Week #33

Sorry I don't have a ton of time today.
  Well I am finally leaving Cui Hua and going to a place called Qing
Shui which is in TaiZhong.  My new companion is Elder Collett. He went
to Alta. 
 
 I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve in Cui Hua and
to meet all of the wonderful people there. I am so grateful for the
Gospel in my life. I know that the Lord has given me so much and has
guided me so much on my mission. I am excited to see what the future
has in store!

 博長老 Elder Bosco

Taiwan Taichung Mission 16-18

[mother question: How was the travel for the transfer?]

Well I had to get on a train for 2 1/2 hours and I had 2 huge things of luggage that were hard to get off because the train had a ton of people.  My new area is at the most north part of the mission (Elder Graves served there) super windy, very rural.

[He's been in the Southern part of the mission- that's how small Taiwan is]

Benny and Mario from the ward

an investigator that we had to refer because he doesn't live in our area

In front of my old apartment

With my new companion Elder Collett

Week #32

Hello,
Well it is official. I got worshiped this week. Like me and Elder Warner were walking into a 7-11 and this lady literally got on her knees and started worshiping us. Probably in the same manner that she would worship a statue. It was the creepiest thing ever, and when we walked out of the 7 she walked up to us and just kept saying 美國人 (mei guo ren which means American) over and over again.

 This week we did not have a lot of success with finding, but we have a couple of investigators that are really progressing. The first one's name is Dustin. He is about 25 years old and we met him on the side of the road, and then 3 weeks later he contacted us saying he wants to meet. He now prays everyday, and is obeying the Word of Wisdom. He still doesn't read everyday, but we are working with him on that. He has a really busy work schedule so he comes to church when he can. But we did find out that he lives with his girlfriend, and we are teaching him the Law of Chastity this week, so we will see how that goes.

 The next one's name is Jordan. We were on our way home and we had to stop at the store to get something real quick. Elder Warner accidentally bumped into his mom at the check out counter, and then as we were getting ready to leave she asked him where are church was, and then she told us that her son would be at church on Sunday. He has come to church every week since then, and we set a baptismal goal with him for March 18th! When we were teaching him the Word of Wisdom he said that he does not smoke or drink, and he hates coffee and tea (which is not usual for a Taiwanese person). He told us that he believes Joseph Smith is a prophet and that he wants to get baptized.

 The next two are Oliver and Wayne. They are both 17 year old high school students that go to the High School next to our house. We actually met them at the same store we met Jordan at. We talked to them for a little bit and they said they could come to church the next week. Then the following day we were coming home and we saw them at the 7-11 by our house, so we went to talk to them for a little. They were doing some homework and when we asked if we could set up another time to meet with them, they just put away their homework and asked us to teach them right there. Then the following week they were both at church, and every time they were asked to introduce themselves they just kept saying how grateful they were for the opportunity they had to come to church and learn about Jesus. Something that has been such a great blessing to me on my mission is that I am thinking of Christ all of the time. At home with basketball and school and stuff it was sometimes hard to think of Christ. I would invite you all to make Christ the first priority in your life. Always remember and represent him. I promise that if you do that, your life will be a lot happier and you will be able to overcome any trial with joy! Sorry no pictures this week.
Love you all! -- 博長老 Elder Bosco Taiwan Taichung Mission 16-18

Week #31

For all of you are concerned about my safety... I am OK!
Actually I completely slept through the earthquake so I can't tell you much about it.

 This week I had one of the greatest experiences on my mission, but also one of the most frustrating. On Monday we ran into this lady by a coffee stand, and she said in English "elders come have some coffee... just kidding I know you can't drink coffee because I used to be a Mormon". Then she invited us to talk with her. She told us a long story about how her husband introduced her to the church, but then a couple of years later he had an affair. So she left the church because she always associates the church with him. She said she knows that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, but she said she is happy at the church she attends now and she doesn't want to come back. I was able to bear testimony to her, and as I was bearing testimony, I could really feel the spirit testify to me that what I was saying is true. She ended up not wanting to come back, but she gave us her sons number who lives in Canada, and she said if he starts going to church then so will she.

 Then we also met this week with the lady who had seen the Book of Mormon Musical. she showed us the lyrics from one of the songs in the musical. The lyrics were not completely wrong, but we were able to clear things up and bear testimony of the Restoration. She lives in Taipei, so we will not be able to meet with her anymore. But we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and find out for herself.

 Also right before we were about to head home one day we stopped to talk to this lady in the park. she told us about how she is just starting to become a Christian and learn about Jesus Christ. Right now she goes to a Bilingual Community Church, but we were able to meet with her. We met with her, and in the first lesson we shared about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. The next time we met with her, she said that she really loved the Book of Mormon, because it is easier to understand than the Bible. But at the end she told us that she doesn't understand why we say that are church is true, and if you just believe in Jesus than it will be enough. So we won't be meeting with her anymore, but she says she will continue to read the Book of Mormon, so hopefully it will plant a seed in her heart for the future.

 Happy Valentines Day! Also Happy Birthday Ella!

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your support and prayers! -- 博長老 Elder Bosco Taiwan Taichung Mission 16-18

eating out with members

A member took them out to eat and ordered them 20 ounce steaks

yes he ate it all

at church

Week #30

Nothing too crazy happened this week, but we were able to meet some really cool people that have interest in the Gospel.
 The first people we were able to meet was this guy from chicago who is an English teacher here, and his girlfriend who is Taiwanese. We started talking to the boyfriend (for the record, talking to white people is scarier than talking to Taiwanese) but anyway, we talked to him and he didn't have a ton of interest. But then his girlfriend came out of the bathroom and started asking us a bunch of questions. She said she had seen the Book of Mormon Musical and that she had a lot of questions about some of the lyrics.
Something that I have come to appreciate is that sometimes it doesn't really matter why people want to meet with you, as long as they are willing to let you teach them about the Gospel, then that gives the Spirit the opportunity to testify to them.
 Then the next day we met this really cool lady from Australia. And her English was better than her Chinese, so it is always good to talk in English. But anyways we started talking to her about the restoration. She said she couldn't come to church because her dad was preaching at her church so she had to go support him. But she was actually pretty interested. Also this contact for me was a really big miracle for me because at the beginning of the day I was not having a great day, and so that contact really helped to lift my spirits.

 Yeah nothing to crazy happened but I did eat all of the inside organs of a duck, or a chicken, I am not really sure but either way I ate all of the organs.
Also we ran into cult lady again.She was biking by and Elder Warner said "how are you?" and she yelled "Afraid of cults" . This also helps you to understand why it is scarier to talk to white people. 

Well one thing that I have learned so far on my mission is just to trust the Lord in all things. Also sometimes it may seem like you can't feel his love, but it is always there. Whether you want to be there or not, the Lord's love is always there for us if we seek it. Love you all!! -- 博長老 Elder Bosco


Mom: Was this week easier since Chinese New Year is over?
Collin: The missionary work is better now that Chinese New Year is over. It is still not great, and everyone is still Buddhist but it is going better. 
Mom: How is your health? How is the cycling?
Collin: My health is good, and cycling is good.