26 December 2016 - Christmas of the Aliens!!!

Hello everyone! So sorry that I have kind of been slacking on putting Elder Meanea's letters on the blog the last few weeks, it has been a crazy time of life! But here is his letter from this past week and in the next couple of days I will have the previous ones up. He is doing great and had a wonderful Christmas. We were so grateful to be able to Skype with him yesterday. He looks so good and has grown so much spiritually but is definitely still our wonderful Tayson :-) Now, on to Elder Meanea's letter for the week...

Hello my dear friends and family! What a week it has been here in Beitun. I really enjoy having Elder Burge as a companion. He's a great example of a motivated missionary, and we've been having a lot of craziness and fun together.

Monday, 19 December 2016
A P-day of survival and skillful fish eating. We finished up emailing, then had to run to a nearby restaurant where our Bishop was feeding us and an investigator. Restaurant type: Sushi Bar. Oh Good. Elder Burge prepared me for it by saying last time him and his companion barely survived. So I knew it was going to be delicious. I snuck off into the bathroom first, and I kid you not in saying I prayed not to throw up at the Bishop's meal. I've gotten a bit used to fish, but not THAT used to it. It was a tender mercy that I was able to choke down the required 10 plates of sushi. It was actually really cool, because the tables all had a conveyor belt that ran by them and they just unceasingly carried sushi plates past that you could grab.

Then we took a bike ride down to the Taichung National Theatre. It was really cool! There are some pictures this week that will help explain it better than I could, just suffice it to say I saw a $1000 copy of "Les Miserables" that I was exceedingly tempted to buy. ;-)

That night we actually had two first lessons with people we called the day before and set up. The first was...interesting. His name was Chen. I lead a first lesson about the Restoration, and it seemed to be going alright, but then I noticed about halfway through talking about the First Vision, there were tears starting to well in his eyes. I kind of glanced at Elder Burge, asking what I should do, and he just shrugged, so we kept teaching. And soon the tears started falling. Finally we got to the end of the lesson and were talking to him about praying, and he just stood up and said, "I have something I need to go to," and we barely had time to say a prayer before he ran out. We barely had time to look at each other and shrug before our next lesson showed up. He was actually cool. He was named Jeff, and he was really interested in our extra scriptures, so we'll see how he hangs on.

Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Zone Conference! We took a bus to Daya, a place near Taichung to a really nice chapel where the conference was being held. It was great to see President Teh and Sister Teh again. I also got to see Elder Jones and Elder Vanslooten for the first time since we left the MTC. I've seen everybody from my district on the island now. We had a great devotional about the Savior, and how, without an Easter, there wouldn't be a Christmas. It took me a minute to think about that one. Then there was a really fun musical program. We have a LOT of talented people in this mission. One really fun thing I realized today was that the English program we do here is more than just a clever way to get people into the Chapel. This is actually something that can help these people in life, and we are simply serving them, and helping them, without the promise of baptisms or investigators. It gave me a really cool new outlook on the work we do here, and how much loving the people, truly loving them, is central to all we do. 

Wednesday, 21 December 2016
We met with our new, helpful friend Eddy from the ward, and talked to him about helping less actives get back to church. It's really nice that he's so excited to have the missionaries help out with the ward. Then we met with our friend Johnny again. He's really, really quiet, and doesn't like to talk very much. He's nice though, and listens. We'll just have to figure out if he actually wanted to hear our message, or is just in awe of the super shuai (handsome) missionaries. We also met with Jeff again, who really enjoyed the plan of Salvation. It was such a blessing to teach him, and it really helped me to realize how much this plan means to me, because I told him without it, I wouldn't be able to have my amazing family after this life. It was amazing to feel how true this plan was for me, and to realize how many people don't have the hope that I have. 

Thursday, 22 December 2016
We had an early start today. We had to get to the chapel so Elder Burge could do an interview for Chen Baba. He is the last of three in his family to get baptized, and has worked as an undercover cop for many years. The interview sounds like it went amazingly well. He really sees what the Gospel has done for him, and the kind of peace that really coming to know Christ brings into your life. It was really cool that night. We had a plan to go tracting, but Elder Burge said he felt like we should go talk to people on the street. So we went, and we found two really cool guys! And they were really interested in the Book of Mormon and our message. It was a really cool experience of being guided on what to do. That night I was also riding my bike, and I said "hi" to a guy who pulled up behind me. He said "How's it going?" in English. I was a bit stunned, so after I picked my jaw up off the ground, I asked if he had a minute to talk. HE SAID YES. NO ONE SAYS YES. He actually lived in Utah as an exchange student for a while, and wanted to hear more! It was a little Christmas miracle.

Friday, 23 December 2016
Weekly planning! Not much there. We just contacted the rest of the night, but we did eat lunch with a member who is Elder Burge's friend, and he helped me find a kid called Liam on his Facebook. I met Liam in Yellowstone in July, and told him I'd find him somehow. SO that was really a cool blessing!

Saturday, 24 December 2016
The Zone Leaders treated us to a local hot pot. Well, we paid too, but it was sanctioned by them. We had a good time eating three cows worth of meat (per person) and just laughing and relaxing for a little bit. Then we went to the park and found a "nice" guy. He wanted to go to a 7-11 to hear our message. I only learned afterwards, but he was totally nuts. We got in and he said, "You know what the world's problem is? Pollution! And Weapons!" And then he told us we didn't need a Savior because aliens were going to come to save us from the pollution... xD So...Christmas Miracle that we got away with out getting taken by a UFO? Then our ward had a cool little Christmas party that Johnny showed up to! 

Sunday, 25 December 2016
We had a combined sacrament today. It was pretty good, but Elder Burge Skyped this morning with his family, so it was a little hard to pay attention. Then we met with our RC Matthew. He hadn't been coming to church, and it turns out his parents are a bit against him meeting with missionaries still, but Elder Burge really did well in helping him out. It was cool to see how much he really cared for him. Then we went out contacting and met a retired Colonel who was playing a Gourd flute. That's probably my next purchase here. He was cool and might come to English class. And then we went home and played a bit of ping pong at a table in our building's basement to finish celebrating Christmas. (After daily planning, of course.)

It really has been an incredible and fun week. I'm so grateful to be serving the Savior during HIS time here. I miss my family. I do. But I'm glad I'm here. And I hope we'll all remember the wise men this year as Christmas passes behind us. They saw the star, and Christmas was long over, but they kept coming to Christ, it didn't matter the season. Don't let Christmas end on the 26th, when the party is over and everyone else leaves it behind. Remember Christ always, because He'll never forget you.

Elder Meanea

19 December 2016 - New Area!

Hello my amazing friends and family! It has been a new week here in the Taichung part of our mission, with a lot of miracles and a lot of change! I'll let the rest of my letter tell the story.

Monday, 12 Dec 2016
I moved! Ended up in Beitun Ward with Elder Burge! He is a really awesome guy, and a really dedicated missionary. We spent the night hitting the streets and seeing if anyone wanted to hear about the amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm really excited for this new area!

Elder Meanea and his new companion Elder Burge

Transfers!

Tuesday, 13 Dec 2016
We met with a contact named Wu. He was really cool and interested in the church, but he ended up living in a different area, so we had to give him away. Right off the Spirit was helping Elder Burge and I teach with each other in harmony, and really let this investigator feel our testimonies. I really know it's only through the Holy Ghost that this work goes forth. Any other way would fail miserably. It's a real comfort to see Heavenly Father watching out for me all the time, and truly providing ways for me to serve. Later that night we met with a really prepared man named Douglas, who was blown away by the concept of missionaries like us, and was truly open to receiving an answer from Heavenly Father if this is His true church or not. BUT HE LIVES IN A DIFFERENT AREA! Even though we won't be the ones to teach these people, it is truly an honor to be able to bring them closer to Heavenly Father in any way.

Wednesday, 14 Dec 2016
We were out contacting today when the assistants called us saying that a guy at the church was looking for the Beitun Elders. We thought it was an old investigator who just got out of jail maybe (long story) but it ended up being some random guy. He just wanted to learn about the church. So we taught him about prayer and invited him to come on Sunday. I love seeing the ways that when we are doing what we're supposed to, where we're supposed to be, God will always give us something good to do.

Thursday, 15 Dec 2016
Elder Burge led his first District Training Meeting! It went really well, and it was fun to meet all the missionaries in our district. The best part of the day was praying right before we went out on the streets to go contacting. I just had the greatest feeling that Heavenly Father was preparing people for us, and we went out and really tried to talk to everyone. Low and behold, we ran into three people who had members of their family who were members, and exchanged numbers with us so that we could get in contact with them later. There are just small things like that all the time that show me that there is never a time when any of us are on our own. Prayer is such a powerful and real thing. I know it truly is communication with God. And we all can speak with Him. And He wants to speak with us.

Friday, 16 Dec 2016
I attended a missionary correlation meeting! We just had a mission leader in my last area, so this was new! It was cool to talk about how the ward missionaries could really help us do the work here and help our ward grow. It was also pretty funny, we were making calls earlier that day, and a kid we contacted at a park earlier, named Johhny, answered the phone. He was talking really fast, and when I said I was that missionary, he said, "Oh sorry, I speak Taiyu." Which is Taiwanese. I shook my head, what a lame cop-out. So I said the only sentence I know in Taiyu, which is "Could you say that again?" He paused for a couple seconds, then switched back to Chinese, and said he could meet the next day. Got 'im! Thank you Elder Gasser!

Saturday, 17 Dec 2016
Again, just walking around hoping to share with people, we found a girl who had great English who studied in London for 6 years. She said she really wanted to come to church next week, and she had a friend who just got an English boyfriend, but the guy doesn't speak any Chinese, so he needs friends, therefore she is going to bring them all to our English class! Cool miracles all around! Another miracle, we were so sure Johnny wasn't going to show up, but he did! We had a good lesson and he said he'd come to church the next day. Another lesson that night didn't show up, so we ate some leftover pizza at the chapel.

Sunday, 18 Dec 2016
I was worried because I heard this ward wasn't too keen on missionaries, having had some bad experiences. They were pretty good though! Like, nobody tried to stone me, which is obviously nice. I bore my testimony about how we're all disciples of Christ, and then a guy came up after and said he wanted to work with us to help the ward. Just some random member, and apparently Elder Burge said they've been praying for some help with the ward, and suddenly this guy pops up!

So yes, it has been an absolutely awesome week full of true miracles in the life of a missionary. I hope we're all staying close to God, and that I never fail to recognize Him for all the blessings, seen and unseen, He gives me. I love you all so much!

-Elder Meanea

12 Dec, 2016 - Hot Pot, Yoda's Baptism and Transfers

My dearest family and friends! It has been a freaking amazing week here in Taiwan, and a sad one as well! I ended up getting transferred, leaving my dear Fengshan behind. I'm excited to start a new adventure here though.

Monday, 5 Dec 2016
We went to a giant Buddhist theme park/ temple. I'll let the pictures tell that story. It was crazy! We saw what they claim to be as Buddha's tooth in a glass case, and we saw a lot of statues and really cool stuff! Yeah, I'll really just let the pictures do the talking. And then we got to Pingdeng just in time to do an interview for a guy that the Zone Leaders are baptizing. It was really cool because he actually decided he wanted to wait until next year, but he sincerely wanted to be able to come to church regularly. He wanted to be ready to enter into this sacred covenant, and Elder Gasser really felt his sincerity. It was really cool to see how committed this kid was to following Heavenly Father.

Tuesday, 6 Dec 2016
We had my second person ever pull off to talk to us! She seemed really interested in why two white kids would be riding the streets sharing about Jesus, and we actually invited her to the Ward Christmas party this weekend. So that was cool. Just goes to show you should always be doing what you need to be doing so Heavenly Father can put those people in your path that you need to find. We had our last visit with the Cai family, except we thought it was Elder Gasser's last, not mine. It was so cute, because their little daughter Peichen, when she heard Elder Gasser might be leaving said, "That's okay, we still have Elder Meanea!" It made me just a bit happy. ;-) I really love that family and am going to miss them so much. Also, it was such a tender miracle that night. We had set up Ivy, our nurse friend who actually is getting baptized next Monday (the 19th) for her last lesson the next day. Elder Gasser left for a second, and we still hadn't found a person to go with us, since we needed another adult male. After a few minutes I called to the other room to ask what we were going to do. No response. I peeked in, and Elder Gasser was face down on his bed, dead asleep. I kind of panicked really bad for a moment, but then I knelt down and said a prayer. I didn't have the Chinese skills to call people to set up for a lesson, and also call Ivy to reschedule her lesson. But I prayed, and five minutes later, it was all done. That was not me. I was so grateful for the care of a loving Father in Heaven. He gave me what I needed, right when I needed, I was so overwhelmed.

Wednesday, 7 Dec 2016
It was fun watching Ivy light up with excitement as we taught about Temples and the work we can do for ourselves and others inside. It really reminds me how amazing this message of the Gospel is, and how many people need to hear the hope we have to bring. We also got asked to another Buffet type place, and my new favorite thing is Fish balls with peanut butter inside. ;-) Then we taught a little kids class that night with a lesson I planned. We actually made it out alive, so that's a plus.

Thursday, 8 Dec 2016
We had an amazing District Training Meeting (My last, apparently). It was really cool, because a sister in our district is going home, so she gave her "Reflection," which basically means they just sum up what their mission really taught them in about 5 minutes. She told us a quote she heard once, that the entire reason any of us are on missions is because of the Atonement. It really hit me that that's true. The Atonement is the greatest gift any of us could never pay for. What does it mean to you?

I also pulled up to a stoplight and said "Merry Christmas" to someone, and all the people in front turned around because I said it too loud, and one actually pulled away, scared of the white guy. xD

Friday, 9 Dec 2016
We did weekly planning and then went to do exchanges with the zone leaders. It was so cool! At first I was feeling a bit useless, since Elder Parker's Chinese is really good, and mine's super eh.... but then I decided I just needed to trust heavenly father, and be whatever tool he needed me to be, and to just keep trying. And then at a stop light, I felt like I should go talk to a guy. He said he was really sad at the moment, so he didn't want to say no to us because he was sad, but said he wanted to talk to us later. And then I was waiting for Elder Parker while he was in the bathroom and this guy walked up to me in a convenience store and asked what nights our church had activities.... totally random, and I was able to answer him. It was another huge testament to Heavenly Father's care for me.

Saturday, 10 Dec 2016
We finished our transfer by eating at ANOTHER HOT POT (basically buffet thing) and some amazing Taiwanese ice cream. Then Elder Gasser and I got back just in time to buy presents for the ward Christmas party, go to Yoda's BAPTISM, which was great. Their family actually invited some people who came to that and the Christmas party afterwards. The party was hilarious. See attached Videos for us laughing to death a dance routine the Relief Society and High Priests did. Then Elder Gasser and I did a semi-okay guitar/piano Silent Night. We didn't get to practice before, so don't judge! Then we went home that night, waited for the call, and did it come! I was told I was moving up to Taichung, a place called Beitun. With an Elder Burge! I'm so sad to be leaving Fengshan, but I know there are great things in store waiting for me up there.

Sunday, 11 Dec 2016
Bishop asked me to give my testimony in Sacrament meeting, No, I didn't cry. Barely. After studies we went and visited Li in the hospital. He broke a rib earlier this week and couldn't move very well. We took him the sacrament, which he really appreciated. He is such an amazing man. I really can't describe what his example has done for me in my life. I hope the ward takes good care of him. It was probably hardest to say goodbye to him. Sam wasn't home, but I got his address so I can write him. And then, I packed!

So it's been a great week. And I'm looking forward to many more amazing, tough, spiritual, grinding, uplifting, glorious weeks serving the Lord, and teaching the people of Taiwan about my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love you all.

-Elder Meanea

05 DEC, 2016 "You must complete your training!" -Yoda

This is John, Elder Meanea's father. Elder Meanea's sister normally updates his blog with his weekly letters home, but she was in the middle of finals and traveling for a few weeks so I offered to do it for her... but I am late and slow. We will get caught up though... following is Elder Meanea's letter from December 5th:

Hello my amazing family! It's been a fantastic week here in Fengshan, Taiwan, and I'm excited to share all about it with you. So, without much ado, I'll type it out here as you like it. Just please don't make a comedy of my errors in writing this to you. ;-)

Monday, 28 Nov 2016
We went out and did a bit of shopping today for Christmas. And then we spent a lot of time on the streets contacting. Even though a lot of people don't have interest, I feel truly blessed by Heavenly Father to have the chance to offer this amazing message to them. It's incredible to me how you can start to feel like you love them even though you've never met these people before, but you pull up, and somehow you can just feel that this is an important person to our Father in Heaven.

Tuesday, 29 Nov 2016
We were going to Sam's house today when this guy rolled up on a moped and asked in a British accent, "Hey, you're the Mormons, right?" I said yeah. He said, "That's so cool, I have a lot of Mormon friends and a Book of Mormon, and your guy's chapel in Kensington is beautiful." I was thinking I'll take your word for it buddy. But he was really nice and I'm guessing had some connection with London, but he was still Taiwanese, so that was cool. We biked A LOT today. I can't remember why, but we just we peddling all day long. It was great. I was also thinking today about how the mission really teaches us to be like the Savior. It really pushes us to think of other people, really try and see what they've been through, because I know without a doubt every person I talk to is such a special person to God. He wants all of us to find as much happiness as we can in this life, and I love that I have the blessing of helping others find a bit of the light he offers us.

Water Fountain Instructions

Wednesday, 30 Nov 2016
Not much happened today except that we didn't have to teach the little kid's english class. We got to be the doormen for the night. ;-) We also had a lady that the sisters from a different ward set up for us, but she forgot, so we got to contact the ENTIRE DAY. I love the opportunities it brings, not so much the sore backsides.

Thursday, 1 Dec 2016
We had a fantastic DTM today. President Teh gave us a few scriptures to just discuss as a district to invite the spirit and find out what we all need to learn personally. It was a real testimony builder that no matter where we are, what we're doing, God always wants us to reach up. All of us, because he can see what we have the potential to become. Yoda, the kid we've been teaching, also had his baptismal interview today! He'll get baptized next Saturday right before the ward Christmas party, so WOO HOO! I also receivved a package of missionary letters, which I always love to read. It really shows me how induvidual each of our calls are, each of our trials and experiences are, and if the mission has taught me something so far, it's that God always has a plan, and whatever happens, it's going to be for our eventual Good and Glory. God won't leave us alone. We're his little kids.

Ward Christmas Flyer

Friday, 2 Dec 2016
Weekly planning party! I don't know why, but I just love that we get to do weekly planning. In the MTC it was a bit... less effective shall we say? Because everything was planned for us and we still had no idea what we were doing, but here we actually get to sit down and pray for God's direction for these people we're teaching, what they need to learn and feel in order to come back to him someday. I was also reading in the Book of Mormon today about Alma's interview with Corianton. He said something interesting. "Ye CANNOT understand them." Alma before has said that the things of man are discerned by the spirit of Man, and the things of God are discerned by the spirit of God. Corianton wasn't trying to answer his problems, doubts and questions through the spirit, so he COULD NOT get an answer. I wonder how many times I've tried to figure out why something happens or why a commandment is the way it is with just my head. It's a great reminder that the spirit should be present in everything we do. It was amazing, that night we were praying for our district, and it was my turn, and I pulled out the list to pray for our fellow missionary's investigators, and as I prayed to help Elder Gasser and I understand their needs, love our own ward, and help the people in our district, I felt such a comfort around me, like Heavenly Father was ready and willing to help us do just that.

Our own Thanksgiving meal in our apartment in Taiwan

Saturday, 3 Dec 2016
Pindong. Again. We had a Baptismal interview there. We also started our fast, and went to the hospital to give a blessing to the sister of the Lady in our ward. The lady is the only member in her family, and everyone else kind of looked at us funny, but we went in to the ICU and blessed her unconscious sister. She had a major kidney problem and hasn't woken up yet, but the sister was very thankful for us coming. (note from John, Elder Meanea's companion Elder Gasser shared the following about this blessing with his parents, "We got a call on Friday from a lady in our ward informing us that her sister was in the hospital, and she wanted us to pray for her. So of course I did. Fell right on my knees. But that's easy. Later that day she called again and asked us to visit her sister with her on Saturday and go give here a priesthood blessing. So we went to the hospital and after teaching Elder Meanea how to anoint someone with oil in Chinese we laid our hands on her head and gave her a blessing. Then...come Sunday the member gets up and bears her testimony relating the story I just related to you. But then she added the what I didn't know yet. Later that Saturday the doctors called her and said that "it was a miracle!" Her sister was still alive and starting to show signs of response. What she had usually kills people off fast. So it was a humbling experience for sure to see the Power of God manifest in such an amazing way.")

Sunday, 4 Dec 2016
A ward that meets in our church building had a stake conference, so our Church moved to 2:00. Not a fun time. xD I was so tired the whole time, but I tried my best to listen. It was worth it, because afterwards half the ward sent food home with us. It was fantastic. Two bags of oranges, two snickers cakes, one chocolate cake, and a bunch of rolls. That night we went to the park to contact, and found a really nice old couple, we were trying to start a gospel conversation, but they just talked and talked and talked. I figure we ended up walking about 3 miles with them around the park.... and then they said they didn't need a Book of Mormon because they're budhists.......... (Silently collapses in defeat) I've never walked so far for one contact. But the thing is, no matter what the effort it on our part, I believe in the promise that no effort is lost. Someday, it will do something for them.

Food ward members gave us!

Well family and friends, I love you all, and I love Taiwan and the people here. I'm excited for another amazing week here, and to continue sharing our Father's and Savior's love with these people. Stay close to the scriptures and prayer.

-Elder Meanea