Dajia Hao!
So I realized that I haven't told you anything about the people I'm working with here. All you know is that my companion likes dinosaurs. We're going to fix that today.
Sister Smith and I share the Daya ward with a pair of elders, who conveniently are also our Zone Leaders. This means that we get all the new information about the mission first, because we see the elders every day. Apparently blenders will soon be reimbursable by the mission so we can make more smoothies.
You've already seen her, but this is Sister Smith right at this moment, also writing her group email. Sister Smith and I get along very well. She's funny and sarcastic, and her head is full of stories. The first time I crashed my bike, she just stood and laughed at me. (To be fair, I was laughing pretty hard too. I'd already gotten off the bike, and it decided to fall over and take me with it. Lamest. Crash. Ever.) She keeps missionary work fun and interesting, and keeps me from taking myself too seriously. We have a seriously hard time every night getting to bed because we get too caught up with talking and telling stories.
Also in the room today are our elders, Elder Council and Elder Moh. Elder Council is the one in the back. He's six foot three and may be part Viking. He eats, breathes, and sleeps Enthusiasm. In addition to enthusiasm, he likes grandiose plans, speaking in accents, arts and crafts, and food. He has a mysterious ability to turn Taiwanese ingredients into surprisingly authentic Mexican food. Elder Moh is in the front. He's super chill and easy going. He reminds Sister Smith and I a bit of a corgi, because he always just looks really pleased with life in general. When he's particularly happy, he bounces a little. He likes telling funny stories, and keeping everyone laughing. We see the elders a lot because we share an area. It's a lot of fun to have another companionship to share experiences with.
So the other week, the sisters in a neighboring area called and said they'd met someone from our area and set up an appointment for us. Her name is Sister Liao, and the first time we met with her, she seemed more curious than actually interested in learning about our church. We taught her about how the gospel can bless her family, gave her a Book of Mormon, and set up to meet again on Sunday. Yesterday, she showed up with her husband in tow, and told us that she'd read the first 20 chapters of the Book of Mormon. We were shocked. We can't get some of our members to read five minutes a day, let alone multiple chapters. We had a really good lesson about the Restoration of the gospel, and we could tell they were really listening the whole time. We're super excited to meet with them again! They're an adorable family.
I also learned two important life lessons that I would like to share because they are of great relevance to everyone on this list who is not married. The first: If you are dating someone, and no longer want to date them, do NOT tell them you're breaking up with them because you went to the temple and got revelation that you shouldn't be together. I don't care if an angel appeared and told you to break up, take ownership of that decision, and don't hide behind the church. The second: If you are dating someone, don't let your testimony get so intertwined with your relationship that it gets completely shattered when they decide to be dumb and hide behind the temple when they break up with you. Both are dumb decisions. We now have a member in our ward who won't attend the temple because it has bad memories because it's the reason her boyfriend broke up with her, and she's angry at God for not giving them a chance. Don't be like her! Take responsibility for your actions, and don't let your testimony of eternal truths depend on the actions of others!
That's about all I have for this week! Hope everyone has a wonderful day today!
Sister Hull
More pics:
1: Sister Smith's first area was in the center of pomelo country, so last night I learned how to peel a pomelo. This is a long and arduous task that results in a pomelo hat. The pomelo itself tastes like a bland, sweeter grapefruit. I'm not sure it's worth the extensive labor required to obtain the fruit.
2: The other day Sister Smith and I tried to have an American lunch at one of the 7-11s: hot dogs and chips. Of course, the hot dogs were a weird pinkish color, and my chips were black pepper steak flavored, but it's the thought that counts.
No comments:
Post a Comment