寬恕的奇蹟

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas, and now that the tears have subsided from talking to my family, let's talk about missionary work! 

This week was awesome, we got to go up to Taipei for our Christmas Zone Conference, and be once again inspired by our awesome Mission President! We talked about the Christmas story, and the symbolism of the parables Christ used to teach! And then we got to listen to a Missionary Christmas Concert, which was super awesome! Ah, Christmas is so awesome!

Also, I got to give a talk in Church for my first time yesterday! Which was.... Yeah. It was not great. I ended up talking a really long time, but everyone said they appreciated it... So, yeah! Score one for Elder Shope! Also! Tian Mama, our investigator, has her baptismal interview tonight! We are so excited for her to accept the amazing ordinance of baptism, and have this new start for her life! I love FengLin!

Well, as the title of my email states, this week I want to share about the "Miracle of Forgiveness". I have seen many videos and pictures this season, and heard several talks and sermons about Christ and His sacrifice, about His life, His service, His teaching. And one thing that has stuck out to me most, is the miracle of forgiveness. We live in a world with a lot of pain, a lot of heart ache, a lot of anger, a lot of loneliness. We suffer trials and tribulations, spiritual, mental, and physical. And as we feel these pressures, the stresses of life, we sometimes make mistakes. We do something we wish we hadn't done, or sometimes worse, someone does something to us that we wish they hadn't done. We feel regret, anger, sorrow, guilt. And life gets a little bit harder. And if we don't forgive, or if we are not forgiven, it just keeps getting harder and harder. And sometimes it gets to the point when we just don't know how to keep going. We feel like there's no way to be happy, to move on from these mistakes or problems in our life. But, I can say with full confidence, there is a way to move on. There is a way to forgive, and to again feel the joy and peace that we had at one time in our life. That way came 2000 years ago, in the form of a Babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. It came in the form of a Son, who taught us the way to live, and showed us the path to walk. It came in the form of a Savior, who loved us so much, He was willing to feel pain we can't imagine, suffer beyond our comprehension, and ultimately die, for the sins of imperfect people like us. Christ, just like our Heavenly Father, is a perfect being. He didn't make mistakes, He didn't give in to anger or sorrow or temptation. But He suffered more than you or I ever have, He drank the bitter cup, the consequences of every sin, so that imperfect people like you and I don't have to. He loved us so much, He gave His life for us. And with His sacrifice, He gave us a way to find peace, to find joy, and a way to be forgiven. Christ gave us the greatest gift that can be given. And more than just the greatest gift, He gave us the most important gift. He gave us a way to overcome guilt, and anger, and loneliness. He gave us the only way to go home to our Heavenly Father, and receive all the blessings He so desperately wants to give us. God loves us so much He gave us His Only Begotten Son, so that we can be forgiven, and find joy. I am so grateful for Christ, and for this special opportunity I have to remember His precious sacrifice. I love Him, and I hope in this season of Christmas, you can feel the love and mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Shope

聖誕節快樂!

Well, ladies and gentlemen! The time has again come for me to softly lull you to sleep with my dull crusades of bike riding and knocking doors! But, in an effort to hold your attention as your browse quickly, looking for any pictures I may have attached, I want to share with you some of the miracles and mistakes and magic and... other applicable m words, that I have experienced this last week!

To kick things off, let's talk about the craziest part of my week: our Ward Christmas Party. I would like to apologize in advance to any and all of you that think your Ward Christmas Party is the best, because I promise the Hualian 2nd Ward has you beat. They reenacted the story of Christ's birth, from Luke 2 (in Chinese), complete with super awesome costumes, a massive stuffed donkey, a star that moved across the room, and a child dressed as an angel in a machine that raised him up almost to the roof. It was spectacular. I will put pictures on my Google Drive! (If you don't have my drive link, or can't get it to open, you can email me and I can send it to you!) If any of you have had a Christmas party to compete with that, I want to know, so I can come to your ward when I get home. 

Also, this week we had a crazy little set of miracles! One of our investigators, named Wilmer, is a man that was born in the Philippines, and works here in Hualian! The first time we met with him, he told us he wants to get baptized, his faith is so strong! His wife is a member, she was baptized in Taiwan in 2005, and she has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon! She told us that any time she has a problem or concern in her life, she goes to the Book of Mormon, and always feels better. They are such amazing people, and we love going to visit them and feel the love they have for our Savior. The only problem is that, because of his work, Wilmer is in Hualian from Monday until Friday, and only comes home to our area in FengLin on Saturday and Sunday! So, it's very hard to find a time to meet and share with him. But, last Monday night, we had to take a train up to Hualian for an activity on Tuesday. Our train left at 8:28 pm, and we had some time before we went up, so we decided to go visit Juliana, our investigator's wife, and see how she was doing. We parked our bikes at a convenience store and walked over, and when we got there, she wasn't home, so we went finding in that area for a little bit. But as we were contacting someone near their house, we noticed our investigator, Wilmer, getting off a bus to go home! And his wife's bike was home! So, we made our way back over, and were able to share a lesson with him and his wife! It was so awesome! We finished the lesson at 8:25 pm, requiring us to sprint to grab our bikes, and then get to the train station! We made it onto the train right before the doors closed! It was so amazing, and a confirmation that the Lord truly blesses us when we are doing what's right, and working hard! 

I love Christmas, and not just because it's one of the two times a year we can video chat our families (but I like that part, too). There is so much that changes about life during Christmas, and, if we can look past the Christmas trees and packages, we have the opportunity to see so much more. I sound like every Hallmark movie ever, but it's true! The real meaning of Christmas is to remember our Savior, His birth, His life, and His ultimate sacrifice for us. The ability to improve ourselves, to repent, and to be forgiven of mistakes that we make, is all because of Christ, and His love for us. He gave His life in service, and in sacrifice, for us, because He loves us. And this season gives us an opportunity to show our love for Him, by doing the things that He did. Through serving others, we have an opportunity to show our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, the love that we have for them, and the gratitude we have for all they have given us. I hope that this Christmas, and always, we can find opportunities to mend the broken hearts, to raise the weary heads, and truly help our brothers and sisters on this rough road back to our Heavenly Home.

 I love you all, and I hope to hear how all your Christmases went!

Love,

Elder Shope

So, Star Wars Episode 8 is coming out, it's fine. Whatever...

Well, this week has been crazy! Because of the new chapel in FengLin, our group leader asked us on Thursday to hand out invitation cards to people in the area, and let them know about an open house activity we were hosting. We were totally fine with that, until we realized these cards were addressed to specific people, who happen to live all over our area. And our area is quite large. Quite large indeed. So, we spent 10 hours on Thursday, biking to every part of our area, to hand out these cards to people! We were thankfully able to enlist the help of another set of Elders, and get them all done, but... I'm tired.

But more important than my physical or mental health is THE MIRACLES! We had some really cool experiences this week, especially with Tian Mama, one of our investigators. She has known missionaries for a little while, and is very willing to hear our message. Because she was born into a Aborigine family, her main language is an Aborigine dialect that unfortunately is not offered at the MTC, so we do not speak it. But, her Chinese is good enough that we can share the lessons with her, and we also have members in our area that speak the same dialect as her. Also, she recently had a son pass away, and that was very hard for their family. But she has such a simple and burning testimony of Jesus Christ, and of the Love and Protection He gives us, and she truststhst he will send her son again. We have recently been talking to her more about baptism, and she is working towards getting baptized on January 6th of next year, or earlier! She is such an amazing example to me of trusting in God, and relying on Him to guide us.

This week has had its ups and downs, but by far THE GREATEST part of this week, and every week, is sharing about my Savior, and His love for me. In October of 2016, one of the speaker's in General Conference shared a talk entitled "God Shall Wipe Away All Tears". In the talk, he spoke of the apostle Paul, and his trials. Paul was beaten, he was stoned, he was shipwrecked, and he was betrayed and abandoned, but still he declared, with full faith and confidence, that his afflictions were light. This apostle of the Lord suffered his whole life for what he believed and what he knew, being imprisoned and ultimately killed, but he endured his persecution, knowing the eternal reward was worth the momentary pain. In our lives, we are forced to deal with pain, with loneliness, with sorrow, and burdens we feel others cannot understand. And sometimes we feel we can't keep going, that one more step is just too many. We want to give up, give in, or go home. But I know, with all my heart, that God does not give us trials we can not handle. He will try us, and test us, because He wants us to grow. But He will NEVER leave us alone. We may not seem Him, and sometimes it might even be hard to feel Him there, but the times we feel weakest, the times we feel the most on our own, are the times He is giving us the most help. He gives it through His Son, our perfect Brother. I know personally that I have a Savior, that loved me enough to give the entirety of His life to teaching, testifying, pleading, serving, sacrificing, suffering, and ultimately dying, so that I didn't have to wander through this life alone. So that there could be someone who understands my pains, my sorrows, my heartache, who could truly empathize with me, and who could show me the way to face my trials, with peace, and with hope. I testify that He was born, He died, and He lives again. And because He lives, we don't have be alone. I wish that I could show him even a portion of the love that He shows me every day, but my attempts are inadequate. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to bear testimony of Him, and share the message of His love with the people of Taiwan, and with you. I love you!

Love,

Elder Shope

UPDATED Updated Email Time

Hello, everyone!

So, because of this amazing new technology called "smart phones", the missionaries in FengLin will now be able to email on Mondays again! Time is a little short this week, because we are still getting it all figured out, but I just wanted to let you all know for those that have a filter that blocks my incoming emails on Wednesday nights, you can now reset that filter to Sunday nights! 

I know Christ lives, that He loves us, and He is always there for us. He will guide us through the darkness, and lift us up when we have fallen down. We are not alone, we have a friend, a brother, a Savior. I love Him, and I love you all!

Love,

Elder Shope

#光照世人

Well, yesterday was crazy.

We had some crazy experiences yesterday, and some real miracles! To start, on Wednesday we were told by a member in our area that a member that one of our investigators that we thought had moved back to the Philippines was actually still in Taiwan! And still wants to get baptized! So, yesterday we went down to go visit them, and on the way, we ran into ANOTHER family of investigators, who have been hard to visit lately. We talked to them, and set up a time to meet with them again! Then, we went and visited the other investigator, and his wife, who is a member from the Philippines, kept apologizing to us for not staying in touch! We were just happy they were still around! A little later, we were doing language study, and we found a man sitting on the ground. His face was covered in blood, and he looked like he had been hit by a car. We called an ambulance, and stayed with him until they showed up. Come to find out, he was drunk, and might have just fallen off his bike onto his face, but we wanted to make sure he was OK before we left. Then, while we were having dinner, we met a family with two little boys who said they had been to our church before, and wanted to start coming again! Yesterday was so amazing, and I am so tired!

Lately, in my personal study, I have been reading the Old Testament, about Moses and the Children of Israel. In the book of Numbers, chapters 13 and 14, God commands Moses to send 12 scouts to explore the land of Canaan, and to report on the status of their people. When the scouts return, 10 of them report that the land is beautiful, and blessed, but that the people are strong, their cities are defended, and there is no way that the Children of Israel can overtake them. They murmur to Moses, and start to complain, saying they wish they were still in Egypt, in bondage. But one scout, Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, tells the people, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." He knew these men were giants, that their cities are walled, but He also knew that God was with His people, and that the promises of God would most surely come to pass. However, the faith of those around him was not as strong, they did not believe they could overcome their challenges, and they complained, wishing that they could go back to the pains of before. They knew that God had promised them multiple times to deliver them to a Promised Land, that He had ALREADY delivered them before, but they doubted. And because they doubted, the Lord required that the Children of Israel wander in the wilderness for 40 years, until those that murmured and doubted had passed away. But Caleb, because of his faith, was promised he would be supported in his trials, and that he would see the Promised Land. God has promised us, as His children, that He will always deliver us, that our trials and afflictions will be "consecrated for our good". (2 Nephi 2:2) But sometimes we still doubt. We doubt God's power, or we doubt ourselves. And so we lose the blessings that God has promised us. God wanted to bless the Israelites, and He wants to bless us. But we have to be willing to endure our trials, to trust our Father in Heaven, trust in the healing power of His Son Jesus Christ, and keep going. And if we can endure, and do all that the Lord has asked us to do, trusting that He, as an all-knowing being, knows what He's doing, He will bless us. I know that God loves us, that we are His children, and that if we follow His commandments, and live His gospel, we will find a peace in our life, and a joy that cannot be found anywhere else.

This month we have a very special opportunity to live the gospel, and to remember the birth and life of the Savior. Christ, the Light of the World, gave his entire life so that we could find joy, find peace, and receive all the blessings our Father in Heaven wants to give us. He healed the sick, He raised the dead, and ultimately, He gave His all, for us through His Atoning sacrifice. His ultimate expression of love was His sacrifice for us, and we can honor his sacrifice, show our gratitude and our love for Him, through our personal sacrifice and service. So, how will you remember Christ this Christmas, how will you show Him you love Him, and are grateful for His sacrifice? Mosiah 2:17 says "Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". One of the best ways we can show our love for Christ, and for God, is through helping those around us, finding those in need, ad lifting them up. And the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has put together a list of 25 ways, in 25 days, we can show our love for the Savior, and for our brothers and sisters. 

I love you all, and I know that God loved us so much, He gave His Only Begotten Son to save us, and give us a way to return home to Him (John 3:16-17). May we always remember His sacrifice, follow His example, and Light the World.

Love,

Elder Shope

#光照世人

Here is the link to the #LighttheWorld campaign kick-off video: https://www.mormon.org. Every day will also have a specific video on what specific things you can do to Light the World. There is also a calendar you can download for every day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello!

It's so crazy to think that this 6 week transfer is almost over! It feels like just yesterday I stepped off the train into FengLin, and then was never heard from again! I have loved being in FengLin, I have learned so much, and seen so many miracles! I am so grateful to be able to serve here, and to be a missionary for my Father in Heaven, sharing the joy of the gospel! 

This week has been busy, especially with new phones! We have been assigned as missionaries to move all of our records over to the new phones, which has been tedious work. But I know it's for the best, so we have been doing our best to get it done as quickly as we can! Also, we finally had the opportunity to start our English class in FengLin, because we now have a chapel! We were jam-packed with about 2 students, but it was a super cool opportunity to be able to again share the Gospel through service! 

This week has been crazy, we've had a lot of ups and downs, especially learning how to use these new phones to help us be more effective missionaries! I almost feel like I don't know what I'm doing anymore! (Not that I ever knew what I was doing.) So this week I've had a lot of opportunities to learn! One of the things I have learned again this week is how important scripture is. When we pray, it's our opportunity to talk to God, to share the feelings of our hearts, and ask Him for help. And God wants to help us, He wants to direct us in all the we do, to strengthen and guide us, and so He gives us scriptures! Through scriptures, we can learn of God's love for us, His plan for us, and what we need to do so we can receive all the blessings the He wants to give us. He answers questions, gives revelation, and provides comfort to those in need. The scriptures are full of stories of God showing His love for His children, and are an example of the love He still has for us. I know that God answers prayers, that He loves us, and that the Scriptures are His words to us. I have received answers to my questions in the Scriptures, and felt the Spirit testify to me of their truth! I know that anyone that takes the time to study the words of the Lord, ponder them, and pray about their truthfulness will find comfort, and personal answers!

I love you all, and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Elder Shope

Missionaries in the Woods

Good (insert applicable time of day here) everyone!

Before we begin the regularly scheduled service, I'd like to first make you all aware of a little activity that you should absolutely, 100%, do everything in your power as a sentient being to completely  avoid if at all possible: and that is to bike at night, through dark woods, with no lights, in the most isolated area in your mission area. I do not recommend it, I do not condone it, I do not even like to think about it. But last Saturday night, we had to go visit our Group Leader to do a coordination meeting, and he lives in this place called "ShanXing". It is about a 25 minute bike ride through this forest-y area, and you cross a bridge right before you get there. During the day, the ride is beautiful, and the scenery is really nice. But BEWARE, if you choose to make this fateful voyage at night, you may just, for a moment, enter.... the Twilight Zone.... It's spooky. But we go some cool pictures! 

But anyway, we return now to our regularly scheduled broadcast. This week was amazing, FengLin just keeps finding more ways to be super awesome, and we see miracles every day! This last Saturday, we were able to have a baptism, and I was actually able to baptize him! It was an amazing experience, and he gave an awesome testimony about repentance after he was baptized! The Spirit of God was felt! Also, the chapel in FengLin is finished, so we will start having church there this Sunday! I will add pictures of it to the drive next week! It is going to be so great to have a place for us to meet with investigators, and to hold church every week! It will definitely help the work here, and help us feel more established! ALSO, we met with a less active recent convert this week, and he said he is willing to start coming to church and preparing for the Melchizedek priesthood! The Lord is hastening the work in FengLin!

This week we have had a lot of opportunities to talk to people about restored truths! Restored truths are truths and principles that the People of God knew before, that God revealed to and through prophets of old, and then eventually were restored to our knowledge again, by God's prophets on the Earth in these days. One of these restored truths is the Plan of Salvation, God's Plan of Happiness and Salvation for His children. It answers questions like: "Why are we here?", "Where did we come from?", "Where are we going?". But it also answers the questions of "Who are we?", "Why are we important?", "What is God's purpose?". The Plan of Salvation is truly a comfort, and a blessing that gives our lives meaning and purpose. I know that we have a Father in Heaven, that we lived with Him before this life, and because we are His children, because He loves us, He created this plan, that allowed us to become like Him. I know that in this life, we have the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to find joy. But because we are imperfect, because we are still learning, we will make mistakes, and fall short of our potential. But because of God's love for us, He provided us a Savior, someone who could suffer the punishment and penalty of our sins, and give us a way to overcome them. And through our repentance, through following Jesus Christ, we can truly find joy, and we can become like our Perfect Father in Heaven!

I love you all, and I know this church is true! I know that God has restored these truths for the benefit and growth of His children! Until we meet again, in 1 week's time.

Love,

Elder Shope

Running out of Email Titles

Hello again!

Well, another crazy week in FengLin down, and I think I might be finally starting to adjust to biking 20 minutes to every teaching appointment! It gives me a lot of time to think, which I'm not a huge fan of... But it also allows me to re-focus on my purpose as a missionary, and always be helping others come unto Christ.

This week we have a baptism, which is in and of itself a miracle! The man getting baptized is named Brother Zhong, and he is super awesome! He was preparing for baptism when I got to FengLin, and now his time has finally arrived! He is super excited, and he loves to learn about Christ and loves to serve others! We're so excited for him! Also, last week, as we were biking around our area, we ran into a woman from the Phillipines! She was baptized in 2005, and said that when she moved to our area, she lost contact with the missionaries and her ward. She had been praying for an opportunity to introduce the Gospel to her husband, and then on the street one day, we biked past her! She said she hadn't seen missionaries since 2013, and she was so grateful to run into us! It was amazing! God truly answers prayers!

These last few weeks have been full of miracles, and I am truly so humbled and grateful to see the Lord blessing the work here in FengLin. Elder Qiu and I have been praying fervently and unceasingly to be guided by the Lord to those who are prepared, and the first two weeks we were able to find many people, and share this happy message! But this week, things have been a little bit harder, and  we have not found as many people to teach. At first, I was panicking, because I was worried that our miracles had "run out". That for some reason, we were not worthy of being blessed anymore. But as the week progressed, and I was continually humbled in different ways, I began to realize that the problem was not that I wasn't working hard enough, or running fast enough. The problem was that I had started to take a different path. I had started to rely on my own thoughts and feelings, and not looking to the Lord for counsel in everything. The Lord knows what's best for us, and knows what path we should walk. When we start to stray from the path that the Lord has set for us, He can't bless us, and so we feel left alone. We feel that God has left us, when in reality, we are the ones walking away from Him. Sometimes it takes Him withholding His blessings for a time, for us to realize our error, and readjust. Our goal should not be to get God to help us achieve OUR goals, it should be to constantly seek HIS guidance and direction, because He knows what path is best for us. I know that God answers prays, that He wants to bless us, because we are His children, and that as we seek to follow the path HE wants for us, He will carry us and support us through the trials of life.

I love you all, and I am so grateful for everyone that takes the 4 hours out of their day required to read these emails! I'm sorry they are so long!

Love,

Elder Shope

施長老