The one, the only...Elder....B!

Oh my goodness...yes, that is how I am starting off this letter...OH MY GOODNESS! A mission is SO AMAZING! I have this week spent the entire week with such an amazing soul! I LOVE HIM! Elder B. He is from Ogden Utah, a huge nerd (just like me) and can't sing (just like me haha). BUT he loves people, EVERYONE and he is so so so so so so so so humble! I have so much to learn from him! I love serving with him so much! For those of you who know my past or know my friends you will know a shuai ge (handsome boy) named A. Curtis! Elder B is just like Alec in so many ways! It is really cool! I think that is one of the reasons we get along so well! Becuase it is just like being with one of my best friends! They even look alike! The only difference I would think is that one loves singing and one loves physics. Oh man it is so great! One thing you have to know about Elder B is his hilarious name! It is Bu(4) Zhanglao which is the bu in buding (Pudding) so people call him elder pudding sometimes haha. He is so funny! Gosh I love my new comp! In fact, one of the funniest things happened last week. SO Elder B is on his last move call...(oh no!), which means he is EXHAUSTED having spent the last 2 years in missionary service. He still works super super hard, but it is easy to see that he gets tired easy. It is easier to tell when we kneel to say a companionship prayer and when I say amen I don't hear the usual echoing of the amen...I look up just waiting...and there he is, kneeling and in the usual tired prayer shape, eyes closed...and then comes the heavy breathing....he fell asleep in the middle of my prayer! Oh man it was SO FUNNY! I stayed there for maybe 2 min. waiting for him and finally shook him awake. He sure is a funny one! I am super grateful that I am able to serve with him! But as with anything there seems to have to be opposites in all things...

With all the good of an amazing new companion comes all the stress and hurt that Satan can put on you as investigators begin to drop or new investigators aren't found. I will have to say this week was much harder for me. We had a few investigators that I loved pretty much break up with us. It is tough everytime! But what usually makes it better is being able to go out and find new investigators that help to strengthen your testimony. The only thing is that this week THEY all rejected us too! Dang it was tough! We got fanged a lot this weeks (meaning they set up and don't show up), I guess thats just the life of a missionary though! I will say though that we had a lot of success with connecting more with ward members and Recent converts! Elder B is amazing at loving people and helping them to feel that love! I can't stop smiling and laughing when we have time to chat, it is so much fun! In fact, one AMAZING idea he had was to take over these brownies to a part member family and teach them how to make brownies! It was an amazing idea until....we found out they have no oven...UHOH! what to do? Well they had this little thing that is more like a toaster oven. Well...Mom you would be so proud, I decided that we could still do it! All it would take was making a bunch of smaller brownies! It sounded so good and smelled so good until the smoke started pouring out and we looked the WHOLE top was burnt and the inside was all gooy! Well luckily I had a similar kind of experience in college with this oven that was pretty broken! In college we didn't really know what to do, but with this little oven I figured it out! We just made layer brownies! Put a little in, bake it, a little more, bake it. I felt like a real baker! haha. And the kids and mom in the family were loving it! It was a really fun time and then of course nothing was better than having brownies and milk to seal the deal! They invited us back next week and the Mom said she would try to make it to church! WHAT A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry there is no pictures from this week...we can only take pictures on special occasions and P-day and last week was so busy I wasn't able to get any. But I will try to get some for next week! (J, the boy in the part member family took some pics and stuff and said he might put some on facebook though so maybe you can look there??).

So one other miracle story is that this Sunday we were in a HUGE rush and so I was trying to pack up my stuff and my bike and get going. I set my suite jacket on a scooter next to me and started packing. Of course I forgot and just took off. I completely forgot until I got to the church (about 30 min away by bike). Well I quickly called a nearby member and asked him if he could go look. He said it would take him a bit but he could try. And so I said a little prayer. Well....he got it! it was still there after about 40min of sitting there! I was so thankful! I have had a lot of stuff stolen but that coat wasn't! I was so happy! I love how the Lord cares about all our little worries!

A mission is the perfect example of how much the Lord will take care of us if we put our trust in him. So go on a mission! Some could say, but Elder Gish I am too old or too young or don't know enough, or other worries...well...I am here to say...(Here comes a President Watson Quote...) "so what!?" [Shannon here: President Watson is our Stake President here in New Hampshire. Our stake, like most, comprises eight congregations.] We can be, should be, and are ALL missionaries! Go forward and work! Just be a missionary! :) Go out and work, serve the Lord!

I love this work! I love you all!

FaGuang! (Shine Bright!)

Love

Ge ZhangLao

Elder Gish

P.S. Sorry this email is a little shorter...our email time got cut by 30min and I am still trying to figure out how to distribute my time. But I love you all! :)

NO MORE TRAINING!...Kinda...

 

So finally out of the training phase! Well sort of. My new companion
is Elder B! AND HE IS AWESOME!!!!!! He may not be my trainer but
I am sure that I will still be getting trained, he is incredible! I am
so excited! We are still in XiaoGang and we are going to set high
goals and really go for it! I am so excited to work with him! His
first two steps into the new area he made a miracle happen! He is
clearly a miracle maker and has the spirit with him...AHH I AM SO
EXCITED TO WORK WITH HIM! Plus since we are finished training we are
going to have an extra hour each day...you know what that means? MORE
KNOCKED DOORS, MORE CONTACTS, MORE LESSONS, MORE BAPPTIISSMMMSS!!!!!!
I have 100% faith that the Lord has prepared the hearts of his
children. And they are out there, no matter where you are, there are
people. You just may have to look. And maybe it is someone you have
talked to a million times, but this time, you dig just a little
deeper, and there it is. They are ready to hear the gospel! I know
this is true! So don't be afraid to talk to your friends or refer them
to the missionaries, everybody NEEDS this gospel. So go share it!

So on a kind of off note...I heard about Boston! It is big news out
here, is everyone from home okay? What is it like back in the US?
Especially in New England....Can you say last days?!
OH SHOUT OUT!!!!!! MY AMAZING BROTHER CHASE!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS ON YOUR
EAGLE!!!!!! THAT IS SO AWESOME MY MAN!!!!!! You are so incredible!
Keep up the hard work! How cool is that, my Greek God brother is now
an Eagle Scout! I told my whole english class about it! I think they
didn't understand cause they thought you were something kinda like the
president of the United States haha...but chabuduo! (difference not
much)! :) You rock my man! Keep preppin for your mission! I'll tell
you what, I wish I had prepared better (I think you will say that no
matter what because there really is ALWAYS more you can do...so do all
you can man!)

So what happened this week? A TON! First off it was my first Zone
Conference! It was amazing! Our district got picked to sing in it too,
which was...well actually it went amazing haha. I love seeing all the
missionaries get together and even better is hearing the power of
their voices combined in singing song and praising God. I got so fired
up to go out and work! I love it! We focused a lot on obedience and
the blessing of obedience, as well as a big training on new rules and
new methods of doing things. Over all it was a really great
experience. One thing I pulled away was the importance of being
obedient to the laws of God. When we obey, our "freedoms" may seem to
get less and less, but I promise you , just try it, and watch as all
the sudden life feels so much more open and free! When we choose to
disobey we may think that we are having more freedom, but just watch
as life because dark and dull and you feel trapped. Thats just how it
is. Gods "rules" (if you can even call them that) ultimately bring us
happiness! We also did a 'zone scramble' before the zone conference
which means that we all got assigned random companions to go and work
with. I got assigned to stay in my area with a native named Elder
Chen! It was so much fun! I wasn't too worried about communicating and
everything ended up working out really well so it was great! We talked
and laughed and got a little lost, but no worries! haha. He also knew
some pretty funny camera tricks, I'll send some pics :).

So today before we actually switched companions we had to wait so I
was companions with Elder W. (our awesome Zone leader) for about 5
or so hours. So yes, I got my 5 hours as zone leader :) haha. It was a
lot of fun. We went to the Dream Mall (pretty much the only real mall
in this area of Taiwan). It made me think about America so much haha.
We went to try to go shop for some stuff, but us poor missionaries
just can't do it at a mall haha. Everything was pretty expensive!
Especially cause it was all imported. But it was really cool to see
and go play around there for a bit, especially with someone as cool as
Elder W.

So other than that nothing really happened...oh wait....other
than...OUR FOUR BAPTISMS!!!!!!!!!! Elder E. and I worked really
hard and finally it all payed off. This XiaoGang area is amazing! I am
telling you...if you look, people are prepared ALL OVER! I love it!
These people are amazing! I love the Lord and I love this work. I am
SO GRATEFUL for the chance I have to be here and serve!
I love you all so much! Don't forget to send letters :) hehe. Love you!
Ge Zhang Lao!!!

Oh and Mom you awesome amazing mother you! I didn't notice in that
most recent letter how you put all the big words together to make a
secret phrase until I was reading and saw that you spelled the word
Fourth, Forth. And I thought...what? Mom? no way....and how the FOR
was the big part....then it clicked :) You are so creative and so
cool! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your letters keep me going so much! Thank
you!

I love you all so much! Don't forget to send letters :) hehe. Love you!

Ge Zhang Lao!!!

HoooHoooHaaaaHaaa (Huozi shan :))

 

Hooohoohaahaa! That is Monkey for "GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN!" We went to
Monkey mountain last week! AHH IT WAS CRAZY! Those monkeys were mean
as heck! The other Elders I went with stayed as far away as possible.
But of course.....because I have my Dad's genes in me I thought "Come
on, it can't be that mad, they are all bark and no bite...I'll bet I
can give one a stick"...

well let me tell you how that thought turned out...it ended up with Monkeys following us in the trees and yelling
at us and growling bearing their teeth and 4 Missionaries screaming
and running haha. Oh gosh they were so scary! I think what really made
it bad was this Baby monkey. So he and I...we had a connection, I was
talking monkey with him and we were making faces, it was so funny. And
then we got to close...Mama monkey didn't like that, she gathered the
other mama monkeys and Papa monkeys...I felt like a scared little girl
haha they are freaky!!! And loud....and brave. So we ran away.

BUT then...I guess I have not quite matured yet because then I
thought"....well maybe they well yell but won't come after me...I
mean...i'm bigger than them...It cant be THAT bad." So...yes...silly
Elder Gish went in for round two...THAT is when we decided to leave
haha. The monkeys started really coming after us! THEY WERE INTENSE! I
was scared out of my mind haha. Of course it provided for a good laugh
for all the Elders and a few of the natives around us as they saw this
white boy leap away from these monkeys and start sprinting to get as
far away as I could!

Now want to know where the REAL Gish in me comes out?

It is when I give my camera to Elder W. and say..."hey
that was crazy!!!!! I want to remember it, try to get a picture of
them coming after me"....yeah....well luckily I am still alive!
:) Not too many bruises or bit marks. Haha Just kidding it didn't get
to that point, but I sure was freaked out that it would haha. Now what
REALLY tells me how I haven't matured is that I know if I go back...I
am gonna want better pics of the same thing haha. Oh well, we will
just see if that time ever comes haha.

Something really funny about getting to monkey mountain too is that
Elder Erickson and I didn't know you had to buy a pass to take your
bike on the MRT so we just walked on like normal and no-one stopped
us. When we met the other missionaries and they told us we were all
cracking up. Of course we stopped and paid as we got off but it was so funny to just think about what
they must have been thinking as we walked through the handicapped gate
with our bikes instead of the "pay for your bike gate" haha.

 

Oh so I have something funny that I think was actually from the week
before but I hadn't talked about yet.

So at Church when they did the
CPR night they also had us all practice the Heimlich. So I LOVE our
ward mission leader. He is a great guy.  SO he got this boy named D.L. and had him
practice the Heimlich on him haha. Oh that poor boy, it was SO FUNNY
watching him all crazy trying to help this poor boy! haha. Picture Max
Eastman (thats how big D.L. is) Now Picture a really old man
(bishop....brother soucy? THATS CRAZY) size and with the energy of
that wild Elder Dane S.) haha. That is the only way I can think to
relate to you who these people were, now picture them practicing the
Heimlich...haha oh gosh, this might not being coming out as funny in
an email as it was haha. Now I feel like this might have been one of
those 'you had to be there' moments haha, oh well maybe some people
will get a kick out of it :).

So I told you that we planned for the H. families FHE [Shannon here: FHE= Family Home Evening,] well let me
tell you how funny that was!

So it was all good and spiritual and
serious up to the game. Haha, we blindfolded H.D. and told him
that he had to put the Plan of Salvation together (on these little cool
card things) And H. J. could help but could only use her words,
no touching or anything. It was HILARIOUS to see him placing these
things upside down and backwards and us being Born into the celestial
Kingdom haha. FHE was really fun, but it really made me miss home FHE.
Take SERIOUS advantage of it while you can! Even if you aren't
members, just set aside time each week to have just family time! If I
was back home right now we would have FHE every night :) I would
almost never be out! I would just want to be with my fam. That is one
thing I am so grateful that I have really learned and experienced out
here is the importance and value of the family. I love my family so
much and I feel so blessed to be with them! I am so grateful that I
have the privilege of being out here and serving a mission and being
able to help other families and individuals have the same joy that I
have experienced!

Let me take a small second right now (for those of
you who just skim this, this is the part to read :)) GO ON A MISSION!!
If you are home, are worthy and are of mission age GO ON A MISSION! Of
course I don't claim the right by any means to be able to tell
individuals to go on a mission, but did you hear conference!? Have you
seen the world today? GO ON A MISSION! The world needs us, the Lord
needs us! Even if you feel unworthy or unprepared or like you won't be
able to do it, JUST GO! Get in to see the bishop and Go! I can promise
you that the Lord will give you exactly what you need to serve the
mission! He will stand by you 100% of the way and will make sure you
get through it! You will grow so much and not only that but you will
see others grow and that is the best, when over the course of three or
so months you see someone COMPLETELY change their lives! Please just
trust me and go out on the mission! There are a few people I am
thinking specifically of :) but this is aimed at the Young Men and
Women! Heed the Call of the prophet, Arise and serve! :) Gosh I love
this work! I get so fired up about it :)

Oh and for those of you that ask..."what is the weirdest thing you
have eaten lately?"...I got it....the fish eyeball....I guess it is an
honor to be the one to eat it...well let me tell you...I had already
been stuffed and on the verge of puking...when they pulled the eye
from that fish and put it in my bowl, all big and gooey...I almost
went over the edge (kinda like the time Chase and I ate the fish heart
haha). But being as respectful as I could I rolled up my sleeves (with
a little encouragement in the form of "don't be a baby" from Elder
E. haha) and put that sucker down! Now what was SUPER funny is
OFCOURSE I wasn't about to sink my teeth into that gooey mess! I just
put it near the back of my tongue and tried to take it like it was
medicine haha. But then I swallowed it whole and everyone started
getting a little frantic and at first I didn't understand because
everyone was mumbling and talking really fast. But then I started
catching words as they started to speak up and I guess that in the
middle of the eye is the Lens which is poisonous or something and so
you are supposed to take that out before you swallow. Well I didn't
know! Everyone started talking to me like I was going to die haha.
Elder E. of course is just laughing, but then he realized it
could be serious. Eventually things calmed down and I tried to crack a
few jokes about being immune to poison because of my super human
abilities, and things were okay. Haha, it was pretty funny though
watching people going crazy thinking I was
going to like die on the spot haha. And for anyone wondering, if there
IS poison (which I am still not convinced there is) then it didn't get
to me at all and I am 100% fine haha. But man...that eye...that was a
killer. :( haha   [Shannon here: You knew this insert from me was coming right? Yes, I did check it out, and Elder Gish should be just fine. Don’t even get me started on the monkey story above.]

Okay so on a more serious note, I really enjoyed being able to see
amazing miracles this week. The number 1 BIG miracle happened
yesterday. We went to go pick up the D. kids to take them to church
and the Dad said to stop calling and not come back. Obviously Elder
E. and I were hurt...and I was nearly on the verge of tears, I
felt like everything was going down hill, but we stayed strong, prayed
and had faith that God would give us a miracle (we had been praying
HARD for these children that we love so much!) So we went throughout
our day and with about an hour or so left in the day we decided to go
back and try to find the D. family and clear things up (a make it or
break it attempt).

Now things had gone a little sour that day, things
were falling through and we were a little scattered in our lessons and
plans which was weird because we are always really on top of things
and really strive to keep to our schedule. But anyways, we were on our
way back and feeling a bit down and as we biked past a members house
(y.j) We noticed...well we didn't notice, we saw her outside
and she called us over. She was talking to Dong mama! The mom had
actually gone to her house and called her down to talk about things!
Now the amazing part is that if everything from early had not happened
the way we did then we very well might have missed seeing them
outside! And as we talked to her we discovered some of the Dad's
problems. We talked with her and she told us that she would sneak us
into the house and back us up (she is not a member but I think she is
starting to feel the love and peace that the gospel and the Savior and
Heavenly Father will bring into her life). So we went over and things
were tough at first but we got through it and because of Gods hand in
our lives we were able to keep that family and save our relationship
which will help us to help them continue to come unto Christ! I LOVE
IT!

And as a last testimony, FASTING WORKS!!!!!!!!! JEFF IS GETTING
BAPTIZED!!!!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!!!!!!! I love that
guy so much and I am so happy for him! I hope that things will
continue to go well for him! You all are so amazing!

Don't forget what was talked about at conference and that I LOVED!!!!!
Even if you feel you have no faith (this is for everyone members, new
members, less actives, non members, EVERYONE!) if you have a desire
that is good enough. Just know that the desire will grow and will
eventually become faith and that will eventually become a knowledge.
Start out simple with something like a desire and let it grow into
faith and take that and go out and act. THEN it will become a
knowledge. How can I say to people now that I know this is true?
Because I started with a desire. I HOPED that this was all true, that
Jesus Christ's Atonement was real, that I really could live with my
family forever. Over the 20 short years I have lived I have had a few
experiences that have turned some of those desires into faith. And
through acting on that faith I have turned some of that faith into
knowledge. Now I am not PERFECT like my wonder mom and Dad are. I am
not as strong and firm as Chase or as smart as Gageroo ;). I still
have a lot of things that are only a faith, and I have even more
things that are still only a desire. But those things, and the things
that I DO KNOW, I hold precious. I hold truths such as, Joseph smith
was a prophet, The Book of Mormon is true, Jesus Christ lives, and
that I can live with my family forever, so precious and close to my
heart. I hope that one day I will be able to share these truths with
ALL around me.

I love you all!
SHINE BRIGHT!
Elder Gish

You mei you ban fa bian de yi ge chao ji sai ya ren?

What?!?!? What does that title mean!?...Well....I would just let
everyone try to think about it haha but i'll just tell you because it
actually has a hilarious and awesome story!

So it means "is it even possible to become a Super Saiyan?"

Yes, a super saiyan from Dragon
Ball Z...haha.

Recently because I have learned how to talk with someone about church and have
religion I have to move on to studying other things and that lead me
to learning about super heros and dragon ball z and other nerd stuff
:) haha...uh oh. But anyways, the story! So There is this investigator
named P., he thinks church is too boring so he doesn't like
coming. We had tried all week to convince him to come and he said he
wouldn't. So one day after a lesson I was talking to him and started
trying to study more...fun words haha, so we started talking about
Dragon Ball Z and I told him about how much I liked it before I came
out and as we were talking about it I said "you know, I wish so bad I
could just see a super saiyan again (like a drawing), do you think you
could print off some pics and bring them to church to give to me?" And
he said yes!  he came to church and gave me the pictures and we
got him to stay for all three hours! YEAH! It was totally awesome! And
now I have started addressing some younger kids as super
saiyans...they love it haha. So just so mom knows, there is a reason
we watched dragon ball z before the mission....because it will help us
retain and get investigators :) haha.

Okay so what else happened this week? A TON!!!!!! First off I had my
first real bible bash....oops! I am not really sure how I got lured
into the bash, but it happened. It is a lot harder to bash in Chinese,
but still not so difficult that you can't do it. I got into it with
this younger man. Oh man I got so frustrated, I kept my composure the
whole time but once he left I had to say a HUGE prayer to ask to help
me calm down! Bible Bashing really is not good.... The thing that
makes it so much worse is just that as you walk away you think "how
could they not see?" You share so many scriptures and you share so
much doctrine and bear testimony and somehow they still don't even
have a desire to learn more...It was tough. But I guess I just need to
repent since it DID eventually become an "i'm right and your wrong"
attitude rather than a "This is just truth that I want to share with
you in order to bless you" attitude....TIME TO REPENT AND HUMBLE
YOURSELF ELDER GISH! :)

Another fun thing, IT WAS ELDER E’s BIRTHDAY! That stinker
didn't tell me until the day of! I didn't know at but we were still
able to have fun! One thing that was the best was that it was the day
for teaching english so OFCOURSE I taught my enlgish class how to sing
happy birthday in english and then had us all go out and sing it to
him! YEAH! It was sooo funny! Again, if you have never seen a bunch of
people sing happy birthday in really broken english....you GOTTA look
it up! I bet they have some on Youtube! Go look it up....Oh gosh it
was so funny! Especially watching as they tried to clap and dance so
that we would focus on the dancing and not the wrong words haha

Sorry if this all seems random, but that is just how our week goes,
very random :)  No thats not true, it is organized, it is just
organized by God so my little mortal mind thinks its random haha :).

but anways I have a few more hilarious experiences one is food...uh
oh...food. Yeah so I ate something this week called PiDan. It means
the thousand year old egg. It used to have to sit in horse urine for a
long time to become a pidan but now they have some nasty chemical that
they can put it in for it to become a pidan. But anyways it is a hard
boiled egg but it is 100% black and the...yellow part (shoot I forget
what its called) OH YOLK! Thank you Elder E. haha. Is it
yoke?....shoot....oh well THAT PART, it is all gooy and this
green and black color. Oh gosh it is gross. The rest of it tastes like
an egg, but that part....it is just nasty, it smells bad, tastes bad,
and has a weird texture. The kid that bought it for me even told me
that people here don't REALLY like it haha, at least the kids don't.
haha. Well needless to say it took me awhile to finish and a lot of
struggling and sips of soup inbetween haha. Oh, and that
night we were saying our companion prayer and we heard this big BOOM
in our room. We looked around and saw no-one and nothing was broken,
we both looked at eachother and went back to praying, the first thing
Elder E aid was "please protect us" I couldn't help it and
started CRACKING up. It reminded me of when Dad was praying and
thanked God for the snow in it's....abundance haha. I feel like some
things are just funnier in prayers :) haha. But that over all that day
was super fun. Elder E and I also took a good 5 minutes and set
up a bionicle target and used nerf guns to try to take it out while
thinking about how to help our investigators Mom allow him to be
baptized! So all in all, yeah, a mission is hard work, but it is also
so fun!

One thing this week too was just the
difference in Church between here and the USA. For example, this last
week the WHOLE third hour was the entire church gathered together to
do a CPR training. It was so funny, it felt more like a Wednesday
activity then church, but I guess if that's what the Bishop wants! It
is just different, in fact a lot of things happen like that that are
different. One thing that I do really like though is that once a month
ATLEAST, the ward sets up a ward service activity, usually it is going
to an old person home to feed them and help out, but there are lots of
other things they do to, it is amazing how much service they do here!
Everyone is SOOOO HARD WORKING! For example, gosh this almost made me
tear up actually, As we were driving down to Soumu (clean
graves...I'll talk about that later) We saw this man on his scooter,
probably upper 70s, we was shaking and had a wrap on his head and this
pad over his ear with blood stains on it, he had a tube going from
this thing on his hip and taped to his chest up into his nose...we
found out he was going to work...with all all those problems he was
STILL going to work so he could support his family. I was blown away
and it was kind of a slap in the face saying, don't complain about
anything. I was able to this week really realize how much I
loved and care for these people, I don't know what it is, maybe it
just clicked or something this week but we were talking to this young
man (Probably my favorite so far) His name is G, L. He is super
cool, but as we were talking and he was talking about his family
hardships and about his girlfriend cheating on him I felt so sorry and
really pained for his pain. The 'mourning with those that mourn' came
to mind. I felt like I just wanted to take this burden on myself and
off him, to help him! I realized that I really love and care for these
Taiwanese people, all of them. But THEN I had an even BIGGER
realization. I love EVERYONE and care about EVERYONE they are all
brothers and sisters, everyone we see and talk to, and they all need
what I have, I have been so blessed and all I want to do is share that
with EVERYONE I meet. Now don't get me wrong, the Taiwanese have a
special place in my heart, but I realized this because we ran into
this white guy this week (I know! what? A white guy!?) YEAH! And I felt
this same love and care for him and desire to help him feel these
blessings! I have to say though...it was so HARD to teach in english! I
started thinking "how would I say this in Chinese?" Then translating
and saying it in English and it just comes out so weird...And it was
weird hearing words again like "oh thats so sick" haha. Anyways, that
was a neat experience!

So for my last fun experience for the week...RAINSTORM! YEAH! IT was
SUPER FUN! It totally came out of nowhere and I had totally forgotten
my rain gear. We were half way to the church so just decided to keep
going. I was SOAKED and then to make it EVEN BETTER, about half a mile
for the church Elder E's bike broke! The tire just broke and
the tire popped and...well it wasn't good. So then we walked the
rest of the way in the rain! Once we got to church the investigator
was already there and I think it was actually kind of a good thing
because he was touched by our dedication (if it rains here people just
don't go outside for some reason they just don't like the rain too
much). I loved the rain though, it was super nice to get cooled off
like that! The outside was super hot but the rain just cool
enough that as you biked the wind would cool you off a lot. I really
thought it was a blessing! It was just a neat and funny experience to
have to teach a lesson in the Church while totally soaked and have to
be out in that weather! I decided to start bringing my rain gear with
me 24/7 though haha.

So ready for something AWESOME that was discovered this week in the
Book of Mormon? It is in 1Nephi 1:20 and Moroni 10:3! The start of the
book starts with Nephi saying “this is so that I can show you the Lords
mercy,” and the END of the book is Moroni saying, “I write this so that
you can remember the Lords mercy.” HOW COOL! The Whole Book of Mormon
is there to help us to learn and remember and study the mercy of the
Lord. I know that as we read we will also recognize his mercy in our
lives and the MANY MANY blessings we have gotten! For example with
me....MY WONDERFUL FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!! This week we planned a Family
Home Evening for the Hong family (recent converts) so that they can
see how it is done. Can I tell you how much I just wanted to sing "the
family" or hear Dad's jokes and Mom's wisdom? (Yes that is how it is,
moms wisdom and dads jokes :)) haha. Or to have Gage climbing all over
me. To have Chase ask some deep questions that make us all think. To
hear the powerful testimony of little Gageroo! Man I miss FHE so
BAD!!!!!!!! I'm telling you, take advantage of it! It is such a great
time! Every second with our family is so precious! I love you guys! :)

This Week I want to shout out to mom and dad! :):)

DAD!!!!!!! Can I just tell you that as Patrick handed me the pictures of the super
saiyans all I could think of was you! For a few reasons, ONE...your
arms are similar size :) haha. TWO You are my Super Saiyan, I am so
grateful for your amazing example and the way that you have protected
and cared for me and our family. I really love you so much!

MOM!!!!!!!! AH!!!!! My wonderful mom! Everytime I get a letter from
you I get that little love bug in my stomach! I don't want to ever
read it because I just want to savor it and have the letter never end
haha. And something you say ALWAYS ALWAYS gives me such strength to go
on and continue to work hard! You are such a light for me Mom, and for
all New Hampshire...ALL THE WORLD! YOU ROCK!!!!! ( And you better not
cut this part out when you post this...I know that you are SUPER
humble and might do that...but don't!!! I want my "brag about mom time"

So today we are going up to Monkey Mountain! I will tell you more
about it next week and will get good pics for you!
Oh and Soumu...well....its grave cleaning...its hard work haha. Sorry
I am out of time...

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!
Love Elder Gish

Not going to finish being trained!?!?

So I don't know why, but I am not going to be finishing my training...I guess it is sort of understandable since we TECHNICALLY had 2 transfers (one being a mini-) But still, all the others are finishing.  So I don't know if you have heard about the 12 week program but the point is to have missionaries ready to train after 12 weeks...and I am going to be doing just that...I can hardly speak the language, my amazing trainer is leaving me and I am going to be training someone who possibly knows less Chinese then I do (which would be hard to do considering how my chinese is not so great haha). But I am going to need extra prayers this week for that....so thank you all!

So I have a lot I want to talk about in this email! Lets hope I can get through it all! First off...APRIL FOOLS!!!!! I am not being transferred haha. So I am still in xiaogang with Elder E. and we will be together for ATLEAST 3 more weeks and most likely 6. haha okay PHEW now that that is out of the way :).

Oh and just so you all know, OBVIOUSLY this picture is posed :) haha. I just felt bad because I had no pics to send this week! (might be the same next week). So I had Elder E. take a picture of me studying! haha...oh jeeze. It was so funny posing for that pic :) we were laughing so hard. We are always laughing!

Did you all hear about the Earthquake in Taiwan!? It was 6.1 or something I guess. It was a pretty weird feeling haha, but we didn't really pay too much attention to it, we just went on doing our studies! I just thought it was funny because Elder E. didn't even look up. I of course looked up and around at everything and said do you feel that....that it really started moving and he just kept studying and said "yup" haha. I don't know if that is a common occurrence here but it was pretty funny to see him pay ZERO attention to it and just focus on studying! 

So I have one kinda funny and ehhh story and then I want to dive into the good stuff! :) So just yesterday we were at this mans house named L. J. Now, let me start by saying I LOVE THE PEOPLE HERE! The only thing is that there are a few people here, usually single older men (like L J ) who do not have very good hygiene, and its usually with stuff like not washing feet or clipping nails or something. But anyways. We were at this guys house and he is really into all the "fads" that the world provides, such as compression socks to make your leg stronger! So in order to show us he took off his sock, and handed it to me...telling me to try it on....well I looked down at his feet...looked at the sock...then looked at Elder E. who was just trying so hard not to laugh. Well... to be kind I took it...and started to put it on. But I guess I was doing it wrong. You start by putting it over your arm....gross...haha. Then slipping it over your leg by pulling it off your arm and onto your leg...idk, it was weird but I guess that is how it works. I got it about half way on and it wouldn't go further. So this nice man started grabbing the sock and my leg and trying to force it on haha oh my gosh it was so funny! And eventually It got on and wanting to take it off as fast as possible I said "cool" then started to take it off, well then he told me that I didn't even walk in it and try it...so we did the process all over again. And the sock was totally normal except it went high on your leg and was tight on your foot, really nothing special haha. But of course I am walking around saying oh yeah that’s amazing haha. [Shannon here: Just have to add this. Elder Gish is a serious germ-a-phobe. As his mom, this makes me both laugh out loud and want to give him a paper bag so he can breathe.]

Well thats my funny story haha I have a few things I want to say real quick so I am going to list them real quick and maybe give brief explanations of a few.

1) Uncle Josh! I have been keeping a prayer journal and lately you have been popping up in my mind! I don't know if you read these or not, but I just want to let you know I am thinking about you and praying for you :). I sure miss you and love you a lot! I hope everything is going well for you back home! Give everyone my love.

2) Q is the name of one of our investigators. [Shannon here: Investigator is a term meaning someone who is officially meeting with the missionaries to “investigate” or to know more about the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]. I want to mention him because he is a really depressed kid that doesn't like Taiwan and seems to not have any goals or anything. When we started meeting with him I saw him change, he started smiling, he started to read the Book of Mormon and in one night read from the Start and got about half way through. I really realized through him, and through meeting with others how much this gospel means to me. Lots of others just feel that they don't have much purpose or goals, they seem to be sad more than they are cheerful. I have really recognized this week the blessings that this gospel has brought to my life! The joy and peace, the feeling of belonging and of purpose. Knowing how I need to act and what I need to do, who I can count on. I love it. And I love that I have the amazing opportunity to serve my wonderful god and share this amazing news and this amazing joy with everyone! Infact the gospel in Chinese is Fu(2) Yin(1). It literally means News of Blessings. This Fuyin really is the News of how to bless your life!!!!

3) New favorite scripture! 2Nephi 4:16-35 I love this! JUST AWAKE! This is real! The Lord is real, he lives and he loves each of us! And even better news is he IS COMING AGAIN! Why give way to any sin or temptation? Just remember the Lord and go forward being the Child of God that we were meant to be, shinning like we were meant to shine! SO GREAT!

4) A great principle...UNto verses INto. (2Nephi 33:1-2) It says that the Holy Ghost will carry it UNTO the hearts of the people. But that they give no place for it to be IN them. I love this so much because it teaches so many amazing principles, one being that everyone has their own agency to choose to accept or reject the truth of this message and there is nothing that any outside force can do about that, they have to choose to let it in! The other principle is that I think that many teachers or missionaries will get discouraged when they don't see the success they hoped for and they start to doubt whether they are teaching with and by the spirit. Well this scripture is the answer! We can be 100% filled with the spirit, we could preform miracles and we could do all things by the power of God, but if someone is not going to open their heart and give way...it will all be to no avail. One thing I loved that we taught a recent investigator named Ray Lian is that he has to open his heart and give way, let the spirit work, because the spirit will never FORCE you to accept. It will wait until you are willing. He has been keeping all of our invites and says that he still isn't really feeling it so much. He has had some great experiences but just says he still can't fully believe it. We talked about comparing our faith to a seed (like in Alma 32). We asked him where has he placed his seed? Is it actually IN the ground? Is it In his heart? Has he put in the effort to open his heart and let it in? If the seed just sits on the surface it will never grow, we can add water and sunlight and nothing will ever come of it. But once we open the ground (our hearts) and place the seed inside. That is when we will see it start to grow! I want to testify that this really is true, this being the gospel of Jesus Christ. If there are any within the sound of my voice who say other wise I would ask that you just look at where has that seen been placed. Did you water it and add the sunlight but not really stick it in the ground? Because I promise you that if you do, the seed will take root and you will see it grow and you will know for yourself that it is true.

Us missionaries have one purpose and that is to INVITE others to come unto Christ. We will provide the seed, we will tell you how much water and sunlight you need. We will be guides, but we can't do it for you, no one can and no one should. The greatest gift you have is the ability to choose. But if you don't open your heart and give it a chance you won't know. The seed will always just stay a seed.

On this amazing day (the day after Fuhuo Jie or Easter) (Oh P.S...Easter in Chinese literally means Resurrection celebration..how great is that!) I want to add my testimony to the many that I am sure have been given. That Christ lives. He loves us. He was born, lived, suffered and eventually died for each of us. And it is because and through Him alone that we are able to have the amazing blessings that we have. It is through Him that we can again live with our Heavenly Father and it is because of Him that we can live for eternity with our families. That is the best blessing of all! I love my family, I want nothing more than to be with them forever. I am so grateful to Jesus Christ that he has provided the way for me to be with them forever! I this work, I love this gospel and I love all of you!

Have an amazing week!

Elder Gish

P.S. I will try to get better pics either this week or next. Nothing too exciting has happened recently... :( haha

A prophets call!

Wo Ciai de Dixiong jiemeimen, Dajia hao! :)

WOW!!!!! This week I was blown away! So When I came to Taiwan there were about 6 of us, maybe a little less. And the group after had 8 I think. Well we heard this week that the next move call (transfer) will have about 22 NEW MISSIONARIES!!!! HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!? The youth heard the call of the prophet and they are responding!! It is amazing! I got a letter from Chloe Capener this week asking about a mission and whether or not I ever had doubts. I was thinking about this in relation to the news I had just heard and I wanted to share a few of my thoughts. OF COURSE I had doubts and worries, but I also put my trust 100% in the Lord. Why do you think the age was lowered? It is because the work is hastening, he has prepared people and he needs us to go and gather, to work with our savior and harvest. He suffered and Died for us, the VERY LEAST we can do is to go out and to do his work with him. The other thing I thought was about how much this is just a once in a life-time experience. Yeah you can go as a couple and do other amazing and incredible things like that, but nothing will ever be the same as going out as a 18-mid20 year old boy/girl and serving a full time mission. I am so thankful and feel so blessed for the opportunity to go serve this mission. I have said it before, but I will say it again, for anyone who is thinking about serving a mission but is not sure, JUST GO AND DO! Now of course council with the Lord, but I can't imagine the Lord saying "no, don't go save your brothers and sisters, you have more important stuff to do back home." I just can't picture it. I was thinking about what we are really doing out here and I read a scripture in D&C, all I could think about was after this life, the kind of relationship that I and those that through the Lord I found out here. How much we will love each other and how special that connection will be, the "you found me and didn't give up, you helped me" relationship...gosh it is just so amazing! And if you have any specific questions or anything about a mission or anything like that at all and FEEL FREE to write me and ask/talk about anything...but really....feel free to write ;) haha.

Okay, I'll get off my "get out and serve the Lord horse" for now :)

P.S. Dane, my brother! I am so proud of you! Go get 'em mate! People really will recognize you and YOU will be the only one able to touch those peoples hearts, so don't let anyone pass you by! Maybe use those big arms of yours to draw some people in ;). So remember who you are and represent the Lord!

So what is that Teddy bear? Well...It is a note and a teddy bear from one of my english students!

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to accept it because it is from a girl. But since she is a recent convert it is okay haha. His name is X (Shee-oong), well thats what she named him haha. I just thought it was so funny. And of course the other Elders wouldn't let me live it down after having her walk in and hand it to me! I love my enlgish class! I especially love the last 30 min. which are saved for the "spiritual share!" I love it because I have a few members, a few investigators, and a few people who have ONLY english interest, however, EVERYONE stays to listen. My Dad recently sent a picture to me that he drew about me holding a Book of Mormon and preaching to a class, well I was SO blown away when I got that letter because that week I had decided in my spiritual share to talk about the Book of Mormon and its importance! I Did exactly as the picture showed, and at the end I had brought a bunch of Copies of that AMAZING book and everyone that didn't have one already came up after and got one! IT WAS INCREDIBLE! Whether they grabbed it because I said that they should, or because it was free, or whatever reason, it doesn't matter, the fact that they have it in their hands, in their house is enough. That Book will bring miracles! It reminds me of a story about my beloved Papa Jim. I would type it all out now but for the sake of time, maybe mom can either add an insert (like the Words of Mormon :) but Words of Shannon haha) or you can ask her about the amazing story!

OH MY GOSH, I am so glad I take little notes in my planner to write about haha.

Okay, CHASE AND GAGE!!!!! MY BROTHERS!! I just could not stop thinking about you this week!! You know why? (Don't judge for what is about to be said), so I like to sing as I am biking as you know and all that, and one day, I don't know how or why but I just started singing the pokemon theme song! Haha oh gosh...But as I was singing I just realized how much it applies to missionary work! You can pretty much insert "God's Children" in for the word "Pokemon" and all the sudden it is a Missionary song! "Gotta catch 'em all!" "Our courage will pull us through, you teach me and I'll teach you" I was like AHHH No way! Gosh, isn't it amazing how much Pokemon applies to the Gospel! :) haha.

So I have an investigator that I need some prayer power for! His name is J. He is 16, an AMAZING kid! First off he is SUPER funny. So one thing I have kinda got in a habit of saying here is "hooollyyy cow!" (only used when appropriate though of course). And J. is really into english and he has heard me say it a few times and he totally caught on. Oh my goodness it was so funny! We were biking together and his chain fell off, he looked down and said "what! What the...Hoooollllyyyy cow!...holy cow holy cow!" Haha I could hardly peddle I was laughing so hard. SO anyways, he wants to be baptized so bad, but his mom was not willing to meet with us so that we can explain what baptism is, and she keeps telling him no. Well finally this last week we got in and the mom was there! We taught a first lesson and it all went really well! She is now considering letting J. be baptized. She needs prayers so that she can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost and let at least her son be baptized! My goodness that kid is so funny. He is always so happy! Don't you just love it when people are just always happy? He is one of those people that you can't wait to see again because being around them just makes you happy! Is that not an amazing Christ-like attribute!?

So can I tell you my favorite thing that happened this week? We have a phrase in the mission "you (yo) ban fa" and when you do something great you are "you ban fa!" So we have this little mini pamphlets and such that we can hand out because sometimes our contacts only last for about 5 sec but we want to 'leave something behind' so we hand out these little papers. Well...we pulled up to a stop light that had a little bit longer than usual, it was about 60 sec or so. Well a bus pulled up next to me...I wasn't gonna let this opportunity slip through my fingers! I got off my bike real fast and knocked on the window of the bus. Oh man you should have seen the drivers face! I was lucky that he opened the door, I think he might have just done it out of habit haha. But I got in and started handing out tracts (the little pamphlet things), starting with the bus driver and moving down to the end of the bus, just talking. Oh man people gave me such funny looks but most everyone took the tracts anyways. There were some highschool kids giggling and some old people with not too happy faces, but once I finished and walked off the bus with 2 seconds to spare I felt so "you ban fa!" I was so happy and so excited to go and do more work! I don't know if anything will come from my bus contacting, but I do know that it gives me such great joy to be able to say to myself that I am not going to let someone pass me by. Who knows, the Lord could have someone 100% ready on that bus! We need sometimes, to 'lean into the discomfort' and do things that push us so that we can accomplish the Lord's work! YOU BAN FA!

So one of the last things I wanted to talk about today was how much I love exchanges! We can always learn so much from everyone around us! My Zone Leader, Elder M. came down to stay with me and we took control of xiao gang together! Oh man it was a blast! Plus I got to watch a master contacter in action! He is so good with making friends quick! Especially because he has really good Taiyu (Taiwanese). People down here LOVE it when you can speak Taiyu with them. I have started to pick up things here and there so I use them pretty often because it really gives you stronger first connection. Anyways, one thing I learned was about being just 100% bold. Elder M. kept talking about being bold and how much it helps and so I decided to give it a try. I biked up to this drug stand and there was a guy there buying drugs and smoking. Instead of telling him "Hi I am a missionary" I said "what are you doing?! Smoking is so bad for you! You know you shouldn't smoke...why would you do that to yourself?" And you know what, it worked! We started talking and I found about about his family and how he wants to quit cause he has a son and all of these things! Now...I think that this situation could also have gone bad haha, you don't want to be the Elder that walked up to someone, rip a cigerette out of their mouth and started to ma them out (...call them out in a forceful yelling way) cause they are ruining their body. (Yes some elder did that here). But to be bold in a nice and inviting way can have amazing amazing results! So be bold! :)

I cant find the words to explain how much this gospel means and what it can do and WILL do for anyone, no matter who we are. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

I know that this message that we share is true. It will bless you, it will bless your friends and family. Don't let it slip by!

I love you all!

Ge Zhang Lao

Eirinn go Brach!!!! (Thats not Chinese hahaha)

HAPPY SAINT PATTYS DAY!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! IRISH PRIDE!!!!

No one knows this amazing day in Taiwan!! Zao1Gao1 (Well dang!). Haha But it is pronounced (cause I know you are all super curious (Sheng4 Pai4 Cui4 Ke4 Jie2)! It is super funny! My AMAZING family sent us these sweet Irish shirts and Elder E's mom sent us these funny ties that we wore together. Trainer and Trainee matching....so cute haha. But how crazy amazing is my Family! EIRINN GO BRACHHH!!!!!! Yeah! I can feel the Irish blood pumping through me now! (Don't worry Pops there is some German in there too ;)) Can I just take a moment to tell everyone how much I appreciate lucky charms!? I didn't realize how incredibly delicious they really were until recently :) hahahaha :)

Okay so first things first, I wanna give a shout out to my adopted brother Dane!!!!!!! YEAH! You enter the MTC soon right?! [Shannon here: Just a reminder - MTC=Missionary Training Center.] GOOD LUCK!!! You are gonna love it and you are going to carry such a strong spirit with you! You are God’s warrior! So go get it done! Go save some souls!!!! :) I am also going to need your address so however that gets to me is fine :) You can probably just give me the mission address since by the time I send a letter to the MTC you will probably be heading out! Take advantage of it man! Soak it up! LOVE IT! I love you bro! Go get 'em mate ;)

 

So lets get out the funny stories that I know you all look at this for haha. So I am the senior companion this transfer...uhoh...haha. But that means I am in charge of the Phone! Which I gotta say...is SO FUNNY! I love it because people sometimes think that even though we can speak chinese we wont be able to read it (which is sort of true). But I would probably make more sense of the chinese they send me than of the english texts they try to send hahaha. Gosh it is so funny. We can't text back either which means we have to call them and because we don't want to embarrass them we have to guess at the meaning and then try to get it out of them in Chinese so that we can understand haha. Gosh it is soooo funny!

Oh and before I forget, my mom sends me these super amazing postcards ever so often. Have you all seen them? Holy cow they are amazing! If you haven't see if you can get her to show you some! She really should start a business! It is incredible! She is SOOOO artistic and amazing! Ah it blows me away!

Anyways :) (Just had to brag about my awesome mom for a moment :))

So one thing that was super awesome and fun this week is that we went to go feed old people! I don't know if there is a way to get the pics but if there is I will send them. Oh it was so funny. For multiple reasons. 1) All the Ama's (Old Ladies) were trying to get us young american missionaries to feed them haha, 2) The nurses were super funny teasing us about feeding them too haha 3) We sang a song and this old lady started walking in circles around us just clapping after we finished each verse hahaha. And 4) They all are SUPER old so they speak Taiwanese not Chinese...which is actually very different...haha. It was pretty fun and funny! And then after words we all went to go clean this old couples house, what was funny about that was that the bishop took us in his van. Now I had heard rumors about the Bishop having a lead foot...but I didn't fully realize what they meant till we were on a road like Prescott and hittin 100! [Shannon here: Prescott is a very windy, hilly and narrow road near our home in NH.]  I was just sitting there thinking HOLY COW.......It was super fun though. So finally after that we went to go eat together and I discovered that Pig Ear really isn't too bad! Now...its not good...but its not bad haha. Thats how I am about a lot of the food here! I think it is the Lord blessing me to just make it through haha. I always seem to just say..."oh thats not too bad" haha. Except for some of the fruit here that is not in America...wow it is AMAZING! I could live off the fruit here! The one thing that I really don't like about the food is that they are not big into drinking (unless its tea) so they don't really serve water or drinks so you just eat. And on top of that if you DO get something to drink it is the broth from a soup which is not only boiling lava temperature hot, but also pretty dang spicy....and let me tell you...there is nothing like biking around for hours with the Sun literally on top of you all day so that when you walk into the persons house they can basically see through all the white you have on since you are so drenched, then sitting down and having a nice boiling volcano put into your mouth which you have to finish and then drinking a hot spring! :) There is just nothing like it :) haha. Some times we ask for water but you don't want to embarrass the other person and make them feel like they didn't provide for you, so thats only if we REALLY know the person well. Haha, oh Taiwan, I sure love you :)

 

This is just something crazy that I realized this week! I was sitting on my bike calling some investigators and I looked up and saw a ball in the sky, I looked directly at it! It was bright but not bright enough to make me squint or have to look away...then I realized it was the Sun....haha. The pollution was so bad where I was that when I looked up I could look directly at the sun! How crazy is that!? Now that isn't where I live, it was just a place that we happened to be, but still it was crazy to think that that was possible! But it made me think about us...we are all meant to shine like the sun. Just so bright and powerful! But sometimes we make mistakes and sin....which is like pollution and it fogs up the sky. And eventually it gets to the point where we really have lost most of our power and light...BUT!!! That is not the end! If the sky is getting too polluted, do we just give up and say oh well, that place is done for? NO WE DON'T We start doing things to clean it up and eventually the sky will be so clear that we can hardly look up at all because the light from the sun is so strong! That is like baptism and repentance! And it doesn't all happen at once, it is a process, we get to take the sacrament every week and continue through that process! How great is that?! What a wonderful blessing!! This gospel really does give us SO MUCH HOPE! The sacrament is so special...I LOVE church :)

Plus! At church the Man I baptized, C. D., got his baptism record (like certificate haha) and it had my full Chinese name on it! It was crazy to see that...To actually have the physical evidence of the miracle that took place! Oh it was SO amazing to see! You know what else is amazing to see? How willing some people are if we only invite them! I have recently started to be much more bold in my invitations and on some cases will even give a goal to a person to be baptized in 5 weeks and thats from the very first time I ever see them! It is amazing how many people will accept. Of course there are a lot of rejections...But one person accepting makes up for a million rejections! I am so glad that I have had my family to push me to be the best I can. I remember a Letter my Cousin Zach Wrote me (He has taken the role of an older brother for me)  he told me to always do all I can to be the best Chinese speaker on the Island and the hardest working missionary and the best at everything I do. Not at all out of a pride thing, but out of a desire to serve God. And I will tell you what, it is amazing to see the miracles that will happen when you put your full trust in God and then go out and work your very hardest! I am able to communicate so much better than I ever imagined I would be, and every day just gets better and better, it is because of the Lord...100% because of him. I know that there is NO WAY I could do any of the things that I am doing on my own.

So here is an example. One day we were out pretty late trying to save some souls :) and we thought we should hurry back. So we started going. And usually we try to talk to everyone but we were already late to get back on time so we just started going, and every person we passed I was just thinking...dang...they might be the one. Then I saw these too boys and I had a big thought...okay you HAVE to stop. So I did. I started talking to them and they didn't seem interested at all and were about to walk away and I was about to just say "oh well" and go on my way, but again I thought "no no, this person could be it." So I asked them to wait and just give me about 30 sec. Well that thirty seconds turned into 2 min, then 5, then 10. It turns out that a member had given us a referral we were never able to get a hold of and one of those boys was that referral!!!!! HOW AMAZING! We set up and we are planning on getting that man baptized! (He doesn't know it yet....but he will :)) haha. It is just...It is amazing! People that just turn those noses and don't give it a chance really don't know what they are missing...I feel so sad and hurt for them. I can't MAKE them accept this or MAKE them give it a chance, but if I could I would haha. There is NOTHING like this gospel, nothing that will bring more peace of joy or just pure happiness!

We have a few new investigators, one we call gao1fu2shuai4which means tall and handsome haha His name is L.c.y . He is a lady killa, and so funny! I love the people of Taiwan so much! They are all so great and they are all so prepared! They might not know it, but they are prepared or are in the process! It is amazing to see hearts and lives changed! I have too many people that I could name that are just so prepared and so ready! All they need is to be taught and loved. They need to see and feel the love that Christ can offer. And we can be the way they see that, in fact, for some, we might be the ONLY way they can see that! One thing I love talking about is how we are LITERALLY sons and daughters of God! We are meant to shine as children of God would! 

I love you all!

Shine Bright!

Elder Gish