...and looking for things to chew...like honey, milk and chocolate....
If you don't understand, you need to catch up on your Winnie the Pooh..
:) Well, this week has been great! We had a good Zone conference with the President on Tuesday and learned a lot about the power of the Book of Mormon and were challenged to share it on the street. It was really good. I'm still working on my sharing skills, but I got someone's phone number from sharing from the BoM so it's good. I just want to take this opportunity to say, that I really know the Book of Mormon is true. There really is nothing more amazing and powerful as that book. No other book or thing in the world does as much. It testifies that Joseph Smith was a prophet, Jesus is the Christ, God loves us. I know it's true!!
I didn't pace myself today again, so I have 2 minutes before time is out!! AH!!! So yeah, this week was good. Watch conference if you didn't get a chance to on LDS.org. SO good!! I loved Elder Hollands talk "don't serve them tea and crumpets and show them where the silverware is kept. you shouldn't be serving tea anyway. Throw the rascals out!" Haha.
I learned some good lessons this week and had some neat experiences with a "golden" investigator. It was a really good week. Thank you for your prayers. Love you all!! PS. I gave my physical address exactly a month ago and have gotten exactly ONE letter!! Write! :)
Love you all!!
Coley
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Nimen Hao
Hi Family!
This week was good and crazy. We had my first baptism in Taiwan on Saturday. Her name is Lai Weiting. She's 21 and pregnant. I can't remember if I've already said anything about her...? She is really funny. She has the mentality of an 8 year old, so she's been really fun to teach. She talks about how "shuai" (handsome) the Elders are, especially the "pang pang" (chubby chubby) ones. Haha. Her baptism went well. She really loves the gospel and was so excited to be baptized. We're worried that since she's pregnant she'll have a hard time continuing to come to church and stuff. But the bishop and RS presidency sat her down on sunday and welcomed her into the ward and worked out rides to church and stuff. They don't want to lose her. She've very innocent and VERY pretty, so the ward is worried about her being taken advantage of (as she is pregnant, that may have already been the case). She's really sweet.
We're teaching ALOT of Young Women still. One of them is getting baptized this Saturday if her dad will let her. She's 17. Her name is Ilka. She is really shy and sweet and really smart. Really, we did very little teaching. She pretty much read the Book of Mormon on her own, so by the time we taught her something, she'd already read something in the BOM about it and knew the answer. She's amazing. She said that from reading the BoM she knew it was true. She really wants to get baptized and her Mom let her but she's afraid to ask her dad because she's afraid he'll say no.
We are also teaching an older woman and her 13 year old son. They live with the father, and her mother and siblings still. It's like they all got married and still live at home. They are a really good happy family. She's REALLY hard for me to understand. She speaks "Taiyu" and/or "Hakka" which are native dialects often and I'm totally lost. Her accent is impossible for me to understand. But she's really wonderful and they are always giving us fruit and making food without "mianfen" (flour) for me. We asked her how she felt about baptism and she said if she weren't married she'd accept it without a problem. But she's worried about family opposition. We found out her husband runs a porn DVD shop. Eeek. Law of Chastity ought to be an interesting lesson...
I LOVE the wards here. The Members are so good! The bishop Wu Zhujiao is so hardworking and fun. He collects stamps, so the other day I gave him some stamps from some letters I'd gotten and he practically started hyperventillating he was so excited. The Shao family went through the temple and were sealed on Saturday, and Wu Cai Jia received her Endowments as well. We weren't able to attend, but it's so exciting when members are so strong and make big commitments. I love it.
Haha, so the other day my companion got in a bike accident. She wasn't going very fast, so everyone was okay, but she was in a head-on collision with a scooter! She and the scooter man both ended up on the pavement. Scooter man's seat fell off his scooter and Sister Kunzler's front wheel was shaped like an 8. Her bike is totalled so she's using the bishop's wife's until she leaves next week.
Speaking of which, transfers are coming up! I'm petrified. Getting a new companion is a scary thing. They could be CRAZY! Or they could think I'M crazy! Either way, it'll be good. I am halfway scared of and halfway hoping for a native companion. It would be so hard but so good for practicing Chinese.
The language skills have been coming on and off. The other day I was having a bad with Chinese. I had 3+ people outright tell me my Chinese was bad. That's unusual for Chinese people...they usually say you're great even if you can only say Ni Hao. That was a kick to the pride. Then our guanli (apt building security guard) made fun of me and said I look like Donald Duck because I wear my bag around my waste and behind me. So every time he sees me he swings his hips and walks like Donald Duck. Grrrr...
Today was fun. We went to a garden on a mountain with a member. It was really pretty but a LONG drive. Ni Jiemei "qing-ed" us or treated us to lunch at a restaurant at the garden. I ordered a seafood hot pot which I thought would be a friendly little bowl of fish soup similar to something you'd get at McGraths or something. Everyone ELSE'S meal looked normal. But when I got my soup, it was in a HUGE bowl and as I stirred through it I found little bird eggs, entire shrimp, mini octopuses, 4 inch oysters and so much more that I had didn't recognize. I kept having to spit out shrimp antennae. Aside from the strangeness, it was good!
Hmmm...what else is happening here? We had interviews with the mission president...he told me to not stress out. Haha. Hmmm...I don't know. But things are good. I'm learning alot (despite even myself doubting that...) and it's been really good. It's been a test to the patience, but life is great.
Love you all!!! Miss you!
Coley
This week was good and crazy. We had my first baptism in Taiwan on Saturday. Her name is Lai Weiting. She's 21 and pregnant. I can't remember if I've already said anything about her...? She is really funny. She has the mentality of an 8 year old, so she's been really fun to teach. She talks about how "shuai" (handsome) the Elders are, especially the "pang pang" (chubby chubby) ones. Haha. Her baptism went well. She really loves the gospel and was so excited to be baptized. We're worried that since she's pregnant she'll have a hard time continuing to come to church and stuff. But the bishop and RS presidency sat her down on sunday and welcomed her into the ward and worked out rides to church and stuff. They don't want to lose her. She've very innocent and VERY pretty, so the ward is worried about her being taken advantage of (as she is pregnant, that may have already been the case). She's really sweet.
We're teaching ALOT of Young Women still. One of them is getting baptized this Saturday if her dad will let her. She's 17. Her name is Ilka. She is really shy and sweet and really smart. Really, we did very little teaching. She pretty much read the Book of Mormon on her own, so by the time we taught her something, she'd already read something in the BOM about it and knew the answer. She's amazing. She said that from reading the BoM she knew it was true. She really wants to get baptized and her Mom let her but she's afraid to ask her dad because she's afraid he'll say no.
We are also teaching an older woman and her 13 year old son. They live with the father, and her mother and siblings still. It's like they all got married and still live at home. They are a really good happy family. She's REALLY hard for me to understand. She speaks "Taiyu" and/or "Hakka" which are native dialects often and I'm totally lost. Her accent is impossible for me to understand. But she's really wonderful and they are always giving us fruit and making food without "mianfen" (flour) for me. We asked her how she felt about baptism and she said if she weren't married she'd accept it without a problem. But she's worried about family opposition. We found out her husband runs a porn DVD shop. Eeek. Law of Chastity ought to be an interesting lesson...
I LOVE the wards here. The Members are so good! The bishop Wu Zhujiao is so hardworking and fun. He collects stamps, so the other day I gave him some stamps from some letters I'd gotten and he practically started hyperventillating he was so excited. The Shao family went through the temple and were sealed on Saturday, and Wu Cai Jia received her Endowments as well. We weren't able to attend, but it's so exciting when members are so strong and make big commitments. I love it.
Haha, so the other day my companion got in a bike accident. She wasn't going very fast, so everyone was okay, but she was in a head-on collision with a scooter! She and the scooter man both ended up on the pavement. Scooter man's seat fell off his scooter and Sister Kunzler's front wheel was shaped like an 8. Her bike is totalled so she's using the bishop's wife's until she leaves next week.
Speaking of which, transfers are coming up! I'm petrified. Getting a new companion is a scary thing. They could be CRAZY! Or they could think I'M crazy! Either way, it'll be good. I am halfway scared of and halfway hoping for a native companion. It would be so hard but so good for practicing Chinese.
The language skills have been coming on and off. The other day I was having a bad with Chinese. I had 3+ people outright tell me my Chinese was bad. That's unusual for Chinese people...they usually say you're great even if you can only say Ni Hao. That was a kick to the pride. Then our guanli (apt building security guard) made fun of me and said I look like Donald Duck because I wear my bag around my waste and behind me. So every time he sees me he swings his hips and walks like Donald Duck. Grrrr...
Today was fun. We went to a garden on a mountain with a member. It was really pretty but a LONG drive. Ni Jiemei "qing-ed" us or treated us to lunch at a restaurant at the garden. I ordered a seafood hot pot which I thought would be a friendly little bowl of fish soup similar to something you'd get at McGraths or something. Everyone ELSE'S meal looked normal. But when I got my soup, it was in a HUGE bowl and as I stirred through it I found little bird eggs, entire shrimp, mini octopuses, 4 inch oysters and so much more that I had didn't recognize. I kept having to spit out shrimp antennae. Aside from the strangeness, it was good!
Hmmm...what else is happening here? We had interviews with the mission president...he told me to not stress out. Haha. Hmmm...I don't know. But things are good. I'm learning alot (despite even myself doubting that...) and it's been really good. It's been a test to the patience, but life is great.
Love you all!!! Miss you!
Coley
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Ghosts, Gummy Soup, and the Gospel---oh my!
Hello!
Hi! I hope everyone is doing great and life is treating everyone well! Remember to pray always and read your scriptures!
So! Let's see, what has happened this week? This week has been not so great yet great at the same time. We taught alot of lessons (23) which was a huge blessing, but only found one new investigator and one investigator come to Church. :S Yeesh. It's been rough. It's been rough for the work and rough for me personally. Still trying to adjust and fight some homesickness and frustration with myself and the language. But things are better and will be even better. It's less lonely as I get to know the members (even if they don't understand me, at least there are beginning to be familiar faces). Things have been good in other areas though. We have one investigator that is sooo sweet and shy. She's 17 and despite her shyness has come to church 3 times and 2 of those times were completely alone. She reads and prays and stopped drinking tea and coffee and said she "feels good" since she stopped. She has a baptismal date, but she isn't positive if she'll be ready by then. But she's doing everything and is just amazing, so we have faith she'll be baptized. That ward NEEDS Young Women. They have ONE. So we're wanting to fill that area. The YW President is so awesome. She's getting sealed in a couple of weeks and we may be able to go. So exciting! The Shaos have only been members for a little over a year. She had an interesting story as well...it seems like Taiwan has ALOT of "Ghost" stories. Alot of people see or say they see ghosts and spirits. But I believe them. When you have a culture wrapped up in creepy voodoo (not literally voodoo...but just very spiritual and worshipping all sorts of dead things...) then you'll undoubtably see some weird dongxi. The YW President said her 4 year old daughter sees 5 ghosts on a regular basis. 2 Parents, 2 children, and "a king". They are creepy and watch them in their apartment. They got so creeped out by this that they prayed, fasted, gave everyone a blessing, etc. but nothing worked. She even turned to Buddhist "bai bai"-ing and incense junk to get rid of them, but that didn't work either. Then she had the Bishop come over and dedicate their home and LO! The ghosts are gone! Strange, huh??
We went a visited a Less Active Member in Hukou the other day. She's Indonesian and fed us Indonesian food. It was soooo good but so spicy! It's funny, I've found that Asian food cares very little about presentation and texture. The Indonesian food had intestine in it, but tasted great. There was also this saucy hard boiled egg stuff that looked like it was scraped out of the bottom of a dumpster, but tasted great. The crab she made looked like it had been rolled in a mire, but was crazy tastey. It's funny, they put gummy worms in their soup! We ate a sweet potato soup and there were little (less sweet) gummy worms in it. Haha, SO weird. I think I'm getting used to the food though. The first night I was here we ate "Dou Hua" which I thought was sick but now it's my favorite thing in the world!! SOOO good! So light and sweet. I've lost weight the past couple weeks. The first little bit I was here I ate alot of rice and peanut butter and grew an unsightly "Bundt cake" around my belly button, but it's now just a wee little donut. But one of our investigators told me I have "more of a duzi than my companion" and patted my stomache. Grr!! Haha.
We're SO excited for General Conference! I'm so jealous of all of you that already got to see it!! We watched Pres Monson's talk last night, but won't see the rest until this weekend. His opening talk was different than it normally is. I was surprised. We had a woman get up in testimony meeting yesterday hysterical and heated about how much of a blessing it is that we have living prophet who talks with God and people still skip or sleep through conference. I quite agree! She's a good woman.
Today is a holiday. It's "Sao Mu" or Tomb Sweeping Day. It's pretty much like Memorial Day, but they also "bai bai" or worship their dead while they are there. Isn't it so interesting that Sao Mu lands right around Easter? Hmmm...interesting. Wow, the Church is true. Some of their characters even have gospel connections! Like "yi" for the word "righteous" is the symbol of a Lamb over the symbol of Me. So like "lamb over me". There's also some sort of ancient tapestry they found in China that has Adam and Even and temple things on it. Interesting, eh?? I am positive that the Chinese had the gospel anciently. I have no doubt.
The other day we had a funny little event...I can never remember if I already told this in another email...but oh well. I ran over a plastic bag and it got caught in the gears. A guy ran over and helped me pick it out and cut his finger in the process. As that was happening, my companion's bike fell over and her papers full of vital info blew ALL over the road. So while I'm picking trash out of my gears, she's dodging traffic picking up a progress records. Geh. The wind here is SO strong.
Have I told anything about Phillipinos and their "indentured servitude"? It's soooo rough. A TON of Phillipinos come and work here in Taiwan as restaurant employees, field workers, nannies, factory workers, etc. They sign 3 year contracts and work from 8am to 8pm or more. Most of the time they don't get a single day off. They live either above the restaurants they work at, in dorms with other Phillipinos, etc. They send their money home and generally sign SEVERAL contracts. Some people have been working for 9 years. Can you imagine being single, alone, working 12+ hour days, having no day off, sending your money home, not being able to go to church (if you're a member, which quite a few are), and doing all that for YEARS?? And being in your 20s! I can't imagine it. One of our new members, Cecile, is the sweetest thing ever. She's working and doing all this to pay for her cousin to go to college. Wow, I'm a bad cousin, because I don't think I'd ever do that. Speaking of cousins, is Uncle David doing okay??
Well, gotta go. Today we're going to Xinzhu to eat sea food!
Love you all!
Coley
Hi! I hope everyone is doing great and life is treating everyone well! Remember to pray always and read your scriptures!
So! Let's see, what has happened this week? This week has been not so great yet great at the same time. We taught alot of lessons (23) which was a huge blessing, but only found one new investigator and one investigator come to Church. :S Yeesh. It's been rough. It's been rough for the work and rough for me personally. Still trying to adjust and fight some homesickness and frustration with myself and the language. But things are better and will be even better. It's less lonely as I get to know the members (even if they don't understand me, at least there are beginning to be familiar faces). Things have been good in other areas though. We have one investigator that is sooo sweet and shy. She's 17 and despite her shyness has come to church 3 times and 2 of those times were completely alone. She reads and prays and stopped drinking tea and coffee and said she "feels good" since she stopped. She has a baptismal date, but she isn't positive if she'll be ready by then. But she's doing everything and is just amazing, so we have faith she'll be baptized. That ward NEEDS Young Women. They have ONE. So we're wanting to fill that area. The YW President is so awesome. She's getting sealed in a couple of weeks and we may be able to go. So exciting! The Shaos have only been members for a little over a year. She had an interesting story as well...it seems like Taiwan has ALOT of "Ghost" stories. Alot of people see or say they see ghosts and spirits. But I believe them. When you have a culture wrapped up in creepy voodoo (not literally voodoo...but just very spiritual and worshipping all sorts of dead things...) then you'll undoubtably see some weird dongxi. The YW President said her 4 year old daughter sees 5 ghosts on a regular basis. 2 Parents, 2 children, and "a king". They are creepy and watch them in their apartment. They got so creeped out by this that they prayed, fasted, gave everyone a blessing, etc. but nothing worked. She even turned to Buddhist "bai bai"-ing and incense junk to get rid of them, but that didn't work either. Then she had the Bishop come over and dedicate their home and LO! The ghosts are gone! Strange, huh??
We went a visited a Less Active Member in Hukou the other day. She's Indonesian and fed us Indonesian food. It was soooo good but so spicy! It's funny, I've found that Asian food cares very little about presentation and texture. The Indonesian food had intestine in it, but tasted great. There was also this saucy hard boiled egg stuff that looked like it was scraped out of the bottom of a dumpster, but tasted great. The crab she made looked like it had been rolled in a mire, but was crazy tastey. It's funny, they put gummy worms in their soup! We ate a sweet potato soup and there were little (less sweet) gummy worms in it. Haha, SO weird. I think I'm getting used to the food though. The first night I was here we ate "Dou Hua" which I thought was sick but now it's my favorite thing in the world!! SOOO good! So light and sweet. I've lost weight the past couple weeks. The first little bit I was here I ate alot of rice and peanut butter and grew an unsightly "Bundt cake" around my belly button, but it's now just a wee little donut. But one of our investigators told me I have "more of a duzi than my companion" and patted my stomache. Grr!! Haha.
We're SO excited for General Conference! I'm so jealous of all of you that already got to see it!! We watched Pres Monson's talk last night, but won't see the rest until this weekend. His opening talk was different than it normally is. I was surprised. We had a woman get up in testimony meeting yesterday hysterical and heated about how much of a blessing it is that we have living prophet who talks with God and people still skip or sleep through conference. I quite agree! She's a good woman.
Today is a holiday. It's "Sao Mu" or Tomb Sweeping Day. It's pretty much like Memorial Day, but they also "bai bai" or worship their dead while they are there. Isn't it so interesting that Sao Mu lands right around Easter? Hmmm...interesting. Wow, the Church is true. Some of their characters even have gospel connections! Like "yi" for the word "righteous" is the symbol of a Lamb over the symbol of Me. So like "lamb over me". There's also some sort of ancient tapestry they found in China that has Adam and Even and temple things on it. Interesting, eh?? I am positive that the Chinese had the gospel anciently. I have no doubt.
The other day we had a funny little event...I can never remember if I already told this in another email...but oh well. I ran over a plastic bag and it got caught in the gears. A guy ran over and helped me pick it out and cut his finger in the process. As that was happening, my companion's bike fell over and her papers full of vital info blew ALL over the road. So while I'm picking trash out of my gears, she's dodging traffic picking up a progress records. Geh. The wind here is SO strong.
Have I told anything about Phillipinos and their "indentured servitude"? It's soooo rough. A TON of Phillipinos come and work here in Taiwan as restaurant employees, field workers, nannies, factory workers, etc. They sign 3 year contracts and work from 8am to 8pm or more. Most of the time they don't get a single day off. They live either above the restaurants they work at, in dorms with other Phillipinos, etc. They send their money home and generally sign SEVERAL contracts. Some people have been working for 9 years. Can you imagine being single, alone, working 12+ hour days, having no day off, sending your money home, not being able to go to church (if you're a member, which quite a few are), and doing all that for YEARS?? And being in your 20s! I can't imagine it. One of our new members, Cecile, is the sweetest thing ever. She's working and doing all this to pay for her cousin to go to college. Wow, I'm a bad cousin, because I don't think I'd ever do that. Speaking of cousins, is Uncle David doing okay??
Well, gotta go. Today we're going to Xinzhu to eat sea food!
Love you all!
Coley
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