Sep 30, 2013 - letter to Mom

Hey Mom!

I am so excited to get the package! It's really great having it to look forward to, I can't wait to get it and see everything. That would be awesome if the package came during this week later on. But either way it will come when it comes. Just have to be patient. I am finding ways and things that help me keep focused on day to day basis or week or with a move-call, but I never try to think larger than a move-call too much, or else it makes things seem impossible or miss too much things. So that will be something nice to look forward over the next week. Like tomorrow is ZTM. Then Wedensdays are English days (yeah we teach English each week). Fridays are weekly planning days (we have 3 hours for weekly planning). Saturday is to get ready for Sunday. Then Sunday is church. Then Monday is P-Day!

So yeah I will let you know when things arrive on what days so you can know how mail works out in a general way.

That is way neat experience to have happened in the math lab. Sometimes I can feel weird trying to talk to people for all sorts of reasons. But I think really if we just say a prayer, start the first few steps of the situation whether it be saying hi or saying something else, then everything else will flow and work out. Like it did with this girl in the math lab.

Couple of examples that happened with me this last week were like we were going to the corner of our area last night to go tract (we had only tract over there once before since Elder Dailey and I have been here in Feng Shan) and I had the thought of an old man from China that we had tracted into several weeks before that had been really nice and said we could come back the following week. However, when we stopped back by the following week no one answered. So we just kind of forgot about him. But so as we were riding bikes towards the corner we were going close by where this old man lives (I have a really good memory and sense of direction, so when we need to go to specific areas sometimes or places we have only been like once or twice or none before Elder Dailey lets me lead). So I just had several times the thought about this old man. So I told Elder Dailey to humor me and go stop at this old mans house. We stopped in the area but couldn't remember exactly which house was his. So we knocked on several doors and found a house where an old man and woman were. The old man came to the door and we found out that he is from China. But we didn't remember if this was the same man or if he looked like the man we talked with the first time. But he ended up not being interested at all really and was saying he baibais (ancestor worship) and everything. So I don't know exactly why I had those feelings to go there, but we went to the corner afterwards and tracted. We got a sit down lesson with a family that was very nice to us and gave us fruit to eat and everything. But they really didn't have interest or want to accept our message. So maybe the Lord just needs me to build up trust right now, and that's kind of what I was wanting to do is to simply act on the promptings I was having.

Another cool thing happened yesterday though that Elder Dailey and I were riding home from church talking to each other in English (we had a lot to talk about from things that had happened that day) but we stop at the light right before rainbow road stopping by a guy on scooter. The set up was this guy on the left Elder Dailey in the middle, and me on the right. But Elder Dailey and I were still talking in English and I notice this guy several times keeps looking over at us. So when our conversation lulled I looked at the guy and said "Li he" (that is Ni3 hao3 in Taiwanese) and Elder Dailey and I started talking with him. He pulled over to the side and we found that he had been studying in Australia for college, he has pretty man2 bu2 cuo4 (not bad) English, and is working on getting a MBA. He also has some pretty rad looking hair. But so we set up to meet with him tomorrow and share more with him. I hope he turns out good. He seems like a really good and nice guy.

So more on the piano is that there was a baptismal service this last week for the Yuan Shan Ward (the sisters serve in both the Feng Shan and Yuan Shan, Elder Dailey and I are Feng Shan, and Elder Vandiford and Turner are Yuan Shan). Elder Dailey and I were at the church and just had a lesson finish. We were already planning to stay for the baptism because we had someone coming (who never showed up!), but so the member conducting came up to me right when we had finished our lesson and before the baptismal service had started and asked if I could play the piano. So I played piano for the baptismal service. I am not the best thought. I still make mistakes and I think the Lord helps the most in making so I can play hymns through.

So to tell you about some of our investigators since I really haven't said much lately about our work. We have an investigator (who is the one we stumbled into by using his family's restaurant's bathroom) is now to a week B status meaning we have scheduled this Saturday a baptismal interview and the following Saturday is his baptismal date. He is really great kid. He is willing to keep the Word of Wisdom (he drinks bitter tea to help him stay awake, but he is willing to stop, we just need to follow up with him). We have taught him the first 3 lessons as well as some other commandments, and plan to teach the other commandments this week. For a while (we started teaching him back in the beginning of August) he kept saying it seems like what we are saying is true but didn't know for himself or was saying he wasn't getting an answer. We talked with him more about this and found that he has been receiving answers that he just wasn't realizing he was receiving answers. So we pray for him a lot and hope that he will progress smoothly.

We have another investigator as well. He is one quite interesting character. He has had several dreams involving Jesus Christ (the first one I feel was truly real that Jesus Christ told him to follow him, and he had asked how, and then Jesus said he would send his two messengers. Then two days later we contacted him). He is really willing to follow and keep commitments (but he is also saying he has other dreams like one where Jesus told him he doesn't need to baptized and such) so that is a little strange. He is going to be a uniquely difficult one to teach. We have on set with a baptismal goal but his parents oppose (even though he is 37). But he also said yesterday in Gospel Principles in response to the teacher at the beginning (granted we have not taught any commandments yet, only the Restoration because he was having a hard time with understanding authority and our church having God's authority) saying it is impossible for him to keep the Word of Wisdom because he is diabetic and I think lactose intolerant, so he can't drink milk at all, so he has to drink coffee (whatever that means, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it), but he also responded to the teacher that the Law of Chastity wouldn't be a problem (we have no idea if he even knows what these are but he acts like he does. So yeah....we will handle those when we get to them.).

Our RC (the hair stylist) is one of the most funny, craziest, and unique persons I have met here so far in Taiwan. Really words can't describe him, so when I Skype in December I will have to try and tell you more about him.

Well, that's a lot of what's been happening. So guess what I got last Monday!?!?!?!??! I got a Lord of the Rings Trilogy Soundtrack CDs as well as the best of Enya CD that we have been listening to all last week and will forever more my mission be listening to. Also, I am sending some pics of one of the members with us. His English is pretty much flawless. Allaina will get a kick out of it. We went and saw it last P-day.

Love you lots!

Elder Dayley

Sep 23, 2013 - letter to Dad

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

Sep 23, 2013 - letter to Mom

Sorry, so I was just beginning to write your email and all of a sudden the computer turned off. We have time limits here at the wanka and apparently the people at the front can turn computers off. The lady at the front "an cuo le" meaning she pressed the wrong one. So she gave us another hour to do stuff. So I will email you and then off to do P-day.

Sounds like a great quote. It will be nice to have. Thank you so much for sending the package. It will be so nice to get. I haven't gotten any mail since I have been here except a few things from the mission office like my Alien Resident Card.

You will pass your Calculus Block class. You are already so far ahead. I am right now planning to pass of my phase 1 language study by the end of this second move call. I have my Lessons 1-3 pass off with the Zone leaders to do, Lesson 4 and 5 with the District Leader, and then Lessons 1-5 with the zone leaders. So almost every week I will be doing an evaluation. 

I wish sometimes I could just have your life of school, house cleaning, puppy play time, scripture study, dad. It seems so nice and great. Not going to lie sometimes missionary life can be really stressful, and can really work up my anxieties and nervousness. But I try each day and learn new things each day to help and not feeling these feelings. I don't maybe you have any personal insight or wisdom to share on it. I know that I think and feel a lot of the same ways as you do and have so much I can learn from you in how to live life.

Love you so much mom!

Elder Dayley