April 17, 2016 - One of the Hardest Weeks I've Ever Had

It was very hard. You never think that you might not come home at some point. also this week will mark 10 months... Almost a full year!! Wow is all I have to say and the days just go by faster and faster. 

This week was one full of heart ache but it also contained some fun. 

The weather here has matched our mood. It has been raining all week. To hear of the death of one of our missionaries was one of the hardest things I have experienced. Elder Hampton was in training in the same ward and area in ZhangHua that I was trained in. He had only been in Taiwan for 6 weeks.  Since his tragic accident hit so close to home we all had to rely on our faith more than normal. I'm so glad we are a people of great faith, and that we know and understand that this life is not the end, that we still live even after our earthly death. The man who hit the missionary here in my mission, has probably had the worst week of his life. He wept and apologized and continued to weep. He was a man of no faith. In contrast, our mission president and wife, whose testimony is firm and unchanging, know that Elder Hampton lives on, and they know that he was valiantly serving the Lord and all is well with him. I wrote a short poem to describe the way we have all felt here in Taiwan, TaiZhong Mission.

Life, like lighting, strikes bright and clear,
Causing all around to mourn him here.
The heavens open, and cry for him,
But the thing about these tears, they let life in.
This prince of heaven, a royal friend,
Gone on, to worlds without end.
We are soldiers for God above,
We tell the world of His love.
Peace, be still, He said to the sea,
Now He speaks to us, "Find peace in me".

Even with all the sadness we have experienced this week, we still had some good moments as well. The never ending rainfall made things very interesting. It is hard to do missionary work in the rain because people don't really feel like talking while they are standing in the rain getting soaking wet.

There is a statistic that a member here told me. They say that 1 out of 23 people in Taiwan have a mental disorder of some form. This makes sense, because I feel like we run into some crazy people. At the park this week, a guy asked me if I knew Beethoven, and of course I said yes. He then proceeded to say, "I will sing Beethoven for you". He sang through a whole song and then said "I have sung the song" and left. This apparently isn't the first time he has sung to the missionaries.

The funniest thing of the week happened Sunday night at FHE. A woman showed up and asked if there was English class... I told her no... we have English class on Wednesday nights. She then asked me what class I teach and told me she could go to the advanced class, but she wants to come to my class, (remember, I teach the little kids), because of how handsome I am. She then asked if she could stay for FHE.  I couldn't say no, so she came and played games with us. When she decided to leave she tried to hug me... I deflected the hug and she proceeded to tell me again how handsome I was. She left and I ran! The members started telling me that she told them how she wanted to go on a date with me and how she was willing to wait two years. She then returned into the room, came right up to me and said" Nihao, my real name is Sister Xu and I am a member here in Xinying!" I flipped out I was dying of laughter and tears. The members in Xinying were all in on this joke, apparently they tease all the new missionaries who move into this ward with this same joke! I now know how it feels to be on one of those reality TV shows where people pull practical jokes. 

This the FHE group that pulled the prank on me.The girl who played the part is the one on the front row with the white T-shirt on, with another girl sitting on her lap.

Here are the answers to my mom's questions.

Do you have rural areas in your new district or are you only serving in the city?

We 13 secondary areas and most of them are fields so,,,,yes:)

What are you studying right now in your daily scripture study? The plan of salvation and the Book of Mormon's explanation of the plan

What food do you miss the most?

Mashed potatoes... They don't exist in Taiwan

Have you given any blessings since being in Taiwan? Yes but only to in English to the sister missionaries and one time I did the anointing for a member in Chinese but not the actual blessing.

I love it here in XinYing the members are great and life is good. I love you all the Church is true!