A trio!

Elder Coletti's Letter 09/25/2016:

Lots of changes going on in DanFeng, err.... now its the XinZhuang District!  So Elder Lloyd's "son" (the other Elder in XinZhuang) had to go home early.  So, now Elder Lloyd is with myself and Elder Moss for the rest of the transfer (about 2 more weeks). It has been pretty fun being in a trio.  A lot different!  

We have had a lot of progression with our investigators.  They are starting to feel the love of God more and more, which is awesome.  I love how no matter how long you teach investigators they can still change.

I love my companions right now.  Elder Moss is killing it! He is learning so much and I am so grateful to be training him.  He is the perfect trainee for me.  We compliment each other really well.  He is very intelligent.  He knows the gospel.  During comp. study he teaches me a lot about the church....haha.  Elder Lloyd is amazing.  He is an incredible teacher.  I feel the spirit all the time when I am with him and he is teaching.  Elder Moss is a lucky duck to be having two very different trainers that excel in two different departments.  Elder Lloyd is teaching Elder Moss how to teach and how to speak Chinese.  I'm teaching Elder Moss how to have fun and how to talk to people.  Elder Moss is going to be something else (At least I think he is!;))

Not a lot of time today to write. Elder Lloyd is having a physical to apply to Westpoint.  So, that's all I've got today!  I want to invite everyone to compliment their spouse or their coworkers or their friends.  Sometimes we need a little boost to keep us going!  Next week will be a special email....!;)  Stay tuned:)

Love you'zzzzzzzzz!!

Elder Coletti

Captained by Christ

Elder Coletti's Letter 09/18/2016:

Good Morning from Taiwan!  Hope everyone's weeks were just as calm and peaceful as it was here in Taiwan!:)  We had Typhoons here, but they didn't live up to the hype.  I want to experience at least 1 REAL bad typhoon in Taiwan.  Is that a bad thing to ask for?! ;)

This week was full of stress.  There were lots of people crying to me and me having to listen, sometimes with them criticizing me. Some people use agency in a way that they know is wrong, but they choose wrong anyways. Because of the Mid Autumn Festival and two typhoons, it was nearly impossible to meet or teach anyone. They either didn't want to talk in the rain or they weren't in our area to meet with us.  With all of the tough stuff going on, all of this crazy stress and typhoons swirling about, I still had a peaceful feeling. It was a feeling telling me that every is going to be alright. A feeling that there is a calm after the typhoon. I don't know how to exactly describe it.  I am still really happy about the horizon in front of me, even with the storms going on in the peripherals. I love my mission so much.  I love my Savior.  Today I was reading in Jesus the Christ and I learned a little more a little more about the need for a Savior and how we can't make it in this life without the help of Christ.  I was super moved.  I loved it.  We cannot overcome sin by ourselves.  It is completely impossible.  We cannot overcome our weaknesses by ourselves.  We need a greater force that can push us past our capacity. Christ is this power.  His atonement can be used by all of us.  We just need to realize it, realize that we can accept his help.  I truly love my Savior beyond comprehension.  Sometimes I don't realize how much I love him or how much he impacts me and my life.  He is amazing.  He is perfect and it is through him that we are perfected. 

Go find Christ.  Be captained by Christ. He will lead you past the storms that are raging in front of all of us.  Christ loves you.  He really does.  He loves you all just a little bit more than I do! Okay....a lot more!

Elder Coletti

God is good!

Elder Coletti's Letter 09/11/2016:

Good morning from Taiwan!;)  This week was absolutely incredible.  There are many, many miracles going on in DanFeng.  Elder Moss and I are working our tails off!  Elder Moss is a beast.  I love the kid.  He is a very skilled teacher and I love to hear him speak about the gospel to me;) haha

We are finding more and more people, and others are getting closer and closer to baptism!  I had a pretty cool experience this morning. One of our investigators called and I talked to her for a little bit.  Right after we were done talking, I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the amazing people that are here.  Gratitude for all of the awesome miracles that happen everyday.  I may or may not have jumped up and down a couple times...;)

I'm not kidding, God is too good.  He loves us so dang much.  I get a little taste of his love every single day.  There are times I just ponder why?  Why me?  Why me, with all of the hundreds of thousands of weaknesses that I have, do you make me feel so good, make me feel so happy?  There are lots of people here in Taiwan that don't know what God does in their lives.  They don't know the impact he has and all the blessings that he freely gives us.  It's one of my favorite things to help others realize the blessing they have in life because of God.  Throughout my mission, I have seen people changed because of how they looked at God.  Sometimes they don't know what they are looking for, until they have a target.  God is always there.  They just have to locate the blessings in their lives.

Enjoy all of our blessings.  We are so unworthy and yet God still delivers, regardless of our imperfections.  Just be grateful.  Don't get down on yourself because of our weaknesses.  Rather be grateful that God is there, even after we fall.  It's all about our perspective.  Do we look down while standing, or do we look up while kneeling? Do we ask for more after he has already blessed us with so much, or do we thank him after the hard day? Do we look through heaven's eyes?

I love you all so much!  Make sure you're all taking care of your bodies.  That's really important!  

Elder Coletti

 

Love

Elder Coletti's Letter 09/04/2016:

Hello to all!  How the heck is everyone?! Taiwan is beautiful and starting to cool down a little bit, which is so nice. Elder Moss is amazing. I just love him so much! Every time I look at him, I am reminded of when I first got to the island.  The mission truly does change people.  I am completely different than I was back in October of last year. I have a different attitude, a different appearance and I feel a different kind of love.  I love it.  When we surrender ourselves to service, that's when development begins.

I had a really cool experience last night actually.  Usually when missionaries go to sleep, we'll talk for a bit and then pass out!  We are usually exhausted, but last night was a little bit different.  It was the first time in awhile that I was struggling falling asleep.  I just couldn't!  It was because I was so happy! I was reminiscing about how happy Taiwanese investigators, recent converts and members here make me and how much they have change my life.  I was appreciating how much happiness they have brought to me.  I couldn't sleep because I wanted to help more.  I wanted to make someone else smile, make someone else laugh.  I wanted to go and talk to one more person and plant that seed in their heart.  That is what this gospel can do, but it is our responsibility as members to bring it to them.  My desire to help others on this mission has grown exponentially.  I remember being in Elder Moss' shoes and thinking to my self, "What the heck am I doing here?"  I wasn't quite sure what my purpose was as a missionary.  I knew in my mind it was, of course, to teach repentance and baptize converts, but I never really felt that purpose truly sink into my heart. It has been through the labor, the work, the effort and service that my heart has recognized my purpose as a missionary.    It has been through the sweat and the tears, that my purpose has sunk into my heart, has sunk into my soul.  I love my mission more than anything else in the world!  I have so much more love than I thought was possible!  I testify that every single one of us can have that love.  We can develop that love for others and that love for God. We can develop that love for Christ through service and through our expression of love to others.  Love those that you are around.  They are part of your Eternal Family.  They are God's children.  They need to feel of your love, because it is through us, that God works miracles. It is through us that God shows his love and allows other to feel his love.  Don't forget that God is invested in every single one of us, knows us personally and loves us.

I love you all so much! Thank you for the love that you have shown me.  Your love is what I feed off of.  It's what drives me.  Give your love to others, others the desperately need it.

Elder Coletti

A very cool story:  Joey received his mission call in Mar. of his Senior year at Bingham High School.  At the time he was taking Mandarin Chinese from a teacher named Liao Lao Shi. She was a woman from Taiwan who was teaching at Bingham for 1 year on a work visa and would be returning home at the end of the school year.  When Joey came to class after receiving his mission call he was so excited to tell his Chinese teacher Lao Shi.  When he told her, she said that when he arrives in Taiwan that he should contact her if he needed anything.  Joey said he would and he also told her that he was going to baptize her!  We received a picture this week from Joey with a little note saying: " I'm teaching Lao Shi!"  Lao Shi is the woman in red in the pictures!:)