One of our missionaries finished his mission about ten days ago and while traveling home he continued serving as a missionary by teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to those he met. From one of the cities where he had a layover he called in a number of contacts, through the missionary
referral network. One young man was Chinese and spoke only Mandarin and was on his way to Iceland, which is part of the Denmark Mission. With only 12 missionaries in Iceland, and none able to speak Mandarin, two of our missionaries, Elder Porter and Elder
Chuang, have been teaching him using "
Skype" on the
Internet. It is exciting to watch them teaching, thousands of miles from each other, with their scriptures in front of them while looking at each other on the monitor. This is truly a "You Ban Fa" "There is a way" experience.
Here in Taichung there are dozens of these mechanical men, motorized
manikins, waving their flags
up and down with both "hands"at the oncoming traffic. The first time I saw one in the middle of the street I had to take a quick second look because it looked very human. Sister Greene was a good sport and agreed to pose with the good looking guy in a yellow rain coat.
The people here in Taichung are some of the most friendly and caring people that we have ever seen. This couple, with their handicapped daughter, park their food truck on the street near the mission office where they cook breakfast
hamburgers, with a fried egg in them. They always call out to us with a happy greeting and are genuine in their feelings toward us.
Each day, as we cross the same busy intersection on our way to the office, we see this little man who supports himself by selling flowers from one basket and gum from the other to people stopped at the traffic light. He has no arms below his elbows but he works hard at selling his wares to the people at the stop light waiting for it to change. I quite often buy a flower or a pack of gum, and even though he doesn't speak English and I speak very little Mandarin, he has become a dear friend. He was gone for a couple of weeks and we were worried that perhaps something had
happened to him. A few days ago we came to the
intersection and saw him on the sidewalk
across the street. I waved one hand at him and he lit up like a Christmas tree, putting down both baskets he started waving at us with both arms in the air. This is another example of a true "You Ban Fa" "there is a way," man who hasn't let adversity stop him.
These two men are brothers and they own a taxi cab. They park on a main street across from the mission home near the hospital, along with about a dozen other cabs, and wait for customers. They like to practice their English with us and always call out "good morning, how are you?" The older brother brings a chair and a portable radio in his trunk and they sit at the same spot, under the same tree each morning. These people and the many shop keepers near our apartment brighten each new day. The taxi drivers even asked for copies of their pictures. We so often remember the words to the well know hymn---"As I have loved you love one another. This new commandment love one another. By this shall men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Our hearts are full of love for these, the Lord's children in Taiwan.
The big department store across from the mission office was gutted and three large restaurants were constructed in place of the store. A big celebration was held as part of the grand opening, complete with Chinese dancing "dogs," drums and firecrackers going off, filling the air with loud noise and thick smoke. About a dozen young men in bright costumes participated in the ceremony.
This was part of a Buddist ritual that was intended to bring good luck and prosperity to the newly opened restaurants. It was very intertaining.
