Week 56 on the Island

Hey!!

Yes! Get June and Esther going at piano! That will be super cool. Have you gotten the piano Tuned lately? I know that learning to play a tuned guitar is a lot better then playing an out of tuned one.

Wow! Isaac is in the MTC. You should get me his address. I would love to be in contact with him!

I have been putting a lot of prayer and study into setting some goals that I want to focus on for this next little time in my life. I had the chance to share them with President Bishop last night in a nice chat. (It is really nice when you are right next door and will occasionally have small talk with the President at the water cooler). He liked what I had come up with and gave me some ideas and pointers. I also had the privilege of asking my companion for a blessing for me to focus on these goals. I have basically taken a look at who I am now and really examined. After that I came up with a list of things that I would like to change and really see improvement with. Not just while I am still in the field but for the rest of my life.

Thank you for praying for my safety as I drive. It really is a stressful thing sometimes. This past week, we had zone conference. It just so happens that it is also Chinese New Years. Huge celebrations. And EVERYBODY goes back to their ρ產 or the place their parents live. The streets were horrible. On the drive down on wednesday night, It took 5 hours to get from い to 蔼动. That is usually only a 3ish hour drive. And it was just as bad on the way back up on Thursday night. So yeah, driving was crazy.

I did get a couple of cool pictures of the cello. It's going to be really cool it looks like. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I hope that the pick-up is good too. Sometimes, you can luck out on cheap things from foreign countries and sometimes they steal 4 dollars from you. I remember how sad lila was when she got that violin that wasn't super great. But hey, 4 dollars is definitey worth it.

Just a short story and then I need to be finishing up here. Yesterday, a man from New Zealand walked in and asked, "Do you believe in Zionism?" Elder Siebert went and got Elder Liston, the senior missionary that does finance. It was mine and his privileged to talk to this man about the beliefs of the church and our ties to Israel and Politics. It turns out that he is writing a book. He had been in Taiwan for 5 years doing some studies of the people from a foreigner's point of view. It was something that he was really caught up in and I could tell he had taken a lot of time on this. Although Elder Liston did a lot of the talking, I was happy as the discussion turned to a topic that I actually knew about; the Restoration of the Church and the Book of Mormon. I am grateful for the simple testimony that I have that the Church is true. As I shared a short bit of my testimony with him of how God really can answer your prayers, I know that it caught him off guard and was different to him. I hope that he takes the chance to read the copy of the Book of Mormon we gave him. I know that is will help a lot. Put a good focus into his mind and life. Something of eternal worth.

Thank you so much for all of you love and caring from home. I ‘m focusing and doing the best that I can, especially in this great new position. I hope that you have a wonderful week! -Elder Sanford