Here I am, after my first 10 days in beautiful Ping Dong. I do like the south. I mean, our whole mission is basically the south, so I guess I'm referring to the south of the south. It's definitely warmer than Yong Kang, and the temperatures are gradually rising, but it's still quite pleasant outside. Also, the trees are beautiful, the fruit tasty, and the bugs many. (I could do without the last one, but there's probably something good coming of it.)
I think it's always sort of an adventure to move into a new place and get to know everything from scratch. Last weekend we watched General Conference, and this weekend we'll have District Conference. (A district encompasses several wards or branches, but is smaller than a stake, and is presided over by the mission president. Ping Dong City is part of the Ping Dong District, which includes my first area--Chao Zhou--among others). As a result of these out-of-the-ordinary church meetings, getting to know the two branches we cover is a little slower, but we've gotten to meet with a fair number of members. I love members everywhere. From the start of the move, Sister Chen and I were already talking about trying to increase and improve coordination of missionary work with the members. Then Elder Perry, one of the twelve apostles, gave that talk in General Conference in which he brought up "member-oriented proselyting programs", which reinforced some of the ideas we had been mulling over. General Conference is always like that--it always seems to address exactly the things you need right when you need them.
The other night while we were waiting for someone outside the church, two members from Chao Zhou showed up for a single-adult family home evening activity. Sister Stratford and I met them and started teaching them while I was in Chao Zhou, and they got baptized a couple months after I left. We've kept in touch via letters, but I haven't seen them since they were baptized. When they saw me, they both burst into tears and threw their arms around me. I was, of course, thrilled to see them as well. I think there are some very close bonds that form when you share part the testimony-gaining process with someone. These bonds apparently transcend communication barriers, because my Chinese back in those days was probably borderline unintelligible, putting it mildly.
Tomorrow we'll have a special treat: Elder David A. Bednar (one of the twelve apostles) is coming to Taiwan. In the evening he'll do a fireside for members/anyone, but in the afternoon, the missionaries get our very own three hours with him. President Hsu says he'll likely just open the time to our questions, so I've been thinking and praying to see if there's anything I should ask. I've got a couple ideas, but we'll see when the time comes what feels right. Maybe other missionaries will ask the questions I really need the answers to (to which I really need the answers?). Either way, it's going to be a great experience. President Hsu has asked us to come an hour early to the meeting to prepare ourselves spiritually. I know there will be a lot to learn there, from what he says, but also mostly from what the Spirit says, so we've got to get ourselves ready and receptive and attentive. I'm excited!
