Week 2 in Taiwan

Da jia hao!

 This week has been awesome! Last Monday night, we met with a group of investigators for dinner and they were nice enough to order me, being the new foreigner to Taiwan, a pidan... which is translated as 1000 year old egg. It was the weirdest looking thing I've ever seen. It was literally black, with a bunch of tofu on the side that you could eat it with, all smothered in a sauce that looked the same as the egg... I was a little more than scared!! But I surprised everyone, including myself, when I ate it and actually liked it! I ate the whole thing, and then one of the guys who ordered it for me looked at me and said..."Oh my gosh, you are Taiwanese!" haha that was one of the funnier experiences this week. We finished eating with them, and then taught a little about the Plan of Salvation. It was a great feeling to just talk with these people about the beautiful plan God has for us. There's nothing better than sharing the Gospel in a place where everyone who wants can stop in and listen!

     Through out the week here in Taiwan, I was getting more and more discouraged. Not with the Missionary work itself, I was so disappointed in myself, and my limited ability with the language, and just in my own attitude! I felt like I wasn't doing as good a job as I should have been doing. So, after having a little sit-down lesson at a 7-11 where I didn't understand much of what was going on, I ended the lesson by just sharing my testimony with this guy. He smiled at me and gave us his number, and then we left. As we rode off, I was so mad at myself, why I don't even know. I just know that I was so mad that I didn't understand everything that he was saying, and it didn't help that all of the buildings we were passing on our way to dinner were all in characters and so I didn't understand anything at all. I was just really discouraged and so disappointed in myself... as these feelings were all hitting me, I thought to myself "all I have here is a testimony. I can't teach to peoples needs because I don't understand what they are saying to me!" As I thought that, I felt this overwhelming sense of love literally hit me as if it was a gust of wind. I felt the love and gratitude that Heavenly Father has for all of His missionaries worldwide, and I knew that He was recognizing my effort to preach His Gospel here in Taiwan. I'm still having a hard time with the Chinese, and I don't always understand what is being said, but since Wednesday, I've been able to understand where we are in a lesson, what the speaker is talking about in Sacrament, and I've been able to actually be a contributing part of this Companionship. It's such a blessing to me to know that Heavenly Father is watching over me and helping me with the challenge of this language! I know I could never do it without Him!

     Thursday was the Christmas activity! The entire mission got together in Taizhong and had some fun! We went to a big Budhist temple up in the mountains, took some pictures and just socialized as missionaries! It was a blast to see all the people I was with in the MTC! I talked with Elder V, Elder W, Elder G, Elder W and a bunch of other people from my Older Generation at the MTC! I also so Elder W(Riley W)! He was actually standing right behind me during the picture and I didn't even know it for a while! When I got there, I saw Young (remember K's friend from Thailand, he went to Springville High School and was in D's ward?) and I talked with him for a while, and I saw a lot of people from Springville that I hadn't seen for a long time! I saw Sister W, and I met a missionary who Brother V (my MTC teacher) trained! Crazy huh? It was a blast! After the Temple, we went to one other stop where they had some fun little places to take pictures and such, and then we went to a big huge steakhouse to eat dinner! You'd never believe some of the food they had there. They had these little tiny octopi (plural octopus?) that looked like they literally just pulled them out of the water and put the in a bowl to serve!... Yes, I ate one and it wasn't bad, it didn't really have a taste, it was just kind of chewy! After dinner we went to the chapel and had a really nice devotional where we sang a lot, and listened to the Christmas story, and then listened to President B talk to us for a little bit. It was a really great day!

     On Friday, we had a baptism!! It was really awesome to see this guy get baptized, and to watch his life change forever! He's a great guy, and he's going to be such a strong member of the Church! Saturday was the ward Christmas party, where there was SO much good food, and some great desserts too! All of the missionaries got a chance to do a singing program where we sang 3-4 songs.... in English! Kind of funny, because no one understood the lyrics, but they seemed to like it anyways! After that, they had the Primary program, where Elder S and I sung in the Choir (I told you about that experience right?). It was all going good, until the last song... We were singing a song where the kids sing for a little while, and then the rest of the choir joins in at the chorus for a really loud, powerful effect. So we sung the first 2 verses really good, and then came the 3rd verse. Elder S and I saw the chorus coming up, so we take a deep breath and then belt it out.... and then we realize that the 3rd verse chorus is a nice, soft SOLO!!! We sang the first three notes at the top of our voices and then the guy next to us smacks us with his music and starts laughing! The worst part was that half of the ward was videoing this song! Ah, the joys of trying to read music and characters at the same time! It was great!

     So that's the week! It's still kind of new, but I'm getting pretty used to it! Dad, you'll be happy to know that I'm back up to about 170, and I'm hoping it's muscle! I've gotten down to about a 6:30 mile, so I'm still working out, I promise! Other than that, not much is new! hahaha kind of a weird thing to say being in a completely foreign place, but I'm really starting to get used to it! I've been thinking a lot lately, and I know what it is about missionary work that makes me so happy. It's that feeling you get after bearing your testimony in sacrament meeting, you know that rush of relief and then the burst of happiness and strength that follows you throughout the rest of the day? That's what missionary work is like. No matter how many people reject you, no matter how many times someone yells at you as you ride by, no matter how much I don't understand of the language, being here is a constant strength to my own personal testimony, and as I share and strengthen my own testimony, I'm bringing others closer to Christ. And that's our end purpose isn't it? In the end, you can have 5000 baptisms, or 5, but if you've diligently worked to bring others to Christ, that's what a mission is all about. Don't get me wrong, baptism is ABSOLUTELY crucial, it's most important step in bringing someone unto Christ, it's essential to salvation! But as long as I am helping people prepare to be baptized and setting them on the path to Endure to the End, I'm fulfilling my purpose as a missionary. I love this work so much, I've only been here a week, and I already know that I'll cry like a baby when I get home! I'm so grateful to be here doing my best to help the people of Taiwan come unto Christ, and I will work my hardest to fulfill that purpose!!

     I love you all, and I challenge you to be the missionaries that God wants you to be at home! You can do so much to share this wonderful message with everyone you come in contact with! They all need it!

    Love you all tons! I'll talk to you on Wednesday!