BAN JIA!
The subject of today's email is ban jia.....which means.....MOVE HOME!!!!!!! YES. the unthinkable has happened, and I have left my beautiful first area behind!!!!!!!!! We knew that we would find out for sure about the move call on Saturday night. My trainer Sister K. has been in the same district since April because she served in a neighboring district and then came here. We were so sure that she would move. Saturday was an extremely nerve-wracking day, and we did all we could to stay focused, but we were so nervous to get the phone call. The Elders finally called us at 9:45 p.m. and said, "the fax didn't print out very clearly so we can't read it too well but all we know is that Sister K. is staying here and Sister Mack is leaving." My heart was broken. I was so emotionally unprepared I literally sat there with my mouth hanging open for like 10 minutes because I didn't want to start packing. It was hard to leave and I felt like bawling my eyes out, but I was too stunned. I said a lot of prayers to feel more peace about it, because it is a really exciting adventure to move somewhere else, but my first area has been so precious to me...I honestly feel like I could serve my entire mission there, and I would love every second of it. Church on Sunday was rough...saying goodbye to everyone and giving like, a farewell testimony. It was great though, because so many of the members were like "Ni de zhongwen jinbule hen DUO!!!!" (my chinese improved a ton haha). One girl in particular, my friend Ling Mei, was bawling her eyes out and I felt so bad. But it really touched my heart, and I felt like my being there actually made a difference to at least one person. She's totally amazing.

SO I have moved 3 hours north of my first area to a great little district. It is in Taizhong and we are very close to the mission office and I'm pretty sure we also get to go to the Taipei temple one of these P-days so that will be sweet. My new companion is totally legit. Sister T. from Canada. She is a rugby star so I'd say we have a lot in common, but she's actually good at rugby...so...yeah. She's really really cool though. I feel great about being here and just know these next 6 weeks are going to be full of miracles and adventures that I could not even dream of.

The train ride up here was really fun. I was sitting with my MTC companion Sister G's trainer, and we just talked the whole time and watched the rice paddies go by. Not infrequently I become overjoyed with the realization that I AM LIVING IN TAIWAN and that the hour of my mission is every moment of my life....it's so cool, and I'm so happy to be here!! I am starting things off the right way in my new area....it'll be a few days before my bike and luggage get here, so I have to borrow the extra bicycle in the area. This afternoon two Elders were "ghost riding" said extra bike to our apartment, which means they are both on their own bikes and they drag the other bicycle along between them. We were sitting at our apartment waiting for it to come when one of the Elders called to apologize for the delay, but he had been HIT BY A CAR while ghost riding, and had to make a quick stop at the hospital!!!! When we finally met up with them, he had a fat lip and a bunch of cuts on his face. His pants and shirt were torn!! He had a big smile, though, and waved and yelled "Welcome, Sister Mack!!!!!!!" I was stunned. The moral of the story is, I get to work with some incredible people here in Taiwan...I am constantly undone by the goodness of the people around me. I love being able to see that light in others and feel it touch my heart.

Ok....I can't even remember what else I wanted to tell you because moving homes has made me a little dizzy, so I'm just going to tell a couple stories and then stop writing, because I'll just ramble horribly like I always do.

Monkey Mountain. Ok last Pday me, Sister K., and some otha sistahs went to Monkey Mountain....I take back that whole sentence I mentioned last week about it being a magical place because as it turns out, it's terrifying. The monkeys are wild, ferocious, and territorial. One of the sisters who came with us actually went the week before and had a horrible encounter with a pack of monkeys. She forgot that an innocent little bag of pretzels were laying hidden in the bottom of her bag. She noticed a monkey was looking at her. He cocked his head and then leaped at her and clung to her leg, tearing at her bag. "Throw your bag! Throw your bag!" her companion was screaming. Sister Smith threw her bag, and then a pack of monkeys flew out from the trees and emptied out the contents, fighting viciously for the pretzels!

This time, we made sure none of us brought food. One of the sisters had a waterbottle on the outside of her bag though, and a monkey flew at her, stole the waterbottle, and started EATING IT. Uhhhhh.......yeah. At first everything seemed fine, and we didn't see any mokeys. But as we got higher up the mountain, they started climbing out all over the path, picking bugs out of each other's fur....one patchy old white fellow was tearing his own hair out and eating it..it was vile. I grabbed onto my friend Sister S. (the one who survived the attack from the previous week) and said "I don't like this, I want to leave." I was afraid to even make eye contact with the monkeys cause they would start snarling. I got a little panicky and begged the other sisters to turn the flash off their cameras cause I was sure it would agitate the monkeys and that we'd all be killed. Somehow we made it out alive, though. I never want to go back there.

Halloween: Sister K. and I had a very special sort of Halloween celebration this week. There's an American guy living in the area who runs a buxi ban (cram school. they are all over Taiwan and kids go to do extra study after school). He is a less active and is kind of a lonely fellow. He wanted to have a special Halloween party for his English students and needed some help getting it set up, so Sister King and I called our investigator Yao JieMei to come with us. We blew up and tied like 200 little balloons..which left our fingers raw and chalky. Then we went around to all the little shops in the neighborhood asking if they would be willing to participate in trick-or-treating for which we provided the candy. Yao JieMei became our spokesperson and seemed quite proud of herself, marching down the street and explaining the activity perfectly in a way that Sister K. and I could never even dream of doing.

Missionary activity. On Saturday we had a special missionary activity for the youth in our stake. Sadly, only about 12 or 13 kids showed up, and only 2 of them were girls. One came with us, and we had a lesson with Yao JieMei. After that we were going to go contacting for families and Yao JieMei was like "Hey where are you going?? Can I come????" So we went out to an intersection where we had a few posters that said things like "Do you want a happier family?" and we handed out fliers with different quotes about the importance of families and how the gospel blesses families, along with the church address and website, and missionaries’ phone numbers (they were actually a huge pain to make, but it turned out great). Yao JieMei was a total rock star. She was nervous at first, and I patted her on the back and told her to say a prayer in her
heart. Then she marched out into the street and talked to tons of people. It was such a beautiful thing to see. At one point this group of teenagers like halfway crossed the street and were standing on a little island waiting for the light to change so they could keep crossing, and Yao JieMei was like, "I have to go talk to them!" So she headed towards them and then almost got hit by a car, so I grabbed her and was like heeeeey lady, don't sacrifice your safety. It was amazing to see her so determined and willing and happy to share this message with everyone she saw. I miss her so much already....did I tell you she bought me some truffles from Costco last week? I can't believe I was torn away from her and all the people I love so much in my first area. I have a lot of addresses to write to people and stuff, but I can't write very many characters yet....guess I better put the pedal to the metal.

Ether 12. Spiritual share.....Ether 12:39, 41

"I have seen Jesus, and [...] he hath talked with me face to face, and [...] he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language concerning these things."
"I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen."

These verses really stirred my Spirit as I read them this week....the more I study the scriptures and apply them to my life and interactions with people on the street, investigators in lessons, teaching English class on Wednesday nights.....the more I feel as though I see my Savior face to face. I see Him face to face when I read these scriptures because through the power of the Holy Ghost it is in a language and manner of speaking that I can understand. Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost are real beings....this gospel is TRUE!!! I see Christ face to face when I tell Ling Mei I am leaving the area, and her eyes well with tears, and she hugs me as if she really loved me. I see Christ face to face when I meet with less active members of the Church, and they can trust me enough to confide in me and ask me if the gospel is really true and what can they do to find it again, and I can tell them with complete confidence that if they seek the guidance of their loving Heavenly Father through prayer, they will find their way. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by here....I am done being trained! HOW is that possible? I am in my second area and on to my third companion....I never could have dreamed this far into my mission and there was a long time I was afraid I'd never make it. But I'm here and I am living it and I am loving it.

I love you all. Pray for you every single day :)
love love love
Sister Coco Mack Ke JieMei