台中 Adventures, "I Know Your Name," and Zone Conference

大家好。

This week was awesome! There are so many good 事情 (things) going on in 嘉義 lately. Miracles are flowing in! There are some new goals being made, and there are still cool things being learned. Elder Clayson and I are doing great. I realized that I don't really talk about him much. He really is one of the nicest guys I know! He's super funny too. But the best part is that he's a hard worker. It makes life better. I couldn't think of a better companion to die with.

Eugene, who is getting baptized this coming Saturday

So, anyways, back to business. This last week, we went on exchanges with the Assistants again, which was fun because we got to go up to 台中 this time! We left at like 9:00 in the morning to catch a train there. We got there at like 10:30 and started helping with a little office work that had to be done, putting referrals into the computer and whatnot. Afterwards, we went with all of the office Elders to lunch, which was fun because Elder Starkweather, who is the new mission recorder, was there with his companion, Elder Pothier, who is the Operations Manager. Elder Pothier lived with Elder Park in a 4-man apartment for a few transfers, so we talked about him for a while. Anyways, I got to serve with Elder Porter, the newer of the two Assistants. He is a powerhouse of a missionary! Despite him being a little under-the-weather, we still went hard on the paint with the work. We started by driving over to the 東英 chapel to pass over an investigator to the Sisters there. That was really fun, considering that 東英 was just my last area. The switch went well. But after that, I got a great surprise. Just as we were ending the lesson, Elder Park and his son (trainee) came in! That was such a happy and unexpected reunion! And it was fun to have 3 generations of missionaries in one room. Elder Park, my son, and Elder Chino, my grandson, and myself. That was a cool little highlight of the exchange. After that, we started contacting. We talked to tons of people, a former investigator, some guy who had lived in Salt Lake City for like 5 years, a Jehovah's Witness, and tons of others. It was such a fun night. We got to have a sitdown lesson in a FamilyMart with a cool Christian kid, who seems to have a lot of potential. Then we met with an RC who wants to help a friend get to know the Gospel. So, we will see how that goes. Afterwards, we went back and did our planning and got ready for bed and whatnot. We also decided to check out the roof of the office apartment, which was pretty cool. We had to climb up a massive pile of 東西 to get to the roof, but we got a cool view of some of the city. And then the "pillow-talk" commenced. I will honestly admit that we probably didn't actually fall asleep until like 12:30-1:00 in the morning. Haha. But somehow we managed to get up at 6:00 the next morning to play basketball. That was fun. We played with the office Elders, the Assistants, and the Taizhong South Zone Leaders. Just a big group of white guys playing basketball at a Taiwanese college. Definitely lots of people looking at us. And then we got ready to head back to 嘉義. It was a really awesome, spiritually strengthening exchange.

Well, after that, we finally gave 石姐妹 a baptismal goal!!! YAHOO!!!! We are so stoked about that! And we are praying that she can get baptized on October 22nd. She is very very prepared though. She has progressed a lot since we started meeting with her. But I think the biggest highlight of the week was probably the fact that Eugene (Jia Jun) (we finally got him to tell us his Chinese name!) passed his baptismal interview and will be getting baptized this upcoming Saturday! His story really is one of the biggest miracles of my whole mission. But I'll write more about him next week after his baptism. But just please pray that he can still hit this goal. He is so prepared. He has started making some big changes in his life, and it's showing.

Well, lastly, this last week we had Zone Conference, which was different from before because this time I had to actually help with the preparation and everything. Elder Clayson and I had to prepare a 30-45 minute training on Chapter 13 of Preach My Gospel, which focuses on working with Stake and Ward Leaders. It turned out pretty good we think. And then we were also asked to do a small role play on using the Book of Mormon in a contact. We learned so much during this meeting. President Teh is such a wise man. And his visions and goals for the mission are awesome. They will be tricky, but with the faith, it is possible. One of the biggest changes that came as a result of this meeting was the change in our goal for New Investigators every week. The old goal was to get 3 investigators every week, but then President Teh explained that we could be doing a lot better than 3 a week, and we all agreed. So, the goal was upped to 7 new investigators a week, one a day. It kind of blew our minds when we first heard it, but we know that it is what the Lord's will is for us. So Elder Clayson and I are thinking of some ways to try and find new investigators, and we are super pumped to put those ideas into motion. So, we'll have to see what the next few weeks bring. Should be exciting!

Well, that's about it for this week. Pretty cool stuff huh? Yeah, I thought so too. Loving being a missionary. Loving the work! Loving the people! Loving Taiwan! I love it all. These last few weeks are a very bittersweet time for me. I'm excited to get back and see the loved ones I've parted with for two years, but at the same time, leaving this place is like leaving my second home. I have come to love the people and the culture and everything about this place. I have learned so much and grown so much in these last years. And the time seems to have just run by. But, I guess everything has it's time. And mine is drawing to a close. But I'm determined to see that these investigators get baptized, and I will stop at nothing to see that through. With the right faith, anything is possible. I love all of you and I'll talk to you very soon!

Sincerely,

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

雷龘鬱長老

Me with my son Elder Park, and my grandson, Elder Chino. I was so happy to see this guy again! Probably one of the last times before I die. So it was a happy reunion. And he's looking super 帥 nowadays too!

Well, the End is Near (Meaning I'm the Oldest), Zoo & the Freen, Some Changes

This week has been a ride! But it has been fun. And this email marks a bittersweet day in my mission. I will get to that in a minute. But to start things off, the work is EXPLODING here in JiaYi still. We have a guy on date to be baptized on the 1st of October, and our other investigator Sister Shi, has agreed to set a baptismal date during our next lesson. So that has us super stoked, because her son will probably follow soon after. So, Elder Clayson and I are super stoked.

Well, like I said, today marks a bittersweet day in my mission. As of today, I am now the oldest generation in the mission. The guys who were in the MTC above me are finishing today, which means that I am technically the oldest missionary in the mission, mission-age wise. I got to the MTC before Elder Quist. This marks the start of my last transfer here in Taiwan, which is blowing my mind!!!! I can't even believe it. Time has just gotten faster and faster. Well, I won't say any more than that, but yeah. That is where my time stands now.

Last week, we had a pretty fun preparation day again. We have a lot of those here, mostly because there is a member who likes to take us out every week to go see the sights. So, last week, we went to a restaurant pretty famous among JiaYi missionaries, the "Freen on the Hill." It is just a Freen Burger, a pretty common chain on the island, but this one is bigger and has stuff that only this one has. The menu is like twice as big and the quality is tons better! So we decided to go there, and I ate the "River of Cheese" burger, which is not something I'm going to do again. Haha. But it was fun while it lasted. We went with like 8 missionaries, and some members and investigators, so that was lots of fun. After that, we went to a zoo in one of the far reaches of our secondary area, somewhere that missionaries have probably never been proselyting before. That was fun too. They had all kinds of fun stuff. I'll let pictures do the talking. 

Lastly, transfers were this last weekend, and I have some news. I am going to die here in JiaYi with Elder Clayson!! Yep, we are staying together one more transfer! I am so stoked about that. I was born in JiaYi, and I'm REALLY going to die there now. So that makes me so happy. And we had some other fun changes in the mission. First off, I'm a grandfather now! Yep, Elder Park is training a new missionary. But not only that, he is training in my last area, DongYing!!!!!!! I flipped when I heard that!!! Elder Erwin, my old companion from Tainan, just moved into Taibao, my first area!!!!! And I get to talk to him again! Elder Clayson's really good friends Elders Dayton and Sims just moved here too, and they are both hilarious. And something I just found out about is that Elder Quist just moved to another area with only one transfer left, which kind of shocked me. I don't know where he is yet, but I will find out soon enough. So yeah, what a good way to end my time here. I get to serve around lots of people that I love and care about, and I am in a thriving, golden area, with a lot of expected baptisms to follow. "My life is good, really good." I love you all and I will talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

雷龘鬱長老

It didn't affect JiaYi at all. We are surrounded by mountains, so it kept us pretty protected. A little windy and rainy, but nothing crazy. Yeah, it was pretty calm.

My First ZTM, Back to Taibao!, and P-Day Fun with Peter

I figured I would start with some pictures this week. This was one of our P-Day adventures last week. There is this really neat exhibit with some "3D Paintings" that you can take pictures with. You stand in a certain place and take a picture and it makes you look like part of the painting. It was pretty dope. There are also some pictures of Peter and I at the BBQ Buffet.

大家好！中秋節快樂！ (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)

I have come to love Asian holidays. I am definitely going to celebrate them back home! Haha.

This last week has been super crazy!!! But it has been tons of fun too! I have gotten to have a lot of really neat experiences. I will get to those in just a second. But just know that Elder Clayson and I are doing super dope right now. We are seeing miracle after miracle here in JiaYi. The member referral I wrote about last week is doing really well. He actually really wants to be baptized, and fast! We actually have to explain to him what has to happen before he can be baptized though. And our other investigators are progressing nicely as well. We did have to drop a couple of them this last week though, which is kind of sad, but they still have a chance. The work is going well. Loving life! What more could ya ask for?

Well, this last week I had the opportunity of a lifetime. We expected to go on exchanges with the Taibao Elders this last week. (For those of you who don't remember, Taibao was my first area.) Normally, the way exchanges work out nowadays, we would bring both Elders to our area for a day and we would split the lessons and stuff, but I managed to get special permission to go back to Taibao for a day!!! I WAS SO STOKED!!! I got to go with Elder Fuller, another Elder who was "born" in Taibao. I got to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, LaoDiFang. I got to run into some old members and catch up. They are all shocked at the weight I've lost. It was pretty funny to see their reactions. And not only that, I got to do some good ol' contacting in one of the secondary areas there. And, to top all of that off, before we exchanged back, we got to meet a really cool potential investigator working at LaoDiFang. So, many many miracles, and a tender mercy from the Lord to allow me to go back to an area I hadn't been to in over a year. I was awesome.

Lastly, this last P-Day was very very busy, but very very fun. I had been in contact with my RC from Tainan, Peter, who wanted to come up to JiaYi for a P-Day to hang out with us. And it just so happens that last Monday was also Elder Eisert's birthday, so we had planned to go to ShiTou, the BBQ Buffet with like 3-4 other companionships and some members, so Peter came too. We got to catch up. He is doing so awesome as a new member. He is a Ward Missionary right now, so that is a cool chance for him to share his newly found testimony. We chatted and had fun and stuff. He also told us about this super cool exhibit that had opened up in JiaYi a little while ago with a bunch of cool 3D paintings. We went over there and had some fun. I will send those pictures in a minute. But yeah, a super super fun P-Day. And I was so happy to see Peter again. We have no doubt become great friends.

Well, that is about it for this week. Like I said, the work is going great. Having a blast with Elder Clayson. The transfer is coming up next week, which symbolizes that I'm going to be starting my last transfer as a full time missionary. It feels really weird, especially considering the fact that I was able to spend a day in my first area again this past week. Time really does fly, and way too fast. I have loved my mission, and I am looking forward to these last 7 weeks. I decided that to end my mission, I'm going to read the Book of Mormon one last time with a nametag on. I am going to really solidify my testimony of the truthfulness of the book. And I know that I am going to learn great things from it during these golden years of my service. I love all of you very much and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Elder Chase Joseph Millett

雷龘鬱長老