August 2, 2014

Typhoons, explosions and a whole lot of moving made for an excellent week! I find that I've come to enjoy each week of my mission more than the last... no matter how much more difficult or how much more tired I may be! I'll start by saying that everyone in the mission is totally safe, despite the typhoons and explosions. I'm sure that you've seen the news about the explosions. It was absolutely horrible. It just so happened that we were down in Gaoxiong Thursday and Friday... I know Mom probably didn't want to hear that... :) The whole day, we were transporting luggage and furniture on the very road that exploded that night. We slept in an apartment less than five minutes away from the blast! And to tell you the truth, none of us heard a thing. We were pretty tired and slept right through it! We're all safe and were able to do our work just fine.

I'll apologize in advance for this letter and whatever grammatical errors you may or may not find in here... we just got back from a 30 KM bike ride with the Blickenstaffs, and I'm exhausted. :D

Last Saturday night, I received news that I'd be training a new office elder! His name is Elder F, and he'll be formally taking my spot on the 18 of August. :) I promised myself that I would love each and every area that I ever served in, and I can honestly say that I've loved this place... but it's time to go. I'm excited to get outside and start hitting the streets again!

Today, we had the chance to ride bikes with President and Sister Blickenstaff up a nice steep mountain to see some waterfalls. It was awesome! You'll have to look on the blog to see some epic pics! We found a bat cave and had an awesome little adventure as we crawled through a tunnel full of water with bats flying over our heads! It was a fun one.

Elder G and I had an interesting discussion this week, in which I felt like I learned some important lessons. Do you think that God has planned out your life? Is there only one road for you to walk in order to do what God wants you to? Let me ask you a question then, do you think God cares if you're a doctor or a teacher? A lawyer or a fire fighter? Do you think it will influence your salvation if you marry Susie or Jill, both righteous and loving daughters of God? God has given us a brain, coupled with the precious ability to choose for ourselves. Brothers and Sisters, God has not set your life out for you. He expects us to ponder and ask of His advice and guidance, but that does not mean that you can sit back and wait for God to tell you what you should do! Let's be active. Let's get out and start something. The presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives is absolutely critical. Without it, we'll never be safe in our choices. But I promise that if we consult with God about the things which we want to do, He will reveal through the Spirit to us whether or not that is a good idea. If you don't know what you want to do with your life, don't ever say that you're waiting for an answer from God, because in all reality, He's only waiting on you. Think about it, ponder it constantly, and then ask Him. Once you've received the answer, don't hesitate! Go out and DO something. Go out and BE something. 

I love being out here. I love the Lord, and I love the road map that the Gospel has given me for my life.

Have a good week!

Elder Noll