January 19, 2014

Hey fellas! Wow. Another transfer has gone by! I feel like it was only yesterday that I moved to Nantou! 6 weeks went by like it was nothing!!! Elder R and I both made it through the first round, we're still together for at least another 3-6 weeks in Nantou! We're pretty stoked, we've got quite a few people that have set goals to be baptized in the next coming month! Please help me pray for these guys! They're great people and just need a little more of a push! I'm loving my life out here! It's so much fun to be able to interact with all the missionaries in my zone so often! We are constantly around them and talking with them on the phone! It's great to be in a position where I can serve so many people so effectively! 

This week... So much happened, but I don't even know where to start! 

Mon:

     We partied it up at a GIANT buffet called "Qian Ye Huo Guo." It's kinda like "The Melting Pot" but a LOT cheaper and not as delicious. You basically just eat until you explode, and then grab a couple more plates after that... The Argentinian Elder in our district ended up eating 5 HUGE plates of just meat. We were all pretty impressed! 

Tues:

     More exchanges! We seriously go on a LOT of exchanges. I led another Elder around our area for the day and we had a blast together as we learned and preached. It wasn't much of an eventful day, but we did meet a lot of different people, including a family from Mainland China who were actually really interested in the Church! It's too bad that they already headed back to the Mainland the other day! 

Wed:

     This was the day that changed the schedule for the whole week. We tried to set up with our CRAZY ACTIVE Christian investigator, and he said he couldn't meet with us because he was going to help a family move out... so we told him that we were more than willing to go and serve! We went over and met this other family. The mom is also Christian (one of the Christian's that say 'hallelujah' and 'amen' all the time) and the dad was a hardcore daoist guy. Their house was ENORMOUS. 6 stories full of a whole lot of stuff! Big stuff too! Beds, cabinets, book cases, coffee tables, etc. you name it, they've got it!! We spent the next 4 days at their house moving stuff. We didn't have time to spend 4 full days obviously, but we were there from 9 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon for 4 days straight!!! 

      The family was so great! They were very kind and treated us like we were their own sons!! They even called us long, lost sons! It really made me remember home a lot. I couldn't help but think of all the times that Dad had to drag me along to some member's house just to move a bunch of heavy furniture. It really made me appreciate the example that Dad has set for me. Growing up, I've never seen my Dad shoot down an opportunity to serve others. No matter what the project, no matter how dirty you had to get or how heavy the stuff was, my Dad was always there. There were times when I (being the bratty, selfish teenager that I was) would flat out reject him and think up of some excuses as to why I couldn't go... but the fact that my Dad ALWAYS went has influenced who I am today. When I heard that somebody was moving and needed help, my next sentence was: "Where do I need to be and when?" I'm grateful for that example that my Dad has set for me, and I hope that I'm makin' him proud... I didn't just hold the cord either man... ;)

On Saturday night, we got a fax! It told us who was all going to move and what was all happening throughout the mission! It's pretty exciting to be a Zone Leader on move call night! We were waiting next to the fax machine with Big League Chew in our mouths and wearing our new robes for about 20 minutes until the fax finally came! We're stoked for the start of a new transfer!! 

I already shared the spiritual share for today... The effect that our actions and our choices have on others is often much bigger than we could possibly imagine. Don't just do things "to be seen of men" though, if we act with purity of heart then our Father in Heaven will shower us with blessings in ways that we couldn't ever understand.

Get r done mi amigos.

Elder Noll