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
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