The first week of my 6th transfer.
Time absolutely flies. I don't like to think about how fast things are going. I've been in Taiwan 7 months now. WOW.
The highlight this week was definitely Brother Liu getting confirmed Sunday. He had to wait a week because last week was stake conference, but it's so nice that he can truly become a member of the church and receive the Holy Ghost.
There are some other investigators that are doing really well and that I'm really excited about. They were able to make it to church and are progressing. I hope they all can make the sacred covenant of baptism with their Eternal Father.
The coolest thing that happened this week definitely happened with Edward Liang, the man who was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Canada. He's doing so well, as is his wife. Their son is so cute and it's fun visiting them. Edward has had the Book of Mormon for 3 weeks. He is in Mosiah 5 as of a few days ago. So Amazing!!! The other amazing part is how he absorbs it all so well. The first or second time we met Edward, he had poured us tea which we politely declined and then had to teach a mini Word of Wisdom type lesson. He was very curious about it, but we just kind of explained it was a part of a law of health. He explained that he drinks coffee, tea, and has tried to quit smoking but had struggled to. Fast forward to this last Tuesday. We formally committed him to live the Word of Wisdom and he said he was willing to try. When we visited him Saturday night, he informed us that the last cigarette he had was the Tuesday before we met with him!!!! WOW!!!! So exciting. I'm so thankful for the Lord following through on his promised blessings and assisting those who truly desire to keep his commandments.
Another cool thing that happened this week took place on Saturday. All our afternoon lessons canceled. I was a little upset but I knew that it just meant the Lord needed us to do something else in that time slot. I prayed for guidance Friday night and had a strong impression to go to SanZhi. It's a smaller town just north of Dan Shui. It's still in our area. Elder Gong had been there before I got to Dan Shui and told me it wasn't really worth going to, but I couldn't kick this thought out of my mind. So we took a bus to SanZhi Saturday and the miracles followed. We met an awesome middle school teacher who said his grandfather was Christian and he grew up with that kind of background but hasn't been in a long time. We taught him a lesson and we'll continue to meet with him. The coolest miracle came on the bus ride back. I sat down next to my companion and then saw someone across the aisle. I said a quick prayer and moved across to sit next to him. As we got talking I found out he was Atheist, but we continued to talk more. I shared scriptures with him, prayed with him, testified to him. 20 minutes later, he had a baptismal date and set up a time to meet with us and hear more. I'm very thankful for the Lord placing prepared people in our path. I hope that I never let those people pass who the Lord has prepared, but to ensure no one ever gets by, you have to be talking with everyone. I know without a doubt that the Lord wanted us in SanZhi Saturday afternoon. The really good thing about SanZhi is everyone there goes down to DanShui at least several times a week, if not everyday. So it was a great opportunity.
This week was a little rocky at times. All of our college aged investigators are getting prepared for midterms which was a big crutch to us. Because of studying for mid-terms they were busy and couldn't meet. It is a test driven society, and I admire how much they study, but I can't wait for midterms to be over so they can continue meeting with us.
My district is BIG. 10 missionaries, biggest in the mission, so I'll basically be exchanging all the time. One really great thing is that Elder Glen and Elder Papritz (the other companionship serving in our ward are both together) which means I get to still teach beginning English with Elder Glen. He's probably one of my best friends in the mission, but the best part is he's Australian. So we teach beginning English and these poor Taiwanese students have no Idea what's going on. I will say a word for them to practice pronouncing, and then Elder Glen will say the same word, but it sounds completely different. The accents really threw them for a loop. They have no Idea what to do. I say bark, and Elder Glen say bach, trying to mean bark. It's a riot.
In other news my Chinese is getting better, because I learned how to say Audrey Hepburn and camouflage this week.
I'm looking forward to mid terms being over.
I'm looking forward to what this transfer has in store. I hope DanShui can continue to have lots of baptisms.
I love you all
Elder White
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