Birthday Week!

L R



Left to Right-
1 & 2- Missionary thanksgiving
3 Halloween Box from Mom
4 Our investigator
5 Asian Thanksgiving
6 My Birthday Lunch
7 Party Girls - Halloween
8 Another Loooong Day
9 Taiwan Fruit Stand
10 Skit planning
11 Decorations for Halloween




This week went by really fast, but also very well. Sister Holm and I were blessing with a lot of success this week. We had a lot of very good lessons and found some promising new investigators. This week we also had a zone conference, it was good to see other missionaries that I know and love and be able to take a rest for a moment and just enjoy the training. Thanksgiving was also this week though it passed much without fanfare until Saturday when the three wards that we are in charge of had their thanksgiving parties. Three of them on the same day, which meant that we got to attend three different feasts. Its a strange thing to be in Taiwan celebrating a holiday that is completely to do with American history but the food was still good all the same...if not a little Asian. Ok, well a lot Asian. Asian and western food have many very large and very obvious differences. Ha. The best part was the pumpkin pie, a REAL pumpkin pie. Pie is not something that is found in Taiwan, and so we were blessed to have members go to Costco and buy real American pie and rolls.

We had 3 parties to attend, needless to say we ate a lot. We (all the missionaries) also ended up doing a small skit about the origin of thanksgiving. The Pilgrim and Indian story. out of the 8 or us we had 3 pilgrims (me included), 3 Indians, an evil king, and a narrator because we didn't speak at all on the stage. Sister Holm and I made props and costumes out of paper and card bord and I had a lot of fun making pilgrim hats and Indian feathers and the mayflower to us to sail across the stage. It was pretty amusing, I'm going to be honest. I'm going to try to attach a picture but due to technical difficulties and a full memory card we only got half of the skit. We will have to get the rest from a member to recorded it too.

We have been watching one of our LAs (Less actives), a Gao jiemei come back to church this transfer. Actually she probably counts as an NA (absolutely not active). She was baptized 30 years ago and then after a short period of time fell away because she got married to a non member and he didn't exactly support her Christianity. We found her again at the end of last transfer when she ran into one of our elders on the road one day. Then she started meeting with us and retaking the lessons. She didn't remember anything after 20 something years. She has come to church every Sunday since then, even though she's been sick a couple of times and busted up her arm another time. She did an un-Taiwanese thing and came to church in a sling and on pain drugs. She is a solid one. She was afraid to begin with that she didn't know anyone, but it has been amazing to see the ward leap into action. The relief society has been all over the situation, we had a few peikes and suddenly she is in with all the leaders of the ward. They enveloped her in a big blanket of warm welcome-ness. Yesterday at church she brought her 20 year old son, not a member. She has a lot of bravery, and her testimony is coming back in full force. I have little doubt her family will come along slowly and she will get the temple marriage she longs for someday. It has been a miracle to watch in her life as she has started to change herself once more, with the determination of the righteous.

Its my birthday today! I'm a whole 23! A year older and so much the wiser...Well at least older. I left the planning up to my companion and the elders in my district today and they chose to leave me out of the loop in a surprise-itory spirit so we'll see how it plays out.

I love you all! Be sure to infect everyone you can with a cheerful holiday spirit. The holidays are now officially on!
Sister Melissa Thiessen