It's been another crazy week, and I have no idea how to start, so I'm just going to narrate some pictures and share some fun facts about Taiwan plus some spiritual experiences.

Garbage trucks in Taiwan do, in fact, play music like ice cream trucks. Unlike ice cream trucks though, which only pass every couple of weeks for a few minutes and bring joy to the heart, the garbage trucks do loops every morning for about an hour. Every. Single. Morning. Right during personal study. The tune is going to haunt my dreams.

We found an incredible investigator the other day at a 7-11. Her name is Sylvia and she's in her 20s, and she's adorable. We started a conversation with her, and she basically invited herself on a tour of our chapel. When she came, she decided to stay for our English class, so we had time to teach her a short lesson. She's super excited to learn more, and we can't wait to meet with her again.

Taiwan has fruit markets on just about every corner, and they're incredible. The fruit's super cheap and delicious, and we get it year round. In addition to whole fruit, they also sell boxes of cut fruit for 100 kuai/ 4 boxes or 30 kuai for one. One day we each got two boxes of fruit and a couple of baozi and had an incredible feast.

I got this mystery fruit from the market, and we have no idea what it is. It was kinda sweet, with big black seeds that made it very difficult to eat. Anyone have any ideas about what it is? we're not allowed to google.

We found Kraft mac and cheese at a grocery store, and made ourselves a feast of mac and cheese, mango, and mystery fruit. We're eating in the bedroom because it's the only room in our apartment with air conditioning.

Taiwan at night is incredible. There are tons and tons of flashing lights and signs, and cars and motorcycles. It's gorgeous. I tried to capture the magic with my camera, but unfortunately my tiny point and shoot couldn't measure up to the job.

We spend a lot of time waving to people as we ride past and having mini conversations with motorcyclists at stoplights.

Sister Smith and I have matching dresses (same dress, different pattern) so we decided to be super cute and match.

Sorry this is so short, I totally ran out of time. I'll be sure to write more next week!

Love you all!

Sister Hull

Missionaries don't get jet lag

Holy cow it's been a crazy two weeks! The last week in Logan was a whirlwind of sisters' conference, District Meeting, Departing missionaries' temple trip, the Martin Harris pageant (twice), and the departing missionaries' dinner. It was all crazy, and if I wrote about it in detail, this email would probably reach the length of a short novel. Suffice it to say, Utah was wonderful, leaving was sad, and now I'm in Taiwan.

Travel to Taiwan was surprisingly fun, despite the fact that we're not allowed to watch movies, so we spent the entire 13 hour flight staring at the little flight map. It was really funny to look around and see 20 different missionaries listlessly zooming in and out on different parts of the world. The reason I had 20 different missionaries to laugh at is that I met up at the airport with everyone from my MTC group who was going to Taichung! They've been in the MTC for the past 6 weeks while I've been running around Logan. Needless to say, they were all extremely excited to be out of the MTC, and over the time we were traveling, we experienced several miracles.

We had to fly from Salt Lake to Los Angeles to San Francisco, which was rather annoying, but it's also where we had our first miracle. There was a group of Chinese schoolkids waiting for our same flight from LA to San Fran, so for an hour or so before our flight we all got a chance to practice our Chinese and teach these kids about the gospel. One kid got very excited and started talking to me, because he was also Christian. We talked for a good half hour about everything from the gospel to food to tanning. Tanning is not easy to discuss in Chinese. Partway through our conversation, four other guys walked up to us, said they'd met some of the other missionaries, and asked me to tell them about Jesus. I happily complied. It was quite a switch from being in Utah, where everyone thinks they know more about Mormonism than you do. 

Travel miracle number two was our mysterious lack of jet lag. Taiwan is a 14 hour difference, but none of us had any issues with jet lag. I chalk it up to two reasons: 1: judicious use of melatonin, 2: missionaries get seriously awesome and inexplicable blessings. Also, we pretty much operate in a constant state of jet lag, so maybe we just couldn't see a difference. 

Now I'm in Taiwan, and it's freaking amazing. I love this country so, so much. It's weird and crowded and beautiful and confusing. And humid. Very, very humid. Thankfully, I'm towards the north of the mission, so it's not nearly as humid and hot as it could be. Also, our bedroom has AC, so life is good. 

My trainer #2 is Sister Smith, and she's awesome. She loves books and movies so we have plenty to talk about. She also loves paleontology, so I've been learning a lot about dinosaurs and the scientific discrepancies in Jurassic Park. I love it! She's been taking good care of me, showing me which of the weird snacks are good and which contain tea, seafood, or blood, and easing me into biking on increasingly busier streets.

One of my biggest fears coming out was biking. Before coming out, I think I'd ridden a bike about 2 times in the last year. To my surprise though, I absolutely love biking! Traffic in Taiwan is crazy, so we're constantly weaving around cars and bikes and scooters. As far as I can tell, the only real rule is to obey traffic lights. The shops come right up to the edge of the streets, so I feel like I'm constantly connected with the city. As we ride, we wave and call out to the people on the edge of the street, and have mini conversations with people on scooters at intersections. I love it! Since we're both white and blonde, a lot of people are very excited to see us and practice their English. 

The area I'm in is called Daya, and it's about 40 minutes west of Taichung. Since it's not a super touristy area, so far the only other white people I've seen are the other missionaries in the area. The other day we were at an intersection, next to a mom and her little daughter on a scooter. The little girl delightedly pointed at us and yelled, 'mama kankan! Waiguoren!' (look mom! Foreigners!)

Missionary work here is... daunting. Chinese is a serious challenge. We do most of our contacting on the street, in parks, and in 7-11s. Most people don't want to talk to us, and when they do, I usually can't understand them. It gets a little easier when we talk about the gospel, but it's still hard. Because I'm so obviously inadequate right now, I've been able to see the hand of God in my life abundantly. Honestly, I think it's a miracle every time someone understands what I'm saying.  

I had a really cool experience the day we left for our areas. In the morning, all of us new missionaries had about an hour and a half of personal study. During that time, I studied a bunch about the gift of discernment, and my purpose as a missionary. In my study journal, I wrote myself a reminder of why I'm here. I wrote that I'm not here because I love torture by Chinese immersion, or because I love leaving my family for 18 months, or because I think i'm an incredible teacher, I'm here because I love God. Then I stopped, dumbfounded by my last statement. 

Let me explain why that last bit was so important. Several years ago in a general conference or fireside or something, a former mission president gave a talk where he talked about many different experiences he'd had while serving as president. One thing he said was that when he interviewed the incoming missionaries, he always asked them why they were here. They all gave various reasons, and he said that he could tell which ones would be the most successful because they were the ones that said they were there because they loved God. That really struck me, and I've had it in the back of my mind throughout the process of preparing and coming out on a mission. When I came out, I couldn't honestly say that that was my reason for going on a mission. I knew that the gospel was true and good, and I wanted to serve, but my relationship with God wasn't to a point where I could say that I was there specifically because I loved him. I've continued to work on my relationship with him with the goal that eventually I would be able to say that. Then on Wednesday, I just wrote that reason down without a thought, and almost missed that I'd reached a goal I've had for ages. The realization that I now truly am here because I love God and his gospel has given me added strength and purpose as I try to navigate teaching in a new language and culture. I know why I'm here, and God trumps all of the little difficulties that might stand in my way.

I was going to write about the food, but I'm out of time and this email's too long anyway. For now I'll just say that mangoes here are the best food I've ever eaten, and you should all look up a recipe for danbaofan (fried rice omlet) and make it right now.

have a great week!

Hull Jiemei

Pics: 

1: we got the most incredible mango smoothies I've ever had at this tiny smoothie shop. There were real chunks of mango in it. Please ignore the face I'm making.

2: This is danbaofan, and it's perfect. The restaraunt was bear themed. 

3: Me and sister Smith, my trainer. She's awesome!

4: This is the view out of one of our apartment windows. I absolutely adore everything about this area that I live in now. It's so beautiful! I promise it's prettier in person. The picture's kinda depressing.

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[arrived]

Dear Parents,

YOUR MISSIONARY HAS ARRIVED SAFE AND SOUND!!!

Thank you again for your prayers and support of all our missionaries serving in the Taiwan Taichung Mission.

Warmest regards,

  

President Michael John U. Teh
Taiwan Taichung Mission

Sister Kathy Abbott

Mission Secretary

Phone – 0978455749

# 498-11, Wu Chuan Road
Taichung, Taichung 404-46
Taiwan

Dajia Hao!

Ok so first off the big news of the week: I got my visa! Yup, that's right, I'm going to Taiwan. I leave on the 14th, which is when all the missionaries who are going home head out. I'm honestly rather terrified. It's not that I'm not excited to go to Taiwan, but there's still so much to do here! I've fallen in love with the people and the area, so it feels a bit like a mean trick that I have to leave now. I've learned so much, and had so many new experiences. Sister Anderson and I have been keeping track of all the different titles we could claim. So far we have: Yard Maintenance, Demolition Experts, Rooster Relocation Specialists, House Painters, Counselors, Human Development Specialists, and Full-time Clergy. We think we should get a college degree on the other end of this. 

I think part of the reason they send teenagers on missions is so that we'll see all the different ways people live, and get scared away from a lot of the bad habits people often pick up. Monday evening we got the opportunity to clean out the house of a family of hoarders. I think we piled about half of their belongings onto a trailer to take to the landfill. The elders who took the trailer out said it weighed about 1200 pounds. After spending 45 minutes shoving fetid piles of dirty laundry into trash bags, I think I can safely say that I will always wash, dry, and fold my laundry promptly, and my house will probably contain a bed and a single chair.

Since this is my last chance to email about this area, I want to spend the rest of my email talking about the people I've met. This area is so full of incredible people, and they're going to be the hardest part about leaving.

1. Along a street on the very south of Newton live Frank and Donna. They look like they're in their sixties, but their grandson just celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary, so if you do the math they must be up close to 80. They are so full of life! She calls him Frankie, and he calls her Toots. Frank is an artist. He disappears into his shop for hours, and comes out with the most whimsical pieces of art- flowers made out of chicken bones, strange 3-d faces made of wire mesh, and paintings formed entirely by thousands of tiny dots of paint. He's too shy to sell them, so their entire house is filled with paintings and sculptures. They are the kindest, sweetest people I think I've ever met. Families are the most important thing to them.

2. Brother Smith is one of the ward missionaries. He reminds me and Sister Anderson of Han Solo. He's got about 20 different projects going at once, and loves telling stories. The first time we met him, he gave us a package of handmade cheddar-jalapeno jerky. He's working on getting a certified kitchen so he can start selling it. He also has a live nativity that people pay to come participate in. Apparently it's a big thing for youth groups to come do in December. He's no nonsense, and whenever something needs to be done, he just does it. 

3. One of our three investigators is Isabel, and she is 10. She's absolutely bursting with energy. She loves horses and nature and movies. We just had our first official lesson with her this week. At first it was kind of rough because she didn't want to pause her movie to listen. At the end though, she announced that she loves it when we come because 'we feel like her sisters'. She loves giving hugs, and is one of the most exuberant people I've met.

4. We are extremely blessed with our senior couple the Petersons. They grew up in the valley, and were the youngest people in their neighborhood when they moved in. Now they're the oldest! Also, in case I needed any more proof that this is where I'm meant to be, a few years ago they spent two years living in China. They have incredible stories from that. They're both very gentle, kind people. Brother Peterson likes hunting and makes the best burgers I've ever had. Sister Peterson used to be an elementary school teacher, so she has all kinds of cute stories from her teaching days.

One more experience that I wanted to share- I got smacked in the face with my own inadequacy this week... and it was strangely comforting. We had a family that we'd been wanting to meet for a while, and we finally managed to set up a lesson. When we got there, it was just the mom at home. We started talking, asking our standard get to know you questions to learn more about her, and how we could help her spiritually. Then, she just opened up, and we spent the next hour watching her sob as she told us her life story. It was a hard story- full of mistreatment and difficulty, and her experiences have seriously affected her mental state and outlook on life. Sitting there listening to 50 years worth of hardship, I was thinking, I'm just a kid! I'm 19 years old! I have no experience or expertise with anything like this! And yet, my companion and I were the ones that she felt comfortable sharing all of this with. Instead of feeling panicked though, I felt an immense sense of peace. I think the church sends out 18 and 19 year olds to serve missions precisely because we are inadequate. We're barely getting started in life ourselves, and we're tasked with bringing people eternal salvation. With such a large job, we have no choice but to turn to the Savior for help. Sitting across from that woman, I was praying so hard that I would know the words to say and the things to do to help her turn to Christ. Because of course I'm not enough. Alone, I'm like a raindrop trying to water an entire field. But I'm not alone. I'm here as Christ's representative, and He is the true healer. My job is just to direct people to Him so that He can help them with whatever trials they are facing. Unlike me, He is more than enough. He understands perfectly what each person is facing, and what will help them. Realizing that I'm on this mission in partnership with Him has brought me immense peace and joy. 

Have an amazing week! Love you guys bunches!

Hull Jiemei

Pictures: 

1: The Elder in charge of the mission's cars always lectures us on good trip planning so our driving paths don't look like spiders. We're pretty sure ours look like daddy longlegs, so we sent him this picture to explain and apologize.

2. A friend of Sister Anderson's sent her a late birthday present, and they sent two of everything, so I got food too!

3. This is a photo from just before the Preston Parade. Our entire zone got to march in it, and afterwards we had dinner at one of the senior couple's houses. Most of my zone is in the picture.

4. We took this picture right as the parade was getting started. If you can't tell, I'm a little excited to be moving.