The USS 斯密

We had another great week here! Saturday night we got the news, Elder Richards and I will be staying together here in 屏東 Pingdong for my last transfer! We are very excited and eager to help keep the work moving forward in the best area in the mission. Today a lot of my closest friends from the mission are going home. It's crazy to see how fast time flies.

Monday we went to Gaoxiong and played basketball in the basement of one of the biggest malls in Taiwan. It was my first time going back to this mall in a year and a half! 

Tuesday. We saw many miracles! We have a member in our ward who is a teacher at a local cram school and about a month ago she introduced to one of her students who wanted to learn about Christ. So for the past couple weeks we have been teaching her. The cool part is, that about 2 weeks ago we ran into another girl around the same age as this girl we are already teaching, and she really wanted to learn more. (She had no idea we are meeting with her friend). But after talking, these two really good friends realized that they both had a desire to be happier and were were meeting with us So this last week, we shared with them a little more about prayer and then yesterday came to church. They are really awesome. It was definitely not a coincidence they ended up at the same place on their pursuit of happiness

That day we also met with the Hong Family. We read with them 2 Nephi 31 about the Gospel of Christ. We had a good discussion about what their family wants to get from this and how they have changed since coming into contact with the Book of Mormon and Christ. They are so awesome. The mom came to church with the kids last week and the Dad this week! The kids love primary!

Wednesday I went to Yuanshan in Gaoxiong for exchanges. It was super fun, I went with Elder Tang from California. His Grandpa was baptized by Elder Gerrit Gong when he served his mission in Taiwan! It was a really productive exchange. We were able to have a fun time and accomplish a lot and meet some cool people willing to learn more.

Thursday we had interviews with President Card. He's super great and will do a lot of good here in Taiwan! That day we also went down a little more south and I did a baptismal interview for one of the sets down there. Baptismal interviews are one of the most spiritual parts of being a missionary! You have the opportunity to sit down one on one with someone that has a great desire to act and follow Christ. This decision changes peoples lives forever in a positive way and the interview is an amazing opportunity to sit down with them and talk about their growth and the testimony that they have gained through hard work.

Friday I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with my previous companion, Elder Strong! Its been about 9 months since we were companions. It was a lot of fun and brought back a ton of memories! We were blessed to find a super super kind middle aged women on the way home that night, she pulled over on the side of the road to talk to us as she was on her night shift job (1 of 2 jobs). She told us, "Even my life is hard, I really believe that God does love me." When she said this Elder Strong and I lit up. We were able to testify of what she said was true and also taught her about the Book of Mormon, the evidence that God loves us!!

Saturday, the other Elders had a baptism. Sister Hong and one son, Brother Wang, and a couple other investigators were all able to attend and have a great experience! The service went very well and it boosted a lot of our investigators faith! Brother Wang when he got there told us he was a bit nervous, because the next baptismal service will be his!

Sunday went well we had many investigators able to attend for the first time. They all loved it! Our ward has been great about helping these investigators feel the love of the church family.

We are excited for the future, there are a lot of wonderful people making big steps in life as they realize God's willing hand is always outstretched

Love you all!

Elder Henderson

 Elder Henderson's Favorite Pictures: The Restoration Happened

 Biking!

 On the Train!

 View From the Train

 Playing Basketball at a Mall in Gaoshong on Pday

 Friend Going Home

 Elder Strong being Transferred

Picture from the Train

Super solid week!

Super solid week! We were able to get a lot accomplished and meet some amazing people.

Tuesday afternoon, Elder Richards and I stopped on the side of the road to cross when a dude was riding by on his scooter. As he was riding passed us, we made eye contact, and I motioned him to pull over to the side of the road. He did! Haha He turned out to be a really nice guy who was super willing to talk and see what we were doing. We ended up meeting him at the chapel that night.

The man's a trooper who's had a super super rough life. Its humbling to meet people like this that are just looKing for anything that can bring them happiness. He's very willing to learn and try applying the Gospel in his life! Its only a matter of time and effort before he will start to experience the goodness the Gospel brings😁😁

Wednesday we had the opportunity to meet President Card and His family. He is from Edmonton, Canada and served in Taiwan in the 90's. He and Sister Card have brought 3 of their children to Taiwan. Their oldest leaves on his mission the same day as Sam, so he stayed home. They are so awesome. I didn't think anyone could replace the role that President Teh played, but the Lord knows what he is doing. I could clearly feel that he has been called of God to be here. I am very excited to have him as my mission president! 

Thursday we were on exchanges with Chaozhou. We met with a couple really cool people. One in particular was a  17 year old girl, who works at the Hong Family's restaurant (a family that we have been teaching. They are on goal for baptism in August!) So now everyone that works at this restaurant is our investigator. Haha, This girl was super awesome and very very interested in the Book of Mormon, she told us that she will read the entire thing. We shared with her the Restoration message and she really liked it! 

Friday we met with the Hong Family (that I just talked about). They are really making progress. They have started to pray together as a family daily, and are starting the process of reading together! This last week we got there and the mom as her two little sons "Tell 哥哥 (older brother) what we prayed for as a family this past week!" And then proceeded to tell us that they have been praying for good weather to go camping in 😂 This past week they came across the Family: A proclamation to the world (Miracle!) in the Gospel Library app. We had a super spiritually powerful lesson as we discussed God's plan for our families happiness and the proclamation. At specific times of the lesson I truly believe the language barrier was taken away 100%. Obviously we have been out here a while, but we're speaking Chinese😂 

We play basketball every saturday morning with members, investigators, members family members, and Less actives. It has really become a pretty big activity that has brought a lot of people together! 

Sunday, Brother Wang who is on date for baptism on July 21st came for the 4th time, Hong mama and her two kids, and a couple other investigators! The ward is super awesome here and doing a great job of caring for these people who are new comers at church.

“True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the [doctrine] of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” 

-Boyd K. Packer

Studying the life of Jesus Christ and the attributes he possessed has changed who I am.  The way I do things and the way I treat others, has been influenced more for the good by this, than anything I have ever tried in my entire life. Not only did he sacrifice his life, but he set a perfect example of how to live, how to treat others, how to be obedient, and much more. Study the life of Christ, it will give you a desire to be a better and a more optimistic person! 

Thanks for all the love and support!

Elder Henderson

A great week it has been!

A great week it has been. The last 7 days have been filled with rain, change, and miracles. President Teh has officially left and President Card has come in. We will have our first opportunity to meet him this Wednesday at a conference.

Besides a couple days of good weather in the middle, it's been pouring rain for 2 straight weeks. 

Tuesday started out very wet. We had dinner at a member's house (hot pot) and then had a lesson with the B family about family history. They are starting to compile some family information and Brother B is preparing to take it to the temple! (Yesterday he was ordained a priest and will start passing the sacrament this next week)! They now have a priesthood man at the head of their house, pretty special experience!

Wednesday we went on exchanges with the assistants. I went with Elder Z who has become a good friend of mine over ours missions. Good missionary! We were able to teach two 16 year old girls that seem to really have interest in learning about Christ. One of the girls older Sisters was baptized a little over two years ago, small world!! We were also able to have a powerful lesson with one of our investigators Sister H. She is on the verge of baptism! She has just struggled with church attendance and is working through some family trials right now. Her desire to be baptized and change her life for the better is one of the strongest I've ever seen.

Thursday we did service at a member's house. Last week during the big rain storm some of the trees in her yard fell over and we went over to help clean up. The member is soooo nice and we have recently began teaching her 15&16 year old non-member daughters. We are hoping to help this family see the power that the Gospel can bring, to change our families for the better! We also met with two young mom's who are super awesome! They each have two children and really have a desire to learn the Gospel. As we sat down, one of the first questions they asked was "What are your thoughts on 懺悔？" The word they asked about is similar to repentance but more of a confession/move on and doesn't really matter if you do it again kind of attitude. It was a very good opportunity to share the similarities of the two but also the differences. Full change/repentance can not be accomplished with out the power of our Savior. As we repent/change for the better we are enlightened and edified by the love of God. We go from good to better, and learn from our experiences and mistakes. Repentance is a positive thing brought to us by the power of Christ.

Friday we had exchanges again with the DongGang Elders. I was with Elder B From Germany! He is a great missionary. We had a couple lessons and were able to go out proselyting with one of our investigators, Brother L. Bro L lit up as we let him bare his testimony on the streets to strangers of the goodness the Gospel brings to our lives!

Saturday and Sunday also went good. We met with a family of 4 we have been working with lately. They are really progressing towards baptism!

Love you all! Thank you for the support!

Elder Henderson

 On Splits with the AP's, Elder V happens to be the nephew of one of Elder Henderson's Aunt Emily's close friends from college, Small world!

 Last Pday

Pictures, No letter

We exchanged a few emails today. Very short. Elder Henderson and his companion went to visit a small island off the coast of Taiwan. I'm sure that is why he never got back to us today! They must have been gone longer than expected!!

 This is The Last Zone Conference with President Teh, He goes home in July!

 Elder Henderson has LOVED Elder Teh!! He has been a wonderful mission president and will be greatly missed!

 Elder Henderson met Elder Call in the MTC and they have been great friends ever since! Its time for Elder Call to go home.

 A fellow Bingham Brother, who is also going home!

His caption on these pictures was, "My Pals are going home"

Constant Blessings and Rain Fall

Great week! We have had a pretty eventful last seven days, in which we have had pretty much had 72 hours of straight rain. 

Every Saturday morning we play basketball with investigators and members here. It's super fun! This past Saturday as Elder Richards was playing, he rolled his ankle pretty good which resulted in us taking a trip to the emergency room! Everything turned out okay, He just needs to rest it for a couple of days. Since Saturday I have been pushing him in a wheel chair all over the town of Pingdong to church, lessons, and finding. hahah I am sure you can just picture a big foreigner pushing another big foreigner in a wheel chair across a city in south Taiwan in which no one not of Taiwanese decent lives. haha pretty funny.

We have a member of our ward that is a teacher at a local cram school. (A cram school is literally another school that every Taiwanese kid goes to for multiple hours after their normal day of school, to study and take additional classes, super rough.) We started working with one of her students who just graduated high school and is preparing to go to college this upcoming school year. She is soo great! We have now met with her twice now and this past week she expressed her desire to be baptized! We had a very spiritual lesson about the Restoration and how each of us can learn much from the example of Joseph Smith. We each can ask God personally which way to turn! She felt a special connection to this principle and is willing to keep working towards bigger goals.

Elder Richards has been telling me a lot about his best friend from high school who is not a member of the church and how much he wants to share the Gospel with him.  Well, this week his dream came true and we were able to skype and teach him the restoration of the Gospel!  It was an experience that i'll never forget, to see the friendship that these two have, and my comps desire to help him learn of this beautiful message was inspiring! I came to love his friend after like 10 minutes of talking to him!

One anspect of the message of the Gospel that has had a profound impact on my life is what we can learn from the prophet Joseph Smith and his experience at the age of 14 in the sacred grove. The concept that God exists and is willing to answer our prayers is very foreign to most of the world. But as we study the scriptures and try it out, truly ask God, This belief/idea becomes a REALITY. Just like Joseph Smith we can each receive answers from a loving Heavenly Father who is more than willing to provide the help we need. Obviously, our experience will be different from everyone else. Our relationship with God is personal. But the concept is the same, if we are struggling to know what to do in life, if we lack knowledge, if we need comfort, if we want to know if the gospel and the Book of Mormon's teaching are the true way to pure happiness in this life and the next, ASK! From my experience, I know that he lives and loves us.  I have had too many experiences not to believe and I have seen others have the same things happen.

Moroni 10:3-5

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

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Elder Henderson said that it has been raining straight for 3 days. His companion rolled his ankle playing basketball last Saturday...so he is pushing him in a wheel chair ALL over Ping dong!! He said there is not one foreigner living in Ping Dong , but them and it must be funny to see 2 Large Foreigners walking all over town with one in a wheel chair!! l He said that they have been soaking wet for days!! lol 

 Taiwanese Aborigines Wall

 Bingham Brothers!!

 A member feeding us fruit

 Smallest crab I've ever seen

 Waterfall we went to