"God's gift to you is this life. Your gift to him is what you do with it."

Hello everybody!  First and foremost,  thank you all for the wonderful emails.  I absolutely love to hear what is going on in everyone's lives and to hear what is going on in America!  Taiwan's culture is so much different than America (it is night and day different), but I love it nonetheless!

 

 

This week in Taiwan was truly amazing.  Elder Crawford and I worked our tails off!  We didn't literally work our tails off, but ours butts are pretty sore from being on our bikes so much!;) We saw so many miracles this week because of that work.  I guess it is true that miracles require effort and hard work.  I'm going to be honest for a moment.  Missionary work has got to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  I remember talking with many return missionaries and all of them telling me that their missions were the hardest thing they have ever done.  Whenever I would hear them say that, I would think to myself, "Psh, I play football!  Nothing is as hard as that!"  Now don't get me wrong, football is definitely one of the hardest activities for the body,  but I don't think it even compares to the beating you take as a missionary.  I always thought that missionary work would be a cakewalk, but now that I am here, I understand what all of those return missionaries were telling me.  I have been tested physically, mentally, socially, intellectually, and spiritually more than I ever have been in my entire life!  However, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every second of it.  I also remember all of those return missionaries telling me how much they loved their missions and how it was one of the best experiences of their lives.  I'm starting to realize now, how right they were.  I have learned more from  these past 6 months here in Taiwan than the I have in the previous 18 years of my life!  God truly blesses those that are in his service.

I want to challenge everyone to always be in the service of God.  I love this quote: "God's gift to you is this life.  Your gift to him is what you do with it."  God has given us this opportunity here on earth to truly have joy.  I can guarantee every one of you that if you give of yourself to help others, that is when you will feel true joy.  God has gifted each and every one of us with the ability of leadership.  Don't waste it!  God wants to count on us to do his work here, to spread his gospel and to feed his sheep.  Can he count on us?

 

I love you all more than I can ever express. All of you motivate me to become, not only a better missionary, but a better man.  Thank you all for your inspiration and examples. God loves us more than we can ever comprehend.  Life is not easy.  If it is easy for you, than are you truly living?  God has given us so many abilities and talents, but what is the point in having these abilitities if we aren't going to use them?!  I promise that God will reward us for our sacrifices.  The reward will always be greater than the sacrifice.  I challenge all of you to be a better follower of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He gave his life for us, the least we can do is give our time, energy, talents and effort to his cause.  Use those God given talents, skills, and leadership to change someone's life.  It may not be easy or come natural, but God will help you along the way.

I'll end with another quote I love:  "God does not call the qualified....He qualifies the called."

 

I love you all!

 

Elder Coletti

田甜圈長老