Elder Ogden in Taipei: Week Six- Same Old MTC Life

Halloween Costumes- Portraying their favorite Elder Anderson

你们好朋友和家庭！

I figured out how to type characters so there's the same opening I always do for you guys! The traditional characters that they use in Taiwan weren't working though so those are the lame simplified ones from everywhere else

This week has been pretty much the same, so there's not much else to tell. I really appreciate all the love I get from home, it seems like every time I'm feeling a little down I get letters from the (name omitted) boys or Dear Elders or something and I can definitely feel your thoughts and prayers so I'm loving it!

I did get called to be District Leader yesterday so that's fairly exciting I guess. I'm basically a glorified mailman but it'll be a good opportunity to serve and get used to leading meetings and helping the branch presidency minister to the missionaries so it'll be a good experience. I've definitely felt an increase of love towards my district as I've been given this stewardship.

So Halloween was this last week and it was pretty much like every other day. We did do an "Elder Andersen (not my companion) dress up" where that morning we tied our ties short and wore sandals and no belt and he had some name tags from his brother so we had enough for all of us. It was pretty funny, but I felt like an idiot and it was super hard to focus so I gave up and fixed it pretty quickly. The best part was when Elder Andersen said "you guys look ridiculous" and we were all like "you look like this almost every day!" He's quite the character we love him. He definitely makes the monotony of the MTC bearable.

Yesterday President Shumway gave a zone conference and he taught us his "5 steps to testimony":

1-The Gospel should be studied,

2-Believed in without a doubt,

3-Thoughtfully taught,

4-Deeply and reverently loved, and

5-Faithfully lived.

He had a primary song or hymn to go with each step and he asked me to play them kinda last minute so I had to sight read most of them and it was a little rough but it turned out ok. He's a very powerful speaker and always gives great insights and has amazing stories. We're pretty sure he's the next apostle. I invite you to ponder on what those steps mean to you (because it's a good exercise and I don't have time to go into more detail on them haha).

I was also asked Saturday to accompany the departing district on a GORGEOUS arrangement of "Consider the Lilies" and that was basically sight reading too but they sounded so good they covered up my many mistakes haha.

Speaking of which, the generation above is all gone to either Taichung or Singapore, and it's pretty sad. They were all great people and great examples of devoted missionaries. We'll miss them but they're off for greater things. I'll have some pictures with the elders from that district up on the drive.

Last night's devotional was with Brother Egett, the choir director, and he spent the whole time using the backstories behind a lot of the hymns and their authors to teach lessons, and he's also hilarious, so it was one of my favorite devotionals. One of my favorites was the story of the Lyricist for "I Know That My Redeemer Lives", Samuel Medley. In short, he was a rough, rebellious teenager in the 1700's who got out of an apprenticeship by joining the navy and becoming even rougher. In a firefight with the French, he had a portion of his leg taken off by a ball, and was going to have to have it amputated because of the lead poisoning and gangrene. That night, for the first time, he prayed and promised Jesus if He would heal his leg, he would serve Him. In spite of having done nothing to deserve it, the next morning his leg was better, and eventually he was able to walk again. After hearing a sermon a little later, he decided he needed to keep his promise, and ended up becoming one of the most popular preachers in England, and penning the words to that song.

I just want to add my simple testimony to that of Samuel. I know my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, lives. He suffered for the sins, the pains, and the afflictions of all of God's children, so we could have forgiveness, strength, and comfort in our screw-ups and our trials. He was resurrected, so we too can live again. I know that if we turn to him, he will lift us up and through his Gospel we can live with our Heavenly Father again, and achieve our full potential as children of the creator and organizer and ruler of the universe. I know that in His justice and mercy, all will be made right.

I have been studying Alma, and this principle was really confirmed to me when I read Alma 14:8-13, and later 16:2,9-11. I want you all to remember, that even though a lot of terrible things happen to people that don't deserve them, the Lord tests us to help us grow, and even when bad things happen, everything will work together for good for those who serve Him, in this life or the next. D&C 138:57-60.

Sincerely,

Elder Ogden