Wow, what an amazing week on the Island of Taiwan. What a great week in DanShui.
I feel like Heavenly Father was giving DanShui a big hug all week long, and we as the DanShui missionaries just got to see miracles and reap the rewards of Heavenly Father's outpour of love upon this beautiful city.
We were so busy this week! We've found and have so many good investigators progressing toward baptism, there's not enough time in the day. One of my favorites is Brother Zhuang. What an amazing guy, so prepared for this gospel. He had a date for this Saturday when I got to DanShui, but we were going to have to extend it because he still had a lot of lessons to hear. Upon meeting him the first time, I realized how amazingly prepared he was, so we've been working closely with him so that he hears all the lessons and is prepared for his baptismal interview (which is tonight!) so that he can get baptized on his goal. He was already living commandments before we taught them because he had done his own research and was committed. He truly understands his relationship with Heavenly Father and sees the big picture. What a great guy. He is an interior designer who just switched work to be a tour guide. He played college basketball here in Taiwan, so needless to say he and I get along great.
Speaking of basketball we decided to try to hold an activity where for our exercise Saturday morning we invite investigators, recent converts, and the other missionaries in our ward to play with us early in the morning. It went really well and we had investigators asking if we can do it next Saturday again. It's been a great way to strengthen friendships with our investigators.
I'm still baffled at how prepared DanShui is. The people I've found here have had interest, just like the people I've found elsewhere, but what sets them apart is their desire. There are some people willing to do whatever it takes to make that sacred covenant with the Lord. I'm so privileged to be a part of it. I'm so privileged to serve in DanShui with a great companion. He works hard and is such a great servant of the Lord. What a blessing to work with.
This week was the week of some CRAZY contacts on the street. I'll mention a few.
Me: "Hello, how is your day today?''
Security Guard(about 50 years old): "Mormon Church right?"
Me: "Yes, have you been."
Him: "No, but you guys are the church with Moses who split the sea right?"
Me: "Umm... Yeah you could say that's us."
Him: "Wow, You guys are AWESOME!''
That was probably my favorite.
I got chewed out by people on the street twice in one day while I was on exchanges in another area of the mission. The first person was just wanting to argue and thought he was incredibly deep and smart. But the second time was what was funny, because he chewed me out because I don't speak Taiwanese. The national language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese. And so he sat there yelling at me (in Mandarin) because I don't speak Taiwanese. He said if you want to learn Chinese go to Mainland China. If you come to Taiwan, learn Taiwanese. So I promptly left and continued to talk to people in their native tongue of Mandarin Chinese. It was a funny exchange.
I also contacted someone on the Subway who was interested in talking about America for only one reason. Sylvester Stallone. He was asking me if I've ever met Sylvester Stallone. He started talking to me about Rambo and Rocky. He knew Sylvester Stallone's birthday. If Sylvester Stallone was Mormon I could have baptized this guy right then and there.
I also contacted someone wearing a "Pistol" Pete Maravich Jersey. He deserves to go to heaven.
But amid all the crazy contacts this week there were some amazing people, prepared to hear the gospel. I could get chewed out by people for 5 hours straight and it wouldn't matter once I find the one that's prepared. What a great week of miracles.
We were so busy this week that by the time Sunday rolled around we hadn't had a whole lot of finding time. We needed new investigators that day to meet our goal. So we prayed hard and we hoped to see a miracle Sunday night. We didn't have to wait until Sunday night, because as we arrived at church on Sunday there was a member from Taibei who goes to school in DanShui, and she had brought two classmates who just got to Taiwan from Mainland China. They wanted to see what Christianity was like and so the member invited them to church. We were able to meet and teach them after church and set up a time this week to continue to share. They are really good! I'm super excited about it and it was such a big miracle!! Sister Wang and Sister Qiu from Mainland China!!! The 2 new investigators we needed.
This week I also had one other interesting experience. I received a call from a member. She said she attends church in Taipei, but lives in DanShui and wanted to give us a DanShui member referral. She proceeded by telling us his name and phone number, then she said let me tell you a little bit more about his situation. She proceeded to say that he had been in trouble with the law, and I asked if he had taken care of it with the Taiwanese government. She said yes, he just got out of prison.... then she hesitated and said, "Well... actually he killed a man." I said ok and that was the end of that for a while. Then we had a few lessons. A couple hours later she called back and said. "Actually, it would probably be better if you didn't call him. It would be more safe, he might be dangerous, then she said "yeah actually I don't know him that well." So I never got ahold of the Murderer... but it definitely goes in the book as the craziest referral I've received.
Things are too good in DanShui, I'm too blessed to be in this area with an awesome companion.
I love you all and hope all is well.
Skyler Bingham's farewell, I know he'll kill it. Tell him I love him! Go serve the Lord.
Love you all, Elder White
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