April 5, 2015 FuHuoJie

Happy Easter everyone! seems like that went quick. jeez. That means its getting all warm and ready for summer back home. Makes me miss the lake a bit. or just having my shirt off in general. But there is good news to that, I can take my shirt off when I'm in the shower so it isn't all bad right? hahaha

We had a good week full of sharing about Christ's resurrection to a bunch of people who didn't have any idea who Christ was... Asia for you.

Instead, April 5 was the national holiday here called "saomu" which means "clean the grave" so we had a good number of people unable to make it to church because they had to go out and clean the grave for their ancestors so they dont get angry and curse them. People here are so funny.

Last Monday Sean took us out to DaXi for some fun. Went hiking for a bit. Taiwan's mountains really are so pretty. But ridiculously humid. As you could imagine. And nearly every mountain hike is to some temple of sorts with a nonstop crew of karaoke fanatics blasting their tone deaf voices for all to hear. That is entertaining! So we went out and hiked around this reservoir that I guess is super low from the lack of rain. I hope everyone enjoyed their showers this past week. So did I :-) They delayed it a week because of the crazy rainstorms we had last week. But this past week has brought no rain so this wednesday and thursday the water will for sure be shut off. Looking forward to that.

hiking it up again

some Taiwanese scenery with the TuDiGong's

here is the devil reservoir

Hiking crew (except we were finishing as the rest were starting haha)

After hiking we ate iKea. I was in heaven.

best thing ever

Ikea

I took up a new habit, a watermelon here is super cheap. Also there are red, orange and yellow watermelons so that is interesting.. But with summer moving in really fast, I need to drink more water and I need to eat more fruit to stay healthy. So kill two birds with one stone and eat a whole melon as your lunch. I think it is a brilliant idea and I love it.

the yellow melon!!

Aside for all that fun and games, this week brought some of the biggest surprise miracles I have seen. As you know from last week, I was planning on having 1 baptism this weekend. That baptism happened and LaiJM's son was looking so "shuai" (chinese equivalent of "handsome") in his little man suit as he sat super excited to be baptized. HaoWei did it like a champ, him and I got in the water and it was freezing, but he got right in and didn't complain. So that was really cool to see.

shuai

But perhaps the shock miracle of this week was I had 2 baptisms this weekend. My Phillippino investigator that I've been teaching for a while surprised us hahaha. We've been meeting since last November. And there was a point in time that I thought we lost him. But we saw him last Wednesday and he says "my only concern about getting baptized was I still haven't read the BOM the whole way through yet." I tell him he could get baptized this weekend if he wanted. And he says lets do it. So then it was a rush against the clock to get that all sorted out. And quite stressful for me as well if I can be honest. But his baptism was also beautiful. And when I make it to the Phillippines in the future, then we are going to go have some fun. Looking forward to then.

Ian my man!

And to top all of that off with a cherry on top, I got a call last night that I will be moving this week. And training. Nothing more exciting than training and whitewashing at the same time! Pray for me. hahaha. I'm super excited!!!!

Love you all!! Hope all is going well. Keep writing me! I love all the letters/emails i can get! Hope Conference was good. I will be watching that next week somewhere still unknown to me at the moment. Have a good week!!

so good to see this shuaige! elder Huntsman

March 29, 2015 QueShui

Hello from Taiwan again.

I saw the biggest miracle of my mission this past weekend. After a long week of terrible weather, it rained and the wind blew for 4 days straight with no stopping, this past Saturday and Sunday I saw blue skies. Not deep blue like in Utah, but at least they had a blue tint to them instead of gray, pollution as usual. Yesterday after church, we had about 15 minutes to spare before we had to get back on those bikes to our next appointment, so Elder Ribar went outside on the steps of the chapel and sat in the sun. I was loving life.

But here's where the miracle came with a catch. Apparently there is such a thing as a drought on a tropical island after all...don't ask me. So all of Taipei and Taoyuan counties will be conserving water. The Taiwanese method of conserving water is to just shut the water off here for 2 days every week. Like completely shut the water off, doesn't matter if you are in the nicest hotel in all of Taipei, there will be NO water on Wednesdays and Thursdays for us for a while. So everyone at home enjoy your showers in the morning for me and know how jealous I will be of you. Haha. My prayers lately have all included asking God to send more of the dreaded rain our way :-) Never once thought I would be praying for rain while I was in Taiwan...

Life is all about experiences.

As I write this, the internet cafe is blasting Chinese rap. I'll stick with Nikki Manaj when I get home.

During this week, we had no success. It was not my favorite week. I thought for sure we would be lacking on numbers and fall short on a lot of stuff. But somehow at the end of the week, we still pulled off our 20 lessons standard and didn't fall too short. This past week was one of those that blew my mind how it turned out the way it did. That isn't uncommon though.

I ate chocolate brownies this past week. I almost fainted.

This past Saturday, my RC's (LaiJM) son also passed his baptismal interview, so I'll be helping him this weekend to get baptized. Super stoked about that! But after his interview that night, they left the chapel about 10 minutes before we did and they were on a scooter. However, we still managed to pass them on the way back to our house (we live across the street from them). So I rang my bell and waved as I sped past. Then the next morning in church, the bishopric starts the meeting and announces the baptism, but they still hadn't gotten there. They walked in like 2 min before the sacrament.

LaiJM talked to me after church. They were headed home on Saturday, but HaoWei made her stop so he could watch us ride past on our bikes. Which is why we passed them going home. And then he wanted to be more like us missionaries, so he made his mom ride behind him on his scooter while he rode his bike to church like us missionaries. Which is why they were late to church. Cutest thing. I feel very honored. That 11 year old will make a difference in this world when he goes on his mission. Super happy I was privileged to be here in ZhongLi for the past 6 months to get to know him.

Looking forward to this week. It may be my last full week in ZhongLi, but we will see.

Love you all. Hope all is going well

Zhu Ni Sheng Ri Kuaile

Happy birthday Dad!! Hope it was a good one!

I had yet another week in ZhongLi. I am going on my 6 month mark here next week. And as such, I wish I could tell you new things about my life that are out of the ordinary, but I am running out of things to update you on that you are not already aware of..

This week we did go to a nightmarket for dinner. And that was an experience and a half. We had an LA take us out there to eat with him. And he got us....snake. So yes now I have eaten snake meat. And that to my list of yummy things. But in all honesty, it straight up was to die for. The people tell you here that snake is good for you skin, apparently it is free of all the antibiotics and other bad stuff that infests chicken and beef in the world these days.. I might be eating snake a lot more often now if that is the case! 

Another dinner appointment we had this week was at our rich Indonesian's families' house. Zhong JieMei cooked us up some of thee best spicy beef over rice that I have ever had. Unfortunately Taiwanese curry is not made with coconut milk like Thai and Indonesian is. I much prefer the ridiculously spicy and coconutty curry of Thailand and Indonesia. Anyways, this dinner was quite the time for me.. Zhong JM's daughter got home from NY this past week so this was kind of like her welcome home. And Zhong JM for some reason loves me. Like halfway through it all, Zhong JM pipes in "Elder Jin, we have a spare bed here for you, and I can cook really good food, and theres a girl (her daughter) here to treat you well while you're here!" So awkward. It turned into a bit of a welcome home party and also a "let's get Elder Jin and her hooked up" party for like a solid 10 minutes. And this lady is nuts and wouldn't stop. I have definitely become a missionary because I got so embarrassed at the thought of girls! I had no idea what to say, not going to lie hahaha. But like I said, the food was to die for so it wasn't all that bad after all..

Taiwanese girls actually have put me at my whits this past week. I am not going to Larry. Ever.

Other than that, not really sure what I want to update you on.. This week was good, but I can't remember it at the moment. Apologies!

Keep killing it! 

PS that bowl in the picture is full of snake meat. SO good!!

close up on the snake meat!!

tasty snake meat

my man Zhong DX

Elder Ribar and I at LiuFuCun amuzement

ZhengChang

Hello everyone again. Another week has flown by for me. Hope everyone is doing amazing.

This week hit with a super unexpected force of friggin coldness and rainyness that caused me to freeze my sack off as well as come down with a cold. The rain was straight up a constant downpour and the streets literally turned into little rivers. So my shoes got soaked and every night I took my shoes off, my feet were straight up "wrinkled" (i cant remember if thats the word you use anymore :D) as if I had just got out of a super hot bath tub. I might take up a sport where you ride your bicycle across rivers. I might be becoming pro at that too now.

As for the cold I caught. I slept a bit on thursday to try and fight that off, so that was nice because that was straight up the first nap I have taken since like the MTC i think?? no time to sleep out here unfortunately.. And for the lasting effects of getting sick, I have been coughing up the BIGGEST and GNARLIEST loogies I have ever seen in my life. Like I know I'm a snotty person (no pun intended) but straight up every time I cough or sneeze it feels my mouth with thick dark yellow mucous. And if you just got grossed out by reading this then please remember how much worse my poor companion has it having to also hear it and see it first hand. I just laugh now. Taiwan has become a little booger land lately.

During the midst of this big rain storm, we managed to find another Less-active member. I have been working with some interesting LA's since I got to ZhongLi, but I think this new one definitely tops everyone else off. If I am not mistaken in my ability to hear and understand Chinese, this man believes that two of his neighbor dogs conspire against him so when he walks outside, then they team up on him and bite him like crazy. He even had a bag full of all these shirts that were torn from all the dogs that keep biting him.. So he is legit. Except the fact that he hears them communicating and he hears them saying his name. Some days he just doesn't go outside because he doesn't want to walk into another "set-up". I love him though, in a different way anyways hahahaha. He came to church with us and likes us so I guess thats really all that matters now right?

All this funny talk aside, if I wasn't sick, I probably would have had an emotional break down moment. But when I'm sick then those emotions of mine just get even harder to come out hahaha. Anyways. Two nights ago I got a call at 10:05 as I'm wrapping things up for the night wanting to go to bed. It was my WML that I've mentioned in a few emails already. He called to see if I was ok and if I was getting better from my cold. But he doesn't usually call that late, so I asked him how his day was and what he did. He woke up at 6 or 7 to go to his super hard labor job as a welder for 12 or so hours, then he went to the hospital to tend to his wife who is pretty much on her death bed for a while, after that he went out to visit a member whose husband just left her and has a little new born to give her some money to feed her child as well as help her do some house cleaning stuff, and then when he finally walked back in his home door, the first thing he does is give the little missionary Elder Jensen in his ward a call to ask if I was feeling better. I was so moved. I don't know anyone more Christlike than that. I can't even make any comments about this other than, there is a real man.

This week was fun. And today is going to be REALLY fun. :-) I'll feel you in on it next week. Keep it up! Live life to the fullest! love you all!

金長老
Jīn ZhǎngLǎo
Elder Jensen

The night markets here include the ability to catch your own mini turtles and pufferfish.  We are tempted to get some pets at the house hahaha

INDONESIAN OH MY HEAVEN ABOVE

Elder Heaps and I lucked out to get front row seats to this crazy Buddhist parade!

me and Elder Ribar

Went golfing last week.  Haven't lost my touch hahaha

MeiShi

This week was a good one. Well worked. But as I look back on it, I didn't have any crazy funny experiences to share or anything cool/interesting. Unfortunately. So this may be one of my lamest letters.

If there's something I do want to talk about though, its how awesome my new companion is. He cleans up after himself! Who would've thought how nice it really is to not have to always do your companion's dishes anymore. Or pick up his clothes. Or do his laundry. Or organize his desk so we don't lose things. Yep. I am very happy to have a clean comp now. 

But better, I've learned more about how to be a good roommate, or how to be a better person to have to live with, in this past week. I would be rich if I got 10 kuai for every time he asks if he can help me do something. Or if I counted how many times he just like does little things for me. Elder Ribar is a stud.

My eyes are now open to how it makes life a thousand times easier when you are clean. Mother I apologize for all those times you told me to clean my room and I told you to stop coming upstairs to look at it :-) Cleanliness is a good trait to have.

We were on the streets yesterday searching out LA's when we got to one locked door with no one home. I was in the middle of writing a note to leave at the door when this woman walked up, returning home with groceries. She was the mother of the guy who was our LA. She talked to us for a bit, I guess her little brother is a member down in Hualien, pretty familiar with a church and everything.. well the conversation got down to it and I asked her how she felt about prayer. Her reply, "I am very against prayer. I feel it is very impolite." I said "well, as far as I know it doesn't really hurt anyone, and like doesn't have any downside even if it doesn't work..." I mean right, speaking a few words out loud probably doesn't do much harm... But she just says "There's no God, and I think it's very impolite that you try to talk to someone that isn't there." 

Impolite to who??

I did have some cool miracles this past week. For example, my hair hasn't started to fall out, my pants haven't ripped, I didn't get in any bike wrecks, I had some ice cream, and I didn't get arrested. So count your blessings!

Praying for everyone as usual. Thanks for all the support.

PS I got interviewed by this guy who I guess is a famous British documentary-ist. Said I might be a big screen some day. So no big deal.

YiWai

This week was full of many major surprises for me. The title means "surprise" or "accident", but I'm not totally sure how you use it yet haha. Point is this past week took me off guard a bit. I had come to that point on the mission that I'm sure lots of people come to many times while on the mission. I have been in ZhongLi for 3.5 transfers and I felt like I had finished all the work I was supposed to do here because I had run completely out of ideas to help our investigators and Less-actives we are working with. I felt like I had nothing more to offer. So I was very excited for the anticipated moving call for me to be on my way out of ZhongLi and off to my new horizon elsewhere.

That moving call came, but it wasn't me who was headed out of there. Elder Miller was leaving after only been here for one transfer.

I was bummed. And felt a little hopeless honestly.

But then when we made it up to transfer meeting, I was surprised yet again to find out that while I was staying in ZhongLi for another transfer, I would become senior companion and district leader. Haha I was thinking "well freak! as if last transfer I didn't have enough stress already, then I just get a ton more responsibility thrown at me again." One secret of the mission is right when you think you have things down, then something will inevitably happen that puts you right back in your place thinking you have no idea how to do missionary work. But that's probably it, the mission is meant to really push you. And it is.

When I got to church, I was approached by a fair amount of people SO happy to see me still there. One lady in the ward that I known pretty well came up and told me her prayers were answered and she was so happy I got to stay one more transfer. Then my WML came up to me and told me essentially the same thing and laughed saying he "knew my work here wasn't over yet." And of course LaiJM was happier than you could imagine at the news. So. Yes, I felt good after that. It's nice every once in a while to hear that you are loved, midst all the rejection and angry people we face every day. 

I am still very happy to be here. I still occasionally have those moments from time to time when I walk outside and remember I'm across the pacific away from home in Taiwan. It gives me butterflies :-) 

This week wasn't super eventful other than transfers. I apologize, I don't have much to report on. We're going through that slump right after you come off a major high from a huge holiday like Chinese New Year.

I have a baptism coming up this weekend. My man from the Phillippines that I've taught the whole way is finally ready. So that makes me very excited. The work is still moving forward and I am very stoked about it.

That's about it for me. Love you all!!!

yangmei

the famous beetle nut opium source

hiking crew!!

GuoNian KuaiLe!!

Chinese new year was this past week as I'm sure you're all aware. Let me tell you it was OUT OF THIS WORLD!! this past week was soooo sick. I'm also sooo sick of eating. where does all this food come from? Guess thats just how Chinese New Year is..

the sacrificial altar at its finest

We went to one of our members' houses this week for lunch, and she invited over her two older sisters who are both i think Presbyterian?? (whatever zhanglao jiao is... not sure on the english anymore unfortunately) But one of them was a very special spirit :-) as we were getting to know her, one of the sisters asked her what her hobbies were and her reply was as follows: "Oh I love to read books, believe Jesus, and play basketball and I'm very good at it! What do you like to do?" hahahaha now when people ask me to introduce myself I'll be sure to throw in there that I love to "believe Jesus" as well. so cute.

This week was one of the most culturally rich weeks I have ever experienced. Also one of the most beautiful. I will never forget these experiences. Nothing is like a mission.

This past Sunday we were headed out to the other side of ZhongLi that I am very unfamiliar with so it happened that we ended up arriving about 15 minutes early to our dinner appointment. 

We turned off the super busy and loud street onto a smaller alley where our Ward Mission Leader lives and parked our bikes in front of his house. There was a farm next door and since we didn't know what to do with our next 15 minutes, we decided to go take a short walk to see what was over there. 

We walked down a bamboo lined alley through the super thick fog that has been hanging over ZhongLi this past weekend. We came to the small house with a bunch of lively people standing out front and asked the man of the house who was a little high on the beetle nut he was chewing if we could go take a walk through his farm. Tells us yes so we start walking to his backyard past an open door where there's 3 or 4 people inside singing the most tone deaf karaoke I've ever heard and into the fields of vegies. 

Cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, turnips, carrots, green onions, sweet potatoes, guava, broccoli, to name a few... 

It was actually quiet enough out there in the fields that you could hear the birds singing. And the occasional single loud pop of these chinese firecrackers going off about every 1 to 2 minutes.

There was a lite breeze as we walked up to a woman out there working the ground and called out to her, scaring her to death that we were two white people who spoke chinese haha. She asks if we are Christian, we say yes, and she walks off muttering something to the effect that Christianity is nonsense and she believes in Buddha. 

We finish up looking around and head back to get out and pass by the high guy again and he tells us its too cold to wear short sleeve shirts. My comp tells him he's crazy, its super hot outside side. (hot in chinese sounds kind of like "ruh!") but this guy laughs and says "ruh!" back but ROLLED HIS R!! That is the first time I have EVER met a Chinese person that can roll their R's. Maybe the beetle nut (similar effects to marijuana) gave him that ability, not totally sure...

farmlands of Taiwan

i love this man. he is our Ward Mission Leader and he has influenced my life so much

Then yesterday, (monday) we get done with studies, and head outside into the SUPER thick fog and super light rain for the last day of Chinese new year. We start heading up the alleys by our house into this super thick cloud of smoke. Nearly every business will put this little fire pit thing outside their store and offer sacrifices to their ancestors by putting a bunch of fruit on a table and then burning this huge box of "money" to their ancestors to have money in the afterlife. Unfortunately that just means lots of extra pollution in the streets for us here.

some intense fog...

We get to the park where we wanted to go contacting and start off into the super light rain. It was a cool sensation. I could feel my hair getting very very heavy but not really wet, like all the rain was collecting on my head and just sitting there. Like every 5 minutes or so there was this really loud noise that sounded much like a dump truck unloading a huge load of gravel or something. Finally I asked my comp what that was all about. They buy this huge box of a super long line of firecrackers that when they are done offering sacrifices, they will light off and the point i guess is to scare away all of the evil spirits from their businesses for the year.. Really it was just scaring me haha. Outside was completely silent except for these sudden and random bursts of an array of noise.

the "dump trucks" dropping off their load hahaha.  these are SO loud!!

After living this past week. I learned a bunch about Chinese culture and why they are the way they are. I can see why they are superstitious as well too now, the fog here really is super spooky in a way.

I am well taken care of. Sorry for such a long email. Hopefully this helped you see a bit better of how Chinese New Year is the real way.

Love you all. Keep it all up!!!

our beautiful chapel here in ZhongLi

the crew at the indonesian dance festival

here is my house

check out where I was last Monday :-)