XiliHui

XiliHui means baptism! And boy did we have one! It was the first baptism I have seen that came from a companionship I was in, which was cool. His name is Lin Cheng Rong and he is ten years old. He is awesome and though he is a little shy, he has a lot of faith and righteous desire. 

Since I haven't been in this area very long, I am not super close with him but since I got here we have been trying to visit him or at least contact him everyday and now we are friends so it was awesome seeing him get baptized! The baptism was awesome. A ward member baptized him and had to do it three times which is a miracle because before the baptism Cheng Rong told us he wanted to be in the water as long as possible. He got his wish haha!

We made sure to invite all of the investigators and members we could get a hold of to attend the baptism and it was a great turn out. Also, those who spoke shared very powerful testimonies which I think might have gotten to his parents (who are both supposedly not interested.) Their situation is really hard but he is improving everyday and finding joy and comfort in this gospel. There are a lot of people that love and support him in our awesome ward! 

We also met with a Wang Zi Chen. He is a recent convert who is about the same age as Lin Cheng Rong but a lot more wild and energetic. He is an awesome kid but getting him to focus was hard. He also has a very difficult family situation in which he gets spoiled by his grandparents but not shown any love by his mother. 

So when we asked him to pray sincerely to close our lesson he started crying and refused to pray.. It was sad, but we called him later and he said he would pray and read.We think he needs a little more support so we will be working pretty hard to get him doing the things which the Lord would have him do. He is a little kid but one scripture I think really captures his situation is Ether 12:6. It states: 

"Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not,for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." 

our park which is one of the biggest in Taiwan! It is beautiful!!!!!!!

When we face these trials that cause us to lack desire to do small things that bring joy like reading and praying, we are in the trial of faith. Once we can recognize that we are being tested we can show our faith and endure. Resorting to disputing is taking a step back away from the light at the end of the tunnel. After Wang Zi Chen is able to overcome his families problems he will be able to receive that witness from prayer and scripture reading that he is not alone. 

really cool table

We saw a lot of miracles this week and though we have a few things to work on we are doing great as a companionship. We are learning quickly how to teach well together. I am loving Luo Dong!! I have accidentally called about 8 different girls guys over the last few days. They sincerely look like boys because they cut their hair short for tennis and then on top of that they dress like boys. I feel really bad and that is the most stressful thing right now. But things other than that are really great! I hope you all have a great week and remember to read your scriptures!

Love, 

E.H.C.

p.s.Grandpa Reed is so awesome I am excited to talk to him when I get home. Can you get me Spencer's talk?? Thank you for your prayers! I miss Mexican food.. I do pushups every morning but am still scrawny as a maobi(broom)

I still get asked almost everyday if I am Asian and I tell them my ancestors are Dutch and Swedish because I am not positive but I know I am not asian. hahaha

I am glad you miss me but you shouldn't cry over me mam!

I am doing great here. We had a good week and I love this area. We might go to these natural springs and you put your feet in and little fish come and bite off all the nasty stuff hahahahahah

Thank you mommy I love you!