Week 11 in MiaoLi. Happy Chinese New Year!

A warm week. Spring may be upon us here in Taiwan, but it's hard to know.

At the church playing games with the YSA group: 

 

YSA family home evening: the Plan of Salvation

 

P-day was fun and relaxing. We spent it at the church playing games with the YSA and other members of the ward before they all went home for Chinese New Year. Miaoli isn't quite the same without them around, but we're still keeping busy and pressing forward. The members have been very good to us; everything is closed for the Chinese New Year, so many of our meals are provided by thoughtful members of our ward (they're more like feasts really). The fireworks never end. Day and night the skies are full of explosions. Luckily, we're tired enough at night that we can sleep regardless. However, it is interesting to awake to cannon fire and to feel like you're in the crossfire of a shootout all through church. I may have been hit with a firework at one point this week...but I was not injured so there is no need to worry :)

 

My journal entry for this week

 

 

We covered a lot of miles this week biking to and from several neighboring cities. We certainly got our exercise in.

On the trip to Taipei

This week was the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast. We traveled up to Taipei for the meeting and received training and direction from living prophets. There were some major changes made. The missionary schedule has been changed drastically to allow for more flexibility, more sleep, and increased opportunity for the exercise of agency (making and being accountable for our choices). In addition, we will now only report on 4 key indicators (a little over a year ago they were reporting on 34 key indicators in my mission). These changes are significant and affect what we do as missionaries on a daily basis. We're still adjusting, but I know these changes are inspired of God. It is truly a miracle to be led by living prophets. Despite whatever difficulties we face in life, despite the trials we face in a fallen world, we can have hope and happiness as we follow the loving, inspired direction of a living prophet of God. God hasn't given up on us. He will not. He watches over us. He knows us. He loves us. See God's purpose in the scripture below:

Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

He wants us to return to live with Him.

We're doing a deep, deep, deep cleaning of our apartment as directed by President Jergensen. We'll spend most of our day today doing that, but it will be nice to have a clean environment to live and work in.

Transfers is next week. We'll see what happens...

All is well,
Elder Dickson