Monday, August 25, 2014

Happy moments and sad news


This week....was interesting. Good, happy, sad, hard- we had it all. :D

Our friend J (who just got baptized) took us out for stinky tofu. It was not as bad as I was expecting, but definitely not my favorite thing ever. It didn't taste as bad as it smells- which is like a sewer. Literally. But I don't know that I would eat it again. It is one of those things you have to try when you are in Taiwan, though. :D The stinky drains part is about our apartment- sometimes this stink just comes out of our drains and makes our house smell bad! It is actually a pretty common thing in Taiwan. 

Last week for p-day we went to world chocolate wonderland. It was a pretty fun place- we took a ton of pictures! At the beginning, they gave you 3 chocolate coins to use to "buy" free samples throughout the exhibit. In the first two rooms we went to, there were no things to buy, so Sis Branch started eating her chocolate coins. She ate all three before we found the first place where you could get a free sample. The lady asked for her coin, and she said she had eaten them. They gave her a sample anyway. The same thing happened at the next place. At the third place, you could use a chocolate coin to buy a postcard to send to someone. Sis Branch loves postcards. But the lady wouldn't give her one without the coin. Object lesson learned? Don't settle for a chocolate coin when you can have a postcard. :D It was especially funny because just that morning, we had watched the Mormon message about patience- you know, the one where the little kids stuff the marshmallows into their mouths.

J was baptized this week! He was so excited! After his baptism, he bore a great testimony about how he is so grateful for the Book of Mormon and how it helps him find answers to his problems. 

Before the baptism, one of our members asked if we had heard the news. We said we didn't know what she was talking about. She told us that two elders in our mission who were serving in SanChong passed away during the night from carbon monoxide inhalation. We were- and still are- all in shock. Later that night we learned who the elders were. One of the elders is Taiwanese, and the other is American. I was in the Missionary Training Center with the American elder- he was one transfer behind me, and in Sis branch's district. Either the carbon monoxide detector didn't go off, or they didn't have one or something and since it was at night, they didn't notice it and just didn't wake up the next morning. There have been news articles posted by Deseret news and others. Please pray for Elder Thredgold and Elder Xiong's families- our hearts are breaking for them. We are all a little shaken. We have a working carbon monoxide detector and are being extra careful. I don't want you to worry, but I know you will hear about this sooner or later and want you to hear it from me first. 

This gospel is true! It is so so so true! It is the key to true joy in this life and forever! Live it!

Sis Murri

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