Taiwan May 27, 2014

Well hello all, 

     I'll get to my email subject in just a second ;) 

     So wait Sister Mangelson is off..... well I'll be praying for her!!!!! Good luck Whitney!!!!!!!! I hope you'll be able to come back someday :D And They're going to 上海!? For how long!? Wa! That's so crazy!!!!!! Maybe we will have to visit them when we get back haha ;) 

So....... Yes we eat lots of watermelon here, and there is a vendor down the street that sells coconut juice from the Coconut. Like she cracks it open in front of you to give it to you to drink haha, so that should be no worries ;) 

Well mom, good luck on the cooking!!!!!!! I know it will all go good, and I hope you wont be too 頭痛 Thinking about it haha ;) and I will definitely continue praying for Miriam. 

So, me and Elder Lindsey will be together another move call, and for that I am super grateful!!!! I'm excited to be with him again for 6 more weeks haha :D And..... this move call me and him are..... (wait for it).... Facebook Missionaries!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!! So that means from now on for the rest of my mission, I can use facebook! HOWEVER!!!! This does not mean I can chat with you on facebook, I am only to use it to do missionary things, like post photos of the people we're meeting with, message members and investigators, and stuff like that :D So If anyone from home messages me while I'm on, sorry, I can't answer, and It'll just be better to send me a email :D haha :D So ya, that was exciting :D 

So here in Heng Chun, I have learned Bo, Po, Mo, Fo and can type using it now. It may take me a little while, but I can do it haha :D I got my bike fixed, and it keeps breaking!!! so I've had to fix the tire, spokes, and replace the bike stand. Not super fun, but that's ok :D 

It's good to hear from you all :D and as such, you probably want to hear from me haha ;) that's fair..... I guess I can do that :D 

Monday: Elder Lindsey got wooden shoes from a member here for P-Day, and let me just say, they're really cool haha :D They're all wood, you can chose the bad thing you want, and then he uses this drill thing and engraves whatever you want on them :D It's so cool!!! Hey family, let me know if you want them, because I can get them here and send them home for you :D They're really cool haha :D 

tuesday: It was a rainy day, but that is ok! It did not damper our spirits! ..... even though all of our lessons stood us up. However, that's ok, because we had other lessons later :D 

Wednesday: We went to Man Zhou 滿州 and met with some people, came back, and had an amazing English class with our investigator family, the Liang Family!!!!! ah!!!! :D I Love them so much, and they're progressing pretty good :D 

Thursday: We did service at an old persons center and it was pretty fun :D They were all these like 80 of 90 year old grandma's who don't even speak mandarin Chinese, so we couldn't communicate with them haha ;) But we just smiled, sang, and taught some English and it was all fun :D 

Friday: We met with a new investigator Brother Zeng 曾佑聖 and he was awesome! He's actually already heard all the lessons and wanted to be baptized so bad, but couldn't because he was on parole for some things he did in TaiPei when he was younger. Everytime we call him he's like "I'm still repenting" but because of the change in him, his parole might be shortened to be done on June 25!! And the first thing he wants is to be baptized so he can go to the Celestial kingdom! It's super awesome haha :D 

Saturday: The Liang family took us out to a super expensive dinner!! It was way to nice and they're way too good to us haha! It's crazy! I was grateful for them, and now we're going to do something nice back for them :D 

Sunday: A crazy miracle sunday!!! We had 4 less actives come, and the Liang family!!!!!!! Those in total almost doubled the people we had at church haha! Super cool :D It was the Liang families first time at church, and it was amazing!!!!! They liked it, and liked singing and praying with others :D They have a hard time making new friends, so it's been kind of hard helping introduce them to ward members, so this was a huge leap forward!! It was super cool!! :D 

so yes, that was the week!!! pretty good, very fun, and lots of work! Me and Elder Lindsey are going into this next week full steam ahead, and hope to be able to do all that's required of us this next move call! Let us all press on!!! 

CTR, (義)

Elder Dawson (陶長老) 

English Party

  PDay On a Tank

Taiwan May 18 2014

Hello everyone!!!!

     It's been a great week hasn't it?? I love hearing about how all of you are doing, and hope you will enjoy hearing about my week haha :D 

So first of, Congratulations Karen!!!!!!!!!!!! You're Graduated!!!!!!!!! wa!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's so awesome!!!! I wish I could have been there to see haha, You're going to be the newest and best and most  厲害 Orthopedic Surgeon that the world has ever seen!!!!! I can't wait till I get back and can join you in the medical field :D Ghee :D 

So, I am doing good this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been an amazing move call with Elder Lindsey! He is by far my favorite companion so far haha :D There's a possibility he might move next Monday, so I'm kind of sad...... but that's ok, I'm sure my next companion will be good too...... just not as good as Elder Lindsey haha ;) 

This week, I decided to put my heart into learning Bo, Po, Mo, Fo witch is like the Chinese alphabet. It has 37 Characters, and it's actually pretty good!!! I can type using the keyboard now, and not a PinYin Translator, but it takes really really long.... yikes. haha, but I'm still going for it! yay!! It's been a good journey, and I think it'll help me a lot be able to text people and stuff here in Taiwan :D 

well this week was a crazy adventure!!!!!! Every day we wen't somewhere somewhat far, want to hear about it?? oh..... let me tell you ;) 

Monday: Got to see my parents!!!!! and family!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha, all that good fun, and then we went to an aquarium in our secondary area. It took us like 45 minutes to ride there, and it was really hot, but super worth it! The aquarium was beautiful and had air conditioning :D Ghee :D 

Tuesday: We went out to the coast line about 1 hour away to a vacation resort of YoHo to visit a former. It was really fun, and super cool!! Her name is 小玉, or small jade, and she's a super cool investigator! She likes to introduce us to her friends and talk about God, so it's going good :D 

Wednesday: We took our weekly trip up to Man Zhou (1 away.... over a mountain....) and met with our investigators Sister Yu and Brother Xiong (Xiong is bear.... so I guess he's Brother Bear hahahaha) and also ate some Man Tou. All of the investigators we're teaching are still in the beginning stages, and it's cool to be able to teach them all and see who has the willpower to go and try what we teach and see if it'll make a difference! I'm super excited to see where they go :D Oh, and my tire popped on the way home, so that was an adventure walking home haha :D 

Thursday: 聖牛!!!! Holly cow! It was a cool day :D So we broke the record today (the record that we set ourselves.... haha) and we went to our secondary area of Mu Dan in the middle of Aboriginal territory and talked to all of them :D It was super fun, and we found a bunch of people that we'll hopefully be able to meet with! Then we went to a place called 出火 Chu Huo with a less active and had a fireside talk with him ;) Chu Huo is a place where natural gas leaks out of the earth, and they can't harvest it.... so somebody lit it of fire, and it's been burning ever since haha :D 

Friday: Planning session, and then we actually stayed in Heng Chun the entire day haha :D We had a dinner with a less active, and me and him decided to do a competition on who could read the most of the book of Mormon by June 30th, and whoever loses takes the other out to dinner haha ;) I'm super excited! 

Saturday: Today we went to Da Guang and Bai Sha to visit some less actives and our investigator out there :D We ran into some Jehovah Witnesses on the way and they were super nice haha :D Ya, and then we set up a plan with a Brother Liu to Come back to church so that he can be sealed to his family in the Temple. 

Sunday: A good sunday!! our family home evening we held at night.... well..... nobody came, but me and Elder Lindsey had our own fun Family home evening haha ;) yay :D We were going to go to Fong Gang about 2 hours away, but we didn't have the time :/ But next week, we're going to head out there! Super excited :D We have a recent convert who's mom lives out there, so we're going to visit here :D 

So ya, that was my week!! I'll send some pictures!!! Remember, that if we want to get a lot out of life and make it mean more, we must put a lot of effort into it! As the Scripture say, we reap what we sow..... something fun to think about ;) 

CTR, (義)

Elder Dawson (陶長老) 

Our Trip this morning :D 

 The Aquarium

City Welcome

Taiwan May 11.2014

Well hello!!!!

     Well hello!!!!!! I'm super glad I got to see my family this morning for mothers day!!!!!!!! You all look so good and so happy!!!!! I was really happy to see you all :D Thanks!!!! It was good to hear everyone's voices, and how their lives are going, and to catch up for a second there :D 

     and then..... missionary work continues haha!!! Onward and upward! This last week was simply fantastic!!!...... plus the fact that it is SUPER hot here. no joke, I sometimes think that I'm going to burn up into nothing haha. that just started this week.... that whole... humidity thing.... haha. joys ;) 

     Other than that, life here on the Island of Taiwan is going fantastic, especially because we actually found two people that are willing to meet with us!!!!! One is named Jack, and the other is a brother Yang. They are both super awesome, and super willing to meet with us!!!!! They both said they are super excited to read the book of Mormon, and to be able to make that decision for them self. It's super exciting that we found them, and that we're able to teach them this week :D I'm excited to continue on and teach them!!!! 

      This week me and Elder Lindsey also went up to Gao Xiong for a Zone Training meeting. In this meeting we talked about faith, and how action and belief equal faith. At the beginning, they sent two missionaries outside to find someone prepared to hear the gospel, and told them if they had enough faith, they would find someone. They went out, and found 3 people willing to hear the gospel!!! amazing!!! It was super good, and I learned quite a bit from our zone leaders here :D Then one of the zone leaders came down here on exchanges with me :D Because it takes so long to exchange, he came down with me Tuesday afternoon, and we arrived Tuesday night. then we had all day Wednesday together, and then Thursday morning we switched back, and Thursday afternoon got back to heng Chun :D It was definitely fun, and a learning experience :D 

     Next week we plan to perform in sacrament meeting, and also have our English class :D it's going to be a good time, and we are going to keep working our hardest!!! we are going to start focusing a lot on Tracting to find people to teach, because we feel the thing this area needs most is a family to strengthen it :D We're super excited to keep going for it!!!! 

     I forgot my journal..... so no day by day update, but that's ok :D I simply hope on this day for mothers, we can remember the "missionary army" that is our there, and how we, as the Stripling warriors, have learned from our moms, and therefore trust in god, and are not afraid. I love you tons mom!!!!!!!!! 

CTR, (義)

Elder Dawson (陶長老) 

Taiwan May 5, 2014

Well hello world, how are you today? 

     One of these days I'll stop asking painfully stupid rhetorical questions to things that don't answer, but until then hello everyone!!! How are you!?!?!?! Life in Taiwan here is crazy!!!!!! Super fun haha :D however, there is something that must be brought up...... 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would sing to you, but I can't in an email. So the attachment is me and my companion singing happy birthday to you in English, Chinese, and Taiwanese :D love you tons!!!!! We ate cake for you here, and I hope you had an amazing birthday :D Sounds like you did! haha :D 

Hastening the work Eh???? Hmmm..... Well I have no idea how to do that in Utah haha.... soo.......... good luck!!!! I'll be praying for you :D 

So the Manglesons are coming to Taiwan!! Fun!!!!!!!! umm...... well Kending is definitely in our area, but I'll have to see if I can see them or not haha, I have no idea ;) It's all up to fate!!!...... and up to President Blickenstaff haha, so I'll call him and see :D Probably best just to leave it at the mission home.... but I can see haha :D 

So About skyping!!! I will be skyping home on Monday morning here at 9:00 So... Sunday night for you all at.... whatever time it will be there for you haha :D yay!!!!!!!! I will only have about 45 minutes at most to skype you all, so we will make the most of it!!!!!!! I'm super excited :D oh and with that, dad I'm wondering if maybe you can buy a microphone for the computer or something, because last time was incredibly hard to hear you all haha :D 

Hm.... wearing a hat..... I don't think they'll let me do that haha ;) sorry!!!!!! But I'll see what I can do about other things haha :D Oh, and tell colton, Andrew and Andrew that i say good luck!!!!!!! Gosh, I love them all so much haha :D 

So how am I doing???? I'm doing great!!!!!! To get to almost all lessons, we ride our bikes over mountains, or by the ocean, or over an hour away haha! Wow..... ya..... it's really tiring, but super worth it! I love it here :D It's just really hot..... but that is ok, because there are definitely worse things that could happen in life ;) 

So this week: 

Monday: Well for PDay, we cleaned again, and had our interviews with president over skype because we're really far away, and then met with some less actives :D There's a lot of less active work here, and it's been pretty hardcore working with them to come back :D 

Tuesday: Had a great 2 man DTM (District Training Meeting) then Contacted a lot 

Wednesday: We went up a mountain and back to the land of Man Zhou 滿州 where we met with some investigators that make Man Tou, a type of bread :D Then had english class! 

Thursday: I realized the importance more of vamping up Personal Study. I feel as if personal study is really the basis of all we do, I mean, as PMG says, we can't convert people over our own level of conversion. I feel like I've said this before, but I keep feeling like I realize more and more what It means haha 

Friday: Made cards for the English party we'll be having consisting of Making pizza and dying T-Shirts, and then me and Elder Lindsey taught people the gospel of Jesus Christ! Especially this one less active sister haha 

Saturday: It was a beautiful day!!! We planned an activity for next week to watch 17 Miracles, and then we met with our investigator family Liang family 梁家庭, and they fed us dinner, and we taught them about the Plan of Salvation. 

Sunday: It was starwars day. May the fourth be with you all. Anyways, we met with some people in Bai Sha 白砂 and Da Guang 大光, one of which was a philipeno lady who's English and Chinese are not very good. We gave her the pamphlet in Tagalog, and she read it, and said she believed in Joseph smith's story, because god called him to do something that only he could do, and there needed to be a restoration to separate from the old. It was really cool, and now she's one of the strongest investigators we have! It is proof that language barriers don't matter as long as the spirit can manifest the truth of what we're sharing. 

So in all, it was a very good week. I am blown away by how much I keep learning here on my mission! It is weird to think of how long I have been gone, but I am super excited to keep pushing forward, becoming better, and helping people as much as I can! It has been an amazing journey thus far to see how much you can help and change people with simple acts of love. Ghee :D Love you all!!! Family, see you in a week ;) 

CTR, (義)

Elder Dawson (陶長老)