Guo Nian

 2/7/15

 The infamous Taiwanese Guo Nian (Chinese New Year) is finally here. Members quite literally have to provide meals for missionaries because all the stores are closed. Meals with members are a little bit out of the normal. Yesterday after the one hour long combined church, we ate bitter cabbage, pig ear (not the mushroom mind you), squid meatballs, boiled goose skin off the bone, and drank vinegar fruit juice. Don't worry, it all tasted worse than it sounds. Oh, and people have not stopped lighting off firecrackers since yesterday morning. I'm portraying it in a bad light, but Guo Nian is actually super fun and it's pretty exciting to bike all around town yelling at everyone "Happy New Year!" and hear them all yell it back.

   Have I ever mentioned how cold it is in Taiwan? Oh it is so stinking cold. It is such a different cold than in Utah. It just soaks through your clothes, and then when the wind blows it just freezes your heart deeper than Anna (Awnah?) in Frozen. Also, we had a pretty decent (6.5) earthquake here a few days ago. It was in the middle of the night though, so I didn't feel anything. Tipped over a few buildings near the epicenter down in Tainan, the southern portion of Taiwan. Not too many people were injured or killed, but keep them in your prayers.

   I had something fairly interesting happen Saturday afternoon. We were just in the middle of a 6 hour stint of finding, and we contacted this group of guys that were smoking (which unfortunately is very common) and one of them held out a box of cigarettes to me and asked if I wanted one. It was a super easy no, but it made me think. I've been casually offered plenty of drugs on the mission, but that was probably the first time in my life someone held out and offered a cigarette to the point of where I only had to reach out and say yes. I am so grateful for the gospel standards I have and the faith I have developed to make that decision without blinking an eye. I thought about how different a situation that would have been without the gospel, and it just made me so grateful. I have seen so many lives ruined from this horrible stuff, and every time I see someone smoke I am so grateful for the guideposts of commandments that keep us safe throughout our day to day lives. What a blessing. Alright, there are cockroaches crawling all over my keyboard in this internet cafe so I better go, but Happy New Year! I love you all!!!

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That is so crazy! Two referrals from Utah? That is absolutely unheard of! I am so excited to meet these two people! Don't worry about the earthquake. Hardly a hiccup really. It is so common here. The only big news was those buildings that fell down in the south. They were mentioned in a few talks in church, but other than that life is just as normal as ever up here in the north. It was in the middle of the night. I'm actually super disappointed I didn't feel anything! Ya, so there is no cleanup up here. The only cleanup we are doing is our bowls for the New Year. Absolutely disgusting food yesterday, but I've heard the meals are normally amazing and every missionary gains so much weight. My companion, Elder Humphries, is super excited because he says we can get fat off of Guo Nian and then after work super super hard and get yolked. Ya, he is a pretty interesting guy. I really love the way he does street contacting. It makes the Taiwanese a little uncomfortable, but it is super friendly and he just gets along with them super well. He offends others pretty easily with the way he talks, but he doesn't really mean it. Makes for some funny situations every once in a while. Our area right now has virtually no investigators, so we are finding almost all day every day. It gets incredibly boring, so a lot of the struggle is how to make it fun, but every once in a while we get an awesome contact that just totally makes it worthwhile. Ya. So hey, what is this new personality thing from Pixar? I heard it was really good, was it? Also, I know you are all super busy and things, but if you get a spare moment you should send me some awesome poems! I have found poetry takes on a lot more meaning on a mission, and a few of them to read would be awesome. Not too many, and not those cheesy ones about missionary work. Just good solid ones. Also, a lot of missionaries love sharing these talks, one of which is a Ricciardi Letter. I'm curious if it is true or if it is just one of those folklore things. Don't spend too much time. I love you guys!!!! You are the best!!!!