Wobble legged, one handed, and bruised.

This week was a little bit of a messy cake as the Chinese say (zaogao) and I'm not going to lie to you friends, I'm glad to be alive.

The week started with me in a pretty ill state, but still wanting to go have some fun on our p-day. So in fits of coffing we stuffed our bags full of tissues and headed out to see the world, and some of Taipei's cooler monuments. We took some really awesome pictures (which I do not have time to send you this week) in front of the Changkaisheik memorial hall which is sort of like a Taiwanese-Lincoln memorial hall what with the huge important metal president guy sitting in a giant chair, but its housed in a very Chinese looking monument of white marble and granite with about a bazillion flights of stairs leading up to it. The monument sits in a square with some other nationally important buildings of very large scale (the national theater and another building) with a huge plaza in between and surrounded by a massive gardens. I don't know how the Chinese do it but the feeling of space and the massive immenseness of the traditional styled structures is a crazy feeling and does well to remind us of our personal insignificance.

We followed this up by heading to the most famous of Buddhist temples in Taiwan, the Longshan temple. We wandered around for a while looking for food (which was ridiculously hard to find in a country where every thirty feet of road space is taken up by a vendor of some sort) and this search lead us to take a turn down probably the most sketchy alley way I have been through in a long while. Let me tell you, in Taiwan most of the residential streets look like something from the ghettos of America, the narrow multi-floor houses are mostly unkempt and squished together in a close-on-top-of-one-another feeling and the walls have that inner city covered in soot and grime kind of look. But this is just how the Taiwanese are, much to busy to care about these things, and these sketchy little roads are entirely safe. But this road was legitimately sketch. There were little red lights blinking in the windows and skanky 'massage' parlors open to the street leading to a long hall and many numbered doors. We literally saw a grandma in a skirt shorter than most Taiwanese would ever dare to wear (and that's saying something) sitting on a stool in fishnets and fire red lipstick beckoning with one hand to passersby (of which we were two of the few). I have a testimony that the Lord has angels guarding his missionaries because we pressed through that alleyway, two white missionary sisters, and were completely left alone. No one shouted at the two foreigners, and no one made lewd comments. We passed through with not much more than a few curious glances. And the whole time there was this feeling of complete safety. The end of the road miraculously was back to the real world and we gladly took that right. It was an experience.

Wednesday my companion crashed her bike as she was turning into the parking lot of the church. It had rained that day and she turned to sharp and the bike wiped out and left her all over the ground. Nothing was hurt too bad, 'cept for her pride, and she was able to teach English class. This was her first wipe out. This was followed up though by Friday night when we were heading home. We had decided to take our dinner to the most famous Taiwanese night market in Taipei, because it happened to be in our area. So we were a little rushed to get home because it was a little ways away. We had just passed through an intersection when my worst fears of bike riding were realized. maybe less than a yard in front of me a man was in a hurry and not really paying much attention and he opened his car door. I tried to swerve but there just wasn't the time or the room and I plowed right into that door sending me and my bike flying in a horrible mess across the road. Then my companion who was riding close behind me tried to hit her breaks but ran over me instead and wiped out for the second time that week. I remember hearing the screeching of breaks and car horns as the traffic tried to avoid hitting the mess of missionaries all over the road and then the poor man from the car was all over me trying to help me up (which just hurt worse). But we waved him away, sucked up our bruises and limped to the side of the road. Our bikes were fine, which was a miracle. I had also been raining that day so I was wearing a heavy raincoat that reached my ankles and this protected most of me from too much damage. Another miracle. We were definitely bruised and scratched up however we declined the embarrassed man's efforts to get us to the hospital and then started the long walk home. We were not in any shape to ride and I was pretty sure I'd broken my poor little pinky finger which all on its own little self took the impact with that stupid car door.

We had to go to Taipei the next day to do temple tours and we went hobbling the whole way on the MRT, mostly ok. We are still hobbling around. We had to walk to the church yesterday, a thirty minute walk, and it was not too fun. My knee is a little busted up and my pinky is still swollen probably three times its normal size under a home made cast. We might actually go see a doctor about it today...ha. Again I have a huge testimony that the Lord protects his missionaries because thinking about that crash now I still grimace, it was intense. My crash #5 and definitely the worst. We were lucky not to have been run over by other cars too. There was a good deal of traffic. I'm glad I'm not in the hospital.

So that's my week, and I made it through bruised and very much alive to see what this week has to offer me. This is the last week of this transfer, I will be seeing on Friday where my last transfer of my mission will be, and who my companion will be as well. exciting times. 7 weeks people. This is your last chance to get letters in!

I love you all!
Sister Melissa Thiessen

melissa.thiessen@myldsmail.net

Taiwan, Taipei Mission
Sister Melissa Thiessen
F4, No.24, Lane 183, Chin Hua St.
106-42 Taipei, TAIWAN