Transfer to MingJian

With a Friend in Dakeng

I can't even believe it.  These last 5 months have literally flown by.  I am sitting in an internet cafe right now in YuanLin with my new companion Elder Roberts.  I am super excited.  We are actually only staying here for another little bit and then we are going to our area.  We will be white-washing in MingJian!  It is like the most out in the middle of no where place in the mission.  Huge, beautiful mountain range haha.  It has so few people and the area is huge.  I am super excited. My new companion is awesome. I just met him but he is awesome!  I am really excited to learn from his example.  He is from Utah as well.  

I am so grateful that I was able to serve in Dakeng with such amazing people.  I have really come to feel how much Heavenly Father loves all of his children.  

A Scooter Buddy

This week was really special as well because we had a new stake organized in TaiZhong.  It was amazing.  We all went to this chapel and got to hear from Elder Gong.  It was so special to see everyone there from all of TaiZhong.  It was powerful and amazing to be apart of.  P and V came.  I told V before I left to never forget the feelings she felt at church and to know where they came from.  She got really emotional and started to cry.  It was really hard to tell them goodbye.  

I also got to go to Dan Jones this week and help out with the new missionaries.  I got to take Elder Williams around the night market and contact people.  It was so fun.  It reminded me of when I got to do that.  That seems like just yesterday.  

Elder Redding with D, E, and L and Elder Ju

Today D, E, and L came and took me to the train station (friends baptized in Dakeng).  I am really going to miss them. They were so nice to me.  I really feel as if the people that I met out here I somehow knew before. I really love them and plan to see them again.   I am so excited to get to serve in MingJian and help those wonderful people come to know their Heavenly Father and their Savior. I can't wait.  

I don't have a ton of time today because we have got to get going.  I will update you more next week on everything.  I am so grateful for this gospel and the peace and comfort it brings.  I know that it is true and I will shout it to the world.  This is going to be another great adventure and I can't wait to see how everything unfolds. 

Love you all!! 

Love, 

Elder Redding

Humility - A Christ Like Attribute

你們好！

Hello my wonderful family and friends!!!! I just received news that this will be my last week in 大坑！ (DaKeng)  I will be transferred next week.  I don't know where I am going yet, but I know that I will love it.  I have loved my time here in DaKeng so much.  I have spent  5 months here, and I don't want to leave.  I love the people and I love the ward.  It will really be hard to leave some of these amazing people. I feel such a love for this place.  I hope that I can develop this kind of love for the other areas in which I am called to serve.  

This week is going to be a crazy one.  My companion Elder Ju has 12 weeks left on island and he has been asked to train for those last 12 weeks.  He will die in DaKeng.  Great place to die!!!  This week we also have about 30 new missionaries coming... it is going to be crazy.  I will probably get to help with the DanJones activity.  That will be really exciting.

I read in PMG this week in chapter 6 about Christ like attributes.  I read about humility and realized as I was reading how humility and confidence are connected.  More times than not when I think of being humble I have found that I seem to lose confidence and beat myself up more times that not.  I realize that this is wrong.  The purpose of becoming humble is not so that we are in constant misery and feeling like we don't measure up, the purpose is to bring us happiness.  When I imagine the Savior... it is hard for me to picture him without a smile.  I believe he was the happiest man that ever lived.  I picture him and I don't picture him as a weak person.  I picture him and picture him confident... confident in his mission.  I know that as we focus on the Savior and try to become like him and rely on Him, we truly become happy like he is.  We can be confident.  We can always know that we are sons and daughters of our loving Heavenly Father.  We can be confident in the Savior's mission for each and every one of us.  WE ARE CONFIDENT IN THEIR LOVE!  There is a difference between pride and confidence in eternal truths.  I believe that as we come to understand this principle of humility, we can change any weakness with happiness and confidence.  We can feel peace with doing our best.  You all are such wonderful examples to me of selfless service to others, and humility in all you do.  I see you all and I see confidence in His love for you.  

I love you all so much!!! 

Love, 

Elder Redding 

Loved Conference!

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week was awesome!!  We had an awesome DTM and President came and joined us.  I loved it.  It was super cool. We did a contacting activity at the end with the other zone who meets in the same

District Training Meeting

building for their own DTM.  After DTM, I went on an exchange with Elder Hamula!!  He came to DaKeng with me! We saw some awesome miracles.  That night we had all these lessons lined up and none went according to plan... but it went exactly like the Lord planned it.  It was so amazing.  We then saw one of our investigators who is having some family struggles right now... and she was at the church and was the happiest I have ever seen her.  Her husband came later as well.  It was so awesome.

Then I went on another exchange with our Zone Leader, he came to Dakeng as well!  Elder Anderson is his name and he knows Luke!!! He loved Luke!!  (he went to Davis High)  We also saw crazy awesome miracles.  Once again we had a plan... but the Lord had one as well.  It made me realize how imperfect we are, but the Lord knows when we try our very best and he really does help us.  

Conference was amazing.  I loved it so much.  We watched it in the mission office with the Assistants and the Office Elders (in English – Chinese broadcast was in the chapel).  It was so great!  I just am so grateful for a living prophet that guides and directs this church today.  

Dinner at Mission Home After General Conference

I love you all so much and want to reflect on Elder Hollands talk for a moment.  I loved the story he shared about free climbing and the brothers.  There are times in our lives when we feel that we have to do everything alone and kind of almost tell the Savior to "go and find a branch" however I know that he is always by.  He is always there to catch us.  We don't have to go through this mortal experience alone.  We have him always by our side.  So let us make a greater effort to always keep him near so that he can catch us.  I love you all so much and am so grateful for families.  They are super important!!! (just in case you missed conference) haha  I know that the family truly is ordained of God, and is a social unit set up to foster a culture of righteousness that we as His children get learn and grow in.  Love you all so much!!! 

Love, 

Elder Redding

Because He Lives!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week we didn't get to watch conference!!  We watch it next week!! So that you for being mindful of me and not spoiling it!!haha  This week has flown by... like always!!! haha Last Monday after we emailed we went to dakeng and saw the monkeys!!! It was awesome!!  We came back and ate this awesome chidaobao!!  This week we really tried to focus our efforts on sharing the message of Easter.  No one here knows what Easter is.. and if they do they only know about the bunny and the eggs!!  haha,  there is an amazing video... I am sure that you have seen it.  It is called BecauseHeLives.  We went around sharing this with everyone this week!!  We had them pulling it up right then and there on their phones and watching it.  We also had a free car wash where people could come park at the church go inside and watch the video while we washed their skooters and cars.  It was amazing to see them come out.  They all came out of that church a little different than when they walked it.  It was awesome!!  

Monday we met with P and V and their son.  They are honestly just the most amazing family ever.  We taught them and gave them baptismal goals!!  Church will be the main thing for them.  They are always very busy.  They feel the power of prayer and it has affected their lives.    

Saturday we had an awesome experience!!  There is a thing called saomu "sweeping tombs"  It is

Grave Sweeping

where families go and clean and sweep their loved ones tombs.  We got to go and participate in that this week.  It was really neat, and neat to know that these people are being taught right now in the spirit world.  Such a cool experience!!!

We were able to meet with an active member in the ward this week who has been super busy with work.  As I was reading in personal study, I just couldn't seem to find anything that really jumped out to me.  Finally as I read in Mosiah 24 it read about the lord making their burdens seem light.  It really hit me.  So that night as we met with him, I know I needed to share that with him.  He expressed that he has been struggling recently and that this was exactly what he needed to hear.  It was really neat.  It was like in that moment I knew exactly what he needed and we both knew that it was true.  So amazing.  

I love you all so much and want you all to know that Because He Lives all of us have the opportunity to find peace and happiness regardless of the situations we face!  We are not only on this earth to grow and learn, I am fully convinced we are also here to be happy.  Let us all commit to doing something this week to bring us closer to our Savior and experience the true happiness that his perfect life has given us.

I love you all so much and pray for you.  Keep the faith!! 

Love, 

Elder Redding

Great Baptism!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

HELLLLOOOOO  HANDSOME PEOPLE!!!! hahah its just an inside joke in Taiwan... not that I don't think that you are all handsome... haha because you are!!  In Taiwan there is a saying "ShuaiGe'' which means handsome boy!!  We use it all the time when we see cool dudes!!1 haha and they love it!!  

Anyways!!  "X" got baptized this week!!!!!  Honestly.... he is the most amazing guy in the entire world.  I have never seen someone with the desire that he had to just live the gospel.  It was interesting because he really fought hard to change some things in his life and at times it was really hard for him. Physically even.  This last week we met with him every day... as the week went on Satan's power was weakened, and Saturday Satan was crushed to see good ol X stretching and smiling from ear to ear in preparation for his baptism.  So amazing. He bore the most powerful testimony.  It was something so beautiful.  He thanked Elder Ju and I and said that we were his left and right hands.  It was so neat.  He was confirmed a member of the Dakeng ward yesterday and is so happy!!! So awesome!! 

The rest of the week was awesome as well!! Temple on Wednesday and then on Saturday we saw 2 awesome miracles and met with these people we met at family mart and set baptismal goals with them.  It is so true that the Lord has already prepared certain people to receive this gospel.  We just have to find those people and help everyone else have experiences in which they can prepare to receive it as well!!!  I love you all so much!!! Sorry this is so short!!!   That was the week though!!! Love you all so much!!! Keep the faith.  

Love, 

Elder Redding   

"X" is Getting Baptized

Dear Family,

Sorry, today's Email is going to be super short because we only have 1 hour to email today.  We have a temple trip on Wednesday so today we don't have P day.  We only have an hour today, and then after the temple on Wednesday we have another hour.  So that is the big news!! 

The other big news is that "X"... he is getting baptized this next Saturday!!! He has one of the greatest desires for the gospel that I have ever seen.  He spends like all day at the church on Sunday because he doesn't want to be tempted!!! He is amazing.  We are going to see him every day this week to ensure that he is good.  His story is amazing... I will share it later when I have more time.  

Also, we met with "L" this week.  He was a previous investigator that I met on the road with Elder Munger.  I met him and his wife and invited them to the church to meet with us.  He came and was awesome... but then he had to go to GaoXiong for like a month and we lost contact.  Randomly two weeks ago I called him and he said that next week he would have more time... we hear that a lot, so I was worried.  I called again and no answer, and then randomly last week I was literally chasing him down on his bike riding with him talking about the gold plates in chinese!!! hahaha it was quite a sight!! He kept saying he had to go, but I finally got him to tell me that he had been to church and stuff and then he just zoomed off.  I was so sad because I felt like he was prepared and it just couldn't get him to stop!! At that time Elder Ju got a call on our phone and it was "L" calling us!! He set up!! WAHHHOOO!!!

So when we met with him I invited him to be baptized on the 25th of April... I was nervous for what he would say... but he just say that he could.  hahah he didn't hesitate at all... all I could do was look at him and smile and give him a high five!! hahaha.... thats what I did.  I was so happy!!! We found out after that he lives in another area, so we set him up with the other missionaries.  It went so smooth and those missionaries were SOOOOO HAPPY!! HAHAHA  

Anyways!! I love you guys so much and think that you guys are the greatest examples in the entire world!!! Thank you guys for everything!! 

Love, 

Elder Redding 

On Top of the World!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello Everyone!!!  I hope that everything is going great!!! Man... I don't even quite know where to begin!! I always get to Monday and the last week just seems like a blur!!  It kinda freaks me out because I just want to remember and take in every single experience.  This week that really set in to my heart.  

Overlooking Taichung from Apartment Top

This week was Elder Wootan's last week here.  I went on my first exchange ever in Taiwan with him back in January.  He is just a stud.  He looks like Harry Potter too.  I just call him the Wizard.  That is what he is when it comes the chuan-ing the jiao!  (serving a mission)  This week was his last week, and on Friday he set up with me to go on his last exchange.  It would be his last day actually Chuaning the jiao!  I was speechless. haha, but I was so excited!!! I remember a week prior to that in Zone Conference all of the missionaries that were to go home this movecall had the opportunity to give a reflection of their missions.  They only have 2 min to sum everything up in one.  His was awesome, and I have the copy he wrote. At the very end of his, he made a reference to Elder Holland saying that no one ever loved their mission like he did... Elder Wootan then looked up and said, "Well he didn't know me."  It sounds funny... but at the time you knew it was true.  You could feel it.  

Elder Redding Overlooking the City

Elder Wootan and I went on the exchange and it was awesome.  We even went up on the roof the
night before and looked out over the city.  That was a special experience.  At the end of the exchange we do exchange evaluations so we can give invites for improvement and to work on things.  I had to give the Wizard the last advice before he went home.... I simply just invited him to Dominate life and love the rest of every aspect of life just like you loved your mission.  He then told me that he wasn't sure that the invite he was going to give was even possible, but he said that he was going to give it.  He looked right at me and told me to love my mission even more than he loved his...  That meant a lot to me.  I love it out here and love the work.  I just said bye to Elder Wootan.... He was a great example to me. 

With Elders and Investigators

This week we really made some progress with "X" and he had his interview with President and he will get baptized soon.  He is such a warrior.  I love him so much.  He has been through it all.  He is where he needs to be right now.  I just know that Heavenly Father is so proud and happy for him.  He came to church this week all dressed up and all.  He even shared in Priesthood.  The ward loves him and he feels at peace at church.  He also came to a baptism the night before for the sisters.  I found out like 3 hours before that I was baptizing their investigator.  X came and it was great for him to be there.  We are meeting with "P" this week!!!

We have seen miracles this week and are so grateful.  I love all of you so much.  I pray for you all.  Thank you guys for all you do.  Keep the Faith!

Love, 

Elder Redding

From the Top of the Apartment

The Beautiful City of Taichung