Week 63

Wow, it's September! It was just barely September like...last year! Time flies really fast. Today I don't have too much time, because today I'm in the Mission Office. My companion went to a Military Recall (JiaoZhao), so he'll be gone for a week. But this week I'll still do a Zone Training that we have every month now. The topic we have for this month is using the Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel to be more effective with our time. There is one thing that I loved that President Day said. He said, "The only reason why we use Preach My Gospel and anything like it is because we know that we have a living prophet of God." Otherwise, these things would just be good. But it's not only that, it's the Lord's Way -- the best way. It made me realize how much I've been blessed by being in a time where there are so many resources from our living prophets. I can know that if I just follow these things, I'll be doing what the Lord would have me do. Recently we haven't had many people to teach, which has been hard. I feel that Elder Lin pretty down about that. But we're doing an interesting work. It's because recently we've been spending all our time with the training for next week (because he'll be gone next week, so we had to get it all ready a week early). So we haven't done much proselyting. But we know our work is for a greater cause -- if we can help 20 missionaries come closer to Christ and be more effective, it'll be much better than us working for a week. It's boggling to think what kind of effect these training meetings have, and I am truly humbled to try to represent the Lord in this upcoming training meeting. Anyway, that's all I have time for this week. Thank you for everyone's emails! Love you all! -Elder Liu

Week 61

This week has been just wonderful. It was a start of a new transfer, which is weird. It feels like it just started, since I've only been here 2 1/2 weeks. So it's felt like 2 transfers in one. But that's okay. Elder Lin and I are staying here in ShiLin. It's going to be awesome. We have one investigator in particular, 陳奕廷, who is progressing very well. We've met with him 4 times, and he already has a strong testimony about prayer. He said "我知道神絕對會回答我的祈禱". He said he really has felt the Spirit and has received many answers to his prayers. His baptismal date is in October. I think he'll definitely hit that date. It seems like the zone is doing good with the new transfer. I don't hear of many people having companionship problems or anything like that. I went on exchanges with Elder Sabey. We found that we have a lot of similar interests, so it was a lot of fun. He's a great example. I really learned a lot from him, especially with his contacting. He's very sincere and seems very effective in sharing the Gospel. He's doing a great job and trying to get to know the ward and the situation in his area, but that might give Elder Wang a little pressure. He and Elder Wang's personality are a little different, so they'll probably need some time to get things fully together. There was someone who Elder Lin and I met the other day who we had sent to San Chong's English class. Then just recently he saw me and pulled over, and said "Hi, do you remember me?" His face was really familiar, but I forget his name. He said "Thank you for introducing me to such a wonderful place. I love it there." He had been going to English Class as well as church. It was an awesome experience to have someone bear simple testimony of the joy that they had received from the Gospel. It was Elder Lin's birthday the other day, so we celebrated. We were going to a pizza place, but it was really crowded with no room. So an a-ma suggested us to a restaurant across the street and said that it wasn't expensive, but....it was. A little. But that's okay, because it was his birthday. We had a lot of fun. Recently I've been trying to be more positive in my attitude and actions. It's actually really hard, sometimes. (It's been really hot recently here, which makes me sluggish sometimes) But I despite my weaknesses, the Lord has helped me see some wonderful miracles, especially in finding. We had a potential investigator invite us for lunch and introduced us to her two kids to try and get them to church. We've also been doing a lot with the ward. We met with the bishop and attended ward council two weeks ago. It was really good. Our bishop is doing a really good job. I just wish they had a more specific list of people to visit. They've really only given us one LA Melchizedek Priesthood holder, 黃dx, who we have visited. He has a good family, but they're really busy with their work. We visited him for the second time last night. They seem to not have come for a long time. I think they felt the Spirit though. Hopefully they'll continue to let us visit them in the future. Our new president has asked all the wards to give us a list of all the Less Active Priesthood holders as well as the kids 9+ who aren't baptized so we can start doing more member work. I'm excited for this next week -- We'll exchange 4 times. So hopefully we can keep our area in good shape. We'll see how it goes. It's been great to hear from everyone. Have an awesome week, everyone! I know that Heavenly Father is helping us all be the people He wants us to be, if we are willing to follow His will. Love, -Elder Liu

Week 62

Hey, everyone! This week really was great, although numbers haven't shown it very much. And indeed, we don't have very many investigators, but at the same time, we've had a lot of success and have done our part in inviting others to come unto Christ. We went on 3 exchanges this week. We had planned 4, but they had a baptism that day, so we decided not to. The first was with LuoDong with Elder Anderson. He's doing really good. He says he didn't work as hard as he should have his first 2 transfers, so his Chinese is suffering a little. I also know he's a little more introverted, but he doesn't seem like the happiest Elder there is. I think he's doing okay, but I hope to just see him happier. I think the language might be part of it. I tried to push him to do some calls, and I had to end up taking over. But I was grateful he was willing to try it out and push himself. We set goals to make at least 1 call a day and talk to everyone. Next was Elder Bannatyne in YiLan. He's doing really great. His Chinese is just stellar. He's from Russia, but lived in the US. So he has perfect Russian, English, and soon to be Chinese. He teaches really well and seems to be getting along with his companion. I think he's a great worker, but sometimes he does get tired and then just gets a little more lazy. But Elder Forbes (his trainee) has been great at pushing him and helping them both improve their teaching/planning. At YiLan we also taught a progressing investigator that I sent them when I was in LongTan. It was great to see her! 神的安排! I tried to set some goals with him, but it seems like he didn't really want to, or at least didn't know what to set. And then we had Elder Su in NeiHu. He seems to be doing really good. We didn't have any lessons, but we went finding a lot. He really teaches clearly and simply. He stresses on the fact that they can know these things for themselves. I think he's doing just great. He seems to get along with his companion just fine. We set a goal to study and then teach our companion about how we can control a lesson and help the investigator focus/listen to the gospel. I've been trying to get my zone better at setting goals. It feels like a lot of them aren't used to it, which is weird for a missionary. Wow, I saw my cousin on Tuesday while exchanging, Hu2Li4Wei1. He lives in ZhongLi right now, and we just happened to pass by at the MRT. He's a bit busy with work, so he's a little less active. But I was so grateful to see him (and this time, be able to communicate with him with not a broken Chinese). Recently our investigators just haven't been sticking. I don't know why. We either get fanged, or I really do feel the Spirit in their lesson, but they just don't come back. So it's been a little hard in ShiLin, but Elder Lin and I have just been pushing forward with faith. And I know we've seen the success in the other parts of our work, especially with members. It's a little slow in the progress, but it seems like our pool of resources just grows bigger and bigger as we rely and actively strengthen our ward. We've been able to attend a lot more FHE's and Dinners this week, which was a great blessing. The only struggle has been trying to find an investigator who can come with us. Nonetheless the experiences were great, and we feel we've done a lot of things to try to help the ward here. We have a lot to work on, but we're slowly getting the hang of member work. We had a Michael McLean concert, which was great! He's the songwriter for a bunch of seminary stuff, as well as Best Two Years. His voice wasn't the very best. But I think the simplicity and innocence of his voice added a lot to his songs. Our new member, Li3dx really liked it. He's been a little depressed and stressed out recently. So I think it helped him a lot. Most of McLean's songs are about hope and faith. It was really great. I miss music a lot... But anyway, that's all for this week. I hope this week is the best week of your life! -Elder Liu

Week 60 (8/13/12)

Gawwww :B I hope everyone's doing fantabulous today. It's our transfer day today. We had a couple people in our Zone finish their missions. I can't help but think that my day to leave is getting really close. I know I've still got a 10 months, but it just seem like it'll come super discreetly. Recently I've been pondering long and hard about how the Gospel has effected my life. It seems like I testify of it everyday, and I know it's true, but I still feel like half of me doesn't truly understand the full impact the Gospel has been for me. It's been such a blessing to be able to focus my thoughts and prayers on this subject the past few days. I really feel like being in Shi4 Lin2 has been an answer to this prayer. First of all, we had dinner with Deng4 mama, which was amazing. (Especially their potstickers that brought back a lot of memories.) It helped me realize that since I was little, all my friends and all my relations already had ties to the Gospel. What a blessing it was to be able to grow up innocently in an environment where my standards wouldn't be influenced by my closest peers -- in fact, they would only be strengthened. Shi4Lin2 is great because it's pretty much one of the busiest places in Taiwan with a famous night market. Therefore I get to meet a lot of different people. On Friday I ran into some CBC's (almost as cool as ABC's, but from Canada.) But it was so interesting to see how much of them and their personality seemed to reflect my own past and experiences. I could truly testify to them of the next thing I realized this week, which is that the Gospel really has held my family together. Not saying that without the Gospel, it would fall apart. But I know that there is an incomparable unity that comes to a family that lives by Gospel principles every day. I really know that I have felt that with each of my family members. I'm still learning a lot of how the Gospel has changed my life. As I realize these precious gems of truth, I really feel that my testimony grows so much, and I am able to teach with more convincing spiritual power. Taiwan's also pretty great because I can talk to everyone about random things I had in my childhood that no one else really did in America (like particular video games, movies or candy. The most important things of a childhood, of course.) Even though this is really small, it really has given me great joy to be able to give me a bigger sense of...belonging? I guess that's the word. But I think it's been a two-way blessing. I feel that I have better relations with all of my companions because even though I'm American, I still have a lot of Taiwanese traits and background that the Taiwanese feel more comfortable with. Needless to say, I know that I have been called to Taiwan by the Lord. If not for any other reason, at least it's been like a 2 year Christmas present from him. But I know that I am doing the Lord's work, and because of it, I get to see His tender mercies every day. I know that the Lord is taking every bit of effort we are willing to put forth and change them into blessings and miracles. The key is just to be willing -- to have faith in the promise that if we actively keep his commandments, we will all be blessed. I'm really loving every bit of the work now. I know not all transfers are like this, so I'm cherishing the moments. Thanks for everything. I love you all! -Elder Liu

Week 59

Oh man, being Zone Leader is great! I really have enjoyed my calling a lot. It's pretty different, and there are a lot of things I need to learn. But I really love getting to know more missionaries and being able to learn from their example. Recently we had a Zone Leader council about our training for next month. We learned a boatload about member work and working with the Bishop and Ward Council. The more I talk about it, the more excited I get. I really have had a huge desire to do more member work, but have always felt restricted on this side of missionary work. I hope that I can help other missionaries see the importance and blessings of being influential to the ward in which we serve. Well last week I thought I was real smart and started to pray to be able to show my faith. Right after I prayed for that, I thought that that probably wasn't the most intelligent thing to pray for if I wanted a nice and peaceful mission life. But this week I feel that God, as always, has answered my prayers. This week I've been having a pretty bad headache and some neck problems. I'm trying my best to do all I can, but try to take it easy when I need to. Yesterday's fast might have been the hardest one I've done. But I felt privileged to be able to express my faith and desire to serve by going out and working my hardest with a smile. Even though we didn't find anyone yesterday, I truly felt that my work yesterday was a success, and my faith grew because of it. In 士林 I'm see so many cool miracles! Mostly with the members here. I've been so blessed to meet Cai4 family -- whose dad is a convert of Dad. You can really see how the gospel has blessed and changed their lives. They invited us to dinner, and he told us the story of how Dad found him and his conversion process. It was a real treat. I was trying so hard to understand all of his words -- he has a hard time pronouncing fricatives because he leaks air though his nose after a car accident, I think. But I understood most of it. It was a great story. I am so blessed to have met him and learned from his example and testimony. His daughter also showed me her bass recorder, which was pretty sweet. I didn't know they got to be so big... Also, Deng4 mama (mama of Deng4 Jia1) lives here! She's going to treat us to dinner this Thursday. As well as a Chi2 mama. It's been pretty crazy to run into a bunch of familiar faces. I hope to be able to get to know them more and do what I can to strengthen them. Love you all! -Elder Liu

Week 58

Wow,.I can't believe it's August...again! We just had August last year... This week has been absolutely crazy. Last Wednesday, during our studies, our Assistant called Elder Tay and I and said, "Hey, we're in LongTan. We want to come visit you. Can you come down and pick us up?" So we went down, and Elder Workman and President Day were downstairs to greet us. We took them up into our apartment and we sat down together. "You're probably wondering why we're here, huh?" "Umm...Yeah..." "Well, you're life is about to change. Tomorrow." Turns out President Day wanted to immediately call me to a new position. I'm in Shi4Lin2 serving as the Zone Leader of the North Zone, including NeiHu, DanShui, and JiLong. So I packed up my stuff in a day and was out of LongTan by Thursday morning. This has probably been the hardest move call I've had. Elder Tay and I worked so well together. We even played Tennis everyday at the clay courts by our apartment! Just when things were getting really, really good, we moved out unexpectedly. Well, I'm sure I don't really understand all what Zone Leader entails right now, but so far so good. I know that Elder Tay is doing great back in Long Tan, even though it'll only be his 2nd transfer with a DuanChuan companion now. I know that the Lord has prepared him for this, and it was our time to part our ways. I really have a learned a lot from him, and loved every second I had in Longtan with Elder Tay. The good thing about all of this is because now I'm in a new Zone, I get another chance to have a Temple Day -- I got to go twice this transfer :B Which is also why I'm emailing on Wednesday this week again. So my new companion is Elder Lin from GaoXiong. Elder Lin has been a great companion as well. I really feel his love and his sincerity. I know that I'll learn quickly. I just need to stay focused on my calling and put my whole heart into it. He's good at giving me a lot of opportunities to try out the Zone Leader responsibilities, so I feel I'm doing my part. ShiLin needs some work. It's been a Zone Leader area for a while, so the missionaries have a harder time focusing on the place here. And so the work here is a little different. I hope to be able to build it up as much as I can. So I've already been on exchanges to NeiHu with Elder Montalto, as well as Elder Thatcher in JiLong. I've been in 4 different beds in 5 days. It's been a little hectic. But I'm loving to be able to be with a lot of different missionaries and learn from their example. On exchanges I learned something pretty important. I was talking with Elder Thatcher about the difference between sad and discouraged. Preach my Gospel says that we will face disappointments, but we should not be discouraged. We came to the conclusion that although we will all face challenges in life, the main thing is that we cannot let what we face effect our faith. If our faith decreases because of our trials, that is being discouraged. We need to always remember, like in Moroni 9:25-26, how these things can be swallowed up in the Love and Power of Christ. To be discouraged is to forget Christ and his sacrifice. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Anyway, we need to get going. Thank you everyone for your wonderful emails. Love, -Elder Liu

Week 57

This week has been great with our Duan3 Chuan2 短傳! 郭長老's going to be a great missionary in a year or so. He's a Senior in high school from Ban3qiao2 板橋. The Youth program let a few people come and 傳教 with us for a week. I was inspired by his willingness to serve and his fire for missionary work -- it was like training someone. He even contacted 2 investigators for us, helping us hit our goals for the week. It was great to make a new friend out on the mission. I'm going to miss 3 part harmonies for our Daily Planning sessions, too. Elder Tay and I have been a little confused with the new rules with the new mission president. He basically got out the rules from President Grimley and said, "These definitely are inspired, but we aren't using them anymore." President Grimley apparently was really strict. But I didn't really realize how much until President Day gave us complete trust to use our own agency and judgement to seek the Lord's will through PMG, The Missionary Handbook, and scripture. We, of course, are liking the bigger freedom. But at the same time, we have found a lot of unspoken rules that we don't know what to do. We're still doing our best in exercising our agency with this "higher law". This week I have felt more sympathy for the Jewish people after the Law of Moses was fulfilled. The first reaction would have to be, "what, are you serious? But those are the rules! That's how it's always been. You can't just change that." But at the same time, we know that this is because the Lord trusts us and loves us enough to live by a happier, Spirit-lead life. We will take great care of the trust that we've been given. This week has been pretty good. We've seen a lot of miracles to help us hit our goals. But at the same time we need to work hard with the investigators we've already had. We've had troubles with getting them to church, so it's a little frustrating. We'll do our best to focus on it more this week. Thanks for the emails every week. Love you all! -Elder Liu

Week 56

Luo jm's baptism went really well! The Spirit was really strong as she bore her testimony and was baptized into the Church. I feel she was also very welcome by those who attended the baptism, which I felt really good about. Elder Tay and I performed a viola/piano arrangement as part of the baptismal service. With Linda, we'll have to wait for another interview next week. It's been really hard with her because we only get to visit her once a week, and so we never really know how she's progressing. I think recently she's been having some Word of Wisdom problems, so we'll see how that goes the next time we meet with her. Even though we had meetings-galore this week, we were still able to hit a decent amount of our goals, which we were excited about. We went to Taibei twice for temple day and meetings, and will go once again today. We'll have a temporary missionary with us for a week that we'll go pick up! He'll be coming to see if he will want to come on a mission later. Hopefully we'll have a boatload of miracles to tell you all next week -- I know the Lord will help him see the blessings of being on a mission! There are just too many! Elder Tay and I have made a goal to look at our goals daily! (Otherwise they never get done...) No wonder we are commanded to study daily and partake the sacrament -- we are so easily distracted with the daily things of our lives, that we forget the purpose. We forget the commitment and fire that we've felt a few moments before. When, in the long run, we definitely would choose the most important things, which is the result of the goals that we set in the beginning. Sometimes Elder Tay and I feel the new 12-week training program is a little repetitious, especially when there are the same videos in 2 consecutive weeks. But I know that it has helped a lot with giving me opportunity to share my own experiences and insights. Hopefully we'll continue to take as much as we can from this opportunity to go through this training. I'm going to continue to do all I can for the district. I'm still praying hard for inspiration to know how to lead them. Thank you for everyone' own example in leadership and Christlike attributes. I've been able to learn a lot by reflecting on the example of all of you. Elder Tay says hi. Ah yes, we might not have had second breakfast, but we had second dinner -- it was awesome. We had a multiple family gathering at the church with some dinner, but a lin2 family also invited us to dinner later that day. I felt kinda bad, but I was really full at the end of the day, so it was okay. We shared a simple message at both of them. I think they both went really well. It was good to get to know the members in the area here. Thanks everyone! I hope you all continue to actively bring yourself closer to Christ. -Elder Liu

Week 55

Today is our temple day, which I really have missed this past year! So our preparation day got changed to wednesday instead of monday. Recently this place has been doing great! Mostly because here we get to teach sisters. The previous missionary here, Elder Kasparian, is a wonderful missionary, so I got to share in his blessings with 3 baptisms planned for this week. He's in a nearby area as our Zone Leader in Taoyuan, and so we get to see him pretty often too. Whoa, Citadels! I played that here. It's a pretty cool game -- kinda dark, though :P But yeah, I really like it. I thought you would enjoy it. It was wonderful to see our new Mission President! These two weeks has been absolutely amazing. We hit every single one of our goals last week -- that feeling is just amazing. I don't know about other missions, but hitting every single goal doesn't happen very often. I know that the Lord provided this opportunity for us to be able to grow in our faith and our understanding of the sacred work we have. Our last two investigators were found on Sunday, just barely hitting our goal. I know that through our prayers, our faith, and our effort, that we were able to be lead to great, prepared people to hear the gospel. I've been having a hard time finding a balance in leading this district.Elder Tay and I were talking about the Color Code yesterday, and I realize that a lot of our district members are yellow (the fun-loving type), which has been harder for me to lead. In my last area, I would say they were all blue or red, except maybe one. I've always have had a problem leading those who love to play, which I guess will be a good thing to develop. Sometimes I think we get less out of things out of meetings and reports than we could because we have this difference. So I'm going to be praying to find a way to be able to lead them in a more effective way. I feel the new missionaries are doing pretty well. I'm sure they're having some hard and frustrating times, but I think they're pushing through it really well. They're really lucky to have Sister Chen and Sister Christensen as their trainers. Speaking of Sister Chen...yes. I don't really know how to describe her family, but we know them. She lives in Provo and I think their brothers stayed at our house a while ago. This week we'll have one person, Joanna 羅jm, who will be baptized this week. They announced her in Relief Society that she was in young womens (oh yeah, she's probably in her 50's). And so they'll be a ton of young women at her baptism, and they'll make the dessert for the baptism, too. Kinda funny, but at least there will be people there for sure. Next week we also have another potential baptism. Linda 彭jm. She has some really cool faith. She's pretty busy, so usually she has no time to meet with us, but by the time it's 9:30 and we can call her, she can pick up. She's had some challenges throughout her time investigating the church, including some Book of Mormon, Word of Wisdom and Tithing questions. In fact, she was at one point, going to stop investigating. But she always willing to pray about it, and sure enough, in a couple days, she would come back with an answer from God. And then she was totally willing to do whatever was required from the Lord, without any particular effort on our part. She's definitely prepared to hear the Gospel. Love you all, 加油! Elder Liu

Week 54

Ha, I left out a very important detail last week. Elder Tay is my companion! I'm sure you all know by now, though. It's been awesome - I feel I have such a great relationship with Singapore now :D. We get along great -- He reminds me so much of my best friend 之一, Elder Nicholas Harrison. And I know that the Lord has taken care of me musically throughout my mission. Who else gets to sing SATB hymns with his district, play string duets, and be with musical companions almost every transfer? He plays the piano and organ, so we had a musical number yesterday for the baptism they had for a Liu jm. I shook her hand for the first time seconds before the baptism picture, so it didn't have too much meaning, but it was great to be in a baptismal service again. LongTan is doing great. Of course, it'll need our hard work, but the people here are great and I'm loving the work. I found out my MTC companion, Elder Xie lives in BaDe which is the area right next to ours. It's great to be serving the people of TaoYuan! In the District I have 10 people, which has been a little harder for me, but so far so good. Elder Tay has been a huge help and blessing to me. He's really good at getting everything done and helping me whenever I need it (which is a lot). I have 2 new trainee sisters that Jonathan taught at the MTC. They both say they loved him as a teacher and learned a lot from him. I hope they're doing well and adjusting well. It's a little harder for me to know how the sisters are doing. It's especially harder in this district because other than district meeting, I never see my district. LongTan is a 40 minute bus ride from everyone else. In TaiDong, I would see my district every day, and so building a good relationship with each of them was super easy. But here I only have phone calls and district meeting to get to know them and their needs. But I know the Lord will still find a way for me to fulfill my calling out here in LongTan. That's all for this week. Love you all, and am praying for you! -Elder Liu

Week 53

I don't have too much time. But I'm moving! Whaa! It's been so much fun and I've had so much learning here in TaiDong. I've been called to be the district leader in Long2Tan2. There are 10 members in that district. 6 Elders and 4 sisters. It's going to be a crazy transfer. Zhou dx's baptism went really smoothly. A very good way to end the transfer! I'm so excited for him! Love you all. Thank you for your support and love! -Elder Liu

Week 52

I hear there's been flooding all around Taiwan, but we've been okay. All the water drains out of TaiDong pretty fast. This past week I went on exchanges with Elder Bowler in YuLi! It was great! There seems to be some great challenges there, but he's taking them on so very well. I think the Lord is using his gift to be able to encourage everyone to do their best and reach their potential. He feels that Elder Xu's actions, especially in finding, are limiting the success and growth that he could be seeing. But I feel Elder Bowler really is getting the help that he needs from the Lord. Our companionship study went really well. He said he's finally realizing why he was sent to YuLi. Maybe not for a baptism, but to help his companion. They're also seeing tons of miracles every day. I've been trying to get the district to be able to become happier/more confident by having the Spirit. I don't know how well it has worked. But I can feel that our district members all have had their challenges but have been able to resolve them by doing what it takes to invite the Spirit more in their lives as well as unity in their companionship. This last week we've had a great activity! We had a Scripture Story Filming activity. We had a workshop system with 2 gospel lessons and then 1 station with filming a story. We had David/Goliath, Ammon, Daniel in the Lion's Den, and Abinadi. Everyone loved it, and there were about 70 there. I think it was really good for the branches here. We had a few investigators including families that were able to get to know a lot of members and have a lot of fun. It was great! The mangos are great! Especially the yellow ones that are as big as your face :) I'll hit my year mark in 4 days. It definitely doesn't feel like a year has gone by. I'll need to cherish every moment! Love you all, and Happy Father's Day, Dad! ^^ -Elder Liu

Week 51

Hello! Exchanges went really, really well this week. Elder Peterson is a stellar missionary, and often wonder why he's not the district leader. But I know the Lord has his purposes. He's been doing a great job and helping Elder Lin. In North Taidong they're seeming to start anew and to start over with a lot of things -- stop meeting with some non-progressors, etc. I think they're both doing a great job in their area, and should see a lot of baptisms within the coming transfers. I feel a few members in our district have been struggling to know how to recognize and even fully desire the Spirit to go out and work their hardest. This week we're planning a movie-filming activity about Book of Mormon and Bible Stories. It'll be a great activity. We already have 15 or so people who already signed up, so it'll be pretty good for an activity here. We're hoping our members will like it and everyone will have a good time, and of course, draw closer to Christ. I hope I can more fully fulfil my calling as a district leader. I've found that I haven't been focusing enough time and energy on my district. It's hard because I feel my companion needs more push than companions in the past, so it lets me worry about my area in addition to my district. I finally got on phase 3, which is reading, and it's going great. I've already mostly finished the first box. There are 3 total, with about 800 in each. And it's been some really good help. Hopefully I'll continue to learn and my make way to full Taiwanese! Love you all! -Elder Liu

Week 50!

Hello! This week has been great. I feel like I've learned a lot from being a leader. It's really stressful sometimes, and half the time I swear I'm forgetting something. But I feel by more actively thinking of the needs of others i've developed more love and more patience. I feel like my companion isn't make the most of his mission, so I'm trying hard to be able to encourage him to do his best and be more active. I know he wants to be here, but I think the natural man is pulling him back from putting his full effort into it. He's a great teacher and has a great testimony, though. He really is a great person. This past week I went on exchanges with YuLi! It was great! I love YuLi. The YuLi noodles are pretty good, too. I especially feel that Elder Bowler has been having a great impact on that place. I know they see miracles every day, and it's been helping Elder Xu to be more optimistic and faithful. I was with Elder Xu at Yuli, and we had a good day of work. He wasn't very active in his finding -- it was mostly me pulling people off the street. But I feel his teaching is really powerful and very clear. They have some good progressing investigators so far. Hopefully they will be able to have a baptism this transfer. I tried to help Elder Xu learn as much as he could from having Elder Bowler as his companion as I have. This week I did my first baptismal interview with the sister's Yan2 jm. It went well. It helped me remember the sacredness of baptism. And it was great to be able to see her desire and change that this gospel has given her. She later cancelled because she wants her mom to be able to approve her baptism, which, as of now, is not super likely. She'll definitely be baptized someday, we just don't know when. Hope finals go well for everyone! Have an awesome week! Love, -Elder Liu

Week 49

Dear President! Wha! District Leader is tough stuff. It definitely keeps you on your toes. But I know that from it I'm growing and learning what the Lord would have me learn. I hope that I'm doing an adaquate job to help my district members continue to learn and improve. I haven't gone on exchanges yet, but I'll be planning on going with YuLi this week with Elder Xu. I'm really glad that they saw some good success this week. YuLi hasn't had a baptism for over a year. But they seem to be progressing a lot. Hopefully I'll be able to take part of some of that success in that area. Elder You is a great companion. He is definitely different than Elder Bowler, but he has many strengths as a missionary and I know that I will learn a lot from him. So far I feel that he's not always as into the work as he should be. So hopefully I can excite him for missionary work by example and help him do his best. I feel the district has done really well this week. So far I don't think there are any companionship problems. They had good reactions from the invite this week. Even though it was really simple, I think it helped remind them the importance of it. Overall they had better relationships with their investigators and they were able to evaluate and improve their ways of contacting their investigators. Sister Rosander was sick this week, so we gave her a blessing. She seems to be doing fine. I don't think her work was effected. She just had a rough voice and was wearing the hospital mask. I know the blessing helped her a lot. Elder Peterson is doing great! And better yet, he's a tenor! That means we have SATB in our district. We're going to have a lot of fun down here. But besides that, I know Elder Peterson's doing a great job as a senior companion. He and Elder Lin seem to get along great. So with investigators, we've been finding a lot of haihao ones. They'll get to setup, but then end up having some excuse not to come. I noticed in PMG it says it is essential that investigators keep a continual influence of the Spirit that they felt when they first met with missionaries, and I definitely see that in our investigators now. But there was a really good one this week. He came from Tai4Ma2Li3 太麻里. Which, for him, is a half hour walk to an hour bus ride. And he came just for us! I don't really understand why he has interest at this point. But I know there's some. He said he really liked church this week. They talked about Patience. He said each member who spoke really touched him. Which was good. Our church meeting really helped me as well. I feel I need to have more patience with myself and with those around me. Zhou Surfer is also making steady progress. We're giving him a lot of ways to strengthen his faith and overcome temptation. He's doing really well. He hasn't touched tea in 2 weeks, and he's a lot stronger than he was before. He also came to all three hours in GaoXiong's ward! He's on track for his 6/16 date of being baptized. Thank you for everyone's support and packages and fun stuff. Love you all! Have an awesome day! -Elder Liu

Week 48

I'm excited to stay another 6 weeks in TaiDong! Especially as a district leader! I know that I have many, many weaknesses. But I also have a firm belief that Christ will lift me higher. Elder Bowler is moving just next door in the same district -- YuLi. My new companion will be a Taiwanese, named Elder You2. So no, our baptisms didn't go through. But they're still okay and they're still progressing even further on the path. It's been a little hard recently. Not too many new investigators, but I feel that we are handling well our old ones. A lot of them stopped meeting with us or are very hard to get a hold of, so it's hard to balance the time right. With Elder You2 we'll probably get a lot of finding done, and see even more miracles. I feel that I've learned a lot with Elder Bowler. I feel our investigators are finally getting the importance of our commitments. They're also understanding more our love for them, and how because we love them, we want to fulfill our purpose through them -- by doing everything we can to invite others to come unto Christ. I know it's because of focusing on these things the past few weeks that we've seen a lot of miracles and a lot better success. It feels like the numbers don't portray how much work we've done, but I feel like I've grown a lot, so it's all worth it. I know that I've helped those I need to, and I've done my best. Hopefully in the next transfer we'll get at least these last two (Chen Wei Hong and Zhou Surfer) baptized and confirmed. Sorry, a shorter email this week. We need to get more things sorted out for the new transfer! Love, -Elder Liu

Week 47

Hello, everybody! Happy Mother's Day -^^- Everything is going wonderfully. I really loved the specialized training we had this week about invites and following up, and I'm already seeing so much more success and love as I use the "ABC" way to invite and followup (Because ABC's are the best :P). A stands for Ai4. Yes, Love. B is Bold. C is confident. I think I personally benefitted most from C. Although before I knew that these invitations would give them blessings, I think I needed more confidence that these invitations are the number one best things they can be doing in their life to help them and their families. No exceptions. And of course show an added measure of love as you boldly give invites. I think our investigators are finally understanding how important these invitations are in their lives through a clearer way of inviting. I sure hope that I don't move, but of course, it's the Lord that will decide that! We're still getting one baptism this week, Zhou Surfer. He really has been amazing. He needs to get up earlier for church, but other than that, he's exercised his faith a lot in the past month or so. Elder Bowler's doing just great. I feel he is learning a lot, and it is showing in his finding, teaching, and Chinese speaking. He's really doing a great job. I'm grateful to have him as my companion. This week we had Elder Lin with us in a 3-in-1. Although the work was a little more busy with two area's work, it was still really good and fulfilling. We were able to visit with their investigators and visit their area (and eat their food! all the good food is in their area...) But it was a really good experience, especially to learn from a new companion. Elder Lin is doing good as well. He's in his second transfer. He seems to be frustrated with his own abilities as a missionary, but he really is doing great and is doing great things. This week has also been a little hard because this week was Mother's Day. A lot of our investigators went home for the weekend, so we had quite a peaceful church with no investigators :( It's been a constant struggle to get people over to our church. Elder Bowler and I will talk about more we can do about it. I hope every mother feels how special they really are, and how much the Lord loves you for your sacrifices! Love, -Elder Liu

Week 46

Hello, everyone! TaiDong is doing spectacular! This week was a little rough because we had a lot of unexpected things pop up, like going to Hualian for exchanges and having Elder Lin be in a threesome with us (since Elder Lusubudan is dang1 bing1-ing for a week.) It's been great, and we've been working hard, but it's been hard on the numbers. I know the Lord will bless us in unexpected ways as well. So far we have 2 baptisms planned for next week. So we're having 2 interviews this week. We're working a lot closer with our MMLeader, Jerry, to help these go as smoothly as possible. The two people are: Zhou Surfer. He's doing amazing! He's done with all the lessons - took tithing like candy, and has been studying and pondering the baptismal interview questions. He's really been an amazing example of faith. I asked if he's had any family opposition, and he said of course he has, but he feels that this will be better for him anyway. He went to church in Gaoxiong this week, and he'll be in Gaoxiong again next week for Mother's Day. I think his biggest problem with enduring to the end is to come to all 3 hours of church. He has yet to do that. But he will always make the sacrifice to go to at least Sacrament Meeting. He has the faith to do everything he needs to, but he needs a push to do it sometimes, but then he's great. I've been grateful to have Zhou Surfer as an investigator. In his prayers he mentioned how he was grateful us Elders could help him make these changes in his life to be more fitting for God. It helped me see the impact that we have in other's lives. That's really refreshing sometimes for a missionary. The other one is Chen Wei Hong -- He's been a really long time now. He's had 2 interviews, but none of them are effective now. We've decided to wait until he's 20 next week so he can just get baptized without parent permission, and so hopefully everything will go smooth next saturday. Have an awesome day, everyone, and a magical Mother's day! I love you, -Elder Liu

Week 45

Hello, everyone~ The work has been wonderful. I feel that from our specialized training from Elder Gong my testimony strengthened so much. I was praying for an experience that could help me strengthen my testimony and desire to share what I know. Being able to talk about teaching skills and the Restoration of the Gospel, as well as feeling the Spirit really did answer my prayers. I'm grateful for the training you gave and the Spirit that you, Sister Grimley, and Elder/Sister Gong brought to us. I also feel that the focus of my finding and teaching have taken a more effective and spiritual turn by focusing on the Restoration of the Gospel. This week, I feel that by opening a lot more responsibility to Elder Bowler, things have naturally gotten a little harder in some aspects. He's doing an amazing job at being proactive and continuing to improve, so the work load is becoming even more equal. But now as we plan and discuss things together, we have to work more fully with two different opinions. Of course, as we both try to seek the Spirit, discuss, and study it out in our minds, we try to find the will of the Lord in our decisions. It's been a wonderful opportunity to be able to develop these communication skills and Christlike attributes. I'm sure the opportunities will only increase as life goes on. This week we've had some great progress with some of our investigators. Zhou Surfer is making a conscious and faithful effort to stop drinking coffee this week so he can have is baptismal interview next Thursday. He's already finished the Book of Mormon in less than a month, and his testimony is really strong. He specifically said in his prayer his thanks for the missionaries helping him change his life to fit how the Lord would have it. That really touched me. It helped me see firsthand how the gospel really does change lives. It helps people really become happier. -Elder Liu

Week 44

Hello, everyone! This week has been incredible! We've definitely seen the Lord's hand and guidance in our lives. We've been unconsciously been sharing more and more scripture because our roleplays have all been How to Begin Teaching and Scripture based. We've been able to practice how to effectively introduce, read, and apply scripture. It's becoming more and more apparent how if our investigators are just wiling to read the Book of Mormon, they will be able to bear with faith the trials necessary to becoming converted. We've had a big wave of lessons this week. Which means we had less finding time. But we definitely had the Lord's help to hit our goals. During our WPS Elder Bowler and I were able to talk about the equality of our companionship. Elder Bowler has been staying in the background more, and waiting for my lead to know where we should go or what to do. I've been trying to have Elder Bowler and I have 50/50 planning, teaching, and every other aspect. Once we simply talked about it, we've been seeing even more miracles. He's been giving more input. We've been seeing that as we pray about the things that we are about to do, we are both lead to have the same feeling, and we see many miracles as a result. Yesterday we had to find one last investigator in the last 30 minutes of the day. After the prayer, we both had a distinct feeling that we should go toward Obama cake, which is away from home. As we went, I found a kid willing to do prayer, but didn't have time for a lesson, so I got his number. Elder Bowler found a former investigator who said he needed prayer in his life again. He was willing to meet with us more. His wife and kids seem to be inactive members. Hopefully we can help this family come unto Christ once more! Li3 Chang1 Xian4 dx has been amazing after his baptism. We already have two of his friends that we've met on the street that they say they know us because of his influence. They were both willing to meet with us and learn more. Because of various reasons, their progress might be slower, but we'll try to do the best we can. Li3 dx's already being an awesome member missionary, mostly just because about the things he talks about every day. We have an investigator Chen2 Wei3 Hong2 who has passed his baptismal interview! He's a Dong1 Da4 freshman in college. Recently he's been out of town and not being able to meet with us. But this week he's had a lot of time. He ran into a problem last week, in that we taught him the 10 commandments. He said that he didn't know if he could give up his family religion to be baptized. He wanted to respect both religions equally. We asked him to ponder and pray about it. A couple times later he said he was willing to follow the 10 commandments. I'm not really sure how he came to this conclusion, but he did mention how he's gotten a lot of help from this church, so he's willing to be baptized. It reminds me of how if we just follow the doctrine, we will know of the goodness and the truthfulness of that doctrine. He's been amazing. I think his biggest need before baptism is to know that after baptism he needs to attend church every single time, and not just when we invite him or when it's convenient. Our next baptism will probably be a Zhou1 dx (we call him Zhou surfer, just because...he looks that cool.) He works for the government, so he has a lot of free time. He uses at least 30 minutes a day of this free time to...read the Book of Mormon! Yay! He's amazing. In 3 1/2 weeks, he's already at Alma 40s. And the testimony he's grown has really shown in his progress. Even those these commandments have been a little daunting at first, he's been able to overcome them very well. He goes to GaoXiong every other week on the weekend to spend time with his family. Normally they go out to eat on Sundays, but this week he bought a bunch of groceries on Saturday and he's going to eat by himself on Sunday. It's kind of a sad sacrifice, but it's wonderful that he's keeping the Sabbath Day holy. He's sure to see the blessings of Sabbath day observance. We found a Vegan place called Loving Hut. A very interesting name, but also very good vegetarian food. It's been great to see the creativity of names here. Why can't the US do that? :P I love you, -Elder Liu