CALLED TO SERVE: New Companion, New Year

1/1/17

Super disappointing we didn't get to email you yesterday, because if we had we would have emailed you from 2017 while you were all still in 2016. But alas, here we are--both in the new year. At least I have a 14ish hour head start. Anyways, 2017 is here and I have officially already messed up on the headings on my journal entries! I do feel like the start of a new year is always filled with hope and new starts, even if it means you have to be woken up at midnight by the sound of millions of fireworks. Only a 20 minute drive from where we sleep is Taipei 101, the 5th tallest building in the world, where every year they launch fireworks off the side in a spectacular new years celebration.... No, we didn't. We slept.

My new companion is Elder Triplett! He is from Layton, Utah and has been out on a mission for about 6 months. He is a little more softspoken and awkward than most, but works hard at missionary work and loves the people. The whole dynamic of our apartment of four Elders has changed, and it has been super funny. The other new Elder that came in to be Elder Barton's (who goes home next transfer) companion is none other than Elder Olsen from Farmington, Utah!! He went to Viewmont! I couldn't even believe it! I had no idea who he was. I mean, he was a year younger than me in High School and (even more than Elder Triplett) quiet, but I never got to know him! Well, either way, we ended up with one outgoing-about-to-go-home Elder, me, a quiet-awkward-loving-1/3-mission Elder, and even-more-quiet-just-out-of-training Elder.

Reading in True to the Faith about the sacrament, I came across something interesting. I'm fairly sure we all know that the bread represents Christ's body and the water represents His blood, but what I didn't know that True to the Faith suggested doing was remember His physical suffering while partaking of the bread, and His spiritual suffering during the water. Maybe that is just common knowledge, but I think it was interesting to separate the sacrament and remember both His physical suffering and conquer of death as well as His spiritual suffering and conquer of sin. How grateful I am for both, and the sacrament really took on meaning this last week as I tried to prepare myself spiritually. Happy New Years! I love you guys!!

completely rearranging the apartment

a ladybug landed on me while I was biking!!!

check out this absolutely sick Porche I saw

a cool Asian furniture set that is worth more money than that porche I sent you a picture of (ok, maybe not that expensive... but super expensive

us eating a 'fancy' dinner at our makeshift dinner table

new companion and I

ah, the food labels of Taiwan........... (shelf life)

a photo Elder Stevenson sneaked of me during english meeting

I got to help baptize someone this last week!!! Here name is Sister Xie, and she is the Sisters investigator. I did her baptismal interview earlier this week, and because she didn't know any of the Elders or even any Priesthood holding members from the ward, she asked me to help baptize her. She is super super prepared, and although the water was freezing it all went really well

look how sad these people are here at the internet cafe at 7 in the morning sleeping

next to their League of Legends

Efforts to keep the mosquitoes out of our bedroom at night. It just so happens that there is no possible way to fit all four of our mattresses in our bedroom and shut the door, so we were getting bit by mosquitoes every night. So, with a few box-springs, mattresses, and a pinch of pixie-dust (boy-scout creativity) we put this together. We slept in it one night before we discovered it was much too hot and stuffy to leave the door closed. Solution? Screen doors stacked up against the door....... but the fort was just way to cool to take down.

check out this parking job underneath a bridge. That, my friend, is a very brave soul who knows (to the inch!!!) how tall his car is. Either that, or he had to let some air out of his tires for this parking feat.