Dearest family,
Sorry that I didn't write you all early this week. But we have been so so so very busy this whole week helping out the president so we had to move our preparation day to now, being Saturday. It has been a crazy transfer so far, I'm so tired and loving it. Like I've said before I just don't understand how my body can still move and get things done, I feel like my body should break down and stop anytime, but it just doesn't. I know the Lord is behind me helping me accomplish what He has called me to do. We've spent the last two weeks traveling the island to the most eastern parts of the mission to the most western parts of the mission. It's been really fun to be involved in interviews, because we get to know personally all of the missionaries and better understand their needs and how we can help them! But this week moving our preparation day to Saturday was hard. Because we have so many meetings, interviews, trainings, we haven't been able to stop for any second of any day. It's been peddle to the metal for 2 weeks straight, and not having that mid week Monday preparation day brake was a tough one. It was just driving myself into the ground, going home sleeping for all the time I could get, waking up praying for the strength to continue forward and driving myself into the ground again all day. It's been such an amazing learning experience. If I didn't learn how to stick to anything before my mission, I sure am learning that right now. Also all the little details that need to get taken care of, just all the things that need to be set up, things printed off for the missionaries, and things ready down to the littlest thing(turn air conditioning on before meeting starts) all needs to be perfect for the meeting to go accordingly. It's been somewhat stressful in some cases, but I love working under pressure, and counting on the Lord while doing so. I've literally never had so much fun. As I look at the transfer the schedule just keeps getting more and more busy, so I'm just preparing for the best. Especially this weekend, we have Elder Bednar coming to visit a stake in this mission, and Elder Jensen coming to visit our mission. We are in charge of transportation; we have been meeting with President Grimley a lot and getting all things straightened out. So we are going to execute it accordingly. I'm excited, I've been driving quite a bit, which is really different and weird in Taipei. There is a whole new meaning to drivers safety and your blindside. Because here in the city there are a million scooters that just zoom by you and don't really worry about things around them. So if you want to make a turn or anything, if you don't see a scooter on you right side or left side and turn into him/her then that is not a very fun situation. It is really dangerous. But it's so much fun. The craziest is as your driving down a one way road there are parked cars on the right side a wall of a building on the left. You be driving straight down this alley in your lane and there will be scooters passing by you in the narrowest of margins. If you scoot your car by inches then you will hit the car or scooter or wall. So you have to really pay attention and make sure you are driving straight. I have a story about driving. On last Thursday we were taking an elder to the train station to go home (he got called into the Taiwanese army, so he had to leave a transfer early) and the president asked if we could do so. I said yeah no problem; he asked me if I knew how to get there. I told him yes because it was in my last area. Well the train station is only about an 10 minute bike ride, let alone driving a car. Well 40 minutes later we still haven't arrived, and now being later in the day we only had 10 minutes before his train home left and he couldn't miss it. Well during all of this a crucial decision was made quickly by the driver (me) that could have stopped him from making it there and which in the long run got him there right in the neck of time. We took the wrong turn, so it led us into the inner city where the roads are crazy. I was driving straight and crossed the intersection thinking I was going toward the train station. As I focused in I found out something was very wrong. There was a bus and 2 other cars coming straight for me. I was so confused and caught up in the moment. Then I panicked, I looked at the road and soon to find out, that the 2 way road I was originally driving on all of a sudden switched to a one way road, going the other direction. Right in the nick of time, I flipped the car around and made the turn into the other road. It was so intense, then we made it to the train station. But we were on the other side of the road which you can’t pull a U-turn on. Well we were out of time, so we quickly pulled over to the side of the road, and said "well Elder Chen, We love you, but..........YOU GOTTA RUN, go go go!" ha ha, he got out of the car and sprinted over the walking over pass and into the train station. with minutes to spare we were praying we wouldn't get the missed the train phone call! Well the phone call didn't come, and we safely but slowly made it back to the mission home, parked the car and gasped with happiness and joy that we had finally made it. what a ride, and what an experience! I'll tell you what if driving in Taiwan is a lot more dangerous then riding a bike or maybe I'm just used to riding a bike. But wowzer, it's quit the drive!
I want to share another experience that happened the other day at the train station as we headed down to Xin Zhu for the specialized training meeting. Once again running out of time we took a taxi to the train station. We looked at our ticket and ran down to the ticket booth, directed to a train platform we hurriedly walked down the stairs to the platform in anticipation for the train to come. Each plat form has two sides. I was standing on the left side thinking that was our train. While doing so there was a train being boarded on the right side. I was standing there and a mom with a little boy in her arms passed by my face. I stopped her and told her that I have a message she needs to listen to about families. She said OK, which made me really excited. I started, then she stopped me, But I need to get on my train. My heart stopped and I was like oh man, well can you at least read this tract that I give you about families, she said yes. She boarded the train, I looked at my ticket, and asked the person next to me which train that this was. He pointed to the train behind us that was being boarded. My companion was in the middle of a contact, but knowing that the train would be leaving soon, I quickly yelled for him to get on the train, we grabbed our stuff and safely made it just in time before the train was ready to head off. As we walked to our seats, I heard somewhat of a scuffle up ahead. There was the mom sitting in her chair with her son in her arms and another lady standing in the isle talking to her. They were both in the process of looking at their tickets. The lady in the isle said "My tickets says this is my seat, and I just barely bought this ticket" then the mom said "really that's weird I bought mine a couple of days ago and its the same seat". The mom then looked down at her ticket and with a change of expression on her face, looked up and said oh man this tickets is for a different day. I bought the wrong ticket. She got up to move. (and on trains if you don't have a seat reserved you have to stand in the isle for the ride we were going to Xin Zhu which was a hour and half ride) As the mom got up I passed by the isle, instantly without hesitation or thought I took my ticket and handed it to the mom, saying "here you can take my seat" She was a little hesitant about it, but after I pretty much begged her she finally was willing to take the ticket and sat down in my seat. I walked to the back of that specific booth and stood, where I expected to spend the hour and a half ride down to Xin Zhu, but knowing that the mom who need my seat more than me would have a better ride, which was a good feeling to me. My companion (not knowing I had already given her a tract earlier) walked by her, and she looked at him and said "OK you can start" He was astonished and shocked "start what"? She said, "You can share the gospel with me, I have an interest in your church" He was dumbfounded, and then the mom kept asking my companion about me, so finally my companion just looked toward the back at me and said Elder Rasmussen, Come here! so I walked toward her and squatted down in the isle and started being asked questions after questions about our church, and what would happen with her and Buddhism if she was baptized. After a good talk, the seat next to her got off the train so she invited me to sit next to her, I was more than willing..............Let me take a funny detour here for a second. As I was talking with her I learned a brand new word that I thought I would never learn on my mission. We were talking and her kid, who loved me and I loved him, we spent the first 10 minutes just smiling at each other as he help onto my finger. I just love kids. But anyway the little boy started getting a little rowdy and wouldn't really settle down. So the mom just looked at me and said is it OK ..............? I just looked at her and said OK (I didn't understand the one word she used because I've never had any reason to study it........the word is WeiNai). I said yes, then as I watched her actions It clicked at I knew what the word meant. She just whipped out natural feeding for babies, and stated breast feeding her kid. I was just like well OK then, so I just acted like she did, like nothing was going on. I just continued to talk to her, and she was amazing. She was a prepared soul. I invited her to be baptized and she said yes. I set a date with her, and she was very willing to work toward this date to be baptized into the true church of God. It was a very very spiritual experience. (all while she was breastfeeding) ha ha the things that you see on your mission. (my favorite though is you'll be driving down the road and you'll see a mom holding up her 3 or 4 year old kid with no clothes on over the side of the road grate, pooping into it. It is a funny site I will never ever forget. It was just in the middle of traffic, oh was that funny. Or when the mom just tells the boy to pee in the plant in the middle of the park, the kid just whips down his clothes and goes to work. ha ha it's great. I love Taiwan.) But yeah it was an amazing lesson to me that people are more willing to listen if you first serve them and help them feel of your love for them. In PMG there is a section in chapter 9 called going about doing good. That is what we did this day, and it payed off with a very prepared soul waiting for the gospel.
I was on exchanges in Xin Zhu with the zone leaders and we had a very special experience. I was with one of the Elders, we had a lesson set up and they have been meeting with this man for many months and he is just not willing to be baptized. He is a Filipino, and he is catholic. The zone leaders couldn't figure out why he would get baptized. So we met with him and just asked a few questions and listened, waited for the spirit to tell us how to respond. How we could help this man come unto Christ. He says he believes Joseph Smith and all but just not willing to be baptized. We just asked a few more questions and used scriptures to teach him truth. The spirit was so penetrating and so strong that something happened next that awed me. It took him a minute to say it, and he held himself back for a few minutes, just like he has done for 24 years. He's had a secret and something he's been fighting for 24 years, no not even his parents know about it, no one does. He is gay. He told us, and this was the first time he's ever ever come out. After 24 years, he came out in a room with two 20 years old men. It was amazing, but the most amazing part about it is, he knows it’s not right, and has never acted upon that feeling. I was full of gratitude when he said that. He said he really wants to act upon it, but knows it's against God so he never has. But then he said that He was nervous to be baptized because he was scared if he was baptized, and got married like he wants to do and have kids that later down the road he would come out and start not loving his family. We read some scriptures and promised his that if he was baptized this feeling of gayness would be relieved and he would be able to love a woman, get married, and have kids. He was still a little apprehensive, but felt the spirit, knew he needed to be baptized, and was once again willing to work toward it. What an amazing experience, the spirit allowed a Son of God to come get help. I just love helping people through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's so much fun to see people change. You just see them living in a wreck. Like his man said, I can be happy. I just looked at him and told Him you are not happy. You have been fighting something this for 24 years and I know you don't want to do it. You aren't happy, he just looked at me and said yeah I know. We told him that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ he could completely overcome this and he wouldn't be bothered by it anymore! I'm truly grateful for the promises we can give because of the reality of the Atonement of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We just carry a message that can be promised and upheld to anyone. I love this so much.
Things are just going so good. I just love this all so much. It's getting harder and harder, but better and better as time goes on. I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and how it has shaped and changed my life. I'm also so grateful for the opportunity I have to testify of all these things on an everyday basis. Its sad that most of my time know is in training and helping the mission, so I don't get a ton of time to just do missionary work. But it is nice knowing that the preparation and training is helping other missionaries be effective tools and instruments in the hands of the Lord. I love this gospel. I know it's true. It is my life, I will continue to live it and magnify every calling I receive the rest of my life. I'm so grateful for all I've received and the opportunity I have to serve the Lord.
Thank you all so much for your love and support. I love you all oh so very much. You are all so amazing, and I'm not being trunky by saying this. But I can't wait to see you all!!
Love,
Elder Rasmussen
PS: MOM I'M SICK TO A LITTLE, BUT GET YOURSELF BETTER BECAUSE THE LORD NEEDS YOU! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM, YOU ARE THE BOMB!!! same as all the rest of you too!!
