March 23, 2014

"For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night."‏

SUP!
> 
> Time is flying faster than any other time in my entire life. It is nuts. This past week was really good. We met with Eliza three times! Haha. Everytime is so good. This week we gave her a conference edition of the Liahona and she looks at the inside and says, "this is the work of God." YES! We met with her yesterday and shared with her the Word of Wisdom, Prophets, and Fasting. She is already fully keeping the Word of Wisdom. She even wakes up early, goes to bed early, exercises daily, and hardly eats any meat. Haha. Our member that was there said, "she is keeping the word of wisdom better than I am." She is the most prepared person I have ever met. When we shared with her about fasting she told us about when she was working in the Middle east how her and her friend fasted for an entire month.... And they would only drink a little water a day. What. So yesterday for part of our lesson we asked if we could fast with her so her boss will let her come to Church and so her husband will let her be baptized. She asked how long we would be fasting for, when we told her it was two meals she says under her breath, "Oh, that is too easy." Haha. Please pray for this woman's husband to soften his heart and let her be baptized and for a way she can come to Church. If Eliza isn't Baptized while I am here, I don't mind. Because she is truly converted. She knows that our Church is God's one and only true church on the earth today. And that is what truly matters. I know if she could she would be at Church every single week. She is already keeping all of the commandments that we taught her. It is just her husband and work that is holding her back from being baptized. Keep her in your prayers!
> 
> Other than Eliza this past week I went on X-changes with an Elder Nasman. He is from Finland and he is the man. He owned his own modeling company before the mission. He was super rich. Cool guy.
> 
> This past week we also had Specialized Training. Which means we are trained by President Day for an entire day. From 9 in the morning to 4 p.m. Super long, but you learn a ton. After the meeting President Day told my companion and I that our Zone would lose a lot of it's companionship's and that it would be combined with the Xinzhu zone. And that one of us would move and one would stay when the transfer is over..... He thanked us for everything we have done as Zone Leaders and told us that we did a great job. What I'm hoping will happen is my companion will move(he has already been here for 6 months), and I become just a normal Senior companion. So I can really focus on helping the area and the members here in Zhunan. I really love this area so much and the members here are so good to us.
> 
> So weird that I only have a little bit of time left... I am so grateful for the time that Heavenly Father has given me to serve Him and His children here in Taiwan. I read the talk, "Mountains to Climb" by President Eyring this past week and he talks all about the foundation of Faith being embedded in our hearts. He says, "If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts the power to endure will crumble." Then he tell us how we build the foundation. He says, "it is serving God and others with full heart that turns our faith into a solid foundation." Something like that. I love that talk so much. You can go read it. But, serving others is truly how we gain our faith!
> 
> I love this work and this Gospel. I know it is true.
> 
> I love you all so much. Have the greatest week of your life.
> 
> Love, 
> Elder Relyea

March 17, 2014

 This past week was nuts. Literally an emotional roller coaster. Saturday was probably one of the hardest days of my entire mission. BUT, things got a lot better by the end of the week.
> 
> 
> Some serious drama with Eliza. So, when we invited her to be baptized she was concerned that her husband wouldn't let her. So she said before she sets a date for baptism she would like to ask her husband first. She asked him and he said it would be okay as long as she didn't take him to Church. Ha. Alright. No worries. Then on Saturday morning she sends us this text that says, "I want to read the entire Book of Mormon and understand everything about your Church. And I don't want to be baptized anymore." ..... We were super confused. So we went to her house to see what happened. She told us that her husband and daughter sent her tons of anti-mormon/Joseph Smith stuff over text. And she was super freaked out. When we went to her house we helped he a little bit and made sure if she would still be willing to come to Church on Sunday. When we were there she said it would be okay. But then a few hours later she texted us and said she doesn't want to meet with us and she doesn't want to come to Church. Uhhhhhhhhhhg. This made me so sad. So that night(Saturday night) Elder Liu and I decided to do a special fast for her. That she would still be willing to meet with us and that she could know the truth. 
> 
> She said she didn't want to come to Church so I didn't tell anyone to take her to Church. Then, Sunday morning after church has started for ten minutes she texts me and says, "Is Brother Lin going to come and pick me up?" ....... What? Haha. I was super confused. So I asked if Brother Lin's wife could go get her. She said she could. But then she comes back a half an hour later and says she couldn't find her. During Church I continued to talk to Eliza and apologized that no one came to get her. And asked her if if would be okay if we visited her this week. She said we could come any day from 1p.m. to 7p.m. YES! She is still willing to meet with us!
> 
> So, I believe that Eliza's mind was changed because we used some serious faith to pray and fast for her. Please pray for this woman. She needs the Gospel in her life so bad. I think that God gave her some hard challenges right off the bat so she can find her testimony and be truly converted. So, I'm grateful for these challenges. She will be like the anti-Nephi-Lehi's! Completely converted unto the Lord!
> 
> Other than that this week was really good. Saw another really cool miracle. When I was on exchanges with an Elder Meeks we were waiting for an investigator outside of Mcd's when this girl that kind of looks like a boy walks by me. I start talking to her and she says that she just came back to Zhunan from Gaoxiong(the south of Taiwan). And her friend in Gaoxiong would take her to Church and pray for her. I asked her if we could sit with her for a minute and share a message about Jesus Christ. She said, "Yes." We met with her and during that first meeting the Spirit was strong. It was such a happy meeting. She set a baptismal date for 4/12! Her name is He Yi Fang. Pray for her!
> 
> Our mission leader told us yesterday that if we can have a baptism in April that we can go and have a river baptism. THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR MY ENTIRE MISSION! I'm super stoked.
> 
> I love this work. I love the Gospel. I know that Joseph Smith is God's chosen Prophet. I love you ALL!
> 
> Love,
> Elder Relyea

March 10, 2014

This past week was nuts. My companion got the flu and yak-ed three times. You know you really love your companion when you wipe up his warm vomit off the cold tile. Then in the middle of the night, jump off the top bunk and clean his throw up bucket for him right after he threw up in it. 

But, other than that we saw some serious miracles this past week. I want to share two with you. 

We went to one of our new investigators house to tell her we couldn't meet with her because we didn't have a male peike(member) and her husband answers the door and says, "come in!" We go in and have a great lesson with them. We teach them how to pray and before we left I invited them to kneel with us and the dad could say a closing prayer. We all kneeled (they have 2 sons, one is 6 and the other 10) and the dad said such a sincere prayer. He asked Heavenly Father to let his family become an eternal family.... Yeah. It was amazing. Such a huge miracle. They said they would come to Church. Called them on Sunday morning and... No answer. That is okay. We are visiting them tonight. I have faith in this family! They feel so good. It is the Zhan family. You can pray for them.

The other miracle was the Sister's found a Filipino lady last week and it turns out she lives in our area so we went and visited her last night. Her name is Eliza. The last time the Sister's met with her they shared with her that we could give her a priesthood blessing. She has some serious problems in her life. We got there and had an awesome lesson with her. And before we left I gave her a blessing. Before the blessing she said she was very nervous and her hands were super cold. I gave her the blessing and the Spirit was very strong. After the blessing she says, "my hands are cold but my inside is so hot!" The Spirit touched this humble Filipino woman's heart! After she said this we shared with her out of Helaman and 3 Nephi about how the Spirit sets our hearts on fire.

I know that Eliza got this conformation from the Spirit because our Church is TRUE! God will send his messenger to those who are prepared and those who seek Him. I am so excited to see what happens with Eliza. She takes care of a 98 year old man who never lets her go outside. His heart is going to be softened and she will be baptized! Please pray that her old man will let her out of the house to come to Church! She needs it so badly.

I know that this Church is Christ's true Church! I am so beyond grateful that I was raised in this Church and that I can know who Christ is. He is our Brother and He loves us!

I love you all so much! I only have 8 weeks left. :/

Have the best week of your lives!

Elder Relyea

March 3, 2014

"For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child"

Hello beautiful people!

This past week went by especially fast. This time is going by faster and faster! It is freaking me out. I only have 9 weeks left. Yesterday I was thinking a lot about how I go home in only 9 very short weeks and feeling a bit nervous. I was writing in my journal and I thought of a talk by Elder Holland that changed my mission as a very young missionary and I decided to read it again. It is called, "The Best is Yet to Be." Such inspiring words. He talks all about how faith is pointed towards the future and if we put our whole trust in God, never looking back, never wallowing in the past, that God will give us the blessings that are waiting for us. I felt like I really needed this talk this past week. I need more faith that God will help everything work out. 

I know He will.

We found like crazy this past week. 8 new investies! But two of them are already dead. Not really dead. They just don't want to meet with us anymore. We are having a rough time finding investigators who are actually willing to progress, come to Church, read the B.o.M. These types of things. But, I know Heavenly Father is preparing these people. And we will find those who are prepared. I know it!

Alright, I love you all so much! I know this Church is true and that Christ is our older Brother! He loves us and died for us. If you are ever doubting turn to the words of the Prophets! Living or past. They are all great.

Love,

Elder Relyea

February 23, 2014

Apostolic Love

Hi Everyone!

> Elder Holland came. I wish I was a brand new missionary when he came because the things he shared blew my mind. I don't think I can put into words how I felt when him and his wife were speaking to us, except for complete and total love. They are so full of love. It was like they were speaking to me personally. Such a special and memorable experience. One that I will never forget.
>  > I realized this past week that I only have 10 more weeks on island. :/ That thought really freaks me out. Elder Holland said, "missionary life is the closest to real life I will ever get." So, I don't want to have to start my fake life. Ha. But seriously. Something that gives me a huge comfort is my patriarchal blessing. It talks a lot about my future. So... We'll see. But I have 10 weeks to give everything I have to the Lord and to Taiwan. I will miss this place so bad.
> 
> 
> I SAW BRONSON! It was so good to see him and ask him how everyone is doing. Mom, he told me all about Kevin. Sounds like a pretty cool guy. And Bronson is being born in Taidong! My birthplace! So stoked he gets to experience everything I did as a brand new missionary. It is so weird that I am such an old missionary and he is so fresh. It was so good to see him. I most likely won't see him again because we are literally on opposite sides of the island. Unless when I end my mission he moves and comes up to Taibei. Because when he is done being trained, I will die.
> 
> Alright, I am so grateful that I was able to listen to an Apostle of the Lord this past week. I know that he is called of God. I know that this Church is God's true Church. One thing Elder Holland also said was(in his super intense kind of angry sounding but still full of love voice), "We gave our lives for this. We have sacrificed everything for this Gospel. Because it is true." 
> 
> I love you all so much. Have the most beautiful week! 
> 
> love,
> Elder Relyea 

February 16, 2014

An Apostle is coming to Taiwan!!!!‏

YO!
> 
> This Saturday Elder Holland is coming to Taibei!!! I'm so beyond stoked. It is going to be a night of inspiration and revelation! I cannot wait.
> 
> This past week was really good. I have set a personal goal to strengthen my testimony in the Savior by studying His life everyday. It has helped me so much focus more on Him when we are talking to people on the street. Since I am learning about Him daily He is on my mind more and when I testify of Him it has more feeling. I am so grateful for Him and His sacrifice.
> 
> My companion and I are doing really well. Elder Liu is the bees knees. He knows some seriously weird English. Makes me laugh. We have English days. Every Wednesday and Friday we only speak English. It is weird. I have found that I have completely gotten used to speaking straight Chinese. Haha. I will forget that it is English Day and just start speaking Chinese without even thinking about it. I even think in Chinese now. Haha. Pretty crazy. Most of my dreams are in Chinese as well.
> 
> In Taiwan there are so many girls that would like to be boys. So they dress like boys, cut their hair like boys, and talk in lower voices to sound like boys. It is very strange. Some of the time I talk to someone and I literally have no idea if they are a man or a woman. Blows my mind. But, last week we were tracting and we saw a person walking towards us. We started talking to her and she was one of these wanna-be-boy-girls. But she was super cool! We taught her about Heavenly Father and she said that she already believes in God. We taught her Baptism and she was willing to set a date right there for March 22. Yes, she may be swingin' for the same team, but that is okay. She is super willing to try. I've found that the best investigators aka bestigators are those that are willing to try. Who have desire to know are are willing to at least give it a try. You can look up Alma 32:16. I love that scripture. It talks about being humble without having to be compelled to be humble. I hope to be this kind of person. 
> 
> My time on my mission is going by faster and faster. I feel like yesterday I was sitting in this chair typing this letter. Weeks now feel like less than days. I really don't like how fast the time is going. Because I love being a missionary. I love talking to strangers on the street and letting them know that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them and a Savior who died for them. This time truly is the most precious time of my life. I'm so grateful that I have had this opportunity to serve Heavenly Father and represent His Son, Jesus Christ.
> 
> I love you all. Have the greatest week of yo lives!
> 
> All my love,
> Elder Rel-YE

February 9, 2014

What UP!

Last week I forgot to tell you everything that happened during the Chinese New Year. It was crazy. We ate so much food. We had members feeding us everyday of the week. Saved a lot of money. :) It is weird, every year during Guonian I seem to have some sort of bike problems. Last year my handlebars broke in half and this year my basket broke off... while I was riding. I'll tell you the story.

So, my District Leader Elder Kunz asked me to bring a 10 pound weight to district meeting for some reason. He never told me why, so I slap that guy in my basket. My basket is in front of my handle bars and is attached to my front wheel. There were two hooks on the basket that went over the handlebars to keep the basket from falling off but one of the hooks was already broken. But, I thought it would be fine. So, Tuesday comes, we are riding to the Chapel for District Meeting, we are riding pretty fast cause we don't want to be late. There was a car in front of us that was slowing down so my companion passed him, as I was passing him my basket breaks and since it was still attached to my front wheel it went onto the ground and threw me over my handlebars. Haha. I was fine. Got onto my feet and watched the car that I was passing run over my beautiful Roxanne(my bike). I don't know what this man was thinking. After he ran her over he just drove off. Nice. So I pull her over to the side of the road and some lady was screaming that we have to call the police. My companion comes back and tells me to look at my bum. I look and there is a huge hole where my pocket used to be. Yeah, everyone saw my G's. That was embarrassing. Then the fuzz show up and we have to tell them everything that happened then they tell me we have to go to the Police station and tell them again what happened. We did that, but nothing came out of it. There are two things I'm really sad about. 1. My favorite pants now have a huge hole in them. 2. Roxanne is dead. The gears in the back went into the spokes so the wheel can't turn at all.

I fell over again this past week.

I was getting into the shower and it was super slippery. I slipped and hit my head on the back of the tub and my ribs on the side of the tub. Hahaha. It hurt way bad. But thinking about me slipping naked makes me laugh everytime.

We were riding somewhere the other day and there was this man walking with two canes. We stopped to talk to him and right off the bat he told me I look like a paper man. That I have no muscle. He said, "next time I see you I want you to have more muscle." And he said this all in English which made it a lot better.

We are teaching this Ding Family. And they are so COOL. The whole family has interest in the Gospel. They have no Christian background but the son knows tons about the Bible and Jesus Christ. We were teaching them the other day about Baptism and Eternal Families. And it is like something clicked in my head. As we were talking about how our families can be together for eternity it made perfect sense. God let us have families so we can learn, feel loved, know that we are a part of something. And if we came down to this earth and lived with our families for as long as we do just so we could be separated when it is all over is completely contradictory. And simply we would be wasting our time here. When we spend so much time serving, loving, and building relationships with these people I know it has a purpose. We are here for a reason. I'm so happy that Heavenly Father let me have that experience so I could understand a little bit better why He gave us the beautiful gift of families. I am so grateful for my family and everything that they do for me. I am especially grateful for my Father in Heaven who prepared a perfect plan for us to return back to Him. So we can live in perfect peace and happiness with the people that we love the most.

I love this Gospel. I set a goal this week to study the life of the Savior everyday. I want to grow closer to Him. I know when we are close to our Savior we will feel His love. We will know He is proud of us and what we are doing. I am so grateful I have this opportunity to represent Him here in Taiwan. To spread the joy of His Gospel to my Brother's and Sister's here. I love my LIFE!

I hope you all can feel the love of our Savior. I love you all!

Elder Relyea