So living in the windiest city in Taiwan has its ups and downs. On the plus side, it's not AS hot/humid/stifling and so I sweat less/don't notice as much (like my shirt is only soaked through the armpits, not all down the front and backs) because the wind whisks (wisks?) it away. On the downside, I flash people like 24/7. I'm starting to understand how to ride a bike in a skirt though. It's not too bad. But everytime I get on my bike I have to wait a couple minutes before my butt stops hurting and turns numb. Once it's numb I have no problem! I asked my older roommates if the bruises ever go away, they said to wait about 4 months. Can't wait! (Literally though, can't wait.) But riding a bike is easier than I thought and this week I managed to avoid getting hit by a car and by a few scooters, so success! Although I did have my first "crash" into my companion's bike. It was ok though. An old shirtless man got the chain back on in no time and his grandkids were laughing at me while my companion talked to him. It's ok. I'm white. They can laugh at me, also they were cute so it was ok.
This week I saw Sister Bywater! We had a training meeting and so our companionships did the activities together. Our Mission President started telling a story about being prepared and asked if everyone knew who Jimmy Carter was. Sister Bywater said, I don't. I turned around and said you don't know Jimmy Carter?? She said no, and I said he was a US President, to which she replied, "Wait, how do you know that?? You didn't listen in American Heritage." -___- Haha. Another funny thing at that meeting, we were talking about our companionships and I said that I get along great with my companion because she always laughs at my jokes. I said, "Sister Chen thinks I'm funny! Or laughs out of politeness." My comp didn't say anything, just stared. We busted up laughing because she clearly doesn't think I'm funny at all. That's ok, I can live with that/laugh at myself.
In my journal this week I found a quote that my sis Jenni wrote that says, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." (Albert Einstein). I guess that guy is pretty smart. And I choose to live my life as though everything is a miracle because it truly is. The fact that I can come to Taiwan again, that I can understand almost everything people say after 1 week here (even though I haven't spoken Chinese for over a year and a half), and that I haven't died on my bike/eating fish. It's all a miracle. Everyday I have at least 3 miracles to write down in my journal. One miracle this week was that I didn't fall asleep while writing in my journal for the first time since I got here!
Another miracle was we saw this old grandma in a wheelchair by herself on this really busy street which was also the on-ramp to the freeway. We stopped and talked to her and asked if she needed help or if we could visit her at her house sometime and bring her something. And we just chatted when all of a sudden she said, "What time is your church at tomorrow. I want to come." Wow! So cool! I love all the old people here. Granted, I can only understand half of them (since the old men are all impossible to understand).
I love it here and love seeing this other side of Taiwan. I love sweating and working hard. I love riding my bike and I love my companion and I love my mission president and all the other missionaries. I love preaching this gospel and helping change others' lives for the better. I love seeing the happiness that this gospel can bring and I really have a strong desire to help people everywhere come to know that they have a God who loves them and that they can live with their families forever.
Love,
Sister Perkins
ps. We have a baptismal date scheduled and the investigator just resolved her issues with prophets and with Joseph Smith and said that she has no more questions and is eager to be baptized!!
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