FIRST WEEK IN THE OFFICE.......

MARCH 31
Well its not as bad as I thought it was going to be being inside. I am actually very grateful that I get to sit in the air conditioning during the heat of the day hahaha... Summer is almost here too and it is starting to get really hot out there. My schedule is basically the same. 6:30 get up and run for 20 minutes. 7:00 shower, 7:45 eat breakfast. 8:00 personal study, 9:00 - 9:50 companion study. Then after that my time is a little more uncertain. Usually, I have to make a ton of phone calls to gather some information about the mission. So from about 10:00 - 10:30 I spend time talking to other missionaries about their areas and their recent baptisms. When I have time there are some things that I need to do. The first thing I do is organize baptismal records. When people get baptized they send the records to me and then I type them into the computer and make back ups in case the original gets lost. Then I type in all their information so that we can send them mail easily. After that I send it all to Taibei.
Then before Wednesday of every week I prepare a powerpoint of the mission. I just include a bunch of things that President Hsu needs to know about. Like which areas are struggling and which areas are doing really good. This helps him to know how to better help the mission improve. My favorite part of my job is the little side projects that i get to do. Right now I am writing a program for the Chinese Elders after they go home to help them learn English. It is going to be an interactive CD that they can use on their computer to practice English. And lastly my job is to backup everything and prepare for the move up to Taichong in 3 months. I have a lot of time so it should go pretty smooth. Basically that is my job right now. Some days are really exciting and we get to drive around and visit far away places, and then other days are really boring and you just sit there and type away all day. Oh ya... I got an International Drivers License so I can drive around the mission cars. Last week we went to Ping Dong (my favorite place in Taiwan) to help setup an activity that was going on over there. Obviously, our rules are a little more flexible then most missionaries. Sometimes we have to stay out late or get up early, so that is kind of nice not always being in a rush to get home at night. Right now we have an investigator named Robert. Robert is American, he is about 60 years old and is very close to getting baptized. I met Robert 3 months ago when I was here and I got to be really good friends with him. Now I get to teach him! It is really strange teaching in English. Robert is very patient and is sure to correct me when what I am saying doesn't make sense. We laugh about it because sometimes, I say things in Chinese and I don't even realize and he just looks at me like, "Are you trying to be cute boy?!" hahaha its funny. He is a really nice guy who was raised Jewish. When he was in his 30's he started traveling the world teaching English. He has got a lot of crazy stories, Anyways he ended up in Taiwan and got married and has been here for about 17years. He has 3 kids and a wife. Robert, his wife and his daughter all are getting ready to be baptized in May. I'm so excited for them. Well, I love you all keep up the good work!
Elder Craig Anderson