August 16, 2014

Good mornin' everybody! It seems as though there have been a few changes this past week... pretty big ones! It's touching to see my little brother head out and get one step closer to Ecuador. The pictures I've seen so far have filled me with the most pride I've ever been able to muster. What an incredible man. 

There's about to be some serious changes here for me as well! This is my last email to you from the office! The time has truly flown by! I guess time flies when you're busy all the time! haha! 

I've had a blast this week. We've had some great lessons, and we continue to find more and more investigators... all miracles, considering the amount of time that we  have to proselyte. On top of the lessons and contacting, we've been welcoming in a group of 18 new missionaries! That's a good story...

They were supposed to be coming in on Wednesday night, so the whole office was going crazy on Monday and Tuesday in order to get the place ready for our guests and whatnot. Wednesday came, President and the Assistants all went up to the airport... and no missionaries. There travel information got changed and we didn't get the email, so everything had to be pushed back a day... hence the lateness of this letter. :) 

Everything turned out totally fine. Everyone got to Taiwan safe and sound, and they're all totally pumped to be here. The whole group is incredible! They're all full of unquenchable fire, it might just burn the whole island up! My favorite part of being with the new missionaries is feeling of that fire. Especially on the night of Dan Jones, when they stand in the middle of a market and yell at the top of their lungs, then contact for an hour or so afterwards. As Operations Manager, we're in charge of the whole thing, so we don't actually get to participate a whole lot, but I was free for this last time, so I got to go out with a new Elder named Elder D! He's super tall, and way nice! We had a great time together as we talked to some people and actually found a few pretty awesome referrals! 

Think about the awesomeness of New Missionary Week, and now add in a Temple Trip as well and you just about understand how awesome this week was. I absolutely love the temple! I learned a lot of new stuff this time, and it was nice to be able to take some time and just ponder on what I'm doing in life and where I should be. The beautiful atmosphere of the temple and the strength of the Holy Spirit within those walls is enough to cure any wounded heart, or calm any troubled mind. 

Lastly, I'd like to share with you an inspiring personage in my life. You probably all saw this coming, but I'd like to share with you about Jessi Noll one more time before I take off my badge. We started out as co-adventurers, heading out into the wild world with Mom and Dad always close behind. Only now I realize that Mom and Dad were much closer than I ever thought. I think this first picture illustrates those memories beautifully.

We continued to grow closer as we learned to play together... some of those memories include ocean-side ball, wrestling in the parks, and many others, too numerous to share. I can honestly say that we were pretty close growing up together... but it wasn't until I came to Taiwan that I started to truly understand the relationship that we had fostered. 

I never knew that leaving the house was what needed to happen in order to come closer to the members in my family. That's exactly what needed to happen. I've grown closer to Jessi over the past two years than I ever imagined possible, being this far away! 

I can't even begin to explain how I feel as I see the picture on the bottom here. The two flags waving in the wind. These two countries literally mean nothing to the stranger driving by the Noll house today, but the sight of them together brings me to tears. Those two flags represent everything I'm feeling at this moment. Although I may be torn and tattered to pieces, I feel absolutely majestic being placed alongside my comrade in arms. I thank each and every one of you for the influence you've had on my brother and I. I thank you for the patience as you've watched the two of us throwing footballs into your yards, wrestle outside, party in the pool and all the other loud and disruptive adventures that we've been on together. How grateful I am to stand here now, at his side and supporting him. 

I love all of you a lot more than you probably know! I'll know by tonight where I'm going for my last transfer. I guess that means I'll be talking to you all in a few days then! I promise to send another email with some more "juice" in it!!

Love, Elder Noll