I'm Moving Back to Song Shan!!

Hey guys how are you all doing?

Yeah so Rob is training and He is district leader now, it was way cool to see him a bunch over the weekend. He is going to do a great job I’m really excited for him and this opportunity he has to help a new missionary get into the groove and to help a district out!! I love him so much.

So this week was crazy, mainly because of transfers...You'll never guess where I got called too...........

Song Shan!!!!

Yup, that's right I’m back in Song Shan. I’m so excited, I totally didn't believe the assistants when they called me and told me I’m going senior companion at Song Shan.. I was surprised, I didn't think there would be any possible way to do that...I’m so excited to work here again. We are white washing, or starting up The Nan Gan Area again. Our district is sweet too, it's going to be so much fun serving in this ward again. Wu Guan Chen called we with his mom and Sister Liang, they said we heard your coming back to Song Shan. I told them that I was, they were so excited that I could come back to this ward. I’m really so excited it's not even funny. Also my companion Elder Van Wagoner sounds really sweet. I’m way stoked to work with him, I don't know why right now but I’ve have the feeling of the fire that I had when I was in Song Shan before. I’m so excited to work with him and I know we are going to have crazy success, because we both like to contact, serve the Lord, and want to help these people come unto him. This is going to be a way fun transfer I’m stoked. It was so good to ride into Song Shan again, I mean it's only been 3 months since I left but it's felt like forever. It was just like returning home I loved it. A sweet part in my heart that was locked up came out and the love for the ward, area, and members came right back. Tonight we are going to eat with sister Liang and Sister Pan at Wu Guan Chen mom's noodle shop. I think that is one of the main reasons I got called back here to Song Shan to help his mom get baptized. But yeah I’m really excited to work in this area again...I know the Lord will allow us to be tools in his hands.....Also I’M IN THE CITY :D (Xin Zhu was fun but it is much different than the city) I love the city, there are Sooooooo many people to talk to and contact.

So that is the biggest update on the week, but some other great things happened...

All the new missionaries came in on Wed, and because my companion is training and Elder Park his trainee had already arrived they wanted in Taipei so Elder Park could be with all the new missionaries. So we took a train to the city and stayed there at the temple annex for 2 days. it was great, I love the block that the chapel and temple sits on, it really does have a different feeling than any other place in the city. It's protecting and covered by a bubble of righteousness from God, Really it has that kind of feeling. But the best part about it was I got to go out with one of the new missionaries and babysit him for the night. It was great, first of all it was the first night of contacting I’ve had in the city for a long time, then also the new missionary was with me. It was like a perfect situation. He was so nervous, he was sweating so bad it was pretty funny. It was so cute though, His Chinese is awful but he was trying so hard. I know the Lord will bless him for that effort that he put forth. I mean he was talking to everyone with me it was great. We saw huge miracles. There was a family of 4 sitting on the temple ground so I went and talked to them. The Husband was like you guys have a basketball court in there. I was like yeah, do you like basketball He was like I love basketball. I was like well have you guys ever been to church they said no. I looked around and Sister Carroll and her "mom" were standing outside, so I was like hey those two sisters can give you guys a tour of it and you can go see, they said OK. So I ran over to Sister Carroll and they took them on a tour. When they were inside the temple tour sisters took over. After I talked to the temple tour sisters they said that the family was amazing, and set up for next week to learn about the church. That was awesome a beautiful family of 4. Then we were out on the street and a man and women with a 2 year old kid in a stroller were a ways away. but I felt like I needed to talk with them, so I ran to catch up, I was huffing and puffing a little when a arrived at their side (which they were a little weirded out by) But we started teaching them. They were actually from Australia, it was cool, we taught them in English. They were already Christian. I shared the apostasy and the new missionary Elder Card shared the restoration (in English, luckily) I asked them if Jesus Christ really restored his church, and you guys came to find out that it's true would you guys be baptized into his church. They said they would. So we set them up and the missionaries will start to help them develop faith and do what they need to do in order to know these things are true. That was another huge miracle that we saw. It was so much fun. Just some of the things that he would said were hilarious.

ex. You can communicate with God through prayer.
Tou guo Dao gao ni keyi gen shen gou tong. But he would say tou guo dao gao ni shen gou tong gen ta
Through Prayer you can with God Communicate. through prayer you god communicate with him

Just things like that, it was a great experience. He is going to be a great missionary. I was talking to a lot of people in English too, because here in Taipei a lot of people speak English. He was like freaking out, THEY SPEAK ENGLISH he said....haha I just started laughing. Then he was like you don't say Zi Jian (goodbye) I was like very little we just say bye- bye, just like in America, he was dumbfounded that you could do that in a country so far away, it was funny.

The next day when all the Trainees were meeting their trainers they were in meetings and stuff so us junior companions had the opportunity to go out and contact. It was great we went out for about 2 hours...It was so much fun, I love contacting in the city!! After we were done I had 20 people that were interested in the gospel, plus two families. It was a great thing to see the Lord's hands in the work. Also to know that without the Lord it is impossible to do these things. It's all through the Lord, and the second we think it's by our own power we will fail. Everything is through the Lord and his blessing regardless what part in life. I love my savior so much. I know he lives and guides this church.

So that was the best part of the week. Also we had a great time this weekend with the ward and getting ready to move. We also had a dying missionary our zone leader Elder Yeh who lives in Gao Xiong. It was full of members feeding us!! It was so good though. I really do love Xin Zhu, it has been a good experience for me and allowed me to grow in ways that I never thought were possible. I learned to love the people more, I learned to not worry about numbers but know that you are giving your all to the Lord, I also learned the most important thing I could have learned according to me. I learned to fear God not Man. Not to worry about what other people think about me. Because what other people think about me is a worldly thing, we need to fear God and do what God would want us to do. Once we start fearing man, we will lower our standards and won't reach the goals that we have or maybe have never set. But once we fear God, our standards will be that of what He personally has set for us, and our goals will be impossible according to man's thoughts but totally possible in the eyes of the Lord and those humans who are following Him and his teachings! Not worrying about what other think about me has changed my mission, but also has changed my life. I loved my companion Elder Choi from Korea, I learned so much from him. It was so great to feel his love and learn from him. My Chinese has improved a lot from him, he really helped me a lot. It was cool to help him learn English too, his English was getting really good. He is a stud, I love him.

I’m excited for this next chapter in my mission...Maybe there is some things that I didn't finish here that I need too. I don't know but I plan on sanctifying myself to the Lord, and trust that He will help me understand what my purpose of being here really is!

It's going to be interesting to white wash, starting with absolutely no new investigators..It's going to be crucial to trust in the Lord to bring us success. But I’m excited for this new opportunity My companion and I have of being in this promised Land.
IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT!!!

Something cool, Wu Guan Chen is going to Duan Chuan, which is for a week he goes with an elder and actually does all the missionary work. He cut his hair short and everything, he looks great. He is a stud, he is going to be a sweet missionary. He is doing a year of college, then Dang Bing (the military that must be done), then he will go on his mission. I love that kid. But we really want to help his mom get baptized, can you guys pray and pray and pray for her that she will be willing to accept the gospel. Lately she has been doing really good, she is reading and praying and doing the things needed to be baptized but just isn't quite there yet. I believe that she'll make it by the end of next month. I’m excited to start working with her.

It's going to be a great transfer, I’m really excited.

I love you guys so much. I know God lives. He lived and we really do communicate with him through prayer. I know this because I’ve talked with him many times. The Holy Ghost has made witness to me that He lives, and that His Son Jesus Christ is our savior and redeemer. His atonement is real, it changes lives, it's given me true happiness and peace in my life. I know that as we continue to do what the Lord has asked us to do we will know that we can return to live with him forever, just like Enos says in the closing verses of his life!!! I love this work, this church, and TAIWAN...

Thank you guys so much.

Love your son and brother

Elder Rasmussen