The beginning of the end (Season 11 Episode 5) - 11/4/19

Greetings and salutations!

Monday was a good preparation day! We had a fun time just chilling at the Stake Center most of the day. We did have a tasty curry lunch and I loved that. We also played some basketball and I made three full-court shots so that was cool. I also shot a lot of free throws. Believe it or not it's pretty relaxing. Towards the end of the day we had a friend come back to 三峽 with us and we ate a great hamburger dinner and had a great time. I love Mondays.

Pretty good day Tuesday. We had District Council and that was a great time. We talked about finding and hopefully we can take what the Spirit taught us and go apply it and find more people! Aside from District Council, we just had studies, meals, and finding. Lots of finding. We called over 20 formers today and spent some time on the streets too. Just trying to get more people in our teaching pool. It's an ongoing effort. With only about 2 weeks left in the transfer I wanna try and leave 三峽 on a good note.

Wednesday was a fast day. We had interviews with President Peterson and he said lots of good things to me. He really knows how to lift someone up. He told me he's a big fan of me and I think that's pretty cool! He also told me that I would be moving this transfer and a little bit about where I'll be moving to and my next companion. He said it's still subject to change, obviously, but I'm pretty sure it'll happen. I am very excited. President has a lot of faith in me and what I can do. He also knows my strengths and puts me in situations I can capitalize on those. He truly knows everything! So the end of my 三峽 chapter is in sight. Only 2 weeks left. Aside from all that we had English class and that was the next most exciting thing!

Thursday was a pretty empty day. Elder Settles took a language test and then we did our studies as well as weekly planning. So that was a lot of sitting around but we had a dinner appointment today so that was fun. It was with the family of our recent convert! After we finished eating we all went and picked her up from Cram School and when she saw us she was so stoked and jumping around. What a great kid. That was a bright part! I also did lots of rubiks cubes today. I recently got some new ones so that has really been occupying my boredom and free time. Could be worse.

Friday was super good. We started our only exchange of the transfer! I was with my Zone Leader Elder Nader and he is going home this transfer so I am fortunate enough to be his last exchange of his mission! We had a good day doing some finding and then going to a popular tourist spot out of our area to eat dinner with a friend of Elder Nader's. It was the same barbecue place I had my first installment of the epic battle vs. squatter toilet at. It ended a lot better this time so I was happy about that. We also got one set up for tomorrow so that was awesome! It was a good day and I'm always grateful for exchanges.

Saturday was another good day. We finished up our exchange and hung around the 土城 area because the Sisters had a baptism today so we went and watched that. It was a good experience and we also had a good lesson with the man we set up yesterday and he was super cool. Super nice too. So we are gonna try to continue meeting with him. It was a more chill day. Lots of time on the bike so I enjoyed that a good bit.

Sunday was great. We had a pleasant fast Sunday and also had the recent convert fireside as well. Both were very nice experiences. At the fireside I saw a man from the 淡水 ward that Elder Pope and I had tried to work with, and now he's baptized so that's great! He is doing well and even remembered me (pretty surprising). Not much to write about regarding the day, but it was good.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski

謝希伯長老

TWO PDAYS IN ONE WEEK (Season 11 Episode 4) - 10/28/19

Greetings and salutations!

Monday was loads of fun! We had Christmas choir practice again and afterward hung out at the chapel for a bit and talked with people. Then, we went with our District and some other missionaries to go hiking! It was a fun, easier hike so we had a good time and got lots of cool pictures. Afterward, we walked to the 101 building and saw some sights around there. That is where a big miracle occurred. Because of my current financial situation, I didn't have money for lunch and I hadn't eaten breakfast because of my eating schedule. So I was planning on not eating until dinner but when we were walking around we ran into some members from another ward and they bought me a whole meal. I was so moved. I couldn't believe it and it has just been another tender mercy from the Lord. Then that night, we had a member buy us subway and then give us a 7/11 gift card of sorts that allows my companion and I (after splitting it), to each spend 448 NTD there. And for us, that's a lot of money. I can't believe how much the Lord is blessing me and providing for me at this time. He truly does watch out for his missionaries and even though not everything may be perfect, I have had these great experiences seeing the hand of God in my life and having inspiration come to me that reminds me of skills and things that make me unique and make me feel a lot better about myself. I'm so grateful.

Tuesday was a good day. We had our Zone Conference! It was fun to get three zones together and learn from the President and some other missionaries. Aside from that, we had a lesson with a super solid friend who is making great strides. He's super willing to do stuff and he committed for church! We are definitely excited for him. Then we had a visit with a less active and are trying to figure out the best course of action to help her come back to church. We think we have a good idea so we will have to put it into action soon. Overall a good day!

Wednesday went by really fast. We didn't have much going on so we had some good finding time. We talked to a lot of college students and we got one of their contact information. So maybe that will turn into something. We had a pretty normal day and had English Class at night which went well also! In class we learned that a man that comes sometimes is a member of the church who was baptized 20 years ago but hasn't come since. So now we have a new friend to work with! He has a great family and hopefully, we can teach them and help them come back!

Thursday was another quick day (or so it felt). We did a lot of the same stuff. Just out finding and we were able to have a lesson with our most progressing friend right now! He's such a rockstar and we invited him to set a baptismal goal with us and he set a goal 2 weeks ahead of what we were thinking of. Talk about impressed by the Spirit! We are working on finding right now since we don't have a lot of investigators (3 to be exact). So hopefully things start picking up for this area again.

Friday was pretty laid back. We had a lesson with a dude we met on the street yesterday and he said we could come back to his normal hang out stop and keep on sharing stuff with him so that counts as a new investigator. Not bad at all. We had our weekly planning session so that was a hefty chunk of time and then we ended off the day with a member visit. Pretty good day, no complaints here.

Saturday was awesome. It was basically a preparation day warm-up because we had two big Stake activities in the morning and at night. In the morning we had a Stake Sports Activity! It was loads of fun and we played lots of games and had fun. One really fun one involved hula hooping, spinning around a stick, and then standing on one leg. I was one of the participants and after spinning the 10 times around a stick I fell over 3 times haha. It felt like I was tied to a rope and someone was pulling me down!! It was so funny and I finally made it through everything after falling a good bit. So much fun though! Then that night, we had a Stake Halloween party and I got to dress up as a Jedi complete with a dope lightsaber!! The kids and adults all loved it and wanted pictures with us! Our whole zone was there and all having a good time and dressing up as different people. It was an amazing day. And the icing on the cake was biking a total of 32 miles :)

Sunday was a nice day. We had the normal church meetings and also a few after church. We did have a few hiccups though. When we left the house to bike to church, my companion's bike tire was popped. Then when we went to go grab his metro card he couldn't find his wallet so I had to lend him one of my extras. We barely made it to church on time but on our way back we went and brought the extra missionary bike back to our apartment so it'll get all fixed. That was the exciting parts of the day. We did have a cool street contact with a man and ended up getting his Line so that was cool as well.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski

謝希伯長老

receiving blessings and giving blessings (Season 11 Episode 3) - 10/21/19

Greetings and salutations!

Monday was loads of fun. We spent all of our preparation day at the stake center with loads of missionaries and we played a bunch of games, ate lots of food, and just had a good time socializing and it was fun to be able to meet newer missionaries and make new friends! I love P-days because everyone can let loose and have some fun. At night we had a lesson turned member visit turned gospel conversation. It was pretty interesting, but fun too.

Tuesday was a good day. We had our first District Council of the transfer and it went good. We had a good chat about all that we liked from Conference! It was so fun hearing what everyone liked and seeing how the same messages inspired different people. After District Council, we did studies, had English class planning as well as going to the hospital to visit some members of a neighboring ward. We went and were asked to give priesthood blessings which we happily obliged to. Giving blessings is always a spirit-filled experience, humbling as well.

Wednesday was pretty fun. We had a good morning and stuff doing studies then we went out knocking and ran into an old friend and she invited us over and gave us loads of food so that was pretty sweet. Then we came back and had a real dinner and taught English class! All of my students are females (except for my member partner) so that's fun. They are mostly older and love learning English so we have a fun time talking and practicing. Teaching English will always be one of my favorite things to do.

Thursday was pretty fun. We didn't have much going on so we went knocking and contacting at the college campus as well. It was pretty fun and we found lots of people... that weren't interested in the Gospel. It was all good though and still fun because we made our way to the top of a building at the college. It was at sunset too so it was literally the best thing ever. Beautiful scenery and stuff like that. Super awesome. Then to end the night I did a baptismal interview for the Sisters in my District and it was so nice! So many prepared people here. On another fun note we got chased by dogs on our bikes (I named them all Eddy) and at Starbucks I saw a lady knitting and she reminded me so much of Mom I couldn't help but smile every time I looked at her. Memories!

Friday was a day of answered prayers. So this last week we had to get our air conditioning unit fixed and I had to pay the money for it. So while I'm waiting for my reimbursement I have barely any money left for the month. I've been using what food I have and really being smart and have been praying for divine help to make it to the end of the month. Well today was great because I found 50 NTD on the ground (which is a great amount when you are as broke as I am right now), and then we had a member dinner where she gave us a bunch of food to take home! Such a big help and an answer to prayers. With other activities and such, I should make it to the end of the month and have lots of money saved up! We were also blessed to be able to go and give our District's Sister's investigator a blessing in the hospital. They called us and thankfully we had time so we dropped what we were doing and went to help them out. I may never have superpowers but being able to bless people with the priesthood of God is the next best thing. I love being on Heavenly Father's errand and serving his children.

Saturday was super nice. In the morning we helped a member do service and just moved a bunch of stuff from the third floor of the house to the first. A pretty good workout and we got treated to lunch afterward! Then we also had a ward family home evening in the evening as well. Heavenly Father is really looking out for me and helping me be financially stable until November! Seriously such big blessings lately and I'm super grateful for it all.

Sunday was a laid back day. We had church and subsequent meetings that took us all the way up to dinner when we factored in biking home so that was a big chunk of the day. At church, a member who just got back from America gave me and my companion 2 boxes of macaroni and cheese each! Such a big blessing I'm very grateful! At night I called a lot of formers and got some forms ready to hopefully get better member work going in our ward!

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski

謝希伯長老

I am the Draft King (Season 11 Episode 2) - 10/14/19

Greetings and salutations,

Monday was really fun. For preparation day we went back to my first area again and saw the sights with a bunch of other missionaries! We also had an all you can eat pizza lunch and that was pretty good. It was fun to see 淡水 again and share it with other missionaries too! Then at night we had a surprise lesson with one of our friends who is actually going to be in the hospital for a few days. Prayers go out to him.

Tuesday was pretty good. We got a lot of stuff we needed to do out of the way and also had an awesome lesson which turned into a new investigator! He is a super cool guy and he seems super interested in the church and he said he was excited for our next appointment and excited to read more of the Book of Mormon! He's a stud. We were also able to go give the friend of a member a blessing. Another member that was with us, who is preparing for a mission himself, gave the blessing and I think it was a really good opportunity for him. He seemed very touched by it and it was a nice experience. The priesthood is such a miraculous and powerful gift. I'm so grateful for it. On a fun side today I drafted a bus and got to 25 MPH and it may not have been a semi-truc going 60 MPH but I'm sure the feeling was close enough. 

Wednesday was good. We had 2 lessons which was awesome. One was with our friend who is in the hospital. So today we went to the hospital, just not for us (that's a first). We had a good lesson and our friend accepted a baptismal goal! So that is exciting and we also had a lesson with an eternal investigator who we are dropping once again. His time will come someday, but it is not now. On top of that, we had English class too and it was great!! I love my new class and they are all so great. I'm thankful for the chance to provide that service.

Pretty good day. We had our Zone Council Thursday and President recently changed the format of it so it is a lot more District focused and Zone supported. So that means I gotta do a little more than I have been used to but I think it's a good format. It's fun to be in our District and so to work with them more is a great opportunity. After the Council, we came back and had dinner with one of my companion's friends and then afterward Elder Settles and I had pretty gnarly stomach issues so we headed in a little early for the day.

Friday was pretty easy. We had our studies and also had weekly planning. We were able to get out at night and we went around trying to visit members and contacted people. Pretty standard day but it was good nonetheless. I helped Elder Settles get some stuff done on his bike, service is good! That was the day though. Pretty busy but good.

Saturday was awesome because we got to watch Conference! I actually enjoy being a week behind everyone else because I hear all the big news first and can focus on the words and messages being shared. I really enjoyed the sessions and am excited for tomorrow! Conference goes by so fast now but I'm grateful for prophets and the revelation they receive. After we watched Conference we had a dinner appointment and that was pretty much the night.

Sunday was a great day. We finished up watching Conference and that was very nice. The time always goes by so fast but I'm glad to have been able to watch it. After conference was all over we had a ward lunch and then a baptismal service for 2 kids in the ward! One of them was a girl that I taught and so I am super grateful to have been able to get another recent convert and help another soul along the path! We got back late and had dinner and then had our weekly correlation meeting, and with only 3 investigators in our pool it didn't last super long. This area has a lot of potential and I wish I could tap into it.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski

謝希伯長老

In my element (Season 11 Episode 1) - 10/7/19

Greetings and Salutations!

Monday was super fun. We were originally going to go to the stake center and play basketball but it was closed so we ended up getting with 6 other missionaries and we all had lunch together and then went to different places in 台北! It was so much fun and felt good to let loose and have fun and laugh. Really good day. At night we stayed inside because of the typhoon rolling through. It wasn't super serious but with the strong winds I didn't wanna risk anything (guess some things never change 😉)

Tuesday was very nice. We had district council and we basically just bore testimony of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and President Nelson. I asked them all how they know these things are true and we just shared experiences and bore testimony. It was a very spiritual experience and really good! After district council we did the normal things and our lesson canceled on us so we had to reschedule that. Kind of a bummer but nothing is perfect.

Wednesday was a fun day. We had the usual stuff and were supposed to have a lesson but we actually bumped into our friend at the hospital and we tried to meet with him but it didn't end up working out (his appointment took longer than expected). It was fine. We biked around and saw a cool part of our area I had never seen. It was very pretty and a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. At night we had English class and that was very nice. I enjoy teaching that class and now that I'm the intermediate and beginner teacher it's a lot more fun! Also, with the mission's new materials it makes everything even easier.

Thursday was crazy and not in a good way. We spent 3 hours waiting at the hospital so Elder Settles could look at the results of an allergy test he took a few weeks back and it turns out he's allergic to 4 things. 3 of those things he already knew so we spent all that time to get information we already had. I was a little disappointed, but life goes on. We had 2 lessons both cancel on us too. One of them rescheduled though so it was ok. It is also the start of a new transfer, my 11th so that is cool too. I set some good goals and am ready to accomplish them as these 6 weeks go on.

Friday was wild. Biked almost 30 miles total because first thing we had to bike 9 miles away to get me fitted for a costume that I'll be wearing at the stake Halloween party. I'm going to be a Jedi so it's going to be a great time. I can finally fulfill my duty of being a Star Wars day baby. Afterwards, we biked back and did studies then at night we had a lesson with our friend. He loves the idea of a prophet prophesying and it's so nice that General Conference is next week so we can hear the prophet himself! He's a great guy and seems genuine in his quest for truth.

Saturday was fun. We had weekly planning today so our morning and afternoon were filled with studies, but at night we had a dinner with a member and her non-member friend so that was nice! Afterwards we walked by a basketball court and a bunch of neighborhood kids were playing ball and so we played basketball with them! I may not be the best but boy do I have a fun time playing. So we did that and one of them had a skateboard so I landed a one-footed kickflip on the first try! It was so close to a full I'll count it as a 3/4 make. We also visited a less active and he said he wants to come back to church! Such a cool guy and we can't wait to see him at church tomorrow. It was a fun day. I have learned recently to not sweat the small stuff and just having fun and doing the good work is all I need. Hang loose and work hard.

Sunday marks 16 months on the mission. Crazy how time is passing by like that. It was a great day and the highlight was going to the recent convert fireside. It is so great seeing old friends, making new friends, and being filled with the spirit!!! I love situations like those. Lots of people in one place and I can just go and meet and talk with so many people! That's why being a missionary is awesome.

Elder Heber Chase Ciminski

謝希伯長老

#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