Hello All You Beautiful People!

This has been an eventful week. Since I knew last week that I was moving I had some time to say bye to people. But that definitely didn't make it any easier. On Wednesday I had to say bye to one of my favorite people in Bade after English class. It was so hard and I just wanted to cry and cry. The toughest thing about saying bye to people is that you have no idea when you're going to see them again. It hurt my heart. But the people in Bade know that I love them and I will not lose contact with them so that will be fine.

Then on Thursday morning I finished packing any last minute stuff and I cleaned my apartment. Then Sister Lin and I headed to Taibei. It was a bumpy ride and the whole time I was just feeling super super sick and didn't want to leave. When we got to Taibei I met up with Sister Wang and Sister Chamberlain and we went back to Sister Chamberlain's area in Neihu (which is just outside of Taibei). When we got there we spent some time contacting people on the street hoping to share the gospel before dinner. Then we got a call saying we needed to get back to Taibei to pick up another missionary-- Sister Bang. We got her and then headed back to Neihu. We split up for the evening and Sister Bang and I went to a park to teach the gospel to anyone willing to listen. We ran into a couple. The man was from England and the woman from Taiwan. They weren't super interested but what I learned mostly is that I'm really bad at speaking about church in English. My Chinese is way better that my English. And my Chinese isn't even that good-- so mostly I'm bad at communicating with people. Anyway after we talked to them we ran into a man with his two dogs. We started talking to him and at first I felt like he was not interested at all. Then we started to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and he completely opened up about how he doesn't go to church because he knows that he smells like smoke and it's a bad habit and he wants to quit and change his life around. We talked to him about prayer and the power of the Book of Mormon and he started to cry. He asked us to give him the book and said he'd be willing to meet with missionaries and read the book. He also said a prayer with us and thanked God for allowing him to meet us and learn about these things. It was such an amazing experience and so crazy. I didn't expect to see any crazy things happen that day because I was in a temporary area with a temporary companion. It was cool though.

That night I slept on a couch. It was super uncomfortable and I hardly slept at all.

The next morning we headed to transfer meeting. It was great to see some missionaries there that I haven't seen in a while. Then we got started with Transfers. When they got to the part where they tell us who is in the Taoyuan Zone I was super nervous. I didn't want to leave that Zone (because it includes Bade and I'm obsessed with Bade). So the way they announce transfers is by putting up a power point with the pictures of the people who are not moving under the name of their area and then they announce who is moving in and their picture appears next to the picture of their new companion. Then they announced a new area opening for sisters in Nankan (which is still in Taoyuan-- practically neighbors with Bade)... and yep you guessed it! My picture showed up. I'm opening this area to sister missionary work-- just like I did with Bade. But its not just me by myself. I have my companion-- none other than the miracle worker herself-- Sister Bang. I guess the miracle we saw together the night before was just too great and so the Lord wanted to stick us together. I'm glad too. She's super super great. She's been on island for 4 months and her Chinese is already SUPER amazing. We'll have a great time together!

Here's the best part of the move-- I expected they would just give me keys and an address again and send me on my way. False-- they hadn't even secured the apartment yet. So once we got to our area we couldn't even move in until 2 hours later. It was great. We just went to the other sister's apartment (because we actually just split their area) and waited until we could get home. Then there were people working in our apartment all day so we didn't stick around. We just hit the streets and headed out to find our way around. Let me tell ya-- there are so many differences about here and Bade. We live on the 23rd floor in our apartment building. SO TALL!

There are so many cars here too. Everything is just big. And expensive looking. Our apartment has a super cute layout with a few minor setbacks at the beginning:

1. Our rusty old washing machine is in our bathroom because that's the only place that it can hook in-- and there may or may not be a cockroach family living under it... or rather dying under it because I killed them... obviously. That's disgusting.

2. We have no stove... or fridge... aka we need to eat out--- which is tough because let's be honest-- I have NO money left.

3. There is a layer of dust and germs on EVERYTHING. But my companion and I have started deep cleaning so it's not too bad.

4. We have no pillows-- it is SUPER hard to sleep without a pillow.

I'm not doing this place justice. It definitely needs some fixing up. We're gonna do that today. AND THEN IT WILL BE BEAUTIFUL.

Oh and we have no desks (or space for them when we get them)... so we studied on our beds the first day... and on our couch the next. We do have couches. Such a blessing. They are salmon orange and faded teal green-- aka probably the biggest fashion statement of the year. AND I FEEL LIKE I WALKED INTO THE 70s. ITS PERFECT.

Those are all minor details though. The toughest thing is not having my bike yet. We've been walking everywhere. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING PEOPLE WHO ARE IN DRIVING AND WALKING MISSIONS WHO HAVE TO WALK AND BE ON THEIR FEET ALL THE TIME ARE SO XINKU (they don't have a word for that in english-- but basically their life is really hard). I am so glad I am in a biking mission. Walking everywhere is TOUGH on the body. Not even kidding-- I'll need a hip replacement before I turn 30... which is only in 8 years. Eww.

Oh you can tell our stake that Elder Seneca got moved here to Nankan also. Same district. Same area. Cool, huh?

Okay I probably sound like I'm complaining about everything-- honestly I love how pitiful things are for us right now. It's super fun and reminds me of how blessed I am. Really God is good and He has blessed me abundantly. This area is great and I will love it just like I loved Bade. We've already seen a lot of miracles and met a lot of really cool people. Lastly-- since we just took over part of an area that had sisters we started teaching the two investigators that they already had out here. So we still have lots to do. We will spend a lot of time outside contacting on the streets though-- so now we just need to find a way to do that.

Anyway. The church is true and I'm super happy here. I'll probably be here for about 3 months and then move for my last 3 months. I hope to open another area (Longtan) in my last three months on my mission. We'll see though. I'll start praying for it now.

MORAL OF THE STORY: I LOVE YOU ALL AND I AM SO HAPPY TO BE A MISSIONARY. My companion is also super great. I miss people in Bade- but I'm in the same stake so I'll see them again. The church is true. God loves me. And He loves you. And I know he loves everyone.

I know that Heavenly Father is involved in this work. He has allowed me to feel how much he loves everyone that I've taught the gospel too. It's interesting to feel how much God loves people. Once you feel that-- you love them more. I know that this life is tough for people sometimes. Life is not fair and it's not always that simple-- but if we live by the standards that God has laid out for us-- we will be ultimately happy.

Guess what? I'm moving!

Guess what-- big news. I'M MOVING! That's so crazy. On Saturday my companion and I were heading home and when we got to the elevator I looked at her and said "You're getting fat-- I think you're gonna have a baby soon!" (aka: she'll train). She screamed and probably punched me. Then we got to our apartment and the assistants called her and told her she's training! SO HILARIOUS! And thus-- I'm moving. I'll miss this place. I've learned so much in Bade about life and myself and the atonement. It'll be hard to leave. Something that hit me the other day is that when I leave an area and the people here I actually have no idea when I'll be able to see them again. It breaks my heart. Bade will always feel like a second home to me. And the things I've learned her have been imprinted on my heart.

Anyway. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! And I love Bade. Last night I dreamt completely in Chinese. It was the craziest thing because it was a post-mission dream.. in America.. but it was all in Chinese. I have a feeling that going home and speaking English all the time will surprise me a little.

Honestly I can't remember anything that happened this week.

We helped this old lady that we teach clean her house this week... or at least start. It's so cluttered. Then after she sang us a song. I'll try to send the video if it's not too big.

Sorry this email is so short. I honestly have a blank mind right now. We've just been working hard and talking to everyone. I've been doing better at talking at stoplights. It's cool. And Sister Lin told me that every time I start talking to one person at a light-- everyone else looks over and listens because they're so surprised that I'm speaking Chinese. Lol. My chinese actually isn't very good. I'm just white so people stare.

Sister L. and I have still been successful at our goal not to eat at the same place twice. It's been a delicious goal. Also we ran everyday this morning (except saturday because our alarm didn't go off... shame). But it's been good. And now I'm not such a fat lard square anymore. I just hope that my next companion will motivate me to not be a fatty too. Also-- I think I want to continue not repeating places to eat. It makes things much more interesting for sure.

That's really all my news recently.

Oh I do have a new favorite scripture. 1 Nephi 6:4-6. I love this because it clearly outlines the purpose of the Book of Mormon. People ask us all the time what is the purpose of all of this.. well here it is.

I promise I'll actively look for things to share with you about next week. There is good news-- one of my investigators who has met with missionaries forever (she's 12 and her family is all less active) is having her baptismal interview on Friday. SO GREAT (: 

Okay that's all. I'm moving in just four days. SO CRAZY. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

You'll never believe it. Two days ago it SNOWED! It's a miracle. And everyone was like what is this stuff falling from the sky. And I was like SNOW OBVIOUSLY! And then everyone was happy and we all sang Christmas songs!! IT WAS A MIRACLE!

(: (: (:

Okay so I lied. But I did have a dream that it snowed and it was beautiful. My companion has never seen snow before and I think that's crazy talk! Also it's not really Christmas time or even time to start singing Christmas songs all day, but I've started early. NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME! Moral of the story is that Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat! But we don't eat geese here... so this will be an interesting holiday season. I hope that I stay in Bade next transfer with my sweet little Taiwanese companion. I want to teach her about Christmas. It would be so happy. I don't know how likely it is that I'll stay here though. I've been here three transfers. I was in Xin Zhuang for four transfers and I only have four left on my mission so who knows where I'll end up for Christmas. BUT I do look forward to calling you all (*Editors note: when she says you all, she means me!) . It will be a wonderful time for sure.

I bought my first Christmas decorations last week. A little snowman thing. I think I might give it away though in the process of teaching people out here how to do Christmas. And our ward Choir has started practicing Christmas songs. I sing with them because they need someone who can sing the alto part. And because I like Christmas.

Also-- it's so crazy to me that I've been on my mission for a year now. I still feel like a baby and like I have no idea what I'm doing. And although I speak Chinese-- which is wicked cool-- I still make mistakes. For example. I was telling an investigator about a prayer rock. She said she wasn't sure how she would remember to pray. So I mentioned that you just need to put a big rock on your pillow so that when you lay down to bed you feel it and remember that you need to pray. She looked really disturbed. That's when I realized that I didn't say put a big ROCK on your pillow... I said put a big TONGUE on your pillow. That's disgusting.

Speaking of disgusting things-- large intestines. Yes. I ate large intestines. Let's just say I've eaten better things-- but at the same time I've eaten worse. I prefer large intestines over pigs feet. I had three pieces before giving the rest to my companion.

Let's just say that fear is not a factor for me.

I ate something else interesting the other day. Eel. Actually it was really good. It just tastes like really good fish.

So yes-- the eating adventures have continued.

We have this investigator. Z. Mama. She's super old. She has a lot of rules about church. She always corrects us if we cross our legs. She says its rude. Then we had a 12 year old investigator with her cousin sitting in front of us and they started talking then suddenly I see z. mama reach up with her cane and tap them on the shoulder and tell them to be quiet. So hilarious.

Also-- there is a crazy fad here that my companion and I think is SUPER KUAZHANG. Everyone is obsessed with this big yellow rubber duck. I can't even explain it. He's everywhere. And people LOVE IT. I'm not doing this madness justice. Its crazy.

This past week we had interviews with president. It was good. Also my companion reminded me that its my second to last interview with him before my exit interview. Time is flying by. It's crazy.

While we were there Sister Day gave us a new rule. When it gets dark outside we have to where these hideous reflective vests. It's the pits. Really so crazy. The nice thing is that safety is really important to Taiwanese people-- so no one judges. It's been just two days so far. So I'm definitely not used to it. Eek!

Anyway. That's all for now.

I just want to dance. And play in the snow. But for now missionary work is good too.

I love you all. The church is true. The work is true. And really-- when we live by the principles of the gospel we will be free. 

It's like a kite. The string at the end of the kite holds the kite down. One might look at that and think-- the string is a restriction. But if you look at it differently you see that without the string-- the kite spends it's whole life on the ground. What do you prefer? To fly free or to spend your life on the ground or in the pits. Everyone who decides not to keep the commandments that God has given us will sooner or later end up on the ground and in the pits never to come out again unless they are willing to repent and obey. Why would anyone not want to obey?

Enough said. We obey because we want to be free.

hopefully...less words, more pictures

Gewei dixiong jiemei dajia zao annnnnnn! wo chaoji ai nimen. wasei xie pinyin zhende hen nan. wo xianzai pingchang dou xie zhongwen zi. haiyou nimen yiding kan bu dong wo xiede. zaogao. youkeneng Dave hui kandedong zhege. wo bu xiaode. danshi wo ai nimen!!! wo hui xie yingwen...haobuhao? ps. Dave xie xie yizhi zhaogu wode jiating. zhende hen ai ni! erqie wo hen kaixin women mingnian keyi yiqi shuo zhongwen. tai bang le! 

I have no idea if Dave will understand that because their are no tones.. It's simple though so he probably will get it.

There isn't a whole lot to say (except that I want to dance the rest of my life) since this week was short. I'll give you a few highlights.

Yesterday in the last hour of church right before we finished up the fire alarm went off. SO HILARIOUS! Everyone just sat around for a second. And I thought oh this is funny no ones moving.. I believe it was because of shock. Then we just hear some screaming coming from primary and see children running frantically looking for mom. It was a very loud fire alarm. And so random.. well we got downstairs.. Turns out it wasn't a drill. Lol. An electrical wire got too hot and burned up... Small fire and no damage done. Just a good story. (:

This past Wednesday we got to go to the temple.. which I guess I already told you about. But after the temple we went shopping. I love shopping here. Everything is so hip. And so cheap! And I've been wearing the same clothes for a year starting tomorrow. Eeek! Well I guess not really because I've been buying new clothes and wearing other people's... I know for sure though that at the end of my mission I'll definitely go on a major shopping spree and bring home all new clothes because heaven knows I don't want to revamp my wardrobe in America where everything is expensive.

Next last Wednesday evening was my first children's english class. It went really well. JJ (my recent convert) helped me co-teach which was good. It was still a little rusty but now that I've taught one I think I'll know how to teach others. I love teaching! And I love dancing. I should just teach dancing...

Then the next day we went back up to Taibei for temple tours. Our first tour was to three people from France... so it was in English.. and my companion doesn't speak English.. So it was rusty. We didn't have really any preparation for people from France. I just kept thinking of all my friends and family who served missions in France and I thought--- I'm glad I'm in Taiwan.

Then on Friday we went on exchanges. So I spent the evening and Saturday with Sister Ashcraft from Brigham city... it was so weird to speak English... I didn't realize that I've been speaking Chinese all day everyday for three weeks. Weird.

Then on Saturday evening we had a lesson with Sister Lin's cousin that we met. He is desperately in need of the gospel so it was really cool to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. He was so excited to take a Book of Mormon and said he's gonna try praying a lot. I know it'll help bring him a lot of comfort. We're meeting with him again on Friday.

Little brothers-- do your homework. work hard. You'll appreciate your hard work later in life.. And Garrett-- get your eagle scout.. why? because driving is wicked fun and I just wish I could drive my car again... riding a bike everywhere is much slower than driving!

I apologize for grammatical errors

I'll do my best to type in good American english but honestly my english is going downhill. It's pitiful. You see my sweet companion and I have spoken little to no English in let's see---- 3 weeks. Yep so sometimes I'll be praying in English and I can only think in Chinese so it just switches over to English. So moral of the story. I can't speak my mother language... (: (: It's a beautiful gift that God has given to me.

So tonight I'm super super super super (x1023980592835) nervous because we starting a kids English class besides the beginning, intermediate, and advanced class that we have. And I'm the teacher. The curriculum is whatever comes to my head. And the age group well I won't know that until they show up tonight so it'll be hard to plan for the class because I don't know what games and things to use. So scary. So hopefully tonight will go well. And after tonight next week will definitely go better. I'll learn a lot and hopefully all the things I learned at BYU will kick in again. Eeek.

Also remember that creepy old man from Xin Zhuang who loves me? Well I got 3 more letters from him this week. Moral of the story? I'm emailing president to see if someone can stop it because it's ridiculous and so creepy.

This past week we've been looking at our ward member list and going to people's houses and hoping that they are home so we can find out who the less active members are (which unfortunately is most of our ward). We've actually found some really cool people that way and some people that we think can make it back to church. My companion found a really good scripture about less actives too. 2 Nephi 29:32. I know that is true. God's hand of mercy is always extended to those who have wandered and He will welcome them home with a warm embrace. 

This past week we also had a specialized training that was wicked fun. We had to take the train to Xinzhu to get there and had to leave super early in the morning. But it was so worth it. We learned a lot about finding new investigators. And I learned something that I need to be better at. I need to be more bold. It's a new attribute I'm praying for. I need to not be afraid to talk to anyone and everyone about the gospel. Sometimes it's hard to be bold. It's hard to talk to strangers or even your friends about the gospel. But you just have to do it. Why? Because the Lord is hastening his work. He needs us to open up and share. Why? Because there is no other way to gain exaltation and eternal life than through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because in order to receive the ordinances that are necessary for exaltation in and out of the temple we must have priesthood authority. So it's time to get out there and be bold in proclaiming this message of great joy. I love Mosiah 3:4-5 (which by the way Mosiah 3 is my favorite chapter in the whole Book of Mormon). After the angel declares to Benjamin the tidings of great news, he tells him to tell other people that they too may be filled with great joy. You don't have an angel to come tell you the gospel-- but whoever taught you the gospel (mother, father, teachers, friends, missionaries) is your angel. Good enough for me. Then your call is the same. Go and share it with others that they  too may be filled with joy.

This past Sunday, President Day and his wife came to our ward. So great. Thank heavens we have a translator for the church in our ward so I didn't have to translate Sister Day's talk... but I did have to translate all of relief society into English for her. That was a very interesting thing to do. Also-- it's a skill that I don't have yet and I hope to refine. 

My companion and I often find ourselves biking about 30 minutes to Yingge (just another city that is in our area). There is no one around while we bike there so I always take that time to pray. I think I mentioned this last week. This week when I prayed my way to Yingge, I learned something new. We often tell people that the gospel helps bad people become good and good people become better. It's true. So I decided to look back at the last 2.5 years of my life and see if I've changed at all. Well it's inevitable. I have changed. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not the same person I was two years ago. And I'm definitely not the same person I was in high school. I wasn't a bad person, but I wasn't who I am now. It's been cool to look and the areas where the Lord has helped me grow and become better. I feel truly blessed to have Him in my life. I feel like I have become much more patient and charitable and I hope to continue to grow in these areas. I hope that I can develop all my Christlike attributes. Moral of the story is that it's true-- People can change. And with God's help we change for the better.

Okay on to my area:: I love BaDe and I love my companion. Enough said. Our investigators are doing well and my companion and I are working hard. This transfer is going by so quickly. I hope to stay in BaDe with Sister Lin next transfer too. We'll see I guess.

Oh please note-- I have mentioned that dogs and missionaries don't go well together. Well two days ago I told my companion that I'm officially not afraid of dogs anymore. If you ignore them, then they ignore you. No big deal. Yay! And then yesterday we were biking to an investigators home and out of no where this dog pops out in front of me and starts chasing me... except I was heading toward him with no way to turn so I had to pass him before I could get away.. .but he was charging. So scary. He came super close and I was getting to a dead end (and you can imagine the end of my life too). But I said a super quick prayer that he would stop. And then suddenly he just stopped and turned around and went to lay on his porch. It was the craziest thing. Moral of the story-- God answers all prayers no matter how dumb we think they are. Double moral-- when a dog chases you, the best thing to do to help yourself calm down after is to eat a sweet sweet circle (donut). Done.

Since this past Monday we didn't have P-day we headed down to visit HM-- an investigator that we found in the middle of nowhere. On our way back we knocked on a Less actives door. They weren't home. We sat down for a minute on her porch to drink some water. And a man pulled up and asked if I was from Germany. False. But he was interested in English class. Before he left he gave me and my companion some bananas that he had just bought. And they were delicious!

Also did I mention that my companion haven't eaten at the same place twice our whole time together? Whoever said there wasn't any good food in Bade was wrong. You just have to be willing to try new things.

Last two things. Yesterday we got lost and while we were lost a boy came up to my companion. He called her name. As it turns out-- it's her cousins kid. We ended up talking to her cousin and his son for a minute. Her cousins wife died just a few months ago. When he realized we were missionaries he asked us-- "where did my wife go? She's buddhist and I don't know where she ended up." We briefly answered and then asked if we could find a time to have a meal with them. It's a super special experience to be with Sister Lin while she has the chance to tell her family member that he'll see his wife again. I know the church is true and I know that he really will see his wife again.

Also-- I studied 2 Nephi 31:20 for about 20 minutes the other day. I can't possibly explain what I got out of it, but I want to share it with you so I'll send you a picture of my notes next week.

Well that's all this week. I love you all.