November 20, 2013

Yet another week... and a few days BECAUSE WE JUST WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!! So yeah, sorry I didn't e-mail Monday! We just got back from the Temple and we are rushing to do our e-mails really quick, so we don't actually have a whole lot of time! I'll try to get in a good recap of the whole week and a half really quick and go into more detail next week!
     First things first... we went on a quest last P-day... a quest to look for swords!! We found them. We met this member who forges his own knives and swords in Tanzi. He's super famous for the quality of his work and pretty much all of Taiwan knows his name. We heard of him from the missionaries serving in Tanzi and they said that he sells Lord of the Rings swords to missionaries for SUPER cheap, so we of course had to go and check it out! Turns out he only had 4 left, so we bought them. I got the giant 2 foot long knife that Aragorn uses in the 1st movie for a total of SIX American dollars!!! it's pretty dang awesome!! That was definitely one of the best events of the week... especially carrying it home on the bus. We got some weird looks!
     We also did Interviews this week! We had an awesome chance to sit down with President Blickenstaff and discuss how we were doing and have a personal 12 minute interview with him. It was super fun! President Blickenstaff is a really chillax, super awesome guy! I feel like I was able to learn some valuable things from him and I've started putting them to use already! He's a smart fella!
     I was a little disappointed that the new temple movie has not started playing in Taiwan yet, but it's all good! I got to do a session in Chinese, and I honestly think I got more out of it! The English is just so Biblical and advanced, whereas Chinese is super formal ALL the time anyways, so I feel like I noticed some interesting things that I never really noticed before in the English sessions. The Temple is so special! I don't have any incredible experiences to share today, but it was just so refreshing to have a chance to GO to the temple and kind of "recharge" for a day!
     Sorry I'm keepin' it so short this week, but it's time for the Spiritual Share!! This last week, while we were at church, I was looking around the congregation and noticed that one specific mother looked a little fidgety. She kept looking toward the back of the chapel for the first few minutes of Sacrament meeting... about 10 minutes in, a lady walked into the chapel and sat down next to the missionaries. The mother who seemed so anxious just a few minutes earlier turned around and absolutely LIT UP. It was her friend that she had invited to come meet with the sister missionaries and then come to church. It was a little bit of a reminder to me that sharing the gospel brings a matchless joy! It was wonderful to see this sister express her love for the Savior by sharing her testimony with someone that she loved! I invite you all to reach out to a struggling friend, whether they're a member or not, and bring them to church! Help them feel the love that you feel in your lives! I promise you'll find that "fountain of everlasting life" that Christ so often talks about!
     Well, I love you all tons! Jiayou! I hope everything continues to go well and that you guys all stay healthy and happy!! I have only one piece of advice... GO FORTH AND BE EPIC. :D


love, Elder Noll