Dajia Hao!

Ok so first off the big news of the week: I got my visa! Yup, that's right, I'm going to Taiwan. I leave on the 14th, which is when all the missionaries who are going home head out. I'm honestly rather terrified. It's not that I'm not excited to go to Taiwan, but there's still so much to do here! I've fallen in love with the people and the area, so it feels a bit like a mean trick that I have to leave now. I've learned so much, and had so many new experiences. Sister Anderson and I have been keeping track of all the different titles we could claim. So far we have: Yard Maintenance, Demolition Experts, Rooster Relocation Specialists, House Painters, Counselors, Human Development Specialists, and Full-time Clergy. We think we should get a college degree on the other end of this. 

I think part of the reason they send teenagers on missions is so that we'll see all the different ways people live, and get scared away from a lot of the bad habits people often pick up. Monday evening we got the opportunity to clean out the house of a family of hoarders. I think we piled about half of their belongings onto a trailer to take to the landfill. The elders who took the trailer out said it weighed about 1200 pounds. After spending 45 minutes shoving fetid piles of dirty laundry into trash bags, I think I can safely say that I will always wash, dry, and fold my laundry promptly, and my house will probably contain a bed and a single chair.

Since this is my last chance to email about this area, I want to spend the rest of my email talking about the people I've met. This area is so full of incredible people, and they're going to be the hardest part about leaving.

1. Along a street on the very south of Newton live Frank and Donna. They look like they're in their sixties, but their grandson just celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary, so if you do the math they must be up close to 80. They are so full of life! She calls him Frankie, and he calls her Toots. Frank is an artist. He disappears into his shop for hours, and comes out with the most whimsical pieces of art- flowers made out of chicken bones, strange 3-d faces made of wire mesh, and paintings formed entirely by thousands of tiny dots of paint. He's too shy to sell them, so their entire house is filled with paintings and sculptures. They are the kindest, sweetest people I think I've ever met. Families are the most important thing to them.

2. Brother Smith is one of the ward missionaries. He reminds me and Sister Anderson of Han Solo. He's got about 20 different projects going at once, and loves telling stories. The first time we met him, he gave us a package of handmade cheddar-jalapeno jerky. He's working on getting a certified kitchen so he can start selling it. He also has a live nativity that people pay to come participate in. Apparently it's a big thing for youth groups to come do in December. He's no nonsense, and whenever something needs to be done, he just does it. 

3. One of our three investigators is Isabel, and she is 10. She's absolutely bursting with energy. She loves horses and nature and movies. We just had our first official lesson with her this week. At first it was kind of rough because she didn't want to pause her movie to listen. At the end though, she announced that she loves it when we come because 'we feel like her sisters'. She loves giving hugs, and is one of the most exuberant people I've met.

4. We are extremely blessed with our senior couple the Petersons. They grew up in the valley, and were the youngest people in their neighborhood when they moved in. Now they're the oldest! Also, in case I needed any more proof that this is where I'm meant to be, a few years ago they spent two years living in China. They have incredible stories from that. They're both very gentle, kind people. Brother Peterson likes hunting and makes the best burgers I've ever had. Sister Peterson used to be an elementary school teacher, so she has all kinds of cute stories from her teaching days.

One more experience that I wanted to share- I got smacked in the face with my own inadequacy this week... and it was strangely comforting. We had a family that we'd been wanting to meet for a while, and we finally managed to set up a lesson. When we got there, it was just the mom at home. We started talking, asking our standard get to know you questions to learn more about her, and how we could help her spiritually. Then, she just opened up, and we spent the next hour watching her sob as she told us her life story. It was a hard story- full of mistreatment and difficulty, and her experiences have seriously affected her mental state and outlook on life. Sitting there listening to 50 years worth of hardship, I was thinking, I'm just a kid! I'm 19 years old! I have no experience or expertise with anything like this! And yet, my companion and I were the ones that she felt comfortable sharing all of this with. Instead of feeling panicked though, I felt an immense sense of peace. I think the church sends out 18 and 19 year olds to serve missions precisely because we are inadequate. We're barely getting started in life ourselves, and we're tasked with bringing people eternal salvation. With such a large job, we have no choice but to turn to the Savior for help. Sitting across from that woman, I was praying so hard that I would know the words to say and the things to do to help her turn to Christ. Because of course I'm not enough. Alone, I'm like a raindrop trying to water an entire field. But I'm not alone. I'm here as Christ's representative, and He is the true healer. My job is just to direct people to Him so that He can help them with whatever trials they are facing. Unlike me, He is more than enough. He understands perfectly what each person is facing, and what will help them. Realizing that I'm on this mission in partnership with Him has brought me immense peace and joy. 

Have an amazing week! Love you guys bunches!

Hull Jiemei

Pictures: 

1: The Elder in charge of the mission's cars always lectures us on good trip planning so our driving paths don't look like spiders. We're pretty sure ours look like daddy longlegs, so we sent him this picture to explain and apologize.

2. A friend of Sister Anderson's sent her a late birthday present, and they sent two of everything, so I got food too!

3. This is a photo from just before the Preston Parade. Our entire zone got to march in it, and afterwards we had dinner at one of the senior couple's houses. Most of my zone is in the picture.

4. We took this picture right as the parade was getting started. If you can't tell, I'm a little excited to be moving.