Tuesday, July 6, 2010

July 6, 2010

Wheeet! I bet mom was real worried when my e-mail didn't come yesterday! Sorry, we had a combined district training meeting yesterday, and then today was preparation day instead. So we got to meet the new mission president yesterday, President Bishop. He seems like a really wonderful guy. It's going to be a great mission. He's from Orem, and a doctor, and a good leader. So that's good. I didn't really get to know President Hoer very well, but he was amazing. President Bishop said not to play my violin for the first year, so violin is sitting in a corner until next march. oh well, I'll just do the best I can to become a really good missionary and then once I get to use my violin again, I'll have forgotten how to play it. :)
Well, how's the family? Today we had a zone activity and visited a little museum, and ate at a kao rou-barbeque- which was really yummy. I think I ate a whole cow by myself. Parley would really like that type of restaurant. Living in taiwan is always an adventure. But at least I haven't been wrecked into a car yet. My life is full of little miracles a couple weeks ago I was contacting in a park and I came back and noticed my raincoat was gone. I was real real sad because I had spent lots of money and really liked that raincoat. we looked and looked and finally figured it was stolen. I ended up buying some rainclothes at the store, but they were a lot brighter blue than I thought. really shiny blue. So if you thought you look different in proselyting clothes walking around, it's even better when I'm this big shiny blue thing riding my bike in the middle of rainstorms talking to everybody. I was also thinking of buying another jacket but I got the feeling that I should wait a little while. Then I was calling on the phone one day, and there, on the side of the road was my green coat! I guess it had fallen out of my bag, and then a lady had picked it up and hung it on a little hook next to the road. I was real happy that things like that can happen.
So, guess what!!??? This Saturday President Uchtdorf is coming to visit our mission, and will give us a mission conference! Yay! I'm so lucky! I feel bad for the missionaries in the MTC that will just barely miss that. I don't really have too much to say about myself, except for I feel really fat and tired right now. hopefully I'll be skinny by the time I come home. The food here isn't especially healthy. It's greasy and makes my tummy queasy sometimes. I ate pig's blood the other day. That was gross. But the good thing is that we exercise every day. Go running three times a week and then work out in the apartment the other three. So I should be able to beat up Parley when I get home!

We have some pretty good investigators right now. Well, yeah. They are good. everybody just has their own problems. I don't know of any investigators yet that don't have problems. We have a brother Liu who likes meeting with us, and came to church three times in a row, but has a bad smoking problem, and just likes smoking too much. I remember contacting him a while ago, and I want him to get baptized. Also I contacted into a young man thursday named zhan yi rong. I yi yan wei ding 'd him to come meet with us that night, and he came, and we taught him the next day, and then he came to church the next day, and he's awesome! Hopefully he can get baptized soon, but he might have a hard time getting parent permission. Our two other progressing investigators are named Lin. one only met with us because he felt too embarassed to tell us he didn't want to. But that's okay, we used that as a tool to get him to meet with us twice more and he's also come to church twice now. He's really goofy and whenever we extend commitments to him he whines like a little kid. the other one is in the army and is really cool, but won't commit to follow the word of wisdom. so, that's what i'm doing right now. It's so good to actually have investigators though. Every now and then I don't feel like calling any more people, and then I'll think, "I would have given anything to be able to go talk to and call real taiwan people in the MTC." I thought of that today when in the zone activity Elder Graham from my MTC district and I were able to have a few minutes together while we were waiting and we went and contacted together. It was so fun to see how much we've progressed, and talk about what we've learned from our trainers and from being in Taiwan. I'm excited this saturday we'll be able to see the whole mission, and I'll get to see my ole MTC group. I realize more now how much I loved the MTC. It was such a great experience. It was just a lot of fun. Our district bonded so much, and we grew and learned a whole bunch!
okay, well, I missed the fourth of July. Nobody here in Taiwan cared at all. It was just another day. but at night I remembered that it was the fourth of July and before I went to bed went into the living room and sung through patriotic songs by myself. that was fun. Don't worry, I'll see fireworks too before I leave. One of the ways the people here worship is by doing fireworks. on some sundays you'll just hear all these big booms and I'll feel like I'm in the middle of a war. I think it's when they do daojiao parades that they do fireworks too. One time we accidentally rode into a daoist parade and I almost lost my hearing from being next to a string of firecrackers that went off. It was awesome. Daddy wouldn't really like it here. But their Buddhist and confucius temples are reallly pretty. There is one up in the mountains that I want to hike to, and I'll take some pictures and send them home.
Okay! Well, jiayou! I've got the best family ever! I will see you all in the gaorong guodu! Bubye

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