"Power Week"

Family! How is it going? It’s great to hear from you! There are so many things that have been going on I don't know where to start. Elder Gong and I have been going crazy over here in San Xia/Tu Cheng. Things are kinda confusing at the moment because the mission is remarking the boundaries of our area and they are going to have us move closer to the city. President wants us to first build up the people of Tu Cheng and then we'll spread out over to the people in San Xia.

Last week was a long, hard and powerful week. “Power week” means half hour meals and we go out every night until 9:30. It’s kinda hard to set up with people in San Xia because it’s a 45 minute bus ride to the church. Everyone we talk to just says, "Hey, I think we’ll just go over to the Christian church which is right next to my house because it’s more convenient." We say "NO! Don't do that!" Ha, ha. It’s kind of a good way to teach the apostasy on the street.

Our apartment, at the moment, is still in the city, everything is city, but it’s forever away from where we need to be, so we're going to move. Here, we don't have clean water, a dryer, warm water, and or a stove, so that adds to the reason to move. It’s been a blast though and I've gotten used to cold showers. It’s kinda pleasant due to the heat and humidity.

Anyway, Power Week was awesome. I don't know why, but it seems that during Power week, setups never ever come during the day time. They all come at night between 9:00 and 9:30 pm. Nine of our 15 setups, which is a pretty good amount, came between those hours last week. All the people that we set up between those hours are quite decent investigators. This is the week that we get to meet with all of them. :) Right now we have two really good investigators and a family! One of the investigators is actually a homeless lady named Aiyi. Usually homeless people aren’t top investigators, but anyway, she's a little different. She's really smart, but the reason she is homeless is because she can't find a job because of her diabetes. It’s kinda sad. She is quite a self deprecating lady, who has a lot of pain in her life right now, but we've been able to help her. She cries after our lessons because she feels the spirit really powerfully, but she is still not willing to say her own prayer. She feels no hope, so we get to share what hope this gospel brings, etc. She's progressing and reads the Book of Mormon a lot. We with meet with her and teach her on a bridge. :)

We found a lot of great people last week, and a lot of families, but I feel really confident about this one family we found. Their name is Zeng and they have one small mei mei. I love the little kids. We were on our way home from Taipei the other day, and a little bit lost, but they were willing to give us a ride home. Then they set US up to meet with THEM someday! It was AWESOME!!!! Holy smokes, I have a really good feeling about them and I think they are the family Elder Gong and I have been looking for. They were so beautiful that it was almost scary to give them any invites, but we were able to give them a pamphlet to read and ask them to think about the importance of families. I'm excited to meet with them.

Wow, there really has been a lot going on. My companion is so awesome! He is working way hard on the language and he likes to speak Chinese with me. We set some really good goals for him and he has progressed a lot. He can already understand a lot the language, but the hardest part is speaking it so others can understand. Chinese is really hard, but Heavenly Father helps those who have the right intentions and motives to learn the language faster so that He can use us to teach His children. I've learned that I may never master the language while I'm here, there is simply too much. There is still a lot that I don't understand when people talk to me and a lot that I don't know how to respond back, but it’s part of the learning process. It comes and Heavenly Father is going to prepare the way for those who have the desire and are in tune with the spirit. I love learning the language though, and so does my companion. He is such a stud. He is beginning to love the small kids, too, especially the mei mei's. It’s funny to see your son (trainee) pick up some of the same traits that you yourself treasure. He is my best friend. I'm starting to let him lead and press him more, so he doesn't get content to the point of robbing himself of his true potential. That’s how I see a lot of the people Heavenly Father allows me to teach these days.

It’s awesome. I love these people so much. I think about the Su family, every second of the day. I've learned that as we teach this gospel, we ourselves change. It’s true, so, so true. I have learned so much from Elder Gong, it is insane! We were just discussing some finer points of the gospel that I was able to learn from teaching the Su family and it was cool. I'm doing my best to cherish every moment. Elder Barton (last companion) has written me a couple letters and he’s motivated me quite a bit. I'm sorry, but I don't want to come home at all, hahaha. I do miss you though. Wow! Gotta go. Love you!