Typhoon Megi is coming!
This last week was super fun! We finally got a pretty good sized typhoon that I’ve been waiting for for a while now! Typhoon Megi came near Taiwan Monday night and by Tuesday it started to get really rainy and windy. Monday night we got the text message that we shouldn’t go outside on Tuesday…because of the typhoon we ended up staying inside all day and cleaning the house/calling people/playing games. This probably counts as the first “real” typhoon I’ve seen, since the ones I’ve experienced before haven’t really hit Taipei at all – they mainly hit southern Taiwan. Taiwan’s government declared Tuesday and Wednesday to be typhoon days, so work and school were all shut down: first because the typhoon was bad, and then the next day to have time to clean up all the mess from it. (Thanks, Ting Ting, for the visual of Typhoon Megi…and the worst was yet to come!)
Just another day with Ray…
From the original Godfather…
Last Pday we went to the National Palace Museum! Even though I’ve been there before, it was still really fun. Last time I went, I only saw the Terracotta Warriors, since it was a special exhibit. This time, I was able to see a lot of the rest of the regular museum and exhibits. The museum is big enough that you really need an entire day to go through everything…or maybe even two days.
Peacock Spreading It’s Tail Feathers
Jadite nestled in some Nephrite
Amber snuff bottle, Amber Mandarin Duck Couple, and Lapis Lazuli carving in Mountain Style
Trying to capture the feeling of serving…
It’s “unclear” as to what these two are up to… (Thanks, Carol, for the photo of our Elder!)
Last Sunday was really awesome because we had a member who brought a friend with him to church! This member actually got into an accident a couple weeks ago. He was driving his scooter on the road when this taxi coming from the other direction spins out of control (it was raining…he probably hydroplaned) and into the oncoming traffic hitting 3 motorcyclists – one of which was our member. One motorcyclist was killed instantly, one was seriously injured, and our member walked away from it feeling fine. Because of all the adrenaline and him paying attention to the others and trying to help them, it wasn’t until he got home later that day that he realized he had actually broken several ribs. When we went up to him and his friend at church this last week and asked how long they had known each other, our member friend said, “Two weeks”! And then we realized who his friend was – the taxi driver. The person who hit Brother Wang and two others, killing one of them, was now Brother Wang’s friend. It was pretty amazing. The taxi driver feels horrible about what happened that day. I don’t know all the details of the accident, but it seems like for the most part, it was just that – a complete accident because of the water on the road. He likes coming to church and learning the things we teach him; we’ve been able to set a baptismal goal with him of October 29th.
Bug burgers? With Chef Simonson at the grill, who knows?!!!
This upcoming Thursday is transfer day again! Since I’ve only been here for one transfer, I most likely will not move, but will instead get a new companion. I hope I stay though! We’ve got about five baptisms that are scheduled for this month that will hopefully all turn out well!
台灣是最棒的！
(Taiwan is the best!)
– Elder Austin Simonson
文長老