chinese is really good too. At the stake conference I was really touched in one particular instance when I heard everyone singing the hymns. I don't really know what caused it for me but I just remember looking at their faces thinking how much I loved these people. I don't think it was any real specific reason either. I just remember feeling so much for them. I don't know if it's because I have been here for a while or what but I just felt like going out everyday and serving here has made me feel so much for the people. I know that with all my heart that I have stayed diligent here and it has been a blessing because it seems that as the mission goes on and the more and more I learn about the work, the more
and more I love about the people.

I do love it here, even though it gets almost too hard to handle at times. I love Taiwan with all my heart. I feel at times that this place is where I truly learned about myself. Obviously that would come anywhere with the mission but this place really is a special place for me.

...Well on other great news, mango's are finally here! Ya that's right all you people in the states with your Cafe Rio and what not. We have fresh mango slushees over here. The Taiwanese really pride themselves on their mango's. But they can brag all they want because they really are that good. So ha!

I finished the Book of Mormon again this week, and as I finished it I really tried to pay attention to the promise that Moroni gives in the end. He gives very specific conditions on how to receive the answer of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. that is the scripture I want everyone to read.

Moroni 10:3-5. 

Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

The part that really stuck out to me this time when asking was "having faith in Christ." What I want everyone to do is to read the promise and again ask in your personal prayers if it is true?

I gotta run. Love Ya'll

Elder WEI

Letter # 56

Hello my dear sweet Family.

Yes, we had another good week here. We found four new investigators. 2 of them are younger guys. One 27 and the other 18. The 27 year old was kind of a cool story. Yesterday we were outside doing a lot of finding, and I ran into this guy. It started out as a pretty good contact but he didn't really believe in God so the conversation really wasn't getting anywhere. But I asked if he would be willing to meet with us in an hour and he said yes. When we sat down with him we had a really good first lesson and he said he was willing to come to church with us the next week. He also said his first prayer. Its amazing the curiosity the spirit can bring to someone. The same went with the 18 year old we met with. He was just someone I met on the side of the train station. At that time the only reason why he was willing to meet with us was just in the mere fact that he had nothing to do. From the lesson his curiosity grew to the point that he was willing to take a Book of Mormon and pray to God. Awesome!!!

Well I forgot to tell everyone, that the week before we had Elder D. Todd Christofferson come visit the mission. He spent a couple hours with us and gave an awesome Testimony. He also gave us about a half an hour to ask questions if we wanted to. I actually had a question that I had been thinking about for a long time on my mission and I decided to stand up and just ask it. I was kinda sweating bullets when it was my turn and he pointed at me. The question I asked him was "What is God's influence in other religions?" I stated it more clearly when I explained to him that we had multiple investigators with different religious testimonies. All the way from Buddhism, Islam, and then to a basic Christian sect. I explained to him that our investigators were all so sure of the divinity of the religion that they were joined to, and this has been something that I had thought much about before but never been able to truly get a good answer for it.

In a way he didn't answer it the way I thought or kind of hoped he would. But he did answer. He explained to us that there are laws in heaven and if any one of God's children abide to those laws, they are blessed whether they realize the laws they are keeping or not. He then went on to explain that only we have the Priesthood, and that only through the Priesthood we can receive all the blessings from heaven. The sealing power of families especially. Pretty cool.  I am so thankful that I grew up in a family where the principles of the Priesthood are taught and lived. What a blessing that has been in my life, and it took me this long to get it.

Well my companion and I are still doing great! We are having a really good time. He and I lately have kind of been on this so called (vigilante movement) I like to call it. So lately every time we see a group of kids smoking we immediately ride up to them on our bikes and take the cigarettes from them and throw them on the floor. That is my companions favorite part. Then we have this nice little 5 minute disciplining session on how stupid it is to smoke, and really NOT cool it is. It's great, some of these kids faces when we are doing it too.  It makes me crack up every time. Sometimes my companion enjoys the disciplining part a little too much. In the end we know that they are probably not going to stop smoking because we told them to. But it will have an influence on them in the future. Most of the kids end up just saying thanks and smiling in the end. Even though they are probably still scared out of their minds. Its hilarious.

Well this week the scripture I am sharing is in Doctrine and Covenants Section 18:2

Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my Spirit in many instances, that the things which you have written are true; wherefore you know that they are true.

I really like it because it reminds me and makes me think back at all the times I have received a witness of the truth. Its good especially when you run into those hard days and doubt starts to take over.

Alright love you all

Elder WEI