29 October 2012—Explosions, Earthquakes, and Fruit

How are you! (Taiwanese think this is a greeting, not a question.

I feel like I just have a bunch of random stuff to write about, so I'm sorry in advance about the smorgasbord.

Elder Cox says that Taiwan could be invaded by another country at any moment, and nobody would know. I can't help but agree, because this place literally always sounds like a war zone. Fireworks are a common way to celebrate stuff, and almost daily you will hear explosions. Out of the blue, parades dedicated to certain gods will march down the streets banging various metallic instruments (which can be quite the distraction in the middle of church meetings). And there's always construction somewhere. This week it's been in front of our house. They've been using the jackhammer nonstop, and I can barely focus in my scripture study. Hopefully they will be done with their project soon.

I passed off my first language assessment this week! Elder Cox said he was very impressed with my ability. One part of the test is to teach the first lesson solo, and that lasts roughly 30-40 minutes. I was able to keep it moving, and although I feel I still have a lot to improve, I'm happy with what I was able to do. I am clearly receiving divine help. At one point in the lesson, Elder Cox cracked up because I used the wrong tone for one of the words. So instead of saying, "Christ suffered so He can take away our guilt and sadness," I said "...guilt and pumpkins." Upon further reflection, he realized that he was mistaken, and that I had actually not said pumpkins, but had said the word for Yugoslavia.

We contacted a young guy this week, and Elder Cox felt prompted to give him something out of his backpack before we left. As he shuffled through the pamphlets in his bag, he received a shock when he had a strong feeling to give him the "Law of Chastity" pamphlet, which is about how we should not have sexual relations outside of marriage. Really weird, but we'll see how this goes...

Wednesday at 6:30, there was a decent sized earthquake. We were sitting inside a Family Mart when I saw all the scooters parked outside tip over in a wave. The ground shook for about 15-20 seconds. What was really funny was that nobody even flinched. Elder Cox hardly reacted; he just leaned back a little from the glass window in case it shattered. He said he's experienced 4 larger earthquakes since he's been here (a little more than a year). I learned later that the epicenter was in Ping Dong (the south of us), and registered as a 5.5, so our location would have been about a 4.5.

In Taiwan, it's good manners to give a gift when you visit someone's home. The best gift is fruit. Certain fruit symbolize different things. Often the best fruit to give is a pineapple, because it means you wish them prosperity and more business. There are certain cases when you would not want to give a pineapple. For instance, never give one to a doctor.

I got my first haircut in Taiwan this week. Oh noes. I tried really hard to have an American looking hair style, but it sort of failed... Elder Cox said instead I had the Asian look. The stylist shaved the sides of my head really short, but left the top long, insisting that if he cut it any shorter I'd look really young. Right before we left I overheard him and another coworker bickering if it looked good or not. Not a good sign. In any rate, hair gel is now a definite MUST.

So many people call me baby-face, you have no idea. Tons of people think I'm 15 or 16. I looked in the mirror the other day, and compared that with my driver's license picture. It was a little sad. My face is definitely a little rounder. My cheeks have filled in a little bit. My diet here is not the greatest, WAY too much grease.

It appears my bad luck with bikes that I had in the US somehow smuggled itself in my suitcase to Taiwan. I've had two flats in the first 5 weeks. I just have this dreading feeling that next it's going to be something really expensive. Every month we get roughly 6000 kuai (about 190 US dollars) for food and other things, but we can't use this money towards bike repair; this comes out of our personal funds. A'ya!

Next month is No English November! Shaving daily is in the rule book, so we had to at least figure out something to do. Anybody want to join in with me? Don't worry, I'll still write my letters home in English. I figured having to go through the trouble of Google Translate on your end would be a little mean.

We are working with a 10 year old right now who will be baptized in two weeks. He's really smart, and we've had some good lessons with him. It's really been stretching me to teach to such a different audience: much more hands-on and simple. He's been having a lot of support from his uncle, who is currently the bishop for a ward in Tainan, but living with and taking care of his nephew in Lingya.

When the Book of Mormon is translated to different languages, it is truly a revelatory process. A lot of work goes behind the translation. Sometimes, because of grammar and cultural differences, these translators need a little more information to complete the translation accurately. In the case of Chinese, there was a point where the person was translating the part about Ammon and his brother Aaron. According to Chinese culture, it is respectful to call someone by their specific position in their family. There are different words for older brother and younger brother. At one point Ammon is talking to Aaron, and calls him by his title, "brother". Nowhere in the Book of Mormon does it say which brother is actually older and this posed a problem in the translation. The translator then went to the current Prophet and asked him what he should do. The Prophet prayed about it, and replied later that Aaron is Ammon's older brother. This little detail may seem very minor, but it's interesting to think about the revelation that is given to the Prophet on a regular basis. I know that we truly do have a living prophet that guides and directs our church, Thomas S. Monson. I'm grateful to know that if I follow his words and guidance I can come closer to the Savior and partake of the blessings that He has promised us.

I love all of you, and I hope you feel the joy that I feel when I wave at a person flagging down a bus. I just love that expression on their face.

-Elder Jorgensen

“Cultural Center. Tons of families here! Some security guards think we are allowed here, some think otherwise... We choose the first. :)”

New haircuts!

“A common roadway in Taiwan. Now imagine seeing about 200 scooters and 30-40 cars and buses on that segment of road all at once. That's roughly rush hour.”

“We did an activity where we draw the thing we are most thankful for. I tried to draw mom. She looks a little crazed.”

22 October 2012—First Baptism!

Li hou! (Taiwanese for "hello!")

This week was awesome. Too much happened this week, and I'm going to try to mention as much of it as I can.

First I've gotta apologize to all those who have sent me letters and have not gotten a reply yet. Upon being in the mission field, time has become increasingly restricted for stuff like writing letters and grocery shopping. Part of the problem is that I'm not very good at prioritizing, and I'm trying to work on that right now so that I can have more room to reply to your letters. Thank you so much for all the kind words of encouragement you've sent, it makes me feel special and reinvigorated to do this work. I'm so grateful I have such awesome friends!

One thing I failed to mention last week was that during my companion exchange we went to a member's house and ate a traditional Taiwanese dinner with them. One of the dishes was made of these large, flat, rubbery brown strips which I later came to find out was a kind of fungus. I actually liked it a lot; it was my favorite food on the table (besides the rice of course!). I've gotten to the point where I prefer using chopsticks instead of fork and spoon to eat. Chopsticks are super fang bian (convenient). One thing that I had to learn is that you do not bring the chopsticks from the bowl to your mouth; you actually bring the bowl up to your mouth and scoop the food with the chopsticks. You actually want less distance between the food and you. But don't lean down over the bowl, that's rude!

We had Zone conference this week. There are only four of these per year, and zone conference is split up into two areas: south and north. So I attended the south zone conference. I saw Elders Fronk and Raley there, and was very surprised to see Sister Chord there since she actually is in the north, but was teaching a class for the south conference. Sister Chord told me she sent my little sister a letter, complete with a lot of stickers, so I can't wait to hear how Britta likes it. She also told me that my super buff MTC companion since he has been here shrunk two neck sizes. We don't eat that much food in Taiwan (except when you are visiting people, and then they try to blow up your stomach with all kinds of dong xi ["stuff"]). And Sister Newman, of course, is on fire. She is a mega missionary. I always knew her to throw her entire self into everything she does.

During Zone conference they have a section where the trainer missionaries introduce their new companions that are fresh in the mission field. So Elder Cox prepared a very sweet ditty about me, in which he recounted an experience we had a week ago where a guy we were talking with turned to me and said, "You have very beautiful eyes." He went on to say that the reason my eyes are "beautiful" is because I have the Light of Christ in me, and people can see it. He really put a lot of effort into the introduction, and I am really grateful to have such an awesome companion (even if he doomed me to teasing from the other elders for the rest of my mission).

And Elder Cox, Elder Fronk, his trainer Elder Harper, and I sang "Come thou Fount" for Conference! Totally fun.

One good quote from the Conference: "Stress comes when your goals and your behavior are not aligned."

In Preach My Gospel, the missionary manual, it says in the first chapter that everyone at some point in their life wonders what their purpose is, and where they are going after this life. In Taiwan, however, that's not the case. You ask them if they have ever thought about their purpose, and they say no. You ask them if they ever wondered about where they are going after they die, and they say no. You ask them what they think makes them happy, and nine times out of ten they will say money. This makes things difficult because I've always valued the gospel on the spiritual level, but now I have to make it appeal to someone who lives and thinks in the current, physical realm. Doctrine like eternal families and everlasting salvation don't work. Instead, showing them how the gospel can strengthen our families now and how Christ's atonement can help us have happiness and success now is the better approach. It's helped me really widen my understanding of the gospel as well as distinguish the specific needs of investigators.

And the best part of the week: Rich got baptized!!! It was amazing to see his countenance change. He is totally solid, and to hear him bear his testimony afterwards was truly incredible. He has changed so much. On Sunday he was confirmed a member of the church, an ordinance following baptism where the individual receives a blessing and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He also qualified to have the Priesthood and will be receiving that next Sunday. He is so happy! We are thrilled to see the progress he is making. This week we talked to an American who told us he feels sorry for us Mormons because we are "forced to go around knocking door to door" doing missionary work. I felt sad for him because he doesn't know what it feels like to watch someone come closer to Christ and see the hand of God work miracles in their life. Just seeing Rich take that step made this whole mission worth it, and I am humbled and honored that I can continue to perform as an instrument in the Lord's hands.

Shout out to by bro Dillon, going to Xalapa, Mexico! And my other bro Collin, going to Sierra Leone Freetown! So many of my good buddies are going on missions, it's crazy. I'm so excited for all of you!

I love you, and remember, red lights at intersections are a suggestion, not a requirement. I think. At least in Taiwan. A lot of people seem to think so.

-Elder Jorgensen

“Hanging out with Elders Fronk and Harper on P-day.” (Preparation Day)

“The entrance to our apartment building.”

“Our room.”

Rich gets baptized!

“I love the happy look on his face, absolutely priceless. That’s the moment I live for.”

15 October 2012—Dividends for Mom

Greetings from Lingya!

This week on Wednesday I hit my one month marker in Taiwan. It's really hard to believe that I've been here this long; the time really flies by super-fast. Then again, I feel like I've been here for eternity too, it's quite confusing actually. The days are slow, the weeks are fast.

Rich had his baptismal interview, and he was found prepared and ready for it! He has really been working hard, and we have been excited and proud of his hard work in preparing to take part in this ordinance of salvation. It's incredible to see a guy who has seriously been investigating the church for eight years suddenly understand the gospel and thereafter exponentially grow in his testimony. One of the coolest things about Rich is that he seeks out missionary opportunities. One night we were going to meet with him at a Mai Dang Lao (McDonald's), and we arrived seeing him waving his arms and pointing at a nearby occupied table. We discovered he had started talking to this random guy and introduced the gospel to him, and the guy was remarkably receptive to what we said afterwards because Rich had done such a good job talking with him. In fact, we barely taught anything, he pretty much covered the whole lesson. I am convinced that God gave us this experience, not only to introduce to this man the gospel, but even more so to help Rich discover the strength of his testimony. Rich has been making visible leaps and bounds in his faith every day, and I am sure he will be a great leader in the future. This Saturday is his baptism, and I'm so excited!

One of our investigators took us to this restaurant that was called "Psalms 23", clearly sponsored by a Christian church. They gave us free Dong Guo cha (Melon tea) because we "knew the scripture".

By the way, Dong Guo cha is THE BEST. Sooo good—probably because it's chock full of brown sugar. (Perhaps you have heard already that there are some things that LDS members do not eat or drink, and that tea is one food we should not consume. I suppose I should mention here that Mormons can drink tea, as long as it is not "cha ye de cha", or tea leaf tea. So herbal tea is fine, but red, green, or black tea is not okay to drink.)

Taiwanese people are very friendly. They will usually hold some kind of conversation, even if they aren't interested in talking with missionaries. Some may even write down their name and a fake phone number because they don't want you to lose face. If they do reject you, the most they do is ignore you, never rude words or extreme reactions. I can count on my fingers on one hand how many rude responses I've got in the last month.

However. Foreigners are quite different. They know who we are, because Mormon missionaries like us are everywhere. And the responses we get from them are on opposite ends of the spectrum: either they are super nice and talk with you for half an hour or they do a vulgar hand gesture or curse at you. It's really just a toss-up. We met one nice one this week, his name is Travis and he's from California. He talked with us for a full hour, and what was pretty incredible was that he held a lot of the same beliefs as us, but came to those beliefs on his own.

For all males that are trying to get a permanent residence permit in Taiwan, pretty much the only thing you can do for work to qualify is teach English for five years. So you meet a lot of foreign guys here teaching English. There is a LOT of English schools out here in the city.

One day I was teaching English class, and after it was over I got in a discussion with one of the older students. Meanwhile, I could see two teenage girls out of the corner of my eye, and it appeared to me that they were egging each other on to talk to me. Eventually the younger one came over with a phone and asked if I had a Facebook. Oh. I didn't really know what to say exactly, because I have to be really careful about how I associate with girls. I told her I did have a profile, but that I wouldn't be on it for two years. I think that was a good way to handle it: they seemed a little disappointed. It's hard being a missionary and not being friends with girls... I feel that it's something that's not really in my nature, but it's necessary for my protection and staying focused on my purpose. At any rate, I'm going to follow the rules the best I can because I need all the divine assistance and blessings I can get.

I had a companion exchange this week, in which our Zone leaders and we trade off a companion for a day. It's a good way for people to get new ideas from each other and learn a little more about how to be effective missionaries. I had a few opportunities to teach lessons that day, and Elder Bailey, the Zone Leader who was with me, said he was very impressed with my ability to understand and speak the language. The next day he was inspired to issue me a challenge: Currently I am working on something called Phase 1, a book that is full of vocabulary, phrases, and scriptures from the missionary lessons in the mission language. I originally had a goal to memorize all the stuff in it by the end of January, which I was struggling to see how I was going to accomplish it anyway. Elder Bailey wanted me to cut that goal in half. He is my leader, and he has the authority to receive revelation on my behalf, so I know that he was inspired to give me that invitation. And I know that God prepares a way to accomplish every commandment he gives us. So I have to step forward in faith. This is scary, it's like leaping into the dark, but I'm going to do it. I trust I'm not being led off a cliff, but rather that I'm jumping onto safe ground.

The other night I was lying in bed talking with my companion, and we were talking about our mothers. I told him about how my little brother is autistic, and how my mom spent a lot of her time every single day to work with him on developing his communication skills. My brother would play little games with her, and I would get jealous. I would ask her if I could play with her too. So my mom made time to play with me every day as well. I said that my mom just did her best to be there for me and love me all the time. And then something just hit me. "Man, I miss my mom." And then I just started sobbing. I remembered all the little things that she did for me every day, never thinking of herself and the many things she had to do. I was always a priority to her. And I was so undeserving; I did so little in return. She really is amazing, beyond comprehension. It's sad that it takes separation from loved ones to fully appreciate the role they played in your life. I look forward to the day when I can come back and give her a big hug and tell her I love her.

General Conference was great, a mighty spiritual feast. Now that I've seen it, I'd like to recommend to you friends some great talks to look up on www.lds.org. If you are not a member of the Church, and you'd like to better understand what I'm doing as a missionary, check out Russell M. Nelson's talk in the Saturday Morning session. For our beliefs about our relationship with Christ (this is just amazing, it's a must see), go see Jeffery R. Holland's talk in the Sunday Morning session.

I think one of the biggest things I learned from conference was taking our relationship with the Lord seriously. Just as Christ asked the apostle Peter, he now asks us "Do you love me?" If we do, how committed are we in that answer? Do we love him, or do we love him with every fiber and sinew of our being? How do we show that love? How do we grow that love? Please, if you have some time, watch Jeffery R. Holland's talk. It illustrates this point so powerfully, I cannot do it justice.

I loved this quote as well: "God is never hidden, but sometimes we are" (Henry B. Eyring, Sunday Morning session).

I love you all, and hope you have another great week! I remind you that if you want to ask me questions or comment, feel free to do so here or on my Facebook profile. All those messages will be forwarded to me.

Love,

Elder Jorgensen

8 October 2012 - Investigators, Mushrooms, and English

Zao An! ("Good morning!")

Yet another incredible week has blown by, and I'm positively swimming with stuff to tell you.

Perhaps the biggest news is that we have two investigators that are moving towards baptism. One of them is set to be baptized on the 20th of October. He goes by the name Rich, and he is such an amazing guy! He is in his late 30's, and he has been investigating the church off and on for about 7 years. Before I came, Elder Cox and his companion had a breakthrough with him where he really understood why he needed the Church. Since then, he's been awesome in keeping commitments and getting ready for this ordinance. We are very happy for him, and I am very optimistic that he will be able to hit his goal. The other one we met through the English class we teach, and his name is Zhou. Zhou is in his early 20's, and he's very shy and very kind. What's funny is that Rich totally latched onto him and they have become amazing friends. Rich has told us several times that we really need to help and support Zhou because "he really needs this Church." Rich has done a great majority of the missionary work, bringing him to Church and different activities. Zhou does not have a baptismal goal yet, but he has been progressing through the lessons pretty fast and has been keeping commitments. We pray for the both of them every day and we see them making progress all the time. It's such a blessing to see how the gospel can change people's lives for the better.

And on to less important things, but noteworthy nonetheless...

There is this awesome couple in our stake that is good friends with Elder Cox, and I was introduced to them on Sunday. They told me that I was very "shui" (handsome), and that I looked like Justin Bieber.

 I was asked to play piano for Church. We're organizing a church choir as well, so I've been playing quite a bit! One day we had dinner at the ward mission leader's house with a few investigators and recent converts, and they asked me to play piano for them. When they saw me play, they all got really excited. On the following Sunday, I was attacked with sheet music and song recordings. :)

Taiwanese culture fact of the week: They do not acknowledge bodily functions that could cause embarrassment. If someone sneezes, coughs, burps, etc. you don't say anything or even look at them. During Ward council meeting this week, one of the ladies choked on her drink, and started coughing uproariously. She was completely ignored, even when I thought she was going to pass out from lack of breath.

Those who know me know I don't like mushrooms. We were at a young single adult activity, and we cleaned up a lot of dishes for them. To show their gratitude, the people gave us a nice big plate of mushrooms. I forced myself to eat all of them and smile, and I guess I was convincing because they asked if I wanted more. :) "Wo chi bao le!" ("I'm full!") They were so nice: on the way out the door we were laden with cookies, cakes, soda, and even a bag of meat.

Every week we teach English class. I teach the beginner class by myself, and the frustrating thing is that I don't have any curriculum to work off of, so I basically just plan the lesson that day and hope that I can do it. I've been really lucky; one girl named Apple has been translating a lot for me when I can't think of words. Her English is very good; I have no idea why she is in my class. I teach them an hour of English, and half an hour of something spiritual ("Spiritual Share"). It's been really stretching me and helping me cement the differences between Chinese and English in my head, especially with grammar concepts.

Now for a spiritual share!

Last week I delved a little bit into the priesthood, and there is a subject that stems from it that is of utmost importance. There are many offices in the priesthood (one of them being Elder), and there is one that is more important than the rest, and that is the role of the prophet.

You know those guys from the Bible that were basically the spiritual leaders of their time, people like Moses, Adam, and Noah? They are what we would call prophets. Prophets are people called and chosen by God to reveal spiritual truths to His children, and to guide and direct His Church. God has given him the priesthood authority to be a leader for all people on the earth. This priesthood authority can be traced back to Joseph Smith, who received it from Peter, James, and John (Christ's original apostles), and in turn bestowed it upon following officers of the Church.

Prophets receive spiritual truths through a process called revelation. Revelation is an instance where you receive promptings or knowledge from a divine source, namely the Holy Ghost, a spirit whose job is to protect and guide us. We are all entitled to revelation, but in order to receive revelation for others, you must have the authority to do so. Prophets have the authority to receive revelation for the entire church. 

There has never been a time when we needed a prophet more than now. There is a living prophet on the earth today, and his name is Thomas S. Monson. God has not left us alone; He has given us a guide. I testify that he is a prophet called of God, and that if we listen to and obey his words, we will be greatly blessed.

Twice a year we have the opportunity to hear from our prophet and other church leaders in a worldwide broadcast. One of these broadcasts took place this past weekend. I encourage you to visit www.lds.org, and hear what he has to say. Look up the October 2012 General Conference and you can find videos, podcasts, and text of the event.

I love you all, and have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Jorgensen
He looks happy and that warms this mother’s heart!

1 October 2012 - Pig's Blood and Fish Eyeballs

Hello all!
The food here is fantastic. I forgot to mention in my last email: My first two days I tried pig's blood and fish eyeball. The blood was decent, but the eyeball threw me for a loop. I expected something blubbery and squishy, but instead, if you can imagine, it's like a really tough nut coated in fat, with a thin clear shell that had the consistency and taste of plastic. I drank plenty of orange juice after that one. Street food is really good here. I discovered a new favorite, something called "turkey rice". It's, you guessed it, turkey and rice. Just put it in a bowl with some of the turkey juice, and plop a nice fried egg on top. Gooooood stuff. And I'm getting pretty skilled at the chopsticks; I'm not getting any more hand cramps.

Elder Cox has been pushing me hard, but we get along very well. He's sensitive to how I'm feeling about the culture shock, and he's done a good job helping me adapt and yet throw me in the middle of the work. Contacting people is getting easier, and while I still can't understand anything, the Spirit is helping me discern what they are saying. Elder Cox has been practicing with me quite a bit on talking with people. One cool thing about him is that he loves to sing, and he's a really good tenor. We sing every day before Companionship study. And to answer your question mom, he has been hit by a couple vehicles. One of them was a close call, a bus had him pinned up to a sidewalk curb, and his handlebars were catching on the side of the bus. Luckily the bus passed by right before he lost control of the bike.

The sisters in our zone had two baptisms this week, a mother and a daughter in this very sweet family. Brother Oba, the ward mission leader, asked me right before the meeting to give the opening prayer. We had an investigator with us and my companion was making calls, so I found myself frantically asking our investigator if he knew the last name of the family. I eventually thought I heard Brother Oba mention they were the Wu family at the beginning of the meeting, so I said the prayer and mentioned them in it. When I sat back down, I realized that they were not the Wu family, but the Pan family. Ugh. Brother Oba was cool about it; he understood that there is a definite learning curve when it comes to the language. But one thing is for sure, I am learning a lot about humility.

We contacted an awesome family the other day in a direct answer to our prayers. The father and mother were 20, and they had an adorable newborn with them. We talked some about the blessing of eternal families, and they arranged to meet with us on Tuesday. I'm very excited!

One night we came home to a bunch of cockroaches in our kitchen. We had a pretty good cockroach smashing fest; my favorite tool is a hefty water bottle. :)

Our ward (Lingya ward) held a primary program, and had fun little activities about preparing to serve a mission. Elder Cox and I got to come and teach them about what they needed to do to prepare. They are such sweet little kids!

I got a letter that had a fantastic question: "I understand you are an elder now. How do you become an elder?" For the sake of the reader, I will also address the question, "What is an elder?" To get a clear answer, you must take a step back and understand that an "elder" is an office of the priesthood.

The priesthood is simply the power of God. He used the priesthood to create the earth, and uses it now to accomplish His work and glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Christ worked his many miracles through the priesthood.

We as mortals can have this priesthood too. We need it because it is through the priesthood that saving ordinances like baptism and the sacrament are performed. Only worthy men can hold the priesthood (I will explain later). When a man receives the priesthood, they are given God's power and authority to carry out His will on the earth. In other words, they can only use this power when they are bringing about the salvation of mankind.

If someone holds the priesthood, they cannot use it unless someone in authority directs him to exercise it. For instance, I cannot baptize somebody unless my mission president authorizes me to do so. This is important to understand because we believe that this authority was lost when Christ's apostles were killed long ago, and that this authority was restored when these apostles, now resurrected beings, bestowed it upon the prophet Joseph Smith.

To become an elder, a person in authority officially set me apart for this office. Elders are called to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the Church. That person gave me the authority to exercise the priesthood in this capacity.

Now why can't women hold the priesthood? I'm afraid I do not have an official answer, as many people even within the Church don't really know why. I can tell you my limited understanding. Men are called to provide and protect, to carry out the work of God. Women are called to rear and raise children. In today's world where such a large effort has been made to prevent the oppression of women, this may seem remarkably discriminatory. But I firmly believe that these duties are equal in importance. In reality, the power of the priesthood benefits everyone, regardless of gender. And the power to have children benefits everyone as well. This is why family units are so important in the Church: the husband provides the priesthood to the family, and the wife provides the nurturing of children.

Happy moon festival everyone! And remember, don't point at the moon, or it will fall down and smash you! (I'm completely serious here, by the way. If you point at the moon here, people freak out.)

Love,
Elder Jorgensen Elder Jorgensen with his MTC companion Elder Christiansen—his first and  very awesome companion.

 
Elder Cox—Elder Jorgensen’s first (and equally awesome) companion in the field.


“Doesn't that exit sign remind you absurdly of the game "Portal"? Just like exit signs in America, they are everywhere here.”

24 September 2012 - First days in Taiwan

I LOVE TAIWAN!!! It is so incredible here. I have no idea how I can possibly describe it all, so I guess I'll just have to start at the beginning.

On the day we left, we all got into a bus and took off to the airport, and in our group there were about 45-50 Mandarin speakers going. Everyone was excited and slightly nervous; especially when we left the walls of the MTC (we hadn't been outside the campus for 3 months). The flight to LAX was good, no problems. I sat down next to a couple on their way to Hawaii, but it was clear they were very uninterested in talking with me; perhaps it was the obvious Mormon missionary appearance. So I only said a little hello and how they were doing, and pretty much remained quiet for the duration of the trip.

We had a three hour layover at LAX, so we went phone hunting to see if we could call home for a little while. It was great to hear familiar voices of those I love so much. But I had to go pretty soon after because the gate was calling for us, and for some reason they had to take my carry-on because it was too heavy, so I had to sign for the luggage and board the plane.

And then commenced the longest plane ride ever . . . it was 14 hours, and I had no movies or games to distract me from the limited leg room. All the people in my row were missionaries, so I couldn't do any proselyting. I was sitting next to Sister McKay (also going to Taichung), so I talked with her for a lot of the trip. Turns out she's related to the prophet David O. McKay. I felt kind of dumb for not making that connection.  Sister Newman sat in front of me, but she slept the whole way there. As for me, I couldn't sleep at all. And when we landed, it was the worst landing I've ever experienced. Since the plane is so big, the pilots use cameras mounted on the bottom of the plane to see the runway, and for the passengers' enjoyment they put the video feed on the TV screens. So I watch as the camera, knocked askew in mid-flight, captures the plane hitting the runway at the wrong angle, and the plane starts swerving back and forth to stay on the runway. That was pretty fun, to say the least.

All of us going to Taichung got on a bus and went to the mission home located in the heart of the city. At night in Taiwan, most trucks and buildings are decorated with flashing green, red, and blue LED lights. It felt like I entered some form of "arcade land". Half the people on our bus were native Taiwanese missionaries, and we got to talk with them a little bit. We all introduced ourselves, and learned a little bit from our mission president (who is super awesome, by the way) about what Taiwan is like. That night five others and I stayed at our mission financial secretary's home.

For the next day, we had orientation and tried out the native food. Imagine the humidity of western Washington, multiply it by two and crank up the temperature to 95 Fahrenheit. And the streets are crazy. The majority of traffic is scooters and motorcycles, and then some cars. You really have to keep on your toes, there's a lot of frantic driving. One thing I love about the streetlights here is that a lot of them have countdowns next to red lights. This is especially helpful when you are contacting people on scooters, so you know how much time you have left to talk with them before the light turns green. Also, if you are a pedestrian waiting to cross the street, they have this little animated picture of a man walking when it's time to cross: when there are only a few seconds left, the man starts walking faster and faster until it's in a full-on sprint. Very funny, and gets the message across.

That night we got up on a soap box in the night market and preached, just to get the heebie-jeebies out of us, and then we went contacting. I believe the mission office published a video, it may be online . . . a very fun and yet insane experience.

I met my new companion a few days ago, his name is Elder Cox. He'll be training me for the next twelve weeks. He reminds me a lot of my dad in his mannerisms. He likes to use a lot of witty humor. He's very experienced, and speaks really good Chinese and Taiwanese. We are stationed in downtown Gaoxiong, a large city towards the south of the island. Our area is strictly city, no rural areas. I've had to get used to biking in the road amongst all the scooters. It hasn't been that hard, but apparently I haven't experienced a real rush hour yet... we'll see how that goes.

We have a nice apartment, and our neighbors are pretty quiet too. We've had a few cockroaches but they haven't been very big, and not very many. And the air-conditioner is heavenly.

We had stake conference on Sunday, which was held in a High School auditorium outside our area, so we had to take the subway. The meeting was two hours long, and I didn't understand a single word. My brain pretty much imploded: I had to fight off sleep by stabbing my hand with my pen. After the meeting I got to meet the bishop and a lot of members and recent converts, which was a lot of fun. They were all really nice, and it was fun to see them struggle with pronouncing my name. But they were laughing as well when I struggled to hold a conversation. The other day I contacted a guy on a bike at a stoplight, and at one point he said something I didn't understand, so I said, "Sorry, I don't understand, my Chinese isn't too good," to which he laughed and responded, "I know!" and drove off.

Right now we have a few investigators working towards baptism, and one of them is scheduled for it in four weeks. We taught him about prayer and how it's a commandment, and he responded well. He seems to really get this, and I can see the Spirit working in him. Today we are giving our first lesson to a guy named Zeng, and I'm leading the lesson. Wish me luck!

I've already made another friend as well. He goes by Tyler, and he's this crazy, funny early 20's Taiwanese guy who works in the Navy. He wants to serve a mission in a year, and he loves hanging out with the other missionaries. In fact, he's determined to have me as his "little brother", and really wants to be a part of our family. So watch out mom, you might be getting some Facebook messages soon.

I love these people, It's truly a wonderful place. I hope someday I can come back with my parents after my mission.

And I love all of you too! Hope you are all doing well, and I wish you a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Jorgensen

20 September 2012 - Elder Jorgensen has landed!

David made it safely to Taiwan. What a great looking group of missionaries!