March 10, 2013

Well, I'm done training! It's official! Elder S and I are about to go to the train station to pick up his companion, and at 2:30 today, I go to 高雄 Gaoxiong! Isn't that crazy? We all thought for sure that Elder S would be moving, but now I'm going to his favorite place in the world! He always talks about how great of a place it is, he served there for 6 months... well, he went to the ward right next to me, but we share the chapel with that ward I guess... So as sad as I am to leave Tainan, I'm really excited to go to Gaoxiong! That's the biggest news of the week, I guess I couldn't hold it in! I'm pretty nervous!

  Well, it's really weird to think that this is my last monday in Tainan! Yesterday, at church, was really difficult to say goodbye to everyone! I've grown to love that ward so much! And yesterday, as we were taking pictures and stuff, I saw that they've grown to love me too! Despite my defficiency with the language and my weird little quirks, they've been so kind and loving and yesterday was no different! 

     This whole week I've been pretty nervous for the move call! I honestly felt like I was going to be moving, and I was right! So we've been working with investigators all week, trying to get them ready for one of us to leave and it's been really kind of sad! We've got one guy,  who we're meeting with right now, and I've got to say that he's probably my favorite person in Taiwan! He's so awesome. He doesn't really want to get baptized, and he sleeps in too much so he doesn't want to come to church, but he's got a huge heart, and I'm gonna miss him! We met with him on Saturday this week, we went out to lunch with him and talked for a while.

     The other investigator (the most constant one) is somewhere in his early 20s and he's a pretty cool dude! We also met with him on Saturday, and it was a pretty awesome lesson! We taught the plan of salvation to him, and then talked about baptism for a while. During the lesson, the Spirit was so strong and he was pretty accepting of what we taught him! It came to a point in the lesson, and I had the strongest feeling like I should invite him to be baptized. So I did... and he flat out declined!!! I was so disappointed and so confused, and absolutely sad. I'd never felt that strongly to invite someone to be baptized before, but he didn't even take time to think about it before refusing! Now I think back on it, and I know that it was only one of his opportunities to accept baptism. God knows each and every one of us personally, and He knows the right situations for this investigator to be baptized... maybe it's just not right now!

     Going along with that, is my Spiritual share for the week! Yesterday, at F.H.E., I was sitting next to my recent convert. During the lesson, he pulls out his translator and types something in... then he turns to me and says: "I need to endure to the end." Picture this in his cute, broken English! I told him, yeah! Everyone does! And then he tells me: "I've lost 2 friends..." and the look in his eyes was so serious and hurt that I could barely stand it! I had no idea what he was talking about for about 20 seconds, and then it clicked. I was leaving the next day. Elder S is leaving in 3 weeks. He was almost in tears because we were leaving. It was a testament to me that God knows His children. Whether we've been baptized or not, He knows and loves each of us... and He'll put us in situations to help one another out! One of the reasons (in my opinion, this isn't doctrine!) that we're on the earth right now is to build relationships! When I first got here, he was all ready to be baptized. I didn't help a whole lot with that, I only had 1 lesson with him before his baptism! But I've been here ever since, and I've been doing my best to help him become the strong member he is today, 3 months later! I feel such a special bond with him, and I know that God placed me here to meet him, and he was ready to meet me and help me grow accustomed to missionary work! I wish I could explain how anyone could have so much love for someone they met 3 months ago, but it's impossible. It's a love straight from God, and it can only come from feeling of God's Holy Spirit together and learning as one.

     I love you all a ton! I'll send some pictures home really quick so you can see my ward and my District! Love ya! 加油!!

 

羅正杰長老

 Elder Noll