My Heart Was Full

Da Jia Hao!

 

It's been another good week here in Zhong He! We were able to have some good experiences and some success in the work this week which has been very satisfying to the soul. Lately, our investigators have been struggling in their progress of faith and in making those steps of change and action within their own lives. It seems like a lot of them have been curious and willing to listen and to try it out, but not to strongly commit. It has been a little disheartening for my companion and me as we love these people so much and hope to see them progress in the gospel because we know this will help them find the most happiness in this life. 

We did have some miracles from the Lord, though, this week. We have two new investigators who came to church for the first time this week. I think they really had a good experience and were able to feel of the spirit and see the difference this gospel can make in their lives as they attend. They have been willing to act upon the invitation to pray and to start reading the Book of Mormon to find out the truthfulness of these things for themselves. It has brought a lot of joy to us to see their sincerity, faith and hope. I think one of the best parts of this week was at church yesterday. One of the new investigators is a new mother from mainland China who has been in Taiwan for about 2 years. We were able to have some of the sisters in the ward guide her around the building during church and at one point, the sisters told her about Primary (the classes for the kids), and our investigator's eyes lit up and she asked "Can we go take a look at the Primary really quickly?" She has a daughter of her own and I think the family aspect of our church and that there is something for everyone here, really helped her open up. It was a cool experience.

Another cool experience this week was on Monday a week ago. For P-day my companion and I were able to go to Taipei 101 with one of the recent converts in the ward. Taipei 101 is the second tallest building in the world reaching about 1600 feet tall. Its elevator is the fastest in the world and goes from the bottom to the top in 30 seconds. It was such a cool experience with a very very pretty view from the top. We were able to see a lot of Taiwan from the top with the different parts of the city and the terrain that it has. I was able to get some cool pictures that I will try to get up next week for everyone to see. It was a lot of fun.

On Saturday evening as my companion and I were out tracting, we ran into an older lady who was moving some things in and out of an apartment building. We asked her if we could help her. At first she was a little hesitant, but then accepted our offer. She led us down to the basement which had all of the stuff she was moving. The basement was piled up with books and paper and just different things all over! The only two people there to move the things were the lady and her husband who are nearly 70 years old! We quickly got to work and carried all of the books and things up the stairs out to the moving truck. The lady and her husband were soo kind. They told us that we were a lifesaver and sincerely thanked us for our help. We were able to get everything cleared out quickly. It was a great opportunity to serve and my heart was full at the end of the day. What I felt for this older couple, gave me the opportunity to understand better the love that our Father in Heaven has for us. 

Things are going well here and I am having memorable experiences every week. I hope everything is going well back at home!

Love,

Elder Bastian

Teaching Prayer

Hello Everyone!

 

How is everyone back at home, any snow? It's been a pretty good week here in Zhong He. The rain is starting to kick back in. The weather here kind of reminds me of Provo in how extreme it is. One day it will be over 70 degrees and really sunny then the next day it 45 degrees and raining hard the entire day. It's interesting; you never know what to expect when you wake up in the morning. I hear that the best weather here rolls around in March--May. 

Well, we had a lot of good things happen this week. I think the highlight was last wednesday. We were able to go to the temple. We have a temple day about every 3 months. It was a great experience as it was my first time going to the Taipei temple. I love how wherever you, go the temple always sticks out amidst the scenery. Here in Taiwan, there are buildings and buildings all compact together with scooters and cars everywhere and then right of the middle of it is the big white temple with beautiful landscaping around it.  It is gated, separating it from the busy city life. It was very re-energizing to go there and have the opportunity to think about the Savior and the important things in life. It brought a lot of peace and motivation to this week's work. The temple is such a beautiful place!

After going to the temple on P-day, our district decided to go up to a shopping market that was about 25 minutes from where we live. It's at the base of some smaller mountains, a little outside of the dense city area. From the outside, the shopping area just seems like a lot of apartments lined up together, but as you go in between them through the little alleys to the back it's just a maze of hole-in-the wall shops. There were so many! I wish I had a picture to show you what it looks like; it is kind of hard to describe. Most of the stores are clothing stores, just lined up kind of like they are in the mall. All of the inner alleyways that have the entrances into each of the shops have canopy covers on the top so it kind of turns it into an indoor mall. We were able to look around for a while and some of the Elders bought some shirts. The best ones where the cheap plain t's that had English writing on them, or at least the attempt. None of the English really made sense; it's pretty funny.

After P-day this week, we have had a lot of important lessons with our investigators and also several new investigators coming in. I think one of my favorite parts about meeting with people for the first time here in Taiwan is teaching them about prayer. Many people here have heard of prayer or maybe seen it on TV, but they dont really know what it is. So when we start to simply explain that prayer is communication with God and not just us speaking words to Him, but truly a two way communication with someone at the other end who loves you, listens to everything you say or ask, and answers, their expressions after hearing this is pretty cool. Most say that if that's true that it would be pretty miraculous and something very special. A lot of people here feel that God is just a power or something that is very vague and distant, but as we help them to better understand their relationship with him, that he really is their Father in Heaven and how close their relationship can be, their hearts start to soften and they start to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Almost everyone we pray with for the first time, afterwards explains their feelings as very calm and peaceful. I think one of the really important responsibilities we have as missionaries is to help these people recognize and understand their feelings and promptings and that they are coming from God.

I've learned so much as I have been out here on the mission. I know that I am still pretty new to all of these things and am still adjusting to it, but the experiences I have had so far are truly priceless. I know that I have, and will continue to learn and experience things here that I could not learn anywhere else. What an opportunity it is. Well, it's good to be able to hear from some of you! My time is about up here, but I hope that everyone has a great week!

Love,

Elder Bastian

Conversion Takes Time

Hello Everyone!

 

I hope everything is going well back at home for all of you and that everyone is settling back into classes and work for the new year! 

Things are going pretty smoothly here in Taipei. This last week was pretty good! We had some important lessons with our investigators this week that really helped us understand where they are in the conversion process. Sometimes when we are teaching it is hard to understand what the investigator is feeling or how they are taking all of these things. You feel like you are putting a lot of effort into teaching, and you are just hoping for the best, but you're not sure what to expect in the end. I have learned that as we get on a more personal level with them, we can become a little more direct with our questions and ask them how they are doing. We had a few lessons like that this past week with our investigators, and they were able to open up more with us. The conversion process is different for everyone. I think when I first got here it seemed like it would be quick for most everyone that we met with, but I'm learning that the spirit works in different ways with each person. Some accept the gospel immediately, but for  others it is a process of building upon little spiritual experiences that over time culminate in faith, repentance, baptism and a true testimony of these things. 

One of the investigators we are meeting with is Brother Lu. He is about 26 and is a computer engineer. Life is very simple for him. He has a Buddhist background, but we tracted into him about 2 months ago when I first got here. Even though we have been meeting with him about every week, he says that he still does not believe in God, and he says that he doesn't have much in the way of expectations for our meetings, but you can tell that he does have a desire to learn.  Also, he sees the difference it makes in our lives and in the members lives and he does want to know for himself. This week he explained to us how he has been meeting with us all this time and hasn't felt anything, but he's starting to realize that if he wants to really feel something for himself he needs to do some things on his own - not just listen to us. He told us that he was going to pray and read on his own to see. It was really cool to hear him say that. As much as I wish that everyone would accept this gospel, agency is so important.  It was cool to see him using his agency in a way that will bless his life. I hope that he will pray sincerely and be able to get that answer he is wondering about.

I would also like to share a cool experience with you guys that happened to my companion and me two days ago. We were at a little market store making a phone call that evening. When we finished up, we left to go start contacting at a park.  When we arrived at the park,  I realized that I had left my backpack back at the store. So we decided to go back to the store and get it really quickly and just see how the contacting would go on the way. After we got my backpack, we decided to go to a different street to try contacting. During the last 5 minutes of our time there, we ran into a wonderful family that was walking on the street. They invited us to come over the next day to share our message with them. The father said that he felt it was something that would help his family. It was a cool little miracle to see. Although we did not plan for this at all during the day, and I did not intend to leave my backpack at the store, I learned the Lord is always guiding us and helping us to go where his prepared people are. I know that He wanted me to forget my backpack that day so that we could go to that other street to contact, and at that specific time run into this family. It is so cool to see His guiding hand in the work as we step back and look at all the blessings that have occurred.

My times is about up here for the week, but I hope that everyone has an awesome week wherever you are!

Love, Elder Bastian

P.S. I know that my English is getting worse and the email is a little rushed. I hope it still makes sense to you guys!  Ha, Sorry!