transfer 2: Week 1 Motive Power Give You Super Power

I apologize. I left this e-mail out a few weeks ago. Please forgive me.
 -Mandi



what? i'm already on my second transfer? the first was a short transfer because
of the president's travel schedule, but still... i've been in taiwan for a
month. can you believe it? there are some days that i can, some days that feel
like i'm never going back to real life. but others it is flying by. i'm grateful
that i love it here.

sunday night i got my move call. i'm going to pingdong. it's more rural than
gaoxiong, about a half hour train ride away. my companion will be sister juang,
her parents are taiwanese but she grew up in california. i think it will be
really beneficial... she's fluent in mandarin, taiwanese and english. so, if
nothing else improves this transfer, i hope my language skills do. i've had such
a wonderful time in second ward. and i love sister ipson. but i'm excited for a
new place. what i'm not excited for is the fact that i hear pingdong is hot
as... when i told my district leader about my move he said, "have fun. it's like
the hottest place." to which i replied, "what? are you serious? i almost turned
down my call because i thought taiwan would be too hot for me to handle!" sister
angulo went on exchanges there and said it isn't as humid as here. i guess i'll
know in a few hours. if you get a taiwanese obituary about my month of life
here, you'll know that it was so hot that i died.

let me tell you about the two most impacting events of the week...
brace yourselves. and get a bowl or pot or something to throw up in.
my foot has been hurting a bit. i showed my companion the part that hurts and is
uncomfortable and she assured me it was just dry skin. the next day it hurt
more. i wanted to take off my shoes all day but had no way to. i asked if we
could stop by and see hong jiemei, my taiwanese mom and a nurse. we went to
their house. i was so embarassed. her son and husband sat in the front room and
watched/listened to the whole thing. i showed her my gross foot. i am the first
ozawa girl to have ATHLETE'S FOOT. disgusting! mom, i'll pause and wait for you
to finish dry heaving. ... ... ... ... so, she told me to change my socks every
day. (duh! i know i'm gross because i have athlete's foot, but come on. i always
change my socks .) and hong dixiong (brother hong) told me to let
my shoes dry out for a few days before wearing them. she gave me special oxygen
infused water to soak my foot in. hong dixiong gave me his type of comfort by
telling me that he has had recurring athlete's foot for twenty years. usually
it's undercontrol, but when it rains or his feet get wet it comes back and gets
really itchy. lovely! recurring foot fungus. rad. i'm so grateful that we
followed my call packet's instructions- my first aid kit (which most
missionaries, including both of my comps so far, don't have) has fungus cream!
for the next four weeks, morning and night, i will be giving my right foot's
toes a mini massage and then washing my hands over and over and over. try not to
judge me, please accept me when i come home. i called sister hsu about it. she
told me that a lot of elders get it in their armpits. that's worse. and jock
itch is even worse. at least i haven't reached those points.

now, to move from teenage boy talk to sister missionary talk... elder richard g.
scott was here last week for our mission conference. mission conference is my
favorite thing! i got to see all of my mtc elders! i was so happy! i also saw
elder noorda and elder peterson and got to pray in front of everyone. elder
scott was so good. at first i was kind of like, "this man, an apostle, sounds
like everyone else." and then he bore his testimony of christ. it was amazing!
it strengthened mine so much. i know that he has seen some special things. and i
know that christ lives. other high points... this is a direct quote, "i, as an
apostle of the lord, command you to make a high priority of finding a companion
when you return home. don't put it off!" that is why i won't put it off. i shall
start now. i have 14 months on island, i'm sure i can find someone. just
kidding! but seriously, i haven't seen elders write so furiously fast. one told
me, "i was going to go home and go back to utah state, but now i'm going to go
to byu and find a wife. i have been commanded to."  elder scott had some time
for us to ask questions. one brave elder stood and asked, "i've been thinking a
lot about my future family lately, especially about one point... what is the
church's stance on birth control?" jaws dropped! what? who asks that? who is
that bold? and who admits so openly to those thoughts? elder scott said, "start
as soon as possible. don't put off a family. the lord will provide." again, more
furious writing by the elders in the chapel.
elder anthony perkins came with elder scott. he was qian laoshi and shi laoshi's
mission president. he was a really cool guy. he spoke openly about his struggles
to find a testimony. i could see him going places in the church. he has a talk
that i read in the mtc. i don't remember the name, but if you're bored and
cruising around lds.org you should look it up.

one of my favorite parts of this week was visiting all of the people i've become
close to this move. i will miss them all so much. i'm excited to be able to
write them, and hopefully to visit them after my mission. two of my favorites
are monica and the hong family. monica has a baptismal date! i'm sad that i'll
miss it. when she asked me if i'd be there and i said no her face made me want
to cry! i'm so happy for her, though. she's the first baptism that i will have
done something for. she's amazing! she's so strong and so smart. the hong family
is living testimony of the gospel changing lives. before meeting with the
missionaries hong jiemei had gone to seven eleven and purchased divorce papers
(weird, i know). her sons barely had a relationship with their father. now,
she's baptized and so are two of her sons. hong dixiong will probably get
baptized with their youngest son in august! he knows that their family is
different now. he thanked the elders for their influence. last night we taught
them a really fun lesson and ate stinky tofu. josh cameron sent me a package
with those little things that you put in water and they grow into something,
these ones were dinosaurs. we compared the starting "pill" to our testimonies in
the beginning. the hot water was representative of things like prayer,
obedience, scriptures, church, good friends, etc. to make our testimony grow it
had to be completely submerged in the water, not half way in. we had to wait a
few minutes and have patience. and we had to make sure the water was warm
enough, it couldn't be cold, representing effort and desire. the boys really
liked it.  it was good. i'm sure josh had no idea he would help me teach gospel
principles. chloe, i've decided you can marry the hongs' oldest son, qi liang.
he's pretty shuai (handsome) and really nice. he was the first to be baptized in
the family!

family, i'm glad you're doing well. i miss you all. i get to talk to you on the
phone in less than two weeks! what time would be best for me to call. i can in
the late afternoon on saturday (sometime between 3 and 5) or in the early
morning of sunday (between 6 and 8). i think those will be the times i can. let
me know what works best for you. i'll have 40 minutes! i can't wait.

muah! muah! muah!
sista jade