September 27, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello again from the miracle island of Taiwan!

I love it here! Every week is a new adventure. There is one thing for sure - missionary work is never boring! I have another funny story I want to share with you.

Here in Taiwan the garbage trucks sing. Just like the ice cream man. Yes, it is true. Every time I hear the music I can't help but think, "Ah! I could really go for a Popsicle!" Well, that would certainly be one interesting Popsicle! :)

Anyways, last Monday we were taking the garbage out, but we were running a little late, and when we got outside the garbage truck was a few houses away already. Well, we had a lot of garbage, so we REALLY needed to get rid of it that day, so with six bags and a bow of garbage in my hands I started running after the garbage truck. I can only imagine how funny I looked running after that truck in my skirt! It was hilarious!

This week on Wednesday was the Moon festival! It was fantastic. No one was willing to tell me the legend behind it even though I asked quite a few people about it, but basically everyone barbecues that day and eats Yozi. Yozi is kind of like a grapefruit. Sort of. Anyway, on Tuesday some of our friends gave us 8 of these fruit. They are HUGE! we had quite an adventure trying to get eight gigantic fruits home on our bicycles, but somehow we managed!

On Wednesday we went to a barbecue with a family in the ward - the Wang Family. It was great. The food was so delicious and they invited some of their friends and we may have some new investigators from it. And the moon that night was fantastic! I love the moon festival!

We also had a really great ward activity on Saturday night. We went to a family in the branch's house and ate delicious dinner and had a little family home evening and it really felt like home! I loved it. Also, I ate snail.These snails are just everywhere here, so I am pretty sure they just gathered a million snails from the rice fields and cooked them up. They tasted pretty good, but I only ate one. Even if it does taste good, it feels pretty weird to eat a snail right out of the shell!

Our investigators are doing fantastic. We have really seen some great miracles lately. We will have four people baptized on October 16 if everything goes as planned! I am really excited and humbled to be part of this miracle. I love the work! There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing people coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ and learning of the peace that comes from being forgiven through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

This week I read an article in the Liahona magazine that I really liked. A woman told of her experience of bringing Christ into her home by helping her family memorize, "The Living Christ." She tells about how it had the power to calm her children down when they were being grumpy or restless, and how when they saw certain pictures of Jesus they would remember passages from "The Living Christ" and quote them. Wow! That is powerful! I decided it is about time that I start working on that. So officially this week I have started memorizing it... "As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millenia ago we offer our testimony of his matchless life and the infinite virtue of his great atoning sacrifice." That is all I got so far, but it is a start! I really am excited to see the blessings focusing more on Christ brings.

I love you all very much and hope that all is well!

Love,

Sister Collyer