Guonian? Hao kepa.

Happy Chinese New Year! Its a wonderful and cheerful occasion, and the biggest holiday in Asia. They love their new year. It is a big family gathering and they all get together and sit around all day talking and eating...and eating...for a week.

Imagine thanksgiving at your grandma's house, preparing the meal and then getting together with all your family and friends and sitting down then eating until you are stuffed. Then do that for lunch and dinner for about 6 days, and that's how missionaries in Taiwan experience "guonian". All the stores are pretty much closed so the members make sure we are nice and full. They keep feeding us and sharing the joy by giving us gifts of candy and sweets. Its wonderful really. Its just a lot of food. I am staring down a full week of that, right before I go home...esh...there goes my girlish figure. But it also helps kill some of the dead time because its hard to do much during guonian. Everyone is really busy and not inclined to be distracted by salvation. But we press on!

This week we had some interesting things happen. We were out exploring our area, contacting and tracting when we decided to park our bikes and walk down a street and just contact everyone on it. So that's what we did, and there actually weren't too many people on it until we ran into a couple who spoke wonderful English and talked with them for a few minutes. They didn't really have any interest in the Gospel so when we parted ways we both went in different directions. But they happened to go the direction that we had been going and we ended up taking a right turn sort of in a sudden unplanned way down a residential street. Just inside the turn there was an adorable little dog barking in the doorway and a woman came over to shush him and we started talking with her. Miraculously she let us in and we sat and had a nice conversation with her and the 71 year old grandfatherly friend of hers. He was a pretty legit guy, a Taichi master and a acupressure expert. He also happened to have a sister living in taidong (my third area) whom I knew because her whole family are members. It was a really cool 'coincidence' He had a very good impression of the church. the woman was also really nice and talkative. We talked about everything from the Gospel, to politics, to social-cultural differences between the west and the east. They didn't really have much interest either but before we left we bore strong testimonies on the Gospel and families and the old man backed us up. We left her with a very good impression of our church. As we walked away to get home I really felt like we were supposed to be in that place at that time. Someday she will run into the missionaries again and think back to that night, then accept the message.

Well that is about it. I hope its not too frigid over there where all of you are. Its pretty cold here actually! I'm likin' it. Haha. Have a good week y'all!

Love Sister Melissa Thiessen

6 weeks, and a 'baby'?

This week started slow but then picked up pace as a wonky p-day then exchanges took up our time. We had interviews on Tuesday, and I was reminded by president how short my time left was. Its down to the quick. But I told him I would push it from now till the end because I would like to leave with this area better than I started with it,

It was also the week of my last move calls. Its a weird feeling and I didn't know if I was going to move areas. Mostly because well there were 5 sisters coming in from the MTC this transfer which meant someone could be whitewashing where they open a new area which is really intense cause you start from scratch. With new missionaries they arrive on a Wednesday night usually, so in the middle of the week before transfers. Thursday they go through a bunch of orientation in the morning then at night they go out to work with a companionship that comes in from a nearby area and then Friday the trainers come in and take them in a threesome to wait for transfers on Monday. So, Wednesday night we were hoping but I was not expecting to "babysit" the new missionaries (the one where you take them out to work for a night) Because these kinds of things never happen to me I was surprised and giddy when the Assistants called on Wednesday night and asked us to babysit on Thursday. Then we had to call back later to get some details and one of the Assistants kind of added on before I got off the phone that I had also kinda been called on to train. I was shocked. Because the new training program is reportedly supposed to require two transfers to train I thought my chances to train were done with. But I guess God had other plans.

So we now have a new missionary with us. Her name is Sister Daye hailing from Midville UT. I think we will get along. I am seeing some things that are making me realize that God really is sitting up there arranging everything. It was sort of a necessary thing for me to have Sister Oler when I did, for both of us I think. I really have a strong testimony the the people that the Lord has put me with on my mission as companions and in the areas that I work in are necessary for me at that time and I grow the most from them. I think that has definitely happened this weird transfer and I think it will happen the next transfer too. Its amazing to sit back and watch how God's plans just sort of work out.

So the last six weeks I will definitely have to focus harder than ever so I can leave this little 'baby' with a good impression and a good mission tone. Its amazing to see her adjust to Asia, and to see her take on the challenges from the language and the culture and the food all with new eyes. Especially because she hasn't had any experience with Asia and also because I an in the opposite place of my mission. Its an strange contrast. But I am enjoying the weirdness. I think that it will be a good transfer. I guess President found a sure way to keep me from being trunky! I cant make her trunky, she has just started!

Well I love you all. Write and send your love! I will talk to y'all next week. Happy chinese new year!

Love Sister Melissa Thiessen

http://melissathiessen.blogspot.com/

melissa.thiessen@myldsmail.net

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

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

The Year of the Dragon

Well it feels like I haven't written here in a while, probably since about last year...bad-dum-bang...ok, well that fell flat. Well happy new year dear friends and family! Its the year of the dragon this year in the chinese zodiac, and that is a big deal here. It is a year for great sucess and big changes. The chinese revere the dragon as a symbol of power and luck. There will be a lot of people doing things like having babies this year....At least in Asia haha. I was a dragon baby.

Anyway, this week and the new year passed without too much fanfare. This year new years finds me actually located right next to the capitol of Taipei, where they have a ginormous fireworks display from the tallest building in Taiwan, Taipei 101. Last year I was not near Taipei so I was hoping this year I could catch a peak. So we got home the night of the 31st and we trundled up to our roof to do some scouting. We live on the 3rd floor of what is called a 5 stack (this means a stack of 5 five apartments) and we are in an ideal area on the other side of the river from 101. But unfortunately the five stack was not tall enough of give us a view over other Goliath apartment complexes. So we did not get to see 101 go off. But we sure heard it. About 11:55 a cry went up as people started to calibrate and call out happy new year all across the taipei basin. Then as the new year arrived the fireworks went off so loud that even from where we were it was like being next to the roaring engine of a jet plane. We crowded around our little window and had to be satisfied with the reflections of color off of the neighboring buildings. It went on for a good 15 or 20 minutes it seemed.

There will be a lot of change in my life too this year. I can feel it creeping forward, slowly right now but it will be speeding up soon. I spent a good amount of time on Sunday pondering over what I wanted to make of this new year. Change is something that I have been well acquainted with for most of my life due to a transitional life style, but its always kind of a unsure thing. I have set a goal this year to gladly embrace all the change that is waiting for me, and press on with faith. And I know that everything else will just come according to the will of God, and as long as I am doing my part it will be according to my growth and or happiness. And that is all I can ask for.

Happy new year.

Sister Melissa Thiessen

Zhu nimen shengdan jie quaile!

1 opening presents

2: the tree.

3 Miniature toilet in the hospital late one night

4 Me Sister Holm and my favorite little old special ward member in Xinzhu. I loved this guy and his dog. They were so nice.

5 Sister Holm and I and an investigator Jane

5 Sister Holm and I christmasin out

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This week was very interesting. I'm pretty sure my entire mission I've never had a schedule with quite so much of nothing in it. We had a total of 3 lessons this week. The sister I replaced mid transfer was going home so the past few weeks have been much preparation for her and as such there were no lessons scheduled with our investigators, of which there are like 5...so...I haven't really met any of them yet...and what does a missionary do when there are no people to teach? We go find people to teach! We were outside all week finding. We did a lot of bike riding and walking and a ton of talking. I've never gotten so many phone numbers in a day before.

We had sister Oler's first lesson on a doorstep with two college jocks. We knocked on their door and when it opened much to our surprisings there were no pants. The door quickly closed on us only after they found out that we were missionaries and we heard frantic scrambling and then almost as equally surprising they really did open the door again. They were almost uncertainly engaging in some very questionable activity...but we taught them about the power of prayer and about who heavenly father is and they gave us their number and said that they would try meeting with the elders. The next day we interrupted a funeral and then went caroling. The next day I let sister Oler lead in contacting and starting the conversations with people. She did pretty well. I assured her that I would be right behind her if she didn't understand something or needed me to jump in, but we were in a park and so every time she initiated conversation somehow a crazy/homeless person would start talking to me...but she did just fine on her own really.

Its a strange thing to suddenly be the one so adept with the language here. I lucked out with getting a 'step-trainee' that is already pretty advanced for a trainee. She ting-de-dongs (understands) most of what she hears already so its like I don't even have to translate most of the time. Its pretty sweet. She will doubtless advance quickly. We get along wonderfully, and I don't fore see much problem wise this transfer. But I do fore see a lot of long hours on the streets. We are going to put our all in resurrecting the area here. Its really tough because its also a high income area and the people are proud and well off most of the time. I came from the area that Sister Holm and I had worked into a boom with 20 something investigators working towards baptism and constant lessons now to a slow creep of the work here. God does not want me to get lazy at the end. This might be my hardest working area. Good on the end.

Christmas day we only had 2 hours of church since this area only has 2 wards. We got up, made french toast, went to church and I gave my by now routine introductory talks. Most of the wards for some reason or another thought I was a new missionary or something and unable to speak Chinese so I had a lot of people afterward come up to me and tell me that my Chinese was really good in surprised tones. that was mildly amusing. We went home and had our little Christmas party around our tiny tree and then Sister Oler called her family. We finished the night at the house of an American family living a few streets down from us we were lucky to be chosen out of the missionaries in the area to share Christmas with them because they invite the missionaries over every year. It topped off the night in a lovely way.

That is all I've got to report on this week, I hope you are all wonderful. And have kaixin de xinnian! Happy New Year! I love you all! Don't forget those resolutions and drink some bubbled cider for me too.

Love you all,

Sister Thiessen

http://melissathiessen.blogspot.com/

melissa.thiessen@myldsmail.net

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

The Holiday Surprise

So it is the second week of the transfer and last Thursday just as our studies were ending we get a surprise call from the Assistants in which they inform me that they can now tell me of the secret plan. Its as I had expected, an emergency move call to take the place of the sisters leaving. I was informed that I would be moving back up to Taipei, a city called Shilin, to take over the second half of training for a sister Oler. It threw every plan we had for the weekend into a spin of disarray as we struggled to get everything in order to move. I was moving, my companion Sister Holm was taking over as a new senior companion, and there was a new sister moving in. I had to pack all of my stuff, get the area in order, and say my goodbyes.

Goodbyes, what a hard thing this time around. I can honestly say that I thought I would be ending my mission in the little metropolis of Xinzhu, and I had invested quite a bit of love into that little place. I have to say that it was my favorite area as far as the place, the investigators and the members. I will miss it much-ly. The members were also quite loving as I was leaving and all very concerned and surprised. It was a touching display of affection.

When I came into the area of Xinzhu it was much like white washing, starting completely over because the area was floundering with no active investigators and no finding happening. When I left we had 20+ investigators and we were doing very well. I saw a great deal of success and miracles in that area and it will always have a peace of my heart and it will always be a place I love. And I will also miss Sister Holm. It was the strangest feeling as we started out with different companions from the mission home. Sister Holm is and will be my longest companion on the mission and it was like parting with family when I left her. It was something that I hadn't quite experienced before, because usually I'm not so invested in my companions. I will really miss her. And I will miss spending Christmas with her as well.

I am now in Shilin and I don't know much about the place yet. I have been here once before, long long ago in my second transfer on exchanges. But I have high hopes for the place. It seems like a good area. We will see how it unfolds. My new companion/trainee is Sister Oler from Houston TX. From my Aunt Stacie's ward actually. Funny story, when she got her mission call and my aunt found out she gave sister Oler my email. Sister Oler emailed me and asked questions about Taiwan. When I replied I said that by the time she got here I would be an old missionary and maybe I would train her. I was actually surprised the transfer she first got here and I didn't. But then...I did. And that's how the Lord works. She seems like a pretty cool girl so far, I don't know much about her yet except that she is very outspoken and spunky. I think we will get along :) Well see how well the 'training' part goes. Though it is a godsend to be able to have a full hour of language study again.

So Christmas is coming in only a week...and I am not feeling it. Its not even cold here in Shilin (though it sure was in xinzhu!). I've gotta do something to invite the Christmas spirit. This is my second Christmas in Taiwan and I as still missing the family. But that's ok, because my whole family is in 5 different continents for Christmas anyway so at least we are all missing each other together with unity! Ha. I'll be home for the next one.

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, and do remember why it is that we have a Christmas in the first place. Its not just about the pretty tree and the shiny paper. I love you all. And I love my Savior. Say happy birthday to Christ with some good deeds this year my friends.

Sister Melissa Thiessen

hen jiu bu jian.

So there have been some interesting things recently occurring here in xinzhu Taiwan, particularly in the life of this sister missionary. Last last week were move calls, and nothing really exciting happened (even though I was really hoping that I could train) Sister Holm and I stayed together and not much else happened. Except I have passed through probably the most trying and low point in my mission at least thus far but considering the time I have left it might more fully count in a whole kind of sense. ( I guess that should offer me some great comfort because its all smooth sailing from here then right? Hah. Probably not. :) ) I won't go into details because that would take too long, but suffice it to know that it was not a happy time. And it really dashed my faith against the rocks. But I learned a great deal from it. I learned about optimism, I learned about taking action in faith and I learned that sometimes the plan the Lord has in mind for us doesn't always line up with the way we see it. God's ways really are not out own, and it is left to us to learn humility and accept that especially when it hurts so we can see the happiness waiting on us if we pull through the storm clouds.

This week found us with an unexpected surprise. Wednesday we were heading to the city next to ours to meet with the district there to practice a musical number for an activity that we were going to do. As we were riding the phone started to ring so we pulled over on this little scenic bike path thing and I looked at the phone. It was the assistants. It was a little bit of a shocking thing, because the assistants don't call for whatever reason. Usually its just about official business,.. So I answer the phone and the assistant Elder Young tells me that he has a message for me straight from president and I'm all thinking great what did I do, and then he says that I am part of a secret plan. He said that I needed to swiftly acquire the trainer handbook and start studying that as fast as possible, especially some certain parts. He sounded like it was pretty important that I get on this and quick, but he said he couldn't tell me why. So Sister Holm and I were all abuzz and curious and such. But we didn't really know why, it had to be that I was training or something because they would have no other reason to secretly give me the hand book, which they give to people to prepare to train.

So the next day we have Elder Young fax us some pages because I couldn't get them from the mission home for a couple of days, and when I saw the parts he wanted me to start studying first it all clicked in my head and I think I have it all figured out. Trainers must train for two transfers now. And the church provides a very scheduled and regulated like syllabus thing that you have to follow for studies and training, and its organized by what you have to study and do every week for 12 weeks. He wanted me to study weeks 9-12. So there is also another situation in the mission right now with sisters. All the sisters in the transfer just older than me (4 sisters) are going home a just over half a transfer early so they can start school. So the mission is trying to find out how to cover for them spontaneously leaving. Two of those sisters are in the middle of training and when they leave it will be the 9th week. Which matches up with the part they wanted me to study. So I think that all along president had it planned for me to take over for one of them when they leave, which is why he didn't have me train last move call. Gods plans sometimes are really unexpected, but He sure has got them. So chances are that I will be moving on emergency move calls up to Taipei next Monday. It will probably be me because if I stay here and the trainee comes down here Sister Holm would have to go white wash (start over) with the area up there that the sisters would be leaving, because no one would know the investigators or anything. And that is pretty tough, and they will probably have to put Sister Holm with a duanchuan (short term replacement missionary that is a volunteer from a ward in our mission). It could happen that she moves. but it will probably me me moving. Again. Hah. Of course this is just how I think it will go down so its not for sure cause I really don't know anything...but that's how I think it will go down.

I would really be sad to leave XinZhu so close to Christmas. Sis Holm and I were really excited to spend Christmas together. It was going to be good, and now I might be leaving the week before, so I would get to a new place just before and not know anyone. Sad day. But its all good. I could handle it, I'm a moving pro. I will really miss it here if that is my destiny though. I love the members and the investigators and the missionaries down in this little far corner area. I had been hoping to spend my last couple of transfers in one area. But as I have recently learned so well, my plan doesn't necessarily mean that its Gods plan. And his is usually so much better.

Well that is that. And I love you all. have a good week! I get to call home this week to talk to my dad and my brother before they rocket off to other sides of the globe again, so mine will be good :)
Love
Sister Melissa Thiessen