Hey Dad,
So yeah I really try to live in the middle and not looking forward to days and saying it will be better at that point. I am not sure exactly what melancholy means, but it is interesting that you say this happened on Thursday and Friday. Thursday morning was a very hard and rough morning.
Last week I had some hard days though :( I just had a lot of things build up like feeling inadequate with the language, the same sometimes boring routine of missionary life, missing home, missing my dad, missing other aspects of life, so it just really got me down and not wanting to do missionary work (as well as comparing myself to other missionaries that are in my district and seeing how they have like 6 recent converts, already have had several baptisms (he is training my MTC companion), while my trainer and only have one RC working with while the other one dropped off earlier in the year drinking and other stuff that is hard to work with as well as not having really much in the way of investigators or baptisms (haven't had any baptism yet)). But so we met with our recent convert who I love to death and is one of the most interesting characters I have met. He is a very fashionable person and hair stylist (he cuts our hair for free which is normally a 1000 kuai job or $33) and had overcome a lot of things to being baptized. But he could tell I wasn't having a good day and we ended up talking for almost 45 minutes while also getting lunch and he helped me so much in just seeing that although there is maybe a lot of pressure and stretching right now that the Lord is preparing to launch me higher than I could imagine or be able to if I wasn't being pressed right now. He compared me to like a spring how that you are at one level and that when press on a spring it goes lower than your normal level and has a lot pressure and compressing involved. But when it is released it goes much higher than it could ever achieve if it wasn't pressed at all. So he helped me to see how the Lord is working in my life right now. He also told me to see that those other Elders have there own gifts and maybe having these blessings, but that I have my own gifts and my own level and that this is my mission and is just between me and the Lord. To just go out and do my best each day.
So yeah there were some hard days in there. We though had Zone Conference this last Friday. We were taught about conversion and repentance and really have seen blessings from implementing what we were taught there, in particular if an investigator has not been reading the Book of Mormon to rather continue teaching the next lessons instead sit and read the Book of Mormon with them. Really help them see its blessings, its importance, and how it can help them personally.
Cool cool, thanks so much for sending the package. Can't wait to see everything that will be in it :) Also let Mom know to not worry about sending gum. I can't chew gum anywhere because I am a missionary and hardly never chew when I get home.
Sounds like your Stake goal is going along really well and really working hard to achieve. The stake and wards will be greatly blessed with these efforts and what each members are doing. Really when you can have members working together and helping each other miracles happen. I think people sometimes forget how in Mosiah it talks about when we are baptized we are willing mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort. and such. As part of the PMG baptismal interview it says willing to keep the Sabbath Day holy and render service to fellow members. I think people maybe sometimes forget that when you are confirmed and are baptized, its not done, its actually just begun. And one of those key things is service.
Of course I miss golfing with you and want to do it more. I am sure you really mean that you miss golfing with me and not just kind of miss it. That would be sweet to get a set of clubs, and I would love to go more and play.
So I had no idea you were working on a huge project from May to November. That's huge! I know you will get it done and do well with it. You have learned so much and are progressing at becoming better about balancing your life. Just do your best each day.
Of course as always I miss the puppies. I always see weiner dogs here. But more often or not they are the normal size weiner dogs. So I always miss my weiner dogs. As well as sitting with them on the couch watching movies or netflix and eating cookies. I am honestly going to have to go for the next year and a half without any cookies :(
So to share some more things from my last week as well as some things I missed from the week before that I needed to write in my planner to remember to say today. Sorry I feel like sometimes I don't really share spiritual things in emails. I strive to, but also just want to share what's on my mind, what's happening in my life, and just trying my best to give you a glimpse into what I see each week.
So first off Mom will be so happy and proud that ever since I got here I play the piano each week. I either play it for gospel principles, or priesthood, or sometimes both. But every week since I have been in Taiwan I have been playing. Often times I am playing through hymns I have never played before. But I still manage to play through them (granted no they are not perfect) and help serve.
Next is not this last week but the week before we went to go find a less active (which have just been the hardest people to find here in our area. We have this thing called the map project in a binder that is printed off of all the members in the Feng Shan ward grouped according to areas in our area, so it helps to find less actives. But most less actives have either moved or the ward tells us specifically to not go visit these people. But so we went to this village (which we learned later on actually used to be a drilling ground for the Japanese soldiers when they occupied the island) and were trying to find this less active which house numbers never went up to the LA's house number on the road. But we ended up seeing this house that had a Triumph Spitfire and a MG parked outside of it. So I was admiring the cars and Elder Dailey decided to knock of there door to talk with whoever was home. Some old guy in his 60's came out and we first talked about his cars in particular the Spitfire. He had restored them and he even got his keys and turned it on, lifted the hood up, and revved. Needless to say it was pretty sweet. He even offered to take us for a drive, but we couldn't because it is only a two seater :( But so we got talking more with this guy about religion and that he is very accepting of different religions and respects them a lot, believing that there is really one God even if it's called Allah, or Shen, or Heavenly Father. But so he worked as an engineer for a airplane company up in Taibei. So he has been to many places around the world and he doesn't have bad English either for simply learning through business and traveling to other places. But so to the interesting part that happened is that we were standing around this Spitfire talking about this stuff. Any way, my companion and the guy were standing by the driver side under neath an overhang while I was on the passenger side with nothing over my head. I had kind of been noticing clouds moving in from the east. Then lightning struck over to the east from us and it was fairly loud. Then I saw the lightning strike north of us and it was just as loud as the first one. Then all of sudden I just see in the sky directly over us lightning arc across the sky (literally over us) and Elder Dailey saw it strike down a bit east of us. But it made the guy grab his head with his hands and shake a little bit and no joke when I saw the lightning arc across the sky it sounded right when it was doing that and it was so close that it sounded like a whip cracking. Then about 20 seconds after that lightning it just started dumping rain. So the guy let us into his house and we talked some more. But some crazy lightning and we had two other instances over the next few days where lightning cracked right over us.
Next is last Monday for dinner you will never guess what we had for dinner. Japanese Curry!!! It was so good and no joke is just like the curry we make at home. It tasted just like our curry too. It was yummy and nice little reminder of home.
Also there is a Sister in my district you will need to tell Brynne Lindsley about or tell Steve to tell Brynne. She was here my first move call and will be here through my second move call. It's Sister Peay. She played soccer with Brynne. So I will have to tell Sister Peay where Brynne is serving because I didn't remember where she was going but saw the ward news letter today.
Also on Elder Dailey's birthday after English Proselyting we were eating and one of Elder Dailey's RC's showed up to give him some things and ate with us. He showed us Jeff Stark's facebook because apparently Elder Stark taught him as well. But I see that Jeff went down and drove a Lamborghini. I am jealous!
Next, there are real life airbenders here! Ok not really. But the monks we occasionally see look just like Aang in his attire from the The Last Airbender.
Well that is just some of my week. I will have pictures next week for you to see :)
Love you with all my heart!
Elder Dayley
