Hello everyone! Welcome to NOVEMBER! The weather is actually getting quite cold (as cold as Taiwan gets) and I am pretty happy. I might not be so happy when I ride for 2-3 months through freezing rain but in my opinion, anything is better than the melting heat that I suffered through for several months.
Let's see, what exciting things have happened this week? On Friday we held a Halloween party in Bade at the church. My companion and I were in charge of the food and decided that we would make some pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. You know, something easy that would not take too long but would be fun and different for Taiwanese people to try.
Well, we forgot the fact that it was so different that the ingredients would not be readily available in Taiwan! Many things are available in Taipei but Bade is out in the boonies so we run a little more dry in respect to foreign food here. Needless to say, we had to cut, peel, steam, mush, and season our own pumpkin (oh how I love Libby's pumpkin pie mix!) and find some other pretty creative ingredients to make the pie, bread, and cookies. But it was a big success and the pies and bread tasted delicious! Even more so after the several hours it took to prepare it all!
At the party (we had it for members and investigators) they had a donut eating contest--the kind where the donut hangs on a string from the ceiling and you can't use your hands. Well, the record for the fastest donut eater was 1:30 or something like that, and then they asked my companion and myself to try. I have always had a big mouth :) and I won hands down with a 42 second record. Yeah! :)
Oh, and next week are transfers so my preparation day next week is MONDAY. So don't forget, Mom and Kaitlyn!
We had temple tour last Thursday and as usual, I have some exciting stories to share. We met a man from Tibet (ever since I read Seven Years in Tibet I have been interested in Tibet and Tibetans) who just walked into the church and wanted a tour but only had 8 minutes before he had to catch his bus. His interest level was so high but he only had 2 minutes to listen to us--and then ran out of the church to catch his bus! (He was literally running).
And then we gave a tour to a member from Malaysia who had come to Taipei to go to the temple. Her conversion story was pretty exciting--she has been a member for more than 20 years--but what really intrigued me was when she told us about her niece, who was baptized when she was 18. She had been going to church for several years but her parents were devout Catholic and did not want her to get baptized. When she turned 18 she started making plans to be baptized and her aunt (the member) said, "Why don't you wait until you are 21 so your parents won't be so upset?" Because they were really mad. And her niece said, "I don't want to wait. I don't want to live in darkness any more. I need the gift of the Holy Ghost." So she got baptized. And then she went on a mission when she was 21. Her answer--"I don't want to live in darkness" reminded me of the hymn "Searching in darkness, nations have wept. Watching for dawn their vigil they've kept. All now rejoice, the long night is o'er--truth is on earth once more!" Oh how badly the world needs the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ--and baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost!
Yesterday morning we went to Yi Jun's house (the one I told you about last week) and followed up on her Book of Mormon reading. She said she gets home from work really late--about 10 pm--but she reads at least a chapter before she goes to bed. She says she doesn't know why, but she just loves the Book of Mormon and the more she reads the more she loves it! We taught her about baptism by authority and asked her if she would set a date and prepare to be baptized on December 5--and she said yes! She was really excited about it and kept asking questions about what she should wear and if she would have to bear her testimony, etc. Member referrals are the best! (Her friend is a member in another part of Taiwan and referred her.) It was so exciting to watch the plain and unpolluted truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ change Yi Jun's life--and that by teaching the simple doctrines people are influenced by the Spirit and feel the desire to be baptized. I think I can call her "miracle child" because I have already seen lots of miracles from teaching her.
Well, that is about it for the week. I hope that all of you had a great Halloween and are excited for Thanksgiving--there are nonstop holidays from now until I come home! Crazy!
Sister White
Let's see, what exciting things have happened this week? On Friday we held a Halloween party in Bade at the church. My companion and I were in charge of the food and decided that we would make some pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. You know, something easy that would not take too long but would be fun and different for Taiwanese people to try.
Well, we forgot the fact that it was so different that the ingredients would not be readily available in Taiwan! Many things are available in Taipei but Bade is out in the boonies so we run a little more dry in respect to foreign food here. Needless to say, we had to cut, peel, steam, mush, and season our own pumpkin (oh how I love Libby's pumpkin pie mix!) and find some other pretty creative ingredients to make the pie, bread, and cookies. But it was a big success and the pies and bread tasted delicious! Even more so after the several hours it took to prepare it all!
At the party (we had it for members and investigators) they had a donut eating contest--the kind where the donut hangs on a string from the ceiling and you can't use your hands. Well, the record for the fastest donut eater was 1:30 or something like that, and then they asked my companion and myself to try. I have always had a big mouth :) and I won hands down with a 42 second record. Yeah! :)
Oh, and next week are transfers so my preparation day next week is MONDAY. So don't forget, Mom and Kaitlyn!
We had temple tour last Thursday and as usual, I have some exciting stories to share. We met a man from Tibet (ever since I read Seven Years in Tibet I have been interested in Tibet and Tibetans) who just walked into the church and wanted a tour but only had 8 minutes before he had to catch his bus. His interest level was so high but he only had 2 minutes to listen to us--and then ran out of the church to catch his bus! (He was literally running).
And then we gave a tour to a member from Malaysia who had come to Taipei to go to the temple. Her conversion story was pretty exciting--she has been a member for more than 20 years--but what really intrigued me was when she told us about her niece, who was baptized when she was 18. She had been going to church for several years but her parents were devout Catholic and did not want her to get baptized. When she turned 18 she started making plans to be baptized and her aunt (the member) said, "Why don't you wait until you are 21 so your parents won't be so upset?" Because they were really mad. And her niece said, "I don't want to wait. I don't want to live in darkness any more. I need the gift of the Holy Ghost." So she got baptized. And then she went on a mission when she was 21. Her answer--"I don't want to live in darkness" reminded me of the hymn "Searching in darkness, nations have wept. Watching for dawn their vigil they've kept. All now rejoice, the long night is o'er--truth is on earth once more!" Oh how badly the world needs the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ--and baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost!
Yesterday morning we went to Yi Jun's house (the one I told you about last week) and followed up on her Book of Mormon reading. She said she gets home from work really late--about 10 pm--but she reads at least a chapter before she goes to bed. She says she doesn't know why, but she just loves the Book of Mormon and the more she reads the more she loves it! We taught her about baptism by authority and asked her if she would set a date and prepare to be baptized on December 5--and she said yes! She was really excited about it and kept asking questions about what she should wear and if she would have to bear her testimony, etc. Member referrals are the best! (Her friend is a member in another part of Taiwan and referred her.) It was so exciting to watch the plain and unpolluted truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ change Yi Jun's life--and that by teaching the simple doctrines people are influenced by the Spirit and feel the desire to be baptized. I think I can call her "miracle child" because I have already seen lots of miracles from teaching her.
Well, that is about it for the week. I hope that all of you had a great Halloween and are excited for Thanksgiving--there are nonstop holidays from now until I come home! Crazy!
Sister White
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