Monday was a very good day. For Preparation Day we did not do that much. I did get a hair cut and got some shopping done and got some great deals along the way! In addition to that, we also wrote some emails and hung out at the chapel until we went back home for a bit and got some good housekeeping items out of the way. For our meals, we were blessed once again to have 2 Member-provided meals. Every time it is always so good and so even though I am noticeably gaining weight I am content with it. When New Year is over I can start controlling myself again and get back to normal. For now, I am happy with everything.
Another full day in the books. Tuesday was pretty good our 2 meal appointments were way good and lasted over two hours, but it was nice. At one of them, we also had Family Home Evening and we played games and whatnot and it was lots of fun. I felt a great spirit in that home as we all had that time together. Aside from that we just did studies and filled up the rest of the time with what we could. Tomorrow marks the end of Chinese New Year and also the last day of the transfer! So crazy how time flies.
Wednesday was pretty laid back. Our lunch appointment ended up taking 4 hours between travel there and back and the actual meal. So that was a big chunk of time and then we had District Council and dinner right after. Then we ended the night with our English group! So the day went by super quick and it was my last full day with Elder Seamons. This time has flown by and I am grateful for it all. I learned a lot these last two transfers and am excited for the next chapter in this journey, training! It's been a wild ride and will only pick up more. I can't wait.
Thursday was a big day!! We were up early and out the door to drop the two moving elders off at the train station. Afterward, Elder Bell and I took the shuttle to the high-speed rail station and made our way to 台北. Once we got there we were busy getting stuff done. We had a meeting with President Peterson and all the trainers and then we got into the big meeting with all of us together, trainers and trainees. That was awesome and it definitely felt better being on the other side of things this time around. The last thing we did was obviously knowing who our new companions were! So my new companion is named Elder Ellis and he is from California and he's a solid dude! I already love him a lot and am excited to work with him and help him out. Once we got out of the meeting we had a circus act of trying to get 8 missionaries, 2 bikes, and 5 people's luggage all through the busy MRT and onto trains. It was a wild ride but we did it and for the night we just got my companion settled and some little grocery items taken care of. Since we got back late that was about all we had time for. So excited for the future!
Friday was so great. We had a busy day with getting studies in and our weekly planning as well as having a lesson with a super awesome guy! He's an aspiring rapper and he let us listen to one of his songs about Kobe. Good stuff. We had a way fun District Dinner and then a night of getting stood up by people and contacting more potentials! The grind still goes on and we are working on getting Elder Ellis settled in and he's doing a great job so far!
Saturday was pretty sick. We didn't have any appointments or anything going on so it was a day of studies and finding! We were able to hit our 20 conversation goal and it was awesome! We also had some great studies and did some awesome roleplays. I usually don't like roleplaying but it was nice to do it again. Recently I have been feeling super happy. I am happy with my companion, my mission, and everything else that's going on so I honestly have no complaints! I am grateful for Heavenly Father and his never-ending blessings I am so lucky to receive!
Sunday was super awesome. We had an awesome church meeting and afterward we had ward council. Elder Ellis also had a good time at church, he got to meet members and they all love him! Also, Ward Council was such a cool experience. Bishop gave us a few minutes to talk about missionary stuff and so I was talking about our vision for the transfer of working a lot with members and really helping this ward grow through that aspect. We asked who they knew that hadn't been to church in a while that we could go visit and start helping to come back. In the end they gave us 11 names! I was so grateful and astonished how willing they were to give us these names. They will be the focus of this week and we are going to have great experiences working with these members. That night we spent lots of time going through our member list and making it more up to date and then I got to see President Hilton from my MTC branch presidency! He and his wife are in Taiwan serving a mission now and it was so cool to see them and have a few minutes to catch up and let them know I've improved since the MTC! Overall it was a great day. I have been filled with such immense joy recently and I am really grateful for everything I have and all the blessings I have received.
Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老