Un-woo-able

Hi Everyone! 

(Translation: Good Morning. May the Lord give you peace)

Ok wow it's been two weeks! And so much has happened that I want to tell you about this week, that I really don't have time to talk about last week. But here's the highlight reel:

1. We got caught in a rainstorm so big we had to stay inside for two. days. for rain.

2. We made delicious no bake cookies while stuck in said rainstorm.

3. I officially recovered of my illness

4. I got the call that I'm moving to the town of Xinying! No one else in my district left.

Last Sunday was a whirlwind of packing and goodbyes. I was rather heartbroken about leaving. In Sacrament meeting I had a runny nose and was kind of sniffly, and I guess the people behind me thought I was crying, because this 8-year-old kid named spongebob tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a paper crane he'd made. On the wings he'd written, 'Sister Hull, don't cry, we love you!' I hadn't been crying up to that point, but I had a hard time holding it together after that. Here's a picture of my district plus Susan, my favorite human:

And then by Monday afternoon, I was all packed up and headed to Xinying! My new companion is Sister Bast, and we are whitewashing, which means both of us are new to the area. Before, Xinying had elders, so we moved into their apartment. I've heard horror stories about Elders' apartments, but this one wasn't too bad. It is, however, definitely an Elder's apartment. We have one plate, three fridges, no weights smaller than 20 pounds, and a massive thing of protein powder. We're all ready to get ripped!

Whitewashing is always an adventure, and we've seen the Lord's hand in our lives every day this week. Every time we're not sure what to do next, someone would text us, or call us with new information that would help us know where to go.

Our first night we were walking back from dinner, and we stopped to talk to a man smoking outside his house. After a bit of small talk, he invited us in to meet his two teenage kids! (This never happens) We got to know them a bit and shared a message about Jesus Christ. We've already found two new people to teach this week from knocking doors! (That also never happens).

We got a text from a member saying she was in the hospital going through chemo, and asking if we could come visit. We planned a happy, uplifting message, but never got a chance to share it. As soon as we walked in the room, she started talking about a recent convert she wanted to go visit with us as soon as she was done with this round of chemo, and telling us about a service opportunity the next day, and bearing her testimony to us, and basically we left feeling like we'd just been ministered to and uplifted instead of the other way around. I hope someday I can be that cool.

Sister Bast got a text from a random person on Line who said he'd met with the missionaries before. She put him in a group with herself and me, and we started talking to him. Pretty soon though, he started asking if either of us was married. When we explained that we aren't allowed to start a relationship while we're on a mission, he replied with a crying face and a text  that translated to 'I've always wanted to have a large scale, exotic romance, who would have thought it was forbidden?' We actually get stuff like that a lot, but I think this is the most straightforward offer I've heard yet! Too bad we're un-woo-able. 

We're having a baptism tomorrow! That was fast. A sixteen year old daughter of a very active family in our ward discovered a couple of months ago that her records are lost, so she has to get rebaptized. Which means we have to go through the whole nine yards again of teaching all the lessons and doing an interview. She is extremely not thrilled, but we're still excited for her!

McDonald's in Taiwan is absolutely amazing in comparison with McDonald's in America. It was having a Big Mac buy one get one free event on Friday, and a member invited us to get dinner with her there. We got there a bit before the member, and the line was out the door:

A bit after the member got there, she got really excited when she saw a friend she said she hadn't seen in a couple of years. The friend got in line with us so the four of us could benefit from the buy one get one free event together. She got kind of nervous when she found out we were 'Mormons', and started asking about polygamy. She asked a bunch of other questions about church, and seemed to be getting less apprehensive and more interested. She also asked a lot of questions about the 'tall, handsome elders' she'd seen riding around town before we arrived. We had plenty of time to answer her questions too, because we stood in that line for an hour and a half. We finally got our food, ate, and invited her to church, before dashing home barely at 9 pm. The next day, our member friend texted saying her friend was probably more interested in the elders than in church, but we said we'd pray for a miracle.

Sunday morning partway through church, we looked over and were amazed to see a woman who looked exactly like our member's friend sitting a pew over from us. Our amazement turned to confusion when we saw her pull out a well-worn Book of Mormon and start reading it. Understanding dawned as she then stood up, went to the pulpit, and gave a very eloquent testimony. After Sacrament meeting, she came over to officially welcome us to the ward. She was dying of laughter over our expressions when she stood to bear her testimony. I guess if missionaries are whitewashing in your ward, may as well have fun with it.

Saturday morning we woke up at 5:20 am to go sweep streets with a group of very active Amahs and Agongs. One of the Agongs was 90 years old! The neighborhood leader who organizes the sweeping has the philosophy that if you get enough people, no one has to work very hard, so it was a very relaxed environment as about 40 of us ambled along, sweeping and chatting. I hate getting up early, but hanging out with a bunch of sassy old people makes it worth it!

I'm officially out of time, but I want to quickly share my testimony that I know the Lord is aware of every aspect of our lives. He loves us, and if we are willing to follow Him, He will guide us. He never promises us an easy life, but if we stay faithful, He does promise that everything will be made up in the end. I hope you all have a great week! Look for miracles!

Lots of love,

Sofi