The 6th and Final Area?

Dear family and friends,

Well I've moved again. And probably for the last time. The final two move calls. Really interesting. I'm with Elder Cuartas. He was born in Columbia and has lived in South Jordan since he was 4. And he's cousins with Danny Bolivar! He was in Beauty and the Beast with me. He's super cool. I'm way excited to be here with him. Oh yeah! I'm in Taizhong Donghai. I'm in the city again. This will take some getting used to again. So many people. I'm in the most north zone in the mission. It's above the mission office. And Elder Terry is my zone leader! I'm way excited!

So last week...

Tuesday we went to Gaoxiong for ZTM. It was cool. We went out onto the ground that is reserved for the future Gaoxiong temple and had out ZTM there. It was really cool. Since it was the last week of the transfer, the missionaries that were going home gave some final remarks. It was really weird knowing they're going home. It's always weird for the Sisters now because I got on island before them. Seeing them leave just makes me feel old.  We biked out to Yanpu that night to find some sad news about some less actives. And it was so cold. I was freezing! That night we cut out snowflakes for our english party the next day.

Wednesday we were working on the english party for a while. We had cut out a ton of snowflakes to hang on see through string to make it look like it was snowing in the cultural hall. It had a Hogwarts feel to it. Elder Teerlink and I got a call saying since we're going to be short on Elders for a few move calls, they're taking out the second set of Elders from wards that have more than one. So we were getting taken out. It was sad. We started saying goodbye to everyone that night. All my students didn't like the fact that I was moving. But the party turned out really great. I was in charge of making gingerbread houses. It was a rough start, but everyone loved it. Probably because it was the most sweet thing they've ever eaten.

Thursday was a rough day. We had weekly planning and had to do it with the other Elders since they'd be taking over with our investigators. Then that night we had a dinner with the single adults in the ward. They took us to the same BBQ place we went for the mid autumn festival. It was so good. They gave me a birthday card. At the dinner, Sister Shultz got a call from President saying she was no longer training. That was a weird shock. So the whole district was thrown all out of wack. None of us knew what was going on.

Friday was my birthday. I stared and the packet of hollendaise sauce and was too lazy to make it. And I forgot to buy butter, so it was a no go. But it was a great birthday! I'll tell you a secret about that when I get home. But I took Elder Bardsley around in our area to show him all the important places. Then we went on splits that night with the ward. I took Huang Yi Cheng around. Elder Teerlink was with the bishop and helped James set a new goal! Then the other Elders surprised me with McDonald's once I got home. And I tried 21 shots of this liquid yogurt drink that I love a lot. Elder Muhlestein, my first zone leader, did it for his 21st birthday, so I wanted to try too. They come in these little bottles. I got to 11 and puked. Not smart. Never doing it again. But I still love the drink.

Saturday we had a fun morning helping a family move in. The bishop was there and wanted us to call President so he can talk to him and know for sure that he'd be getting the other set of Elders back sometime in the future. Then that's when the miracle hit. Turns out that the assistants and President had just said a prayer about move call and he said he had a feeling not to turn Pingdong into just one companionship of Elders. And that's when the bishop called him. He took that as his answer. So that night we got the news that Elder Teerlink was staying! He was way happy. He has a Taiwanese companion.

Sunday had a bit of a sad turnout with church. I don't know where everyone was. But I did a baptismal interview with one of Elder Bardsley's investigators and he's getting baptized this Saturday!  Then that night we met with an amazing Shen dixiong. All his standards fall in line with Christ's. We shared about the Plan of Salvation. He loved it. The change this will make in his life is a little weird for him. So he wants to take it slow. But he wants to help his daughter grow up in the environment that that church offers!

This morning I grabbed my things, got on a train, and 3.5 hours later I'm with Elder Cuartas! I got to see a lot of people at the mission office. Even Zhu Zhang Qi! He came up to say goodbye to Elder Stone. Elder Stone goes home tomorrow. So it was really cool to see him.

And that was my week! It was all over the place. And now I'm up in Taizhong. It's really weird. But I'm really excited. I love you all! Oh yeah! I was about to leave the office and they hand me just a stack of letters and two packages. I got it. So much stuff! I haven't gotten mail in weeks. Maybe months. I forgot. Time flies. Until next week!

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter

Thanksgiving In Taiwan

Dear family and friends,

I can't even begin to describe how crazy this last week was! So many ups and downs... So on Tuesday we had a great night of English Proselyting. There was so many people with interest! Then we went to visit the Sisters' RC's family. The dad was referred to us a while ago and he's been pretty busy since then. So we checked up on him. Not a whole lot of luck there. But then we went to a Thanksgiving/missionary goodbye/less active dinner. A few less actives that are all friends being less active arranged a dinner at an all you can eat pizza and fried chicken restaurant. They all love the missionaries and do this every so often. Since it's near the end of the transfer and it was also Thanksgiving, they arranged this one. James came to it and loved it too.

Wednesday was a hard day. Elder Teerlink was really sick and had to have a rest day. So he was knocked out all day and I was calling through a ton of old contact cards trying to set up lessons. So I was just laying on the hammock that I bought all day making non stop calls. And there was a lot of success from that. I woke him up and we went to English class. It was a fun night talking about food. And I got in the biggest argument about what a biscuit is. In Chinese the translation of cookie and biscuit are the same. And Taiwan doesn't sell biscuits. So I was trying so hard to draw it and describe it. Then a student looked it up on his phone and showed everyone. Then I taught them about eggs benedict (if that's how you spell it). I saved that sauce packet for my birthday this week! haha.

Thursday I was feeling sick now and I also had to arrange for exchanged with Elder Bardsley that day. So after weekly planning we had to bike all the way to Sandimen and up the mountain to get to an aborigine family's house to look at their clothes for the Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. After biking for about and hour and a half, this bus driver stopped and asked us where we were going. We told him and he wanted to help, but we couldn't fit our bikes on the bus. He drove away but then stopped 50 feet ahead. He said we could wing it if he could charge the bikes as people too. We were fine with that. And somehow it only turned out to be a really small price for the both of us. Usually the price of one person. It was just us on the bus and our bikes were in the isle. And he drove us to the bottom of the mountain. Such a nice guy. The ride was way funny. But that's a longer story.

So we started our trek up this super steep mountain in the freezing cold as mist is coming down on us. I'm already sick. My lungs, throat, and legs are on fire. And we finally make it 45 minutes later. And it's just pure aborigine reservation. I wasn't in Taiwan anymore. All the houses were made of wood and had an American feel. Everyone is Christian. It was so weird. We got to their house and they make Christmas decorations. It was so cool to actually see a hint of Christmas! And the misty mountains was almost like snow! The clothes worked and we made our way down the mountain. I haven't gone that fast downhill in so long.  We then went to the Lin family's house and they said they'd come to the Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday we went to Gaoxiong for mission tour. Elder Randy Funk was there. He spoke in Conference in October. It was really cool to learn from him. The whole conference was really great and focused on working with members, giving it your all, and being diligent. Then we had a full Thanksgiving lunch with Turkey, stuffing, funeral potatoes, and other random stuff! It was SOOO Good! It was a super sweet mission tour. I was so tired though. Still sick and all.

Saturday we went on splits in the morning and I found a really willing less active. I was with the Elders Quorum president and we loved getting to meet this guy. And his daughter has a lot of potential to get baptized too. The dad just got busy with the military and work after he was baptized 30 years ago.   That afternoon we started making the set for our skit for the Thanksgiving dinner that night. The ward was all around outside cleaning up the grounds and putting up lights all over the trees! I've never seen such a decorated church! There are wreaths hanging everywhere and a huge tree in the entryway with garlands everywhere. It's so cool.

There was a huge turnout. We had a few referrals from it. A lot of members brought their friends. A lot of less actives came. It was just a great time to come together and be thankful. Then it was time for our performance. I have a CD with traditional Indian music and Elder Bardsley had some adventurous music. So we acted out persecution in England, leaving on boats, getting to America, struggles, war with the natives, and coming together for a peace dinner. We wrote a script and Kang Zhe Wei narrated the whole thing. It was so cool and everyone there loved it. Then some members came up to us afterwards and asked if we could do it for another service project near Christmas time. It was so great.

Sunday we had a super great turnout at church. We had a few investigators come, as well as some of the people I had called on Wednesday, and they loved it. Every one's testimonies were all about their thankfulness for the Savior. The Spirit was so strong in that meeting.

And that was my week. I loved it so much! This week will be a lot of fun as well. It's the final week of the transfer. I don't know what will be happening next week! Sorry this email is so long! I just loved the details this week. The ward is doing great! I love you all! I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter

It's Cold

Dear family and friends,

I'm going to suffer in Utah. It hit 60 degrees last week and I was freezing. Pingdong is just so much hotter. That's what I'm used to. I don't have a whole lot of time. So I'll cover the highlights!

Wednesday was really rough with 6 lessons that fell through. But English class was a lot of fun. I had 8 new students. I hit a record high for my class of 24. There was a lot of people. The range of English ability is so big! It's so hard to teach all of them according to their desires. We talked about the world. It was a lot of fun to tour the world with them. I thought it was funny that not a single one of them would choose to go to America if they could go anywhere.

Thursday was a rough day during the day. But the night was full. We went to James' house and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He really liked it. We set a baptismal planner with him. So now he knows what he needs to do to reach his goal. He's getting interviewed this week! After James we went to visit our professional badminton player. I didn't think he was really that famous, but actually a ton of people know him. He's a national champion. Pretty sweet. He didn't have a whole lot of time because he was going to train a guy. But we were able to sit with him for a second. Then we went to our computer specialist and got to share more about the restoration. It didn't seem like his interest was that big until we really got into the need for a restoration. Then it seemed like it really touched his heart and he said he'll try. I really liked that lesson.

Friday we got to meet with this really cool guy that we met at the track. He has a sweet British accent and runs marathons all the time. He has a lot of interest, but is going to Taibei for a month filled with two weddings and two marathons. So we're gonna have to wait for him. He spotted me and waved to me first at the track. And then we went around twice talking about the church before we had to go. So his desire is there.  Immediately following his lesson was a lesson with a less active. We always meet with him at his shop. But this was the first time he came to the church since he stopped over 3 years ago. He really liked it a lot.

Saturday we got to go around with the 1st counselor to help him with home teaching. We went to the ward's oldest couples' house. They were both baptized back in the 70's before they met and got sealed in the Tokyo temple I think. Taibei didn't have a temple yet. They've been sealed longer than anyone else I've ever met in Taiwan. Super cool. Then we went looking for less actives with the maps we have and our 1st counselor loved it so much. He wants to keep doing it. We found a really nice old guy that wrecked his car going to church long ago, so his kids won't let him go out to our church anymore. They say he has to stay safe and go to a different church near his house. The whole "they're all the same" thought here is a little irritating.  Then that night the bishop helped peike with James and we shared the Law of Chastity. It was an extremely good lesson. I loved it so much. It boosted James' faith a ton. I love the bishop.

Sunday James came! And it was the best Sunday of the year: The Primary Program. I cried. A few of the families got up and sang together "Families can be together forever" and "I am a Child of God". It was so GOOD!!!    Then last night we had an amazing first lesson with one of the most humble men ever. I can't even describe it. His family is everything to him and he works so hard to help them. All his views are right in line with the church. I can't even tell you the Spirit filled reaction he gave as we invited him to read and pray. When he prayed, you could feel the Spirit so strong. A great ending to the week.

I love you all. I love my mission. I'm so happy for all the experiences I've had so far. I can't wait to see what else comes my way! Keep writing!

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter

Little Miracles

Dear family and friends,

It was a very lopsided week. It wasn't eventful that much during the week, but had a lot near the end. Tuesday I got a random call from the Ke family in Tainan! I don't know how they got my number, but it was pretty sweet nonetheless. We had a good DTM on Effective Study. It was pretty fun. After that and english proselyting, Elder Teerlink and I went to my favorite bread store, Donutes, and ate a nice bread dinner and took it a little slow. We both had massive headaches. The rest of the night was pretty rough with some lessons cancelling.

Wednesday was also a rough day. We got lost looking for some less actives and formers and time disappeared from us. English was fun though. We talked about directions. It was really funny talking about the difference between America's and Taiwan's traffic laws. Then I simulated a roller coaster and told them which way to turn. I guess it was more like "The fast and the furious classroom edition" It was so funny.

Thursday we got to sit with a less active at his hair salon. He has a perm now. It's pretty sweet. And he confirmed for church! It's just getting up that worries him. I got to help Elder Lieske pass off his phase 1 and Elder Teerlink did this interesting recording thing for an investigator. Elder Teerlink is now the English voice for their PowerPoint of their corporation. Worldwide status too.   Then we went to dinner with the Lin family. They took us to a beef noodles place that was actually pretty good. Then they took us to a dessert place. I really can't describe Douhua besides bean curd yogurt stuff with red bean and pearls in a super sweet liquid. It was good though!   Then we biked out to Yanpu to visit and RC. He's doing alright, but has been lonely. He's all by himself.

Friday I honestly can't remember. It was a long day. We were just outside all day. Saturday was all over the place. We had a ton of lessons fall through right at the last minute. Thankfully, they called us to cancel and didn't just leave us hanging. But we went to James' house and sat with him. He's doing really good. He's just nervous around people. He's still working on hitting his goal. Kang Zhe Wei is doing really good too. He's the new 2nd counselor in the young men's presidency!

Sunday was a cool morning. All the investigators we had confirmed didn't come. But one of our investigators was able to make it. We actually haven't even had a chance to sit with him yet. But he's come to church twice. He's an english student of mine. He can only stay for Sacrament Meeting and then has to leave immediately. But then he asked how long it goes till and I said noon. Then he said he'll adjust his schedule so he can stay for the whole time next week! He's super cool and is way down to come to church.   Last night we made a lot of nachos. A lady in the ward helped us buy stuff from Costco.

And today Kang Zhe Wei took us to Sandimen. That's where all the aborigines live. It was super beautiful. I got pictures, but I have no time to upload them!

It was a good week. I enjoyed it a lot. I hope this week we keep seeing all the little miracles! I love you all! I hope you're enjoying the snow. I'm still sweating everyday. I miss you all!

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter

Interviews

Dear family and friends,

I'm loving it here in Pingdong. It's just a great city. Last Tuesday was a great day in Gaoxiong for ZTM. Right across the street from the stake center is a plot of land already bought by the church for the Gaoxiong temple. It still can't be built because the church hasn't increased enough in Taiwan. But we went out and stood on it and made the vision. The vision is 5 years get it started. So we talked about what we can do now to make it happen. It was a super sweet ZTM. Then that night our ward mission leader came with us to the Lin family's house. We watched the restoration on their laptop. It was a little hard to hear, but it was still good. They're going to take some time though.

Wednesday we had a lot of lessons fall through, but then a man just walked into the church looking for the missionaries. Turns out he has met missionaries twice in the past 20 years. He knew we could speak English, so he came by to have us review his work's mission statement. Kang Zhe Wei was there as well, and we got into a gospel discussion. He actually really agrees with our church's views. And he set up for tonight! We're really excited to meet with his whole family too.

Thursday we had interviews. President Blickenstaff came here and we had it at our chapel. Half the zone didn't know how to get here, so we had to give directions a lot. But I loved the interviews. President Blickenstaff is really chill and loving. He knows how to help. People in the ward that came by during the day were really happy to see Elder Limpanasriphong as well.

Friday after weekly planning we took a bus all the way out to Sandimen. That's where all the aborigines live. We didn't get a whole lot of luck. It was rough with little energy. We both got a little car sick on the way there. But after a 40 minutes long Indiana Jones ride in the form of a bus, we got back in time for a bishopric meeting. Elder Bardsley and I went to a meeting with the bishopric and a few others over skype. It was really cool. We discussed the needs of the ward and plans to get it done. We're really excited to continue to get the ward involved. During the meeting, Elder Teerlink and Elder Lieske met with James and shared the plan of salvation. It really hit him. He said he had doubts 7 years ago and didn't get baptized. Now he knows he needs to get over those doubts and get baptized. He set a date and is really determined to get baptized now!

Saturday we met with a super cool guy for lunch. His name is Ben. He is fluent in English and German. He went to college somewhere near Dusseldorf. He's Taiwanese by the way. He came prepared with questions and had already downloaded the gospel library onto his phone. It was so sweet. He's starting a masters program and can only meet once every two weeks. So it'll be hard to meet with him, but he's way willing.  That afternoon we stopped by the Lin family's house to give them a loving note, but they were home and let us in. We had a good talk. They're slowly getting into the habit of reading and praying. We set up with them for tomorrow to have our 2nd counselor's family come over and share the plan of salvation.   That night the other Elders had a baptism. He's a really cool guy. It was a good baptism.

Sunday was just a good day. Our man Oliver came for sacrament meeting. That was it though. That night we got to meet with an RC and he's just adorable. He's really old and just so jolly. Then we met with an LA that is really loving as well. And boy can he pray. It was General Conference status. He has a huge love for the gospel, but has to take his mom to her church on Sunday because she's Catholic. It's rough. But he's trying.

And today we have a very busy day. We're running all over the place. And Casper from Yuanlin is here with his wife! He was an RC while I was there. He met a girl at the Single adult conference and now they're sealed in the temple! She used to live here, so we're getting lunch with them. It'll be a good day.

I love you all! I miss you all. Keep the faith!

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter

I Love Families.....Again!

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a great week. There wasn't a whole lot of huge changes. But here's how it goes!

Tuesday we had a good DTM about chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel. That's teaching skills. It was a good time. There's a lot to cover. We had a good English proselyting and had a lot of success. A lot of people just want to learn English!

Wednesday was slow, but fun as well. We sat with a cool computer repair guy. He's a former that is just way too busy. But he loves when we come over. He's fluent in English too. I feel right at home at his work because there's computer stuff all over the place. It reminds me of dad's work.   That night at English class I had a ton of new people come to my beginner class. I talked about family home evening for my spiritual share. All the moms were just nodding their heads saying everything is a good idea. And all the kids were groaning. Sorry kids!

Thursday we had such a great day. We got ice with Kang Zhe Wei. He was going to help us peike, but then they didn't come, so we ate and sat with him. He's so great. He loves all the church has to offer. Then we went to the Lin family's house. It was so great! They all love us. We tried to watch the restoration video with them, but they don't have a DVD player. So we dove into the scriptures. I love them so much. And they keep giving us so much candy from different countries. It's super funny. We're really excited to meet with them tomorrow and watch the restoration. They're slowly moving along!

Friday we had weekly planning. Then after that, it was a really slow day. But we decided to get McDonald's for dinner and had a blast entertaining this kid in the play area. We were sitting on the bar seats in front of the window of the play area and there was this little 3-4 year old. He would come up and look at us. Then he'd duck and hide. After a few times, we decided to duck as well to surprise him. After 20 times or so (kids never get tired!), we left. The parents loved it and we were able to talk to them for a bit as well.

Saturday was a rough day of lessons falling through. But I got to interview the other Elders' investigator to be baptized and he's super ready. Then that night James called us and apologized for not coming earlier. Then he immediately came over and we were able to meet with him. He's also a little hard to get moving. But he's willing and we're happy with that.

Sunday was super stressful in the morning trying to get a bike to this kid's house so he could ride to church with us. We ended up being 10 minutes late to Sacrament meeting. The ward is doing great though. And last night we had a sweet 1st time sit down with a guy that really wants to help his parents and brother. He's really sincere. I loved that lesson.

And that was my week. Just those miracles that happen each day. I'm excited for this coming week. ZTM, president interviews, a baptism, families, the whole kit and kaboodle! I love you all! Time flies as 4 months from tomorrow I'll be flying home. Time flies when you're having fun. And time has never flown so fast in my life...

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter

I Love Families!

Dear family and friends,

To start off, I'm still in Pingdong! And what's even more shocking, I'm still with Elder Teerlink! Our whole 4-man stayed together! So crazy. It's so rare to be with a companion for over 2 transfers. And we're doing it. We were all so shocked. I'm so excited.

So Tuesday we had a fun time mopping 5 floors of stairs for some service. It was a lot of fun, and we were fed this really good pecan spread on toast. It was just way good! Then I got to help one of our RC's write a letter to the Elder that baptized him. He can't write that well, so I helped him out. It was way fun.

Wednesday was so dang CRAZY!! We had to prepare all day for our Halloween party. I had to carry the box that had our washing machine in it to the church on my bike. That was way hard. Then we made this really epic haunted house out of bedsheets and newspaper. That took so long. We had the help of a lot of the young single adults. We were all really stressing out though. We got it all done 10 minutes before 7:00. We had 83 people show up. They all had so much fun. We had bobbing for apples, eating donuts on a string, face painting, and the haunted house. All the YSA were the scarers. They did a great job. Kang Zhe Wei was in the washing machine box and grabbed people's hands as they grabbed some candy. It was so great. Everyone loved the decorations that you sent out mom. Especially the big Halloween balloon that I suspended on the basketball hoop. It took so long to clean up afterwards.

Thursday we had such a great night. We went by the Lin family's house. They're such a great family. As they continue to investigate, they see the significance of the gospel in their lives. And they're so nice too. I'm so excited to keep meeting with them. We also got to split up after that and help two of our other investigators make goals for baptism! I'm so excited! It was a great night.

Friday was hard. I had the biggest headache and thought I was going to pass out. But I exchanged with Elder Bardsley. We went all over the place. We went to two of his secondary areas far away. At one we met with and investigator that has been investigating for a while. He's just really busy. Just by talking to him, he opened up a lot about what was keeping him back. And then the mayor of the town walked in. He knows a few members and asked about family history. He got way excited and said he wants to do a whole town family history day and needs our help. He thinks it'll be a great way to spread the gospel too. People are weird like that here. They don't accept it themselves, but they're willing to help you help others learn about the gospel. So we told our ward and they were all so excited. So we're going to hopefully get this town into our church for family history!

Saturday was interesting because Elder Averrett came up from Chaozhou. His companion was training, so he came with us for the day. We were all over the place trying to get all the business done that we had to. We then had a really sweet lesson with James. He just walked into the church my first week with Elder Teerlink. He's been very off and on with meeting with us. And right as we were about to stop trying, he sets up again and opens up SO MUCH!! So we're going to keep helping him. He's really excited to keep trying. We'll do all we can to help him.

Sunday the Lin family came to church! I was so happy to see them come. The ward just ate them up. They loved it a lot. They're excited to keep meeting with us. I also had a feeling to call a few less active people up during the week and most of them came too! One of which was a family. I sat by the one I called up and didn't even know his mom and sister came too. The 2nd counselor in the bishopric talked to us afterwards and asked if we called him. They've been trying to get them to come back for a while. It was just a day of miracles. Then that night we had dinner at Sister Hu's house. Sister Liu left today, so it was like a goodbye dinner.  Then Hengchun Elders came up since one of them is moving today too. So it was just a long night with a lot of Elders.

And that was the week of weird. I loved it so much. I'm so excited to stay here in Pingdong for a little longer. I love you all! I miss you all.

 

Love, Elder Anthony Kai Buckwalter