11/09/2014 - Out of order The work is good and I'm happy.

Hey family and friends!!! 

Even though this week was a littler harder we still had some great success. We actually went on three exchanges this week which was a little hectic. Monday I went with Elder Tsai which was awesome. He really loves his companion and is very thankful he helps him become a better more motivated missionary. On Thursday I got really sick all of a sudden with a stomach virus so I figured going to the temple with our RC wasn't the best choice so Elder Gerrard came with me while my companion went with Elder Tsai. It turned out being a big blessing because Elder Tsai had never participated in baptisms for the dead before then. He really had a great experience. It was also awesome that I got to go with my old companion!!! He's the best! 

OnFriday we got to exchange with the assistants which was an awesome opportunity. Elder Huang is seriously one of the coolest elders I have met on my mission. You can tell he's more mature than most other elders and has a ton of faith. He asked me a really cool question, "How would you describe your mission if you could use one word?" I said in Chinese it would be 難 and in English it would be patience. The biggest thing I have had to change about myself is my temper and reactions to peoples decisions that I don't agree with. God has definitely sent me the companions I needed to change these negative characteristics though. While I'm not perfect I've gotten a lot better then I used to be. 

This week I read from Alma 30 to Alma 46. Talk about incredible. There is so much doctrine in these chapters that if we learn from and apply will literally change our lives. It was a joy to read Alma 40-42 again because these three chapters are what influenced my decision to serve a mission. God is a merciful God and wants us to forget our mistakes after we repent and then go and change others lives. Alma went from the vilest of sinners, to full time mission (for decades), judge, prophet, and then he was translated (maybe)! That shows us how much we can change in the short amount of time we have on this earth. 

I feel like I had my first experience of being led by the Holy Ghost while giving a blessing this week. A member was having some troubles and as we met with him he asked us for a blessing. He explained the situation and I then thought about some things I could say but what came out of my mouth was opposite of what I thought I would say. I learned the Lord has different plans for people sometimes. The coolest part too is that I felt the Chinese I used was nearly flawless. Very testimony building experience. 

My companion and I are getting along great. Obviously there are some differences. But that is where patience comes into play right? We don't have to react negatively to things that bother us. Our emotions are sometimes really hard to control but our outward reactions to those emotions are fully under our control. So cool. 

Our investigators are progressing slowly but surely. Had a few setbacks this week but we really hope we will be able to have a baptism at the end of this month! 

Love you all and have a wonderful week! Keep the faith and move forward. 

Elder Meeks

11/17/2014 - Heart of Gladness

Hello all you beautiful people,

It was a pretty great week filled with miracles,  humor, exchanges, new investigators and best of all progress! For isn't progress what all of us are striving for? 

We started off the week on Monday night with a good three hour block of finding. We really prayed for the Lord's guidance and he led us to not 1 but two really prepared and nice gentlemen who were interested in learning more. They have since met up with the missionaries in their respective areas. 

I went on exchanges with Elder Anderson in my area and we really ahd a great time. I don't think I've ever met an elder more self-confident than he is. He literally talked to everyone with no fear and we saw some great things happen. A family on the train actually set up with the missionaries in Zhongli right on the spot and were really excited to hear the gospel. He has a desire to finish out strong and help his Junior Comp develop a great love for the work. I was very impressed with Elder Anderson's drive for the work.

I was able to establish contact with a former investigator from a previous area and start meeting with him here! Very big blessing I definitely think he is the reason I was sent here. I hope I can help him realize the potential he has to be so much better and happier than he is right now. I truly believe that through the gospel we can overcome whatever trial come our way! 

After English class on Wednesday Elder Greenhalgh invited a woman named L----- to take a chapel tour that week. She was really excited and accept the invitation. We found out she was raised Baptist and that she is a devout Christian. Her friends had always told her not to come to our church but she had always been curious why the children in our church were so obedient and kind. She was also really interested in missionary work. The tour went really well and we're excited to meet with her again soon. 

I went on exchanges with Elder Richardson on Thursday and had a blast!! He is someone I would love to serve with. Very down to earth, logical and proactive (also a total genius). Alot of our views on missionary work and how to really help people grow were very similar and he shared with me a talk that I have been dissecting the past few days. It is in the Aug. 1979 Ensign by Bruce L. Hafen , On Dealing with Uncertainty. This talk basically focuses on ambiguity and how it is so prevalent in the scriptures, missionary work, and daily life, etc. This talk also outlines the three different types of personalities people (especially young people) have when they start something new. I think this talk could really solve some major companionship, marital, and personal problems that we face on a frequent basis. I'm super glad Elder Richardson shared this talk with me. 

Our biggest miracle this week came in the form of an member referral! Her name is S--- H------ and she is from Tokyo but has lived in China for the past 9 years. She had met with missionaries in Japan but her father wouldn't let her be baptized. She has a 2 year old son and really wants to raise him in a good environment. After she came to church on Sunday she set a baptismal date for December!!! We're super excited for her! 

We were able to visit 5 members this week and share some great messages with them. We have been encouraging every family to use technology to share the gospel when we visit them. My testimony of the priesthood was also strengthened by a member this week when he told me the blessing I gave him last week had a major impact on him and he received a big recognition at his work. He also felt better about his relationship with God. 

The Lord has blessed us so much this week. I know he wants us to find those prepared people out there and really influence some people's lives! My testimony is being strengthened daily and I'm so grateful for my blessings! 

Lovin laugh and takin it easy. :)

Have a great week!

Elder Meeks

11/4/2014 - Awesome week

我親愛的親戚朋友們，

Wow, this last week has been great! Mission Leadership council, zone meeting, two exchanges with awesome missionaries, personal in-depth reflection on what I can improve, trying to discover how to become an inspirational leader, setting baptismal dates with two amazing people, miracles galore! 

First off the mission leadership council was just an awesome experience. When you aren't a leader it is a little hard to understand why the goals for the mission are set the way they are but being in the meeting I can understand why it is the way it is now. I really think the vision and goals that were planned are inspired by God and that they are achievable through a combined effort of all of us missionaries.

 I really liked the focus on the Plan of Salvation as the "why" of missionary work at the beginning of the meeting. We all have a similar goal. To obtain peace in this life and eternal happiness in the life to come, some people just don't know they have that goal yet. It is our job to teach with spiritual power as Ammon did when he taught King Lamoni. I have been studying those missionary chapters a lot this week and realized I want to become like them. I want to be able to teach with the spiritual power! I also loved the focus on finding quality investigators not quantity. I also have been semi disturbed that it takes 30 investigators to have one be baptized. This obviously represents that there is more focus on quantity/numbers than on the actual person.

 I actually had an interesting idea that would kind of test how much "spiking" is actually going on throughout the mission. For maybe 2 weeks just tell people that other lessons on the street do not count. Simple as that. If I guess right you would see a drop in new investigators of at least 50% but I think the quality would increase. The focus would be instead on getting people to meet with you a second time instead of "spiking" them to new investigator status (in order to boost numbers). This is just a thought I had based off of the missionaries I've served with and the patterns I've observed over the past year and a half. 

I had the chance to exchange with Elder Monson in Luzhou. His companion and him are doing great! They are reaching nearly all of the key indicators and their relationship is great. I know they will be very sad when they are not serving together anymore. Elder Monson is excited to go home but who wouldn't be with less than a month left? They are baptizing a kid from China this week and I had the opportunity to interview him. Really prepared guy who really wants to develop a testimony. 

I also exchanged with Elder Tsai. He is also doing great. Him and Elder Gerrard are really great friends and are really working hard to accomplish the mission vision. I've served with Elder Gerrard before and I know that he is doing everything in his power to do things the right way and be obedient. He was probably the best example I have ever had in a companion.

I've been studying the notes I took in the Council a lot and have really tried to figure out how I can inspire my zone members to fulfill all the goals that we have put for. I have decided that frequent follow up is a critical way that we can know the status of their progressing investigators and can give advice in helping them progress. Also with frequent follow up they can feel that we actually love and care about them. I believe our zone is on track for every companionship having a baptism in November and 2 in December. 

Speaking of baptisms we had a miracle happen this week. Up until this week we did not have anyone with a firm baptismal date. We have really been praying for guidance on how to improve this area of our work. We invited tons of people on the street and invited every single one of our investigators. Finally I had the opportunity to meet with two investigators we have. Their names are R--- and H---- and they lived in Irvine for a few years. The missionaries starting teaching them there and when they came back we got in contact with them. They have been very hesitant to set a baptismal date because of their lack of faith. But while we were meeting we discovered the reason they met with us is that our church is different in the fact that our leaders don't take a salary and that 19year old boys are willing to drop everything and pay to serve for two years. We really honed in on this fact and helped them understand that they could understand why we are doing it if they are willing to pray, read the scriptures and continue to attend church. At the end of the lesson I felt inspired to tell them that if they did these things they would be ready for a baptismal date of Dec. 6th and my companion and I were shocked when they agreed! God is blessing us for sure! Miracles are in abundance. 

I have a lot of personal goals and I have 5 months left to accomplish them. I am more motivated then I have been on my entire mission. I honestly believe that I am feeling the Spirit more often than I ever have in my entire life. It feels good. I just want to do what God wants me to do. I'm super thankful for everything God has done for me in my life. Especially for giving me a great family. 

The area I'm serving in is so busy! It is right in the heart of Taibei and is about 10 minutes from the temple/mission office. It is really cool serving here because I get to see a bunch of missionaries that I love all the time. There are lots of activies that we get to participate in and I get to see tons of members from my old areas because they come to the temple on Saturdays. Super awesome! 

Well ya'll peace and love and have a great week!!!

Elder Meeks

10/27/2014 - New Area New Assignment

Hey momma,

First of all happy freakin birthday from Taiwan!!! I got you some really awesome presents last week. :) I know you'll love them. I am going to try to get a package together for next pday and get that sent to ya'll. I got way to much presents to send so it'll be a fun surprise. :) Just remember that no matter how old you get you get to choose how young you are in your heart! You are still a lioness!!! Keep it up! We'll hit up some skydiving when I get home. 

Are you sitting down?  Guess what?  Shock of the week... I am the Zone Leader in my new area.   I was definitely not expecting to go zone leader at all!! But hey I guess it is where "I am supposed to be. We have some really great mssionaries in our zone and some who really need some help. I feel like I'll be able to help out here for sure. It's really cool because I'm serving where all the action is as well. I get to see everything go down! "I also work really close with Pres because I live like 10 minutes from his  house haha. Exciting stuff. My comp is a really hard worker as well. I'll be learning tons from him. My ward is really awesome. We ahve tons of people in our ward. They are all really excited about missionary work. We have 6 missionaries serving in our ward as well. It reminds me a little bit of being in a ward back home. My companion is a Ute fan which is awesome! Utah is 6-1 this season! I'm super excited about that. I hope they take it all they way! (I'll probably end up being a cougar but will be a ute in my heart forever) 

The first miracle we saw was as we were street contacting and it was pretty late in the evening. We stopped on the street and said a prayer asking God to direct us to a really prepared person. Elder Greenhalgh felt like we should turn down the street and the second person we talked to was a handsome guy sitting on a bench eating dinner. He looked at us and then said in English, "You guys are Mormon right?" He invited us to sit down and we had a wonderful first lesson with him. He lived in the States for a while and converted to Christianity. He has not been as devout lately and has been thinking quite a bit about church and the like. He really wants to meet with us again. We're doing a temple tour with him on Saturday and are going to invite him to be baptized and come to church with us. His name is Quinn! 

Keep on praying for me! I'm loving my new area and ready to take on all the challenges my new calling will bring. I hope that I can do it well. I will die in my current area so I'm going to get to know the members really well! I'm really excited about that. 

Have a great week,

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! 

Elder Andrew Meeks

10/19/2014 - Last week in Maoli

President Day,

This week was great. I have truly loved serving in this wonderful place. Miaoli is definitely my second home. I have seen so many people become members of the church, return to activity and strengthen their faith in the gospel. It has been a privilege to be so involved with the work. Being in an area for 9 months helps you really understand how being in an area a long time can effect the work in the ward. I'm so close with the members and the members really trust me to get the job done. We have been bombarded by dinner invitations this week which has definitely been a plus. I am going to miss the people here so much. 

We found an incredible new investigator this week. His name is Allen and is a member referral. The member invited us to come to his house for dinner and his acquaintance just so happened to come as well. We had such a great dinner and really got to develop that trust that is so important in first contacts. Me and him are about the same age and we really hit it off. He had tons of questions about America and college. After dinner we were able to share with him about the Book of Mormon and baptism. He really felt the truth of the message and really wanted to meet with us again. We are excited to meet with him tomorrow and hopefully set a baptismal date with him. He truly was our miracle for the week. 

We are continuing to work closely with our less actives and recent converts. They still need a lot of help and I feel like we can do more to help them develop their faith. We are going to also focus on finding through the as well. They are really great people and I'm thankful I have been able to get to help each other grow. 

My companion has grown a lot of the past few months. He is becoming a great missionary and I'm so glad I've got to serve with him for two transfers. He will be an incredibly successful missionary and I will totally miss serving with him. 

Love ya'll!

Elder Meeks