Blessings DO follow trials

 

My new companion came in. THE ONE....THE ONLY...ELDERRRRR CRAPPSSSEEE!!!! Elder Crapse is the man! He is about 6 feet 8 inches...yeah...crazy...he likes to parkour and read and play chess and do athletic things haha. We have a lot of fun together! It is really great!! He is a miracle bringer! He hasn't been out very long and I learn so much from him and get strengthened everyday by is testimony and his example! I love having such a great companion!!! Here is an example of the miracles he brings with him. We are whitewashing as you all know so we don't have too much to do other then go find people to teach, but because of our hard work we are seeing a lot of success. We actually have this investigator named Yang Di Xiong. He is so amazing! He also had a hard time believing in the Book of Mormon and knowing if God existed. But after he came to Taiping Yang Di Xiong, FOUND an old Book of Mormon and decided to read it! After the first 5 pages he had this "crazy amazing feeling" and all the sudden he knew that God existed and that the Book was true! I was like...WHHHATTTT YEAH!!! It was amazing! And thank goodness Elder Crapse came and brought with him miracles! :)

So we were talking in our companionship study and he mentioned about how much time I have left...I got this SUPER sick feeling...I know that I still have over a year but it hit me that time really is flying...I really don't have THAT much time left here and it stinks...I love it here, I love the people and the language and I love helping people find this everlasting happiness! ITS SOOO GOOD!!!

Here is another SWEET story. So yesterday we were tracting (my favorite......not haha) but after we had finished we started walking back to our bikes and we walked past this garage with three guys. And one yelled "hey!!!" (just like everyone does when they see Americans here...) But this time I took it as an opportunity and so I turned around and said "hey!" We walked into this garage and introduced ourselves, asked if we could sit and talk for a sec and they said yes! They offered us beer....ciggs...and some other drugs..so obviously not a good situation haha. But we just sat there and first  chatted and trued to become friends, then started to slowly and boldly share testimony and teach donctrine, At the end of it all they were still drinking but had stopped smoking around us and eating the drug nut (its called beetle nut), and they gave us their address, number and invited us back! It was SO AMAZING!!! Those are things that can and will happen ONLY on a mission! I was so grateful for the amazing blessing!

This week (today) I finally got to play pingpong!!! Thank goodness haha...and yes...I still got it ;) hahaha. We also made brownies for a sister in our district since it was her Birthday last week. It was a lot of fun and the brownies are gonna be SOOOO good!! haha. We might go out bowling later today! :) 

I don't have too much time...

I love you all so much!

Go out this week and read a talk by President Monson...any talk ;) haha HE IS AWESOME!!!

YOU ARE ALL SO GOOD Thank you so much for the support!

-

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

 

Bum bum bum buuum!!!!!!

Just so you know...that bum bum bum buuuum is the sound of "the revealing!" Like at movie theaters when the movie is about to start! Why you ask? Well is it not obvious? This letter should be PACKED with me revealing stuff and fun things!! So get excited!!! 

Well lets do the big new first...I hope these emails don't get too confusing haha. Here we go.

So lets back it up a bit, 2 weeks ago I got a call "Elder Gish can you train?" I got a call 1 week ago, "Elder Gish I am sorry, your trainee got sent home early so we will wait till next move call (6 weeks later) okay?" I got a call last Monday "Elder Gish I just found out that there is going to be another missionary joining us, he is a Taiwanese missionary, can you help me train him?" I came to the training meeting on Friday "Elder Gish I have actually prepared a new young man that I need YOU to train can you help me? I will reassign to Taiwanese Elder and figure things out, but can you do that for me?"

Do you see what I am getting at here haha, these last weeks have been CRAZY for me! But here is the final news after things all evened out! I AM TRAINING, I AM WHITEWASHING, and I have recently found out (yesterday) That I am to be called as the new District leader here as well! I am SO EXCITED for all the amazing learning opportunities that I will have in these next few move calls! :) IT IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE!!!!! So who am I training? AN AMAZING MAN named Elder Hartshorn! He is from Texas and is so amazing! I have a LOT of favorite parts about my new son ;) haha but one I REALLY like is how he says yes sir and no sir or yes mam and no mam. It is just so....TEXAS haha. What are the other cool parts?...HE PLAYS LACROSSE! LIKE A BOSS! He played for this USA team and stuff and in college. He brought some sticks and he went out to play for exercise this morning (P-Day). IT WAS AWESOME! We have been talking about all these Lacrosse job opportunities that he knows about and was as we played he was like "oh man, you could totally do this and this and this" and I just got so excited about lax again! I need to stay focused on the work I know :) But it was just so refreshing to hold a lacrosse stick and pass around and even cooler to hear about his connections and the things we could do with lacrosse!

Okay, enough about lacrosse :) On to the more important...the gospel and the work!

Here is some SWEET news that we heard! In the...near future...:) we will be able to use FB to proselyte out here! We will be allowed to create new accounts that are our ELDER accounts but we can still add people from home and do all kind of stuff, it will be the same thing but will be us posting uplifting thoughts from studies or lessons or letting investigators post and ask us questions and all kinds of stuff like that! HOW COOL! I really got excited about the blessings that the Lord has givin' us in regards to technology!! I am super stoked to say the least!

Well this week was full of miracles! Mostly because of my companion! He is so awesome! He have only been here 3 days and because of our hard work and dedication to the Lord we have found three new investigators and helped 2 of them accept the invitation to be baptized! WOW! How the Lord blesses his servants!!! 

You know, as I think about the work and who I was before and who I am now...it is so interesting, mostly to think how dumb I was before hahaha, but really also to think about what has become important to me, when I try to do and what I try to think about and such! It really is amazing to think about what a mission does and the blessings it brings. It really is a ONCE in a life time thing...so let me just say one more time...with all the vigor an email can bring...if you are thinking about or debating serving a mission...JUST DO IT! Put in the papers and go! Is it hard, yes, will you have days you can hardly walk and just wanna go sleep in a corner...yes, will you grow closer to your God and savior and become a BETTER you..YES! So just trust in the Lord and go. Everything else can wait!! The Lord will make everything ready for you, so if you don't want to go because of any reason just think...whose plan is better...you or the lord? He can put that opportunity back in your path in 2 years, so just go! :)

I love you all so much!!!!!!! I have to go take care of some other duties now! Sorry if my emails start to get shorter...I have a LOT of stuff to do now...but I really do love you all!

加油!!!

SHINE BRIGHT!

P.S....is it just so scary that I am now pretty used to taking freezing cold showers? :) haha.

Trails... :( haha

So let me start of by saying sorry to everyone for last weeks lame email!! I said this one would be awesome with good pics..but when we left we were too late and missed the boat so we didn't even get to go and we wasted soooo much time...the P-Day was ALMOST a waste haha! I will fill you in from last week and this week okay?! :)

First let me clear something up...I was called to White Wash train which means that I go to an area where missionaries have never been or atleast they have not been there for a while, so it means doing missionary work from scratch in an area, no investigators or friends or anything haha. But something happened this week that really actually killed...I got a call from President two days ago...he started off by apologizing and stuff and so of course I was like...uh oh...this is how it went:

"Elder Gish, I have some bad news about next move call and I am sorry..."

"Don't worry, I'll do whatever I can to help"

"So I and my councilors last week went through and we FIRST pick who we want to be out trainers and you were one of our first, then we pray and fast and look over the list of incoming missionaries and match you up. Well...it just so happens that the young man we had matched you up with is being sent home and will not be coming out to Taiwan"

I of course responded well and everything, but it was so hard to hear! This young man that I had been praying for and fasting and preparing for doesn't even get to come to Taiwan...atleast not now...

So I WILL be whitewashing an area but I will not be training this move call. He told me that I will be training next move call and probably just staying in the area that I am going to be moving too. I was just so sad to hear about this young man being sent home...it really was tough! So yeah...that was the start of my week, it was a little rough. But I am still excited to just go help out in anyway that I can! I don't know why he got sent home but it just makes me think about the experiences that a mission brings!! They are really once in a lifetime experiences! I love it here! I hope that every young man can have these experiences and enter into the army of God ;)  IT IS SO AWESOME!! :)

Okay so now on to other updates and such. As far as updates with investigators...we are getting a TON of new investigators and helping a lot of people! :) For right now...i'll just leave it at that and leave the BIG updates for next week haha.

But one thing I HAVE to say is I LOVE FAMILIES!! I will share this small miracle.

So I was on the road on the way back home and I was exhausted...like always. haha. And I stopped at this light...now I talk to someone at EVERY LIGHT and this was going to be my first time not doing it...so the guilt set in...I was like...shoooot....I guess I should. So in a not so good attitude I leaned over my bike and gave this guy a church track and said 'have you ever been to church? do you want to come?' Then he said..."I guess I can." Then the light turned green and he left (that usually means that they just want to get you off their back and then go haha). But guess what...HE CAME TO CHURCH!!! :) SO CRAZY!!! And then the NEXT WEEK he brought his whole family! I was so excited! We are going to be visiting them this week! I am stoked!

Okay so here we go....the part that MOST people look at this for...haha THE STORIES!

Here is one that might sound lame but was just SOOOO FUNNY.

So me and Elder Guest went on exchanges and we did this thing called ice-cream contacting where we go to McDees, get an ice cream and just chat with someone and at the end invite them to learn more (people are way more willing to talk to you when you are holding an ice cream cone haha). But anyways we bought our cones and Elder Guest tried to balance the two cones on a platter (doesn't seem too hard right?) Well it was for him haha! After about three seconds it went PLOP and one splattered all over the ground. Well because we are both young innocent foreingers they felt bad and gave us new ones. We were super embarrassed but very grateful. So we walked up stairs way more carefully and then we set our stuff down...well about 15sec later...BOOM another one PLOP...and it was his again...we laughed so hard! Like....What the heck haha it was soooo funny!

Another story...here it comes...CAR CRASH!..what?! yup...haha. Me and my awesome friend Ryan Chen were driving together and I said Right turn! But we hard already passed the spot so OFCOURSE I turned left so that I could U-turn...but he didnt realize it so his motor-scooter and my bike...BOOM! Crashed sooo bad haha. We flew and skidded for awhile. Of course my pants and shirt were destroyed. The Bike and scooter and my friend were all fine though haha...just the Elder got demolished haha. It was pretty crazy but also funny haha. (Shannon here: are you feeling psychic? Trying for see the “funny haha” part of this.)

Oh here is another neat little story. So on the way back from an activity I stopped at a light and ill tell you what...I REALLY like to chat with younger people, around my age, just cause it is fun and easy and such. And so at this light was two scooters, one had a young man and his girlfriend (that is like my PRIME target haha) and this other guy maybe in his 30s or 40s. For some weird reason I skipped the kid and went to the older guy and guess what!? HE WAS AN OLD LESS ACTIVE MEMBER! It was crazy cause he was like "hey its almost nine...you should be home right?" I was like...what? haha how does he know that...so we chatted and he was so awesome! He invited us over to play Majiang (Taiwanese Poker haha) with him and a bunch over his friends! We probably won't go to THAT but we WILL go talk to him :) I am excited! :)

So I will tell you what...lately I have talked to a lot of people and have been a little disappointed with friends decisions and things that I have heard about members doing...I will tell you something I heard a long time ago that is FOR SURE TRUE...the CHURCH is perfect and wonderful...however people are people and make mistakes! We gotta forgive and move on haha. One thing I have also come to realize something here...which actually stinks haha...but we have to just move on from things that have happened. All we can do is control how we react and what we do to better the situation! (I know mom and dad....you have said that a million times...haha) I just needed to experience cause I am not as Wise as some hahaha.

Well I love you all! Shine Bright!

Invite? mwahahaha don't think I forgot! Just make someone feel super good this week, make cookies....do anything but make them feel special. One thing I was so sad about was when I talked to a young man this week and he felt like we was worthless and that no one thought he was special at all! No one should feel like that!

Love you!

P.S. Yes Dad...I am working out haha, I would like it though if I could get some other little things (like ideas) because I really don't have any tools to work out with...any suggestions?

-

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

Holy Cow!

 

I have absolutely no time!! I AM SO SORRY!!! We are going back to that Island so I will take more pics to make up for it! :) I am so sorry!

I will do a quick update and through in a cool quick story okay!

So we have an investigator that will be getting baptized on the 14th! The thing is...I WONT BE HERE TO SEE IT!

That is a good and a bad thing...ugh. GOOD: I am finally going to go see other parts of Taiwan finally! YEAHH!!!!

Bad: I won't be able to see a lot of the investigators that I found get baptized!!! So lame..:( But atleast they are getting baptized! Thats good! :)

Want to know the other cool part?..I will be White Wash Training!! If anyone doesn't know what that means....you can ask my Dad haha. {Shannon here: I asked Harvey and his understanding is that he will be training a missionary straight out of the Missionary Training Center in an area that either has never had Latter-day Saint missionaries before or hasn’t had them there for a long time} So yeah it will be an experience! :) I am the youngest in this group of trainers so it is a little....freightening? I can't speak english... haha

I love you all so much and I am sorry for such a quick and small letter! Hopefully I will get more time later but PROBABLY not...till next week...LOVE YOU.

Shine Bright!

-

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

Image above from the Official Taiwan Taichung Mission Blog

They can take my teeth...but they cant take my wisdom!! -Mario Alves ;)

Oh gosh...how could I not come up with a witty comment for the title
of this email!..

So I am going to more skim over the surface of a lot! Then I will go
deeper into just a little! If you have more questions or anything you
can always write me a letter! (No this isn't a secret tactic to get
more letters ;)) haha.

Okay SO first off, real quick...sister Wilson...again THANK YOU SO
MUCH!! Those letters really always help me so much! I love getting a
good laugh! :)

Ok quick update on people! (It will be a little different this week
since we didn't get to do AS much due to wisdom teeth...)

Okay so here comes the brief overviews....ready?...
I found this awesome Elder named Elder Guest! I feel like he is my 徒第
(apprentice) haha. He is super awesome and a few move calls below me!
I love helping out the younger generations with everything! Anything
from Chinese to how to contact or teach! I am obviously not a master
at those but I can still do my part to help them! Long story
short...the rising generation ROCKS haha.

I am sad to see one of the sisters I came out with go home! A Sister
Burrows! She really was super awesome and Taiwan will miss her!

Mom sent me pics and an overview of Youth Confernce! IT LOOKED
AMAZING! Exeter Stake ROCKS! I wish so bad I could have been there! I
won't be at the next one either...but the one after that! :)
YEAH!!!!!! You youth keep going! no matter how hard it gets, just keep
pushing forward! You can count on and trust your leaders! :)

Last P-Day we went to a small island and got to hike and go site
seeing! It was super awesome! Pictures will come!
I thought I saw John Eastman yesterday! I was like WOW BRO!!! But then
I remembered I am in Taiwan...haha

My trainer has been calling me a lot lately haha. And from it I got a
nice reminder about when I was being trained and I really liked it.
One thing we used to always say together is "obedience is my quest."
It was awesome because as you went to go do something as small as turn
right on a red light on a bike (still illegal in Taiwan) you would
think to yourself, obedience is my quest. And then you would just
wait! It was awesome. And the power that comes from obedience is
incredible!!! Ahh I love it!

I really wish I had more time to go into detail on all this!
But right now I can take some time to tell everyone about what I know
they are all dying to hear haha. So about the Wisdom teeth! They took
out my left side and will be going in later for the rest. They gave me
these little shots, so basically the most basic stuff they could haha.
Then they went in and sliced and drilled and shattered teeth and did
the job. The best part is being 100% aware, hearing the shattering of
the tooth and feeling it shoot through your gums! Am I at the dentist
in Taiwan?...yes haha. The thing is that they usually put people out,
I just forgot you weren't supposed to eat before...oops..so really it
is my fault haha. But they finally got them out and it was for sure an
experience! haha. They worst part is...for those that know me, I am
not very good about doing what I am supposed to after surgery. With my
Arm I was doing backflips again THAT DAY. With my Leg, I was still
going to Prom and to Sixflags. Just not the smartest haha. So with
this one...I kept doing my missionary work which...yes involves
talking. I talked WAY too much...I snapped the stitches (cause they
didn't leave holes). But that doesn't stop me! I am still going
Baby!!! Oh gosh...Elder Gish what are you doing...yeah I know.. haha.
But over all it is all okay and I am so grateful for that awesome
package!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

I love you all and I hope I can hear from more of you! :)
Shine Bright!
-
Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao
葛勝龍長老

變謙卑了(Becoming humble :))

Yes, that is what is going on down in 小港!!

There is a missionary down here that you all know...he is slowly but surly becoming humble! haha.
Can I tell you why?...Of course I can, I am typing this email :) haha.

So I have been down here in 小港 since I came to 台灣 which as you
know...is a LONG TIME for a missionary in ONE area! I was starting to
get frustrated and really wonder why I am STILL HERE and truthfully
getting a little frustrated. I just felt like I have done my part down
here!

But then...it happened.

As I said my prayers that morning and did the normal routine it came time to synchronize our referrals
(which basically means that it is just time to find out if any
missionaries met anyone in our area). In came ONE referral which is
the usual actually. So I went to look at it and it all looked pretty
average till I looked at who sent it!...It said "Referred by 葛長老 Elder
Gish." I was like what the heck?! And as it turns out, this person was
someone I had met when I FIRST got on island and told me "just call me
in 6 months." That usually means, i'm not interested and I know you
will forget about me or not be here in 6 months....but guess
what...I'm still here baby! :)

So I called the person up and he came to church!

His name is Lucas and he is  miracle! He just got married
and his wife is going to be having a baby in about 5 months. He wants
help to know how to establish his family! The thing is that for his
work he also needs to go out to sea for a year at a time which is
tough and he knows will be hard on his family so he is trying to
figure out if he wants to find another job. So I need your prayers!!
Lucas needs your prayers! :) Today I am going to be really pulling for
prayers! So PLEASE HELP :) haha. (For those of you who know me too
well....I kinda feel like Goku making a spirit bomb....I need those
extra prayers! :) haha)

So that was a humbling experience to have god say..."Elder Gish, there
is a reason you are here, just trust me and move forward okay?"

Another great thing about being in the same area for 7 months is being able to
see 2 of my Recent Converts receive the Melchizedek Priesthood!! So
amazing!!

So ready for the experiences...FIRST OFF..For those of you with me in
the MTC...I FINALLY found the LAST 'apple tag'..atleast I think it is
the last...haha. I was in church and it fell out and I was
like..."no...." hahaha. Oh gosh I miss you all!

I was also finally convinced to eat "eel in a can"...yup...it also
tastes like it sounds... haha (just say the word eel a little
slower...it even SOUNDS like ewwww haha).

After being in the same room for 7 months you want a small change here
and there. At home you can buy new decorations or something but here
there is nothing! SOOO Elder 朱and I decided to just re-arrange our
entire room! It is SO MUCH MORE AWESOME! It even includes Big lazyboy
chairs to study :) haha Pictures included.

Another totally crazy thing is that the mission is already TOTALLY
changed! President Blickentaff already changed a lot! I am interested
to see how it will effect us as missionaries! Our method for doing
numbers is 100% different. I will say that it makes us feel more like
MISSIONARIES rather than salesmen trying to get high numbers...but I
think I will miss the numbers...they did really help to push me! So we
will see how it all works out! :)

As for this upcoming week there will be a surgery...yeahhhh haha. I am
sure I can tell you more about it next week...I wonder how the chinese
will sound with a chimpmunk accent?? :) haha

I love you all!

I know this is all 100% true! As for a last minute, small invite. Just
go out this week with a goal..maybe a errand you need to do, or a
shirt you want to find or something...whatever it is. But while going
out to accomplish this goal find ONE person that you can help or
bless! :)

SHINE BRIGHT!!!
-
Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao
葛勝龍長老

 

Before

After

龜派氣功???

What does that mean?! There are only three ways you would be able to understand what that top sentence means...

ONE, you grew up in Taiwan,

TWO you are a HUGE Nerd,

THREE (I guess this kinda includes number 2...) Your Name is Elder Gish! haha.

So what does it mean?

I'll give you a clue...it starts with kame....and it ends in...HAMEHAMEHA!!!!! :) haha. Now for those of you that STILL don't understand...please...please....go look up Dragon Ball Z and experience life! :) haha. So why do I start with that? Because I found out that my companion, Elder Zhu is also a HUGE Dragon Ball Z fan! We can talk about all that stuff and it is so fun! I have attached pics to help you realize how cool the two of us are....haha oh and as a good side-note...Elder Zhu...he IS the TAIWANESE CARLTON from Fresh Prince of Bel-air! :)

So on to the EVEN BETTER WORK OF THE LORD! :)

I love to be able to see the amazing hand of the Lord in peoples lives! I had my testimony strengthened times a million this week as my best friend GARY called and was telling me a story about his new ward and some stuff like that. I just want to say that it is AMAZING to see how he has grown! I love so much that I know him! I KNOW that I was brought to Taiwan at the time I was to know him! We must have been amazing friends before we came down here! :) I actually heard this story (obviously a story) but it really touched me and I will try to type it out quickly.

There are two friends in the pre-existance. They both get a letter from the Lord, it is their assignment on Earth! They both get super excited and open the letters. The first friend excitedly scans his and with a huge smile jumps and yells "woohoo!, I am going to grow up in a family that already has the gospel and is firm in the faith! I CANT WAIT!" He looks at his friend and see's him crying. He asks what is the matter..the friend looks at him and says, "I am going to a place where no-one at all knows Christ...at all...what am I going to do..." The other friend takes a second to soak in what just happened, puts his arm around his good friend and says, "don't you worry, i'll come find you."

I know that people probably hear lots of stories like this but for some reason this one really hit me...maybe cause I had never heard anything like it in Chinese before. haha....but really I believe that this sort of thing is true! I am so glad I have the chance to come here and to find all of my brothers and sisters and best friends! To really help them to remember their Savior and the truth! THIS IS TRUE AND WE ALL....EVERYONE knows it...they just have to remember. Have you ever seen someone do something good and just felt good, or after you serve you feel incredible? Maybe you pray or read scriptures or even go to church and you feel that peace and that love that is just so familiar and close to your heart? It's cause we have felt it before...before we came here....now we are just trying to do our best to remember! So this week I want to invite everyone to help someone else remember! :) This can be through things you say OR do! Help someone remember their Savior and that all too familiar feeling. :-)

So I want to also emphasize something that I know I have said before and will probably say again and again and again. But I can't ever express how much I have learned out here about the truth and importance behind obedience! It really is key! Don't rationalize
within yourself! Just go do! :) My mission president sent me this today: I love this quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard:

“Some young men …have rationalized their bad choices, saying that "we all make mistakes." But you must understand that there is a big difference between an honest mistake made in a moment of spiritual weakness and a willful decision to disobey persistently the commandments of God. Those who deliberately choose to violate God's commandments or ignore the standards of the Church [or the Missionary Handbook], even when promising themselves and others that someday they will be strong enough to repent, are stepping onto a dangerously slippery slope upon which many have lost their spiritual footing.”

Lets keep our footing and set ourselves on a 'rock' a sure foundation and be obedient! :) 好不好?? :) (Haha...it is so hard to not just start typing Chinese. RAWR!)

Well quick update on 小港 (yes I am still here...where I was trained...no one else thought it was possible either but I guess it is
haha)

SO we saw some crazy cool miracles and some funny things too! I will start with the most recent and go back (since I am running out of time).

We found a few new SWEET investigators who are soooo ready to move forward in this gospel! [Shannon here: Investigators - people who want to know more about Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.] But the coolest is this brother 黃(huang). He is so nice and humble and ready to learn! He said a great prayer (his first ever) at the end of our first lesson and he asked God to help change his heart so that he could really believe the things we teach and that one of the reasons he wants to believe is because he has seen the example we set and wants to be like 'one of those mormons' (as he put it :)). 

But one CRAZY thing that happened after our lesson...we had literally jut finished...about to leave and then I hear it...thump thump thump... I turn my head and what is it? There is this HUGE lady running at me! I hardly have any time to react and she jumps on me and gives me this bear hug and says: "its you! I want to go to church with you!" I was super taken back and it was so awkward...oh gosh...but I guess it must have been pretty funny too. Then she started reaching into my pocket on my shirt to grab the church flyers we have. I was like "whoooooaaaa there missy, slow down." She was frantic asking for a Book of Mormon and for the flyers and when and where church is and when we can see her again and ahhhhh!  I taught her a bit about the Book of Mormon and the restoration (within about 30sec to a min) and then got her to set up a time for church and to meet with the SISTER missionaries. After we got that taken care of Elder Zhu and I literally ran away haha.

Oh gosh a mission is so fun!

Here is a crazy miracle! Probably the last I have time for today!

So there is this Lady Sister 謝 (xie)… a long time ago we were tracting and right as we were about to go home I had a feeling to do ONE more door and so we did...then BAM..it was her and her family! (That is how we first met them). After that they told us that they were surprised we came back since most missionaries come once or twice and then never come back because they just give up. But I had a good feeling about them so I kept wanting to go back. The thing is that my seniors never wanted too. [Shannon here: Seniors = Senior Companions] So I finally convinced them that I could bring Elder Stark with me for one last shot at teaching them and My senior agreed.

But than Sister Xie got sent to the hospital and we couldn't go! Now Elder Stark is home (SOOO SAD!) and I was supposed to for sure move out of 小港 (I have been here longer than almost any other missionary in one area for our area in this mission). But then BAM miracle again I stayed here in 小港and became senior companion to an awesome Elder Zhu! I had kinda forgotten about sister Xie until on the road someone taps the back of my shoulder, I turn around and it is her! BIG MIRACLE THREE! (this has a little story too...Elder Zhu and I at that time were feeling a little lost and didn't know what to do...we were biking a little aimlessly...or so we thought...and I got a call from this kid that ALWAYS calls to talk to me. He called me once 46 times in a night to ask for advice...so I usually don't answer his calls but for some reason I felt like I should answer it. So I did and we stopped our bikes so I could talk on the phone. It was the usual…I was so mad I answered... But anyways, right as I hung up is when she tapped my shoulder!!!) SO that’s the cool background!

We got talking and she said that while she was in the hospital she decided that she didn't want her family to bother us anymore and so she wasn't going to call and set up anymore and that if we called she wouldn't answer, BUT if we ran into her she would take it as a sign and set up and all that! Well....to wrap up this huge miracle, SHE brought her son to his after school study class that day. She NEVER does that because the Dad usually does, but today he just 'happened' (miracle) to have to work overtime! So she had to bring him! Do you see how this all happened? Everything was so perfect! And if my senior had stayed they wouldn't set up and she probably wouldn't have gone to tap him on the shoulder. The Lord's hand is in our lives! This all had to happen EXACTLY as it did for this to work out! IT was just incredible to see and it really touched me! MIRACLES!!!

I love the Savior, I love this Gospel and I love all of you! 加油!!!
SHINE BRIGHT!
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Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao
葛勝龍長老