大家好!

I love serving in Pingdong! The people we have been meeting are amazing. Their desire to change is inspiring. Last week while biking back to the chapel we ran in to a nice woman from Hong Kong who now lives in Taiwan, with her little family. It was a quick conversation on the street but she was willing to come try out church. A couple days later we met at the chapel and gave her a tour. She seemed to like it fine. Afterwards, we walked out in front of the chapel to offer a closing prayer to end the tour. We taught her how to pray and invited her to give it. As she prayed she started to cry, it was honestly one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. She truly felt a connection to Heavenly Father in that prayer and really started to share her thoughts and concerns. It was a special experience none of us will forget. She has started to really make a lot of improvement in this short amount of time. She brought her daughter to church on Sunday and they loved it!

This was one of the coolest days I've had on my mission so far.  

Basically as the meeting started J and S walk in. They told us that this would be the last Sunday that they could attend for three weeks because they would be out of the country until the 25th, which is also their baptismal goal. So that will be interesting to see how this goes considering the back half of all the lessons will be taught over video chat while they are in a different country. 

Anyway, they came. As well as another one of our investigators named Y came with her 3 year old daughter as well. She's the one from earlier in the week that just cried after her lesson with us. 

Part of Elder Richards said:

"We had a feeling we needed to meet with one of our english students this past week. So we did and she came to church as well. She has this really weird thing of only coming to Gospel Principles class and nothing else. The topic was work and the Gospel or something like that, I don't remember exactly. Chapter 28 haha. J loved it and after the class that A had approached her and starting just going off on her own thoughts on the world and religion and stuff like that, and of course we're standing right there protecting our poor investigator from getting infected or something or hear something that she doesn't like. It was amazing to see how J reacted to A. She just sat and listened and crowd controlled her as if she was a member. Just listened and even tried to explain some Gospel principles to her and stuff like that. It was super cool. She even invited A to stay for Relief Society and she did.

We went to Priesthood and it was pretty normal, nothing to crazy. An investigator named F came to church finally even thought it was half way through the 3rd hour. He's the investigator we've been working with that is covered in tattoos, chews betel nut, and pretty much if God has a commandment, he was not keeping any of them before. Now he prays at least. His attitude is so positive and willing to change I just think it's going to be a very hard chance for him to actually dedicate to.  

After the church meeting, we kinda escort all of our investigators to some members and see some our the door and we walk back to the main court hall part and see poor J just being jabbered at by A again haha. I walk over and kinda bat the fire and tell her not to come here and preach her thoughts in a chapel. Not really appropriate or respectful. She left and we asked J what she thought of the meeting and she said "還可以” which is kinda like, "Oh I mean, pretty good". We asked her if there was anything special about it and she just said that she heard some interesting thoughts today and we agreed with her haha, we did too. We explained that sometimes is like that and she said, "Oh, I understand."

I then said to her, "I don't come here for the people but to build my relationship with God, so no matter what anybody does, I'll come. It's a perfect church full of nothing but imperfect people". Now I was quoting some sort of prophet that I heard before but can't seem to remember right now. She kinda sat there for a sec and it seemed like that sentence really sunk in. She agreed, we continued to talk and saw them off to there 3 week vacation.

We had a littler meeting with a member about an upcoming missionary activity with the youth and decided to stay at the chapel cause we just had enough time for like half a study before we had to give a tour to somebody named H. He came and he and his friends that accompanied him were both dressed like butlers because apparently they had to go work at their family bar afterward the tour. Haha, seems like a good start. They were really cool but don't actually even live in our area. 

We head back downstairs to start our studies and we text  J to wish her happy travels while she's on the train heading to the GaoXiong XinZuoYing 新左營火車站 to ride the High Speed Rail to 台北 Taipei.

She replies, 

"Thanks

Hope see you soon

And I will receive baptism" 

I was listening to a conference talk in Chinese when she sent it so I didn't see and Elder Henderson slaps the table in front of us and yells," WHOA, look was J said!"

I looked and we were both just surprised and ecstatic that she made this decision now right before she wasn't going to be with us for 3 weeks. We asked her what helped her make her decision and she just said, "You two, today, and God."

We were so happy. The joy of sharing the Gospel is really something special. And now that I get to see them make the decision to get baptized really is just so life changing to me. 

After we finally left the chapel, we headed over to W work to see if she was doing alright. She told us, coincidentally at the same time J was having a great time, that she was having a terrible day, haha. We biked over to her work and paid her a visit, bringing her treats that a member had given us that day and talking though some of her questions in the Book of Mormon. She apparently had fought with her boyfriend about something and told us "I just want my boyfriend to be a Mormon like us!"

Kinda a cool thing to hear an investigator say haha.

I love this work and couldn't be more happy! 

I love you all!

I know it is personal, but I am going to share the letter that Elder Henderson sent to his Brother Sam who enters the MTC tomorrow. It was very touching to me, as their Mother.

Elder Henderson,

I can't believe it's here. Live up these next 24 hours and express your love for the family. 

I can't tell you how much our friendship means to me.  I didn't realize how much i love ya and how grateful I am for you as my brother, until I got out on my mission. You definitely are my best friend and I cherish our relationship.  I know I wasn't the best brother and caused you a lot of grief. But I have changed, I have become a new person with the help of God. I hope you can forgive me :) 

Sam, i can't tell how your mission is going to go, what kind of trials and heartaches you'll go through, what kind of happy experiences you'll have. But one thing i can tell you is that if you put it all out on the line, you give it all to the Lord, rely on him for everything, and give it your best effort. You will have a life changing experience. Every thing will be for your benefit.

My mission has been the hardest/most rewarding experience of my life and i can't even begin to put it into words.  You will understand that feeling as you start. hahha 

I am really sorry I wasn't able to make it to any of these big stepping stones in your life and wasn't by your side through the proccess. From the first time I heard about your call, I knew it would be unfair for me to cut the Lord short. I hope you can understand.

My devotion and commitment to the Lord is something I owe him. I have been blessed so much, I have been given a testimony of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Through dedicated study, service, and prayer I can tell you that I have personally felt of the truthfulness of the work and the plan of salvation. I know this is true.  The Book of Mormon is the WORD OF GOD. Use at all costs to share the Gospel with these people.  I have dedicated two years to the Lord and he has given me the best gift I can think of: A testimony that I can be with our family and my future family forever. I could not cut him short, it would not be fair. 2 years is a short time.  It goes by so fast.  Know that I am dedicated to this work, and I hope you start as well. :) Be the missionary the Lord needs you to be. I am far from perfect, but i am trying my best. This is how the our Heavenly Father sees it best fit.

When things are going great out there, rely on God. When things are rough, rely on God.  

I love you Elder Henderson.  Know that I am always praying for you and will be emailing you every single week. 

See you in 2 (more haha)! God Speed. Good luck on the journey of a life time! Love you my Brother!

Elder Henderson