Merry Christmas

I just realized I have quite a bit to write to you...I completely forgot to tell you about our Christmas Activity we had last Thursday! I was the captain of our bus...which only meant that I had to take head counts and if anyone got left behind it was my fault. I did get to talk on the microphone though. :) We went to Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County. It was kind of cloudy, but it was still a very beautiful day. I actually really liked this year's activity because Sun Moon Lake and the two other stops around it are up in the mountains where it's really clear and beautiful. We took a mission picture at the pagoda and then went to another temple and then to a little touristy town where we could buy souvenirs. Like I told you, I was intending to buy some souvenirs, but there was nothing I really wanted there. If I'm going to spend my money, I want something I like that I could keep in my house always. I was looking for some Chinese wall scrolls, but mostly all they had was aborigine stuff that looked just like what you could buy in Moab or Mexico, etc. What more evidence do you need? The Book of Mormon says that Hagoth sailed away and nobody knows where they ended up. Looks like some of them ended up on Taiwan.

Then for dinner we went to the Taichung Steak House like last year. It was really tasty. Especially because this year I avoided the steaks and went for stuff like Mongolian barbecue. Finally, we returned to the mission office chapel and had a Christmas devotional, and then we rode our bus all the way back home. It was a lot of fun, especially just getting to see all the other missionaries, like Elder Larson, Elder Mohr, and Elder Turk. I'll send an email of pictures later.

We're seeing some great blessings in terms of our investigators, too. Brother (name) is willing to be baptized this Saturday...he just needs to tell his parents. They said he could come to church, so I hope and pray that they won't oppose him making his own decision on baptism. We were blessed to find a family of former investigators and started teaching them, too. They've been Christian for four years now, and all because the wife had a dream one night that the Holy Ghost spoke to her. So she instantly converted to Christ and convinced her whole family to go with her. They don't have a church, really--she doesn't think it's important, because as long as you just believe in Jesus you're saved. Didn't He Himself say that not everybody who says "Lord, Lord" will enter into His kingdom, but he who doeth the will of the Father? They're a really nice family, though, and I think they have a lot of potential.

We just got back from a Christmas dinner at a barbecue place, which was very tasty. I ate a lot of sushi and grilled meat.
Well, I think that's just about it. I love you all so much and I'll talk to you again next week.

Love,
Carter