So Monday we had preparation day and we spent it at the chapel in 花蓮 all day. We had a super good time we played some basketball and just talked with other missionaries about random stuff. It was really fun! Before we went up I sent some letters from the post office, I am still a firm believer in snail mail! I love writing and receiving it. And it's really cheap so even better! Today was a really fun day I enjoyed it all. Last night we got transfer details and I already knew I was staying here (and President keeps saying I'll stay for 4 transfers. Like I said before though I'm taking it transfer by transfer). The work we did tonight was just knocking around but it was also a full moon tonight and I was looking at a moon and it just kind of hit me how big the solar system is and how many other things are out there but God knows them all individually. How amazing is that! Someone who knows all of that to care about us individually and loves us so much just fills me with so much joy.
Tuesday was very interesting. We spent the morning doing service for our group leader. We moved some boxes onto a truck and went with him all the way down to 花蓮 basically to drop them off at this little shop place I guess he is turning into his own bike repair shop. It's actually super cool! The drive down the highway was so amazing. I just had my arm out the window and feeling the nice crisp winter wind and seeing more of the beautiful island just filled me with such an all-around joy. We had District Council not too long afterward so we got dropped off at the chapel which was really nice. District Council was nice, but a little sad since 鳳林 will be moving into a new district with 玉里 and 鹿野. These three areas are the three most remote in the whole mission so we are nick-naming ourselves "The 偏僻 Kingdoms" since we are all so remote. It'll be a good time though since we are all in the same boat we can have better discussions about our areas and help each other more. It'll be super cool! On our way back to the train station to come home some members from 台北 treated us to some stinky tofu randomly. Tasty and a super nice gesture! Once we got home we had to do personal and companionship study after dinner so that was the rest of our day. An interesting day but sometimes missions will have those!
Wednesday was pretty dang awesome. We saw such a cool miracle! We went to a part of our area pretty far away (approximately an hour away as the biker bikes). Neither Elder Crimm or I were familiar with this place so we decided to go and check it out today. As we were knocking doors I saw a kid sweeping his driveway a few doors down and just felt like talking with him. So after the door we were at didn't answer I walked over to start talking with him. I ended up helping him sweep his driveway and we talked about the gospel (he also had some American pop music playing in the background so that was a tender mercy), and he eventually invited us inside to share a quick message. While inside, we shared a scripture and he set up to hear more on Saturday! What makes it even cooler is as I was sitting there looking at this kid's super cool house I noticed a bookcase way across the room and noticed one book in particular. I recognized it after a second and then when we walked out on the way I walked over to this case and pulled out a BOOK OF MORMON he already had in his house! I invited him to read the introduction before Saturday and he said he would! Heavenly Father has blessed me with a keen sense of observation and it has proved helpful many times on my mission and I am grateful for that gift. That was a little long of a story but it was so cool I just had to share it! Miracles happen! God is a God of miracles!
Thursday was the first day of the new transfer! And that meant I could wear a different tie! I'm not sure if any of you noticed but I wore the same tie every day last transfer. It actually got hard towards the end, but I stuck it out! Let's just say though, I probably won't wear that tie again for a long time... Today was a weird day because we had an activity for our ward in 花蓮 and today was transfer day too so the bikes we usually use in the city were all taken. That led to us biking 20 miles from 鳳林 all the way to 花蓮! It was a long ride (an hour and 40 minutes) but we saw some amazing scenery and I felt super good after finishing. The activity was also super awesome because it was centered on motivating youth to go on missions! That's one of President Peterson's biggest goals for us as missionaries is to strengthen the church in Taiwan and help the youth go on missions. It's super awesome to be a part of this amazing countries church growth! After the activity, there was a train that could take our bikes back on it to 鳳林 so we didn't have to bike back thankfully! Despite being busy and not having a lot of actually missionary time today (we also did weekly planning today too), I feel super good about how things are going and I am ready for my next transfer in this awesome area!
Friday was a good day. Nothing too exciting happened but I did cut my hair once again. I recently read a talk from Tad R. Callister about becoming a consecrated missionary (what it is with him and giving great talks???) Part of the talk that really hit home was laying pride on the sacrificial altar of missionary work. I really do like my hair, especially when it is long and I can do stuff with it. After reading the white handbook for grooming I decided it was too long so I took my longest guard on my clippers to it. It was definitely a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be but hair grows back. No worries, now it is a more appropriate length that I am happy with. That's one of many things I will be changing this transfer to be a better missionary. Some will be physical, like hair, and others will be more internal, like not thinking about trivial things that don't matter at the time. Nonetheless, this next transfer is only the beginning of the transformation. It'll be exciting to see all the great things that will happen!
Saturday was a day of letdowns. We started the day with 3 lessons scheduled and ended the day having taught none of them. Plus another English class with no students. Those two parts of the day were kinda tough but I still end up feeling so much joy at the end of the day. It's awesome how that works out. A few days ago I found a straw hat on the road and decided to keep it and clean it up. I wore it out walking around town today and I feel like a pioneer with it, people should start calling me "Brother Heber". That would be pretty funny. The mission has given me lots of time to reflect on my previous years and now I have a small flicker of desire to go on Trek but now my time has passed. The pioneers are a great example for us all we would do well to learn about their faith and their stories. They still have application today! Church history in its entirety is super cool to study. I guess that's some of my thoughts from the day, kinda all over the place but that's how it is sometimes!
Sunday was pretty slow. We had an awesome church meeting in the morning and after that, the day was pretty slow and relaxing. We did our studies and then waited for a member to get back to us about a potential visit to our investigator. We did actually end up making the visit and it was such a good visit. We went over the time limit we established and the members that came with us provided such a strong testimony. When they finished sharing we all just sat there and I was feeling the spirit so strongly. It was such a powerful lesson and I know it helped our friend feel the spirit too and will help her progress towards baptism more. That was definitely the best part of the day. The Spirit is such an amazing thing and it is such a great privilege we have as members of the church to have the chance to always have it with us. I am trying to always feel the spirit and it is my wish for everyone to do the same! Without the spirit it's like going on a dangerous expedition with no directional tools. It's so necessary!
I love you all a bunch and I'm always praying for you! I know you pray for me and I can feel the power of those prayers when I need it most. Thank you!
宋長老
Elder Ciminski