Let's start with some of the most recent news: As of July 1st, the three missions in Taiwan will become two missions. It sounds like the Kaohsiung Mission will be absorbed into the Taichung Mission, and part of what is currently the Taichung Mission will become part of the Taipei mission. The timing coincides with the end of President Hsu's three years as a mission president. This is, of course, a decision which can only made by the first presidency of the church (the prophet and his two counselors), doubtless with much consultation with the area authorities. I don't know all the reasons for this change, although I suspect that at least one factor is the shrinking number of full-time missionaries. It's so exciting to feel like my day-to-day life is governed by revelation directly to a living prophet! There's not much for me to do now except prepare spiritually for the change and testify to the members that it is inspired. I am completely confident that this is exactly what should happen, because I have complete trust in the leaders through whom the revelation came. I'm still going to seek a personal confirmation of this specific decision. That confirmation will be important to maintaining the best attitude throughout the transition. I'm sure there will be a few challenges along the way, but also lots of good things; in fact, I suspect that the challenges will be all for the best as well. Plus, as an added bonus, I get to be in the same mission as my dear MTC companion, Sister Nelson.
Last week we had Zone Conference again. This time it was centered around using time effectively (the move focus). I think every missionary there learned lots of ways to repent, or to become better. At one point after some teaching about what it means to use time effectively, little ways that we might waste time, etc., Sister Hsu (President Hsu's wife) asked, "So how do you all feel?" An elder managed to sum up our collective emotion with a single word: "Guilty." We all laughed, even though it was basically true. It's good to feel guilty sometimes, though, because recognizing what needs to change is usually a necessary step to changing it. Sister Ma and I learned a lot of ways that we can do better, and started putting them into practice that very day. Now we're seeing the blessings of following our schedule with more precision, doing our daily planning session each night according to guidelines that get us focused on the needs of people, etc. Repenting is so good. It's a little painful at the beginning, but things always get better than they ever were before if you just stick it out. There's always more to improve on, but the Lord has a way of pointing out the things to focus on at any given time.
As part of Zone Conference, Sister Hsu shared a video on bicycle safety. Though the contents were helpful, it was a pretty hilarious movie. I think my favorite part was when the narrating voice (appropriately deep and solemn to impress upon our very souls the importance of bike safety) pointed out that some missionaries may think because they are on the Lord's errand, they could not possibly incur physical injury, but, he warned us, "you are still subject to the effects of natural laws." I'm not sure I've ever questioned that point, but I'll try to keep it firmly in mind.
