Welcome to my last email from the MTC. Tomorrow at 4 a.m. I begin my journey to Taibei. I'm just a little bit excited!!!!! I can count the number of hours until I fly out on 22 fingers. I can also count the number of hours I'll spend on a plane on 22 fingers. I will likely have 10-15 minutes from the Salt Lake airport I can call and say hello, somewhere between 5:30 and 7. So I'll give you guys a quick ring. Can I call collect? How? As soon as you read this write a dearelder so that they can get it to me today and let me know if I should try to get quarters or what?
Reflecting back on the MTC it's been such a great experience. It's really a place that becomes what you make out of it. If you treat it like the dedicated place that it is, the spirit can be so strong and you can grow so much, and the flip side, the Elders that feel like they're just doing "time" definitely don't seem to get as much out of it. It is such a blessing to have a general authority come every week and address us. It is such a blessing to be able to be gathered and sing hymns as a body of 2000+ of God's servants. It is such a blessing to have amazing teachers to learn from.
My 2 teachers were absolutely amazing. The first was Rita Fan (Fan Lao Shi). She is a Taiwan native and a convert to the church. She served her mission in Taichung and now goes to BYU. She is literally one of the funniest people I have ever met, and it was such a blessing to have a native teacher to practice, listen to the accent and speed that they speak. The second teacher is Brady Hodges (He Lao Shi) and without a doubt he's already greatly influenced my mission. He's one of the most amazing people I've ever met. He's so good at Chinese, but spiritually he's like Nephi or something. He's also famous because his wife and son are in a picture in the May 2010 Ensign. Yup, we're talking conference edition. Big Deal. He's someone who truly dedicates his entire life to the Lord, and he's taught at the MTC for 4 years. We're his last district, and I feel incredibly blessed to have had him, as well as Fan Lao Shi. Both have prepared me well and strengthened my testimony a lot.
Thank you to all family and friends who have had me in their prayers, as well as who have written me. I think I've had one day in the MTC where I haven't received mail, which is quite incredible being here for so long. Thank you all so much for your love and support.
I'm so excited to go to Taiwan!! I'm so excited for the food, the culture, but most of all the people, God's Children. I'm so so so excited to be going to serve among the people of Taiwan. All the teachers in our zone who went to Taiwan have such great stories about the people there. The people there have such great humor and mannerisms. I'm so excited!!!!
This week was our final "TRC" time, where we go and have random investigators in which we have to do a task and then teach a lesson. We had a native Chinese lady, and her accent was so different from anything I've heard here yet, (different parts of China and Taiwan have seriously different accents) but I was able to pay close attention and get it. Before the TRC I prayed specifically and asked God to allow me to have a confirmation that this is truly his work and what he wants me to be doing since I'm about to get on a plane and go half way around the world for this. The TRC was so amazing. So spiritual. It is impossible to describe. I know without a doubt that this is the true church. This is Jesus Christ's gospel in its fullness and that he is at the head of this church and leads his church through his prophet, Thomas Monson. I'm so excited to get to Taiwan and immediately have conference. I hope I can get it in English. I know that I'm right where God want's me at this time in my life, and throughout the MTC I've had several experiences that have confirmed to me that Taibei is the mission for me and where the Lord needs me. Out of the 300+ missions in the church the Lord has put me in the one that I will be able to do the most good among his children, where he needs me to labor. I've felt God, and my Saviors love for me stronger here than ever before in my life. This is his Gospel, this is Salvation, I can't wait to share that with the Taiwanese.
I love you all, You are all so great. I love you especially Dad and Mom, and my sisters and brother. "always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name"- Avett Brothers :)
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