Service, Rubik's Cube, and the Dong Hai Thighs

Hello Family, 

I hope that your week has been fun. I know that mine has. The change from the rural to city life has made for a pretty fun adventure. I am still getting used to it, but it is not too bad.  I am having a great time here in Dong Hai.

The weather up here is definitely cooler. While I can't say that it is cold by any means, there is a distinct difference in temperature. So that is kind of nice. And the area we live in is really pretty, (in my opinion, anyway). Our chapel is pretty close to our house and is on the 19th floor of a high rise. So that is definitely unique.  And our apartment is on the 7th floor.

Anyways, down to the nitty-gritty. So, this week, we have been doing a lot of service. Like, A LOT. A sister in our ward,XXX . She has called us asking if we can go and help her move. So, we have gone every day this week to help her move. She is super kind to us, and I am glad that we could help her. And aside from that service, we had a less active family ask us if we could walk their dog for a couple days while they were out of town. Yup, missionaries  walking dogs. Anyways, there is definitely no shortage of service available around here though.

Next up on the list, Rubik's Cube. (I know that right now my brother will be listening with even more interest than before.) So, my companion Elder Moore taught me how to solve a Rubik's Cube this week. It's something I've attempted to do in the past, but I never had the patience to finish it. Well, after a long, grueling week of headaches and practice, I finally got the hang of it. So, yeah, I can do a Rubik's Cube now. Yay! It is super fun though.

And lastly, the Dong Hai thighs. Let me explain. So, all of our area, Dong Hai, is on a hill. We live about halfway down the hill. So, there are times when we have to go downhill to proselyte, or we have to go uphill to proselyte. If we go down, we have to bike back up the hill to get to our house. If we go uphill, we just ride the hill back down. My point is is that we spend a lot of time biking uphill. So, many missionaries who have served here say that you will get the Dong Hai thighs from all of the biking. And since my last area was super flat, my thighs are definitely a place that need some TLC. So, time to keep exercising!

Well, that's about it for this week. I am loving it here. Elder Moore and I are getting along well. He is a super funny guy. He has a lot of personality, and I am learning a lot from him. I will send a couple of pictures. And the work keeps on going forward here in Dong Hai. I love all of you and I hope that you have a good week. Hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely,

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

Hey Mom, I thought this was really neat. This is the weekly letter for this week from President Blickenstaff. I thought you would enjoy it too. 

"Dear Elders and Sisters,

Over the past two months we have bid farewell to more than 50 experienced and capable missionaries. We have many companionships in various stages of the twelve week orientation and also many who have just completed training. Next month we will welcome 32 more new missionaries. Change and growth are inherent to a mission, however, due to visa issues and summer starting missionaries, we are a very young mission right now. We also have fewer missionaries than we have ever had over the past two years. What a great time, because young missionaries will be given more leadership responsibilities! This will necessitate each of us relying more fully on the Lord if we are to continue to faithfully and skillfully carry out our plans and responsibilities.

We should always remember that this is the Lord’s work and He is at the helm. In two consecutive verses in the Book of Mormon, the Lord has declared, “I am able to do mine own work” (2Ne. 27:20,21). The Lord’s pattern is somewhat counter-intuitive to the way we usually do things. He often does not call the eldest or the most experienced among us to do the most important work. Nephi was not the oldest of the sons of Lehi. The prophet Joseph was very young and inexperienced at the time of his call to be the instrument through which the gospel would be restored. President Monson was called to serve as bishop at 22 and as a mission president at 31. He was not even a returned missionary!

As we accept a call from the Lord for which we feel inadequate, we naturally turn to the scriptures and other inspired materials and humbly fall to our knees, pleading for help and direction. This is a wonderful process. It allows us to be taught by the One most qualified to teach us, “For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it” (2Ne. 9:20). 

I love the account of Nephite armies as they were in a precarious situation as recorded in Alma chapter 58. The Nephite army was small and did not have enough provisions, while the Lamanite army was strong and constantly receiving supplies and reinforcements. “And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to perish for the want of food” (Alma 58:7). Although they received a small company of additional soldiers and some food, they were facing “an enemy which was innumerable” (Alma 58:8). Their response to the situation was instructive, “Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies” (Alma 58:10). I imagine they assumed their prayers would be answered with additional soldiers and supplies. Instead, the account goes on to say, “The Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and grant unto us great faith” (Alma 58:11). 

Although we have plenty of food and water, our situation is similar to these Nephite warriors in some respects. We are young and we need more missionaries. As we humble ourselves and seek the help of the Lord, He will show us how to be more prepared and qualified to carry out this sacred work. As we thrust in our sickles with our might, and do our best, He will “show unto [us our] weakness” and “make weak things become strong unto [us]” (Ether 12:27). In order to qualify for divine assistance in our work, we must: 1) pray in faith, 2) be exactly obedient, 3) set goals that reflect our commitment to achieve mission standards, 4) make a plan to achieve our goals, 5) work diligently all day every day. Then may we “stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123:17). 

President Blickenstaff

Mentor of Champions"

The view from our chapel

Mission Accomplished, Goodbye Taibao, and Hello Donghai!‏

Hello Family, 

Well, this week has been pretty crazy to say the least. A LOT has happened so I might as well get going.

So yup, when I say mission accomplished, it means that Ke Guo Lin FINALLY GOT BAPTIZED!!!! That's right, ladies and gentlemen. This last Friday, after having confirmed with him all week, we had his baptism. It was a small, humble meeting, with a few of the members present. But it was super cool. He shared his testimony and you can really see the change. And he was the first person I helped baptize, so that made it all the more special to me. I hope that he can continue to press forward in faith and know that God will help him. It really is incredible and it is a testimony to me of the truthfulness of the work that we are engaged in.  I will attach pictures of his baptism.

And the other big piece of news. Yup, I have moved. I am no longer in Taibao, which justifies this late email. So, normally, we receive the transfer calls on Saturday night. They will tell us who is staying and who is moving and such. Well, apparently the zone leaders didn't get the transfer lists until really late, so we had to wait until Sunday morning. Needless to say, it was kind of a long night. Well, Sunday morning comes, and the zone leaders finally call. Elder Yeh is staying. And I am going to Donghai,(D-oh-ng High) in Taichung. Now, the funny part about me going to Donghai is that it is where Elder Watson served before he came to Taibao. I am serving in my papa's old area!  

So, I go to church and spend the afternoon saying goodbye to the people in Taibao. It feels like I've been there forever, but at the same time, it feels so short. Saying goodbye to Taibao was really hard, but I know that I am where the Lord needs me and I am looking forward to this new adventure!  And because NORMALLY you would have two nights to pack (but I didn't) I spent pretty much the entire night packing my dong xi. I was up until like 2:30 when I finally gave up and went to bed. Then I woke up at 5:30 to finish and get ready. Needless to say, I am tired. Anyways, I said goodbye to Elder Yeh after only a move call together, and I got on the train to Taichung at 10:15. I got here at about 11:30ish, and the first thing I was greeted by was a huge attack hug from Elder Watson, helping pick up some of the new missionaries in his zone! Man, it was so awesome to see him again! I met up with my new companion, Elder Moore, from Arizona. He is a stud guy. I look forward to working with him. Anyways, after spending about an hour trying to find the right bus back to our area, we finally made it back.

And boy-oh-boy is this area different. Compared the rice fields and far-out bike rides of Taibao, the high rise buildings and bustling city life of Taichung is very very different. It is kind of shocking actually. Something that I will have to get used to. it is SO MUCH cooler up here. It's nice! our area won't involve as much biking. We don't even have any secondary areas, compared to Taibao's 6 or 7. But it seems like a pretty fun place, so I'm excited. I haven't really had time to take pictures of the area, so I will get those to you next week. I will have an opportunity to go to the temple. I will find out the date later. But I am STOKED about that.

I did forget to mention something however. Coming here, I am the new English leader, which means I am in charge of everything related to English class in our district. Since Taibao only had Elder Yeh and I, it didn't really involve much. But now I have to schedule and prepare our weekly "English Meeting" and make sure that everything pertaining to English class is in order. So that will be fun. Elder Yeh gave me some advice on how to do things though, so it should be a smooth transition.

Anyways, I hope that you have a good week and I look forward to talking to you very soon. Love you guys!

From Donghai with Love,

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

Just Some Area Exploring, Duck Duck Goose, and a 36‏

Hello Family, 

I hope that this week has been a fun one. I know that it has for me. Once Again, I'm sorry for the late email. We are currently in JiaYi for our P-day. We went bowling with one of the other companionships and now we are just emailing. Afterwards, we may go check out the local shopping mall, but we'll see.

Anyways, this week, not a whole lot to report on. We have made some decent progress with our couple investigators. Hellen is doing well, although we haven't been able to meet with her this week. And Ke Guo Lin is FINALLY getting baptized on Friday, we hope.... It seems that anything we set up with him either gets cancelled or delayed. So we are hoping that we finally have a time for him. Other than that, as the subject says, we did some area exploring this week, traveling to some parts of our area that we hadn't been to before.

Now, you might be asking why I put Duck, Duck, Goose in my letter subject. Well, let me explain. So, in our branch, we have a sister who works at the special needs center of JiaYi, which is actually in Lucao, one of our secondary areas. So, every now and again, she will invite the elders to come and do some activities and play some games with the special needs people. A lot like the calling I served in before my mission, as a Special Needs Mutual participant. It was so much fun to be able to get to spend time with those people again. They really are so awesome. They have such a sweet, innocent spirit about them. And from what I've learned about the Gospel, there really is a special throne reserved in heaven for them. Anyways, we did play Duck, Duck, Goose with them, as well as a couple other games. And then I got them to take pictures with me! So, I will definitely send those as well.

And, why 36? Why is that number significant? Hmmmm...... Again, let me explain. So, when I first started my mission, I was a big guy, like, really big. I probably wore about a 42-44 pant size. And there was no way I was fittin' in anything smaller. No way, no how! Well, last week, after conversing with my family a little bit, I finally decided to go out and try and buy some new pants (as a result of my new diet and exercise venture.) So, we went to this place that I remembered seeing in Puzi called Giordanos I think. So, I started looking, and it was then I found out that the largest size the store goes up to is 36. I just laughed and told Elder Yeh that we could go look somewhere else. He finally convinced me to just try them on. So, I chuckled as I went into the dressing room, imagining me attempting to squeeze these things on and then having the button pop off in a dramatic fashion. As I looked at the pants, I realized something else that only made me chuckle more. These pants were slim tapered, so they were skinnier than normal. Well.....umm.....I started to wonder. Well, I finally just put them on, and to my surprise, they fit. THEY FIT! AND COMFORTABLY! I couldn't believe it. I felt I was on one of those pranking tv shows, where they have cameras watching people do ridiculous things. I felt I was being Punk'd. But I wasn't. I was wearing size 36, slim fit pants. Well, I bought 3 pairs. So yeah, my dieting is definitely finally starting to show its results. But, you can see the pants in one of my pictures.

As far as a spiritual experience this week, I think the best one would have to be a realization that I had on Saturday. So, we went to visit a member that we haven't visited in a long time, our former branch president, a Huang Di Xiong. He is such a friendly guy. He is pretty laid back, loves to laugh, and knows a TON about the Gospel. Well, we went over to visit him and to help him with some service. He had to repair some of the waterproofing stuff on his roof I guess, and he said that it would be easier if he has two other people there to help hand stuff up to him. So, that's what we did. He went up on the roof, and we were pushing nails and stuff up to him so that he could put them in place. Anyways, before we started this little activity, I had a feeling in my heart that I should say a personal prayer for safety. Well, that proved to be divine intervention. As we were finishing up, Brother Huang was walking over to where we had placed the ladder when a part of the roof fell through! But, he managed to be close enough to the hatch leading inside that he was able to catch himself and prevent himself from falling. Had the roof caved in a second sooner, he may have not caught himself. So I definitely thank the Lord for that miracle! He definitely answers prayers in many different ways!

Well, that is about it for this week. We are anticipating a typhoon this week, but who knows, we haven't been hit by one yet. But we will see. I am healthy. I am doing well. Transfers are this coming Monday, so this may be my last P-Day in JiaYi. But again, we'll see.

I love you all and I will talk to you very soon! Love ya!

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

duck farm we found out in one of our farther areas‏

Me with the special needs friends. (The sister in our branch is the one on the far right wearing green.)

Bowling. I am still terrible at bowling. Nuff' Said. But I am wearing the skinny pants in this one.

Parable of the White Paper, A Record Keeping People, Back on Track, And Remembering President Packer‏

你好家庭！

I hope that you have had a good week. Yes, I know. I have four subjects again. But I felt that they should all be addressed. Anyways, this week has definitely been fun.

So, now to explain the "Parable of the White Paper." So, our investigator, Hellen, is doing pretty well. All of her lessons kind of have the same pattern. She comes. We teach her some topic. She asks a lot of questions and explains why she doesn't agree with a certain principle. We do some explaining and ask her some counter questions. She starts thinking about it. Then she see's the connection and praises the missionaries for like 10 minutes. She definitely is a project!!! But it is coming along. Anyways, I have recently discovered that I have a knack for teaching through on-the-spot parables. I will think of or find some object and I am quickly able to relate it to whatever we are talking about. Hellen seems to like that I teach it that way. Anyways, just last night we had a lesson with her again. We were explaining repentance to her. Now, as I was sitting there, a thought came into my head. For whatever reason, Hellen always compares me to a white paper, apparently because she said that I "have so much potential to go any direction in my life," or something like that. Well, I decided to use that "white paper" analogy to teach about repentance. Now, here is how I explained it.

"If we were all white papers, and someone came and told us that we could fly, would we believe it?"

"Probably not. At least not in our current condition. Paper cannot fly without making some changes" 

At this point, I start folding the paper so as to make a paper airplane.

"Now, if we start slowly changing this piece of paper piece-by-piece, fold-by-fold, big and small, eventually, this paper will be able to achieve the lofty goal of flight, a goal that at first seemed impossible and too far beyond our reach." 

How does this relate to repentance? Well, our Heavenly Father has promised us all that He hath, if we would keep his commandments. Well, in our mortal state, that seems like quite a lofty goal. To become like God seems an impossibility. But if we are willing to slowly change our lives through obedience to the commandments and are willing to repent when we make a mistake, we too, can inherit "all that the Father hath."

Well, this touched Hellen. Needless to say, we are probably meeting again very soon.

Now onto the second point. I was watching the Church's film, The Mountain of the Lord, the other day. Now, in this film, President Wilford Woodruff is talking to a reporter from New York about the building of the Salt Lake Temple, recounting its history and whatnot. Well, he said something that really struck me. It was so simple, but it really hit me. He said, "The Prophet Joseph Smith admonished the Saints to be a record-keeping people." Well, where am I going with this exactly? Well, essentially this is a confession. I have rarely been writing in my journal. And there are lots of things that have happened that I'm sure I would like to remember in the future. So, although the first part of my mission will have only a few entries, I have promised myself that I will write in it every night from here on out. So, that's that.

Now, who is back on track? Ke Di Xiong is back on track. We sat down with him and set up dates for his baptismal interview, baptism, and confirmation. We have confirmed with him multiple times to make sure that these dates are still good. He has said that they are, so we are hoping and praying.

And I'm sure you all have heard. But this last week, President Boyd K. Packer passed away. It seems crazy, we have lost 2 apostles in a matter of a month and a half or so. But, it just goes to show that this life really is our "temporary home." Well, this week, I would like to invite all of you to listen to President Packer's last talk from this last General Conference again. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng

Anyways, we will all certainly miss him. He was an incredible teacher. And his talks were always so powerful and full of testimony.

Well, that's about it for this week. Hope all of you have a good week and I will talk to you soon!

Sincerely,

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

雷長老

Service

some of the funny flash cards I've found in my language study stuff.

some of the funny flash cards I've found in my language study stuff.

The Suan Tou Bridge

Service