First Typhoon!

早安!

First transfer on island has officially come to an end, and with it the stress of being the youngest missionary on island! I'm still a little missionary, but everyday when I look in the mirror, I look a little bit less like a deer in the headlights! So, maybe this humidity is good for loosening up facial muscles, if nothing else.

So, as far as fun things go, we went to the Zoo last P-Day, and it was awesome! I'm not a huge "zoo" guy, but a $2 (60元) entrance fee makes it all right! We saw some awesome animals, and my new favorite animal is probably the Bongo! They're orange, and super sick.

ALSO! We had my first typhoon in Taiwan this weekend, and it was a double whammy, we actually heard there were TWO typhoons! In Taiwan, when a typhoon gets too big, the government issues a warning, and everything shuts down, which makes missionary work... pretty tough. No one is on the streets, and no one will meet with you, because no one wants to go out in the rain and wind! So, if the government issues a "Typhoon Day" alert, most times the mission president will have the missionaries go home, and try to be as effective as they can from our apartment (making calls, updating records, etc.). So, Saturday night, we got a notice to head home, and then we realized if Sunday was going to be a Typhoon Day, we had no food. Because our fridge was broken. And we don't buy food on Sundays. BUT, the fridge had just been fixed, so we decided to run and grab some food real fast, and then settle in for the night. After we got home, we found out they had cancelled church, and Sunday was declared a Typhoon Day.

Well, as it would happen, Sunday morning was beautiful, with blue skies and no typhoon! But because it was declared a Typhoon day, almost all of Taiwan had already cancelled church. So, Elder Kimmel and I just made our Sunday as effective as we could, and got ahead on this week! A second typhoon did come in that evening, but it wasn't even a big deal. We were already typhoon pros at that point.But it was a crazy adventure, for sure!

I've been reflecting a lot this week on my first transfer in Taiwan, and the challenges and trials I have faced while being on my mission. I've had to learn a difficult language; I've felt homesick, lonely, and uncomfortable; and I'm constantly tired and overwhelmed. But as I was thinking about it, and about just how much I've had to rely on the Lord these past 6 weeks, I've also realized how much my testimony of my Father in Heaven has grown, and how much I've begun to personally come to know Him. Not as a Deity, not as some all-powerful Being; but as a Father, as a real, living person, who loves me, cares about my well-being, and wants the very best for me. Through prayer and study, I have come to know who He is, and to rely on Him for my strength in the hardships and struggles of my life. I've come to really understand, and renew my testimony of His love for me. He truly loves me, He wants to bless me, and if I am willing to follow the commandments He's given me, He has promised me that He will. I know He loves me, I have no doubt. I know He loves me because He gave me His only Begotten Son. His Perfect Son, His Beloved Son. God, the very being who created me, gave me the thing He finds most precious, because He believes I'm just as precious. He allowed His perfect, unblemished Son to be beaten, ridiculed, tormented, and ultimately killed, for me. So that I could return to be with Him, and have all the blessings that He can bestow. I know that Jesus Christ, my Elder Brother, loves me, because He was willing to be that sacrifice. He was willing to come to Earth, to endure the pains, sicknesses, anguish, trials, and afflictions of an entire world, so that we could have a way to return home. I know that Jesus Christ's Atonement is the only way that we can become clean, become happy, and return to our Heavenly home above. I know that Christ endured everything for me, and because I know that, I am willing to endure everything for Him. Because I love Him, too. I will never have to suffer the pains of an entire people, never have to carry a cross that no one else can bear, because someone better than me has already done that. But I am willing to stand as His witness at all times, in all things, and in all places, and endure whatever trials or afflictions may come my way, because I love Him. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my Brother. And He is the Son of God. And I will gladly stand fast in whatever my come my way to declare it.

I love you all more than I can possibly convey. I know that God loves you, and I know that His Son, Jesus Christ loves you, too. As a missionary, we make invitations, and my invitation to you today is to come, and feel the love of your Father in Heaven, and of His Son. And love them, too. Show them you love them, do what they want you to do. I promise you, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that you will find a peace, a hope, that cannot be found any other way. You will find strength to endure the trials of life, and you will find joy in the journey.

Love,

Elder Shope