Jan 13, 2013

Good morning everyone!... I guess it's more like good night for all of you, but it's only about 9:00am for me right now!

 

     Well, another week has flown by! We're at our favorite recent converts house right now, his name is Sandwich... haha that's just a nickname that his students call him. His real Chinese name sounds really close to sandwich and so he lets his little students call him that. He's great! He takes us all over on P-days and he has a great testimony! He's incredibly smart too! He's not only read through the Book of Mormon (he just got baptized in August) but before baptism he read through the entire bible!! He's awesome! Last week he took us to Costco so that we could stock up on our Breakfast supplies and this week he's taking us hiking and sight seeing, so you'll hopefully see some pictures next week! It's been pretty cold here too for the last couple of weeks, I'm wrapped up in a scarf and coat half the time! I know it's definitely nowhere near what Utah is like right now, but I think I'm just getting used to the Taiwan heat!

     So this week has been one of those busy busy weeks! I feel like we've been going from lesson to lesson to lesson to home! It's been great! I've loved being so busy, but it's a little difficult when we're not seeing the success we want. BUT, this week in companionship study, we've been focusing on what the role of a missionary truly is. We are preparing people to accept the gospel. We're helping them come unto Christ. It's so comforting to me to know that as long as I'm working to fulfill that purpose, I'm having success. Not everyone is going to accept the message of our Savior, but as long as I'm preaching it then people are coming closer to Christ! People rejected Christ Himself as he taught them, and He was the best missionary the world has ever known or ever will known! 

     We have a couple investigators that are progressing towards baptism now, and it's just been so great to watch them grow! We have a guy (he's gone for a couple of weeks but he'll be back for Guo Nian) who is going to be baptized in February (hopefully) and I've loved working with him and developing that friendship with him! Sad news is that he didn't pass his baptismal interview. No problems with commandments or anything, he just doesn't feel like he is ready for baptism yet, which is actually comforting to me! It shows me that he understands the true importance of Baptism and that he wants to be better prepared for it! His faith is already so great, whenever we ask him whether or not he believes something, his answer is: "Of course! Why doubt?" He's reading the Book of Mormon and he's praying and he continues to grow and progress day by day! 

   One of the principles of the gospel I've seen come out of this teaching experience is that the Gospel strengthens relationships. I met this guy on my first Sunday here in Tainan. I walked into the Chapel for Sacrament meeting and he was sitting by himself on a pew in the back, he had just walked into the Church because he was interested! Talk about being prepared to meet the missionaries, right?? Elder S. decided to test me and have me sit with him and help him understand the importance of the Sacrament meeting and such. Great. Here's this brand new missionary who speaks little to no Chinese and I'm supposed to help out someone who may very well not even have any Christian background what so ever! But, I did it. I sat next to him and started talking to him. He was very nice, and he actually had a lot of interest in English so I tried to help with that a little. As it turns out,he did have a belief in Christ, didn't know much about Him but he believed anyway! After the meeting, I set up a time to meet with him again, got his number and marked the experience off as a "not so special, very ordinary" kind of experience. Turns out, my first contact is looking to get baptized soon! I'm so excited for him! He now has a great testimony about the Restoration, about Christ, and the second we teach him about a new commandment, he starts living it! He's so great, and I can't wait until he knows that he's ready to be baptized himself!

     Other than him, we've got another 13 year old who is being a little difficult at the moment, but I couldn't blame him. When I was 13 I wouldn't be meeting with missionaries, let alone reading scriptures for a pastime!! But this little guy is doing it! He comes to church every week, by himself, and he prays (most days) and he reads the Book of Mormon (again, most days). We even told him, this last Saturday, that we wouldn't force him to come to church! We told him to choose between TV and God, he laughed a little and told us he wouldn't be coming. We were disappointed to say the least, but yesterday morning, as we were waiting for our other investigators to show up, here comes little Brother Huang, riding his bike in the early hours of Taiwanese traffic. Through the rain, wind and cold air, he came to church. He might not think he believes in God, and he might tell us that he doesn't like church that much, but no 13 year old would go through all that if their wasn't some small desire to be there.

     So those are my two stories of the week that I wanted to share with you. My two investigators who are closest to baptism! What else happened this week, Elder S. and I had the chance to go to a big steak house with an investigator, where we had some real American steak! Oh man, it was so good! They had a big, juicy rib-eye steak (American style) on top of noodles and an egg (Taiwanese style) and I think that it should always be done like that! So good!! Here in Taiwan, they bring you steak out to you still cooking... it comes out on a big heated piece of metal inside of a wooden plate, it's really cool! So the steak itself is already cooked, but the egg is sunny-side up and so you can turn it over and cook it yourself or just eat it sunny-side up! Pretty interesting huh? Btw, I forgot to tell you last week, but I finally had some Chou Doufu! Stinky Toufu. Yeah, it's really stinky. Elder S. really loves it, and I thought it was alright, but the smell lingers in your mouth for a good 12 hours!! We've got a video of us eating it, so I'll send that home sometime soon! other than that, no other weird food for me! I'm going to have to work up some nerve and try the pork knuckles, pork intestines, fish eye soup, and all the other crazy stuff we see in the markets! Don't worry dad, I'll get video and pictures so I have some evidence!

     I just wanted to finish by sharing a story with you guys. This week has been a little harder, not in the spiritual aspect but the physical toll missionary work takes! The first day of the week, I decided to go all out and do a bunch of sprints, lunges, and just a bunch of different leg exercises... not very smart when your mode of transportation is a bike, I know. And so I've been pretty sore all week! On Wednesday, it was especially bad! The wind was blowing really hard, it was raining, and we'd been riding for about 20 minutes straight... but I was still, remarkably, in a pretty good mood! As I was sweating through my rain jacket, I thought to myself, man, my legs really hurt. The next thought was a quick prayer just asking God for some strength. I finished and then tried to catch up to Elder S., "kicking it into gear" as dad would say, and it was even more tiring! I got caught up enough to where I could rest a bit, and I swear, my bike just kept going. I was pretty happy about that because I didn't have to pedal anymore, but through those fierce winds and rain, my bike was just catching up to my trainer (as it seemed) of it's own accord. I know we hear stories like this all the time, and I know it's not like I looked back and saw someone pushing my bike, but I know that God was helping me. That small act has made me think a lot about what we're doing here on earth. At first, my thoughts were the same as Ammon's in Alma 26 "For behold, I know that I am nothing. As to my strength, I am weak... but my God is my strength and in Him I can do all things." I thought about how much God loves us, and how He wants to impart His power to us, all we have to do is ask. 

   But then as the week went on, I thought about what I had to do in order to obtain God's help. I had to physically exhaust myself, literally! My legs burned, I was sweating and breathing hard (and I feel like I'm in pretty good shape!) and I literally gave it all I had before stopping to rest a bit! It was only after that that I was able to receive God's help. I thought of the First Vision and the experience Joseph had before ever seeing God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. He had a very real, very frightening and physically exhausting battle with the Devil. Joseph had to give it everything he had, he had to fight as hard as he was able, and even after that he couldn't triumph. But because he called on God, and after calling on God, put forth real effort, he had a miraculous vision. I'm not saying that we'll be able to have a "Joseph Smith experience" but we can see miracles if we follow his example. 

    Steph and Stephen gave me a little quote book that I've been absolutely engrossed in for the past couple nights! There's a quote in there (I can't remember who said it) but it says: "Pray as if everything depended on God, and then WORK as if everything depended on YOU!" I loved it so much I added it to my quote wall (which, Steph and Stephen will be happy to know, is absoutely full of quotes out of that little book) along with a lot of my other favorite quotes! We our only mortal, but that doesn't mean we can slack off and only rely of God! Of course we need to ask His help for the things we do, but after that first step we need to ACT!! We need to do something! There's another quote I read this morning that goes something like this: "Putting our best foot forward isn't enough, the other foot has to follow it if we want to see real progress." And so my invitation of the week, is similar to a well known sports brand. (Jessi will like this one.) Just Do It. Let's stop the complaining, and the groaning and the mumbling, we know from Laman and Lemual's story that those kinds of actions get us nowhere real fast! But let's just get up and do something! If we want something done, let's not wait around for it to happen, let's get up and get it done ourselves! That's my invitation, and it's an invitation to myself as well! I promise that if you do this, you'll see God bless you so much. We need to come unto God in order to be lifted up by Him.

     That's it for the week! I love all of you and I think about you a lot! I hope all is well and I'll hopefully hear from you soon!

          Love, Elder Noll

 

     Mom and Dad,

          Hello! How's it going in the new callings? I'll bet you're tearing it up! I'm doing really great, and I'm constantly thinking back to all of the advice you've given me throughout the years! I wish I would have kept a book with all the things you've told me inside! I'm constantly telling my companion and District the different stories and pieces of knowledge I've learned from experiences with you, and I've come to figure out that I must have paid a little closer attention that I thought! I remember quite a bit! Just want you guys to know how much I love you, and I'm working my hardest to make you proud! But more important than that, I'm becoming somebody different, I read a scripture the other day in Alma. I think it's Alma 46, but I'm not sure. It says something like "if all men had been, and were, and ever would be like unto Moroni, the very powers of hell would be shaken forever. For he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, and like unto the other Sons of Mosiah, and like unto Alma. For they were all men of sound understanding, and the were all MEN OF GOD." I'm working hard to become that man that God wants me to be. I know that this is through constant diligence, daily scripture study and appliance, daily prayer and service! I'm so grateful to you two for helping me grow and learn and helping me get here where I am today! I love you so much!

 

Love, Elder Ryan Noll