remember the email ordeal in the mtc? round 2: taiwan style. myldsmail.net wasn't working this morning. we got word about a half an hour ago that it was back up so we rushed here from the other side of kaohsiung. half an hour until preparation day is up, so this won't be as wonderful as most. sorry.
i have a little topic list, i'm not sure if i'll stay on it. we'll see.
the first point won't be from it...
today we went to monkey mountain with sister angulo and her comp. it was so fun. it's a mountain covered in trees that is supposed to have TONS of monkeys all over. i guess we went too early. we only saw one monkey, but i got really really great pictures. i'll develop them next week. i need to send you a bunch from taiwan so far.
dad- i think the first thing you should give me when i walk off the plane is a gift certificate for a massage. i swear my shoulders get closer and closer to my ears by the day as my neck tenses up. qian laoshi said that if we're stressed and overwhelmed that means we're not relying on the lord enough. that may be true. but it's hard to not be stressed. i think this is how it is for a parent. you feel like you know what is best for the people you care about (investigators, for you children) and it stresses you out as you watch them going against your best word, and the holy ghost's best promptings.
this week we had the activity i mentioned a while ago. it turned out so good! listen to this--one elder counted 30 non-members (i'm sure there were more) and my comp and i got 9 there by our own efforts. that's almost ONE THIRD of the non-member count! so good! we were really happy and so were the elders.
so, being a missionary helps you realize all the things that are wrong with you. it's depressing but wonderful at the same time. wonderful in this way-- out here it's all about you and the savior. the first time i met with president hsu he told me that i need not compare or be competitive (did you tell him i'm competitive or was it the spirit?) because it's not about impressing anyone here or at home. rather, it's about me and the lord. nothing else. i've thought about that and i love it. when else can you this intensely focus on becoming like him? missions are the greatest thing! i'm convinced of this. so, out here i see a lot of things i do and have done wrong. whoa! there are so many things. can i throw a blanket apology at there to anyone and everyone i have wronged in one way or another? i'm not a very nice person. but i think i'm improving. so i guess some of this email will be about improvements i've seen i can make.
a. denying the spirit.
this week we met with julie, our crazy visionary investigator. we planned to find out her interest level and then decide if we need to drop her or not. we read some scriptures together. when we read alma 37:37 (counsel with the lord in all thy doings...) she LOVED it. she couldn't explain her feelings beyond "very, very good". DUH! that's the holy ghost! but she won't herself feel it. she's still stuck on bai bai (ancestor worship) and won't give it up. i think too often i've been more like laman and lemuel than i'd like to admit. i've seen angels (if you will) and then have chosen to murmur and live in disbelief. we can tie this to my personal great apostasy, but i think it's something that probably happens daily. i probably ignore promptings because i'm scared, or too busy to notice, or just negligent. please don't be a jade or a laman or a lemuel.
b. my excellent district leader, elder beck, gave us a conference talk to read: "this day" by henry b. eyring. president eyring is the bomb! he's SO cool! this is now one of my favorite talks. it's all about choosing "this day" over "some day". anyone who knows me knows that i am the queen of 6 am, the day they are due, papers. i'm the queen of last minute shopping. i'm the queen of just barely meeting the deadline. do i want that to happen with eternity? NO! THIS DAY is the day for men to prepare. not tomorrow. even here in taiwan i've been heard saying, "tomorrow i will run harder", "tomorrow i'll put more effort in to being brave." "tomorrow i will start memorizing that scripture." today, not tomorrow go read that talk. so good!
c. do you know how cool the ensign is? it is hands down my new favorite thing! (right above the wraps we buy from the corner for dinner.) oh my gosh! there are so many amazing followers of christ around the world! i had no idea. i love that their testimonies strengthen mine every time i read! in the february 2008 (i think) issue there is a little thing by a kathy truman called "second testimony" (i think) could it be our kathy truman, married to mitch? you should read it then find out. i'd tell you the story but i'd hate to ruin the surprise/waste the five minutes i have left.
i'll wrap up. dang it! i feel like i was just preachy. that's not my intention. i'm sorry. i think sometimes writing letter and emails turns out to be more for me than anyone else. that's selfish. i'm sorry.
thank you all for being so wonderful. i love you and miss you. every time i introduce myself ("i'm zeng jiemei. i have four younger sisters. my family lives in las vegas. they are all members...") my heart pangs a bit. but, i know that this is time well spent. i'm grateful to be here. can i also say, i have the greatest friends. can i tell you how many items of mail i've received since last time i wrote... 18! what? who am i to deserve such love. my friends are amazing. my family is amazing! my life is more than i could ask for. thank you thank you!
i love you!
zeng jiemei.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
...is fascinating to you. transfer 1: week 3
i decided my subject lines from here on out will be the strange uses of english i see around, on scooters, on clothes, on grafitti. this week's is from a scooter. the brand is JOG. a lot of this brand's scooters say "JOG is fascinating to you." i think it's hilarious.
this week's email i'm going to describe some of the firsts i have experienced this week. some are more exciting than others, but all made it to my journal.
first TIME BEING FOLLOWED. last wednesday after emailing, my companion and i went to a really cool street market. kaohsiung has a lot of them. they're narrow roads with vendors on either side. some are mostly food (some prepared and some to cook at home, fish and crab for example). this one had clothing vendors and jewelry vendors, tons of stuff. so, we went in one of the clothing shops and a man that looked homeless (scruffy hair adn the longest moustache i have seen here) yelled something we couldn't understand and but his hand on her bag. she kept walking into the store and the owners shoo-ed him away. he went across the alley and waited for us. from that point forward he followed us and stood across from whatever shop or stand we were looking at. he followed up the street, back down it the to a fruit stand across a big major road. the woman there also shoo-ed him away as he tried to touch the fruit she was selling. he followed us back to our bikes, we got on them quickly and rode off fast. i don't know how he managed to trail us so well. we did things to evade him to no avail. weird.
the next day, thursday, was my first ZONE CONFERENCE. it was amazing! i thought the spirit was strong in the mtc, it's much stronger in a chapel full of proselyting missionaries. i saw robbie noorda! it was so fun to see him. we talked and talked and talked. he told me about tc. i was so sad, but he said the family had been really strong. from what you sent, mom, they sound amazing. do you know how kelsey is? i've thought about her and have wondered what would be the right thing to say. i'll write her today or next week. i also say elder aaron peterson. have i told you about that? i met his brother, casey, at a wedding shortly after i received my call. we came up with a plan to get aaron to think that the possible love of casey's life was going to the same mission aaron is on. casey wrote aaron about me a lot and casey and i took a picture close together in which we totally look like a couple. i forgot to write casey in the mtc and was completely thrown off when someone in the hall of the chapel exclaimed, "jade!" aaron was like, "my brother told me all about you!" i had no idea what to do or say. it's pretty funny actually. i feel dodgy when i have eye contact with the elders. i'm so awkward around most of them (except robbie and the ones i serve with). aaron and i talked a bit. then, later, i was talking with robbie and he was like, "oh! i was serving with elder peterson when he got an email from his brother that said his girlfriend, jade ozawa, was coming on a mission to kaohsiung." i started laughing so hard! i think it's so funny and wonder how many elders think elder peterson could one day be my brother in law. ha!
after zone conference, we met with monica. i love her so much! she's amazing! she talked openly about the book of mormon and how it has affected her life. we EXTENDED A BAPTISMAL INVITATION, my first! she said yes. it was so exciting, but i kind of worried she said yes for our benefit, not because she really wants to be a member!then, tied to the same situation i experienced my first BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. on saturday she was supposed to come to conference. when she didn't show up i was worried that my fears were being confirmed. then we saw jia zheng, who is now good friends with monica. she told us about why monica didn't come. she had prepared to go to the chapel, even wore the only skirt she owns, but her mom said she couldn't go. she told her mom that she planned to get baptized and her mom got very angry. they had a big fight. sunday night she came to the chapel to discuss it with us. she was so sad. we were all sad. we sang, "be still my soul" and it was comforting. she told us that she really wants to be a member. after the fight she prayed and told Heavenly Father that she will continue to read and pray even if she can't get baptized. we are going to continue to teach her. i know that as she obeys the commandments and strengthens her relation with the lord a way will be provided and her mother's heart will be softened. when we taught her the word of wisdom on monday she told us she already started keeping it! she remembered that she heard jia zheng mentioning that we don't drink green tea. her mom served some and she almost drank it then remembered and put it down! she's so good!!
on thursday, after teaching monica i saw my first REAL TAIWANESE RAIN. we were teaching xie at her store and all of a sudden it was pouring! my companion and i both had books in our baskets on our bikes, so we ran out and got them out of the rain. we wrapped them in plastic bags from xie's store then rode home. it was fun and miserable at the same time. my companion said that what i saw was nothing compared to what was to come. when it rains here, everyone wears these big plastic PONCHOS. i bought my first on friday. they are huge and ugly. mine is purple and has a hood. everyone keeps them in their scooters just in case. the road looks pretty funny as you ride down it surrounded by bright material reminiscent of a garbage bag. i cannot wait to use mine for the first time.
friday night, i ALMOST KILLED A TAIWANESE WOMAN for the first time. we were knocking doors. some of the doors are more like big screens and you can see into the front room. at a house like that we started to walk up to the screen when a woman inside walked from one side of the room to the other to get something out of the fridge (a lot of homes have a fridge in the living room, including our apartment, weird.). she saw us out of the corner of her eye and jumped and screamed, "shasi wo!" (kill me!) we apologized and expected her to walk to the door and laugh it off. nope. she walked away, so we did too, laughing and shaking our heads in embarassment.
on saturday morning during exercise, a sentence i never expected came out of my mouth for the first time. "I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH CONFERENCE!" who is this new creature? i'm happy to be different and better than i was at the time that i graduated from high school. i'm so grateful to have the gospel in my life. wasn't conference amazing?!? i cannot wait for the conference edition of the ensign. thomas s. monson is the man. and henry b. eyring is close behind. i love them all. i'm trying to put my finger on what was my favorite talk, but so many were great! i love how a lot was about family. and i loved bednar's about prayer. i really liked scott's but we were interupted by an investigator so i missed some of it. i really enjoyed the choir! when the byu choir sang i saw elder doxey from iceland in it! that was fun.
on sunday night we went to a park to teach an investigator, jeanne. i for the first time, saw a taiwanese EXERCISING HIS PELVIS. taiwanese exercising is very different than ours and very interesting. it involves a lot of swinging of arms and legs and some hitting yourself. i don't know how exactly to explain and describe it. but, the point is... we're walking through the park. i glance to the right and there in middle of a grassy spot it a man doing pelvic thrusts. never in the u.s. have i seen anything like it. the thrusts changed to a circular movement and i struggled to maintain my composure. it was almost too much for me. when i get home i'll do a demonstration or we, as a family, can do taiwanese exercise together.
my last first is all about food. i ate some of the most interesting food of my life. on monday we went to lunch with monica and jia zheng at a really good noodle place. jia zheng ordered for us. she included COW STOMACH and PIG FOOT. the cow stomach wasn't bad, i actually liked it. the pig foot was an entire pig's foot (as you can imagine) placed on top of a bowl of noodles. it tasted good but was hard to eat. not very ladylike; jia zheng sucked all of the meat and tissue off of every bone. i mostly just ate the skin. it was good. then last night, we got hot pot with a less active recent convert (ha). hot pot is where they put a bunch of stuff in a small bowl (pot) then add broth and serve it boiling. mine had tofu shavings, cabbage, sprouts, PIG BLOOD RICE CAKE, lamb, fish balls, COAGULATED DUCK BLOOD and noodles. it was so good! the duck blood was my favorite. so delicious. it's a really weird texture but so yummy. i think next time we go with her we're going to eat moldy tofu. i'm excited.
so, that was my week. i miss you all. i love you. i hope you are as happy as i am! sisters, write me when you get a chance! muah!
zeng yu xin.
this week's email i'm going to describe some of the firsts i have experienced this week. some are more exciting than others, but all made it to my journal.
first TIME BEING FOLLOWED. last wednesday after emailing, my companion and i went to a really cool street market. kaohsiung has a lot of them. they're narrow roads with vendors on either side. some are mostly food (some prepared and some to cook at home, fish and crab for example). this one had clothing vendors and jewelry vendors, tons of stuff. so, we went in one of the clothing shops and a man that looked homeless (scruffy hair adn the longest moustache i have seen here) yelled something we couldn't understand and but his hand on her bag. she kept walking into the store and the owners shoo-ed him away. he went across the alley and waited for us. from that point forward he followed us and stood across from whatever shop or stand we were looking at. he followed up the street, back down it the to a fruit stand across a big major road. the woman there also shoo-ed him away as he tried to touch the fruit she was selling. he followed us back to our bikes, we got on them quickly and rode off fast. i don't know how he managed to trail us so well. we did things to evade him to no avail. weird.
the next day, thursday, was my first ZONE CONFERENCE. it was amazing! i thought the spirit was strong in the mtc, it's much stronger in a chapel full of proselyting missionaries. i saw robbie noorda! it was so fun to see him. we talked and talked and talked. he told me about tc. i was so sad, but he said the family had been really strong. from what you sent, mom, they sound amazing. do you know how kelsey is? i've thought about her and have wondered what would be the right thing to say. i'll write her today or next week. i also say elder aaron peterson. have i told you about that? i met his brother, casey, at a wedding shortly after i received my call. we came up with a plan to get aaron to think that the possible love of casey's life was going to the same mission aaron is on. casey wrote aaron about me a lot and casey and i took a picture close together in which we totally look like a couple. i forgot to write casey in the mtc and was completely thrown off when someone in the hall of the chapel exclaimed, "jade!" aaron was like, "my brother told me all about you!" i had no idea what to do or say. it's pretty funny actually. i feel dodgy when i have eye contact with the elders. i'm so awkward around most of them (except robbie and the ones i serve with). aaron and i talked a bit. then, later, i was talking with robbie and he was like, "oh! i was serving with elder peterson when he got an email from his brother that said his girlfriend, jade ozawa, was coming on a mission to kaohsiung." i started laughing so hard! i think it's so funny and wonder how many elders think elder peterson could one day be my brother in law. ha!
after zone conference, we met with monica. i love her so much! she's amazing! she talked openly about the book of mormon and how it has affected her life. we EXTENDED A BAPTISMAL INVITATION, my first! she said yes. it was so exciting, but i kind of worried she said yes for our benefit, not because she really wants to be a member!then, tied to the same situation i experienced my first BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. on saturday she was supposed to come to conference. when she didn't show up i was worried that my fears were being confirmed. then we saw jia zheng, who is now good friends with monica. she told us about why monica didn't come. she had prepared to go to the chapel, even wore the only skirt she owns, but her mom said she couldn't go. she told her mom that she planned to get baptized and her mom got very angry. they had a big fight. sunday night she came to the chapel to discuss it with us. she was so sad. we were all sad. we sang, "be still my soul" and it was comforting. she told us that she really wants to be a member. after the fight she prayed and told Heavenly Father that she will continue to read and pray even if she can't get baptized. we are going to continue to teach her. i know that as she obeys the commandments and strengthens her relation with the lord a way will be provided and her mother's heart will be softened. when we taught her the word of wisdom on monday she told us she already started keeping it! she remembered that she heard jia zheng mentioning that we don't drink green tea. her mom served some and she almost drank it then remembered and put it down! she's so good!!
on thursday, after teaching monica i saw my first REAL TAIWANESE RAIN. we were teaching xie at her store and all of a sudden it was pouring! my companion and i both had books in our baskets on our bikes, so we ran out and got them out of the rain. we wrapped them in plastic bags from xie's store then rode home. it was fun and miserable at the same time. my companion said that what i saw was nothing compared to what was to come. when it rains here, everyone wears these big plastic PONCHOS. i bought my first on friday. they are huge and ugly. mine is purple and has a hood. everyone keeps them in their scooters just in case. the road looks pretty funny as you ride down it surrounded by bright material reminiscent of a garbage bag. i cannot wait to use mine for the first time.
friday night, i ALMOST KILLED A TAIWANESE WOMAN for the first time. we were knocking doors. some of the doors are more like big screens and you can see into the front room. at a house like that we started to walk up to the screen when a woman inside walked from one side of the room to the other to get something out of the fridge (a lot of homes have a fridge in the living room, including our apartment, weird.). she saw us out of the corner of her eye and jumped and screamed, "shasi wo!" (kill me!) we apologized and expected her to walk to the door and laugh it off. nope. she walked away, so we did too, laughing and shaking our heads in embarassment.
on saturday morning during exercise, a sentence i never expected came out of my mouth for the first time. "I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH CONFERENCE!" who is this new creature? i'm happy to be different and better than i was at the time that i graduated from high school. i'm so grateful to have the gospel in my life. wasn't conference amazing?!? i cannot wait for the conference edition of the ensign. thomas s. monson is the man. and henry b. eyring is close behind. i love them all. i'm trying to put my finger on what was my favorite talk, but so many were great! i love how a lot was about family. and i loved bednar's about prayer. i really liked scott's but we were interupted by an investigator so i missed some of it. i really enjoyed the choir! when the byu choir sang i saw elder doxey from iceland in it! that was fun.
on sunday night we went to a park to teach an investigator, jeanne. i for the first time, saw a taiwanese EXERCISING HIS PELVIS. taiwanese exercising is very different than ours and very interesting. it involves a lot of swinging of arms and legs and some hitting yourself. i don't know how exactly to explain and describe it. but, the point is... we're walking through the park. i glance to the right and there in middle of a grassy spot it a man doing pelvic thrusts. never in the u.s. have i seen anything like it. the thrusts changed to a circular movement and i struggled to maintain my composure. it was almost too much for me. when i get home i'll do a demonstration or we, as a family, can do taiwanese exercise together.
my last first is all about food. i ate some of the most interesting food of my life. on monday we went to lunch with monica and jia zheng at a really good noodle place. jia zheng ordered for us. she included COW STOMACH and PIG FOOT. the cow stomach wasn't bad, i actually liked it. the pig foot was an entire pig's foot (as you can imagine) placed on top of a bowl of noodles. it tasted good but was hard to eat. not very ladylike; jia zheng sucked all of the meat and tissue off of every bone. i mostly just ate the skin. it was good. then last night, we got hot pot with a less active recent convert (ha). hot pot is where they put a bunch of stuff in a small bowl (pot) then add broth and serve it boiling. mine had tofu shavings, cabbage, sprouts, PIG BLOOD RICE CAKE, lamb, fish balls, COAGULATED DUCK BLOOD and noodles. it was so good! the duck blood was my favorite. so delicious. it's a really weird texture but so yummy. i think next time we go with her we're going to eat moldy tofu. i'm excited.
so, that was my week. i miss you all. i love you. i hope you are as happy as i am! sisters, write me when you get a chance! muah!
zeng yu xin.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
transfer 1 week 2
this week has gone by so fast! i can't believe it's up. i kind of wish things would slow down. this transfer period is shorter than most and the thought of possibly leaving my trainer and this area is stressing me out. sister ipson and i get along so well. we laugh all the time and she teaches me a lot. the ward we serve in is great and we have the best investigators in the world.
this week i ate at a member's house for the first time. gao jiemei, the lady that was into touching her dead husband's body invited us over for lunch when we asked if we could visit her. we asked her to teach us how to make taiwanese food. oh my gosh! it was all so delicious and simple. i'll make all of it for you as soon as i get home. (i've decided i'll probably spend ample amounts of time in chinatown on spring mountain. i'm going to be bff with the employs of tea planet and i'll buy all of my groceries at 99 ranch market.) and we'll all eat taiwanese style... everyone has a small bowl that they fill with rice. all of the dishes are placed in the middle of the table (think family style at your favorite chinese restaurant). rather than having a plate to put your food on, you use your chopsticks and put food on the rice in the bowl. it's really cool i think. remember the bowls you gave me for christmas a while ago, those are perfect. i think i'll never eat a savory meal without rice again. i'm going to be taiwanese when i get home. there really aren't any rules for manners. everyone talks with their mouths disgustingly full. people burp without a second thought. you can use your hands if necessary. when eating a large piece of meat you hold it to your mouth with your chopsticks, bite off of it then set it back on your rice. the first week i was kind of disturbed by it, i mean, i'm jade ozawa i'm ALL lady, not one part heathen. but now i kind of like it. i kind of like almost all of taiwan. this is one of my favorite parts: you eat until you're full then eat fruit. so, when we prepared our lunch gao jiemei chopped up pineapple. i tried to put it on the table and she said, "this is for when we're full" (but in chinese). she put it in the fridge and then just when we thought we couldn't eat any more she brought it out and we ate it all. the meal included: fish balls, steamed fish, crab and vegetables, lots of different veggies, shrimp, chicken soup and rice. so good!
last week we were kind of discouraged. we figured out that we were really low on investigators, a lot were dying out. so we decided this week our focus would be finding efforts. and then we experienced small miracles. saturday was our first formal contacting effort since i got here. i mean, every stoplight we contact people of scooters, but saturday evening we went to a park to contact. i was so scared. my mandarin has improved a lot but i'm still kind of hesitant. pretty much the first person we saw approached us and started asking us questions. we talked to her for more than 40 minutes and set up an appointment. how does that happen? she contacted us! it was great. then on sunday we knocked doors for my first time. again, so nervous. we got rejected over and over then talked with some nice but uninterested people. we were about to head home but knocked one more door and met "julie" and "elsa". they are so cute! we taught them about prayer and prayed with them. they gave us a bag of garlic. then we set up and met with them on monday. they're both so good. they seemed to really like our lesson. julie is my favorite but she doesn't live in gaoxiong. she said missionaries in her town could contact her but also said, "i want you to teach me." it was the best feeling. we told her that when she visits we'll teach her. i want to stay in contact with her. i'm going to get her information from elsa so that i can write her. i think they're both going to develop into good investigators. we're meeting with elsa again tonight!
so, that was just a bit of monday, the greatest day ever. i want to tell you all about it. in the morning we taught xie jiemei. i think i told you about her. she owns a cute shop. we had lu jiemei, a cute ward sister teach with us. it went so so so well. we're going to try to set a baptismal goal with xie. she's really progressing and making strides. she says she already sees changes in her life for the better. she's coming to conference this weekend (we have it a week late). i'm excited. after teaching her a crazy investigator, julie, brought us lunch. it was so good. they have this yummy cold green bean soup. i loved it. she also brought really great bian dang with shrimp. she's nuts. i don't think she's going to go far. i think she likes our american accents more than our message. she told us all about a vision she had when she was eleven. the clouds parted as she left school and she saw mary with a staff, a tree and two children. she explained it in so much detail it was nuts. my comp says it's not rare to hear those types of things from people. they have no problem accepting the joseph smith story because they see visions all the time. after lunch with julie, we taught monica. we had been really worried about her. jia zheng, our recent convert came. monica was great, she had read the book of mormon for two hours the night before and told us more about church history than we knew. i swear she has read every bit of lds.org and mormon.org. she's coming to g.c. and i think she could have a baptismal date soon. she's so cute. the smallest person i have ever met. after that we went and got the most interesting drinks with jia zheng. she didn't come to church on sunday, the first sunday after her confirmation so we were kind of worried. but we takled to her and sorted it. in the evening we met with qiu jiemei. i think i told you about her. really cute but low self-esteem. we worked to get to the bottom of her lacking fiath. she's so great. i feel really close to her. she has had an experience kind of like me kyle one and now questions prayer. she doens't understand why she's get a yes if she shouldn't have. we talked a lot and she felt the spirit. we commited her to pray with a question in mind then attend general conference. i know that i'll stay in touch with her. we're really similar (we're both really cute and stuff. just kidding! i'm not cute here.). we think similarly and have similar experiences. i wish i could give her my testimony. i tell her that all the time. i can't wait to see her on sunday and talk to her more.
oh, funny story from last night. we visited a member's mom. she's an old lady, 83, and not a member. she fed us hard boiled egg then told us about how she had cooked them in tea and other stuff. (they're really good, you can buy them anywhere for like no money at all.) she said "don't worry about the word of wisdom, you didn't put the tea in it, i did." so funny. we don't know if the eggs are not okay for us to eat. we don't know if the tea goes through the shell. funny though.
with the time i have left... the houses here. they are so different than ours. SO DIFFERENT. a lot of people, like us missionaries, live in really tall apartment buildings. ours is pink tile. the two nicest homes we've been in were in apartment buildings. every apartment building (almost) has a guard that sits at the entrance. before visiting anyone you have to check in with him. to use the elevators you need a special electronic key. ours is a little round thing that we wave in front of a sensor before pressing the button to get to our floor (#12). the homes that aren't in apartments are really different. a lot smaller than what we're used to. rather than building out, they build up. in the city, there is a metal thing that touches the sidewalk, kind of like a garage door without a drive way. for a lot of people, they lift it and their business is right there, on the first level of their house. sometimes you go up stairs to get to the rest of the house, sometimes you step through a door at the back of the business. when we visit hong jiating (the ones i called fat), for example, we sit in middle of their motorcycle shop and teach. the houses all touch and are side by side. some people that don't live on a busy street have the same type of garage thing but have cars and things inside. on a lot of streets, like near our home, you walk down the street and can see right into the living room. the doors are big and mostly glass or are screen. the kitchens are tiny and so are the living rooms. most just have two burners on their stove and pretty much no counter space. a lot of parts of homes are kind of multifunctional, a person may sleep on the couch, or a hot plate will be in the living room or business part. i'll try to think of how i can better descibe it all. i feel like this made little sense. i guess, phoebe, you and i will just have to come here together one day. deal?
i'm out of time. we're going to an awesome street market this p-day. i'm going to try to get some mission clothes and some good fruit. i love you all and miss you. i love love love you guys. i hope all is well. everything is great in taiwan. i love it. muah!
zeng jiemei!
this week i ate at a member's house for the first time. gao jiemei, the lady that was into touching her dead husband's body invited us over for lunch when we asked if we could visit her. we asked her to teach us how to make taiwanese food. oh my gosh! it was all so delicious and simple. i'll make all of it for you as soon as i get home. (i've decided i'll probably spend ample amounts of time in chinatown on spring mountain. i'm going to be bff with the employs of tea planet and i'll buy all of my groceries at 99 ranch market.) and we'll all eat taiwanese style... everyone has a small bowl that they fill with rice. all of the dishes are placed in the middle of the table (think family style at your favorite chinese restaurant). rather than having a plate to put your food on, you use your chopsticks and put food on the rice in the bowl. it's really cool i think. remember the bowls you gave me for christmas a while ago, those are perfect. i think i'll never eat a savory meal without rice again. i'm going to be taiwanese when i get home. there really aren't any rules for manners. everyone talks with their mouths disgustingly full. people burp without a second thought. you can use your hands if necessary. when eating a large piece of meat you hold it to your mouth with your chopsticks, bite off of it then set it back on your rice. the first week i was kind of disturbed by it, i mean, i'm jade ozawa i'm ALL lady, not one part heathen. but now i kind of like it. i kind of like almost all of taiwan. this is one of my favorite parts: you eat until you're full then eat fruit. so, when we prepared our lunch gao jiemei chopped up pineapple. i tried to put it on the table and she said, "this is for when we're full" (but in chinese). she put it in the fridge and then just when we thought we couldn't eat any more she brought it out and we ate it all. the meal included: fish balls, steamed fish, crab and vegetables, lots of different veggies, shrimp, chicken soup and rice. so good!
last week we were kind of discouraged. we figured out that we were really low on investigators, a lot were dying out. so we decided this week our focus would be finding efforts. and then we experienced small miracles. saturday was our first formal contacting effort since i got here. i mean, every stoplight we contact people of scooters, but saturday evening we went to a park to contact. i was so scared. my mandarin has improved a lot but i'm still kind of hesitant. pretty much the first person we saw approached us and started asking us questions. we talked to her for more than 40 minutes and set up an appointment. how does that happen? she contacted us! it was great. then on sunday we knocked doors for my first time. again, so nervous. we got rejected over and over then talked with some nice but uninterested people. we were about to head home but knocked one more door and met "julie" and "elsa". they are so cute! we taught them about prayer and prayed with them. they gave us a bag of garlic. then we set up and met with them on monday. they're both so good. they seemed to really like our lesson. julie is my favorite but she doesn't live in gaoxiong. she said missionaries in her town could contact her but also said, "i want you to teach me." it was the best feeling. we told her that when she visits we'll teach her. i want to stay in contact with her. i'm going to get her information from elsa so that i can write her. i think they're both going to develop into good investigators. we're meeting with elsa again tonight!
so, that was just a bit of monday, the greatest day ever. i want to tell you all about it. in the morning we taught xie jiemei. i think i told you about her. she owns a cute shop. we had lu jiemei, a cute ward sister teach with us. it went so so so well. we're going to try to set a baptismal goal with xie. she's really progressing and making strides. she says she already sees changes in her life for the better. she's coming to conference this weekend (we have it a week late). i'm excited. after teaching her a crazy investigator, julie, brought us lunch. it was so good. they have this yummy cold green bean soup. i loved it. she also brought really great bian dang with shrimp. she's nuts. i don't think she's going to go far. i think she likes our american accents more than our message. she told us all about a vision she had when she was eleven. the clouds parted as she left school and she saw mary with a staff, a tree and two children. she explained it in so much detail it was nuts. my comp says it's not rare to hear those types of things from people. they have no problem accepting the joseph smith story because they see visions all the time. after lunch with julie, we taught monica. we had been really worried about her. jia zheng, our recent convert came. monica was great, she had read the book of mormon for two hours the night before and told us more about church history than we knew. i swear she has read every bit of lds.org and mormon.org. she's coming to g.c. and i think she could have a baptismal date soon. she's so cute. the smallest person i have ever met. after that we went and got the most interesting drinks with jia zheng. she didn't come to church on sunday, the first sunday after her confirmation so we were kind of worried. but we takled to her and sorted it. in the evening we met with qiu jiemei. i think i told you about her. really cute but low self-esteem. we worked to get to the bottom of her lacking fiath. she's so great. i feel really close to her. she has had an experience kind of like me kyle one and now questions prayer. she doens't understand why she's get a yes if she shouldn't have. we talked a lot and she felt the spirit. we commited her to pray with a question in mind then attend general conference. i know that i'll stay in touch with her. we're really similar (we're both really cute and stuff. just kidding! i'm not cute here.). we think similarly and have similar experiences. i wish i could give her my testimony. i tell her that all the time. i can't wait to see her on sunday and talk to her more.
oh, funny story from last night. we visited a member's mom. she's an old lady, 83, and not a member. she fed us hard boiled egg then told us about how she had cooked them in tea and other stuff. (they're really good, you can buy them anywhere for like no money at all.) she said "don't worry about the word of wisdom, you didn't put the tea in it, i did." so funny. we don't know if the eggs are not okay for us to eat. we don't know if the tea goes through the shell. funny though.
with the time i have left... the houses here. they are so different than ours. SO DIFFERENT. a lot of people, like us missionaries, live in really tall apartment buildings. ours is pink tile. the two nicest homes we've been in were in apartment buildings. every apartment building (almost) has a guard that sits at the entrance. before visiting anyone you have to check in with him. to use the elevators you need a special electronic key. ours is a little round thing that we wave in front of a sensor before pressing the button to get to our floor (#12). the homes that aren't in apartments are really different. a lot smaller than what we're used to. rather than building out, they build up. in the city, there is a metal thing that touches the sidewalk, kind of like a garage door without a drive way. for a lot of people, they lift it and their business is right there, on the first level of their house. sometimes you go up stairs to get to the rest of the house, sometimes you step through a door at the back of the business. when we visit hong jiating (the ones i called fat), for example, we sit in middle of their motorcycle shop and teach. the houses all touch and are side by side. some people that don't live on a busy street have the same type of garage thing but have cars and things inside. on a lot of streets, like near our home, you walk down the street and can see right into the living room. the doors are big and mostly glass or are screen. the kitchens are tiny and so are the living rooms. most just have two burners on their stove and pretty much no counter space. a lot of parts of homes are kind of multifunctional, a person may sleep on the couch, or a hot plate will be in the living room or business part. i'll try to think of how i can better descibe it all. i feel like this made little sense. i guess, phoebe, you and i will just have to come here together one day. deal?
i'm out of time. we're going to an awesome street market this p-day. i'm going to try to get some mission clothes and some good fruit. i love you all and miss you. i love love love you guys. i hope all is well. everything is great in taiwan. i love it. muah!
zeng jiemei!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Jade's First Week in Taiwan
what? i'm in freaking taiwan! it's amazing. i'm in love. seriously. i can't believe no one told me it would be this wonderful. i mean, they told me but i didn't really comprehend. so, it's been a week, and already i've had a baptism, a funeral, eaten REAL TAIWANESE BOBA, eaten pig ear, completely embarrassed myself in front of members and become best friends with my companion. so good. my mission is so good. (so good is something all of the missionaries here say all the time, i've already picked it up which is kind of annoying.) i'll give you a rundown of my week so far then tell you some about taiwan. (i have an hour to email here! bang!)
so, the flights were long but good. sister mcintosh and i tried to make the most of our last moments together. when we got to kaohsiung and got our luggage we were met by the aps, 2 other office missionaries and president hsu and his wife. they were all so nice! they had our names memorized by our pictures and welcomed us warmly. we dropped our stuff off at the mission home then went to a bank to get an account. my second off-shore account. rad! i'm going to keep it post-mission for my drug money. then we went to some office to get the equivalent of green card. oh my! my picture is so gross. it is a good thing that i'm certain i'm not meeting the future mr. ozawa on my mission, because i am NASTY here. for real. i feel gross. we were all so tired, i think all of our pictures for the cards were pretty bad. next we went to the mission office and met the missionaries that work there. we had a brief orientation and ate lunch, a typical taiwanese fast food lunch called bian dan (i think) it's rice with a piece of meat on top and then little compartments with vegatables. then we went to the mission home and had more orientation. then... we were allowed to take naps! i was the first to meet with the president one-on-one, which means my nap was the longest! yeah! president hsu is amazing! i know he is led by the spirit. everything he said was right. amazing. next we to dinner. delicious. some type of soup and a bunch of side dishes. i told myself that i'd try everything. one of the dishes was tofu with this little skinny fishes. i think i was the only new missionary to eat a little fish. it wasn't good. then we walked back to the home and had more orientation then went to bed.
the next day i met my COMPANION. she's wonderful. we get along really well. i'm grateful to have her. saying goodbye to sister mcintosh wasn't easy but we're going to stay in touch. i'll write her today. after being picked up by my companion we went to our apartment and dropped off my stuff. our apartment is pretty big. we both have our own bathrooms. there is one bedroom, a room for clothes (i have none! i sent them all home, so i'm going to have to buy some here.) and an office. it's great. we then went to lunch and a district meeting then i met my first investigator. jia zheng! she's awesome. she got baptized on saturday night. i'm so happy for her. i'll send pictures. after teaching her (my companion taught and i tried to listen, i don't understand ANYTHING! that's an exaggeration, but most of what the natives say goes over my little caucasian head.) we bought my bike! it was beautiful and white but the next day we spray painted it so that it won't get stolen. it still looks so good. the cutest bike in the mission, i'm sure. it's silver and gold. bling! i'll send photos. that night we visited a member, feng ma. she's older (50s) and her husband isn't a member and works in vietnam. she was so nice and patient with my lacking chinese. we asked her where we could find some lotion (the store we tried didn't have any) and she gave me some bath and body works stuff she got in america.they are so generous and kind here. everytime we visit a member they feed us fruit! oh my gosh! they most delicious fruit in the world! i've eaten: dragonfruit, starfruit, buddha's head (my favorite, look it up), grapes, apples, pineapple, mango, papaya, guava, kiwi, banana and more. it's amazing.
i'll slow down on the details, i'm sure they aren't exciting. on friday i set my first appointment over the phone. i was so scared. i'm sure the member was laughing inside at my poor grammar and pronounciation. oh well, already i can tell that i understand more and can say more. heavenly father is blessing me. that night we went to the cutest bakery to get some dinner. we started talking to the store owner. she loved us! we're going to go more and try to get her to take lessons.
saturday morning we ran. president hsu has a rule that every missionary has to run for at least 20 minutes every morning so that we don't get depressed. i love it. we live across the street from love river which runs down the middle of the city. so we run around it. it's beautiful. a lot of the time there are old men fishing in the morning, so cool. that afternoon at lunch i tried pig ear. it was good but the texture was a bit weird. that night was the baptism. a family was baptized and jia zheng. it was really neat to see the members' support and to see the new members glow after the ordinance. the gospel changes lives. it's so cool!
sunday was crazy. church was good but i didn't understand a thing which was frustrating. elder petersen (cowles' cousin) is in the same ward. we introduced ourselves in sacrament. i was so nervous! but everyone is so welcoming and warm. sunday night sister angulo and her comp spent the night at our house. that morning their apartment caught on fire! an electrical fire in one of the bathrooms. it was so fun to have them over. i love kelli. i hope we stay friends. we will.
monday was good and busy, we had a lot of appointments with members. in two weeks we are having a ward activity that is going to be huge! we're asking all members to pray to have Heavenly Father help them know what friend to invite. so, we're visiting all members. we have a list of 20 single or part-member family sisters to see. they are so kind.
yesterday was the same. in the morning and afternoon we did some service. in the morning we taught english at a police station. it's so fun. they are all so eager to learn. i feel so smart as i answer their questions. in the afternoon we worked at a library, organizing books. i love organizing! i think i could be a librarian and like it. in the night we visited the hong family. the mom got baptized about 2 weeks ago with her 11 year old son and her 14 year old son (adorable. chloe can marry him) got baptized 7 months ago. they are the coolest family. the dad is taking discussions and is slowly coming around. sister hong is my taiwanese mom. i'm in good hands. she gave me some clothes that don't fit her daughter. a sequin mickey mouse shirt! a sleeveless jean jacket! and some dress shirts that i'm going to use for sure. last night she helped my comp and i come up with a mini weight loss plan. she's so funny. we were all at a table laughing and laughing as they all worked together to teach us fruit names. they helped me with my mandarin a ton. so as were were leaving i was comparing them to families in the u.s. i told them they were bi jiao hao (better) and bi jiao pang (fatter)! i meant to say bi jiao bang (more awesome) but said pang! oh my! i felt so bad. i know i turned so red. they all started laughing so hard. the dad was cracking up. i haven't seen a taiwanese man laugh so hard! i begged for forgiveness and they continued to laugh. it felt good to feel connected to them, you know. so awesome.
this morning was the funeral! a member's husband died last week of cancer. listen to how weird this is (ps the internet cafe is playing avril lavigne girlfriend. babylon!)... all of last week she used to go visit his body and touch it and stuff. the members didn't think it was weird. they said she was strong and brave. gross! the funeral was just like an american one. there were flowers and we sang. the different thing... they gave out gifts to everyone that came. little boxes of pastries and towels. weird. now we're emailing then we're going to run errands.
i love it here family. it's so cool. i'm working on being more obedient and having the spirit. already teaching has gone well. we taught a less active that suffers from low self-esteem and i think that she and i connected. she said we could meet with her again.
i can't email friends or get emails from them,
the next email will be less scattered and i'll tell you all about details of taiwan. today i'll take a lot of pictures and send them asap. i miss you all but i'm really happy. i love it here! i love being a missionary. it's not the easiest thing but it's happy. how cool is it that i get to go from house to house testifying and working to invite the spirit! it's a once in a lifetime opportunity!
love you all!
sister jade o.
so, the flights were long but good. sister mcintosh and i tried to make the most of our last moments together. when we got to kaohsiung and got our luggage we were met by the aps, 2 other office missionaries and president hsu and his wife. they were all so nice! they had our names memorized by our pictures and welcomed us warmly. we dropped our stuff off at the mission home then went to a bank to get an account. my second off-shore account. rad! i'm going to keep it post-mission for my drug money. then we went to some office to get the equivalent of green card. oh my! my picture is so gross. it is a good thing that i'm certain i'm not meeting the future mr. ozawa on my mission, because i am NASTY here. for real. i feel gross. we were all so tired, i think all of our pictures for the cards were pretty bad. next we went to the mission office and met the missionaries that work there. we had a brief orientation and ate lunch, a typical taiwanese fast food lunch called bian dan (i think) it's rice with a piece of meat on top and then little compartments with vegatables. then we went to the mission home and had more orientation. then... we were allowed to take naps! i was the first to meet with the president one-on-one, which means my nap was the longest! yeah! president hsu is amazing! i know he is led by the spirit. everything he said was right. amazing. next we to dinner. delicious. some type of soup and a bunch of side dishes. i told myself that i'd try everything. one of the dishes was tofu with this little skinny fishes. i think i was the only new missionary to eat a little fish. it wasn't good. then we walked back to the home and had more orientation then went to bed.
the next day i met my COMPANION. she's wonderful. we get along really well. i'm grateful to have her. saying goodbye to sister mcintosh wasn't easy but we're going to stay in touch. i'll write her today. after being picked up by my companion we went to our apartment and dropped off my stuff. our apartment is pretty big. we both have our own bathrooms. there is one bedroom, a room for clothes (i have none! i sent them all home, so i'm going to have to buy some here.) and an office. it's great. we then went to lunch and a district meeting then i met my first investigator. jia zheng! she's awesome. she got baptized on saturday night. i'm so happy for her. i'll send pictures. after teaching her (my companion taught and i tried to listen, i don't understand ANYTHING! that's an exaggeration, but most of what the natives say goes over my little caucasian head.) we bought my bike! it was beautiful and white but the next day we spray painted it so that it won't get stolen. it still looks so good. the cutest bike in the mission, i'm sure. it's silver and gold. bling! i'll send photos. that night we visited a member, feng ma. she's older (50s) and her husband isn't a member and works in vietnam. she was so nice and patient with my lacking chinese. we asked her where we could find some lotion (the store we tried didn't have any) and she gave me some bath and body works stuff she got in america.they are so generous and kind here. everytime we visit a member they feed us fruit! oh my gosh! they most delicious fruit in the world! i've eaten: dragonfruit, starfruit, buddha's head (my favorite, look it up), grapes, apples, pineapple, mango, papaya, guava, kiwi, banana and more. it's amazing.
i'll slow down on the details, i'm sure they aren't exciting. on friday i set my first appointment over the phone. i was so scared. i'm sure the member was laughing inside at my poor grammar and pronounciation. oh well, already i can tell that i understand more and can say more. heavenly father is blessing me. that night we went to the cutest bakery to get some dinner. we started talking to the store owner. she loved us! we're going to go more and try to get her to take lessons.
saturday morning we ran. president hsu has a rule that every missionary has to run for at least 20 minutes every morning so that we don't get depressed. i love it. we live across the street from love river which runs down the middle of the city. so we run around it. it's beautiful. a lot of the time there are old men fishing in the morning, so cool. that afternoon at lunch i tried pig ear. it was good but the texture was a bit weird. that night was the baptism. a family was baptized and jia zheng. it was really neat to see the members' support and to see the new members glow after the ordinance. the gospel changes lives. it's so cool!
sunday was crazy. church was good but i didn't understand a thing which was frustrating. elder petersen (cowles' cousin) is in the same ward. we introduced ourselves in sacrament. i was so nervous! but everyone is so welcoming and warm. sunday night sister angulo and her comp spent the night at our house. that morning their apartment caught on fire! an electrical fire in one of the bathrooms. it was so fun to have them over. i love kelli. i hope we stay friends. we will.
monday was good and busy, we had a lot of appointments with members. in two weeks we are having a ward activity that is going to be huge! we're asking all members to pray to have Heavenly Father help them know what friend to invite. so, we're visiting all members. we have a list of 20 single or part-member family sisters to see. they are so kind.
yesterday was the same. in the morning and afternoon we did some service. in the morning we taught english at a police station. it's so fun. they are all so eager to learn. i feel so smart as i answer their questions. in the afternoon we worked at a library, organizing books. i love organizing! i think i could be a librarian and like it. in the night we visited the hong family. the mom got baptized about 2 weeks ago with her 11 year old son and her 14 year old son (adorable. chloe can marry him) got baptized 7 months ago. they are the coolest family. the dad is taking discussions and is slowly coming around. sister hong is my taiwanese mom. i'm in good hands. she gave me some clothes that don't fit her daughter. a sequin mickey mouse shirt! a sleeveless jean jacket! and some dress shirts that i'm going to use for sure. last night she helped my comp and i come up with a mini weight loss plan. she's so funny. we were all at a table laughing and laughing as they all worked together to teach us fruit names. they helped me with my mandarin a ton. so as were were leaving i was comparing them to families in the u.s. i told them they were bi jiao hao (better) and bi jiao pang (fatter)! i meant to say bi jiao bang (more awesome) but said pang! oh my! i felt so bad. i know i turned so red. they all started laughing so hard. the dad was cracking up. i haven't seen a taiwanese man laugh so hard! i begged for forgiveness and they continued to laugh. it felt good to feel connected to them, you know. so awesome.
this morning was the funeral! a member's husband died last week of cancer. listen to how weird this is (ps the internet cafe is playing avril lavigne girlfriend. babylon!)... all of last week she used to go visit his body and touch it and stuff. the members didn't think it was weird. they said she was strong and brave. gross! the funeral was just like an american one. there were flowers and we sang. the different thing... they gave out gifts to everyone that came. little boxes of pastries and towels. weird. now we're emailing then we're going to run errands.
i love it here family. it's so cool. i'm working on being more obedient and having the spirit. already teaching has gone well. we taught a less active that suffers from low self-esteem and i think that she and i connected. she said we could meet with her again.
i can't email friends or get emails from them,
the next email will be less scattered and i'll tell you all about details of taiwan. today i'll take a lot of pictures and send them asap. i miss you all but i'm really happy. i love it here! i love being a missionary. it's not the easiest thing but it's happy. how cool is it that i get to go from house to house testifying and working to invite the spirit! it's a once in a lifetime opportunity!
love you all!
sister jade o.
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