Hello! Summer is creeping in upon us. For anyone who may have scoffed at my chills in the mild Taiwanese winter, I have only this to say in my defense: Yes, it is much colder in Iowa (or Utah, or Ohio) in the winter than it is here, but you don't put on a skirt and bike around in it do you? No. Also, when your home is colder than it is outside and the unreliable water heater sometimes robs you of a hot shower, however mild the chill may be, it can get down to your bones and stay there. But it is a blessing that the winter is not slippery, and in the end, really not that cold. I'm also grateful that it doesn't rain nearly as much in the winter as the summer. There are many aspects of Taiwanese winter for which I am very grateful, but I won't pretend that I never passed a cold day.
This past week we had our interviews with President Hsu. I look forward to this once-a-move opportunity to sit down with him, one-on-one, and talk about anything. He's so in tune with the Spirit and our needs. He always seems to know exactly what to say, even if it takes me a few weeks to figure it out. When I think back on the counsel he's given me since I got on island, I realize how much it has shaped the way I've worked to improve and change. To think that he does that for hundreds of missionaries during his time as mission president is amazing. I'm sure without divine assistance it would be impossible; he simply doesn't have enough time to get to know our needs that deeply on his own. Every interview, he says an opening prayer. He asks for the guidance of the Holy Ghost. And then he'll usually ask me a question, maybe about how my companion is, or to find out what's been on my mind recently. He'll invite me to ask him questions, about the scriptures, doing missionary work, personal concerns, etc. Sometimes it seems that his answer doesn't quite respond to the question I asked, but the miracle is that he tells me exactly what I need to know right then; like answering the question I wanted to ask, but didn't know how. That's one of my strongest witnesses that he is called of God, and that it is God leading the work, not a man.
