July 28, 2013

哈囉!! Hey guys! How's it goin' this week?? I know I say it every week, but man time flies. This is the last p-day of the move-call, and we're very nervous about what's going to be changing this next move call! Wow, I feel like I've grown quite a bit in these last 6 weeks! I've had hundreds of new experiences to add to the pages of my journal, I've been broken down, built up, tossed around and steadied constantly! I feel so grateful for all the experiences I've gained in just these last 6 weeks, and it brings tears to my eyes to think on the blessings I've received in the past year! I love the Gospel and I love this Work!

 Well, this week.... not a whole lot happened in all honesty! We did have a Zone Conference on Wednesday at the Mission HQ and it was super awesome to see all the missionaries! I saw Elder B, Sister W, Elder H, and a lot of others! It's weird for me to remember my first Zone Conference... back then, I didn't know ANY of the other missionaries, but now, I feel like I could name almost each one of them! Super crazy how fast the time has gone by!! We had a great time and learned a lot! President B is super awesome and the way he teaches is incredible! 

We also did a really awesome activity this week with the youth of our ward. Our chapel is absolutely HUGE... it's got 3 floors! So this week, we decided to do a Plan of Salvation simulation... They started on the first floor, and all they were told was: "Go start your life!" They go to the second floor and are contacted by missionaries who then tell them to go find 4 cards with commandments written on them... if they meet with us a second time, we tell them there are 3 other cards with other ordinances written on them. After about 30 minutes, we switch roles and started to tempt them into wasting time... telling jokes, playing guitar, dancing etc. At the end, they receive judgement and are separated into three groups based on how they did. It was a super awesome activity!! It went super well, and the kids all really loved it! After the activity, I taught them how to play capture the flag and we all went crazy for a little while. We had some investigators come as well, and they loved it! I think it really helped our recent converts better understand the Plan of Salvation as well! 

Even though we didn't have a whole lot of exciting news this week, it was so packed full of Spiritual truths that I could fill multiple pages of this email! I'll focus on just one of them. This Saturday, I had a chance to conduct a Baptismal interview with the Sisters investigator. While I did the interview, Elder L was in the other room watching the Testaments. I finished the interview and came in the room just in time for the end. I got to see the whole process of the Atonement, the Crucifixion, and the very end where Christ appears to the Nephites. As Christ appeared to the Nephites, I suddenly thought to myself: "What would my reaction be?" Would it be utter joy? Would it be absolute fear? Would it be a humble happiness in knowing that I was worthy to stand before Him? Or would it be a Guilt-filled torture as I hid from His presence? I think we all know what we want the answer to be. I thought to myself how horrible it would be to be afraid to enter the presence of our beloved Savior. Can you imagine? My eyes filled with tears as I imagined that feeling! I know that the Savior will come again. I testify of His coming with every fiber of my being, and I promise you: if you are not ready for His coming, it will come much swifter than you ever thought. If you are not ready, if you are not preparing... start to do so now. I know that if we are prepared to meet Him, we will be filled with more joy and love than we could ever imagine! I can not wait for that day! I want to run into the outstretched arms of the Lord and tell Him that I did my very best... these thoughts also tell me that I need to do better. I need to be more diligent in all that I do and I need to always remember what my true purpose in life is!

I love you guys! You're all awesome! Have a great week!

Elder Noll

July 21, 2013

Oh, the most wonderful word in the Missionary Language... BAPTISM! We, Elder L and I, are on a nice little mission work high right now after having an INCREDIBLE baptism on Saturday! Wow, I'm so happy for this kid! He's such an incredible guy, and he's already getting ready to go to the Temple in a few weeks! SO COOL! 

     Well, this week absolutely FLEW by. I feel like I was just here yesterday! We had a short term missionary with us all week long, that was fun. Kinda showed me the difference between someone who's prepared to go on a mission and someone who is still trying to decide whether or not to go... it really made me miss ya Jessi! I couldn't help but comparing everything he did to you and then being disappointed because you are much more prepared to come out here and do this work! But, I do think we were able to help this young man prepare himself a little better. He did progress throughout the week, so that's a good thing!

     We had a chance to meet some great new investigators this week, meet with some less actives, and visit all of our recent converts! It was a great week, but honestly there wasn't much that happened! We spent most of it preparing for the baptism and making sure that our investigator was comfortable with what was happening! It turned out incredible. One of the best baptisms I've attended here. The missionaries in our district worked on a special musical number called: "I will find you, my friend." The title is enough to make ya tear up a little! It's all about friendships between investigators and missionaries in the pre-earth life and promises we made then to find each other. Really incredible. I also had a chance to give a talk at the baptism. I've learned one of the amazing gifts a mission has given me... the ability to write a few scriptures on a piece of paper and talk about them for 15 minutes straight!... in a totally different language! Yeah, I'm pretty sure they were sick of me talking after about 10, but I meant every word that I told my new recent convert. I talked about building our lives and foundations on the Rock of our Redeemer. The service was incredible and spiritual, and as our new convert walked back in the room after changing his clothes, I almost broke down and sobbed. He was in a full on suit, white shirt and tie, and looked just like a missionary. We got some great pictures and I'll make sure I send them today.

     I want to leave you guys with a message of happiness today! I remember a little quote down in our basement in our house. something like this: "Attitude is everything." That's the message I want to send out to you all today. The attitude we choose, truly is everything. We can choose to be happy, miserable, jealous, proud, humble, anything! The vision we give for ourselves can and will become reality one day! Choose for yourself a bright future! 

Love you all so much! have a great week!

Love, Elder Noll

July 14, 2013

Hello outside world... I'm alive! I survived the typhoon! It hit pretty hard, but more on that later!

Well, it's certainly been quite the week! Baptismal Interviews, the most incredible companion exchange I've had so far, Typhoons, a swimming pool in our changing room, and we have an extra person in our companionship now! We've got a 17 year old short term missionary serving with us! So, I'll just start from the beginning!

     We met a family the first day that I got here in Daya. They own a tiny stationary store right next to our chapel and we started visiting them at least 5 times a week to friendship them and help them understand the gospel... that's just what we Missionaries do... They love us a lot! The mom is christian, but her husband is super hardcore Daoist and didn't even know that we would go over to visit the family. They have a son who is 17 though, and every time I talk with him, he reminds me so much of Jessi. He's a stud when it comes to basketball, he's pretty built too, but he's really humble and very polite whenever he interacts with people. There are a lot more similarities, but my point is, is I just love to be around him! We've been working with them for the past 4 weeks, and this 17 year old is now getting baptized on Saturday!!! He just passed his interview and has even picked out the details for the service on Saturday night! Oh guys, hearing about Grandpa's baptism makes me so happy! I'm seriously just shaking with joy right now! I'm also so happy that you all got a chance to experience the INCREDIBLE feeling of watching that someone you love enter that water! It's incredible! I still remember watching Steph and Alec get baptized and now I have multiple other complete strangers (now they're my brothers and sisters) to add to my memories. These are things that will never be forgotten, and they were meant to happen. I know that we prepared for these special moments in the pre-mortal life! 

     Taking a break from the Spiritual instances this week, let's discuss the most incredible experience (not even close, but it made me super happy) I've had so far. On Tuesday, I had to conduct a companion exchange with our Zone Leaders. I decided to go over into their area to see how things were going, and after a nice long day of lessons, we finally got to their house to end the day... but what to my surprise when the door opened and sitting on a little patio was a full on bench press set with a real barbell and a full set of plates!! I think I may have cried a little bit! I finished all my nightly duties and then just kind of gravitated over towards the weights. Of course, what did I do next? Maxed out. I had to see how much I've lost! I've only lost about 25 pounds on my max though! I got up 275 pretty easily! I'm gonna try for 300 next time... pray for me. ;)

     Another pretty fun experience was the typhoon! It hit Taipei the hardest, but we still got it pretty hard down here. The winds were absolutely astounding, and I've never seen it rain so hard in my life! We woke up, and as I stepped outside, I noticed my feet were wet... our changing room was totally flooded and water was spraying (yes, spraying, not leaking) through the windows! I started going into Dad mode as I freaked out and started trying to take care of the problem! My poor companion didn't really know what to do, so he just sat on the bed and watched me fly around the house (we found another room that was flooding, so I was going back and forth between the two) with the FOUR towels that we had, trying to stop the flow. After about 2 hours of this, it started to look a little better. Everything was moved out of the rooms, so no big damage, and the water was being controlled... kind of. But I found out it was also pooring through an electrical outlet... super safe. It took us, and by us I mean me, the better part of the day to fix the problem. I ran out of dry materials to use, so I stuffed tissues into the cracks of the windows and it actually worked! haha... the only damage that really happened was to our changing rooms paint job... it's totally ruined, but everything else is fine!

     Oh yeah, we've got a short term missionary! Our stake is doing an activity for the youth... Each companionship in my Zone has a young man or young woman serving with them right now. It's a pretty awesome activity! I think it would be pretty cool for Jessi to look into when, and if, he ever has time... Our guy is named Elder S. He's a stud! 

Well, my thought today has to do with the flooding experience. As I was taking care of the problem, the thought came to my head multiple times to just stop and let it be. I wanted to just give up and call the office to come and save us. But each time that I thought this, I would think to myself about the suffering of Christ in Gethsemane. The pain He felt there can in NO WAY be compared to any earthly thing, let alone this small problem we had, but I thought of it nonetheless. What would the world be like today if He had given up? If He had sat back and NOT drank of that bitter cup? Christ is the ultimate example of all things. His Diligence and ability to persevere are supreme. I've learned a little bit of what it means to persevere through out my life. From those times in the 4th quarter when your team is down, your body is sore and you just don't want to continue or those times when you have 1 minute left in a wrestling match and 145 pounds of stinky muscle is pinning you to the ground... Those days when your house is falling apart "as the rains come down and the floods come up..." When these things happen, let's ask ourselves a question... "What is our foundation?" Is it rock or sand, worldly or of Heaven? If we are built upon the Rock of our Redeemer we need not worry. We will be able to withstand all the fiery darts of the adversary and no matter how dark the setting, no matter how bleak the situation, WE WILL PERSEVERE.  Hold on guys, don't ever let go of this lifeline that we call the Gospel of Jesus Christ, It will pull you through.

Loves! Elder Noll

July 7, 2013

     Hey guys!! We spent the whole morning with one of my favorite families in the world!! They just got baptized this last year and they've got a really young family of two 3-5 year old kids... a really loud, absolutely adorable little girl, and another really loud, super funny little boy. They're so much fun! To answer the questions:

     -The new companion:

     I could go on forever saying good things about Elder L! He's only on his 3rd move-call and yet he's such an incredible missionary!! As much as I love him (and I love him a WHOLE LOT!!) I can assure you, Mom and Dad, that I will not be marrying a Taiwanese girl. There is a VERY big culture difference! 

     -Able to email with missionaries/friends?

     Yes, I've been talking with quite a few people lately! It's nice to talk to the old crew from High School and to hear from Booth and James and all those others!

     -MTC District?

     No idea! I've talked to Sister O once or twice, but I haven't heard anything from any of the others. I'll see Sister W in the next month or so (at Zone Conference) and I'm trying to get ahold of Elder L, but no answer yet!

     -Food?

     The food is pretty great! A little too great! Same with the members, we have too great of a ward here! I was hoping to cut down a little more weight now that I"m not around the all you can eat curry rice that was in Lingya, but the members are set on fattening me up! We are fed on almost a daily basis!... pray for me.

     -Weather?

     The weather is really different. In Gaoxiong, it's SCORCHING hot, and you sweat a lot because it's so hot. But here, it's not as hot, but I feel like I sweat just as much if not more! I also am not used to the "cold" so I have to wear sweats and a hoodie at the house... my companion thinks I'm crazy.

     -Districts and Zones

     It's a little different here... most Districts have 2 or 3 different wards, each companionship takes responsibility of a ward, usually splitting with a pair of Sister missionaries... but my district has 3 companionships (my companion and I, the Zone leaders, and a pair of Sisters) and we're all over the same ward! Kinda crazy! I'm not sure how many companionships are in our Zone, but quite a few! The Mission has 10 Zones.

     -Mission President?

     Yes, I met him this last Wednesday and he's super great! A little quieter than President Bishop was, but I think that's just because he might have some serious jetlag! He's incredibly smart and he makes you feel super special when he's talking with you... I don't really know how to explain it! His wife is also super great! She made a big cake for all the missionaries... and I couldn't eat it because it was too sweet!!! Taiwan has taken over my taste buds, American dessert is too sweet for me now! 

    

     It's been a pretty fast week!! We've been helping an incredible family ever since I've gotten here, and they set baptismal goals with us now!! I'm so excited! A mom and her son are getting baptized this month!!! They're so great and I love them so much!! Please keep them in your prayers for me that they'll hit their goals! 

     I've got a quick experience to share with you having to do with the title of this email...

Who wants to get their neck scraped with a wooden board until it bleeds?

wow, sounds painful, right? Oh, you guys have no idea!!! It's this thing called "guasha"... don't ask me what it means because I've no idea! Apparently if you're out in the sun a lot, you get this stuff called "sha" in the back of your neck and you've got to "gua" it out or else you'll get heat stroke... at least that's what they tell me. Elder L has been feeling kinda sick all week, and so a sister in the ward recommended that he go and do this "guasha" thing... so on Sunday we went to my favorite families house (the same family we were with today!) to do it. At first, I had no clue what was going on! Elder L started taking his tie off and just told me to relax... so I watched as Brother Y started giving him a massage! I was thinking to myself "huh, I want to guasha!!" I started reading a magazine when Elder L started moaning in pain. I looked up and saw Brother Y had a small piece of smooth wood in his hand and he was using it to scrape Elder L's neck... which was now BRIGHT red!! 10 minutes later he finished and Brother Y looked at me and says: "you're next!" I refused as politely as possible but couldn't get out of it... I've never felt this much pain in my life guys!!! Ok, maybe I'm over - exaggerating, but it really hurt!!! Brother Y kept saying: "Wow!! You are incredible! I've never seen someone take a guasha like this!" while on the inside I wanted to grab that piece of wood and burn it!! Afterwards it felt pretty nice, I didn't feel as tired and I was in a pretty good mood... so MAYBE it actually works... I'm never doing it again though!!! I'll send a picture if Mom promises not to look! Dad and Jessi will probably get a kick out of it... Just wait till I come home and help you guys Guasha. 

"guasha"

     I was reading a talk this morning by President Uchtdorf from the 2013 April Conference. It was all about how to find the Light of God and how to "live in the light." I've thought a lot about what the difference is between light and dark, but this morning as I read this talk, a thought came to me. The difference is in our minds and in our actions. We will only live in the dark if we let ourselves. Of course, many situations are far outside of our own control, but our minds are always our own. This is a God given gift. Agency of thought and actions. By using this agency to "live in the light" we need not dwell in the darkness. I challenge each of you to stay in the light, and if you're not there yet, GET THERE! I promise you that if you try this, you will not be doing it alone. "His hand is stretched out always..." as my father told me in his email today. He will receive you with open arms and He will carry you across even the darkest abyss. This is my Testimony and Promise as one of His servants, and I leave these things with you in His Holy name, even the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

Loves! Elder Noll