When was the last time you saw a miracle?

When was the last time you saw a miracle? This week keep a small record daily of the miracles you saw that day! I bet you will be surprised how much God's hand really is in your life! #EarlyInvites #PreachMyGospelMissionary

Well a ton happened this week....but first I want to explain something from last week! So I sent a picture of a whiteboard with a huge drawing on it! So that drawing is a challenge that I gave my English Students! It was a long story that I made about a brave and valiant and probably pretty good looking and buff knight (can you see his name ;) heheheh) going out through a forest of giants and a cave with a giant spider and a river of sirens and a wall and a castle of warriors and a dragon and at the end I gave them the two doors riddle. Well the fun part was that I gave them an inventory of items that they had and they had to think of creative ways to get through everything safely and go rescue the beautiful princess!! It was absolutely hilarious hearing their answers for some of the things! I kept thinking...wait....are we both from the safe planet earth?....that doesn't work on my planet earth haha. Oh well, it was still hilarious and fun! Peja also came down to help with a group of old ladies that were there...oh my gosh that was good to watch! :)

Okay, now that I cleared that little thing up let me share with you some of the experiences that I had this past week!

So Monday after emailing we went out to go try to find some pokemon cards (yeah....im still 12 in my heart...) but we went on this huge adventure and found nothing.....so that was lame. But you live and you learn right? ;) what WAS cool is that the MaGong 馬公 Elders (the small island outside of Taiwan) came down to stay with us because the next day was going to be zone conference. So we got to see them and play around a bit!

Well Tuesday comes around and that awesome kid Tony comes down to help us teach some lessons and do some missionary work (he is preparing for a mission right now and we are SOOOO EXCITED. Please pray for him!!!). But we were walking down the street and a member drove by that is usually super happy and bubbly and he when he saw us he just nodded and drove by looking really angry....which was a little confusing, but we kinda ignored it and kept walking. Well 剛剛好 (I don't know how to say that anymore in English...sorry...) the path we were taking would take us by the hospital and that same member was parking in the hospital. Well it turns out that that morning our ward mission leader had a really bad heart attack. he was unconscious but we went up to see him anyways. It was looking bad. So bad that President came down. Well...Brother Chen never woke up. This last Friday we held his funeral service. i wanna take a sec to just give him a shout out...he was a great leader and such a hard worker and i am so happy that I got to serve with him while i did! What was cool was that the day before we went on the hike we went on a hike (I think I mentioned this all before) but he bought us mangos and we had such a good time and he was doing so well in his calling and as a member...it was a good time to go. I love him and will miss him but I also know that this church is true and that because of Jesus Christ and his atonement I will be able to see him again! :)

This week was also our Zone Conference and Elder Noll (the elder that was above me in the mtc) gave his reflection (going home talk) oh my gosh it was scary! I will miss that kid! But no worries....i will see him soon ;). It was cool to see lots of old friends also at the conference!

Today Tony has something super cool planned for us to do so I will take pics and tell you all about it next week! He and I have known each other for a whole year now!!! cool eh!? But so sad that a missionaries life is so short... :(...I will for sure keep in touch with all these amazing friends my whole life!

I am out of time! love you all!

shine bright!!!!!!!!!!! 

-

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

Witty

Wasn't the subject to this email super witty? i thought so....

Alright so obviously because of the super lame title of this email and the dumb mistakes of sending emails off too early and stuff you can tell that i am SUPER tired. If you couldn't tell...well, now you know.

This morning we woke up at about 5 o clock to go out with our ward mission leader on a hike! It was pretty dang fun! We saw these HUGE spiders, I mean...HUGGGGEEEE and they were fast as lightning! (kinda like my dad huge and fast as lightning!) It was sweet. we also talked to him a lot about buddhist beliefs since he used to be a super devote buddhist. I'll be totally honest...it makes no sense. On top of that it is just a little depressing...#SOgratefulforthePlanOfHappiness! we also got to watch him do tai chi (is that how its spelled in english? the martial art, tai chi). It was really funny because there were all these people around and they were soooo impressed and asked him all these questions and he felt like a super star and it was awesome! :) The top was also so beautiful! i tried to take pictures but none of them did the scenery justice so i just deleted them...haha...I guess i will just have to take you all up to Taiwan at some point in your life! :)

Other than waking up that early today I am just exhausted from the work this week! it was a bit of a slow week and man-oh-man did we get put to work mentally physically and spiritually! It took its toll talking to so many people and trying to focus on so many people with so many problems and stuff. But these are the kinds of problems that I love...too many people with too many problems that the gospel can fix :). #IwantMoreProblems.

Elder Flint gave an awesome DTM this last week (Shannon here: District Training Meeting)....I don't really know what i can say that would relate the awesomeness of it...just know that i got pumped from it and i hope the rest of the district did too! Our zone could use a boost...we put a lot of stress on the District Leaders since they have so much more contact with the missionaries than we do....they are all super good missionaries and i am so happy to be able to work with so many! Chase...that’s you too man! Do work son!

Last monday we went out to shi tou kao rou! Its a place where you can cook your own food and stuff! I kinda forget how to say it all in english...but long story short it was SUPER good and super fun! Ali came up from donggang Ryan came up from gaoxiong and Tony and Alexis came up from Taiping! It was a super party and i love all of them so much! I am so grateful for the amazing friends that the Lord has given me out here! Afterwards we went up to a mall in this arcade area and watched our friends play games...missionaries can't play....lameeeee haha. But it was still fun to be with them and watch them and laugh with them!

Another super cool thing is that we have a deaf investigator! I think i talked a little about him before..maybe. But anyways he is totally deaf so in a lesson I wrote everything we wanted to say and he would write and use sign to communicate with me! It was super awesome and luckily in our ward is a deaf family and a woman that translates so he was able to come to church and get fellowshipped like any other investigator and receive revelation and love just like anyone else! I will keep you updated on him! I am learning some fun chinese sign language because of it :)....its pretty dang different from ASL apparently...either that or I forgot everything I learned in college haha (i might have just forgot everything...).

Tomorrow is going to be our zone conference so I will let yall know how that goes next week!

I think thats really it for this week! we met cool people, taught awesome families, felt loved, loved back, people gave us fruit, it was a wonderful week in the small little paradise we call taiwan! oh yeah! and an invite.....this week....give someone some fruit :) It really is an awesome gift :) haha.

Love you all!

Shine bright!

Elder Gish

You Call Me a Mountain and I Call You the Sea

Anyone know that song? It is flippin sweet! but the next line "ill stand tall and certain and watch you swallow me." i know that last part is a little weird but i totally love it! that is totally how i feel about the Lord and this work! i will stand tall and certain like a mountain and let the savior and his influence wash over my like the sea! i have had a few really cool experiences this week that helped me to really strengthen my testimony in this work....thats right...watch out satan! you can't stop this!

 

so in order to end this email with a bit more of a power spirit punch let me quickly run though the fun funny events of the week. first off, right after getting off the computer last week we went down to a sushi bar!!!!! oh man it was soooo sweet! you just feel so classy eating those small dishes....even though we were eating boiled octopus and fish eggs and other interesting dishes, i felt like Gatsby with all those tiny dishes flying by! it was awesome and really it was sooo tasty! so don't worry mom, when i get home pretty much ANYTHING  we make for dinner is going to be SOOOOO tasty ;) haha

(edamame shot for gage!!!!1 :) thinkin about him!!!!!)

After that we also went out and bought ocarinas...Zelda anyone? yes? I hope so. we are learning Zelda songs on them....can't wait till I get my magic powers and can go back in time! :)

We did our ZTM last week and it was a huge success! we had snickers, we had a didgeridoo(spelling), we had pokemon, jedi, and wizard training, and now we are ready to go out and kick some booty! It was actually super awesome! I really know that the success that our zone is seeing has nothing to do with the leadership that Elder Baker and I provide (even though Elder Baker is a mission BOSS), but it is because of the faith and diligence of all the missionaries in our zone! They work so hard and it is awesome to see the fruits of faith, obedience, and diligence! It brings results 100% of the time!. It reminds me of a quote from national treasure2. There is a seen where Gates is talking to his wife and she says, "you just think you are so smart, you get all these clues and you think it is just you but you just get lucky!" Then he looks at her and with a slightly sarcastic tone he says,"oh yeah....well...i get lucky A LOT" hahaha. The point of it is that he was just right. It makes me think about the success of missionaries and the amazing blessings that living the gospel brings! some might say, you all just get lucky or you are just lucky to get put in good situations...well boys and girls....we get lucky A LOT haha. Point being, this work is true and is run by God and this is the ONLY true and living church on the Earth!

I was privileged this week to go on two sweet exchanges, one being with Elder Anderson, the same Elder Anderson that I was just with down in DongGang!! Oh man it was a blast to be with him again! We talked, and talked and talked, and chatted, then laughed then found some AMAZING PEOPLE! then talked some more haha. We were up so late talking about how to be a good senior companion and what to do when we running into struggling missionaries. #zoneleadersdontsleep. But it is all worth it! He is totally a stud and we are so glad to have him here! while down there I actually met one of the coolest dudes I have met so far on my mission. I saw from afar...a shirt with what...a couple huge letters...what did it say S.H.I.E.L.D. You know I was ALL over that haha. I ran over and we chatted for a good 20 min about how awesome Iron man was and our favorite super heros (i love talkin about my Dad ;) haha) but then that conversation slowly slipped into the savior and his atonement...how did that transition happen...i'll be honest....i have no idea, but it did and it was awesome #thankyouHolySpirit! he had so much interest and is so prepared and I am so glad that I was able to help that area and that cool young man! 

What stinks is that after the exchange I got super sick...stinkin lack of sleep! But nothin stops a pure bread lean mean proselyting machine! so we still went out and worked super hard...it was getting worse and worse though and i started feeling bad because ONE I got a cold-sore (comes up when I get sick sometimes....rawr) and so when i contacted people they would just be like, "hi....WOW what happened to your face!?" atleast I got their attention...haha but also because we were supposed to go on exchanges that week again and i like to be at the top of my game for exchanges so that we can see huge miracles! well...the time came to it and I brought a 'newer' elder back to my area and worked super hard out here. He is from Idaho and is such a stud/bro. We had a ton of fun and then I figured out that he was a junior champion boxer and a hard core wrestler...well that just turned into me talking about my love for that kinda stuff which turned into us deciding that we were going to wrestle that night! he has me by about 40 or 45 pounds...and i was soooo worried that night cause even though we had a ton of fun and stuff I was feeling ill....but i couldn't let this kid down! so i rolled up my skirt and after planning we went at it! I won't reveal the results of the wrestling matches (but it was SUPER fun!)...the sad part is that after words I just puked my guts out for a few minutes haha....gotta love the work! atleast I feel bettter now!

We got a funny letter from our investigator, picture is posted below. let me know if you can't read it...it was SUPER funny.

TAIWAN has 2 krispy kreme shops, both are not in our mission....but luckily I have some good friends!....there is a picture below about the patience of a missionary after fasting ;) haha. remember to pray ;) it is the most important!

This week really was awesome, Through the bearing of my testimony and my sincere asking of God I know for myself that this church IS TRUE. I hope you all can find out as well...it means everything to me.

love you all so much!

SHINE BRIGHT!!!

this week go make someone you love just laugh until you both can't breathe :) My mom is super good at that :)

-

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

Lord of the Pings

get it...ping...like the sound that every american thinks of when they think of chinese? hahaha....okay...maybe not the most witty starter I have had, but atleast I am trying right!? ;) hahaha

This week was honestly pretty bland.......wait what? what am i saying!? This week was incredible!!!!!!! how could it not be!? I am on a MISSION for GOD in TAIWAN!?!?!? hahaha come on people! this just reminds me about a comedian that talks about people complaining about things that they experience during a flight while they are sitting in a CHAIR in the SKY!!! how can we still find so much to complain about when the works of God are moving so incredibly around us!? (mom maybe you could help find that link?)

some may say, well Elder Gish, you are spending two years away from family and friends and school, had to give up almost everything you knew and loved before, not get paid and go out in the dying hot sun to talk to people that more often than not reject you. Where is it worth it? Well let me first clarify something...i don't HAVE  to be out here, and even being out here I don't HAVE to walk out into that sun and talk to that huge dude smokin a ciggy and drinkin a beer. i do it because i want to. because i know that this is all true. i know that God exists and loves all of us, especially that man, and i don't dare to tempt God by denying his work or not doing the things that he hopes I will do. I do it because i see that man and i see what he could be and who is really is and love him and want him to return to that angelic and godly state that should be in. And second, what is not to love?  this is the most important thing I have ever done and love every second of it. Do you really think that I work my tail off for something that i doubt is true? heck no. I work my tail off every day because of how true I know this is. I have said it a million times and I will say it a million more, THIS IS THE TRUE AND RESTORED CHURCH OF GOD. I know it will all my heart, and whether or not you believe in this church now I implore you to do as previous prophets have challenged, even as our savior challenged, and that is to experiment on the word. I promise that if you do it with real intent that you will know, you will receive your answer. so tonight, EVERYONE pray and ask God some of those questions that trouble your heart, secure your testimony.

Alright, i'll end my little soapbox talk....but for real yall....this is true ;)

But this week was fun! I have a new really good friend out here! His name is Joe (鄭弟兄)(jeng dee shioung....wow...spelling in englishese is the hardest thing ever......) we will just call him Joe. He is soooo awesome! seriously an incredible person! we taught him about giving to the poor and needy and getting blessings in return (he brought up the question cause of reading scriptures) and after the lesson we went out to eat. well on the road he found a 100dollar bill (in taiwanese money....so thats like a 5dollar bill in america kinda). And immediately I though "LUCKY!!! thats a free meal!" But this awesome young man picked it up and said "hey cool! now I can use that principle you just taught me! I am going to go donate this in one of those funds that go to children that need it!" i just shut my mouth all embarrassed for my greedy and prideful thoughts! but really how cool is that! i am telling you all...the gospel is not just a cool thing to learn, it is the way that we are supposed to live our lives! he is super awesome and i am really excited to see him continue to progress! I feel like when I teach him that i actually really focus in on what it is that he needs and not as much on getting through a lesson. please pray for him to get an answer to his prayers!! :)

We also had an investigators entire family come to church with us! It was a big miracle! I am hoping that they felt the spirit....one thing that i everyone does is to go out on your own (without the missionaries asking you) and find those faces that you don't know and welcome them and introduce yourself. people can feel the spirit so much easier when they feel comfortable and they will feel much more comfortable when they feel loved and welcome!

well i am almost out of time!........as a last thought I have found a new love...she makes me so happy, i love her so much. i can't stop thinking about her....i want you all to get to know her one day....her name is Banana Milk...haha oh my gosh it is so good! i think i am getting addicted....time to repent haha.

love you all so much!! have a wonderful week!

shine bright!!!!!!!!

-

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

pic1:having fun serenading old people outside our apartment.....goood thing they all can't hear ;)

pic2: what taiwanese people think of when they think of an AMERICAN meal....hmmm...

pic 3: the dedication of an elder...kneeling and spending time to break his fast of 24 hours while smelling krispy creme all day.....(there is only one or two in taiwan and both are not in our mission....this was a gift from god hahaha)

KRISPY CREME!!!!!!!!

missionaries I am with. on the right is a brand new missionary (deer in the headlights....on the left is the brand new assistant (again....deer in the headlights hahahahah)