January 26, 2014

 When I was at home, I was just like any other teenage kid... I thought that Stake Conference should have just been "Stake Day Off!" Now on my mission, this is the 5th Stake Conference that I've attended... I can't even begin to explain to you how difficult it is to stay awake during a Stake Conference when everything is in Chinese... but I did it! And I learned some good stuff from it! :D

We had a pretty dandy week! Lots of exchanges again, and some fun finding activities, along with a whole lot of lessons! On Monday, we went up to Taichung to see all of the missionaries who would be moving and to hang out with my recent convert, L. (have you met him  through facebook yet? I know that F has...) It was so much fun to see everyone and to be able to chat with them. Elder B is doing great and he's really happy right now, Elder H is just duggyin' like a boss in the office, and Elder W is heading home! I'd never tell him this, but he's been one of the most influential role models to me throughout my whole mission! One of the most exciting events of the new move call? Elder C is coming into my zone! He's serving in the mountains of Puli! I had a chance to go on exchanges with him last Tuesday and we had a blast together! It's so weird to be his zone leader now! All of my memories of Elder C were from Daya, so it was a little different to be taking him around Caotun!! He's doing great though! His Chinese has gotten a lot better and he's super happy to be in Puli!

We've been working really hard with a few people for the past month or so, and they really are not progressing at all. So we discussed our situation for a while yesterday during our companionship study, and we decided that we were basically going to be starting over here. We need to continue meeting with those people we already have, but we won't spend so much time on them. What we hope to do is use our faith, and go find those people whom God has prepared to hear this message! We're totally pumped to get out there and start tearin' up the streets! Both of us are really excited and we've planned out a lot of fun activities to find this next week!

We're also excited because the Chinese New Year is here!!!!! I'm gonna gain a lot of weight. As of now, we have 12 different people lined up to feed us HUGE meals over the next week and a half! The members of Taiwan are so incredible. They have such huge hearts and they love to show us how much they care for us by stuffing us full of incredible (sometimes incredibly weird) food! But don't worry... Elder R and I have decided that we will be going on a vegetarian diet to lose whatever weight we put on once the New Year holidays are over... we'll see how it goes.

I don't have a lot of time today, so I'll end with a quick share about something I've been thinking a lot about this week. I'll be totally honest and tell you all that I didn't understand the commandments very much before coming on a mission, and as a counter effect, I didn't understand the law of obedience very well either. I'm not saying that I understand perfectly now or that I could ever become perfect, but I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have obtained over the past year and a half. 

Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 

The commandments that the Lord has revealed unto us are not simple guidelines that can be forgotten or even changed on a whim. We are invited and expected to be perfect. To follow ALL of God's commandments to a tee. Obedience is a choice, and it is the only way that we will ever become what God has planned for us to become.

I hope you guys are all doing great! Love ya!

Love, Elder Noll

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

January 12, 2014

What up peeps? How's it?

We had a pretty good week this week... as a companionship and as a zone! Elder R and I found 5 AWESOME new investigators and set a few new baptismal goals with them, and we also had a blast while doing it! We're pretty similar guys... we both love sports, we're both incredibly sarcastic, we both love the Lord and missionary work, and we both love to bet... yeah, we made another bet on whether or not he would become the next assistant... I'm a little worried now!

Welp, onto this week's new adventures!

Mon:

     I saw Elder, I mean Brother S! It was way too weird for me to call him M, so I stuck to Elder S. He was back in Taizhong, checking out all the different colleges and such, so I went up to Taizhong for the day and had lunch with the duffer! He's doing great and planning on working for an airline as a flight attendant soon! Pretty crazy, right? It was so great to see him and have a chance to talk with him for a little while!

Tues:

     Zone Training Meeting. The first Tuesday of every month, we have to run a Zone Training Meeting for the entire Zone. The Zone Leaders get to relay all the messages and announcements that President has for the Mission, and we get to do some specific Training on any problem areas in the Zone. It was so Spiritual, and ended up going really well! We didn't think it went all that well, but when we asked the District Leaders how it was afterwards, they told us it was the best ZTM they'd ever seen!... I think they might have just been kissing up a little bit, but we felt a little better about it after that. We're really working on inspiring the Zone to reach their full potential in the upcoming months and to really see the kind of missionary that they could become, so we hope to really set a good example to lead and guide them along the way.

Wed:

     The story I have for Wednesday is a story so epic that I don't think I'll tell it to you over e-mail... you'll have to wait until I"m home for this one! Sorry guys! :) (Don't worry, I wouldn't get in trouble for it or anything!)

Thurs:

     Thursday was a little hard for us. We had a good amount of lessons, but they didn't go so well. We met with a VERY devout Christian who knows the Bible like the back of his hand, and also a VERY Athiest man who just likes to be around missionaries because, let's face it, we're awesome and funny... These two lessons specifically left me drained and a little bit depressed. We basically spent over an hour testifying to them and all they would do was cut us off and deny what we were saying. I felt a little abandoned. I didn't feel like the Spirit was doing Its' job! As I got to the depths of these feelings and felt like they were almost ready to consume me, I said a simple prayer. I just asked God: "why?" Why can't they feel it? Why is it that I and my companion know the truth of this message so strongly, but these other people blatantly deny it? Why couldn't God give us an answer to our prayers, and manifest himself unto these investigators? I felt a warm feeling of love come over me. I couldn't help but know that God loved these men FAR more than I would ever understand and that He would work with them according to His own will, and in His own time. I am but the tool through which He will prepare His children to accept His Gospel.

Fri:

     I spent the day stuck in the beautiful mountains of Puli. It was gorgeous out there! Tons of trees and a nice little breeze, and on all sides, you're surrounded by mountains. I went on exchanges with an Elder there and had a great time watching him work and assisting him where he needed it. We had some great lessons, one of which I'd like to share more at the end of my email...

Sat:

     We saw the NASTIEST spider I've ever seen as we were waiting for the bus to get back to Caotun... it was the size of one of those little cuties (the oranges) but super flat, and it was METALLIC SILVER. Gross, right? We started throwing berries at it (cause like, what else would we do?) and it freaked out. It started rocking back and forth and kind of flinging it's web back and forth in a really violent manner!! We were done by then and just walked away from that sucker!

     We spent the rest of the day going from lesson to lesson to lesson to lesson! Tons of great lessons and tons of progress with our investigators! Life is rockin' mi amigos!

So, hopefully you can tell, I'm having the time of my life right now. It was a week of ups and downs, but I'm definitely on a high note right now... even if I did lose the bet and I have to buy Elder R lunch.

The Spiritual Share I have goes along with the lyrics of a song.

 "Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly. In the hollow heart is hidden, sorrow, that the eye can't see. Who am I to judge another? Lord, I would follow thee."

On Friday, in Pulu, we went to visit a member who had recently suffered a severe stroke. When I first saw him, I saw a man who kind of creeped me out with a blank stare on his face and a house full of garbage and some mysterious disgusting smell. I wasn't really thinking anything bad about this man of course, but I didn't actually feel anything special towards him. But then I saw a picture of Christ next to the small mattress he had rolled on the ground... and another plastered on the fridge behind me. As I looked into the eyes of our Lord and Master, a strange feeling came over me. I turned and looked back at our quiet friend, and broke down in tears. As I looked back at this poor, lonely, crippled man, I was filled with the most pure love I've ever felt in my entire life. I couldn't control myself to be honest! It was as if I heard a voice in my ear whisper: "Do you see? Do you understand now why you are out here?" I finally got it. I finally was humble enough to understand. I used to have a pet peeve about people sharing their testimonies and using the words 'I know...' But I can write these words with no shame at all now. I KNOW that the Lord loves us. No one can know how much He does, but I got a taste of that love last Friday. The only thing I want you all to get out of this e mail is that I KNOW the Lord lives. He loves us. He is waiting with His arms wide open to engulf us with that love. Use your faith, and take the Leap towards Him. He will catch you.

I love you guys! Have a good one!

Elder Noll

Jan 5, 2014

What is up e'ry body?? How was the start of the new year?? It's 2014! I really don't feel all that different, so I'll stop pretending like it's such a huge deal... :D

We had quite a great week here in the Zhongxing Zone!! Being busy with a few exchanges, Jedi Council, eating until we explode, working with drunks, and falling in pitch black ditches, made for quite an exciting week! 

Monday:

     4 characters. 石頭烤肉. I know that you have no idea how to read that out loud, let alone understand what it means, so I'll explain. Imagine a BBQ with a never ending flow of meat... basically the Taiwanese version of Tucanos. We went there last Monday and brought along the member who let us use his Skype stuff so that we could thank him for helping us out. SO GOOD. I haven't been so full since that one time we ate at that buffet at the New Orleans man! 

Tuesday:

     Exchanges with Elder W! He says he actually knows Aunt Sherri and Uncle Gary... You'd recognize his mom. She plays the mom who leaves her husband in "17 Miracles." He's an incredible missionary and he's an absolute blast to be around! I was a little put out at first when I found out we were going to have to be exchanging on New Years eve so Elder R and I wouldn't be together, but Elder W was really awesome and we had a great time together. We carried on the fruit ninja tradition and drank some papaya milk to toast the New Year. That night was supposed to be full of golden investigator lessons and different recent converts that we were going to be visiting... basically a full plan, but it all fell through and we ended up knocking doors for about 2 hours straight. We met some really cool people and saw a giant, super nasty and venomous spider. Not cool. 

Thursday:

     Jedi Council. It's really called Mission Leadership Council (MLC), but come on guys, Jedi Council is so much better. Master Yoda (a.k.a. President Blickenstaff) is such an incredible example to me. I love talking with him and listening to his shares about things going on in the mission. We, Elder R and I, were pretty over the moon to share with the other leaders and President that our zone, along with one other, had the highest amount of baptisms and confirmations throughout the mission. A total of 12. We're especially proud because our zone is known for never baptizing. We were only expected to get around 4, but we  found some great miracles. We expect to do it again and get at least 10 this next month! Please pray for us! 

     We also met a guy who was totally sloshed that night. He couldn't even talk. He was sitting on the ground outside of the 7-11 that we were eating in and he kept trying to stand up... he finally did it and then went crashing down against the glass of 7-11 and then smacked his head on the ground after that and didn't move. I honestly thought he was dead! I went over and checked to make sure everything was okay, looked for any injuries and miraculously there was nothing! I picked him up, put him in a chair and told him: "DON'T MOVE." He tried to thank me and started blabbering in a language that no one understood so I looked at him and told him again not to move, then we left. It's pretty fun to be a missionary and come across these kinds of situations! 

Saturday:

     Fell in a ditch and almost broke my wrist by stopping myself and trying to save my precious bike. I was singing a song in my head and didn't see the hole 'cause it was so dark outside, then I scared myself when I started plummeting towards the ground. In the end, my bike only took a little bit of damage that I'll probably be fixing today and I wasn't injured at all! The Lord takes pretty good care of His servants!

I only have a little bit of time to give a quick spiritual share, so I'll be quick and to the point. The Lord Atoned for us so that we could change. If you feel like you're stuck in a rut, or you feel like it's impossible to change, look to the Lord and allow His Atonement to shape you. Let it become the very nucleus of your being and let it shape your entire life. I've felt this power so much on my mission, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that the power is real. 

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Elder Noll

 

LDS Chapel

Ryan...still being Ryan :)

 

December 29, 2013

Happy Holidays from Taiwan! It's interesting because here in Taiwan, they think that Christmas is our New Year celebration... it's also pretty funny because they don't celebrate Christmas and they don't celebrate the new year on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1 either! Asia does things their own way! We had an incredible Christmas Holiday this year! The entire week was full of hilarious stories and many miracles! I'll go ahead and take you through the week day by day!

Monday:

     We hung out with a member from Tanzi (one of Elder R's recent converts and one of my good friends that I met while in Daya) and he drove us over to a place called Lugang, where I did some Christmas shopping and started getting my Christmas package for you guys ready to go. It was fun to hang out with this member and with the other Elders in the District! Lugang was really interesting too! They have a special dish that they are known for called: "Oyster omelet." it's basically got a bunch of oyster meat wrapped up in a funky, gooey, rice-like stuff... no eggs, so I"m not really sure why they call it an omelet, but it's pretty good! I surprise even myself with the things that I enjoy eating now! 

     We met a new family of investigators on Monday as well. They are Christian and have met missionaries before, but don't really want much to do with the LDS church. We had a great visit with him and established a good friendship with them, but all the dad really wanted to do was bible bash... we'll see what happens!

Tuesday: 

     Christmas eve!!! We had a mini exchange this day with the other Elders in our District! One is from Korea (born in america) and the other is Argentinian and spoke NO English before the MTC... Elder Z is absolutely hilarious and his English is actually pretty dang good now! Almost fluent! I had the chance to lead him around my area on Tuesday and it was super fun! We talked a lot and had the chance to teach quite a few lessons! One of the lessons we taught was to a man with a broken legs and he was high on his pain meds... not a whole lot accomplished there! But at night, we had a lesson with our investigator who had a goal to be baptized on Saturday. It went really well! We set everything up for the Baptism and then had a great testimony session about what Baptism is and the blessings it will bring. 

Wednesday:

     Let's see, what was the highlight of Wednesday? Kind of a boring day... nothing big really happened... WAIT! I saw my family today!!! Totally made my whole year to see all of you guys! It's weird to see how much things are changing! Everything looks so different from what I remember it being and the people all look different! It's SUPER crazy!! (Sorry Grandma, I've been trying to be good and not use that word, but it's just so great!) We went over to the house of an incredible member in our ward to use his SKYPE and stuff, and it went really good. No major technical problems or anything! We're taking the member out to a buffet today to thank him! 

Skype with the family :)

 

Thursday:

     This was a day full of crazy stories! We went contacting right out the door and decided to go up to the college in our area. As we were riding around, I saw a giant yellow stuffed duck on the side of the road. You need a little background to understand why this story is funny... Taiwan is obsessed with ducks. I don't know why, but they love this Yellow Duck! They have two GIANT ducks floating in Taipei and Gaoxiong, and now every one on this island just loves ducks. While we were thinking of ideas for this move calls English party, my companion suggested that we do a "yellow duck party." So, we're doing a "yellow duck party." When I found this duck, we decided we could use it for the party, so we went over to look at it. It was NASTY. It smelled like someone had stuffed drugs inside of it (I still haven't checked but I'll get back to you on that) and then maybe used it to scrub a toilet, then thrown out side. The head was half off and the stuffing was coming out. We didn't have anything to carry it with, so we used a bike lock and our safety reflective harnesses to strap this sucker to the back of my bike, then we rode around town with it all day. We're probably gonna think of some awesome way to sacrifice it or something. 

     We kept riding around and then found a tree with some funky nuts on it. When we asked a kid what the nuts were, he said: "Bing lang!" which is Betel Nut. When Betel Nut is just off a tree, it's a harmless nut. But it's also the same nut that they take, give it a chemical coating, wrap it in a sharp leaf, and then they chew on it to get a high... it's NASTY my friends. It turns their teeth dark red and makes it look like they are zombies. So of course Elder R and I grabbed a nut and popped it into our mouths. Nothing special, but now I can say that I've eaten Betel Nut! No worries, I'll never try the stuff with the chemical... I'm not really into the whole blood mouth thing.

     At the end of the night, we got stood up by multiple people and ended up tracting for the rest of the night. I felt like crap, it was freezing cold, we'd had NO success, we were in a really creepy alleyway with creepy doorbells and big dogs barking at us, and basically the night was not all that enjoyable... but we kept on going and kept on working hard. We got to the VERY last door of the night and ran into an AWESOME family of four. They were so nice and set up for tonight at 6:00, so we'll see how things work out! All I know is that God definitely led us to that family. It was such an amazing tender mercy at that time to me and my companion.

Friday:

     Went on exchanges with Elder H... did I tell you that he's the new assistant to the president? Yeah, the same Elder H that was in my District in Tainan! This story is crazy. We went with him to find a former investigator on a road that we didn't know very well. We started out at a little restaurant where we ate lunch, then we started riding... and riding... and riding... we rode our bikes for an hour and a half straight! That's a LONG time guys. We FINALLY found the house and met with him. He was a very old guy who had had a stroke several years ago, and he didn't care about anything we had to say! It was so sad to see that he had totally given up, but all we could do is invite him to come to church. We left his house and tried to figure out where we were... I looked over towards a round a bout down the road, and I recognized it! We rode towards it, went around the corner and....... saw the restaurant where we had eaten  lunch. Not 2 minutes away from this guys house!!!!! Can you believe it??? The three of us were totally speachless! Welp, now we know! haha

     Elder H is awesome. I really enjoyed talking with him again, and discussing different ways we've grown on our missions. I really had to evaluate myself and everything that I've done, am doing, and would like to do! I've always wanted to be the most diligent, most fun, most likable missionary that I could possibly be, and I kind of reset those goals after exchanging with Elder H! It really inspired me to stretch myself more and expect more out of myself and out of my zone! 

I've already talked way too much today, but I'll leave you with one last experience. We baptized on Saturday. I love being a missionary so much. I was thinking to myself: "why? why does helping someone get baptized make me so happy? I get literally NOTHING out of it. I don't even get recognized for it! Nobody will do anything for me, the only thing that I might get is a blurry, tilted picture! Yet, I've never been happier than when I'm baptizing on my mission." The pure joy of watching someone meet God and knowing that I was allowed to play a role in that experience brings the most perfect joy, it's honestly indescribable. 

I love you all. I know that Families are ordained of God, and His plan is that we will all be able to live together as Eternal Family units throughout all of Eternity! Shall we not go on in so great a cause? How can we sit idly by while their are people out there who don't know the joy that this Gospel can bring? There are people EVERYWHERE who either don't know the blessings of an Eternal Family, or don't understand it! Look around you, find those out there whose lives you can touch. YOU CAN SAVE SOULS. There are people who have not met the church, or who have left the church, and YOU can save them.

 Let's Get R' Done fellas!      

Elder Noll

December 22, 2013

Merry Christmas...and Happy Birthday to the 2 most important girls in my life! Macy and Mom! Mom, I'm sorry I'm late to wish you a Happy Birthday, and Macy, I'm sorry I'm so early! This is the best time I figured to wish both of you a very Happy Birthday! 

It's been a SUPER busy week for us here in Nantou! We started out with some exchanges to start out the week, had some rockin' enlglish classes, had the Mission wide Christmas activity, did some traveling and hit up the baptism of one of my old investigators, and had the ward Christmas activity! Each day had something really important to grab our attention! Let's go day by day, shall we?

Tuesday:

     I went on exchanges to Zhanghua for the day! We ran into President and Sister Blickenstaff as we went to the Zhanghua District Training Meeting, so that was a fun little surprise! The rest of the day was incredibly fun... try riding your bike for a full 45 killometers... uphill... in the rain... with 20mph wind resistance. Suffice it to say, I slept like a baby that night! Also, I did it on a sisters bike.

Wednesday:

     I'm again in charge of the Advanced English class here in Nantou, and I'm loving it! I absolutely love teaching English here and interacting with all the students! I usually try to give them some kind of American music lesson by playing classic rock, or Jason Mraz, or Jack Johnson, or some other kind of American music. They usually get a kick out of it! Did I tell you guys that the Sister A in Freddy's ward is now in my District and she's the English Leader over here? Well, if not, now you know! Kind of funny how those kinds of things work out! 

Thursday:

     The Christmas Activity. I've been waiting for this since the 20th of December LAST year! It's so much fun to see all the missionaries together! We all went up to Sun Moon Lake this year (which just so happens to be in my Zone) and we ended up having a super fun time! It was so foggy and cold that we didn't really see the lake, but they had some super awesome taiwanese stores there and I bought some good Christmas stuff for all you guys... as well as some Aladin pants for me. Yes, they are awesome. I'll send pictures. We went to a big buffet Steak House in Taichung afterwards and Elder B, Elder R and I competed to see who could eat the most steaks. I gave up after 13 because I wanted to eat some other food other than just steak, so I hit up the Mongolian Grill for a while after that... but Elder B and Elder R had a grand total of 22 and a 1/2! Let me tell you, the bus ride home was the most uncomfortable 2 hours of my life... worse even than the time that I had 2 betos burritos between the morning and afternoon practice of hell week my Sophomore year. 

     It was so great to see all the missionary friends that I haven't seen for a while! I saw Elder G from the MTC, Sister W from the MTC, and saw Elders W (my old Zone Leader) and H (in my first District here if you remember) who are both the assistant to the President right now! I saw Elder C, Elder T, Elder B, Sisters B, P, and R, and a bunch of other awesome missionaries that I've served around! It made me feel pretty old to realize that I didn't recognize over 1/2 the missionaries there and to know that almost all my missionary buddies are home already! Super crazy!! 

Friday:

     That's right, I went back up to Daya for a Baptismal Service!! It was the young man who came into Church with his mom just over a month ago! I contacted him, helped him learn all the lessons, and missed his Baptism by just 2 weeks! I talked to President and he told me that it would be fine if Elder R and I went up to see the service. It was incredibly touching (and a little funny) to see the reactions of the members at the chapel when I walked through the door. I served there for so long that I pretty much knew EVERY single person in that building! Most of the time people wouldn't recognize me for 1/2 a second, and then a look of shock would come across their face as they asked me why in the world I was there! It was truly a touching night, and it just makes me excited for the time that I can come back in a few years and see all these members again! 

Saturday:

     The Ward Christmas Party was an epic fail. They had us (the 6 missionaries) along with some other ward members do a Choir and sing some songs to go along with a little skit that they were doing... they just never told us that there was a skit! They just gave us some music and told us to learn the songs... also, thanks to the lovely members of my district, they found out that I like to play guitar and so they asked me to do a solo in Silent Night. Silent Night! How are you supposed to solo to Silent Night??? I just came up with a nice picking pattern and played it in the backround along with a young man in the ward. Super funny. It was fun the play the guitar part for Feliz Navidad though. The 6 missionaries rocked out to it and got the whole chapel dancing along. 

That was basically the whole week! 

Love you guys!! hope you have a great... 2 days!

Elder Noll

December 15, 2013

George, George, George of the Jungle... Greetings from the jungle of Taiwan... yes, that theme song has been stuck in my head for a week straight and, again, yes, I break out in a George of the Jungle yell sometimes on my bike. Judged. 

Nantou is I N C R E D I B L E. I love it in this place. It's REALLY rural and the population isn't totally huge, but the people are so kind and just pure at heart. This first week, I've bought maybe 5 meals. The rest of the time we've been given meals by members, investigators, less active members and recent converts. The ward is really kind to us here and I'm so excited to be here serving them. 

It's super weird to be considered an older missionary now. I feel like time has gone by so fast! I find myself thinking a lot about where I was last year at this time, being trained by Elder S in Tainan. I never thought that the day would come that I would be the Zone Leader in charge of all those missionaries! I remember seeing the Zone Leaders call when I was just being trained and thinking to myself that I needed to be more mature when I answered and kind of show off a little... it's odd to be on the other end of the line! I try to show my Zone that I'm a fun dude, so usually when I answer the phone I yell in a super loud, high pitched voice: "WEEEEIIII!" (That's the way you say hello in Taiwan on the phone)... the reactions are pretty interesting. 

We've had a really good week with quite a bit of success! Elder R and I have been working super hard in all aspects of the work, and it's really showing! We set over 5 Baptismal dates this week and found 2 new investigators as well as worked with up to 10 different less active members! We're planning on baptizing at least 2 people next Saturday and we hope that more will be able to hit that date. It's interesting the miracles that prayer and hard work will bring!

I've got multiple people from my MTC zone (the guys that went in 6 weeks before me) in my zone right now and it's super fun! Elder K, Elder G, Elder C and a few others! We're all having a blast out here! Also, the Sister A that you said moved into Freddy's ward is now in my district. Kinda crazy, huh? 

We're really stoked for Christmas coming up! We're doing the mission-wide Christmas activity on Thursday, and we're going to Sun-Moon Lake! It's gonna be a BLAST!! I can't wait to talk to all of you guys in 10 days or so! 

My spiritual share from this week comes from a visit we made to a man yesterday. He is a VERY active member in the ward, and he invites us over for dinner every Sunday night. While we were there, we asked him about his conversion story and boy did he have a story! When we asked him, he got a little smile on his face, put down his spoon and leaned back in his chair. He looked at each of us and then he started into one of the most incredible stories I've ever heard. The experiences and the little bits and pieces of the story were honestly not all that incredible. It was the sincerity and the purity of heart in which he told the story that made it so awesome. I was so moved by the Spirit and so touched by his testimony that it almost brought tears to my eyes. 

I want to testify that selflessness and love for the Savior brings Spiritual Power. When we are accepting of other people and when we give of what we have, we will receive so much more. I know that this is true, for I see it every single day! I love this work, I love the Lord. I love all of you, and I'm happy to have met each of you and be able to learn from your examples! 

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Noll