Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Rotating Out the 72-Hour Kits!

How big a job is replenishing 200+ Emergency Backpacks?
Several trips to Costco: in Taichung, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung. Not to mention Carrefour, RT-Mart, Food Materials Mall, Stationery 101, etc. Our senior couples assisted me in combing the island for everything we needed, from canned peaches to peanut butter and flashlights to toilet paper!
Then came the assembly process. Members from local wards helped us tremendously:
Showing appreciation for their service:
All the food had to be ready to be filled into backpacks: packaging removed, boxes broken down and recycled, etc.:
Each missionary arriving at zone conference checked their Emergency Backpack in:
Our senior couple and special assignment elders filled each up with fresh food and supplies:
It was an enormous task, and we're so grateful for the support of our missionaries!

5-12-15 Zone Conference - Taichung

For this round of zone conferences, President selected the talk given during last year's Provo MTC Mission Presidents' Seminar by Bishop Causse entitled, "The Consecrated Missionary." Each missionary comes prepared to share their views and the discussions are so inspiring. 
President also invited the local stake presidents to come and share a few minutes with our missionaries. President He was just called to serve as stake president over the Taichung South Stake. Together with his wife, the two were baptized 21 years ago, after which he sent his wife to church and he himself went to work instead. After about a year, his wife got tired of being asked where her husband was on Sundays, and was reluctant to attend church as well. One day, President He thought to himself, how would he answer when the Lord asked him why their family hadn't been sealed in the temple? He imagined his wife would say it was because her husband didn’t take her. This reflection inspired him to call the missionaries and asked them what he needed to do to prepare to have an eternal family. Three months later, he took his family to the Taipei temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. His message to our missionaries: never give up on your investigators and recent converts!
Our local missionaries translated the conference into English.
We hope this will develop their translation skills and enable them to further give service to the Church.
New missionaries were introduced by their trainer companions:
July and August birthdays:
Missionaries departing at the end of transfer gave their reflections:
Costco pizza, oh yeah!








Some took a quick lunch so they could prepare for their afternoon presentations:


Afternoon training included zone leader training on commitments and following up.
Taichung West Zone:
Taichung East Zone
Taichung South Zone:
APs find out what people on the streets of Kaohsiung think about going to church:
Moving north to the streets of Taichung:
And afterwards instructed on extending invitations to attend church and conducted a practice: 













President Liao joined us during the afternoon session. The first time he saw missionaries on the street, he witnessed several people reject them, and felt it wasn’t very polite. So approached the elders and agreed to meet with them. He felt indebted to those missionaries for not giving up, despite being rejected, and felt so blessed that they were able to teach him the gospel. He remembered the day they came over to Skype their families for Christmas. Being in his home, they brought such happiness into his heart, it was difficult to describe. One of the elders sang to his family. The other elder found it difficult to hang up with his family. He realized how difficult it was and how much our missionaries sacrifice to represent Jesus Christ. Through the example of the missionaries, he developed the faith that he could also likewise come unto Christ. He told our missionaries they were all angels sent from God!
A special thank you to these missionaries for sharing their talents with us in a beautiful musical number, "Seek This Jesus," written and composed by one of the sister's mother!
Taichung East, West, and South Zones:

5-13-15 Zone Conference - Jiayi

President leading the discussion on "The Consecrated Missionary," focusing on the difference between sacrifice (coming on a mission) and consecration (leaving the world behind).

President Du of the Jiayi District came to address the missionaries. He spoke of his first home teaching companion after he joined the Church. His companion set a great example of service for him in watching over the members of the Church through monthly visits. Then one day at stake conference, he noticed his home teaching companion was seated on the stand and discovered his home teaching companion was also his stake president! He was humbled by his stake president unassuming and diligent service. 
We can all testify that President Du is in the very same way a humble servant of God!
President Chen, President's first counselor in the mission presidency, also attended the conference. He shared the scripture D&C 124:6-8 and discussed what a privilege it was to be called as missionaries, and encouraged our missionaries to be dignified in their callings.
July and August birthdays:
Pizza lunch, thank goodness for Costco!











The Schwieders helped us during all three conferences, coming up to the north and working their way down with us to the south. How grateful we are for their service!
Afternoon training included zone leader training on commitments and following up.
Tainan Zone:

Jiayi Zone:
Zhongxing Zone:

APs carrying on the tradition of their presentation opening act:
"Oh...didn't see you there!"
New missionaries were introduced by their trainers:
Missionaries departing at the end of transfer gave their reflections:
Zhongxing, Jiayi and Tainan Zones: