xin de zhihui‏

Hey everyone,

Homecoming talk December 29th? I can do that. I just hope I won't fall asleep.

Things keep going, here. There are good and bad moments, happy and sad, faithful and faithless moments. Here's something I was thinking about this week:

My new ward is in central Taipei; it is the oldest, larges, and probably the wealthiest ward in all of Taiwan. The vibe there and the interactions among members and missionaries are the mos similar to a Utah ward since I have seen, since coming to Taiwan. People's knowledge of the gospel is more deep and thorough, the teachers are more articulate and polished, and people tend to be more devoted to their callings. There are more families in this ward, rather than a large collection of random individuals who missionaries brought in. These families tend to be second or third generation church members, rather than first generation members. People dress nicer, and are just more "classy" people, I guess you could say. In many ways, this ward--while imperfect--exemplifies the kind of ward we are encouraged to build in other parts of Taiwan.

Yet these smaller, younger, poorer, "weaker" wards and branches get things that my new ward does not. People are more open with their lives, elsewhere. Talks and lessons are more simply, less logical, and less thought-provoking, perhaps,  but more vulnerable in what people share. When people lose the fire of their testimony, they just stop coming to church rather than floating around out of habit, like they might in a more established ward. That means that the ones who stay have a strong feeling of community among them. In Tucheng, there were always several members who would hang out at the church literally all day on Sunday just because they loved the feeling there--a sense of belonging and love they didn't get outside. Other wards also tend to take care of missionaries really well; it is an honor to invite us to go eat at their houses, and they are always excited to talk to us and I've been given countless free stuff--skirts, scarves, musical instruments, notebooks, pens, etc.--from members who want to make us happy. These wards have a lot of room for progress in terms of spirituality, gospel knowledge, keeping commandments, etc. And yet they are just so delightfully humble, and good.

A couple of weeks ago we went to visit our bishop. He said that one reason a lot of members don't invite missionaries over to eat is because they are just too busy with their jobs, because everyone is worried about the economy. All the wards I have served in previous to this one are nowhere near as financially blessed, but this is the first time I have ever heard any member complain about the economy.

There is so much beauty in things that are still in the process. Sometimes it feels like we are always waiting to get to a higher level of strength or spirituality or knowledge, but somehow all we ever need is already contained within every day.

This goes along with a theme in my life that I have been trying to  figure out, lately. I want to find a balance between ambition and enjoyment, reaching forward into the future to become something better and loving the way my life currently is.  Before my mission I was always too hard on myself and never let myself be satisfied. On my mission I have learned the beauty of enjoying and appreciating simple things, like a good bowl of noodles or my companion's really long story about how her parents met. But giving entirely into enjoyment leads to a really dissatisfying feeling of laziness and complacency. There really is a sweet spot that needs to daily, over and over again, be found in the middle of things, in between ambition and appreciation. Does anyone have any other thoughts about that?

I think somehow, that's what God is able to miraculously do for all of us. His love reaches us wherever we are, whatever our circumstances look like. And Moses 1 leads me to believe he really does find a sort of enjoyment in our simple existence. And yet there is never any point where he says simple existence is all there is forever; he always wants us to become more, to live more fully, to gain wisdom and clarity to see the world.

I am going to go get on a train in a few minutes. President is sending a bunch of missionaries to the east coast of Taiwan, the quiet, slow-paced, dreamy on-the-coast places with trees and jungles that everyone always wants to get sent to. He is putting several extra missionaries there this week for a "power-finding activity", so all we will do is contact people all day every day. I get to go; I am so excited!! Be expecting really good pictures, next week.

Love you all!

Diana