Monday was a very good preparation day. Elder Yang and I had a slow morning and we got everything taken care of that we needed to. We went to 中和 to do some shopping and bought some stuff that we wanted. It was good fun and we found everything we wanted. After we hit all the stores we wanted we came back to 三峽 and I bought some new running shoes! We had enough time before preparation day ended that I went for a run and started breaking them in. Thankfully I made the right choice and I like the shoes! We had a slow night of missionary work just studying for a bit and then contacting people and trying to set people up. It was pretty good.
We had a great day on Tuesday. We were able to provide service for a member moving and the only downer was that they didn't have AC and so I was literally dripping in sweat and it was pretty gross. We served others and served God at the same time so it was all worth it. We also went to an elementary school to pass out English flyers with a member. That was fun but man it was cutthroat. So many other people trying to hand stuff out to the parents and stuff but we got through and handed out our stuff. They strategically placed me in the center of the crowd since they will probably be more interested in a white dude speaking, and it worked! Maybe a little too well since some of the female students walked away saying "he is so cute!!!" Well anyways we also had a member visit and that was basically the day. It's nice to be busy and have things to do.
Wednesday was great! We had Zone Conference in 桃園! There were 3 zones together and it was a nice time to learn from President and Sister Peterson and other missionaries as well. One thing I loved about it was how President helped answer the question more about what it means to be a consecrated missionary. He said it is doing the things you don't want to do. He said it in regards to being obedient and it really struck me. Everyone will be disobedient sometimes but he said we need to submit ourselves to God's will and that comes through those kinds of sacrifices. It really hit me and I liked it! There were so many awesome parts but another was about doing a self-inventory every week, President Ballard had hit on that when he came here and it was encouraged we start doing those. That should be way good too! So all in all Zone Conference was great, saw some old friends, learned a lot, and walked away a more enlightened person. When we made it back to our area we had just enough time to grab dinner then go teach English class. I had a very interesting experience when I was doing my spiritual share. I was sharing about the Atonement of Christ and one student who is very loud with his opinions began asking some interesting questions and as I tried to understand his questions and answer he just kept layering it on and making it more difficult for me to answer. When he finally made his point I began to answer and he cut me off, to which I (and a few other students too) told him to wait and I proceeded to bear one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever born. I told him I didn't know the answer to every question but I knew that God loves us. He will see our good works and we will be rewarded for choosing the right (which is where his question stemmed from). It was such a powerful experience. I felt the spirit lift me up and add power to my words and I know that what I testified of is true God does love us and things will all be right in the end. Little bit longer entry but just had so many cool experiences, I had to write it all down. We also had a student say that he wanted to become a member of the church! He said he would come to church so I'm way excited to help him progress.
Thursday was a laid back day. Since it's normally the slowest day we like to do our more logistical and planning type stuff during this time. So today we did some English planning and whatnot but we were also surprised when a potential texted me and said he could meet at 7! It was super cool and he is now a new investigator of ours. He's a cool guy and his name is Rico! Bet in his prime he could throw a pigskin over them mountains. We also picked up a new investigator from English class yesterday, he told us he wanted to be a member of the church! What a miracle! So today was a great day of finding since we also got a setup for next week from a former. Keep the prayers coming!
Friday we saw some awesome miracles!!! Despite not having a lot of time (weekly planning and stuff like that), we got a call from an English Class referral and he wanted to meet with us! Thankfully we had some flexible time and could sit down with him and share the first lesson! He was very willing to take the Book of Mormon and try reading it! As always I am hoping that he will continue to progress and want to learn more! We also had a great activity with some members playing ping pong! It was mega fun and I definitely got a good workout from it. We have some skilled members! We also saw another miracle as we were walking out and heading home, we got a referral and I called them and they said they would come to English class and that she was interested in the church and we could talk about it then! How awesome is that! I know that these miracles and everything that happens is influenced by Heavenly Father. His hand is in everything!
Saturday was quite a spontaneous day. Elder Yang and I enjoyed a nice morning of studies then we had 2 member visits to fill our day up. In between the visits we had to do companionship study and we were near the MRT station and so we decided to ride the MRT one way for 30 minutes and then turn around and ride back 30 minutes for our 1-hour study. It was way fun and added some spice to the day! We were also pleasantly surprised when one of my friends texted me and asked if we wanted a free dinner! We graciously accepted the offer and had a super good hot pot dinner! That marked my 6th free meal this week and 5th day in a row with one. To say I am grateful is an understatement. I am amazed at how nice people here are and even though I've been here 9 months it still amazes me! Also, I have finally found pleasure in red lights. I have been perfecting my track stands and I had a super good 45-second stand where I was rocking back and forth and even threw a one hander in there for fun. Red lights are awesome!
Sunday was a fun day. We enjoyed a nice bike ride to church and had a great meeting. We ended up spending a total of 5 hours at the church. 2 for the normal meetings then we had correlation meeting and then ate lunch with members and talked with them for the rest of the time. Time really flies by when you're having fun. We biked back home and did some studies and then went and did a service for a lady who called us a few days ago and asked if we could help her son with English. So we met with him today and I helped him out a bit. He's applying for something to do with IBM and that reminded me of Grandpa a bit. I'm really hoping he gets what he's going for! We had dinner at the Stake President's house and it was so good!! They made us some food and we had an awesome chat with them as well. That was pretty much the whole day though but it was a way good day.
Monday was a weird day. It was a work day because we are going to the Temple on Wednesday! We still had a great day. We started an exchange! This time I was with Elder Keys and he and I were in 三峽 and we had a good time! We had a lesson and then did some studies and dinner then at night we tried to find some formers and potentials who had addresses listed. We weren't able to make contact but that's ok. Overall the day was weird because it didn't feel like a Monday but it didn't feel like any other day either. It just kinda passed by.
Tuesday was insane. Elder Keys and I had a solid morning and enjoyed some good exercise and personal study as well. When we left the house it was so so hot. Like by the time we arrived in 土城 for district council we were absolutely dripping in sweat and it was just so hot. District Council itself was awesome! We did a fun activity to practice teaching skills and it was a fun time! Being a District Leader is pretty fun. As we were wrapping up though we heard the biggest clap of thunder ever. I was absolutely blown away. We opened up the window and it was pouring rain. Absolutely pouring. I could not believe it. So Elder Yang and I still had to bike back home but instead of dripping sweat we were drenched with rain. It was a fun ride though. The raindrops only hurt a little bit and the thunder wasn't too loud and the lightning not too close. Absolutely crazy weather! That was the craziest part of the day though. Mother nature playing crazy games.
Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老