May 30. 2014

Hello everyone! I apologize in advance, but I'm warning you that it's gonna be a shorter one this week! We just finished hiking with the Blickenstaffs in a little place called Dakeng 大坑。It was real fun, but now I return red and sweaty... :)

I've switched to another companion... feels like it's getting faster and faster! But no worries, I've been with this guy before! Elder G is my new (old) companion once more!! Elder L has moved down to Tainan, lucky dog, and he's pretty cool with it! It's so fun to be with Elder G again, he's just a little ball of unending happiness! 

I was losing my mind for a little bit at the start of the week... the office exploded with another transfer day and I was stuck in the middle of everybody's confusion... The Assistants were smart and hid in their office all day... I'm gonna have to try that next time! It was a little sad to watch as Elder R, Elder P, and the rest of the sisters in my group go home this last week. It really makes me realize how precious time on a mission is! I'm gonna miss those guys! 

Now, things are a little bit calmer and I'm not so stressed anymore! Yay!! :)

We had quite a bit of time to go around the island and look for some apartments to help some missionaries move and such, so that was pretty fun! The best part of the week, we got out every single night to do some missionary work!! Monday, we met with a few families in the ward. Tuesday, we met with a recent convert in the area. Wednesday was English! Thursday, we met with 2 awesome investigators! And yesterday we got some great contacting time in! It's been really nice to set up some time and some goals and go out there and hit them! I'm happy to have the opportunity to work here in Taichung!

I'd like to share a couple lines from a great song: 

"Have I done any good in the world today?

Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?

If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone's burden been lighter today

Because I was willing to share?

Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?"

Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Have you ever had the desire to do more for your fellow man? I promise that even if you don't have that desire, when you act you will play a most important role in another persons life. I don't know what form of blessings you will receive, but I promise you will be blessed... however, that is not why I invite you to look outside of your own little box. In the world today, we all too often think of nothing but ourselves and what's in it for us. I want to invite us all to step to a higher level: 

"... Wake up and do something more

Than dream of your mansion above.

Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,

A blessing of duty and love."

Isn't it wonderful to know that we have the power and responsibility to look after those of God's troubled children? We are on this earth to personally grow and progress, of course, but I know within my heart that we are here to establish relationships of love and friendship with our fellow mankind. So "WAKE UP!" Go out with a prayer in your heart and a mindset to actively help.

Love you guys! I'm gonna go take a nap! :)

Elder Noll

May 24, 2014

How's it all goin' in that mountainous bowl over there? Has your snow all melted away yet? I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't! It's been pretty rainy over here for the last week... that's an understatement. It's been dumping buckets on us for a week straight. :) I guess God picked a good time to put me in the office! Dodged a bullet there!

We had SO much to do this week, and I loved it! The new missionaries came in this week, so we were busy with all of their orientation and training... and babysitting when needed... haha it's much needed when your brand new to Taiwan! It was a group of 5 Elders this time, much smaller than last time, and they were all pretty pumped up to be out here. It's nice to see that energy, it really makes me want to work harder in all aspects of my own life! Their was one new elder whom especially stood out, and it wasn't because of how loud he was or even his enthusiasm. His name is Elder Z, born in Mainland China and grew up in Michigan since the age of 7. He met the missionaries while in college and was baptized as the only member in his family. After being baptized, he left school the next semester and began saving up money to serve a mission. You'd think that he'd be a little nervous about coming out and sharing a message he didn't even know about 2 years ago, but he's absolutely confident in everything he says and does. He inspires me! I had the wonderful opportunity to run with him in the morning, and I immediately knew that I wanted to be his companion some day. He's totally prepared for this mission.

We're trying to change a lot of things in the office lately. We're working on helping everyone do their work together and uplift each other, so we spent quite a bit of time this week in meetings and planning. It was nice to get on a one on one level with more of the office crew... it's such a blast to work with these wonderful people! Let me tell you about the W's. Elder and Sister W are from Idaho. Elder W served his mission here in Taiwan when it was all one big mission, so his Chinese is still pretty good! Sister W is a dedicated learner and she's working on her basic Chinese. Elder L and I work very closely with this office couple because we're all in charge of the apartments throughout the mission. I love talking to Elder W. He's gotta be the most humble being I've ever met. Very humble and soft spoken, but bold in everything he does! I've never once heard him complain about anything and he is constantly looking for opportunities to take the load off of our backs. He's a great joy to have in the office!

Well, our whole week was basically spent on the new missionaries. It's so much fun to be a part of that, but it's also utterly exhausting! I think I'm going to spend the rest of my p day sleeping. 

The thought I'd like to leave with you today has to do with a Christlike Attribute. If you do not own a personal copy of the book: "Preach my Gospel" I invite you to get one as soon as possible. Preferably one that you'll be able to write in and take notes. Turn to the last page of Chapter 6 and take the evaluation. I've been thinking a lot about what it takes to develop these kinds of Christlike Attributes... things such as: Charity, Hope, Faith, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and so on. I feel that a fundamental attribute that will effect all other attributes and the development thereof, is the attribute of Christlike Love. If we could master that attribute then the rest would be a piece of cake! To truly love someone in a Christlike way doesn't mean to be all sappy and vocal about it. But it's the way you act, the way you speak to and about them. These things are not easily measured, but I encourage you to try. Look at the way you interact with God's children all around you and make the changes necessary to develop a deeper love for them.

I love this opportunity to be in Taiwan. I love the people. I love my calling, and I love my Lord. 

I leave these things with you always in the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Noll

May 16, 2014

Happy Saturday... or Friday, depending where you're reading this from. 

What a blessing it was to see my family on Sunday! For some, it's hard to Skype back home because it seems to distract them from missionary work and makes them pretty homesick... but I'm happy to know that each and every one of you support me in all that I'm doing out here. It strengthens my motivation to work harder and do more! Thank you for being so great and making my Mother's Day the best ever!

Right now, at this very moment, I'm in the middle of uploading over 130 pictures... so no need to wait any longer!! I'll share them with you on Dropbox as soon as they are done uploading... ok, you might need to wait a little bit longer. :)

This week was incredible although, it was not without a few down moments. Let's just take it day by day, shall we?

Monday:

Typed a bunch of documents up on a computer for a little while... That's what we did all day, but at night we had some real fun! We went out and visited a family and had a Family Home Evening with them. It was so great! We shared a nice little Spiritual Share, had some fruit as we all talked together, and then played a really fun game! It was a total blast! 

Tuesday:

We drove quite a bit today! In the morning we had to drive to Yuanlin to get a bike, drove back to Taichung and worked on some office stuff, then had a fun DTM (District Training Meeting) and then finished up the work in the office. We went up to Daya for a bit and then came back into the city to meet with a new investigator! He was pretty cool, but doesn't have a whole lot of interest! No problem, we'll keep working with him! To end the day, we went over to Xihu to grab yet another bike for another missionary! I just realized that I named about 3 or 4 different places and you probably don't know where a single one is! haha, find a map I guess! :)

Wednesday:

SO AWESOME... we went up to the Temple!!! I had the special experience of driving the car up to Taibei with Sister B and Elder H... Dad, I'll never refuse to drive again when we're on rode trips in California. I thought the roads were bad over there, but I have absolutely no way to describe how ridiculous the roads were over in Taibei! It was madness... but eventually we got to the Temple and the outside world was soon forgotten! I'll share more about that in just a bit...

Elder L and I had to go over to the Tabei Mission Office to meet with some of the Office missionaries over there and I saw some familiar faces! I ran into a bunch of missionaries that I was in the MTC with! So that was kind of fun to run into all of those people and chat with them for a few minutes.

Thursday:

Thursday was a sad one. We had to take Elder H and another missionary up to the airport so that they could hop on a plane back to America. It was rough to send poor Elder H off. He has such a desire to do the work, yet he's unable to do so right now. He'll be back within 2 months, and I believe he'll be even stronger than before! The one upside of that trip was that we were able to go with the W's, one of the senior couples in the office. They're so awesome! 

Friday:

And here's the travel day! We took our weekly trip to Gaoxiong yesterday and made it home by nighttime! It was quite the adventure! Lots of fun, lots of fun!

That was basically the whole week! I apologize for the lack of fun stories this week! I'll see what I can do and pay better attention to details next week! I'll end with a spiritual thought for the week...

As I attended the Temple this week, I learned quite a bit, but the most obvious thing that I learned was the principle of self accountability. I think of the Bible story of Adam and Eve. We read in the Bible that God asked: "Adam, where art thou?" Why would God need to ask that question? Didn't He know exactly where Adam was? He goes on to ask what Adam did... He knew full well what Adam did. Why did he ask these questions? I feel that we can learn from these small details. We are to be accountable for all things that we do in this life. God knows everything that we do, and He knows where we are at every waking moment, but we are required to report to Him morning and night and update Him on what and how we are doing. I believe that this principle of Accountability is designed to help us see ourselves more clearly, thus enabling us to change into what we are destined to become! Isn't that an exciting blessing?? Doesn't it make you want to pull out a mirror and take a good look?? I promise that when we prayerfully do these things, God will reveal unto us our weakness. Ether 12: 27

I love ya! Have an awesome Week!!

Elder Noll

 

May 9, 2014

These weeks are flying by WAY too fast. It's been over a month since I've been in the office now, yet it feels like I just barely got here! What with the crazy road trips, mini-vacations and stress-filled circumstances, the time is going by faster than ever before! It's actually really scary! I see so many friends that are already home, starting their lives, and I know that I'm next! The only thing that comforts me is knowing that I'm still here and that my work is not done yet. I absolutely love getting out of bed each and every day knowing that I'm still doing the things which I've been called to do. What a blessing it is to be here and to be doing this great work!

I'd just like to give a short spiritual message before I take off for the week. "I Feel My Savior's Love." That's all that really needs to be said. Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Family. I know that the Savior loves me and knows me more personally than any other person or thing on this earth. I testify that He loves each and every one of you likewise. Please, open yourself up to Him and accept His love for yourself. I promise you that it is the sweetest of all fruits and the most fulfilling of all feelings. 

Love, Elder Noll

May 2, 2014

I've been runnin' all over this island all week! I feel bad for anyone who is still reading these e-mails because they are the same every week lately! I'm running short on time, I spent a good portion of the week driving, and we fixed a bunch of problems in multiple apartments throughout the mission... This week was pretty much the same! So, I'll talk to you next week...

Nah, I'll talk about some of the funner stuff really quick! 

On Monday, I finally got a chance to get a haircut! My hair was getting pretty long, so I finally got it cut down to a normal length and now it's looking pretty good. Monday was the worst day of the week... well, second to worst. We went out to lunch as an office crew to celebrate the D's last Monday as Taiwan Taichung Missionaries... they are the couple missionaries that came on island a week before me and received training at the same time that I did. They've been loved by every single missionary here in the mission, but they will be missed most by those in the office right now. We all had a chance to sit in a circle and share our feelings for the D's... there wasn't a dry eye there! 

At night, we went to visit a part-member family to do a Family Home Evening with them. We took Sister B with us. It ended up being one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission. Her husband is not a member, and she is so worried that he will never get baptized. The husband attends church weekly, but doesn't stay for the 3rd hour because he doesn't feel too comfortable. I felt that I should share the story of Grandpa Noll's conversion with her. I told her how incredible it was to read the e-mail when dad told me grandpa wanted to be baptized. I told her how happy I was when I saw those pictures, and then I showed her the picture of dad and grandpa in their baptismal clothes and this sister just burst into tears. We promised her that God is aware of ALL of His children, no matter whether they've been baptized or not, and that He has plans for each and every one of us. We will be going over for a Family Home Evening from now on each and every Monday. I wish I could explain those feelings more accurately, but there just is no way to do so!

Tuesday, we stayed in the office doing a ton of stuff until the afternoon, and then we went to visit a member and had dinner with her. She is a cute, little, old lady who just loves missionaries and we wanted a chance to uplift her a little bit. Her husband is also a non-member, but he isn't very keen on the church in general, let alone missionaries! She sometimes struggles with his opposition to the church so it's nice to go over and watch her relax and laugh for a little while.

On Wednesday, we partied pretty hard over to the Zhongxing zone! My old home! It was so nice to see some of those old faces of the missionaries that I used to serve with. It really feels like you're going home when you go back and visit one of your old areas. It's interesting the way that works. I live in a place so different from the place I used to call home, and yet this place is as much a home and family to me as the ones back in America. Of course, NOTHING can replace the feelings I've developed with my blood family in the states, but it's as if God has added hundreds of people and places into that family and I'll be able to see eternity with all of them as well.

Thursday was a fun day for sure. It was President B's Birthday!!! Elder L and I helped set up for the Mission Leadership Council, we went over and helped some sister missionaries move out of their old apartment and into a new one, and then we went over and partied with President! We had dinner at this delicious place with some awesome Chinese food.This place had some of the most delicious food ever! You'd be surprised at the fact that I thoroughly enjoy eating peppers and onions and eggplant and all kinds of weirdo veggies now. After dinner was over, we ended up at the B's house for some cake and singing. Sister B made an incredible chocolate cake, and we all had a great time talking and laughing together. 

The day ended up being the worst day of the week because the D's said goodbye to us that night. Eyes were all red and none of us really had much to say! We just shook hands (I gave Elder D a pretty big hug) and then had to part ways! It was pretty hard! 

After the goodbye, we hopped in the car and drove down to Tainan... I got some pretty good use out of those sunflower seeds that you sent! They kept me awake as I drove throughout the night, so THANK YOU!!!

Friday was spent in the very southern part of the mission. We spent the day in Tainan, Gaoxiong and Pingdong! I really hope that President will move me down to Pingdong once my time is done here in the office! 

That was the week! I just want to share really quickly about what it means to endure to the end. An example of enduring to the end in my life is my little brother Jessi. He sent me an email today that said: "My right leg is kinda getting destroyed...my shins and my knees...but without pain we wouldn't know happiness!! Haha! So I just gotta train through and tough it out." I've heard many people talk about my brother and tell me that he is just "naturally talented," that he doesn't have to work as hard as other people to get where he is. They may have heard when he shattered his entire knee, and they may have visited when he was bedridden for over a month. But they didn't watch as he killed himself daily in the weight room, they didn't see him as he sprinted miles and miles in order to regain strength in his leg. They didn't notice the trust and effort he put into studying the word of God and the absolute love he developed for for his Heavenly Father. I did. He is my forever example of what it means to PUSH through hard times. Were he to be a pioneer, he wouldn't have walked beside the cart. He wouldn't have pushed or pulled it. He would have put the cart on his back and carried it to the Salt Lake Valley. Brothers and Sisters, to "endure" is a verb. Be active in all that you do, be active in loving others and enduring to the end. 

 

love you guys! have an awesome week!

Elder Noll