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