Elder Braden Roberts: Week 3 in the great Taiwan!!!

So to start out, I am going to tell a funny and weird story. One of the first couple days I was here Elder Gish told me about one night him and his companion went out on the deck and there was a bunch of cigarette ashes out there.... I didn't really believe him until the other night we got home and our inside door was open, the outside door was closed and locked but the second one was opened... we thought it was kind of weird but didn't really think anything of it until later that night we went out on the deck and there was a cigarette out on the floor... So we think someone comes in our house every now and then and smokes out on our deck because they know we are usually gone all day!! haha kind of scary but they haven't taken anything yet so it’s not too big of a deal.

So we are teaching a guy named zhang cong zheng he is so freaking cute! I think he has a little bit of a mental disability because we have to teach him the same stuff over and over before he remembers it but he is so happy and funny! He is super little probably about the same size as Brett ;) he comes to about my elbow and when he sits on chairs at church his feet just dangle! haha it is so funny and we don't really know why we like him so much because he never does what we ask him to do or anything and he is progressing VERY slowly but he really wants it and is trying and he is so cute. So we are still trying to work with him he should be getting baptized in like 2 weeks I think. I remember the first time I met him it was my first week at church he showed up to church all by himself without us calling him or anything and he was SUPER drunk! haha he could barely stand! We were in class and he kept almost falling out of his chair! Since then we have gone to his house and taken all of his alcohol away, he had a jug like the water jugs that we used for football! The big 2 gallon one and it was about half way gone just from that day, but since then he hasn't had any. We have also gone and helped clean his house, it was so bad. There was urine all over the bathroom floor. Now his black floor is white it was like magic! It still smells way bad and I want to go get him some febreeze or something to help with that! Even though it smells bad and it is dirty there, just seeing his toothless smile makes it worth it. .ha-ha and he is so nice! :)

I think I might end up marrying a Taiwan girl... ;) ha-ha, just kidding but the little kids are so cute here it is very tempting! There are these two little girls in our ward that are so cute! They are so fun to play with and super smart! Some of them when you try to give them a high five they just look at you like your dumb and keep walking... ha-ha but most of them are like cool, a white guy.

Friday night we went to a Night market to do "English proselyting" and we found some watches and Elder Gish bought 2 of them. He bought me one for my birthday it is so cool I took a picture of it but we can’t send pictures from this place so I will have to try to send them next week but it is turquoise and the hand and numbers are pink! And it was only about 3 bucks!!! It is so cool. Elder Gish got a purple one with blue inside it is way cool to! My birthday went for a good two days because they said it is still my birthday in Utah.... Elder Gish bought me a good dinner to he is awesome! He thinks it is funny to tell everyone it is my birthday to especially when we are doing street contacts.... so everyone is telling me happy birthday still! :)

That will be awesome to have a Christmas tree! We will be one of the very few that have one! :) I haven't got the gadget for my bike or really bought anything yet because we aren't really supposed to shop until p day. I think I will maybe pull money out today and go get some fun stuff.

There are some hills here but not many it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I am still in the city so the landscape isn’t that great it just looks like a big city! There are so many scooters!!! It’s still crazy. I saw a mom and 3 kids on one scooter, and they always drive around with their dogs on the foot part of the scooter. I have seen little kids in their strollers on the foot part!!

We went out to lunch today right before we came here to email and it was a really expensive Japanese restaurant at least for here it is. it wasn’t that great, but I ate octopus!! It is not my favorite kind of food... it was not bad just not my favorite! We sat on the ground though and that was cool. I took pictures though so if I can send pictures I will :)

Love Elder Roberts

The view from my apartment!!