Christmas celebrations!

     There are Christmas decorations everywhere; at the malls, on the streets, in the apartment complexes, restaurants, ... yet the Christmas spirit is not quite there.  Contrast to that, my sister Alice and I were at Washington D.C., one week before Christmas a few years ago.  There were no Christmas decorations anywhere.  Well, except for the Korean restaurant where we had lunch, there were Christmas decorations, with Christmas music playing softly in the background.  I remember the feeling of Christmas spirit there.  What is the Spirit of Christmas?  It is the Spirit of God working on us.  It is the Spirit that whispers to us when we are still and listening.  It's the good feeling that we feel many times when we are on our mission.  We are grateful for the wonderful people of Taiwan who made our stay here so memorable.

     Christmas Eve:  We were invited by the Lin family to have dinner with them.  The missionaries shared Christmas stories.  Then we went out caroling to the Lin's neighbors.  We were able to explain to the neighbors about family history and family search.  It was fun evening.

Needless to say, we had a good time.

December 13 - 15:  Temple weekend

     This is our favorite time of the year.  East and Gaoxiong Stakes had the temple day on Dec. 14.  We usually go a day earlier to work at the temple serving the English speaking members.  This was especially special because my sister Ling is with us and also we invited the senior missionaries from TaiZhong Mission to come to enjoy the festive activities at Church in Taipei.  The most amazing thing was that the Family History Department Head, Elder Allen Packer came for a visit.  Elwin and I were able to suggest that a fireside for the Gaoxiong members be held in Taipei after the temple sessions since the members were already there.  We were so happy that it worked out.  Elder and Sister Packer, and Elder Rockwood were the speakers.  They brought messages of love and concern and also the roll out of the focus of Family History.  

    We stayed for the evening Nativity Pageants on Saturday night.  It is usually held outdoors, but because of the rain, it was moved to the cultural hall for the 7 PM showing.  The English Speaking Ward did a fantastic job.  We then stayed for the missionaries choir afterwards.  We stayed at the Citizen's Hotel (星辰大飯店) on JinShan South Road.  It was a fine hotel.  

Dec. 19:  TaiZhong Mission Christmas Activity

    We took a tour bus at 6 AM with all the Gaoxiong District missionaries and headed for SunMoon Lake.  The main activity was a group picture and the big feast at the TaiZhong Buffet Steak House.  I loaded up on seafood while others went for the steaks.  Elwin had Mongolian BBQ.  It was fun to be with the other senior missionaries too.  We got back at 9:30 PM (me with an aching body).  

     Thanks to all the people who made the activity possible.  We had a good day!

Dec. 22:  East Gaoxiong Stake Christmas Party

     Not only did we have tons of food, we also had a talent show by the children and youth.  Also invited was the local elementary school orchestra with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.  It was very special.

The missionaries had a service project at the local Red Cross on Dec. 22.  It was a wonderful opportunity for us to do some outreach.

 

  

  

聖誕節快閃報佳音-韓德爾《哈利路亞頌》(中文字幕chinese lyrics)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas 2013 and a Happy New Year 2014
from Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong), Taiwan!

Dear Friends and Family,

 

We hope that this Christmas letter finds all well with you and yours.

We are looking forward to going home at the end of February (Feb. 25 to be exact) because one of our grandchildren only remembers seeing us on Skype, and another two were born within the last few months.  We want to go hold and hug them; and of course we want to hold and hug the older ones too.

Nearly sixteen months ago we left Saint George and headed back to Asia again, this time to work as family history missionaries in the southern third of Taiwan.  We feel very blessed to have been called to the Taiwan Taizhong mission to do this work.  Incidentally, doing genealogy in Asia and the West is an “apples and oranges” situation; the sources and the processes are very different, and both have their own set of advantages and difficulties.

There are twenty-nine branches and wards (three stakes and one district) in our assigned area.  We have spoken in every one at least once, speaking more than fifty times so far.  Of course, Shirley does much better than Elwin does when speaking in Chinese.  We have made a positive impact on the amount of family history being done in our assigned area, but it is difficult to measure. 

Together with the Director of the Family History Center and one sister from each of the Gaoxiong stakes, we have changed the FHC into a place for learning, not just for occasional research.  When we came to Gaoxiong a little over a year ago, members only came by occasionally.  After beating the bushes (giving talks and providing training), the five of us have been able to increase the attendance to about a dozen people each Wednesday night.  People are excited now that they have a felt the Spirit of Elijah as they are finding success in their efforts.  We feel that our work has been very rewarding.

Shirley has also found much success in her genealogical research.  She has completed her mother’s patriarchal line back 4500 years; it goes back to the original Chinese emperor, Huang Di.  She has also completed about 3500 years of her father’s line.  What makes the Chinese genealogies difficult is the dearth of female names.

Our work was happily interrupted by a visit by our daughter I-Shuan last spring; Shirley’s sisters Alice and Ling came at that same time with Ling’s husband Stan and nephew Dennis.  In late summer, our son Nelson and granddaughter Madisen came for a visit, too.  This was the first time that I-Shuan and Nelson had been in Taiwan since we left in 1981 when they were still children.  This was Madisen’s first trip.  Visits are something that the senior missionaries are privy to that the younger missionaries aren’t.

We have moved since our last Christmas letter.  We needed an apartment that was more centrally located to the various modes of transportation we use.  Previously we had to walk quite a distance to catch the bus to go anywhere.  Taxis were also not readily available.  In our present location we just step outside of our door and buses are available to take us to three chapels; one requires a bus transfer.  We also have the subway nearby so that we can go to several other chapels, the train station for going to other cities, the airport and the high speed rail for when we go to Taipei. 

An addition to our modes of transportation came in the form of a key to a brand new Toyota Corolla when we went up to the Mission Home for Thanksgiving.  We had commented that the senior missionaries’ work was hindered by the lack of transportation to remote areas, so the Asia Area Presidency approved for us to have a car for Gaoxiong and one for the couple in JiaYi because we cover very large areas.  Because of the lack of available parking and the convenience of buses while we’re in town, we really don’t use the car very much.  We did have a small miracle here in our apartment complex when we got a parking space the 3^rd day after we got the car; parking spaces are not readily available.  The Lord takes care of his missionaries.

We’ll have a difficult time leaving this Gaoxiong as we have made so many good friends.  The saints here are so loving and giving.  They’ve kept on giving us the excuse of  “Where would we be if we didn’t have the missionaries?”  They take care of us, some as if we were their parents.  It’s been gratifying.  Of course, the fresh fruits and vegetables each day is enough to spoil anyone, too.  We are spoiled. 

Another great year!  We’re blessed to have met many kind and wonderful people.  We are especially grateful for this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  There are no words that can express our love and gratefulness we have for Him.  May this be your best Christmas and new year ever.

With much love,

Elder Elwin and Sister Shirley Davis