March 9, 2014

Welp, here we are again! I never thought that it would be possible to get used to the atmosphere of a Taiwanese internet cafe... yup, I was right. Still not used to it! :D

We had quite a week over here in the most beautiful area of Taiwan! Plenty of exchanges, a LOT of crazy people, cheesecake (REAL cheesecake ;)), tons of meetings and announcements, and a whole lot of being led by the Spirit!! Basically all in a day in the life of Zone Lord Noll... totally kidding about the Zone Lord by the way! 

First things first, because I've been a total loser when it's come to birthdays at home and wishing you happy birthday on time, I'm going to say: 

happy birthday

ALEC!!!

I hope you have a good one little man! You're hitting the big one zero!! double digits man!! 

I had an awesome chance to exchange with a missionary this week who was going through some hard stuff... nothing too bad, just a lack of desire for the work and lack of motivation for his personal progression. We had a blast together as we worked around Caotun for the day, and we stayed up chatting and having a great time. The next day, as we were on the bus ride home, I decided to talk to him about what his goals and desires were for the rest of his mission. I asked him what he thought about being a Zone Leader soon, and he laughed as he told me that he wasn't good enough to be a Zone Leader. I looked at him very seriously and asked him: "Why not?" He had lost a lot of confidence in himself and his own abilities. It was so sad to see someone giving up on themselves. It made me realize the way that God must see each and every one of us when we don't try to reach beyond our own potential. I then spoke to him about how I prepared myself to become a Zone Leader and better serve the Lord's servants. It's an experience that is very sacred to me, and I'll take some time to tell you more about it once I'm home, but I want to focus on how this story effected this missionary and I. I felt the Spirit working through me just as strong as if I were helping an investigator set a baptismal goal! I am immensely grateful for the opportunity that I've been given to lead the missionaries in this Zone. It's been an experience unlike any other I've ever been through. I love these missionaries, and I hope that they can look back at this time that they served with me in this zone and say that they felt my love for them. This role has taught me so many new things about myself and my potential. Dad always told us that we are born to lead. I feel like I'm finally starting to understand how to walk that path. I want to make sure that I'm always leading by a righteous example. 

On a less serious note, (who am I kidding, this is just as important as the story I just told you) we found a place in Yuanlin that sells real cheesecake. REAL CHEESECAKE!! And it's only 2 American dollars for a pretty big slice!!! Yes, it's even more awesome than it sounds. Don't worry too much. The closest store to me is in Yuanlin, and that's a good hour away by bus, so I won't be eating too much! 

On Thursday, we spent the whole day up in Taichung in a meeting with President and Sister Blickenstaff, the 2 Assistants to the President, and the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders throughout the Mission. This is definitely one of my favorite meetings to attend. President is super fun to be around, and he's one of the wisest people I've ever met! I'm super (there's super number 1) tight with most of the other Zone Leaders in the mission, so it was a total blast to see them, and the Assistants are both my really good friends! It's so weird to me. When I first got on island, I thought all the leaders were like Gods! Now I understand that they're just a bunch of immature, acne-covered duffers who are trying their best to be like the Savior but pretty much failing! haha! Even if the leaders are failing to be perfect, I still look up to them all so much. They're my brothers and sisters and I'll always treasure their knowledge and wisdom. 

We had the chance to visit an AWESOME family who runs a small restaurant business by the college in our area on Friday. We have a kind of competition with them... we're always trying to find ways to one up the other in serving each other. They'll give us free food, so we try our hardest to get in the back and wash the dishes before they stop us. They give us a ride somewhere, so we go out and buy them drinks. To be honest, they are usually winning. They got baptized just last December, right when I moved here!!! Such an incredible family, I love em' so much! 

My Spiritual Share today is based off a Scripture that means a lot to me. Romans 1:16 "16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;" It's a really simple thing to say, but honestly, pretty hard to do! I think about the Prophet Joseph Smith, after he first saw God, the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. He was absolutely ridiculed and rebuked by men much older than him, and yet he staid firm in his belief. I love the line which he writes in his history: "I had seen a vision. I knew it, and I knew that God knew it. And I could not deny it..." What if we all had that attitude about the Gospel? Brothers and Sisters, know that we have been foreordained to bring about this work in these latter-days. DON'T doubt your own effectiveness as a tool in the Lord's hands, and by all means, don't be ashamed of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Get up everyday and know that YOU can go out and DO something. Let us never fear, and let us always bear our Savior's name with righteous pride in our every action.  

Love ya guys! Have a super (there's number 2) awesome week! :D

Elder Noll