June 16, 2013

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's late today, and it's gonna be pretty short too... these last 24 hours have been crazy!!! All this week, we (Elder M and I) have been nervous about getting the phone call... the one that says he's gonna train. Last night the phone rang... but it was for me!!! President Bishop told me I needed to start packing and that I would be going up to the northernmost part of the mission the next morning to be a Senior Companion!!!... and then he told me to hand the phone back to Elder M and proceeded to tell him that he is indeed training this next move call. So I packed like a madman (in under 2 hours, I'm pretty proud of myself) and then looked up at my ceiling for the rest of the night, not able to sleep. I called all my friends here in the ward and had a pretty good gathering at the train station this morning to greet me as I left. It's been super hard leaving. I loved Lingya just as much as Tainan, if not even more! If I could pick one thing that I learned the best out of these past couple months, it would be this: The Lord knows what is in store for us. It's not always what we think it might be, well, it's almost NEVER what we think it might be, but it's always for the best. I'm excited to be here in Taichung City, a place called Daya, with my new companion: Elder L (yes, he's from Taipei). I'm not gonna have a whole lot of time to explain about the rest of the week today, because I've only got about 30 minutes, but know that I'm safe and happy!

 

     I want to leave you guys with a really quick Spiritual Thought. This will really strike a chord with some of you, namely my brother, father and football buddies. I want you to picture the PERFECT offensive line... no, even better than the Patriots line! With the PERFECT offensive line, there should be no need to step out of the pocket. Replace those linemen with the commandments God has given us today through modern revelation. You've got the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity, some pretty killer Offensive guards!! Add the Law of Tithing and Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, those could be your Tackles on the outside... and then we'll call the Center our own personal Gospel Study. These are commandments. Obviously, life is not a game of football... in the game, there are times when it's appropriate to step outside of that pocket, sometimes it's even necessary! But in life, there are no exceptions. No leniency. We are to stay in that pocket and ENDURE TO THE END!! It's for our own safety and salvation!! I promise you, no matter how nice it might look outside of the pocket, you stick your nose out there and it's gonna get taken off by a blitzing outside linebacker... you take a step to close to the outside and you might just get grabbed by a Defensive End. Don't take any chances with your salvation, it's not worth it. Strict obedience is the first Law of Heaven, and it's the most effective way to protect ourselves!

     Love ya guys! Sorry it's so short today, I promise a big one next week with all the details of my last week in Lingya! Love ya! Bye bye!

 

Love, Elder Noll

 

      Happy Fathers day dad!! I hope you know that you're the most incredible guy I know, and I brag about you all the time here... You never know, with the traditions they've got here, when I bring you back you might see your own face in one of their temples with the way I talk about you! Ha, I hope you have a good one! Love ya man!