Why did Ying Chi Lu leave Taiwan for Georgia?

Before Ying Chi Lu received the call to serve an LDS mission, she expected she’d go somewhere in her native country of Taiwan. Instead, she found herself serving in Cumming, Georgia, and loving it! She reports that what surprised her most about Georgia is its size. “Everything is big in Georgia. The buildings, the parking lots, it’s all big,” she said. Lu admits that her favorite food is now grits, because they are so “yummy.”

Lu is 20 years old and was born in the city of Kashsiung, Taiwan. She was enrolled in CYCU University in Taipei, Taiwan, as an Architecture student before deciding to serve a full-time 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Missionary work is voluntary, and missionaries and their families pay for the mission themselves. When Lu was asked why she would leave school to serve a mission, she said, “How could I not serve a mission, if I know gospel teachings can help others?” Lu arrived in North Georgia in January of 2018.

While Lu has studied English for the past six years, and learned to read and write it well, speaking it has been a brand-new experience. Her companion, Sister Yvannia Gray, a sterling scholar and pre-med student from Utah, has been especially helpful with conversational English. (Female missionaries are addressed by the title “Sister,” which is what you see on their name tags when you meet them.)

Gray reports that Lu is a “very hard worker, patient, and respectful of people from all different backgrounds. And she makes the best dumplings.” Together the two of them are a team. Besides introducing people to the LDS faith, they spend their time doing community service: collecting and boxing food, doing yard work, helping in nursing homes, and even staining fences.

Sister Lu says the principle she loves teaching about best is that families can be together forever. She hopes to meet many more people in Cumming while she is serving here. “The people are so friendly in Cumming,” she says. “Even strangers say hi. They’re not as reserved as people are in Taiwan.” (Taiwan was ranked first in overall quality of life in the world in a recent Forbes article.)

Welcome to Cumming, Ying Chi Lu!