Ok, important news first, Sister Hubner and I survived the earthquake that struck Taiwan this week. In fact, I slept through it. Sister Hubner was awake though, and she said it was pretty big. Her deoderant fell of the shelf and my mattress shifted a few inches. We also have a nice big buckle running through the middle of our floor now, so we get to play The Ground Is Lava every night as we get into bed. I was sad to hear about the people that were more affected across the island in Hualian.
This week we had zone conference, and it was amazing! One thing I really liked is that we talked a lot about how to make missionary work more personal and less like business. I think the thing I've loved the most about being able to serve here in Taiwan is all the people I've gotten to know and love. I've never spent more time actively loving people before, and it's great! I've been reading the New Testament lately, and I love how personal Jesus' ministry is. Even though He came to save the world, He goes about it in a very individual way. The more Sister Hubner and I try to break away from routine and meet each person where they're at, the more we've been able to see miracles. It's so much fun to be able to just go up to people in the street and start a conversation and learn about them and their lives and the things that are important to them.
At Zone Conference, I also had a Very Important Event: After six months of circling each other on this tiny island, I finally got to see Sister Barber! Here's a picture:
As you can tell, she's gorgeous and awesome as ever. It was so cool to see her for a bit and hear about how her life's going! I'm so happy I get to share this experience in Taiwan with her! I was walking on clouds for the rest of the day just because I got to see her.
This week we also went to a service project with the other missionaries in our district. This neighborhood was having a new years' party for the elderly, so we helped set up then served tea and cake for a bit. Old people here in Taiwan are adorable and hilarious. They were so excited to eat cake with us. They kept fussing over Elder Degn and telling him to sit down because he's too tall (he's 6'5). Apparently several of them also offered Sister Hubner their sons in marriage. She graciously declined.
One Ama had handpainted those signs people put around their doors during the New Year, so they also made us take pictures with those. Communication was a tricky mix of Taiyu, Chinese, and English. If we didn't understand what someone was saying, they'd just push us to where they wanted us. At one point a lady just grabbed my coat pocket and dragged me into a better photo position. They were all super kind though, and it was really fun!
Thanks to our new technology, we have a lot more possibilities when it comes to missionary work. President and Sister Teh decided to take advantage of this, and held a live Face to Face event for the mission last night. It was awesome! Just like the church wide events, they invited us to send in questions, then answered them in a live video. It was super spiritual, and just one example of the miracles that have been opening up in missionary work lately. I'm so grateful for the Tehs. They are absolutely incredible. They push and guide and lift and encourage us to become the very best missionaries possible. I want to be like them when I grow up.
Hope you all have a great week! Love you!
Sister Hull
P.S. There's a hospital here that has a vending machine library. What?
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