各位弟兄姐妹大家早安!

That is how every talk starts in church! I still can't understand anything else, but I've got that part down! It means "Brothers and Sisters, good morning!" But the literal translation is more along the lines of "Everyone, brother, sister, big house good morning!"... Chinese is hard. But this week was awesome! We had my second baptism on Tuesday, and I got to do the baptizing! It was an amazing experience, and I felt the Spirit so powerfully as I got to help someone receive the ordinance of baptism, and start their path back to their Heavenly Father! The person who got baptized, his name is David (that's his English name), and he has such an amazing testimony! He originally met the Sister missionaries at an internet cafe. He said he didn't know why he had chose to go there, he needed to buy some stuf, and so he went to the internet cafe. It just so happens the Sister missionaries were there, emailing their families! Both the Sisters and David said they felt prompted to go talk to one another, and so they did. The Sisters invited him to come to English class, and he said he was super busy with work, but that he would try and come. He was able to come one time, and since then, he's been to busy too come back. But while he was there, we were able to set up a time to meet with him. He said he only wanted to read the Bible with us, because he's a Christian in another church. But as we sat down with him, he asked us why he felt different when he came in to our church. We ended up sharing the first lesson with him, and he wanted to learn more. He said at his baptism, that he knew from the beginning that this church was different, and that it is true. He can feel the Spirit, and God's love for him. David is so amazing!

This week has been busy, but we have seen so many miracles! On Saturday, I got to go on Exchanges with the Assistants to our Mission President, and we taught 8 lessons in one day! It was so crazy! I was super tired, but so awesome!

This week has definitely been full of trials, but a few weeks ago, we had a training that talked about Christ and His Atonement, and our missions. Elder Holland shared about how, as missionaries and as people, if we truly have a desire to be the kind of person Christ is, we have to be willing to endure a small, small portion of the things he had to endure. His entire life, He was persecuted, despised, and eventually killed, and he suffered the pain of every sin and every weakness. If we want to be like Him, we have to be willing to endure some trials, and feel some pain, so that we can become the kind of person He is. I know that my mission is hard, but I am so grateful fo the opportunity I have to become like my Savior, my brother, my ultimate example. He truly is the Savior of mankind, and our only way to lasting peace. In my trials, I remember His sacrifice, and it gives me strength to continue. I love Him, and I know He loves all of you.

I love you all, thank you for your emails and your prayers!

Love,

Elder Shope

白人看不懂

Hello!!!

This week has been crazy! About 3 weeks ago, the sisters that lived in our area both moved, so we had to start teaching all their old investigators! It's been so busy trying to keep up with all these people, and keep trying to find new people to teach! But we've been doing our best, and I know the Lord has been blessing us so much! Speaking of which, tomorrow we have my 2nd Baptism! And he asked that I baptize him! So that's not nerve-wrecking...

This week not too many fun things have happened, we played some SICK board games with some of the other Elders in our area last P-Day, and we got to move to an apartment with more than one room! This one has two floors, and a really nice little kitchen! And I got to help teach English Class on Saturday, we talked about why choices are important, and why we should make good choices in life. It was really cool!

In that English class, we shared a video about two young boys, who saw a pair of old battered shoes, and a man off in the distance working in a field. One of the boys wanted to take the man's shoes, and hide them as a joke. The older boy, who had more experience, noticed that the shoes were old, and worn. Instead of taking the shoes, the boy suggested that they each take the silver dollar they had earned, and put them in each of the man's shoes. I'm sure it must have been hard for the younger boy to give up that money he had earned, especially to someone he didn't know. But he made the harder decision to give his money to the man. They then hid, and waited for the man to come back. When the man returned, and found the money in his shoe, he started to weep. He said a prayer, and thanked the Lord for giving him this money, to help his wife who was very sick. The young boy was amazed to see the effect his choice had made, and how it had changed someone's life. The choices we make in life really do affect people, more than we realize. And I know that as we make good choices, and choose to help others, even when it is hard for us, we will be blessed. I am so grateful for the people who have sacrificed so much for me, so I can be where I am today. I am so grateful for my Savior, the ultimate example of making hard choices, of sacrificing for others. He made the hardest choice imaginable, the biggest sacrifice ever known, so that we could be happy, and return to our Heavenly Father.

I love you all so much, and I know your Father in Heaven loves you, too.

Love,

Elder Shope

爬ing the 山

Good Morning!

It's been a crazy busy week here in Taiwan! We had Zone Conference this week, and talked a lot about the power of the Book of Mormon. We also have a baptism set for next Tuesday, with an amazing guy named David! He's a 22 year old guy who got baptized into another Christian church last year, and really wants to follow Jesus Christ. When we first met with him, he told us he wanted to know why he felt different when he came into our church. It's so awesome to see how the Lord is truly blessing those who are looking for truth, and for happiness and peace!

This last week for P-Day, we hiked a mountain called "PingXi". It was a pretty short, but super steep hike, that ended with a precariously placed ladder to a narrow peak. It was super scary, but at the top, we looked out and saw over the Taiwan countryside! It was so beautiful to see the massive jungles and little towns! Then we carefully made our way back down the precarious ladder, praying the whole way.

My mission has truly been such an amazing experience, and I've made choices and done things that I would never have done had I not chosen to serve. I've traveled halfway across the world, started learning what I consider to be the hardest language in the world, and shared a message that makes me happier than I've ever been. Before my mission, and I had never even tried to learn a second language, never tried opening my mouth and sharing the Gospel, or done anything that really pushed me at all. These months have been strenuous, I've felt alone, tired, stressed, irritated, and angry, and I've wanted to quit. But I've also felt a sense of accomplishment. I've felt peace, joy, love, and hope, and I'm happier than I've ever been. And for every mistake I've made, the Lord has blessed me for trying, and helped me learn to do better. The Lord doesn't ask us to be perfect, not all at once, but He does ask us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. And when we fall short, when we mess up, He's given us a way to repent, to move forward, and to be better. God loves us, He wants to forgive us, to help us, to see us be happy. But we have to be willing to do what it takes to be happy. We have to be willing to have hard times, to face challenges; because without them, we wouldn't recognize the good times, and the happiness. I know God loves me, He allows me to have hard times, because He knows I can be better because of them. I'm far from perfect, I make mistakes every day, but I am willing to try, to keep going. Because I know it's true, and it gives me hope.

I know that God lives, that He loves me, and that He wants me to be the best I can be. I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Shope

Miracle on 西門町 Street

Good Morning!

It's a bright and sunny Taipei morning, and my companion and I are emailing early, because we are going hiking with some Recent Converts for P-Day! Yay...! This last week has been crazy, we have seen so many miracles, and been so busy! We had Trainer-Trainee Follow Up Meeting, to see how we new missionaries are doing after our first 6 weeks on island! It was such a great meeting, and we had some really good training and practices! It made me feel a lot more confident in missionary work!

My Story of the Week without a doubt comes from a miracle we saw Friday Night. On Friday Night, we went to go teach a lesson in DaTong, which is about an hour away from our chapel by bike. So we decided to take a taxi to the lesson, because we were running late. It was a really good lesson, and the Spirit was so strong! But after the lesson, we were walking home, and about half way to our house, we realized we weren't going to get home before 10:00, which is our mission curfew. So, we started looking for a taxi to take us home! Well, because it was almost 10 o'clock at night, in a super busy area, we couldn't find a taxi headed in the right direction. We looked, and kept walking toward home, but weren't able to find one anywhere. Finally, we found a taxi that was turning off a side street, and we hopped in and gave her our address. We quickly started a conversation, asking her how work was going, and if she'd had a lot of customers that day. She said she had, and then she asked us if we had also had a lot of customers. We jokingly said yes, and so she asked us what we did for work. We told her we were missionaries, to which she replied "Oh, you're Mormons!" We said we were, and we talked a little about the church. Then, quite frankly, she asked "What makes your church special? Why are you different from other churches?" My companion immediately started sharing the message of the Restoration with her, including Joseph Smith's 1st Vision. He talked for a long time, and I was worried she wasn't really interested. But after we finished, she thanked him for sharing. I then asked her if she had a specific religion, and she said that she is Christian, but that her and her husband couldn't find the right church, because her work was so busy. She told us about how much she wanted to go to church, and how she truly believed in God, but she didn't know what to do. As we pulled up to the curb of our apartment, we were getting ready to pay her, and she said "Don't worry about it. This was God's will, meeting you two tonight." I quickly gave her a Restoration pamphlet, and bore testimony . She told us "Give me some time to read this, and then call me. I want to learn more."

The circumstances of that meeting were so impossibly coincidental, the chances of us deciding to take a taxi, finding that particular taxi, and deciding to share the message of the Restoration were slim to none. But it happened. It was truly a miracle that we were in the right place, at the right time, that our taxi driver was looking for truth, and that we were prepared to share it. It was such a sign to me of God's love and awareness of His children, and His desire to bring them back to His eternal family. There is no one, besides an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator, that could have orchestrated such a meeting, such a perfect combination of circumstances. I am so grateful that I have followed God's commandments, that I have been living the way He wants to me to live, and He has considered me worthy to be a tool in His hands. I have seen many trials on a mission, and faced some of the most difficult challenges in my life, but I have also seen miracles. I have seen people's hearts changed, and I have seen "coincidences" galore. But I know they are not coincidences. I know God is aware of us, that He is mindful of us, that He knows our struggles, and He knows what will bring us the most happiness. And through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ, we can find that happiness. Through His restored church, our burdens can be made light, and we can know long-lasting peace. I know it.

Thank you for the emails from everyone! I love reading your stories, and hearing about your experiences! I love you, and I know your Father in Heaven loves you, too.

Love,

Elder Shope