Week Seventeen: More Rain and a Mission Christmas Activity

Dearest Family and Friends,

CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE! AAAHHHH!

My Christmas card photo.  Like the cheesy effect?

  

Alright, I'm cool. Anyway, this last week has been pretty solid. We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders this last Tuesday/Wednesday. I went with Elder Edwards. He's probably one of the most energetic, driven missionaries I've seen. He's a football player red-shirting for BYU. He's got a scholarship to be their kicker when he gets back. Apparently he's a pretty big deal back home. I don't know if you guys have heard of him...Corey Edwards? Anyway, he's an awesome missionary and I learned a lot. He gave me a lot of compliments that I don't think I deserved, and didn't really give me anything specific I could improve on, but he did challenge me to contact someone at every red light. In Taiwan, almost everybody's on scooters and you're on your bike so when you pull up to a red light there's usually someone there you can talk to. Sometimes there isn't though and he challenged me in those situations to go find someone. I've been really trying to do that, bus sometimes there's literally no one around, especially if it's more outside the city, so I'm doing my best.

Me at Sun Moon Lake.

 We also had a Christmas activity with the ENTIRE MISSION. It was pretty nuts. My zone met together at the Tainan train station at 6 a.m. We had to get up at 4, get ready, and bike there because there were no trains at the Yongkang station that were early enough! So that was kind of a chore, but it was worth it! We all got in a bus and they took us up to a place called "Sun Moon Lake". It's apparently pretty beautiful, but it was pretty foggy when we went so we didn't get to see much of it. I'll send my mom some pictures so you can all see. After that, we went to this all-you-can-eat steak house(those are super popular in Taiwan, especially for missionaries) and it was sooooo good. I ate a lot. After that, we went to a chapel in Taiping for a devotional with the President. He shared some scriptures out of Isaiah that prophesied of Christ. It really inspired me the next time I get to those dreaded chapters in 2 Nephi to really put effort into studying them. President Blickenstaff read the verses and then explained the background so that they made sense. It made me realize Isaiah isn't that bad. You just need to read cross-references and read about the background. The best part about that meeting, though, was having the whole mission together, singing Christmas hymns. It was such a great feeling of unity and power to be in the same room as 200+ other missionaries singing "Silent Night" in praises to Christ of whom we are testifying every day. It was a really special moment for me and one that I won't likely forget soon.

A classic tropical Christmas picture.

As far as investigators go, we met a really golden guy at our ward's Christmas party on Saturday and sat with him last night. Aparently, the sisters just invited him earlier that day on the street and he came. He lives in Gaoxiong(about a 45-minute drive south), but he comes back to Yongkang every weekend. He has so much desire and he's such a cool guy. His English name is John and his last name is Huang. I'm not sure what his full Chinese name is yet. His girlfriend is Christian, so he's pretty acquainted with a lot of that stuff. He said the first time he went to a Christian church, he knew he wanted to be Christian because of the feeling he had when he was there. That was super cool to hear. He also expressed a desire to be baptized so we set a date for January 18th. I'll let you know how that goes! Our other investigators are all doing pretty well. Chen Xuanzhen cancelled a lot this last week but he had legitimate reasons for all of them, one of which being that his scooter broke down. Satan is working hard on that man. We're meeting with him tonight, though. Nothing to really report with everyone else. They're all moving along pretty well. 

A Daoist temple.  I haven't showed you guys one of these yet.  They are all over the place.

I hope you can all come closer to the Savior this Christmas season. I read a scripture this week in Mosiah 5:13 that says: "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" I'd submit that the best way to come closer to the Savior is to serve him. To keep his commandments and give freely to others. Also, to read about him and think about him. I know if we do this, that we will be able to feel the true Spirit of Christmas, even the Spirit of Christ. I love you guys and think about you often. 

-Elder Smith