Serving in the Taiwan Taichung Mission: Week 19

Oh my goodness! Where has the time gone! I am already on Week 19 of my mission, that its already July 23, and it was almost exactly a year ago that I even decided to serve a mission! That is what really blows my mind, that its already been a year since this whole experience started! It really feels like its only been a week!

We've had a busy, fun-filled week with lots of great stories so I'm sorry the email is incredibly long!! I actually had to make a list for the first time in a while about what I wanted to talk about today! So here we go!

Stories for today:

*15 spider bites*

*Our ward correlator's scooter accident...*

*Our previously famous less-active*

*Zone Conference*

*1st letter in Chinese*

*Melody's BAPTISM!!!*

*15 spider bites*

This story isn't all that exciting. We had like 20 minutes before it was time to go home one night, and my companion wanted to call phones outside. I wasn't thrilled because I didn't want to be eaten by mosquitos, but being a supportive companion, I said that was fine. So we found this gazebo, and it actually didn't have any lights, but there were enough lights around that it was fine. So we call phones, and go home. The next morning I wake up and I'm fine, but that night I realize that there are 15 little red dots on both of my legs. They don't itch, so I knew they weren't mosquito bites. But, the next morning, they all itched like crazy! So it wasn't fun, but I got 15 spider bites all over my legs =]

*Our ward correlator's scooter accident...*

...which may or may not have been caused by my companion...

We were walking home from a park run and we saw him riding his scooter. My companion yelled out "ZLDX" (thats the abbreviations of his name...), he turned, saw us, and stopped in the middle of the road, then starts to pull over. What he doesn't see, because he isn't looking, is that there is a scooter right behind him, and she hits him. He gets bumped forward, and then falls over....Sis. Lee and I are like, oh my goodness!!!!! We weren't sure what to do, but we go and help him. He wasn't happy, and neither was the lady who hit him, and he just tells us to leave and "qu mang" (go be busy). We felt horrible and we werent sure if we should have stayed since we were witnesses (we didn't know if he ws going to call the police or not) so we went to the mission office because we knew the office elders were there, and we relayed the whole story to them. In the end, they said not to worry about it. We were super nervous because we had a baptism the next day that we still needed his help with and we were a bit worried he wouldn't be in the mood to help us...

...so that was fun! (he was fine by the way, and so was his scooter)

*Our previously famous less-active*

Oh Chen JM (jie mei - sister). She and her daughter joined the church about 6 years ago, but quickly went inactive. Several months ago, they were rediscovered and reactivated. But then Chen JM got sick and they haven't been to church recently. Now Chen JM is so funny. When she was in her 20's she was a really famous Taiwanese singer and so she is so full of drama. Everytime we go over there there is something funny going on. Her daughter is in her 40's but she has some mental handicaps, and so she lives at home and helps her mom out. Well, recently Chen JM went to bai bai (worship her ancestors) and when she came back, she thought that devils were after her because she knew she shouldn't have bai bai'ed. So anyway, she's been super weirded out and kind of sick with some weird virus, so she's been super uncomfortable. So we went to her house this week and are invited in, and she is sitting at the table in a towel....she is so funny! So we visited her while in a towel =]

Then we invited them to come to church since it had been a while since they had been there, and they came! It was so great. I was sitting with them in Relief Society, in betwen Chen JM and her daughter, and Chen JM passes some stuff to her daughter to put on, and then her daughter passes it back, and Chen JM puts it on behind her ears and all over the back of her neck. I'm like, oh no, she's going to try to give it to me to put on. But no, she just starts putting it on my neck and behind my ears herself. I didn't know what to do!! I think it was like perfume or something. It smelled good. I was dying inside, and we were sitting on the front row, so I knew my companion was behind me dying of laughter! Afterwards I asked her if she saw and she was like, yes, and I was full on laughing. So that's the story of our formerly famous less-active =]

*Zone Conference*

This was my first zone conference, and the whole northern half of the mission came! It was so much fun to see my friends, especially my MTC companion Sis. Taylor! We had so much fun sitting together for 7 hours =] And zone conference itself was really great too.

*1st Letter in Chinese*

I wrote my first letter in Chinese! I wanted to write a thank you card to our recent convert who took us to the country club-like thing. It took me two hours to write, but I did it! And I'm so proud of it! I'll include a picture of it =]

*Melody's BAPTISM!!!*
The most exciting part of our week was that Melody got baptized!!! It was such a wild day too! Around 4:30 that day, it started thundering and lightning really crazy, but it wasn't raining. We had just gotten back from going out with a recent convert so we were at the church with him (it was our 10 year old recent convert) and the zone leaders were at the church waiting for an appointment when all of a sudden the thunder cracked above us! It was sooooo scary loud! So everyone leaves and we are walking to the mall to visit a former investigator when I see a lightning bolt in front of me (in the sky) and the thunder cracked above us. I jumped, held onto Sis. Lee and was plugging my ears while saying, we need to get away from this thunder! So we go mang (be busy) and when we come back to the church it was pooring rain! I was like, oh no. The first time we had ever set up to meet Melody it was raining like this and so she didnt' come, and I was worried the same thing would happen! We go inside the church to start the font, and she calls and is like, so I was worried that the rain was going to get back, so I'm at the church already. I'm like, you are a rock star!!!! So we decide to go out to eat (in the rain) and then come back, and she gets baptized! In between that, we had the font overflow into the bathrooms because we forgot to turn it off, it was still raining, but people came because they love Melody! So it was just so incredibly great! Our 10 year old recent convert gave an incredible talk/testimony about the importance of baptism and how we all need to repent. What is so incredible is his family are not members and so he did this all on his own. We were so proud of him!

Then, on Sunday, Melody was going to get the gift of the Holy Ghost in church. She has cram school till 2 PM, which is when church starts, but we told her it was super important for her to be at church on time because she was receiving the Holy Ghost. So 2 comes and she still isnt there. I'm freaking out, and Sis. Lee is sitting in the chapel when one of the elders comes up and says, do you want me to tell the bishop your investigator isn't here to get the Holy Ghost and Sis. Lee is like, ah! So she comes out and we start calling Melody but she didn't answer. The bishop announces her name and right as he does, she comes walking in the door!!! We usher her into the chapel, take her bags from her, and shoo her up to the front where she becomes the newest member of the church! It was just so great and we love her so much! Being a missionary is an incredible thing, and I love it more and more every day!

Well, I'm sorry this letter was incredibly long, but it was a good week =] I hope everyone is doing well! I miss you all and am so grateful for the love and support I receive from everyone!

Enjoy the pictures!

#1: Our recent convert Guo JM, our recent convert Yang Di Di (when he went out doing missionary work with us) and Sis. Lee.

#2: Elder Badger, Yang Di Di and Elder Hermansen: They all had on matching ties, and we hope that Yang Di Di will go on a mission one day. He is such an incredible missionary already!