HIGH stakes

SMan this week has been a crazy one again! So we have had to go to the Training with President this week and the other leaders of the mission. So a group of great people all together! Some of best missionaries I've known and President told My companion and I that we were gonna do a training for a time limit of about 45-1hr minutes. He let us know the day before. Man my nerves were high!!!!!! Elder Johnson and I talked a ton, and woke up early that day. And when we were setting everything up we were just so anxious to get going! Eventually the Lord allowed us to do well, and everything went smoothly. We have been really focusing lately on relying on the Lord. And I have come to know in a very real sense that ALL things come of God, whether allowed, or done for us. It is all of God, there are things he wants done, and if we align ourselves with his will, he will allow us to work miracles. If we rebel against him, we are left to our own power and knowledge which if you have ever tested is 不多！ hahaha.

We have also been meeting with some super cool people lately! We called an LA and he ended up bringing his girlfriend along with him to the meeting. We have had the priviladge to continue working with these two, as we are working to get him active and her baptized! But super cool miracle. We went to meet them and we had not had time to lesson plan what we wanted, but as we focused on her and the whispering of the Holy Ghost. The lesson went really smoothly and I felt very easily to invite her to baptism. The very second i invited the Boyfriend fearing the pressure would worry her. Jumped in and went off for 5-10 mins about not needing to be in a rush and to not worry if you don't want to and stuff. Well she was just looking down at the BOM(which we just used to teach the Plan of Salvation) looks up at My companion then glances at her boyfriend and says "I've decided i will attend." shocking all three of us with the dedication behind her voice. I truly believe the Holy Ghost had made clear to her the the Plan was for her, and all things were true. Giving her the confidence to say i will be baptized!!! Super cool miracle!

Aside from that we also had exchanges this week! I went with Elder Smith and Elder Cheney! Elder Smith is a champion! he is currently one of my favorite people! Because pretty much what we did all day was to just go and work hard all day and just enjoy what we were doing the whole time! HE is a killer missionary! And Elder Cheney my old companion back in Hualian! HE is back down on the east coast but he came up and chilled with me for the day! He is so awesome! We had a really good day our exchange got cut short a little but we got to teach and find and work so that's all we need:)

Really good week! The Lord has blessed us greatly.

we had a fun week

WHAT UP!

This week has been insane! We have had some crazy stuff go down, we are about half way through all our exchanges for the transfer we are just starting week 3:) It has been fun to work with so many amazing missionaries! So i had the chance to exchange with 2 Elders i knew in the MTC they are actually one transfer above me, but they are both fantastic men! The first was with Elder Clegg for good ole' Idaho, we have been good friends for a long time now, we lived together for a while, and he was my DL back in HuaLian! And Elder Bagley a famous actor for the church;) We had a ton of fun!

We also had one of our investigators get baptized!徐子翔 He is so sick! Poor guy though so another ward in the chapel had a baptism before us, and the missionaries that were filling the font forgot to plug the font, so when they came in 5 mins before the baptism, and had 0 water in the font they freaked out, and we didn't know that until we opened the font for our own guy, and it was only half way full! He was a tall, strong guy, and the baptizer was a short, small guy. But after a few tries, and some creative maneuvering we got it!

We saw some super cool miracles this week! So we had some random guy show up to a dinner on Sunday night, and literally the first thing he said to my companion was, "in just a minute lets switch phone numbers; we can find a time to talk." hahaha we talked to him over dinner, and he was pretty much just telling us how to teach him, and when to call him, and what he wants to do. We laughed a good while after he left! Just because God was like, "I don't think you have enough blessings.... Here is this guy you can talk to!" 

I have been learning a lot lately from my companion about communication. My Comp. Elder Johnson, is probably one of the most sincerely reliant upon the Lord Elders i have ever met! He teaches me everyday how to be a better man, and missionary! But i think the NUMBER 1 thing in our companionship is we are trying to work better together at accomplishing what we are called to do! He is awesome.

I would like to take a quick second and thank all of my past companions. They have all been amazing men! Truly grateful for their examples, love, and work. They have shaped me. They have changed me, and they have helped me grow closer to Heavenly Father. They have been great shapers in my life. You are all awesome.

I love all of you that receive this, and i love all of you who I see, and I love all of you who i can contact, and I really just love all men.

Elder Conover

Mission home roof top

In and out

Well it has been a week and a half! of going in and out and with and without in every where! So i need to clarify i am just in central taipei where all missioanries have to come through. I am not in my first area, but that would be fun too!

It has been a great week! So we had a couple exchanges to do this week we had about 3 this week, i got to hangout with Elder Kimmel, Elder Clegg, and Elder Heaton. Some very fire missionaries! they are so sick! I have had the chance this week to enjoy running around NTU台大(which is pretty much a mini city) but it is with walking and biking instead of driving and riding.

I have been n the temple and i dont wanna take for ever i wanna go eat and play, so we will see you next week, i love you guys, this weeek has been sick god has blesssed us with much success and exceedingly fun opportunities.

i shaved my legs for the first time in my life it was fun

Back in black

Well all things have come back together, i am now back right where my very first steps were in taiwan. I am serving in the Xinan（信安）ward and i also cover the english ward! right here in central Taipei! I see a ton of foreigners running around now! 

My new companion is a champion missionary by the name of Elder Johnson, a great guy who was born in Taiwan, lived in Shanghai for a few years, but lived for the vast part of childhood in good ole Idaho! He is a fantastic guy! super humble and really loving! 

We had a great last little bit in Tucheng(土城) with Elder Fitzpatrick, i was sad to say good bye! we were starting to see some major changes! We had met some really cool people!, but they are all still doing really good! I was sad to only spend 2 transfers there but i am excited for the upcoming new challenges of being in the middle of Taipei City! I have the opportunity to work with a more missioanries and members now, so it will be cool to be a little more involved in things. This week has been a great learning experience for me... I have learned a lot from my new companion and have been grateful for his patience!

This week i have learned a big lesson on sincerely relying on the Lord all the time, and to really recognize like it says in Mosiah chapter 2"you own nothingness" and also "Relying wholey upon his grace, mercy, and merits" I have come to know very quickly i am weak, and need a ton of help! I have seen the way that heavenly Father works and the way Christ can help us. I have been a afirst hand witness to their power and their miracles, and have been a reciever and a giver of their love, and Grace. I will thank My savior Jesus Christ and my God Heavenly Father for all they have given me, and for the opportunity to give the same to other people. Please never forget "your own nothingness" because "even if we were to thank god with your whole soul we would still be unprofitable servants" But He loves us and enjoys our work and our praise and will bless us for our service and our obedience!

This week has been full from finding, teaching, moving, attending two wards, meeting new members and investigators, meeting more missionaries, having a lot longer time to sit down than i would like, and pretty much doing anything i could think of doing. It was actually pretty crazy we originally had all the new missioanries coming in on wednesday, but due to some strange problems we had them get here on Friday night! so we had a ton of missioanries not in their area! we had like 21 new missioanries come in! pretty crazy weekend for everyone!

Love all of you, Love God 加油

Elder Conover

Make over

Well a ton of things have happened this week most of them causing change in the area but it was also make over week for our companionship! So we started with a haircut but not any haircut a 100$NT with a hair wash haircut. It was fantastic, i sat there as they rubbed my head and washed all the extra hair and stuff off. And then they had a bunch of good smelling stuff to use to do my your hair with after, it made me happy! #i love it!

In terms of missionary work though it has been quite a good week! I had the chance to exchange with a good guy named Elder Ehinger (read Ae-hanger) Which was truly a joy! i went down in to their area 三峽 sanxia, where we spent a joyous 24 hours roaming the streets taking investigators to member held gospel classes, and setting people up, as well as helping build up the english class, which is one of the most successful ways of finding people here in taiwan because everyone likes it, and many need it! We also had an amazing lesson with their best investigator who is struggling on faith and confidence. But the lesson went really well really taught by the spirit with her, and helped her truly prepare for baptism. We invited her to start repenting everyday and she told us she has already been doing that! hahahaha we didn't know what to say after that aside from laugh and compliment her work! He is a good missionary it was a pleasure to be with him!

Our week had some good rain we were on the outskirts of a Typhoon so we had rain on and off all week. And we have been being very thorough about who we want to meet with and not, So we have been giving the area a make-over as well. We have been identifying who is prepared and who is not. So as these things happen we have dropped several names from our board, that were not ready, and are making room for God to fill our teaching pool again. I have seen that as a pattern, Heavenly Father will wait for you to make room for his work and his needs before he finally gives you what you want. So It has been fun across my mission when i am willing to align myself with His will, miracles roll:) I await His guiding hand.

I have learned something about myself, I don't like people not foloowing through on their word. Christ has told us "let thy communication be pure" and :"let no corrupt communication proceed forth out of thy mouth" We had several people this week decide to tell us something and do another, which is common in the field, But everytime it reminds me, If you cannot claim your language and your desires in front of someone, you need to change, your goals and desires are the things that you should be adament on. Just as the desires and goals of the saints should be in line with God, you need to stand up for what you want and work for. I encourage anyone who actually reads this to "man-up" and take your words and line them up with your desires and goals, and to "let no corrupt communication proceed out of thy mouth" Live your promises and let your actions prove your words just as the Lord does with us. I can promise you that God will bless you with all that you need to accomplish your righteous goals, and you will be much happier and excited to deal with anything that you must face. God prospers the righteous.

Elder Conover

Patience is great

I will have to be a little bit fast this week because i have some stuff to do, but i will be back in in a bout 30 ish minutes after i get off. But this week has been a ton of fun! So about a week or two ago i told y'all that i got stood up on a ton of lessons well a good part about that is that about 14/16 were at the chapel and we given them 10 minutes and two calls before they are "stood up" just our companionship rule. Well i realized i like to just play around on the piano, and i had my baby teach me some basic playing form on the piano, and whenever we were waiting for a lesson i just sat at the piano, i can now read the notes, and play them. very very very slowly. But hey my top hand "be still my soul" is getting pretty decent!hahaha

this week has been cool, because we have seen a lot of movement that our investigators were lacking, we have met a ton of really cool people this transfer. Right now we are working with a very large investigator pool. But this week we had the cahnce to take 3 of them and either move their date back and reset a more solid one that i think they will hit next month. or re-set a new one! so it was super cool to see some of the commitment happen this week. I have also learned that i often have very high expectations and when not met i become frustrated. But never with anyone else just with my self. So i have been really learning the value of patience, Which is enduring well or as Pres. Utchdorf says "enjoy to the end" because when it doesn't work out just perfect well deal with it, readjust plans and go again.

I had the opportunity to do an exchange this week with a good companionship that is training right now. I went with the trainer, Elder Keleman from provo Utah. He is a great man, and a good missionary. We had a ton of fun together because the first day we taught a couple really fun lessons. And when we went out the second day we went on a bike ride to find a mystery address, to help give a member's friend an address. We ended up biking over into the taoyuan zone, oops, so we biked back figured out the directions and then we biked over to where the sanxia elders live pretty much. So we blessed the cool guy, he was super sick. then biked home and sent him home for his own area.

We also have been helping a few investiagors we have 2 really close to baptism they know all the commandments we are just working on their personal desire to truly endure to the end. But they should be ready for september baptrism! we are hoping with in the next 2 weeks maybe 3 to get them baptized... they are sick!

It has been a good week, i would like to share my testimony of church attendance.

I have come to the realization and revelation that church isn't there to go and listen to a speaker and see if they bring the spirit to your life. Church is about you worshipping the lord, and building a relationship with him. Our church is so special because no matter what is said it is a time for you to bring the spirit into your life, to repent, to change, and to grow closer with the lord. It also strengthens our families and we go together. In the Book of Mormon it says "they did meet together oft to talk of the salvation of their souls" build friendships is good, but the reason you are there is to worship. And is your personal duty not the Bishop's not the speaker or the teacher. You get out what you put in. I love that principle! go there ready to PARTICIPATE in the service! i absolutely love church and love the Lord, it is a great priviledge to worship Him. And i know you can come to feel the same joy as I do through your preparation and participation! 

Elder Conover

life is good

No way!!!

OSo i will be honest right here, there was quite a long week this week, full of lots of things happening but actually very little happening. We had a ton of people set up this week, and come and meet with us, but about 90% stood us up. So we had a pretty long week in terms of we had to do sudden change of plans and usually that meant street contacting. But we still had a ton of fun! 

First i want to share we went on our exchanges with the AP's this week and i had the opportunity to go with the new Elder Johnson! He is so awesome! Truly a great example of missionary work. Because on the exchange i would say its safe to say he has changed my mission. He showed its not only about what your doing but what your striving for. He is a very humble guy! Super hard working, and has such a big desire to improve. But the biggest thing is that we both just were excited to work, but we worked together, it was one better than the other. Even though Elder Johnson is for sure much more powerful than i he is still so humble and great at making you feel needed. I'm sure he could baptize the nation on his own though. We had a ton of fun, had a chance to really help some people there. And teach a few lessons and contact on the streets as well as work with a member or two.

 We did this thing we have been starting recently that has been really effective, we bring an extra BOM every visit and we bring it out with high lighters. We mark our favorite scriptures and read them, and ask the member to share and mark a few, then we tell them, this book is now yours you have one week to deliver to a friend. At first the member was like i dont know anyone, but as we read the spirit brought about 3 or 4 names to him! really good exchange!

then the remaining week was filled with time, we had about 16 potential lessons stand us up, but on the bright side i am slowly learning how to play the most basics of piano!!! we have about 10 mins of time waiting in the chapel before we decide that they aren't coming of course with a call or two. But i just sit at the piano and my companion teaches me how to read, and really basic playing skills! You should know my "be still my soul" top hand only, top line is get ting pretty good for about grand total of an hour of practice/learning😉

However i would say CROWNING moment of the week! Sunday morning we got up and got ready and start biking 40 mins later we got back to my old ward, at 9am to attend zhou zhong yue"s confirmation! his family is now on track for eternal marriage! He is a great miracle! We helped his wife be active again, he is now a member of the church, and their adorable children can now grow up in the covenant i look forward to the day they can be sealed together for ever!