25 February 2013

Power Week! Woohoo! It was absolutely nuts. We completed three of the six assignments, and came close on some others. Throughout it all, we found many potential investigators, including one currently progressing investigator named Jeff. We are happy with the results, and the growth of faith that we had during this experience.

We talked with one guy that pretty much outlined the destructive mindset that many people out here have (I'm also pretty sure it's the same in America to an extent). He was an old man, in his seventies, and he was standing out in the road staring at a pigeon eating bread and vegetables on the ground. We tried to talk to him, but he wasn't really responding positively, so we asked him a thought provoking question: "What do you think is your purpose in life?" He stood silently for a moment, and then pointed at the pigeon, "We're like that bird. We're just here to eat, and then we die." And the thing that struck me was the sense of perfect satisfaction that was in his voice as he said it. I was thinking, Man, if that's all to life, what's the point of living?

I reflected later on a letter I got from my father a few weeks ago concerning the "Terrible Questions", such as "Do we continue to exist after we die?", "What is our purpose in life?", and "Is there a God?". I grew up pondering those questions all the time. In contrast, I've met tons of people that have never even conceived these questions. I can't help but wonder, what drives them? What motivates them to keep living? I must conclude that they are unaware of a spiritual realm, and are only concerned with the temporal, the things they can detect with the senses. How do we become aware of the spiritual? We simply believe it, and then act on it. You know how they say that you can't ever win a race unless you believe that you will? It's the same thing with spiritual matters. You will never know there is a God unless you believe that if God exists, then He will answer your prayers. I would also add that you can't ever win a race unless you participate in it. You must do the work in order to learn spiritual truths. You must pray in order to receive the spiritual confirmation that God exists. It is when we step out of our comfort zone and try our faith, that the Spirit will grant us knowledge and wisdom.

I've been studying a little bit about this "trial of faith" recently. This week I read the parable of the vineyard in the book of Jacob. There was one point when the Lord of the vineyard examined the tree planted in ground that was "choice above all other land". The interesting thing about this tree was that it was the only one that seemed to be having trouble with producing good fruit. It reminded me of a recent Liahona article in which one of the Apostles talked about the importance of having trials together in marriage. He recounted a story of a young couple who had everything given to them, free from worry or care, only to be divorced three years later. The Lord puts us through trials of faith, or refiner's fires, to strengthen and fortify us against the blistering winds of the oncoming storms of the adversary. If we do not have trials, we are therefore not prepared and will buckle under the weight of these storms. When I think about this in the perspective of helping investigators and recent converts, I would think it is important that we give them opportunities to try their faith, such as challenging them to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. It is also important that we give ourselves opportunities to grow our own faith, such as setting high goals or doing challenging things. Power Week was one such example of trying our faith.

We wrapped up Power Week with an amazing reward: One of our previous investigators, Brother Ke, got baptized! We met him a month ago, and taught him three of the four investigator lessons, only to find out he did not live within our area, so we had to refer him to the elders down south. Only a month elapsed from the time he met the missionaries to the time he was baptized.

The baptism was both really happy and really sad to me. I was happy for him and the decision he made to make this sacred covenant with God. I was depressed at the huge lack of Ward support. There was practically nobody at the baptism. It is so hard for people to step out of their comfort zones and throw themselves into a world that has a culture completely foreign to them. It is important that we remember as members that they are sacrificing a world that they belonged in, were comfortable in, to enter an environment that is completely different than anything they had ever previously encountered, even for those coming from a Christian background. We as members must band together and fellowship these new converts! We must be supportive of them, understanding of them, and learning and growing together with them. I have grown much in appreciation for those who are converts and have stayed true to their baptismal covenants, especially for my mom. If you want a good story, just ask her.

I love all of you, and I eagerly await the opportunity to write you again next week!

-Elder Jorgensen

20 February 2013

Operations President, Elder Evans, were coming for a surprise visit on Monday, and that we were all to travel to Taichung to meet them at a mission conference. It turned out to be a magnificent meeting. Elder Watson said something very interesting, and all missionaries out there should take note: "The most important thing you can do on you mission is to write your parents every week!" As we do this, it will help us better understand Heavenly Father's love for us, as well as build up your family in the Spirit. Elder Evans followed him, and told us some news about what is going on at the MTC right now. By the end of this year, the number of Elders in the mission field will have doubled, and the number of Sisters will have tripled or quadrupled. Many, many missionaries are on the way. He then told us that we need to be ready to train all these new missionaries. "You need to grow up... quick!!!" We are in the midst of amazing times, and we need to rise up to the occasion and take up the mantle of responsibility that has been placed upon us. How wonderful it is to be alive at this time! We are blessed beyond measure to witness these miracles!

This week is POWER WEEK!!! The most intense week of the year. Every day we have goals we strive to hit, and the goals are pretty lofty. It really rips us out of our comfort zones. Yesterday each companionship was to give out 15 Books of Mormon, as well as swap contact information and set up a time to call them and see how their reading is going. At first, I was dreading this week, but now that I'm experiencing it, it's tremendously fun. There are miracles everywhere! Families, often so unreceptive, were accepting our invitations and setting up times to meet! Elder Dailey gave a Book of Mormon that lives in Mainland China, in an area that Sister Busath used to live. I asked a random guy to pull over, and he did! And he was totally prepared to hear our message. So far every night we've called President Bishop and had the joy of saying, "President Bishop, this is Elder Dailey and Elder Jorgensen. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

This Saturday is a half hour of Dan Jones, classic soap-box preaching. WOOHOO!

I love all of you, and I know God does to. Keep being faithful and you will see God's hand in your life. Be strong!

"Jesus got your back." -Elder Chia

Love,

-Elder Jorgensen

“Oh noes! My desk is out of control again! Aaah!”

“Eeew, soggy cut-up finger... It's looking a lot better now, that's for sure.” *Mom is sparing you the close up. :)

11 February 2013

As you all know, I've been struggling a bit with my duties as a missionary, particularly in the confidence department. Last week, I had the tremendous privilege to sit down in an interview with my mission president, and I mulled over the problem with him. He emphasized to me that there are two things that need to happen in order to get over my fears: One, I must forget myself, and Two, I must have faith that Christ can help me turn my weaknesses into strengths. He was also very understanding and empathetic, and shared experiences that he had on his own mission that were similar in nature. He is a terrific mission president, pretty much a father for me out here. At the end of the interview, I was walking out the door when he called me back and gave me a big hug, saying, "I just want you to know I'm impressed with you. I think you are an outstanding missionary." It was what I needed to hear, and some of the stress inside me just melted away. I am grateful for his charity and leadership.

So, this week is officially Chinese New Year!!! It started on Sunday, and Elder Dailey and I gave out tons of hongbao's, or red envelopes filled with chocolate coins, to church members. There were not many people at church though, so congregations were combined for this meeting. On New Year's Day, people typically leave town and go to their rural homes to visit their parents. As a result, downtown city areas (such as Lingya) really empty out. Luckily, we have this fabulous place right next to our apartment called the Cultural Center, which puts on tons of shows for New Year's, so there are plenty of families that come to see them. Of course, none of them are actually from our area, so we just refer them to the missionaries in their respective areas.

The best thing about New Year's is that everyone is incredibly friendly. Nobody on the road will ignore you when you try to talk to them, at least saying "hi" or something. If they aren't on a vehicle, they will even have a conversation with you. The one problem with all of this is that they assume we are here on vacation. This makes it incredibly difficult to bring conversation into gospel subjects. They mostly just have interest in what we think about Taiwan and how it compares to America.

So we have had to adjust our finding strategies. We are always looking for new investigators of our church, so if one method isn't working out, we just have to adapt. We decided to try our faith and try something that, from the outside, may seem just ridiculous. On Sunday morning, we wrote in our plan that we were going to have a random sit-down lesson with a guy named Yang at 4:30, at the Cultural Center. (There are about 100 different surnames in Chinese culture, and Yang is about in the middle in popularity.) So, at 4:00 we started riding around the Cultural Center, talking to people. Some people would talk to us, but they were a little brisk when they realized who we were and we didn't see too much success at all. At one point, Elder Dailey was taking down information from a family, and I was waiting for him about two yards away. Then, at almost 4:30 on the dot, this random guy walks up from behind me and asks in English, "Hey, where are you from? What's your name?" I respond, and then ask him, "What's your name?"

"Jackson."

I'm thinking in my head, Wait, is this the guy? So I say, "Sweet! What's your 'xing ming'?" ("xing ming" means "chinese surname".)

"Oh, wo xing Yang." ("Oh, my surname is Yang.")

I just kind of did a double-take. No way, is this happening?! I started talking with him, and I found out that he had already studied extensively on his own about our church, and that he believes in Christ. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he said he was willing to study it and pray about it, because he "really [wanted] to know if it is true." He sadly lives in Jiayi, so we'll never see him again, but it was a testimony to me that if we seek something out in faith, God will provide.

Another cool experience happened while we were tracting an alleyway. We learned this clever little trick (sometimes I feel bad doing it) where we ring all the doorbells at once in an apartment building. When they all answer over the loudspeaker, we say "Wo men dao le!" ("We're here!"), and usually somebody will unlock the door and let us in, therefore letting us knock on the doors instead of using the intercom. In this one particular instance, we rang all the doorbells, and instead of anybody answering through the intercom, we heard somebody shouting at the top of the building. We looked up to see some guy leaning out the window. When he saw we were Americans, he said in English, "Hey, who are you looking for?"

Elder Dailey replied, "You!"

Slight confusion crossed his face. "Do I know you?"

"Not yet!"

He thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Okay, give me a second, I'll be right down!" We had a wonderful conversation with him (in English!), and he expressed to us that he wanted to talk with us because he thought it must be "depressing to have so many people ignore [us]." He was super nice, and will probably be coming to English class soon.

So while some areas of my mission are hard right now, there are other parts that are very rewarding. I love the miracles I see every day. I am blessed to see the Lord supporting us and carrying the work forward. Honestly, God doesn't need me to do this. God, the all powerful being that He is, can do all of this better than any mere mortal can. But I am grateful that He is willing to allow me to be a part of His work. He truly wants us to learn and grow, and will give us opportunities to do so as long as we seek them out. I love being a missionary!

I love you all, and have a wonderful New Year!

-Elder Jorgensen

“Power cleaning time! Check out that kitchen! (I can't believe I'm releasing these pictures...)”

***I am only releasing the “after” photos—I don’t want to subject anyone to the “before” photos. Your welcome—David’s mom :)

They worked hard during power cleaning time—trust me. :)

“Oh boy, Power Week next week! Aaah!”

4 February 2013– Homework, Grammar, and fulness

 

Da gei he!

On Tuesday my companion and I were sitting outside a Family Mart fretting about our schedule that basically went up in flames. It was supposed to be a good day, full of appointments, but everything, I mean everything, fell through. While I was talking with him about it, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a gaggle of teen girls huddled at the nearby street intersection, toting a large red board of some sort. Every so often one or two of them would glance up at us, and then turn back to looking at this board. I paid little heed to this; being American foreigners, the majority of Taiwanese stare at us like some museum exhibit. But when they started walking directly toward us, holding this board that I realized to be a giant red heart, I began to feel a little concerned. I braced myself for impact... impact with what, I had no idea, but I was sure it was going to be bad. The girls gathered around our table, six in all, one holding a video camera. Then the one holding the board said: "We are looking for a foreigner, and if you answer all of our questions, you get a prize." We then looked at the heart and saw that there were questions written across it, and as we read them, the worry just fled away. "Where are you from?" "What's your favorite food in Taiwan?" etc. Phew. Just some high school'ers doing their homework. And their gift was vanilla egg pudding, so good. We didn't think our week could get any better.

And then that evening Sister Busath randomly calls me and says, "I didn't know you are Elder Burdick's cousin!!!" Elder Burdick is currently serving in New Zealand, Mandarin speaking, and apparently he and Sister Busath were in the MTC together. But wait, there's more! Elder Burdick was MTC companions with Elder Terry, who was my Dan Jones companion when I first came to Taiwan. So between Elder Burdick and Elder Jackson, I'm connected with practically everyone here in the Taiwan mission.

On Wednesday, I did some training for the missionaries in my district about teaching grammar principles in English class. I was showing them a method that would help the class take the grammar pattern and draw on previous English knowledge to expand their understanding of the grammar. At the end, I asked them if they had any questions for me, or anything else they'd like training on for the next week, and Sister Busath said, "Elder Jorgensen, I'm impressed. I think we need you to teach us English grammar, because it's obvious you get it, and we don't understand it at all." Everybody laughed really hard, and nodded vigorously in agreement. I guess I'm just teaching English now! Kudos to my English teacher, Mrs. Browning, for helping me understand and retain all this stuff. You rock.

But the best day was Friday. We had English Training, a special meeting that was put together because our mission just changed all the English curriculum and advertising materials. At one point, they told us that they were no longer going to have young, inexperienced missionaries be English Leaders anymore. I automatically assumed that this would be my last movecall as English Leader, and joked that Sister Busath would become English Leader again (she was English Leader for five movecalls in a row, and she hated it!). To my surprise, my Zone Leader who overheard the joke told me that the new English Leaders were already picked and that they were the people who are Leaders right now. I was shocked, but pleasantly so. I'm one of the youngest in the District, but my mission leaders trusting me with the work. I hope I can live up to their expectations, and the expectations of those in my District as well.

I hope all is well for all of you. Enjoy the cold weather you still have, while you can. (Winter lasted for only two weeks here. I'm already back to dripping with sweat 24/7.)

Love,

-Elder Jorgensen

“Chi dao bao.” Literally translated: “Eat until you have obtained fulness.”

 

I decided to immerses myself in Taiwanese culture and buy some cheap, thick framed black glasses.  Elder Dailey did the same.

 

Elder Dailey

Elder Gummow, the most chilax (chill/relax) man on the planet, with cocoa powder in his face.

28 January 2013

And so begins my fourth move call! And I am very happy to say that I am not leaving Lingya! Yeah!!!

Two interesting foods this week. I tried true sushi for the first time, and it actually wasn't half bad. Now I know what my sister Freja was raving about. The other food is the McPoorMan’s burger. The two cheapest burgers on the McDonald's menu are the Double Cheeseburger and the Chicken burger. You buy one of each (cheaper in total than a BigMac), and stick the chicken burger in between the two meat patties of the Cheeseburger. So good. And it fills you up. Mom's gonna have my neck for this.

As English leader, I have to work with my district in figuring out how to expand our English education program. At the beginning of the last move call, I had set some pretty lofty goals for the English program in our area, including 50% attendance boost and two new investigators from English per companionship (six total). We really threw in a lot of effort this move call, doing combined, heavily planned spiritual shares at the end of class, and renovating our flyers and advertising. Our attendance didn't ever dramatically grow, but last week was met with huge success. We had nine new people come to class: half came because of flyers, while the other half came from friends of students who were currently attending. And we picked up five new investigators. It was really invigorating to see new student after new student walk in through the door. Woohoo!

Elder Lathen, who came on island with me, stayed with us for a few days. We had a funny experience where he was riding our extra junk bike, and while we were riding down a back-road he somehow wrecked and was lying sprawled in the street. There was a man getting into his car at the time right next to Elder Lathen, and he came walking over to him as if to help. But all he did was pick up the bike and move it so he could back up his car out of his driveway. We can't stop laughing about it.

I was really touched last night at Family Home Evening, when Sister Wu who was teaching the lesson asked who in our lives we needed to share the gospel with and how we would do it. Amy, Sister Zhang's daughter, shared about how she wanted to share the gospel with her older brother. I looked over to Sister Zhang and I saw that she was staring intently at her daughter with a huge smile and tears running down her face. It was clear to me that they truly love their family. It reminded me of my own family, and how my mother must feel about me and my siblings. I hope I can grow that kind of love for everyone I meet in my life.

I feel like half of a mission is introspecting and analyzing what is lacking, and needs to improve. For a long time now, I've been very apprehensive toward talking to people on the street. Quite often I'll be waiting at a stoplight, and a guy might be there right next to me, and I don't say anything. I'll start having this inner conflict that seems to consume my whole body, trying to get myself to speak but meanwhile having the desire to just hang back and stay in my own personal bubble.

One night I was talking with Elder Dailey about this and it suddenly all just sort of clicked in my mind. I fear contacting because I fear rejection. I fear rejection because, in my thought process, rejection means I'm inadequate, which in turn means I don't understand myself. For example, my early days in middle school and beginning of high school were hard for me. I had a few friends, but I definitely wasn't popular, and I felt terribly insecure. I remember one instance when a total stranger made fun of me for tucking in my button-up shirt, and I've never tucked them in ever since. I was ruled by the longing to fit in, but what I didn't realize until later in high school is that to "fit in" means to "stand out". It was when I figured out how to be myself that I made many friends. It was then that I rarely, if ever, faced rejection and criticism from peers. To me, having friends and being, well, popular, were signs that I understood who I was.

And now I face rejection on a day-to-day basis. Subconsciously, this rejection indicates that I am not being myself. This in turn means that I don't truly understand who I am. Not wanting to face this thought, I shut down all motivation and resist any situation that risks open rejection.

Now there are many that would say, "No, they're not rejecting Elder Jorgensen! They're rejecting Christ!" But what if they are only rejecting this message because the bearer of it is not being genuine? This would mean that the fault lies with me, not the recipient.

Clearly, something has to be done. Whether it's a change of thought process, or just a go-and-do-it attitude, I have to do whatever it takes to get over this fear. I take comfort in the fact that through Christ my weaknesses can be turned into my greatest strengths. This fear is definitely a great trial of my faith. I do not know exactly what I must do to overcome this challenge, but I do know that God will help me through it, and help me learn and grow in the process.

Thank you for your prayers and support. I hope all is well, and I look forward to writing you again next week!

Love,

-Elder Jorgensen

P.S. Thank Grandma Connie for me for the new pajamas. Much needed, and very comfortable! :D Thank you Grandma, I love you!!!!

“Me, taken by Elder Morgan Chen (professional photographer, currently being trained by Elder Chia, and currently has photos being sold for $10,000). He never ceases to amaze me.”

“Our trip to the Dream Mall . . . “

“The Dream Mall from outside.”

“Elder Dailey and I at the Dream Mall Ferris Wheel.”

“Roxanne in the Ferris Wheel.”

“My English student, Sam Yang.”

“Taking a stroll in the Mall.”

“Sam (right), his girlfriend (middle), and my other English student, Roxanne Huang.”

“Elder Chia.”

“Rich lifted up his sweater and asked, ‘I just bought this shirt, what does it mean?’”

“Downtown Kaoshuing (There's the 85!).”

“Mmmm, Peanut Butter.”

“Me.”

“Elder Dailey on the phone.”

“Termites in our apartment.”

“Elder Lathen.”

“The best Spring Rolls ever.”

21 January 2013

I've been having a hard time lately. A missionary's success is measured by their commitment to baptizing people and helping them receive the blessings that come from activity in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I personally want this. But the problem arises with something our mission president has said many, many times: "Every companionship is committed to, and will, baptize every month." I believe he is inspired in this statement, which would mean that every companionship truly can baptize every month. And I have not been doing so.

This, of course, leads me to question myself. Why am I not baptizing? Am I doing something wrong? Why am I not having the promised success President Bishop told us about? Sometimes I try to comfort myself by saying that the Lord has His timetable, and perhaps not having baptisms now is just His will, and I must comply with it. But then again, we have received a very direct promise from our mission president. So it really should be happening if I am doing my best.

Elder Dailey and I talked about this, and we both resolved that we would baptize this month. We've been having one investigator, Brother Chen, who has gotten close but has struggled with gaining a spiritual confirmation that what we have taught him is true. It looked really shaky . . . we had a lot of doubts as to whether he would be able to be baptized in January or not. But we decided to have faith and pray that he could be baptized by the end of the month.

Then we had Zone Conference on Thursday. President Bishop opened up the meeting, saying, "I have a friend that conducts temple marriages, and he is also a professor of education. He says that the one time that people are the most humble, receptive, and ready to learn is when they are at the alter getting married. The only other time that comes close to it is Zone Conference." And it truly was a spiritual feast.

A big change has just been initiated in the mission, and that is the elimination of mission standards. Mission standards are not exactly like quotas (we won't be fired or kicked out if we don't reach them), but they are goals we are expected to reach. For example, we were expected to be getting 30 lessons a week. Now, the numbers are gone, replaced instead with a very vague goal: "Every companionship baptizes, rescues, and retains every month." The focus has now changed to not just going on a mission, but rather, becoming a missionary.

During the meeting, much emphasis was placed on desire. Desire is the main motivator of all missionary work. Do you desire baptisms? Then you are going to do everything you can to get them. How strong is your desire? Do you need to grow it some more? Do you have some unrighteous desires you need to get rid of?

They also talked about expecting miracles. We are promised God's help as long as we exercise faith in Him and do all that we can on our own.

Elder Dailey and I realized that the Lord was not included enough in our day-to-day activities. So we decided to change that. That night, we stopped our bikes to tract a little alley on ZhongXiao road. Before we began, we said a prayer, asking that Heavenly Father could grant us a miracle, that we could find a prepared family that would let us come in and teach them about the gospel. We knocked on many doors. Every person that came to the door rejected us. Just... nobody. It was almost a little, no, very frustrating. But we asked God to give us a miracle, so we were going to expect it. So we pressed forward. After 30 minutes of closed doors in our faces, our faith was rewarded. We knocked on a door, and an older lady answered. She exclaimed, "Hey, you're missionaries! I've seen you biking around before! Come inside and tell us about your church!" We found ourselves teaching a beautiful family of an older couple with their daughter and husband who were expecting a baby. All of them were super friendly, and they were asking us how to pray and excitedly trying to pray themselves. They asked us to come back another day and teach them more. It is clear to me now, more than ever, that the Lord truly is in charge. As long as we use our faith, He will grant us blessings.

And then there is more. We had a lesson with Brother Chen on Wednesday, and the ward bishop sat in with us. The bishop decided that even though he did not have an answer yet, we could baptize him the next week. On Saturday, we called him and asked him if he would be willing to be baptized the following week, and he agreed. He told us though that he really wanted an answer first. So, we decided to fast (forego two meals) on Sunday for Brother Chen to receive an answer about the church.

Sunday morning we went to church, and Brother Chen wasn't there. We tried calling him multiple times, from different phones, but he never picked up. It was nerve-wracking. What happened? Why wasn't he there? They announced his baptism in church, which felt weird because he wasn't there. But we kept fasting. That night there was a dinner and meeting for young single adults, and we were in the area, so we stuck around for the free dinner. And then the miracle occurred: Brother Chen was there! Apparently Rich had called him at some point during the day, and he had seen that Rich had called, so he called Rich back, and Rich then told him about the activity. And the meeting was fantastic: the theme was "Finding Answers to Life Questions through the Scriptures". Exactly what he needed. Miracles happen, I can attest to it.

I have grown so much since I've left. It's weird to think I've already been gone over 6 months. A fourth of my mission has just blown by. And yet I've still got three-quarters to go. Imagine how much I have yet to learn! I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord. I know that I am in the right place, doing the right thing. I know this is the Lord's church, and that only through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can man find true peace in this life and a fullness of joy in the life to come.

Your brother in Taiwan,

-Elder Jorgensen

“Elder Dailey biking around the Cultural Center. (I apologize for the pin-hole effect...)”

“Me and Elder Dailey!”

“There are tons of 7 Elevens in Taiwan.”

14 January 2013

I started off this week charged up with the fresh energy that a familiar culture brings, obtained via Costco goods. I bought my fair share of overly large muffins and *real* milk (you know, straight from the cow kind), along with a jumbo sized box of Raisin Bran and Oreos. As it turned out, I was going to need all the energy I could get. The following week turned out to be a near fiasco.

The tough stuff started out when Elder Haag, assistant to President Bishop, stayed with us for a day to evaluate how we were doing as a companionship. We were talking about how the area was doing, and how we felt about the work, when I expressed an observation I had made about street contacting: "It seems that people have been ignoring us a lot more the last few weeks." 

He asked, "Have the people changed?"

"No."

"Then that says to me that you've just lost faith in the area."

I was a little stunned by this statement. Did he just tell me I didn't have faith? People have told me that's one of my strengths, and here he is tearing that down with almost no emotion in those words. I wanted to be angry. But instead I just sort of panicked. I started to doubt myself... What if I really was lacking in faith? But no, it can't be that I don't have faith in the area, right now we have several investigators looking good for baptism. No, perhaps it's just faith in myself as a missionary. I often doubt in my abilities, thinking I'm not adept for this work.

I expressed these thoughts to my companion, and he told me that it seemed to him that I was putting my faith in the wrong place. I should have faith in Christ,that He can make up for my weaknesses. Only when we have faith in Him can He help us.

I figured one way to grow faith in Christ is to see the blessings that He has given me, more specifically how He's worked through me to bless the lives of others. One way this can be measured is by the amount of love I have for others. So, I prayed for charity, which is the pure love of Christ. I started to pray for that every day, hoping that if I can see the love growing within myself; it would grow my faith as well.

Something that everyone knows is that if you pray for patience, you will be given very stressful experiences. It's just the way God works. He will give you trials that target the weakness you have. This time was no exception.

There is a man we know that is extremely physically handicapped. He suffered polio when he was young, and somehow this left him with almost no muscle control in his entire body. We often go to visit him and his 12-year-old son, often to clean the house for him or change his clothes and take him to church.

On this particular week there was going to be a party on Saturday night, and he was invited to come. The ward had planned on a certain member to give him a ride there, but the member couldn't do it, and the member somehow, on Friday night, placed us with the responsibility to find a ride for him. We struggled to find members to help him, but we had two major problems: There was a church activity all day in Taipei, so everyone was out of town and wouldn't answer their phones, and very few people in Taiwan actually have cars. What was especially frustrating was that we were on exchanges when we got this assignment: my companion was in Zouying at the time, so I was the only one who had enough knowledge of the ward to make the calls.

I finally called him Saturday morning and told the man, we'll call him Li, that I hadn't found a ride for him. He told me that I must find a ride for him, that he must go to the activity, and that I must go at 2:00 to visit him because he must get a haircut so that he can look good at the party. The latter part was not in the plans, so I was just flabbergasted. I had no idea what I was going to do, because absolutely everybody was gone and nobody would be able to give him a ride to the barbershop. All I could do was tell him I would do my best and drop by at 2:00.

Of course we found no one to give him a ride, so my stomach was all clenched up in a knot when we went to visit him. Li at first was stressed out, and told me to call some members right then. This didn't do anything, everyone was gone. I decided then to call our bishop and tell him the situation; miraculously he picked up. Thank goodness our bishop speaks English, or I would have never understood his instructions: have him take a taxi, and when he pays the driver have him get a receipt, and he can get reimbursed by the church. But Li didn't have much cash, so we still had to borrow money to pay for the taxi. Missionaries are strictly not allowed to lend people money, even if they are going to get reimbursed. I asked Li how far away the barbershop was, and he said it was very close, so I decided that we could walk him there. I asked him if he had any cash, and he pulled out of his bag 150 kuai, enough for a simple haircut, not enough for a taxi later that evening. I figured we'd worry about the haircut first. I had to go pick up my companion at that time, so I said I'd come back at 4:00.

When Elder Dailey and I came back, we spent the first hour talking about the taxi situation, and trying to convince him that missionaries really weren't allowed to lend him any money. We spent the next hour lifting him off his bed onto his wheelchair and back again multiple times until his seat was perfect. It was ridiculously stressful; everything had to be executed perfectly or else he'd tell us to take him back to where he was and restart the process. He asked his son to wheel him out of the room, and I guess he wasn't satisfied with the exit technique, because he grabbed the wheel and told him to take him back inside and wait for a minute. This happened probably about 100 times, no exaggeration on my part. The son, needless to say, was getting angrier and angrier, eventually flinging his dad against the bed every time he said to "go back". Elder Dailey and I were exasperated and fuming. This felt like an immense waste of time. It may have been a service, but this was just ridiculous. Finally, Li was okay with the exit procedure, and after a few back-and-forths, became content to get into the elevator.

The barbershop was only a block away, and after waiting for about 20 minutes he finally started getting his hair cut. During that time, Elder Dailey and I were making calls and studying language, anxious to make up for lost time. This was bad though, because we weren't paying attention to Li, who was requesting additional services and racking up a bill. So imagine our surprise when the bill was 250 kuai, which meant we would have to break rules and lend him money anyway.

No members were picking up the phone except for one, who told us the activity was a 10 minute walk away, so we decided to walk him. He wanted the wheelchair pulled instead of pushed so that he was facing backward, so Elder Dailey and I each took a handle and dragged him along the busy streets. Every so often he would grab the wheel and tell us to go back and wait for a minute, and I quickly found I needed a way to control my frustration. I looked at his young son and suddenly the answer came. At some point Elder Dailey was telling me how stressed he was about the whole situation, and I just told him, "Pretend this man is your father."

That young boy is an amazing example of charity. The reason I say this is that he has to go to school, buy groceries, take care of the home, and take care of his father every single day. He sacrifices time with friends and a lot of basic needs to help his dad. He gets frustrated sometimes, but I don't hold that against him, because he still stays and takes up that responsibility anyway. The only motivation I can think of that would make him keep coming back is love.

I got a wonderful letter from my friend Kelly on Friday, and I want to share a portion that helped me understand what charity is all about:

"I believe every single thing that you do each day should be propelled by love. Love for cleanliness, food, safety, punctuality, whatever. To me, love is the most powerful thing in the universe. It makes life here (spiritually and physically) possible; it makes the atonement [of Jesus Christ] possible. ... If we are to become like Christ, and Christ is charity, than we must be charity. Charity lasts forever. It is the only thing that doesn't fail. Christ lasts forever. So it stands to reason that in order to live forever, we must become the only thing that can endure forever: love!"

While this experience may have been insane, I want to tell you that I grew to love that man more than I did before. I understood that love is what makes the trials in life worth enduring. What started out as something negative became something positive. I understand a little better now how God must feel when we try his patience and continually make mistakes, and yet He loves us through all that. "His hand is stretched out still." Love is what makes repentance possible. Love is what makes life possible. Love is what made Christ willing to sacrifice His own life to redeem all of mankind from physical and spiritual death. Love is what made it possible for Him to live again. Love is why we will rise from the grave as well. Love is what gives our life purpose, direction, and happiness. Love is everything!

I am so grateful for the many friends that I've had in my life, and the love they had for me. I am especially grateful for my family, who still loved me even though I was not always an angel at home. I hope I can learn from these examples and love the people of Taiwan just as much as all of you have loved me.

You make my life worth it!

Until next week, love,

-Elder Jorgensen

“Oh, beautiful Costco.”

“Rich and Elder Chia waiting for some Costco pizza! Seafood flavor, I don't think so!”

“Uh oh, that lady doesn't look to happy to see cameras in the food court.”

“Sister Zheng helping us interpret our Chinese receipts.”

“’Focus on the good.’ –Kelly”

“My glorious bounty of Oreo's. I used most of them for an English activity, mimicking the vision of the Tree of Life.”

“Lots of cool architecture in Gaoxiong.”

“Mmm, chicken head.”

“Sister Zheng babysits this adorable kid. Reminds me of Inge.”