This has been a busy week. In the office, Recently, one of our young missionaries sent me a LINE message with this photograph:
He was wondering if we had any more of these cards. After searching, I couldn't find any cards like this, so I set to work re-creating two cards which can be used by our young missionaries in their finding efforts. It took a lot of effort, due to the need to update the information on the card, including the locations of all our meetinghouses. And, Microsoft Publisher isn't the easiest application to use! Anyway, I finished up work on the two cards I had photos of, and future cards will be much easier to create since they'll be based on this template. I made up a business card for our Mission Leaders, and I also assisted with a Chinese New Year "Hong Bao" (red envelope) insert card for the young missionaries to use, as well as one for Sister Wells and I to give to our special friends here!
Monday, we welcomed three new missionaries to begin their "in-field MTC" training. Onboarding new missionaries is a big effort for Sister Wells, and they always get just what they need. Well, except for the parts I'm supposed to do. Haha. I forgot to give them SIM cards to be used during their training, so we had to drive to the two apartments they are assigned to, in order to deliver the SIMs. This was an extra hour or so, tacked onto an already long day; we got home late, and tired!
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Our APs help set up the new missionaries phones before they embark.
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We also had some previous Taichung missionaries stop by, as we sometimes do. It's always good to see these loved faces show up in the mission office!
We did a lot of apartment work, too. I mentioned last time about the need to close some vacant apartments. Well, the first one happened this week. Sister Wells and I traveled to Tainan to empty out of our apartments in that city. In our earlier visit, we decided that there "wasn't too much" furniture and stuff to move out, so we elected to do the job ourselves, using just the mission van. Well, I think it's fair to say that I underestimated the job. That, and the need to assist with an off-schedule transfer for some sisters, made for a very long day (7:30 am - 10:30 pm).
The worst part for me was moving the oversized (for Taiwan, anyway) refrigerator. For Sister Wells, it was cleaning out the rice cooker which had been ripening for months. Ewwww! The scariest part was driving the van down the VERY narrow winding ramp to the basement parking garage of the apartment building. I had about 1/2" clearance front and rear, but I made it! Needless to say, we didn't try that for subsequent loads, and just took them out the front door. It is a blessing to be able to help the mission and the missionaries in this way, but it's really hard work!
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| We moved the furniture into a nearby missionary apartment. Most of the apartments have extra mattresses, and many have extra washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and other furniture. |
You may be wondering what the missionary apartments look like. They run the gamut, with some being nicer than others. Here are a few photos of one of the apartments we are looking to close soon, the Wuquan 3rd Elders apartment. It is probably above average, as missionary apartments in the Taichung mission go.
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| This kitchen is very large. Most kitchens are just a narrow hallway with the countertop on one side. |
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| One of two or three bedrooms in the typical apartment. One is for sleeping, one is for studying, and one is for dressing/storage. |
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| Living room with basic missionary furniture. |
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| Most apartments have two bathrooms. The showers are often unenclosed. |
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| Bunkbeds are common. Here you can see the 72-hour kit backpacks stored on top of the wardrobe. |
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| This bathroom has a very fancy tub! |
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| The second bedroom. |
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| The third bedroom, used as a study room. |
Saturday, we did something I had been wanting to do for some time - clean out the mission warehouse. We have half of a large building we share with the landlord we rent the building from. It is full of small and large appliances, beds, wardrobes, dressers, tables, chairs, desks, bicycles, and everything else that goes into a missionary apartment. The eight young missionaries in the Dongying district plus the Turners and the Fields joined us for three hours of cleaning, sorting, organizing, and throwing away! The work made a big difference, and I really appreciated being able to get this project finished.
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| President Fields took this selfie of the crew. |
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| We got rid of lots of old mattresses, desks, bookshelves, wardrobes, and other well-used furniture. |
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As a thank-you for all the hard work, we took the group to
McDonalds in Wufeng for a meal ($150 NTD limit each!) |
And, now for a few more photos which may you may find interesting:
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| Parents take their children to school this way. The younger children sit (or stand) in front, holding on to the mirrors, or behind, but with a wide belt around mom and child. Notice the sign in the background - this is the corner adjacent to the mission office. |
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| We had a quick lunch "out" which is unusual for us, as we typically eat at our desks. Notice the cute tomato "bunny" garnishing this fried rice. This is "our " lunch spot, where we had our first lunch out. The food is delicious, and we like the hard working owner/cook - he made an English menu just for us! |
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| While it is snowing at home in Utah, it's "snowing" flower petals here! |
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| Another fun English Conversation Group this week! |
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| This is a fun picture because, when class started, both Le Le and Shao Mei had their chairs about four feet away. But, before very many minutes had passed, both were practically touching knees with us. Sister Wells really knows how to draw them into the lesson! |
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