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)

It Always Works Out

It really is so so so so so so incredible to me how no matter how hard the week seems or how slow it seems to be going, how in the very end it all works out and is wrapped up all nicely! The week was tough at first and there was a lot that we had to do that made it tougher than normal, but it worked out :) Thank goodness!!! To start things out on a positive note we were invited by an Area 70 to go with him and give a blessing to a man who is about to pass away. That was a really spiritual experience, but i have really NEVER seen someone so on the brink of death...it was tough to watch him and his family. However the blessing was powerful and so clearly from God, so it was all worth it.

This week in our english class I had the opportunity to show a video and bare testimony of a few things and it was one of the most powerful experiences i have had yet on my mission. standing in a room with about 30 other non-members and then having about 20 min to just talk and testify...it was an amazing amazing experience and i really was able to feel and experience how real my own testimony was. i love this gospel so much and i KNOW it is true. when i say true I don't mean that it is one of those things out there that was become a 'truth' or a good 'thought process' I mean that as real as me being in taiwan, God exists and loves us and is a REAL LIVING being!! This is the video I shared (we translated as it was playing so that everyone could understand) (http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3701964025001) 

I had the awesome privilege of doing an interview with president this week for a new temple recommend (yeah...its about that time...). He is so full of wisdom and knowledge. I also really enjoyed the interview because as i was 100% honest with my thoughts and feelings I felt as though I was able to receive personal revelation as to who I want to be and how to accomplish that purpose. I just can't seem to express how much I love this gospel!!!

I exchanged with an awesome elder named Elder Lazenby, we had a lot of fun. He is from Boston (wootwoot!!!!) we worked hard and saw miracles (but what else is new! haha diligence and obedience brings miracles!!!)

Oh we also had this hilarious experience where we were waiting in the chapel and these two girls randomly walked in and started talking to us. we figured they were members of another ward because they new so much about missionaries until randomly they asked for copies of the book of mormon! turns out that the met the church while doing student exchanges in Idaho and they went to the same higshchool as Elder Baker!!! small world! totally Gods arranging :). But they came to church with us yesterday and will now be meeting with the sister missionaries! suuuper rad experience!

Yesterday we taught mr Bruce Lee again...i love that guy! please pray for him! His name is Raymon. He is progressing really well...we just hope things will continue to go this smoothly!

sorry this week there are no pics...it was a busy work and nothing really worth picture taking haha, i will try to get more this week!

Shout out to Stephanie Sloan on her mission call!

Love you all!

shine bright!

p.s.this week i want you all to read the front of the book of mormon, the 3 and 8 witnesses....powerful testimonies of truth. :)

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Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

Movin in to the top 2!

Oh man....what am i to do? only 2 movecalls left? thats only 3 fast sundays, 12 weeks....12 pdays....oh no!!!!!!!!! i will explain my feelings more as time goes on, but i will say now that as long as i work my tail of now and do all i can then i know that when the time comes I will be content with the service and effort that I have put in to taiwan! I love it here so much! and i am lovin it even more now since elder Baker and i are going to be together for another 6 weeks!!!! we have a lot of big goals and great visions for how to help those around us! lovin it! #chosenones

oh so small hilarious interjection....so I went to a noodle store with elder Baker this week (sorry about the lack of caps....this comp is broken...) and while I was in the store i was buying my noodles and all the sudden I feel a hand on my waist. i ignored it at first but then it started moving up and down and the fingers started trying to tickle me....i looked back and there was this short guy....glasses, short hair....creepy...just staring at me and then he just took his hand off and said "heeelllo" i just turned around and walked away. totally sketchy right!?!?!? but really it was pretty hilarious...we laughed about it forever.

We also got this super sweet drink this week....when you come out we have to get it for you...and for those of you out here.....GO GET IT it is called dong gua mu si (dong gwa moose) but really....it is totally a freakin tiny little slice of heaven!!!!!!!!! oh my gosh...it is crazy good.

sorry if this is a bit random...but i am a bit scattered at the moment (it is move day and we are realllllllyyyy busy today and trying to take care of a lot of stuff!) so elder Baker and i have recently discovered that wrestling is a good way to build companionship unity (i am also training him to do some really manly things hahahah) but in our wrestling matches sometimes we get to into....and then the blood gets all over the shirts...he is way stronger than he looks so it is super fun and really good practice for me! (don't worry pops, we are still obeying every rule in the white handbook ;))

My mission pops came back and visited taiwan! this is a pic of us and the old ballin assistant Ryan Allen, they are both super cool and doing super cool! it was weird being together again...just like when i first got on island! But it was super fun! We went to go eat burgers and I gathered all the wisdom i could! :)

So here is a super amazing miracle we saw this week! We were teaching this active member because he had been feeling a little down. then he asked us a question about temptation....we sat there stunned because it was a deep question and was really sudden (i wont write it down here but in order ti better understand...just know it was really deep haha). we sat there thinking for what seemed like eternity, then i just opened my mouth and words came out that I hadn't been thinking and it was in the most fluent chinese i have ever spoken and the spirit came so strong! we testified about satan being the exact opposite of the atonement in every way and about our role as children of God having Jesus Christ as our leader and great examples like Adam to look to for help (i have really gotten into the role of Adam and Eve in my studies lately). It was just so powerful and now the kid is preparing to serve a mission and everything is going super well and it was just a huge miracle!

we are having a ton of fun out here and so excited for the next move call!! I will keep writing about the miracles and funny stories ;)

PS happy birthday CARTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how does it feel to be a man now? ;)

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Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

No Companionship Left Behind

This week really was incredible, yeah i know.....every week on a mission is just incredible :) but this week was especially crazy awesome! mostly because we decided as a mission that this week we want every single companionship to find three new investigators....so what did we do? Well as the Zone Leaders it was our responsibility to help the other companionships!

So Elder Baker and I went out and quickly found our 3 investigators early in the week (huge blessings that we were able to so quickly meet with and find three new friends!) and then the rest of the time we spent out in other peoples areas contacting and finding! Yes...we just left our area cold...no missionaries in it...ohh noO! Well you see...the Lord takes care of his servants! That I can promise you. With less than half the time as normal in our area our efforts were doubled! We were still able to hit the mission standards and to continue to lead and provide an example ans so much help for the Zone...how can anyone deny this work?? it is 100% absolutely the work of God and therefor is true...i know that with all my heart. Our first day in preparing for this activity, my first contact of the day was a nice humble man that agreed to meet with us and learn about christ. He never really understood a lot about his other religion and felt that the doctirnes were missing #restoredgospel. so we taught him and it was awesome!!!!!! :) We also RIGHT AFTER got self contacted by a nice young woman who had lived with a mormon family before and was suprised that the church was out here too and wanted to learn more! BLESSINGS!!!

this is the last week of this move call...next move call Elder Noll dies (Shannon here: Die is missionary language for going home.)...he was right above me in the MTC....so scary...ahhhh pray for us :) but to celebrate Elder Baker shaved his chest....oh my gosh it is so funny...we are working out super hard together #3monthstosexy and he thinks that when he shaves his chest that his chest looks bigger #itsstillflatasaboard But i sure love this kid haha.

So this week we saw huge miracles! Sorry i don't have a ton of time today! I gotta cut it extra short to go meet with an investigator! :)#workinhardonPdays we can't waste any time! :)

Love you all so much! Please look for an opportunity this week to help someone come closer to the savior! :) I also would love to hear about everyones family and how things are going! keep me in the loop so that in november i won't have to be totally lost! ;)

Also...i believe fully that a lot of the blessings were from the temple trip! It is soooo worth it to get up early! No matter how tired you are and how early you gotta get on a train :) so get up to the temple for yourself and get these blessings!!!!!!!!!

love you!

shine bright!

elder gish

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

A Week of Realization

 

This week was pretty incredible! I just got back from the temple (probably the reason I am so happy right now...as a side note if you haven't been to the temple in a bit then get the flip up and go cause you NEED to go and if you can't go then get worthy and get there, if you aren't a member of the church yet then what are you thinking? meet with missionaries, get baptized, get to the temple and enjoy the truth and love and amazing blessings that comes from this restored gospel! I know it is true with all my heart.) So I don't have much time and will have to type fast so forgive me!

This week I went on exchanges with two awesome missionaries (lots of exchanges up here...) one was with an amazing young man Elder Dayley, we have super similar pre-mission experiences and so we got a long great and we learned a lot from each other! The other was with our wonderful Assistant Elder Vandiford. He really is such a good man and we had a good bit of deep talks and were able to share wisdom with each other which really edified and strengthened each of us! Love those deep talks! But the best part of the exchange was the end (no not because it ended haha) but because we had President Blickenstaff come pick us up and drive us over to a part member families house for their first sons first birthday! It was super fun! It is the Bruce Lee guy! His name is Raymon and I love him so much! I really hope that everyone reading this can pray for him! We are working hard with him and he and I get along REALLY WELL (thanks for the Bruce Lee training Dad!) :) So now finally after years and years he is taking the missionary lessons with us and actually slowly but surely progressing! So please keep him and his family in your prayers!

We also were able to head up to MLC (mission leadership council) Where are the leaders in the mission gather together for a big long meeting and are able to strengthen, uplift, and train one another! I loved it so much! The best part though was for sure Sister Blickenstaff’s food....oh my gosh that made me so stoked for a home cooked meal! I love Taiwanese food, but there is just somethin about Mamas home cookin! :)

 

This morning a cool miracle happened. Because the Temple is in Taibei we had to wake up at about 4 to get ready and get our zone on a train that would take us to a bus that would take us to Taibei! Well I woke up at about 3, which is pretty frustrating as a missionary since we don't sleep a ton. And usually when I wake up I am SO TIRED and struggle to get up and do what I need to do (I do it...but I might murmur a bit...i know...I need to repent.). But this morning I was up and SO AWAKE it was wild. And as soon as I woke up I saw my companion sit up and I heard him sigh. I guess he had just gotten up and was feeling stressed and couldn't get back to sleep. I started talking to him and then he asks for a blessing which of course I said yes to. It was my honor.  But I gave this blessing and it was incredible! So clearly from Heavenly Father and FOR my comp. It was incredible. Tears were shed. Hugs were givin. Love was felt. Testimonies were strengthened. I know the Priesthood is real and I know that GOD is our HEAVENLY FATHER, he loves us. All of us, no matter what. I also loved the little miracle of my waking up and being so wide awake that I was able to notice my comp and talk to him. Super awesome experience.

Other than that this week was and is two of my best friends B-Days! Tony and Leon!!!!!!! Happy birthday boys!!!!! I love you both! Leon, have fun in the military service and Tony, be good and be safe down in Taiping. Both of you....read your scriptures and go to church! :) haha.

That is really all I have time for today! Sorry! And I forgot my chord today....dang....but I have some sweet pics to send from the temple. Lets just say...i might be practicing my modeling skills....thats right zee...i'm practicing. (Shannon here: No pictures attached to this letter from Elder Gish. The pictures from this email are courtesy of the official Taiwan Taichung Mission Blog.)

Love you all!

Shine Bright!

Dont think I would forget an invite :) haha. Study 2Nephi2 and look at the fall of Adam and how ONLY through Jesus Christ can we conquer and become who we were always meant to become!

xoxoxoxoxoxo loves and all that good jazz

Oh and Dad....your letters mean the world to me....thank you so much!

OH hahaha man... sorry this is going on forever but thanks for the awesome package and everyone that wrote on it! But no more writing about how I have no time left out here! If I keep getting reminded I might just go 3nephite status and go rouge missionary and miss my plane ;).

on a side note....I got to see Elder Roberts all week! I love that kid so much! He came up to the mission office cause he got a bad paper cut....wuuuusssss haha just kidding, he got cut pretty bad...but you can go look up his blog for details if you want. (http://elderbradenroberts.blogspot.com/) Long story short, got to see my boy and he is all grown up and SUCH AN AMAZING MISSIONARY!!! He is going to blow me away and its going to be awesome!

Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

Be a MAN!

Yes, i am singing Mulan in my head right now!

this week was really fun, but really slow and actually....the end was hard. (sorry for lack of capitals and stuff...i can't use this dumb keyboard)

Our zone in the end had a really hard time, a lot of companionships are struggling. which makes my comp and i super sad. we are working super hard and praying super hard to help...we need your prayers too! I went on two exchanges this week. one with Elder Hamula (from NEW ZEALAND!!! THATS RIGHT CHASE!!!) he is brand new and it was so fun! we did hakka stuff!

and saw a huge miracle! the big miracle was this guy that we ran into on the street. he was smoking and so naturally i started talking with him, found out that he has a family and wants help. we talked, listened and testified. after about 15 or 20 min he agreed to be baptized and set a date with us and agreed to meet again. it was incredible. it was our first time ever seeing him. HUGE miracles. the Lord totally takes care of his servants.

The other exchange was with a champion missionary named elder ward. he is super awesome and we talked a ton about our potential and about who we wanted to be. we both decided on what it was...we wanted to be MEN. to be in control of ourselves in every aspect at all times and to just be who the Lord wants us to be. we talked forever about it and about his issues and thoughts. We had a great exchange! yet...with all these exchanges and missionaries and investigators that i am trying so hard to help...my sleeping has gone right down the drain. so not much sleep...but the miracles we see are so worth it. #icansleepwhenimdead :)

Oh yeah! THANKS AGAIN TO SISTER WILSON! I love getting those letters you sent and you have sent them almost every week! thank you so much! I know that your sons and family will be sooooo blessed because of your love for the servants of the Lord! Truly thank you so much!

we will be going on a temple trip next week so i am not super sure about when I will be emailing....hopefully I can get to it all still...if there is missing emails next week, don't worry, i will get them to you asap!

We are helping a young man prepare for his mission, so we went out a few days ago to play and teach football to them...today we are going to just go hang out and encourage them so I gotta get going soon but i love you all so much!

thank you for all your support!

invite today: bury ONE weapon of rebellion this week...that means change ONE thing about you that keeps you from attaining your true potential as a child of God. just one thing :)

love you all so much!!!

shine bright!!!!!!!

elder gish

oh and there is a pic of an empty baptismal font (look to blog) that is when we went to baptize jianwei and we realized that a member saw the full font and thought it was too full...(what the...) and so he unplugged it and forget to plug the thing back in the drain...so it was empty and we had to refill it super fast #coldwater

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Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老

A Ton Happened This Week

alright, let me just tell you how flippin excited I am! So Lin Ping Huang (mario) got baptized last week, and now has the priesthood. #FoundTheTruth

So if I seem overly excited in the email it is because...I am ;) And a TON happened this week so I am going to try to squeeze it all in with what time i have!!

We switched apartments with the sister missionaries and I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad....but also so good haha. Their old apartment is SWEEEETTTTT...and our old one....well....it was okay too I guess. :) So basically we got the really good end of a really unfair deal ;) haha

We also got a short term missionary to stay with us. (長老). He was super awesome...I miss that kid! However maybe now I can finally sleep! he is used to it being super hot and so we couldn't use the AC at night or he wouldn't be able to sleep....so basically for a whole week i was sweating all night and just couldn't sleep at all. AC IS A HUGE BLESSING haha. And on top of that, in the morning about twice I hopped in the shower and get PELTED in the face with hot water...#That'llWakeYouUp.

On Sunday we attended the English branch...I didn't like it...it was weird and it is going to be weird being home....haha.  But what WAS cool is that after that i got to use my ASL sign language skills to talk with a deaf family!!! The Mom and Dad are deaf but the twin daughters can hear. So we would speak to the kids and they could translate...it was so cute! I tried to use my own skills and realized that one semester at BYU-I of ASL does not make you a pro....#AnotherWakeUpCall.

I wanna ask for everyones prayers for three amazing people.

1)chen zhao hong 陳昭宏-

2) chen jian wei 陳建維

last it 3) Raymon, his wife is a member and they just had a baby boy. He teaches jeet kun do...yup...Bruce Lee status, so I might being going down there to take lessons this week ;)  I love him so much and want to help out there family. So please really pray for him!

Over all, this week was BUSY!!!!!!! We went on a ton of exchanges (Shannon here: exchanges = serving with other missionaries who are not his companion)...but i finally got to go to missionary work with Elder Noll (he is one transfer older than me which means we were in the MTC together!) We saw a TON of miracles! You know why? Becuase we prayed a ton and we asked the Lord to sanctify all our time and when we worked super hard afterwards we saw a TON of miracles!!! TOTALLY LOVE IT!!!!

We are staying busy up here! I hope you are staying busy wherever you are! 

invite....hmmmmm: just read something in Preach My Gospel.that book is flippin’ sweet!!!

I will email pics next week.

Shine Bright!!!

elder gish

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Ge Sheng Long ZhangLao

葛勝龍長老