#BLESSED 🙏🙏 (Season 10 Episode 6) - 9/30/19

Greetings and salutations!

Pretty chill Monday. Our big preparation day activity was going to the hospital for another test on Elder Settles. We will get those results on Friday. Other than that, I cleaned my bike and then we had someone buy us dinner and that was pretty nice. Another laid back day, just like always.

Tuesday we had a normal day. We got out early because we had interviews with President Peterson! I had a good interview and I really enjoy talking with President and gleaning his wisdom. After our interviews we grabbed some food with our Zone Leaders and then headed back to our area. We got cleared so that we can go outside and so we had a normal day doing studies and then visiting members and trying to find people! It feels good to get back to some normalcy again. Living a sedentary life is not as fun as it sounds.

Wednesday was a fun day. We had a great time finding since we didn't have anything else going on until English class. When we were knocking we had a man let us in and we talked for a few minutes and he set up for tomorrow! So we will see how that goes, but it was cool seeing that blessing today. On top of that, we had English class and it was good. We are back in 三峽 now and so we had the old faces come back. After English class, we met with our friend who dropped us recently and had a good conversation with him. I was able to share personal experience and bear testimony to him and we are going to work on getting him back on track to continue learning the gospel.

Thursday was crazy! We were all over the place but got great work done all the same. We had another Zone Council meeting and it was pretty fun. I got to translate after not doing it for a while so that was good language practice as well. After that meeting, we went to a lesson with the man we set up yesterday and it went super well. We shared about the Book of Mormon and he liked it and said he would come to church on Sunday and afterward we are going to share about prophets! We also revived our friend who didn't think he could follow the Word of Wisdom! He said he doesn't have any desire to drink and we are so happy for him. Such a big miracle day!

Friday was very laid back. We got out the door mega early and went back to the hospital to get the results back on the test we did Monday. Thankfully the tests all looked good and the doctor said that the problems Elder Settles has been having with headaches are related to his posture and if he fixes that, the problems should be solved too. Lesson learned, always have good posture. After that, we went to the Mission Office to pick up stuff once again (the Office Elders gave us the wrong flash drive so we needed to go and switch it) and that went a lot longer than expected because we had to wait for them to come back. When we finally got home we did our weekly planning for the rest of the night. We hadn't done that in 2 weeks since nothing with our investigators had changed, but we got it done and are ready to keep working and helping this area grow.


Saturday was so fun. We had a big ward activity and we went to this super cool place with waterfalls and stuff and had a big barbecue! It was so fun having the ward together and all having a good time. There were also some less active members and non-members there also so it was great in all aspects! The only downside is that the smoke really hit me hard and I had a bad headache most of the day. When we got back we switched clothes and did studies. Then we went and helped administer a blessing to a less-active member. That was a cool experience. The night was filled with contacting and preparing for our coordination meeting tomorrow.


Sunday was a good day. Church was nice as always and it was a good time. Afterwards we had a laid back afternoon doing our studies and eating then at night we went around town and called people and watched a cool lightning storm! The weather's been picking up lately because of another typhoon set to hit tomorrow but we will have to see how the cookie crumbles.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老

Conquering fears (Season 10 Episode 5) - 9/23/19

Greetings and salutations!!

Monday was the most chill preparation day ever. We just did the same things we have been doing for the last 4 days. We stayed inside and enjoyed the comfort of the air conditioning and called family. Pretty easy and pretty chill.

Tuesday was a little more of a normal day. We had our exchanges with the Zone Leaders so I got to get out and work with my good friend Elder Hughes! We were in the MTC together so it was a good time. We enjoyed a little of everything today. Knocking, contacting, and teaching a mega lesson. We taught a little girl all 5 lessons and did her baptismal interview too. It was a long process but it all ended good and she will still be baptized despite some slight hesitations. So it was a full day and a nice break from the time inside we have been having.

Wednesday was another good day! We had Zone Conference at the chapel by the temple and it was good. We received some good training from President and a couple sets of Zone Leaders. It was nice to see old friends and with every Zone Council that goes by I always feel a little older and cool because I feel like I actually have a semi-solid grasp at what I'm doing. It is nice though, missions are a great chance to meet people. Plus we got a new senior couple in the office so I got to meet them too. After the conference, we went to a different hospital in 台北 at Sister Peterson's suggestion so that took up the rest of our day. And we have to go back tomorrow too.

Had a little travel day Thursday. We got lunch with one of Elder Settles' friends and then we went on an adventure to the hospital we went to yesterday. They were actually able to get some answers to us and now we know more. We still need to go back and get some more stuff done tomorrow. After that trip, we went to the mission office to drop stuff off and we ended grabbing dinner with one of the office missionaries and a member and our dinner was paid for! Not what I expected to happen, but a very fun time!


Friday was pretty much the same as yesterday. We went to the hospital earlier in the day and grabbed lunch by the mission office since Elder Settles wanted to file his reimbursement stuff again. When we finally got back it was business as usual just staying inside and letting him rest. One perk of all this though is that I have a lot more study time. Gotta make the most of it while I have it.

More of the same stuff Saturday. We did have 2 lessons set up but unfortunately, they both fell through and one of them was when we were already at the organized place. It was okay though because it felt like the weather switched over to fall and it was so nice. There was a slight drizzle and slight chill in the air and it was so great. So even though the lessons didn't work out, we at least had good weather. Other than that we were inside the rest of the day.

Pretty normal Sunday. Had a good church meeting and afterward, we just stuck around at the chapel until it was time to go to the Stake Center for the Face 2 Face broadcast from last week! It was super nice because they had the English playing too and so I got to hear the full message and it was good. I got lots of notes from it. After the fireside, we came back home and continued the resting Elder Settles has been prescribed. Hopefully, we can get off that this week.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老

remember that mythbusters cabin fever episode? (Season 10 Episode 4) - 9/16/19

Greetings and salutations!

Wednesday was great. We enjoyed a nice preparation day that included going to the temple! Every time is so great and I felt so much peace today. Amidst all the things that go on in life, the temple is a great source of peace. I spent more time in the Celestial Room today and just took it all in. Just enjoyed the environment. I also bought a new temple tie. It's all white obviously but it has chinese characters on it and it says "families are forever". What a true statement. We enjoyed a fun lunch with 8 other elders and after the temple we sat in on English class (which we didn't have to teach) so it was nice to be support crew.


Nothing happened Thursday. After receiving instruction from Sister Peterson to allow Elder Settles to rest and not do anything, we spent the whole day inside. It was still as productive as could be. Cleaned up and organized some stuff, did some studies and whatnot also. It was a very strange feeling to not have left the house at all. Only 1 or 2 more days and we should be able to get back out.

Spent all of Friday inside. Got out to buy dinner and go to the roof for a little bit. Other than that just more studies, naps, and letting Elder Settles work on getting better.

We were able to get out a little more Saturday. We had a great member dinner where the member had invited 7 people who weren't members to all come and eat! We were blessed to be able to teach lots of little bits of doctrine and help those present feel of the Spirit! After this glorious occasion, we went to a baptismal service for the Sisters in our District. It was quite nice and I was once again asked to witness the ordinance (at almost every baptismal service I am at I usually get asked to witness). Felt good to be out a little more!

Same old same old Sunday. Got outside to go to church and it was great! We had a few meetings after church so we got all that taken care of and then headed back home for the day. We also learned that a 9+ year old child getting baptized this Saturday needs to meet with us and so I guess I'll be getting another baptism this week!

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老

HE DROPPED US!!! (Season 10 Episode 3) - 9/11/19

Greetings and salutations!

Monday was a chill day. We spent the bulk of the day in my companion's first area with the Elders in that area and some members. We played board games and ate some food. It was a nice time even though I'm not the biggest board game fan. I'm just along for the ride. The night was good also. We got some good member visits lined up along with a member dinner at McDonald's. He's not from our ward but he likes going and visiting missionaries so today he wanted to visit us. After that, we just planned some good old English class. This weeks topic is planets!!


Tuesday was a good day. I got out for my first run in a bit and it felt pretty nice. We also had our first District Council of the transfer and we had it here in 三峽. It was pretty nice not having to bike all the way to the Chapel and we had more time to be in our area. At night we had a lesson with our most progressing investigator and he finished the commandments lesson and is excited to get baptized! We shared tithing with him and we honestly thought it might pose a problem but he accepted it!! What a miracle. He still has some other small hurdles to get over but he's definitely going to make it!!

Wednesday was lit. We had an interesting day with nothing super special going down. We did go to a new 7/11 today which was kind of cool. I guess only missionaries would think going to a different convenience store would be cool. It was and we got to call some formers. Aside from that, we had English Class, which was actually fun! We taught them the planets and it was pretty cool. Turns out they don't learn about that stuff as young as we do so we got to teach them the English and the Chinese words for it all. It was a nice, rainy day.

Thursday was a pleasant, drizzly day. The rain was pretty much off and on all day which made biking even more pleasant than it already is. We also had a lesson with our new referral who is set for a baptismal goal! All he needs is to come to church and he should be ready. On top of that, we played basketball with our friend Sam and his brother one last time before Sam leaves for school. He sadly didn't have an interest in continuing to learn the gospel but he's a good kid so I am sure he will have the interest again someday. That was pretty much the day though. Pretty exciting to bike all around and enjoy the weather.

Friday was a hard day. Did studies and weekly planning along with a doctor's visit. Nothing super special, but we did get a text from our most progressing investigator and he is the most awesome older fellow ever and he told us to not prepare for his baptism because he doesn't want to go forward with it anymore. Talk about heartbreak.


Saturday was wild. We had a great day because we were able to go to 台北 and participate in some cool meetings and stuff. The first one was a performance of Lamb of God! It was so well done! I felt the Spirit so strong and it was just such a great performance. There were some other missionaries that performed in it and President Peterson was in it too! It was a great time then we went and got dinner with a member afterward because we had a Stake Conference session tonight. We were originally gonna practice teaching with members and that's why we went but after 2 and a quarter hours of sitting through the meeting, we didn't even get to do anything. It was way disappointing but nothing is ever a waste of time. We were still able to learn some things.

Pretty busy Sunday. We still had to get out the door early because we had to get to the Stake Center early for our weekly Coordination Meeting. After that meeting we had some lunch and then buckled up for round two of Stake Conference, once again going over the 2-hour mark and it was pretty ok. Before all the meetings I got to see Sister Born again and we had a nice conversation and she's way hype. Not much has changed since the good old Gilbert days. At night I conducted a baptismal interview for the Sisters in my District and they are going to be having another baptism this week! Good for them!

Monday was another working day. We had a normal day though, studies and we went out knocking. Knocking was fun and we got to talk to lots of people. At night we had a member visit too and got to share about family history. I am excited to go to the temple and do some of my own family names!

Tuesday was pretty interesting. We had District Council and it was really nice and fun. After Council we went to 板橋 which is a city close to the Chapel and we visited the Elders that serve there at their apartment to grab some stuff and then we went to the hospital. This hospital is a bit bigger and a little better and still told Elder Settles the same stuff. He isn't happy and thinks he's getting fooled but I withhold my opinion. I'm not the one with a medical degree but those doctors have one... anyways after that, we ate a quick dinner and then walked around a big mall in that city. That whole area was Elder Settles' first area so he took great pride in being able to show me around and I just let him do his thing and we had a good time. Then we made our way home from the long day. I am very excited for the temple tomorrow!

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老

life's a trip (Season 10 Episode 2) - 9/2/19

Greetings and salutations!

Monday was an adventurous day!! We didn't have any plans, and then one of our investigators offered to take us sightseeing and so we went with him and went on quite the adventure. We drove all over the northern part of the island and had a great lunch and even went to 淡水 for a little bit so Elder Settles could see what it was like. It was such a cool time. Riding in a car and seeing sights made for a very nice preparation day. We also got ready for our apartment inspection tomorrow. Hopefully it's up to snuff but I guess we will see.


Tuesday was another day in the land. We had a fun morning getting our apartment inspected from a senior missionary couple and afterwards we went out with them to lunch and they were so nice and bought our food for us! We got to talk with them about their previous missions to Hong Kong and Vietnam and hear some cool stories! It was a cool time and they said we had a very nice looking apartment . Afterwards we went to the mission office to pick up Elder Settles' bike and now we should be clicking on full cylinders and can get back to some normalcy. Elder Settles is a great guy and we are having a "lit" time together! One of our favorite sayings is "life is lit", and it really is!

Wednesday was a fun day. We didn't have anything going on so Elder Settles took a look at the map of our area and picked an area that we wanted to check out. It was in a cool place by the mountains and there was a road conveniently located in that area that led to 土城 and we could go that way since we had to teach English class. We definitely weren't prepared for the next 2 and a half hours on the bike complete with an hour and a half of climbing a mountain. It was so crazy but going down after was worth it all. There was such an amazing view of Taipei city and it was so pretty. I also clocked myself going 33 miles per hour down the mountain (all the while pumping my brakes for safety ). Then we had English class and it was the hardest one yet. We had one girl show up and she got really mad when we wouldn't let her play with toys until we finished learning the words and so she didn't talk for the whole class so we ended super early because we weren't getting anything done. Teaching children is hard.

Thursday felt like an Arizona day! The temperature peaked at 103.2 degrees. The work still goes on and we had a fun day that started with playing basketball with another one of our friends! It was loads of fun and we had a good time. After we finished playing we got showered and then headed over to the chapel for our Zone Council. It was a normal meeting with some good trainings and some good laughs. After Zone Council, we did our studies and had dinner at our Ward Mission Leaders house. It was loads of fun eating and talking about missions (our Ward Mission Leader served in New York City). They also gave us Koolaid mix, oh yeah!

Friday was a fun day. We went to the hospital again to get Elder Settles checked up again. The doctors weren't the best but we are getting it all taken care of. Hopefully answers will come soon! Other than that, we did studies and our weekly planning session as well. Afterwards, we went and visited an investigator and it turned out to be a drop lesson (a lesson where we stop teaching them). Teaching him has always been a little interesting but he told us he didn't want to be baptized and has been less than willing to do invitations we extend. It's always unfortunate dropping people, but it's a necessary part of the process. We were able to end the night having dinner with two members and we had a good hot pot! The first one I have liked in a long time.

Nothing special happened Saturday. The day was a little more mellow after I got some bad news from a friend. Things are well for me though, just lots of pondering. We also taught a lesson and it went well. Our friend set to get baptized this month is still progressing very well!

Sunday was a normal Fast Sunday. After church we had a lesson and had our Coordination Meeting. When we got home we just did our studies and ate some food before going to the recent convert fireside at the Stake Center. While the day wasn't super unique I did have an interesting impression come to me during the fireside. It was just the phrase, "we are all on our own trip". I sometimes spend too much time worrying about others and what others think of me. I just gotta stay in my lane and focus on how I am doing and making sure I am doing good and doing the right things.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski 
謝希伯長老