What a week! Really, this is one of my more exciting reports, I think, and next week should be pretty good as well. This email is being written from Zuoyin, which is part of Kaohsiung. As I told my new companion, Sister Frasier, I feel like I just stepped into Star Wars. Everything seems so high tech in contrast to my previous surroundings (like this internet cafe, for example--air conditioned!). It's going to be a definite transition; missionary work in the city and missionary work in Chaozhou are reputed to be very different. Chaozhou is basically the most country area that sisters go to in my mission, and Zuoyin is near the heart of the biggest city (in my mission, not in Taiwan), so you can imagine. I'm really excited, though. I have a good feeling about this move, like it's going to be very difficult, but exactly the right thing. I also love my companion. Sister Frasier was going to the Air Force Academy before she came here. She's almost done with her mission--only two moves left. She's full of life--one of those people who tells you how she's kind of exhausted at this point in her mission as she strides purposefully down the street at full speed. I suppose we'll have things to figure out in terms of creating unity in our companionship, but at this point I'm really looking forward to all of it. Our area covers a branch and a ward, so every week we just go to two sacrament meetings.
Now, the baptism. Last week, our investigator Xia Guo Ming Yue was baptized. It was amazing. I have been so grateful for the help and support of the church members. We met with her three times this week with three different members, which was really great. Also, the turnout at her baptism was really really good. She has a grateful heart, so she always notices things that people do for her, support they give her, etc. She also loves to do things for people. She's going to be a real strength to the branch in Chaozhou. It was actually a double baptism; the elders' investigator Fan Sheng Rong was also baptized. He is about 17, and his older sister is already a member. After the baptism was performed, they were each invited to stand and share their testimonies. When he got up, he testified that he knew he had joined God's church, and he said how great it was to be baptized because he felt like all of his guilt was completely gone. I just thought that was really amazing, because how often do you hear a 17-year-old boy rejoicing in feelings of purity? The gospel really changes people's desires. His parents came to the baptism. They sort of objected when their daughter got baptized, but they saw positive change in her. Also, the elders found opportunities to serve their family, and they really supported their son in going to church and being baptized. The father says he would like to baptized someday, but he feels too busy right now because every day he's out working with his crops. We were all really excited to see them at the baptism and see how the members care about them already. On Sunday, Xia Jie Mei and Fan Di Xiong received the gift of the Holy Ghost, completing their baptism and making them official members of the church. It was such a blessing to have that experience my last weekend in Chaozhou.
