Thanksgiving in Taiwan!

Once again another great week in 板橋(BanQiao)！I've been in this area for over 4 months now and I've loved every day of it. This coming Wednesday are transfers and there's a high chance I'll be leaving this area. I've fallen in love with the members and the people here. It's one of the most crowded places in Taiwan and I don't know what I'm going to do when I go to a more rural place! I've gotten used to always having tons of people around me to talk to and to love. I've met hundreds of people here and being able to get to know them has allowed me to open my mind and realize how special and different each person in this world is. If I do leave for a new area this week, I'll leave missing 板橋 but also with a smile on my face knowing that there's some else the Lord needs me for a few months.

We found 6 new investigators this week, yet anther miracle from the Lord. With our new smartphones, our 'planners' are all online. We've also had to transfer our hard-copy area books all over onto our new digital area book. As a result, we've had to spend about 2 hours nearly every day entering data and past records. Even with needing to do this, the Lord has blessed us with being able to use what time we do have to proselyte to run into those who are willing to listen to our message and learn more.

Some of the people we met include: Agent Bourne (a super sick 25 year-old whose English name matches up with how sweet he is in real life too), Carmel and her mom (a roughly 60 year old who currently lives with/takes care of her mother), Andy (a former investigator we called and was willing to set back up), and Li Xiang Rou (a former investigator from 12 years ago I called and wanted to meet with us again!).

Our two most progressing investigators right now are still 黃義忠 (Huang Yi Zhong) and 李志隆 (Li Zhi Long). We met with them both multiple times this week and they are doing amazing. Both of their baptismal interviews are this coming Tuesday. If I leave the area this week I hope I am still close enough to be able to come back for their baptisms! I've fallen in love with these two investigators! Especially 李志隆. For some reason he reminds me a ton of my Dad and having had the chance to teach him this Gospel and see the change it has brought him in his life has been so special. We had a Thanksgiving Dinner activity after church on Sunday and no one knew how to cut the Turkey correctly and then my boy 李志隆 comes out of no where and says, "Of course I know how to cut it" and went right at it. It was the proudest moment of my life haha. He loves this Gospel and has really begun to bond with the members in our ward.

Since this may be my last week in 板橋 and this past week was Thanksgiving, we had a ton of members take us out for dinner. They don't really have anything in Taiwan that's the same as Thanksgiving dinner but it was super funny as multiple members took us out throughout the week and tried to give us a 'Thanksgiving-like' dinner. The Young Single Adults in the ward took us out to KFC and so I guess that was close to a Thanksgiving Dinner, haha.

I love meeting random people on the road and getting to know them. This week I met a really funny old guy who basically cracked jokes to me for 10 minutes and whenever I tried to start talking about Jesus Christ he would just start cracking some more jokes haha. Even though he had no interest in learning more it was a great time and I got a sweet picture with him afterwards.

No other place I'd rather be and nothing I'd rather be doing right now! 

Elder Smith （施德臻長老）