Weekly Report: New companion, tempura, baptism

Dear All,
This week was great! First off, today is move day. Much to my surprise (and Elder Wilson's) I'm staying in Douliu for another transfer. Elder Wilson moved to Heng3Chun1 (the southern most tip of Taiwan, which is much hotter than up here [seriously, like fifty people told him that yesterday]) this morning. It was kind of surreal. My new companion is Elder Harris. He's from Orem as well, so we're good friends already. Not really. I didn't know him. He went to Timpanogas, and I'm pretty sure he's younger than me. This is his fifth move call, and my third, so between the two of us, we have six move calls of experience. Wow, we're so young. I'm totally thrilled to go do missionary work this move call.

Food Review: Tempura
Yes, Mom, I finally had it. Fried tempura was my favorite thing I had last time I was in Taiwan, and I'm happy to say that I love it just as much as back then. It's basically fried fish paste with Taiwanese white pepper on top, but it is so wildly divine that I have to resist the lure everytime I ride by the place I now know sells it. It doesn't taste fishy at all; it tastes more like a slice of heaven. That is, if that slice of heaven was deep fried and then rolled in seasoning. 5 euphoric epiphanies out of 5.

Shirt Review
This is just for my dad. I saw one this morning that said "Math Sucks." While I would never dare use such language, I was happy to see that the Taiwanese sympathy for math is about the same as the American. Sorry, old man! 4 cultural transcendencies out of 5.

I can't think of a good excuse I heard this week. Sorry, folks.

The Numbers Update:
I've decided to start tracking the number of times I explain my racial heritage. This last move call (excluding the first week) I've explained my racial heritage on 106 different occasions. It's fairly intense. I should tape a sign to my head that says, "Yes, I know I look Taiwanese. My mom is Taiwanese and my dad is American. Yes, that is good. Yes, I am handsome." (They really do tell me I'm really good looking cause I'm mixed blood).

This weekend, we had the baptism of Li2 wen2 shi4. He's from Vietnam, but his Chinese is really pretty good. He works in a factory in Douliu, but the factory is more like a prison. The guards at the front take his foreign residency card from him, so he's only allowed to leave if they let him. Nevertheless, he was super prepared to hear the gospel, and from the first time we gave him the Vietnamese Book of Mormon, he started reading daily. I'm convinced that this is really what helped him to progress the most. It was a hard long haul to get him baptized because he had such a hard time getting out to come to church. One week, he was all set to go, and then a coworker got drunk, so he was forced to work instead. Brother Li2 was always so eager to meet with us that he'd call us up whenever he managed to get out of the factory, and he'd call every night. One night, he called Elder Wilson and said, "I just don't get it." Elder Wilson was unsure what he meant, so he asked, "Don't get what?" to which Brother Li2 replied, "How can Nephi's brothers be so stupid?" He's truly great, and I know that the Lord prepared him with good enough Chinese because He knew Brother Li would hear the Gospel here in Taiwan.

This week, I'd like to challenge every one to recommit to read the Book of Mormon each day. It worked wonders for Brother Li, and I can truly see the effect it has on other investigators when they choose to read or not to read. The Book of Mormon is truly divinely prepared for our day, and has the power to change our hearts and help us build faith. I hope that all of you will recognize what a treasure we have to possess this marvelous book. If you will all find time to read each day, I can promise you will slowly see yourself progress more and more.

I love you all, and wish the best of weeks to you,
Elder Siebert