Leofoo World

     WHOOOHOOO! Last pday was awesome! Thanks for the prayers everyone, they were answered and I had an amazing time.  We went to Leofoo Village Theme Park, the best theme park in Taiwan. It's a combination of Lagoon, Disneyland, Hogle Zoo, and Universal Studios all rolled into one.  We had the park to ourselves, the weather was perfect, and we didn't have to wait in lines! It was everyone's dream theme park experience!  Basically, it's a smaller theme park kind of like Lagoon. It is made up of four sections:  American West, South Pacific (like Hawaii), Middle East, and a Zoo section. Kinda random. Not many roller coasters or scary rides, which is good for me. I don't know if the Taiwanese don't like fast rides. It was totally worth the $20 dollars entry price.  I feel bad Taiwan doesn't have a Disneyland, but there is one in Shanghai.  (Unfortunately, not a lot of Taiwanese are able to go because of airfare costs.)

     The past few weeks, everyone has been getting ready for the Moon Festival. We've been eating moon cakes, as well as this fruit. It's big and green and looks like a bear, but in the inside it's like a big orange. 

More fun facts about Taiwan:

- There's a bunch of Disney stuff, everywhere. Some of the most popular include Stitch from Lilo, and Stitch (I don't know why, that movie is kinda old. I see him on people's cars and such. Kinda funny), Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Frozen (little girls wear Frozen clothing, there's some that come to church in Frozen dresses), and Toy Story.

- A lot of youth wear colored contacts, so they look interesting. Their eyes look not so real.

- When we call people, sometimes instead of hearing the phone ring, a popular song comes on. Kind of like when there's music when you're put on hold, but instead you hear a song while waiting for the other person to pick up. It's really funny when we are calling adult men and they have some girly pop song come up when we call.

- I see a lot of bats at night.

- The area I am serving in is called Xinzhu, which means New Bamboo, which is kinda funny, since I haven't seen much bamboo except at the college. Also, Xinzhu is called the Windy City (like Chicago), because it is windy. It has been a blessing, especially in the hot summer. Super grateful to be here in the summer, the wind really helps beat the heat.

Spiritual:

     At church, my companion and I sang "Joseph's First Prayer" to the tune of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." So spiritual and it was a very pretty arrangement. Want to sing it at my homecoming.  Also, a successful missionary-led fireside.

Funny Story:

     We ate lunch with our ward mission leader and the Zone Leaders, and the ward mission leader was lamenting how nobody in the ward was helping him in his calling and started comparing himself to Abinadi. (Our ward mission leader's English name is Pedro, which he probably got from one of his American companions when he served his mission in the southern part of Taiwan. Asians don't really know how to be sarcastic, but I guess Pedro learned how to do it from his American missionary companions because, he's very sarcastic.) At church on Sunday, he taught the Gospel Principles class about missionary work. He asked the class to name off Book of Mormon missionaries, and my companion jokingly shouted "Abinadi!" He laughed so hard at the inside joke.

     Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! Remember to rely on the Lord. Have a prayer in your heart; the church is true; get married in the temple; and have an awesome day!

-Sister Brinkerhoff