October 9, 2011

Hello to one and all,

Where to begin on this beautiful Taiwanese morning. I know I'm a week late on this, but in Taiwan they watch conference a week delayed. So I want to talk about conference. Conference was too good!! I can't even explain how much I like conference now that I'm a missionary. Elder Holland speaking in Priesthood is a rarity, but it was so amazing. It was so needed. There were so many amazing talks. My overall favorite was probably Eyring in Priesthood. My overall favorite seems to always be Eyring in Priesthood. There were so many other amazing talks. I loved Elder Waddell in priesthood, as well as the Seventy that spoke about the Book of Mormon and its necessity in the Sunday Morning session. Overall what an amazing 10 hours of spiritual enlightenment. I'm very thankful to have living prophets leading our church. I'm thankful for the opportunity of spiritual revelation if we listen and I left conference with new goals and a greater understanding of what the Lord expects of me. Now we must wait 6 months. I look forward to April 2012.

The work was great again this week. We were busy but the best part is we're getting 2 investigators ready for their baptism interviews to be held this Friday. Brother Liu and Brother Zhao. We'll keep praying for them and making sure they're still prepared, but if all goes as planned they will be baptized on October 22. This would be a huge miracle because that is the last day of this transfer and they were both people we began teaching in this transfer. That's super amazing!

I absolutely love DanShui. We found a very nice, picturesque, large but secluded beach on accident when we got lost one day. It is about 10-15 minute bike ride from our house so if we get up a little bit early we can go running there. We ran there a couple times this last week. Not only is it such a beautiful area, but the people are so prepared. The ward is absolutely great. I couldn't have asked for a better place to serve the Lord. I love it.

Last week I went to try to find a camera case to better protect my camera. Unfortunately, all I could find are Hello Kitty Camera Cases. Thank you Taiwan! I'll keep my eyes open.

By far one of the biggest down sides this week was while eating a hot pot with an investigator. A hot pot will have an wide array of  vegetables, meats, and tofu like things. He pulled out a piece of food from his hot pot and said. "I do not eat this, it is disgusting." I was curious because it is something I've eaten a couple times before but never knew what it was. He then informed me it was hardened pigs blood.... Great.... I had a goal to be willing to try everything while I was here, except for the pigs blood. Little did I know I had unknowingly eaten it several times.

One of the crazier things to happen this week took place on Friday afternoon. We were stopped at a stoplight so I do what I always do at a stop light, find a scooter and talk to them, see if they have interest in the gospel. I pulled up next to Mr. Yang, an 82 year old man. He was happy, kind, and a genuinely nice guy. A pleasure to speak with for those short 60 seconds. He also speaks fluent Spanish because he lived in the Dominican Republic for 30 years. The light changed and he turned the corner onto what is probably the busiest street in DanShui. I turned the corner behind him and began ascending the hilly street. Mr. Yang was about 10 feet in front of me when a careless, speeding car, in an attempt to make a lane change as he weaved through traffic, bumped Mr. Yang off his scooter and he fell violently to the ground with his scooter laying on top of him. I immediately bailed off my bicycle and went to assist Mr. Yang. I pulled his scooter off of him and then with the help of my companion and another bystander we picked him up. The man who struck him was a real jerk and wouldn't call the police, but this Mr. Yang was in really bad condition. We sat with him trying to help him for about 10 minutes. We tried to offer to call the hospital for him (even though I have no idea how to make that type of call in Taiwan.) But eventually Mr. Yang, in no shape to drive, took to his scooter and headed up the hill back to his house. I immediately mounted my bicycle in efforts to follow him home, however I lost him while trying to ascend a steep hill. I hope he is alright. I hope his fragile 82 year old body can recover. It was a very interesting experience, really made me think about the value of life. What a precious gift it is. We must use our time here in this life wisely and be focused on the things of eternity.

A really cool miracle this week was finding Allen. Allen is a 17-18 year old high school student. We were riding our bikes on our way to dinner, when we saw Allen. He was also riding his bike. We passed him and then both had the feeling to stop. We looked back at him and he had a curious look on his face. Then he started riding in our direction, and the first thing he said in English was "Do you guys believe in Jesus?" That's always music to the ears. We shared with him about prayer, Heavenly Father, and then prayed with him on the street there. Then after we prayed and he liked, he said. "Now what? I'm bored, what are you guys doing right now?" We invited him to come eat dinner with us, and we taught him and set him up to meet again with us this week. It was a cool miracle to have a person self contact us. I'm looking forward to continuing to meet with Allen.

The work is continuing to be great. The Lord is continuing to bless me and my great companion. I am really loving this work and this gospel. I can't believe how fast time is flying though.

I love you all.

Heed the prophet's and apostles' words.

Love,
Elder White