Taiwan

It's been another great week in Zuoying!!! We had a lot of fun stuff happen! We've been working a lot with several investigators that seem to be really progressing. Brother Z... and his wife and doing super well. They've already read together all the way to the end of 1st Nephi in the Book of Mormon! He really enjoys reading it a lot. Our ward mission leader likes to come to help with their lessons because when we meet at 8:30 in the morning he can come too because his work is later. He loves teaching them so he basically does most of the talking haha. It is easy to see that Brother Z... loves what he is learning here. He's doing very well.   Our newer friend Brother Z... is doing well too. We've met him for about two weeks now and he's awesome! He's in his late 50s and he is a very humble man. He was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit when he was in his 20s, then he just wasted away his life drinking and smoking. Then his body just couldn...

Dear Everyone,  This last week was a great week! We are finding lots of people to meet with and who are willing to learn. This is such a great area. I wish I would've come here earlier and been able to stay here longer! And on pday, there is so much to do so we are never bored!    We've been working hard with one of our friends named B... He has a strong desire to be baptized and to do the right thing, but he still struggles with the Word of Wisdom. He is trying hard to stop smoking and drinking. He is a construction worker too so the environment that he works in, and lives in, make it very difficult for him to stop. He's doing well though. He only smoked two cigarettes last week so he's getting better and better.    Our other friend Brother Z... is doing well too. In the last few days he's already read 16 chapters in the Book of Mormon . He really enjoys it and his wife is very supportive in helping him to read and answering his questions. We just ...

Hey Everyone!!    Yes I'm still alive, we survived the typhoon!! We didn't know how powerful of a typhoon it actually was because we were inside for all of it. Before when there were typhoons or anything bad, we just went outside to proselyte like normal....those times were all jam packed with lots of fun stories, but this time, our mission president said that we all had to stay inside until the storm was gone. It kind of had the feeling of a snow day back home when you don't have to go to school. The difference was that staying inside wasn't fun at all haha. Eventually at around 1:30pm or so we got permission to leave the house and we just went around in the rain talking with people that were inside stores. Since then it has rained every day, all day, including today.    We had Zone Leaders Training Meeting this week which was fun. It was nice not to have to give the training for a change. I could just sit back and learn some new things from the other missi...

Hey Everyone!  After one weeks of serving here I've decided that ZuoYing is a great place! There are so many people, places to eat, and things to do. I love at night when everyone is out on the streets shopping and walking around because we just get to stroll around and talk with everyone. There are so many people to talk to and it makes things so much fun. There are plenty of places to eat too. The thing is though, Elder Neuhaus and I have been trying to eat healthier so we just eat inside all the time. We just stay inside for breakfast and lunch and eat protein shakes, chicken breast, peanut butter, salad, pb & j sandwiches and fruit. We also got a membership at a really nice gym here (that's why I took a bunch of money out of my account) and we get up at about 5:30am to work out every morning. I'm feeling a lot better than I have after starting to be healthy again. I'm super glad my companion likes to do this just as much as I do.   Elder Neuhaus is awes...

Dear Everyone,   Well, the time has finally come...the very last transfer of my mission. The last leg of the race. And I won't be spending it in Ping Dong. I got a call and I've been moved to the center of Gaoxiong City in a place called ZuoYing. It's kind of weird moving to a new area when I only have 6 weeks left because before I even have a chance to learn the area, I'll be coming home haha. But there are tons of people in this area and I'm excited to serve here. My new companion says that they don't really have anyone to teach, but with such a great area, so many people, and God's help, I think that we can change that.    My new (and maybe final) companion is Elder Neuhaus from Nashville, Tennessee. He's a cool guy and I'm excited to work with him. He just got finished with training so it will be fun to work with a newer missionary again. He also likes to exercise a lot so we are going to have a good time finding a gym and helping me get...

Hey Everyone!     I hope you all had a great week! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my Dad and Grandpa too!!! We've had an awesome week down in PingDong! It was a super rainy and humid week, but it was all still good. Towards the end of the week it didn't rain too bad.   On Monday two old friends of Elder Steele and I came to visit us. My old temporary companion J... and our friend who was baptized in the Donghai ward when I was up there named O... Unfortunately, on the day they came up it rained really hard so we couldn't do much. We ate a big lunch and then went shopping for groceries. We sat in the store's massage chairs for a very long time... and then played some ping pong at the church. (I have yet to find someone from Taiwan that is better at ping pong than me! That stereotype is still a lie!)    This week Elder Steele and I have been working extra hard to find more people to teach. We spend pretty much all day riding our bikes on the str...