Huge English class!

Wow…there is so much to report and being an elder who types at a rate of 17 words per minutes, with terrible English to boot, and only having 40 minutes of time to work with, we are in for a long and bumpy road to the lands of "Morrisville," so please bear with me. At least I don't have to carve it onto brass plates. :)

So, we'll start with the events that happened before last Wednesday. The next time you look in Webster’s dictionary, check to see if the following paragraph is listed as the definition to the word "INSANITY." A record SMASHING amount of 111 people came to English class last Wednesday, it was absolutely insane! There were 45 students in my primary class. (I think he means the beginner’s class). They are all under the age of 11, and then some of my students have parents that came along with them. Originally when I first got to Tucheng, there were 5 students that came to English class regularly, and it’s grown in number since then. We had 15 NEW students in my class last week, and we all met in a classroom that was built for a maximum of 15 students. There is no work book, no curriculum, so the lesson is based off of what Elder Daniels can think to do that day to grab the students attention and learn English at the same time.

I love teaching the primary class, it is so much fun. All of the kids love it too. As for their progression in the English language, well, that’s another story, but we sure get a lot of investigators out of it! By the way, only 5 of the 111 people that came were members, the rest are all people preparing to become investigators. :) THAT IS A LOT!!!!!!

Haha, well moving on, the next bit of information is a little bit more on the "oh man" side of the spectrum. Last Thursday as we were meeting with an AWESOME PERSON who is now our top investigator, I got a phone call during the lesson, and it was Sister Yan. She said that there was no way that she was going to be able to be baptized during the weekend, because her husband decided to make a move and stand in the way and become an obstacle to her baptism. Her husband doesn't want her to be baptized.

My first instinct was shock, then confusion, and then patience. I decided this time to be patient. Sister Yan really wants to be baptized so I know that the Lord will allow it to happen. I feel like this is a trial that she needs to face to build her faith, so yes, her baptismal service was cancelled. Right now we are doing our best to try and support her and get the bishop in their home to help us clear things up with the husband. But she will be good and the Lord will take care of her.

Friday we got a family. They have VERY strong Buddhist concepts, but they at the moment have no problem allowing their kids come to church and even be baptized, so that brings a bright future for this family.

Okay, now we put all the reports on pause and I’ll tell you the information that you have been waiting for. I will start off by saying…I AM STAYING IN SANXIA!!!!!!! You don't realize how happy this makes me. I would say it now if it doesn’t sound weird, but is sounds better if I say it like this to describe this sacred land…20 years down the road I will say, “Sanxia is the place that I became a man! I’ve grown up!” I love this ward. I love these people. I am so glad that Heavenly Father is allowing me to continue the work here.

Now, for the rest of the information. I have a new companion named Elder Teshima. His great grandfather is from Japan. He is AWESOME! He looks just like superman and Adam, ha ha. We are gonna get along great together.

I should also mention that he has been on the island for 4 days. How about that??

President called me on Thursday night, which was quite unexpected. I had finished telling him all the events of the night, and then the words, “Elder Daniels, I would like to call you to be a trainer."
My English isn't good enough to describe my expression. Maybe the words "holy moly" can capture the moment. Time is gone, I must go. I am VERY excited!!!!!