Monday was an awesome day! We had a killer preparation day and we are starting a new tradition of going to Costco with the other Elders for shopping and lunch. So we did that and I bought some food to make for this week that will be a bit healthier and help me re-establish my previous habits. Aside from that, we just hung out around home and wrote some emails and I took a nap which was very nice. Then at night we had a lesson with a friend and it was so awesome! Elder Ellis and I were both able to teach and the spirit was so strong during the lesson. Ultimately the Holy Ghost is the teacher but we did everything we could to make sure the Spirit was present. We also got more member stuff sorted out and called some potentials. We had a cool experience that touched me. We were biking home and I stopped and talked to a guy walking down the street. He was a very nice guy and at the end of the contact he gave us some face masks to help keep us safe and healthy. It was such a nice act of charity, a man we had just met, sharing with us his face masks because he cared about us. That made me smile.
Tuesday was a good day and it went by so fast. We had our normal studies and then had lunch with a member we brought back to church! He is doing well and the lunch was very tasty. It was raining though which made it harder to talk to people. However the people we had the chance to talk with were all so nice and one said I spoke Chinese so fluently and someone else asked me if I was born and raised in Taiwan. I am so grateful to have received these high compliments but in the end I know the real reason behind my lanaguge and it's the gracious blessings of Heavenly Father. The gift of tongues is a real thing. I have seen it time and time again and can really testify of it.
Wednesday was pretty sweet! We had a good time doing studies and I had some good meals I cooked myself! So it was way awesome. Because of the Wuhan Virus we have to keep off the streets and avoid talking to people. So it is pretty wild, and another thing that makes my mission way interesting. We continued to press forward in member work and getting things rolling on that. It's going to start taking off soon. We also had District Dinner and then English Group also! So it was a fun day and another adventure for sure.
Thursday was a good day. And, as every 6th day of the month does, it marks another month being on my mission and this time around marks month 20. Super wild but the work doesn't ever slow down! We had District Council and a lesson that made the day go by pretty quick. We also got lots more done in regards to members and also called lots of people. We still got some setups so that was a big blessing. As I was biking around I got such a feeling of gratitude for being able to be in Taiwan. I absolutely love living in Asia and am so grateful that I have been called to serve here.
Friday was amazing. We had a busy day with weekly planning and 2 appointments also. One appointment was with a less active and it went pretty well! The other appointment was with a friend we met with earlier this week, and he brought a friend with him who wants to learn more! It was such an amazing miracle and I have really noticed a difference in the lessons we teach when we use the pamphlets and when we don't. We have been using the pamphlets every lesson now and it has brought the spirit so much more. So I'm glad I have finally come around and have started using this! We also helped our older friend set a baptismal goal! So it was such a day of miracles.
Another awesome day! Saturday we had a great day getting studies done and getting stood up twice. That was ok because at night we had a member dinner with my favorite family in 竹北! They fed us pizza and chicken and we had a great time chatting and Elder Ellis got some good Chinese practice! It was a fun time and I always feel such a great spirt when I'm at that home. Other than that we called people and tried to do other finding things besides street contacting. The progress is slower but it's better than nothing and worth being safer.
Sunday was way wild. We went to church at the normal time in the morning and then before you knew it it was 5:30PM and we were leaving the chapel for the first time. What happened was that we had our own ward's meetings and then did some Come Follow Me with the foreign members in our ward. Afterwards we had a lunch get-together and then as we were walking out to head home we ran into a guy that Elder Ellis had contacted this last week and so we ended up turning around and going to two more hours of church with him. Then after that ward finished we had another meeting that lasted an hour. AND THEN we did our studies at the chapel so we could get them done on time. So when we finally got home we ate dinner then headed back to the chapel for the night and got the rest of our member spreadsheet sorted out! It feels way good to finally have that done and now we can start calling everybody and bring back the sheep that have strayed! So we spent all our day except for dinner at the chapel but we got a lot done and that felt good.
Elder Heber Chase Ciminski
謝希伯長老