Killer Railroads

Hi Family!

I hope everything is good with everyone. How's school, work, etc? When is school out for the summer for all the chillins? Any fun vacations planned? How's looking for jobs and all your current jobs and all that fun good stuff? Let me know how you all are doing!! I'm sorry I'm not very good at personal letters. I'll try to do better.

This week has been really good. I'm used to Taoyuan and Bade and really like it now. Sister Messenger and I have a good time. We had some miracles. It's interesting, I think this area is a little more open to the gospel than Zhubei. I heard Zhubei was a "rough area" but never believed it while I was there because it was my first area and stuff. But now being in Taoyuan, I believe it. I feel like everyone is ready for the gospel here. We had a neat little miracle the other day. We wanted to find a former investigator who seemed to be pretty good back when she was being taught, but the missionaries stopped visiting because her husband opposed. So we were expecting her to be pretty good still. But when we got there she was kind of rude and said she didn't need it and don't stumble on the way out pretty much. But we figured Heavenly Father put us in her neighborhood to find someone else. So little miracles and inspiration got us inside this apartment building. We didn't have much time because we had an appointment so Sister Messenger just pushed the elevator button for the 3rd floor and we knocked on the first door. It was a pregnant woman whose family was Catholic and husband is Jehovah's Witness but doesn't know what church is true. We taught her a first lesson and she seems like she really wants to know what's true. It was really perfect. It was the first and only door we knocked on and it was totally inspiration. Really neat. We also were given a referral for a 15 year old girl who was interested in the church. She came to the first lesson with her 12 year old sister and the second lesson with the cutest, squishiest little 6 year old Sister. She was SOOO cute!!! Those girls are sooo sweet. They have already prayed and read and want to be baptized but their Dad said they have to wait until they are more sure.

Hahaha, so one really fun thing about my companionship with Sister Messenger is that our Chinese is probably very close in ability. It's good because it helps motivate us both and we've learned some stuff together, which is always fun. I've always wanted to learn Chinese WITH my companion. So the fun thing is, that sometimes we make really hilarious little mistakes. I have to tell you about a little language error in a lesson the other day. We were teaching the Word of Wisdom and used a little "parable" or whatever with a paper crane. In the little parable, one companion with give an awesome little paper crane to the other with the charge that they should protect it and take care of it (like our bodies). Then the other person will show the crane to everyone and say, "look! Look at my little bird! It's special. God gave it to me. etc." So the word for "bird" in Chinese is "niao", but the word for "brain" is "nao" which is easily confused. So Sister Messenger ended up saying in the lesson, "Look! Look at my little brain! It's special. God gave it to me." The little kids we were teaching were laughing so hard. It was hilarious!!

This week the rain went away, which is nice. But it was replaced by intense HEAT. It's SO hot!!! Not to mention SO humid!! So with it being like a million degrees and 100% humidity I feel like I'm getting boiled alive. It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't bike so much. We end up being wet where our backpacks were, so we have a "sweat backpack". It's gross. Then we take our helmets off and look like wilted rats. I need to drink A LOT of water. It's easy to feel light headed and nauseated and get headaches and stuff. Yesterday was "xinku" or rough. We had to go back and forth between the two wards we oversee, and the two chapels are an hour apart. Ugh. It was soooo hot too. It was bad too because the ride is so long that we accidentally stood up one of our appointments! She reset up, but still. It's so hot, and apparently it will only get hotter.

Oh! Something kind of creepy happened the other day! We were all in district meeting when this loud siren went off outside. It was an air raid siren! No one was hitting the ground, so I tried not to freak out, but I was way scared! It was just a drill, so it was nothing. But still! Creepy!! It reminded me off Iron Giant or something. "When that bomb comes down...everyone will die." "You are who you choose to be." "SoooooperMaaaaaaan." Haha. But I guess the mayor just decides when they have those little drills and stuff.

The other day I got really creeped out while I was biking. You know that music that plays in horror movies when someone is behind someone with knife or something? It's like shrill violins and goes "dun! dun! dun! dun! dun!" Well, I all of the sudden heard THAT music, really loud! A car and a few scooters were nearby so I almost peed my pants. I thought they were playing the music and going to kill me or something. But it ended up being the railroad crossing alarm. Haha!! I was SO scared!! Hahahaha.

We are teaching (or trying to teach) a couple really cute South African kids. Their mom is from South Africa but married a Taiwanese man and has lived in Taiwan for 20 years. Her name is Dorothy. She divorced the Taiwanese man so she really wants to move back to Africa. She's a member, but less active. The ward loves her so we're trying to get her back to church and get her little kids baptized. The kids are SOO cute!! They are like a bunch of little Tiger Woods all over the place (get it? Asian/African...that's so racist.) They have the most precious curly hair and their beautiful dark eyes are a little slanty. They're adorable.

So there is definitely a plus with Taoyuan by the way...they aren't jerky to me about my Chinese. I have gotten more compliments on my Chinese in the past week than I did in 2 transfers in Zhubei. It certainly is confidence building. Maybe I don't stink that bad after all?

So our plans for preparation day today is to go to a CHOCOLATE FACTORY! Haha. We're so excited. We want to see real-live oompa loompas.

My spiritual thought for the day comes from the Book of Acts. I found this today and thought it was hilarious!! It's pretty much saying what happens when someone works unworthily or without proper authority in the name of Jesus Christ:
Acts 19:13-16
"13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, 'We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.'
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chieft of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, '[Wait a second], JESUS I know, and PAUL I know; but who are YE?'
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."

I don't know why, I think it's kind of funny.

Anyway, I love you!! I hope everything is going great at home! I always pray for you all!

Nicole