Taidong is awesome

View from our flat in Tai Dong

We had such a busy week. And with the arrival of our new mission president, President Jergensen, we're gonna have another busy one.

Last Monday we went to the BEACH for P-Day! Except for the fact that it was the beach, it wasn't anything too exciting. I live in the coolest place in Taiwan, it's actually kind of a big deal. We did a lot of biking, a lot of riding trains with our bikes on it, then more biking. Our area is so big, and I've only seen a small portion of it. I love it.

Tai Dong Elders

Tuesday we had district meeting. We have a great bunch of missionaries down here. After our district meeting, the zone leaders came in to prepare us for the mission vision for the month of July: "The Good Shepard". We discussed different things we could do to awake the sheep, gather the sheep, and feed the sheep. It was really interesting. The work down here in Taidong is hard to explain. The city is pretty small, so almost all people have met the missionaries. Many people don't want anything to do with us, many people already know what our purpose is, are really nice...but still don't want anything to do with us. There are a few who show genuine interest. Those that have been prepared. THEY are REALLY hard to find. I've been trying to dig in deep lately, really trying to zone in with

These elderly ladies had a massive
pet rooster!

the Spirit. I'm learning a lot about myself. Heavenly Father sure does work in mysterious, yet perfect ways. Sometimes those perfect ways are really rough roads. Lots of "No" "We don't need your religion" "We are Buddhist, we don't need your religion" "No use" "no" "Next door please" "NO". It's super frustrating sometimes. okay, All the time. It's really hard trying to share something good with people that refuse to take it. I know the blessings that come from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know what kind of effect the Atonement of Jesus Christ has on us. I can feel comfort from knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. YOU CAN TALK TO HEAVENLY FATHER!! But they won't give me the chance to help them understand. It's super sad. But you have those that are willing to try it out. We pray with them on the street. They say they feel

A massive Buddhist temple in the hills

peace. They may not be baptized in the next 3 weeks, but a seed was planted. And I guess that's what it's all about. Planting seeds. It brings tons of happiness. And even though I may not see results right away, it's cool to hope that one day, these peoples lives might be changed. And Heavenly Father let me be a part of it.

It's pretty cool, I was talking to Elder Aiono (He's in my zone). I was asking him about his family. We figured our ancestors were probably introduced to the Church at the same time in Samoa. Of course we don't have any solid evidence or anything, but we starting thinking there was a really good chance that they were close friends. Would they have thought that years down the line, their posterity would be serving missions together, bringing joy to the hearts of God's children hear in Taiwan? We were both mind blown. Most of the time, you won't see "fruits of your labors" right away, but God keeps his promises. He blesses those that are diligent and faithful. I only hope for the best with each person I

This guys name is literally "Flying
Fish". He freaked out when I told
him I'm Samoan. He loves talking
about history.

talk to. I love this work.

Wednesday night Elder Stephens and I, and the sisters in our ward sang at a seminary graduation. I was never blessed with a singing voice, but I've already performed like 3 times. hahah I'm not saying it sounds good, I'm just wondering why I always get pulled into doing those things haha. It's good memories.

Friday, A young boy in our ward got baptized. It was cool to see. He was actually baptized by a returned missionary who was visiting last week. That was super cool.

We went up to Lu Ye on Saturday. It was like super farm land. I've seen more people driving there tractors on the street here than I have in Lehi. Crazy huh? tons of people out here are farmers. Lu Ye is a special place though. There was a man from Luye who served

We took our bikes on the train to Lu Ye. Our area
is huge! The sisters in our area came with us

a mission, when he got back, everyone was so inspired by his dedication, so half the city got baptized. (they were also very close relatives).. sadly, they're all now less active. So we get to go up there every week and try to reactivate them. It's great. So many wonderful people. I thought there were a lot of dogs up in Longtan. There are so much more here, the only difference is, these ones will chase you. I got chased for the first time the other day. I was turning this corner and all of a sudden this dog jumps out of nowhere almost as if he was waiting for me the whole time. It was pretty intense. Luckily I got away. I also saw banana spiders for the first time. Yeah. Quinn, I don't blame you for being afraid of spiders.

The Sabbath was great. I've found a new love for fast Sunday's. I was feeling the spirit super strong yesterday. We have a great ward, with many inspired leaders. Our ward mission leader is such a great man. He's kind of got a rough life, but he has great faith. I look up to him a ton!

Tai Dong is beautiful

Well, it's been SUPER hot here. I'm constantly dripping sweat. I'm almost used to it... but then again not at all. I'm not even sure what I mean by that. Today we woke up to gray skies and rain (YES). I'm also super excited because I'm supposed to be experiencing my first typhoon this week! I hear they're pretty fun.

I hope you all know that I love you! Thank you for all of the love and support you show me. Couldn't do this with out any of you! Have a blessed week!

Love,
Elder Chase Matua