11/11/11!

Did anyone else have an amazing 11.11.11 11:11? Because we did. Besides being able to making the biggest wish in my life, that friday went really well, too. Recently we've been really blessed to run into some amazing people. But we've been also running into some problems. Apparently there's some long-running conflict between Taiwanese and Americans? ....what? really? why? It really does make me sad, angry, and disappointed at some of our missionaries here. I'm not really sure what to do about it, but I feel I have some kind of obligation to try to change it. I just don't know how... But aside from that, we saw so many miracles this week. But we also faced some of the hardest times. I think that's how the Lord works most of the time. The greatest lows bring out the greatest highs. Elder Su ran into a lady who got out of jail that day. But in jail she learned the gospel, and has wanted to join our church ever since she heard it. She really wants to make that change in her life. We ran into someone who wanted to know how to pray. He said he's done it before, and he felt pretty good about it. He said he really likes prayer, but he just wasn't Christian. I found a lady tracting who, after her mom rejected me, came out and started talking to me. She works in China, and is leaving next week, but says she wants to meet with us starting tomorrow. Hopefully we can get far with her before she has to leave. I feel I've learned more about what it means to be continually reliant on the Spirit to do His work. I find that every time I just say a simple prayer in my head, I am completely led and prompted to talk to someone. I feel that every time I have a small success, I can feel the Spirit confirm to me that person is ready as I go talk to them. I am so grateful for the Lord's tender mercies to me this week. I really feel the Lord guiding me in my efforts to become a better, more humble missionary. The Lord really is so merciful in leading all us, as long as we remember Him in everything that we do. This week I'm going to focus hard on the next level after finding, which is making my teaching experience a great one. I feel that once I find someone willing to meet, I get excited, and I forget to teach them a lot that would help them. But Elder Wang in our district told us we should not be finding just investigators, but finding investigators that are progressing towards baptism. So I resolved that I can do better. I know the Lord is blessing me to slowly get better at it. This week I'm going to be focusing on Knowledge and Virtue as my Christlike Attributes. I hope that through these attributes I can teach with more sincerity and simplicity. It's great to hear from a lot of you through email and through letters! I'm glad to hear you're all doing great! 加油! It was great to see Dad last week :P We just coincidentally met at the mission office while I was on my way to the temple. I've actually got a lot from my dad, including the translations for General Conference and the translation for "On the Lord's Errand" DVD that we've been starting to show investigators. I love you! Thank you for all your support! -Elder Liu

Week 21

Wow! November! It's supposed to be getting cold over here, but it's not. In fact, the days are getting hotter. But I should be grateful for the warm weather. They all say that winter is super super cold over here. The temple was a wonderful experience for me. It was great to be able to have that renewal of spirit and mind. It really is a great blessing for one to be here.\ These week was a little rough, but the Lord made up for our weaknesses. Yesterday, I was feeling particularly not so good while we were out contacting, and so I sat down to say a prayer. As I looked up, there was a lady that I felt prompted I needed to talk to. She was putting together a fold-up bike, and she was trying to carry this huge bag while riding her bike home. I asked her if there was anything I could do. And she responded in English (she loves to speak English) and said I could help her find a way to carry her bag. And so I spent a few minutes trying. After a prayer in my head, we finally got it to work out, and I think she made it home okay. But before she left she was willing to talk to me and we setup a time to meet again. It was a cool experience. I know that the Lord sent her to be able to comfort me in my weaknesses. Our Ward Mission Leader, Dai4 di4xiong1 (dx) took us out to a huo3 guo1, and I ate really, really full. I think I actually gained wait now! I just hope it's not fat... I think our biggest problem so far is our church attendance. We had 7+ investigators say they would come to church, and only 4 came, with only 1 staying the full 3 hours. But I think it's our problem in not teaching the importance of it well enough. It's just so sad because I've seen my prayers answered so many times by going to church. Maybe you have some suggestions that I could use to help teach? Maybe experiences I can share? I'm doing really great here. Thank you for all the letters and packages that I've been getting. I love you, -Elder Liu

Week 20

Temple Day! This is why I didn't write two days ago. We're going to Taipei today, which is about a 2 hour train ride. It's such an amazing blessing to have a temple here that we can invite all our investigators and new members to prepare for. This week has been amazing. Our new district is great! We have 3 companionships still, and each companionship has one Taiwanese and one American missionary. Having a half and half companionship has its tough spots, but I think we're all doing really well. It's hard to be able to make friends and have true unity with a language barrier. You can't make your usual jokes or express yourself fully. But that's what the gospel is for! We all have the same purpose, and we all, in a way, have the same background. So yes! Tang jm is baptized and confirmed! And better yet, she's still active! It's every missionary's nightmare to baptize someone who wasn't ready, and have them leave right after their baptism. We found another investigator that is making amazing progress. Okay, that's not actually true. An investigator found us, who is making amazing progress. We were making calls and a Family Mart (a convenience store), and a 40 year old man walked up to Elder Su and said he's been looking for us. He shares his story of his depression, and how he's already tried to commit suicide. But his wife and daughter helped him through that hard time. He said he wants to turn around, and do whatever it takes to be baptized. Wow. Talk about prepared! It's going to be amazing to work with him and help him through this journey One of the most frustrating things out here in MiaoLi is that it is more apparent then ever the principle of being compelled to be humble. Yeah, these people are humble in their every day life, but they all don't want change until they need it. In essence, they ask for God's humbling. They ask for trials, tribulation, and sorrow. Why? That's probably something that hurts me the most out here. It's that people can't see how this Gospel can not only make their lives immediately better, but that they can avoid the sorrow and the pain that comes from the compelling the being humble. But at the same time, I think we all do that sometimes. I know I've done that. I've not wanted to improve because I thought my life was great. Tang jm gave a really good analogy I've never thought of. Our life is like what we can carry with two hands. We can only have so much in our lives. But sometimes the Lord wants us to put something really good down on the table, so that we have an extra hand so He can give us something better. It's the good, better, best principle that is so often shared now. And the Lord always has an even "better" for us, until one day we can receive the absolute best. One of the greatest blessings of the gospel is being able to search the scriptures and see all the blessings you've already recieved. And you truly know, as in 1 Nephi 17:13, that it is God that really did lead me through this path. Thank you for all your prayers for my investigators and for me! I really do feel them! I'm praying for all of you, too. I love you! -Elder Liu

Week 19

Whoo! My first baptism! It's been amazing to be able to take someone throughout the entire baptismal process. And I know that's actually quite a lucky experience, too. A lot of times people will move before they can see their investigators baptized. Tang1 jm did wonderful. She bears her testimony every time with power and with sincerity. We had a musical number, where Elder Su played the piano, I played the guitar, and 4 members from Insitute sang "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus." I really love that song. I feel the Children's Hymns are so amazing. They're simpler in word, and more musically interesting as well. The day before the baptism, I read in Alma chapter 29:9-10, which talks about how his joy comes from finding the penitent who are willing to accept the words of Christ. I really have come to feel that taste of joy. And as I see the successes in missionary work, I really do feel that the Lord loves me. I'm reminded how merciful He is to all of us to give us all that we have. So my call this transfer is.....to STAY in MiaoLi! I'm so excited to be able to continue to build the friendships that I've already made here, including my companion, who is also staying. Elder Su's family came to visit him in MiaoLi. So no allowed, but there's not much we can do. We were at the church teaching a lesson when Elder Su started acting really frantic. And I couldn't get why. But then he said, "Elder....I think my family's here." This was when the lesson was about done, so we ended with a prayer and we went outside. And yes! His family was there. They said they didn't try to plan it out to see them, but they were going to drop off a package at the door. It was cool to be able to see his family. I'm sure it's a lot harder for him to be living so close to his home. Miao Li is right next to Taichung, which is where he lives. So he's really, really close to his house. Elder Su plays the Chinese flute! So I've been having some fun with it. :B Just so everyone knows, my address will be the same for sending me letters no matter where I move. So keep them coming :P Thanks everyone! I've been sick recently, but it's alright. Just a light headache and some sinuses blehs. Hopefully it'll be gone soon. I love you! -Elder Liu

Week 18

This week was a little rough at the beginning, but turned out wonderful at the end. Great peace came to me as I feasted on the words of our living prophets in the new edition of the Liahona about the Book of Mormon. I love the Book of Mormon! I've been realizing that I'm not sharing that love and that knowledge enough to my investigators, so I'm trying to make that a goal in each of the lessons we share. Our one investigator, Tang1 jie3mei4 (jm) should be baptized this week! She's come a long way! She's faced questions about other gods, family opposition, and some other repentance problems, but she has had enough faith and desire to overcome these problems. She really has been prepared from the Lord. She says that recently she's had a really hard problem in her life, and gang hao we were able to befriend her and help her heal from her past. I really love being able to see the change that the Gospel has made for her. Sorry, it's hard to write about her, because I really don't know a lot. My Chinese lets me miss a lot of the personal things about her, but I can still teach her. She works at a place that works on a 2 days working 2 days resting schedule. But she's recently be studying to be a government worker...I'm not really sure what it is. But Elder Su says it's to regulate moving, some deaths, and just keeping track of people, I guess. But this job will let her take Saturdays and Sundays off, so we're hoping that she'll be able to do well on her tests so she can come every week. We just met with a recent convert named Liao4 jm. She has a son and a husband who's not a member of the Church. It's almost been a year since her baptism but people still haven't had the new convert lessons with her yet. So we started yesterday. We talked about Laws and Ordinances. We had their whole family as well as Xu2 jm. We talked a lot about temple marriage and being sealed. And after, Liao4 jm's husband was talking to us, and he agreed to start taking the lessons! Wow! He's always just rejected before. We don't know why he was so happy that day. This was a miracle we were really happy about yesterday. Yesterday we also taught a Gu2 jm. Recently she's been having a really hard time in life. Her relationship with her family has never been good. Her work has bad co-workers, and she has to stand for 12 hours from 7:30pm to 7:30AM. She says she wants to know if God exists, but she's been reading the Old Testament, and feels that God isn't fair and not loving because of the things that he does to those who don't follow Him. She says that she never receives any answers to prayers. She's been really hard to work with, sometimes. She has a lot of questions and we don't have enough time to answer them. But we've been trying to get her to read the Book of Mormon instead of the Bible. It's like in the Liahona. Mormon really did see our day. He really does talk to us, even though he's not here. The Book of Mormon can solve every one of our problems in every situation. And it's not that the Bible cannot, but it just wasn't written for our day. It's hard to understand. I'm so grateful that I have the Book of Mormon that I can read every day to feast upon the plain and simple words of Christ. As the Book of Mormon solves the problems of my and my investigators lives, my testimony of it grows. I had exchanges with an Elder named Elder Thatcher. Elder Thatcher is an amazing missionary. He reminds me a LOT of Chris Pope. His voice, his hair, everything, and especially his testimony. And it just made me realize how blessed I was to be with all the friends and family I was when I grew up. Every single one of them were amazing, and I know that together, even though apart, are doing amazing things. We are all influencing a lot of people just by our example, even when it's not apparent. And it's all because the Lord is guiding our actions. I am so grateful for the amazing influences you all had on me every single day. Thank you for your testimonies! I am doing great here. I hope I don't move from Miao Li just yet, maybe a couple more months or so. I love it here! I love you! -Elder Liu

Week 17

Hallo! Everything here is awesome! We finally got to hear General Conference this week, and it was great! Although, I had to hear the English talks through the Chinese dubbing, so I know I missed a lot of it by nature. But I still had a lot of spiritual experiences and answers to my prayers. I particularly loved President Eyring's talk about lessons from the Book of Mormon. I loved his story about giving his talk for that college. The Spirit was really strong as he talked about how he remembered the Prophets, Abinidi, Ammon, Alma. And how they, against the world around them, boldly and shamelessly shared their testimony of the Lord. I think that I can do better at this. I know that I can be more confident in the message that I share, because I know that it is true, and I don't have to fear the consequences. I was also especially pleased to hear Dad's voice over a couple talks. It was really fun to try to understand all that I could just by listening to Chinese, when I couldn't hear the English. Sister Tang1 is progressing amazingly. She has a wonderful humility and a desire to change. She's faced a lot of problems so far, but that's good. She's learning to use the Atonement in her life, and the amazing, inconceivable power that it holds. And she's using her faith to overcome these problems. I think of the statement in Preach My Gospel that says that "we will find great joy in repenting daily." I know that the Atonement can change lives, heal souls, and redeem all wrongs. We're hoping that she will be ready to be baptized for her goal, which is the last sunday of our transfer. I got a bunch of letters this week! Thank you all! Thanks especially to the Primary! I loved all your drawings. We've had a huge wave of investigators and people to remember. We've been working on our Area Books, which is just a big collection of records throughout that area. It's been amazing to see the blessings of records. Just like the Book of Mormon. There is a very special power in a well kept record of anything. It's really cool to be able to keep things organized and well kept. I love you! Love, -Elder Liu

Week 16

Everything in MiaoLi is awesome! Elder Su and I are very blessed to be seeing miracles every day by serving here. Right now we have one particular progressing investigator who is well on her way for baptism! Her name is Sister Tang1. We saw an interesting comparison between her and another investigator, Sister Ye4, who we had lessons the same day. Sister Ye4 is not doing so well, and I don't know if we'll see her again. But they both had a small desire to learn more about the church and to see what we're all about. But Sister Ye4 never developed adaquate faith because she had no works. She wouldn't pray for us, she would read scriptures, all because there was "too much pressure." But Sister Tang1 was willing to try. She's already read past Mosiah in the 3 weeks that we've known her. She prays everyday, and even tries to attend some of our other lessons with other investigators. She's had one major problem, and that is that she needs to ponder more about the differences between having one God and many gods like her culture teaches. But I know that she has the faith to overcome this problem. I love how this Gospel is all about working and doing. It's only when you really want to, and go and act, that you'll get a real testimony of the truthfulness of the doctrine. We had a youth activity that was really special. We had all the youth in our stake go with missionaries to go on a mission for a day. It started out with 1 hour of personal study and then 1 hour of companionship study. In our group we had 2 young women, 3 young men, and 2 other adults that were willing to drive us up to Zhu2 Nan2, where the activity was. Our youth were particularly hesitant and unwilling to work, but as they were more exposed to the work, they all loosened up and served with their heart. It was particularly interesting to see one young woman who didn't really say anything. Her name is Sister Wang2. She said she was dragged there by her leader. But during one particular contact, an a-ma, she opened her mouth for one sentence. She said that she knows that the a-ma's family could be together forever. I felt the absolute power that came with that statement, and I knew the lady could feel the Spirit. She later didn't accept, but I know that we did our part. I was glad to see that turnaround in our young women. I think they all enjoyed it in the end. I know that that small miracle testifies to me that it doesn't matter how complicated your testimony. The simple, heartfelt ones are the ones that have the most power and influence. I know that God loves all His children, and will always help them according the effort and desire of their hearts. Elder Su is an amazing person. He says at first he hated coming on a mission because his friends wanted him to stay. But because he came, his mission changed him a lot. Right now I would have had no idea that he struggled about coming on a mission. He plays the Di2 zi5, or Chinese Flute! Whaaa! So you can imagine that I"ve been playing a lot of Dizi. It's really fun. He's also learning Viola, so it's a fun trade. He's a great person. He's patient with my weaknesses, and is always trying to strengthen his own. I've learned a lot from him as we discussed together. We found 9 investigators last week! I'm so excited! I hope that we'll get a good chance to see every one of them progress. On Friday I found an older man, in his 70's. He's Buddhist. And usually by that age they're pretty set in stone about their life philosophies. I've found that the older they are, they are either more prepared and softened to the word, or hardened and prideful. And he was definitely more prepared. He said that me, being a representative of a "true" God, was his savior. He said that such a young man telling an old man about religion humbled him. He stopped in the middle of the street and turned off his motorcycle. He lives a long ways away, but I know that he'll progress. I can't wait for conference next week (for us)! I hope everyone enjoyed hearing the prophets and apostles. I've already heard some great stories about how their prayers were answered through the words of the prophets. And wow! A new Provo Temple? That's amazing! I can't wait to see it when I get back! I love you all! I pray for you every day! Love, -Elder Liu