Learning Taiyu is FUN!

Mama Li Hou,
Li hou is hello is Taiyu by the way. Taiyu is the Chinese word for Taiwanese and I have been learning so much Taiyu lately. My trainer has the best Taiyu in the mission and he has been teaching me so much. For some reason Taiyu is so much easier for me to learn and remember. My Chinese is also progressing too. It’s so cool learning the 2 languages at once. Since I live in a small town there are a lot of people that speak Taiyu. The older the person, the more Taiyu they speak so a lot of Am'mas and Yeyes (grandmas and grandpas) speak Taiyu instead of Chinese. Most old people never learned mandarin so they rely on Taiyu to get by. The Taiwanese absolutely love it when I speak Taiyu. They are always so shocked because literally no white people speak it. It’s such a hard language to learn because it’s only spoken in the home and there is no written form of it. They are always so surprised and I like to mess with them by telling them I was born and raised in Taiwan. I have been called as an English leader. I conduct English meeting with the district every Wednesday, prepare a spiritual message/instruction, assign teachers, collect the money for the English books, and report the numbers to the assistants. It’s not too bad.

Yesterday we had such an amazing baptism. I sent the pics. This guy, Lin Song Zhi is probably the most amazing investigator I have seen. The first day we met him he told us he was a teacher so we asked if we should call him Lin Laoshi (it literally means Lin Teacher (that’s how kids refer to that teachers here), and he replies back "No, Lin Dixiong jiu haole," which means "Brother Lin, that's good enough." We knew from that point on he was getting baptized. We spent an awesome 5 weeks teaching him. He was always so interested and had such a strong desire to learn. He always came to us with great questions on the scriptures he read. So yesterday was so great. It was pouring so hard and we were so worried he wouldn’t show up for church (because when it rains in Taiwan everything closes down, no one goes outside). A lot of members don’t even go to church on rain days but he showed up 15 min early saying he was so ready. The rain was just a small trial but not enough to get him to miss his special day. He was baptized and shared such a genuine testimony afterwards. I know he is one person I was supposed to meet. He has helped me strengthen my testimony. Witnessing his conversion is a humbling experience that I can’t put into words.

Pres. Uchtdorf is coming to speak to our mission, should be awesome. Then Pres. Bishop (new mish pres. will arrive on July, 1) such exciting times. The mission is definitely not easy, and I definitely have my discouraging times but I know that’s why I am here. I know that I am being strengthened and prepared right now for reasons that will effect the rest of my life. Well, I gotta run but thanks so much for the email. I love all your updates and reading about life back home.
Love,
Jeremy