December 25, 2016

Hahahaha yeah, I really don't like hanging up either! I love talking to you all so much and can't wait till I can just do it all day! I am really glad that today's Skype went so smoothly too! I know you get stressed about it so I just wanted to make sure it all went well! (I have been helping everyone get their's set up and running Hahahaha I had a couple of emergency calls this morning that I had to rush to the church for)

I can't believe that the White Christmas really hit that hard! That is so awesome! I am so jealous of all your Christmas decorations and celebrations! I don't think Taiwan will ever be the same so I really look forward to two years from now when I can just party it up in America!!!

Yes!!! SLEDDING!! Of course I remember! You sent me that picture AND Aunt Colleen put it in my Calendar! Hahahaha I would love to go again! AND SKIING!!! WE HAVE TO GO SKIING AGAIN!

Yeah I don't have a lot to write either! The really interesting new stuff will happen on Wednesday/Thursday so I will let you know next week!

I have not got our Christmas Card yet! I am super glad you sent one though! I was missing them yesterday! Yes, I can get photos printed really quickly and really high quality here! Really convenient!

Love you so much,

Elder Holderness

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
________

Here are links to a couple of Taiwan Taipei Mission Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aczsDv0HZg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXfTnPjGOcA

December 18, 2016

Well another week has come and gone here in Taiwan and I don't have very many super interesting or exciting things going on here! Just doing missionary work and looking to the end of my training next week! That's crazy that it is almost to an end!

So last Monday we went to a science park a little bit away from our area but it really had nothing interesting so I didn't even take a picture... Hahaha sometimes I feel so bad for Taiwan because all their "fun" things are so boring but they love them to death anyway!

Most of the rest of the week was just the normal missionary work! We did a lot of finding because our area is dead in the water right now. We had three investigators drop their baptismal dates because they aren't willing to keep any commitments so that was a bummer! No problem though! I just get to go out and work on enjoying finding! (It's really not any fun but I still have to do it! Hahaha)

This week we got to do a lot with the ward because of the Christmas Season! I love this ward so much! They are the second best ward in the whole world! (Cascade 6 is still better!) I even call the Bishop my dad a lot because of how much he has helped me find my way through adjusting to Taiwan and making sure I am always doing well!

Another part of this Christmas Season is just trying to get people to come to our Christmas Day Sacrament meeting! And I got to use my computer skills for the first time in way too long! It definitely isn't the same here but I was still happy with how it came out! This is our new flyer: translated and edited by me! With Microsoft Paint! (Definitely not Photoshop!) on a computer that only has Chinese! It was quite the challenge but I realized how much computers really are just muscle memory to me!

(Front of flyer)

(Back of flyer)

Well that's pretty much all the new this week! I am doing really well here!  I am really happy here in this area and zone! I love this ward! I love the Chinese Language! My language abilities are really skyrocketing right now! I have almost learned the first 1000 words from phase two which I got two weeks ago! And most importantly, I really love this gospel and our savior Jesus Christ! I have grown so much closer to him and more reliant on him than I ever thought was possible. He really loves all of us and he really is the light of the world. Especially in this special time of year!

Love you all so much! Write you again on your Christmas!

Elder Holderness

December 11, 2016

Hello Family and Friends!

Well this week was pretty average so this is about all that happened:

Monday we went up to Taipei so that I could take the language test and move on in my language progression. After traveling and getting to the Office, I found out that the office elders had choir in about a half an hour so I didn't even get to take the test but they let me take the next section's materials so my language progression has really taken off! I can actually but things at restaurants or ask someone what they do for work now! It's been really fun to learn! After we failed to take my test, we went shopping so that Elder Liao could buy a new camera. And then back to the area really quickly to get to our appointments.

Tuesday we had my second Zone Meeting! It was a lot of fun and they gave us some really useful training on street contacting since that is the majority of our finding here. It was really fun to see the new missionaries that are in our zone with the new transfer and I found out some of the others that were in the MTC with me are part of our zone now!

Wednesday night I was teaching English again, it is still pretty stressful but I love being able to help some of them understand their questions more and more! I tried to teach them the difference between "s" sound and "sh" sound. Most of them could get it but some of them didn't make any change when they switched words! It was pretty funny but I can't laugh!

Thursday and Friday were pretty normal just planning and finding. We haven't found any new really good investigators lately so I am having a hard time staying pretty motivated.

Then on Saturday I got in an accident with a scooter! Hahaha! Don't worry I don't have any problems but it sure was scary! Heavenly Father really protected me! I don't have anything wrong except two bruises on my leg and my bike chain got knocked off but that was fixed in about two seconds.

Sunday was Elder Liao's birthday! He is now 24! That's right, my companion is 6 years older than me.

I don't really have too much going on this week so this letter is a little boring. I am getting super excited for Christmas here though! We just found out that the mission will all be together for the Christmas Party this year so I will get to see everyone here! It will be super fun!

Mostly just trying to get the work back on its feet here in Tao 4! It's hard work and not really the most fun but I am thankful that I get to be here and work with this wonderful ward! I am thankful that I get to be serving the lord! Love you all!

Elder Holderness

December 4, 2016

Well that's right! It's official! I have finally been in Taiwan as long as I was in the MTC!

This week was pretty normal! Our work has really slowed down. Everyone of our investigators are too busy to meet with us and we haven't found an really good investigators finding this week!

On Monday we did a lot of shopping and finished closing up our last apartment so we didn't get a lot of time to relax or enjoy a good P-Day but that's no problem! I really enjoy our new apartment! We live with an Elder Puzey from Idaho, Sugar Salem I think. And Elder Boyle from Draper! I was in the MTC with him so we are already pretty good friends and we have lots of fun!

Tuesday we went on exchanges with those two so I got to spend the day with Elder Puzey! He let me just take the lead on everything since we were in my area. It was pretty stressful at first but I will get used to it! I had a really good time being able to just talk and have fun while we did missionary work! I have missed American Culture!

We ended the exchange on Wednesday and then I had to teach English Class! It went pretty well this week, I just taught them about going on vacation. I had them all plan their dream vacation and one of the little kids that was there planned his "Month in Legoland" Hahaha

Thursday, Friday and Saturday went by pretty normally. Things are starting to look like Christmas in our Church building! We have a giant Christmas tree in the lobby! Speaking of, thank you so much for the package! I got it today and I am so excited to celebrate Christmas this year! All the stuff arrived safely and I am so thankful for the new bag! It is perfect and it has already helped my back feel better everyday!

Last night I had the opportunity to go into Taipei and attend a Recent Convert Fireside. It went really really well and I am so happy that I was able to attend! We are actually going to go right back there in a little bit because today I am taking my first language test so I will be able to move into "non-missionary" vocabulary! I am so excited to learn words that can help me really survive in Taiwan!

Well that's about it here! Time is going pretty quickly! There are still ups and downs but I am pretty adjusted! The work slowed down A LOT but we are doing our best to get it going again!

Love you all! Elder Holderness

November 27, 2016

Hello Family and Friends!

Another week in Taiwan and it was a crazy one!

Starting from Monday, after I emailed we had to go back to our house and pack up all of our belongings in preparation to move! It was a little hectic and a waste of a P-Day but we got the job done!

That night we started our exchanges with the zone leaders! I was with Elder Colletti. He is our new zone leader and he is awesome! This transfer is going to be so much fun! I love all the new comers and I have been so much happier!

Tuesday, we had district meeting and I finished my exchanges. I really enjoyed being able to go out and just have some fun for awhile rather than being too stressed!

Wednesday was one of the craziest days of my life. It was seriously just like one of those old jokes... "What do you get when you have 2 Taiwanese speaking moving people, 1 Chinese speaking missionary and 1 White Kid from Utah all trying to get an apartment packed up?"... It was crazy!!! We had to move everything! The fridge, couches, beds, dryer... EVERYTHING! And then we had to put that stuff in another apartment! That didn't know we were coming! HAHAHAHA!!! But after all that is said and done, I am so glad to move out. Our new apartment is awesome! I live with Elder Boyle and Elder Puzey now! We have so much fun now!

Thursday we went up to Taipei for our Trainee Trainer Follow-Up! So I got to see all my MTC friends! It was super fun and President gave us some very helpful advice. The most comforting part for me though was that I wasn't too sad when it was over. I looked forward to getting back to my area. (That is a huge improvement from last transfer!) Oh and thank you for the wonderful package! I loved it and can't wait to start that advent calendar! (The other calendar is way better though!)

Friday was missionary Thanksgiving! We don't have Turkey, so we did the next best thing. Another Kaorou Chidaobao!  The whole district totally broke the word of wisdom eating too much meat but it is so good! That night we had my first baptism! That's right! Little Peng Xiang Yi got baptized! He is still super crazy and had to have help with every part of his testimony share but I am excited for him!

Saturday and Sunday were pretty normal, the work has slowed down a little bit but we are still working just as hard! Winter is really coming now and we get lots of rain and cold. I am going to have to buy some new clothes. (Sorry!) My Chinese is really coming along and so is my mission! The time is starting to go by without me even realizing! Taiwan is great! The church is true! I love you all!

Elder Holderness

November 20, 2016

Dear Family and Friends! Another week has gone by here in Taiwan and I am happy to say that time is starting to go by really quickly!

This week ended my first transfer on the island! Looking back on it, even with it's hard times I really only have positive memories of it! What a blessing that is by itself! I came to really love our district and am going to miss the good friends that left us this week!

Sister Hickenlooper, Sister Wang, Elder Lin, Elder Liao, Elder Hammond, Me

This week, Elder Hammond and Sister Wang got transferred. They both are doing a white-wash training! I am going to miss them a lot! They both helped me and are my really good friends!

Besides that though, this week has been really great! On Monday, I got to go bowling with some of the other missionaries here and it made me miss my Life Activities Class with Coach Sheide! We had a lot of fun but I have lost too much of my practice so my score was sub-par.

At the conclusion of P-Day we had English Class Boarding. Which we just hand out a million flyers for our English Class. It was the first time that I could just walk around and talk to anyone without any fear! I felt amazing being capable to do that!  (And I'll talk about it in a little bit but our English Class this week was a real success!)

On Tuesday we had our final district meeting with last district and it was fun! We sang hymns at the top of our lungs and then talked about all the good and bad we have seen in the last 6 weeks. The work here in Tao Yuan is really booming! Our zone had a goal this year to get 100 baptisms. Right now we are at 87 so we are really starting to put in extra prayers and effort to reach it before the end of the year!

I have gotten to be pretty good friends with Elder Liao (Or as best as possible) and it has helped a lot! Our work is really moving along. This week we have a baptism on Friday, it's a 13 year old boy name Peng Xiang Yi. He's a little crazy but mostly awesome! (And still the only person that I really don't understand a word that comes out of his mouth. Hahahaha)

This Wednesday we had English Class and I decided to teach about maps and directions. What better way to do that then hand draw a map of beautiful Orem, Utah from memory!? It turned out to be a pretty fun class and we got 2 investigators from it! One of them is so awesome, his name is Kenny. He attended the US Air Force Academy and then served in Taiwan's Air Force. He is retired now at age 50 and has a family we haven't met yet but look forward to it. On Thursday we got to meet with him and teach him the Restoration. After the lesson we went outside of the church and his car had gotten towed! It was so crazy! I thought he would be a little annoyed but it was the opposite! He thought it was funny and told us he was thankful for letting him come! He came to Stake Conference on Saturday night too!

Stake Conference was yesterday and that was really awesome! We had some of the 70 here and our Mission President came too. They all speak Chinese from different areas of the world so their accents were all different, some of the members couldn't understand the one from Hong Kong!

So that's about my whole week! Things are looking up here and the work is really moving! We haven't moved out of our house yet, we will on Wednesday! I am pretty excited! It should be fun and helpful for me!

Last little bits for fun! 1) Here in Taiwan, they play American Music all the time and the other day I heard Country Road. But in my head, all I could hear was Mark Gowans, Dan Finch and all the other Young Men's leaders singing Canyon Road (Orem Utah, Mountain Mama)! 2) This week I ate both 1000 year old egg and pig stomach soup!

Well I love you all and thank you for the support! Talk to you again next week! Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder Holderness

November 13, 2016

Hello Family!

Well, this week was pretty usual missionary work, we didn't have too many crazy stories or adventures and I'm still just trying to keep going!
Monday, Elder Liao and I went on a hike with a recent convert and an investigator in Taibei. The view was amazing but made me miss the mountains back home! Haha! Those ones are way better! I also got a haircut so my hair was pretty Taiwanese for a couple of days! Haha!

The rest of the week kind of just settled back into normal mission life. Winter is starting to come and we have gotten a couple of really windy and rainy days. I got more name tags this week too.

This week we had some real progression with Peng Didi, the 13 year old that struggles with staying focused. He had his baptismal interview last week and his baptism service is scheduled for the 25th!

Other than him though, we have been doing a lot of finding. Most of our investigators right now say they are too busy to meet with us so we are on the streets a lot! Things have been getting better though and we are starting to have more success finding. We got a couple new investigators and a lot of potentials. My street contact is still pretty poor but I am slowly getting better! I can pretty much understand all of our lessons and contacts now though so I am seeing the progression already!

Some days are definitely really hard on me emotionally. I always thought that I had a lot of patience but now I am getting pushed to the limits. I work really hard on being patient and humble with my companion. But it's hard.

Sorry for the kind of boring email! The work is going! I am getting better all the time, even if sometimes I don't even notice it! This week should be pretty interesting! We have my first transfers and we just got word we are moving apartments. We are going to be in an apartment with 4 people now! Yay! Another thing to adjust to! Hahaha!

Love you all so much! Thanks for the support!

Elder Holderness

November 6, 2016

Hey Family and Friends! It's that time of the week again when you get to hear from your favorite person!

Alright, first things first! Last Monday, after I got off emailing, we went on a road trip to a nearby amusement park! It was really really weird! It was about the size of Lagoon, but there were only like 300 people there so the question wasn't "How long is the wait time?" it was "How many times do we want to ride this before we want to switch?" It was really strange. But I had a lot of fun!

This was there "Grand Entrance"

After we got back we had dinner at the Bishop's house. I am really starting to love all the members and the Taiwanese!

Tuesday we had my first Zone Meeting. I was really glad to have a meeting in English for the first time in a month since my District is half native so district meetings are in Chinese. Afterward we did something amazing. Of course being in Taiwan I am going to have some weird foods and some good ones. But the surprising thing is I haven't turned down a food in three weeks! (If you're reading this and knew me before my mission at all you know I am not very adventurous with my foods.) I am actually adjusting really well to the food here! Anyway, after zone meeting, we went to something called a Kaurou Chidaobao. It is amazing!!! You just sit there and order meat and then they bring it to you uncooked so you cook it yourself on the grills in the middle of the table. All you can eat. Oh and there's all you can eat Hagen Daaz Ice Cream and Soda and pretty much anything. It was awesome!!

Besides that amazing place I have also had some pretty bad things. This week I ate Stinky Tofu. (It wasn't too bad but I don't really like any tofu) and duck blood cubes! Hahaha

The work is actually pretty slow in our area right now. We are doing finding all the time and I have a pretty hard time with it. I am really working though and getting better. Also, we have an investigator who is pretty close to baptism. His name is Peng Didi. He is 13 though and a little crazy. He has a really hard time sitting still so it's hard to keep him reverent. He attended a baptismal service this week though and things are looking hopeful. Actually, I almost forgot, after the baptism. His bike tire popped so I had to run his bike to his house about 2 to 3 miles away and then run back. In my mission clothes. And let me tell you, Ecco's are probably the worst running shoes ever. Hahahaha!

Also, I am a little surprised that I don't have my own show on HGTV yet! This week I finished cleaning my apartment and it is so great! Right in time for our inspection! Hahaha! It only took 5 weeks! (And then you find out two days later you probably are going to have to move...)

Things are still pretty hard sometimes but for the most part I am really getting the hang of missionary work and Chinese! My Chinese just keeps getting better and better! I am really starting to just love it! And there aren't a lot of feelings better than walking away from a conversation and realizing you just did it in Chinese without thinking an harder than English. (I've only had that like twice though.)

I love you all so much and will write again next week! I know the church is true and that it brings happiness!

Elder Holderness

October 30, 2016

Hello Family and Friends! Happy Halloween from Taiwan! This year I decided to be a missionary for Halloween! Hahaha!

Anyway, this week has been quite fun! I'll start where I left off last week, leaving for Taipei. Right after we finished up our emailing we left. The first thing on our schedule was the MaoKong cable cars! That's right, I got to live my Pokemon childhood! It was so pretty and one of the first quiet and peaceful moments I have had in Taiwan.

After that awesome trip we went into the city toward Temple Square. The Taipei temple is really really small but really really pretty. It is really simple but there are some very Chinese decorations too. We got to do all Chinese names and work. I loved the opportunity to visit and hope that I can return in 3 months but we'll have to see where I am serving. Afterward we got to eat some of Sister Jergensen's delicious caramel waffles! They were sooooo good! (I ate 5...)

So I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but my eye was really messed up on Wednesday, I ended up taking out my contacts and throwing them away because my eye was really red and hurt. So I spent about half the day without glasses. The next morning I woke up and couldn't open my eye for a little while and when I finally got it open, it was so blurry I couldn't see anything. We went to the eye doctor and it turns out I have an eye infection from the water here. That was a bummer. But I have eye drops that I have to use all the time right now and it is getting better. I hope that I can still see clearly when it is gone.

Things are getting better here. I am starting to see glimpses and have moments of happiness here. I am starting to enjoy the work and the Chinese is really coming along. I can understand so much now (my speaking is still behind a little though). I can kind of have conversations with the members now and can joke and have fun. It has been so relaxing and comforting to not stress about the language too much. I can't wait until I don't have to worry at all. Yesterday, a member asked me how long I had been in Taiwan and wouldn't believe me that it had only been 3 weeks. She made me show here my Alien Resident Card because she thought I had been out for a year. Hahaha!

Things are going...alright in our area.  We have a couple of good investigators right now. One's name is Phoenix. He is doing really well and passed all the baptism interview questions. He just doesn't feel ready yet and wants to read the Book of Mormon and pray more. He just hasn't gotten around to it. He says he is too busy and tired.

Well, that is just about all of my letter for this week. I love you all so much and happy to email you this Halloween! Good luck to all of you!

Oh, almost forgot, President called everyone on Friday and let us know about a change. Our schedule is shifted by 30 minutes. So we get up at 7 and go to bed at 11! It's really weird and I don't know if I like it yet but I trust him so I'll do it!

Love Elder Holderness

October 25, 2016

Hello Family! I am writing early today because I leave for the temple in about an hour.

This week was pretty good! I am starting to figure out Taiwan a little bit better! On Monday we went on a hike to a nearby mountain and it was really pretty but super small! I was glad to just spend sometime with the Zone Leaders though and talk English for a while.

Tuesday I had exchanges with them too so I got a whole day to see what it would be like to have a companion that knows how to speak English and understands how hard it is to learn Chinese. I really enjoyed it but it went too quickly!

Wednesday and pretty much of the rest of the week were pretty normal. I am really having a hard time still. I don't really know what is going on all the time. I am really looking forward to the end of my training.  We have 60 trainees right now. Every companionship is either training or in leadership. It's really really hard and I am still not quite up to myself yet. But it gets a little better each day.

Funny story of the week. We went to the chapel to wait for our investigator and found two of the elders from the other area there already. We waited and talked with them for about 30 minutes. Eventually we found out we were both waiting for the same person. He had scheduled with both companionships for the same time! And then when we asked were he lived he said both of our areas. It was so funny and so confusing! He's a very strange guy!

I really love you guys so much and will tell you all about the temple and send pictures next Monday but I haven't gone yet. Sorry this letter is a little short!

Love, Elder Holderness!

October 16, 2016

Dear Family and Friends!

I just want to thank everyone for their incredible support! The last week was really hard but things were a lot better this week! I am doing well! I am ready to work and enjoy these next two years as best as I can!

Alright, Monday, right after I got interrupted emailing for a lunch I don't know about because my companion didn't tell me, I had my worst day on the island. It was supposed to be my P-Day and time to relax but I didn't feel like I was relaxing at all and I was pretty much set on going home. But our Zone Leaders here are really a gift from God. One of them, Elder Hammond, took me on a much needed exchange and we went with his recent convert friend to get ice cream and bike around to some awesome places in our area. It really cheered me up and I got to ask him all the questions I still had and couldn't ask my companion. We also went to Costco and I got plenty of food for me to have at home in case I don't like the food that much. (Costco is awesome, everything is in English. I could be convinced I was back in Orem if there weren't so many Taiwanese people.) But food actually isn't really a problem too much anymore. Since day one I have been trying everything! And slowly but surely I am finding things I like and liking things that I didn't like at first.

Tuesday, was rough again but not nearly as bad and luckily we get to meet with the other missionaries in our zone often so when I am in desperate need for English I just try to make it to those times. I am getting quite good at understanding my companion though and I find that I have to translate for him more often than he translates for me.  I may have found my first investigator while finding. I can't speak super well with anyone but I started the conversation and Elder Liao picked up where I couldn't continue.

Wednesday, my companion went to Taipei for a district leader meeting so I was on exchanges with the other ZL, Elder Lin. He is a native but he is so awesome and he not only is super good at English but also super good at teaching me Chinese and showing me how to do things like how to do street contacting or how to find my way around.  We taught English Class for the first time and my class wasn't awesome but I survived!

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we did a lot of work but didn't really get any success out of it. A lot of our lessons just change times over and over and then eventually cancel completely so that is really frustrating and I am trying to figure out how Liao and I can work better to keep them interested.

Yesterday was pretty busy but I got to share my testimony in Sacrament meeting and that went really well. All of our meetings and classes are in Chinese but I am already understanding a lot of what is said. I can't wait until I can contribute all that I am capable of. We met an awesome member family. The Wang Family. They often do exchange students with people in Utah so their English is pretty good and they know Utah super well. They are so loving and kind!

That's kind of how everything went this week. I am starting to really love Taiwan and the people here. The language is coming along really well even if it is slower than I want it to. (Maybe that's just because I am following my native companion all the time.)  I am finding lots of ways to be and stay happy and every time that I hit another rough patch, God always sends something to get me out of it. I know he is watching out for me and I am so thankful.

Love, Elder Holderness

P.S. Next week we are going to the Temple in Taipei so my email won't come until Wednesday. Don't worry! I am ok!

Also, a funny little design flaw joke! Hahaha I don't know if "Hello Kitty Hell" was what they were going for.

October 10, 2016

Ni Hao Everyone!!! I made it!!!

Alright, where to start? I finally got to leave the MTC! (But to be honest I am going to miss it a lot, I had some good times and some fun memories there. Especially the people in my district and zone.) We got on a bus and left for the train station! Wait what? Train station?? Yep, that's right, we didn't know we where going by train to the airport so it was quite a surprise when we found out that we had to not only get on an already late train, but also get off that train (with ALL the luggage for 50 missionaries) in one minute!! It was so crazy but we made it!! All the calling and boarding went well. We made it to San Francisco no problem! The flight to Taiwan was so long! SOOOO long! I was the middle seat of the middle aisle [XXX XOX XXX] (I'm the O) But we did get to fly on a Dreamliner which was so cool! It made it seem like we flew a whole night even though it never even got dark outside!

Okay. Taiwan. First impression: This place is hot. And humid. And sticky. But it is also so pretty and the most bizarre place I have ever been. Oh also, I Kan bu Dong and Ting bu Dong everything. (I can read but not understand and hear and not understand everything.) Our mission president picked us up from the airport and we went to the temple square in Taipei because that is where he lives and we spent the night. We ate a thing called a Jua Bing. It is pretty much an omelet wrapped up in a crepe. It was so good!! (But also the only delicious thing I have had so far.) We had to go to bed pretty quickly cause we arrived so late.

My view through my window my first night

The next morning we woke up extra early to go to the Grand Hotel. It is so big and so Asian! It is actually really close to the area that the mission was dedicated so we parked there and walked to the dedication site. President Jergensen gave us a little bit of the history of the mission and then invited us to take some time to dedicate ourselves in service for the Lord. It was a really unique and spiritual moment.

Grand Hotel

After we got back to the mission home, we got all of our new study material and gathered our belongings before we went to a quick conference. We all got our new trainers and areas. I had to say goodbye to the friends and family that I have grown to love these last two months so that was pretty hard. My trainer is Elder Liao, he is a 24 year old native. Our area is Tao Yuan. It is a city a little to the southwest of Taipei (I think).

After we got a ride from the Bishop from Taipei to our home (our very messy apartment) I put my stuff down and then tried to understand why my companion was saying we had to go. But I just gave up and followed him.

Now for biking. Oh sweet biking. Okay, I'm going to try and set the picture. Imagine New York City. Actually, there's not enough freeway exit and entrance ramps there. It's probably closer to Los Angeles. Crazy. But wait, don't forget that lines here are just a suggestion. You don't actually have to follow them. The way responsibility works here is that you are only responsible for what is in front of you. (You could really live without rear view mirrors) Bikes here are considered cars too. We don't have special lanes or sidewalks. We just ride in the middle of the street! It is CRAZY!!! I guess the best description I can give is that I literally live Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 everyday! Hahahaha! Oh and don't forget that my companion is a 24 year old native! So I'm trying not to die and he's just having a jolly time yo-yo-ing while he bikes! I could barely keep up!

Turns out he had scheduled a lesson for about an hour before I was even supposed to get to the apartment so welcome to the field I guess! I don't understand a word here. It is insane.

That first lesson was kind of rough and the next day was about the same. We had lessons and I started getting thrown into finding. Then I watched general conference again at our church building here.

That's about all the cool stuff that has happened. To be honest though, before I left the MTC there were 3 things I prayed for in my first area. 1) I wanted an American trainer 2) I wanted to be in the country and 3) I wanted to have other companionships in my apartment. But now I am living in the middle of a city alone with only my native companion. This is so hard and I haven't had a day without tears in my eyes. I don't know if I can do this. I feel so alone all the time. My companion doesn't speak English well at all so I never have any real conversations. He has left me when we are biking a couple of times and I don't know the area at all so I get pretty scared. I have been trying really hard with all the food but I still don't like to eat here so I haven't been full in like a week. I am really really struggling. I can barely make it from hour to hour. I like the ward but I also feel completely alone when I am with them cause my companion just goes and plays and talks with all of them and I don't understand the culture or language. The zone leader is pretty awesome though and he has been helping me these last two days and I really need your prayers. 

Love you all so much!

September 28, 2016

Hey Family!

So pretty much this whole week I have just been counting down the days until I finally get to leave! Everyday here makes Taiwan just look a million times better! Hahaha! This week was actually a lot of fun though! We taught our final lessons to our teachers but they still are going to teach us one more time each.

Last Thursday we had our first of two birthdays in our zone so we decorated someone else's classroom so ours wouldn't get in trouble and sang Zhuni Shengri Kuaile (Happy Birthday).  On Saturday, we had both our second birthday and our second Christmas.  I was in charge of all the Secret Santa coordination and decorations.  It was a lot of fun! And of course, we did the birthday decorations again! (This time to a different room than the first time, but still not ours.)

On Friday of this week we final got our FLIGHT PLANS!!! I am so excited!! We leave the MTC at 5:20 AM October 4th. (Happy Birthday Mom!) Our first flight is at 10:25 AM going to San Francisco arriving at about 11:40 AM.  Then from there, at 1:55 PM we leave for Taipei to arrive at 6:30 PM on the 5th! (14 hours of flying, 14 hours lost) I have plenty of time to call you guys in the airport, but I have to wait until I pass security I think. That way I can wish you Happy Birthday on the phone!

We had our final Skype lesson on Monday and it was actually a lot of fun for the first time! I feel very happy with my Chinese and I am totally ready to be humbled in Taiwan! I cannot wait to learn that language.  I have always loved it so much and it makes me so happy when I speak it.  I may not know a whole lot right now but I just smile so much when I realize that I just said my whole personal prayer in Chinese without thinking or listen to my teachers' mission stories and don't really translate, just listen.  I am so excited to realize I don't actually know anything but then to learn!

Most of the week besides that was just us getting as excited as we could for Taiwan and preparing to go! My next letter will be from there and I am guessing it will be a bit more interesting than these ones that I have been writing at the MTC.  Love you all!

Elder Holderness!

September 21, 2016

Alright, looks like it's time for another email.  Which doesn't seem right because I'm pretty sure I wrote one of these two days ago! Hahaha!

This week just blurred together so quickly that I don't know how much I'll have to say!

First off, that Elder with the back problems that I talked about last week, Elder Johnson, is actually home now.  We kept waiting everyday to hear about what was going on and finally on Thursday night we got called out of class to meet with the district president.  After waiting in the hall for about an hour, Elder Johnson returned and told us that he has been reassigned to the Boston Mission and he will still be speaking Chinese.  He was so excited to hear this! We helped him get off on Friday morning but so far, he doesn't know when he will be able to return to service.  I was so thankful for the time that I had with him because he taught me how to be a better missionary.

We didn't have any general authorities speak to us this week, but we did have some good devotionals and the spirit is strong no matter who speaks. This week I have been studying the Christlike Attributes and it has helped me in all my activities here.  Teaching, studying, giving service.  They are incredibly powerful and very interesting to study.

This week we finally heard about the General Conference Choir.  I have been looking forward to it since we got here and wanted to be in it really bad.  They decided to take 600 missionaries and were choosing based on surveys they passed out during practice.  I have been going to choir every week just for this opportunity.  But even though if with all the musical experience I had written down, I was not selected for some reason.  It seems that they did it at random.  Some people in my zone put down they had no experience and they still got chosen.  So no, I am not going to be in the choir, I wish I was.  My companion will be though so I'll be on splits for the whole day.

On a happier note, even though I'm sad about that, we got our Chinese name tags this week! We're aren't allowed to wear them around the MTC because no one can read them here; but, they look really cool and I can't wait till I get to wear them all the time!

Chinese is still coming well, I have kind of slowed in progression.  Mostly because it's hard to keep up all the vocab and grammar without using it all the time and no one besides our zone speaks Chinese here. Hahahaha!  Our lessons are going fantastic though! My companion and I were able to teach an entire first lesson, invite to baptism, church and prayer and answer all our investigator's questions in just 28 minutes.  (Which is better than our original one point of a lesson in 30 minutes like we used to do! Hahahaha)

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! This week I actually got assigned as District Leader so I've got a little bit more to worry about now, but I also am very thankful for the opportunity to serve my district and help them grow and prepare these last few weeks at the MTC.

This week is another 25th so we are doing Christmas again on the 24th! It's gonna be fun! I'm in charge this month so I got all the Secret Santa names out yesterday!  What ever keeps us sane here!

Also, as usual I am still exercising and playing everyday.  But yesterday, while I was playing volleyball, I went up for a spike and got pushed in the air so I landed straight on my ankle.  It's really swollen and a little bruised and hurts to walk on.  But it got a lot better last night so it should heal quickly!

We get our Travel Plans on Friday! I can't even believe that it's almost been two months! I think that your birthday pretty much doesn't exist for me this year Mom. Sorry! We leave that morning and cross the date line and skip to the 5th. Don't worry though, I have something planned for you!

I'll send another email with pictures of my name tags, some of the district with our matching Taiwan shirts and just the normal crazy personalities we have here!

Love you all so much!

Elder Holderness

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Hello Everyone!

Hmm, where to start?  This week just blurred together so much.  Our zone took a tough loss this week.  We lost 23 of the missionaries but we are only getting 7 today.  All those missionaries that left are some of my best friends ever.  The brotherhood that we have in the Mandarin branch is incredible.  Especially because we are here for an eternity.  I really can't believe that September is already half way over though.  It seems like yesterday was the first.

This week I hit my first wall with Chinese.  I'm not having a hard time learning anything really; but, it seems to me that I really can't learn much more here in the MTC.  I just want to get out in the field and meet all the people and just see how little I actually know!  We did a Skype lesson today with a member in Taiwan and it was so fantastic!  The whole time we couldn't really understand here though.  And it wasn't because of the language, just the technology.  I could understand a lot of what we could hear and that made me so happy and excited! All the Taiwanese people that I have met are so happy and kind and I just love all of them already! I keep getting videos and pictures from the groups that left before me and I cannot wait to be there!

Yesterday, Elder Cook gave us our devotional and he spoke about the four loves that we need for our missions.  1) Love for our companion.  2) Love for the people.  I already talked about that a lot but I just love the people of Taiwan so much already! I want to help them with whatever testimony I have.  Be it small or large, I know that I can make a difference and help at least one person! 3) Love for the Mission President.  He shared an incredible little insight with us. He said that more often than not, the mission that they decide for the missionary is because of the mission president and how they can learn and grow from them.  I don't know much about mine yet but I am so excited to meet them and interact with them.  And finally, 4) Love for the Lord.  I know I have this one already, I wouldn't be out here still if I didn't.  But I know every person in the world, even the prophet can work on this each and everyday.  He gave us everything that is good in this world.  Every time I go to the temple I am just reminded of this again and again.  His love for us incredible so we should try to do the same for him.

I really loved this talk because as I hit this Chinese wall, I fell back into just studying the gospel as much as I can and it has boosted my testimony so much.  I know that if I can accomplish these things and gain love for each of them then I can be the best missionary I can be.

We also had Elder Ballard here on Sunday night and the spirit was just as strong then.  I know for sure that there is no way the Apostles would give up everything that they have if this Church wasn't true. Every time that the speak with us they make sure to bear their witness and their testimony to close. I love it so much.

This week we also had a sad yet happy story.  Elder Johnson, one of the Elders from the transfer just above us, (He was supposed to leave yesterday)  went to the doctor to check back up on his back problems that made him delay his mission for awhile got told that he would not be flying to Taiwan with the rest of his district.  Instead, he has to stay here for another week and then go home and recover.  He doesn't know if he'll be able to serve at all or if he will get another delay. The first presidency is deciding today.  But for now, he is in our companionship so we're back to three again! He really has been just a blessing for us all though.  His testimony is so strong even though all these problems are happening to him.  It's hard to see him go through this however.

I love you all! I don't have a lot to talk about right now though so that's all I think! Here's that picture I talked about last week of our whole zone.

Love you all so much!

Elder Holderness

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Hello Everyone!!!

This week was another great week in the MTC! Even though we never seem to keep our teachers here, we finally got one that is going to be with us for the rest of the MTC. And he is the best teacher of all! In this one short week he has completely changed all of us.  His name is Brother Lee and he is so incredible.  He's funny and witty but also spiritual and teaching.  Without him I wouldn't be as successful as I am right now.

Chinese this week has been coming so well! I can now learn about 50 words, review 100 and learn a scripture every single day.  I know that is a lot because of Heavenly Father's help and our teachers help.  I love learning it so much!  I really don't think I've shared any stronger testimonies than the ones that I can in Chinese now!  Nothing makes me happier than trying to say something in Chinese and realizing I can totally do it or the times when I find my self thinking or saying Chinese on accident! And I can't even read a character yet! Hahahaha!

I am doing so well! I'm happy almost all the time.  Which is surprising for me because of how much work I have to do and I'm really not the least lazy person in the world!  Also, to answer your question mom, I haven't gained or lost any weight in the MTC, I am eating well but not a lot and I am still running and working out everyday.  I love being able to just run now (never thought that day would come! Hahaha!)

Ok, this week we got 13 new Cantonese missionaries in our zone.  About half of them are from the UK and they are some of the funniest best people ever! I feel like I'm living Harry Potter sometimes! Hahaha!  There is only one Sister so she is a Solo Missionary here.  So she is with the Sisters in our district most of the time.  Her name is Sister Percival and she's from Wales.  She also loves Harry Potter so naturally Elder Driggs, her and I get along so well! Hahaha! Our zone just keeps being the best! I love them all so much!  We tried to take a picture of all of us together at the temple this Sunday but it wasn't on my camera so I'll have to try and send it later.

This week we had devotionals from Elder Christofferson and Chad Lewis so those were some pretty powerful speakers and experiences! They were so different in their way of teaching and yet the spirit in the room was the same for both of them!  Speaking of Chad Lewis, I am happy to hear BYU won but I also heard that they're not looking so good this year! Uh oh! I guess I'm glad I don't have to watch any stressful games!

Also to answer your other question and mostly to just share and awesome experience:  no, I do not need anymore names to do at the temple because Brother Lee actually asked us to help him do some of his family names.  So starting this morning as the first time, we got to do Chinese names at the temple for everything! It is so cool and I love it! It just makes every trip so incredible! This morning I just couldn't stop smiling while I was doing initiatories.  (That may have been because I also got to hear those old people try to pronounce all the names though! Hahahah!)  I love being able to go to the temple as often as I used to still!  We're lucky we live so close to one.

Also, this week we lost Elder Willes, the solo missionary that joined us late.  He finally got a companion of his own so it's back to just the two of us! Things are going well.

This week I really learned how to rely on the Lord.  I learned how to have a conversation with him while I pray rather than just talking at him.  I know he lives, I know that Christ is our savior and I know that the Holy Ghost is the most powerful tool of conversion, for ourselves and investigators.  I love this gospel and I love my family!

Love,

Elder Holderness