Comfort--From The Oddest of Venues!

Dearest Family and friends, 

We're suffering for new investigators still in the area of referrals since we're the weird add-on sister companionship. And we are still trying to find our niche of being needed (maybe it's in helping the ward members feel needed, huh?) but I love it here. SIster Wong is a powerful teacher, a hilarious girl and an intensely loyal companion. She will be added onto the list of my best friends, I hope. She's also a fabulous cook and we LOVE cooking together.

Elder Smith, my MTC "companion" is our zone leader here in Macau. He has grown to great depths as we expected from our time in the MTC and he's so wonderful and hilarious; we love when he leads our meetings because everyone just LAUGHS the whole time. He's so ... pleasant. It's a good way to describe him. Just chill, super kind and ultra sensitive, and fun to be around.

I'm a little bit sick lately (just a TITCH, really) and it's showing up in my famous duck-n-cover sneezes. Remember the penchant I have for blowing the top off the world when one of "those" sneezes goes off.  The whole apartment's on guard now, as I ruined TWO shirts yesterday...

Oh, I forgot, I also gave a talk on that crazy do-everything Sunday in the 2nd branch (the international one) (5 to 8 pm!) about the Comforter. I focused on Alma 4:10 and explained how the true Comforter can never fail us, when all our earthly comforts or even friends and family may. I shared the story about being comforted by a total stranger at college church the day Dad called me to tell me that my good friend, Derek Roarke had passed away. It was between spring and summer semesters, I think, and I had no one close by to go to for help and healing. A girl in Relief Society--didn't even know me--just came back and put her arms around me and I cried and cried. I will always remember that experience as proof of God's awareness of my needs. He knew I had no one else then.

Yesterday we went on our last week planned find around the reservoir (in the morning, really weird but we wanted to try something new) and we were really hoping and praying for 2 lessons and 2 new investigators. Two and a half hours in all--and I garnered was more potential new sun cancer cells (it was weirdly sunny... and HOT... which is not weird... but it didn't rain, yay!) and we came home an hour later and DIED through studies we were so bushed, BUT at the end of the day we miraculously had two new investigators and had taught two lessons. It was pretty amazing :)

One's name is Ce and she's Chinese and I actually contacted her MOM first during the English find and then we called her and she came (and we didn't know who she was, were trying to figure out who had contacted her and then finally she was like, "No, I didn't meet you but I'm pretty sure you called me," and I was so confused but then so happy! and I taught the group how to introduce yourself to a board of directors last night in the advanced session of English class it was SO FUN!!!

I love you, my family and friends, and I'm so thankful for your support. I keep getting cards and  wishes from our sweet ward members that makes me want to hug that whole Cedar Ridge building. Those people really are the solace of my home ward.  Thank them for me!

Love forever in the eternal scheme of things,

Sister Darcey

Is That The Laos Ambassador in Our Gym?

Hello, dearest lovely and gorgeous people.

Well, gotta say, that after Dad's "letter" yesterday, I must be motivated to find a more exciting means to write you this week... Really, Dad? Hyphens to fill up character space?! (Just kidding--I had a good, hard laugh, along with my companions. It was hilarious). I hope Mom's out of her funk; I realize this email has a lot weighing on it to be awesome...

So. Thus it is.

Brother Chan is one of our investigators (he's actually the teacher for the other district, along with Sister Masterson, but we teach him as an investigator in Cantonese once a week). He is our hardest investigator--he really makes us think, search for inspiration and work.

From the very beginning, he really wanted to know why it mattered that God is there; how a God would affect his ACTIONS. He can ACT to be a better person, so why there are so many religions and why so much misery in the world?

He considered religion something that could be good and help people become better--but he expressed that he felt religion is much less important than an outward-focused attitude and trying to be a good person. He really reminds me of you, Dad in that way.

As he progressed in a desire to believe, we gave him Alma 32 to read. The next week, he finally agreed to pray. We were really excited and thankful for his progress--but then Thursday's teaching appointment came.

He is an advanced speaker of Cantonese so we may not have known the exact vocab he was saying, but we could tell that he had become bitter, closed, and desperate to reconcile the peace he'd felt before, with the chaotic, pointless examples around and inside him. He'd seen too many religious, obedient, and kind people who have experienced unfair, severe hardship and pain

It reminded me of Moses and the Israelites in Exodus 5:20 where they met Moses and Aaron coming from Pharaoh and the people said, "Moses, You just made the problem worse! Now they are slaying us! Then Moses went back to God and said, Lord, wherefore has thou allowed so evil entreated this people? Why is that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak thy name he had done evil to this people, neither has thou delivered thy people at all."

Now, thus far, this role-play was feeling very real. When these "investigators" are acting their part, most of them are using true life experience and the challenges they have faced in their own lives. The story is acting, but the emotion is real.

We asked him if he'd pray to feel God's comfort--he said, "Dim yeuhng keih tou?" ("How pray?") I said, "Leih ji dou dim yeuhng keih tou, ma?" (You know how to pray, don't you?) and he said "I don't know if I CAN pray right now." I offered that I'd say the prayer--and challenged him, in halting and inaccurate Cantonese, to "hoi leih ge sam" --Open your heart.

It was an amazing, miraculous experience to pray together for real, needed, urgent, RIGHT NOW supplication to God to give us His Spirit of comfort and mercy and give it to us now. I know from life experience that the Spirit touches, converts and heals like I CANNOT do. AND I FELT THAT AGAIN! After that spiritual confirmation, we were all humbled by the inspiration that came to mind that helped us direct him to answers to resolve his problems.

We touched on the logic of trials--if every faithful person were immediately blessed and had no problems, what would be the point of faith or of living this life? How could we grow in our trust (I whispered to Sister Farr, how do you say trust???) without a time of darkness and trial and worry and fear and pain in between the obeying and the blessing?

I was not expecting to ever get to the point with an "investigator" at the MTC to issue a baptismal invite --but I realized that the only answer to the problems that such an investigator was expressing would be the gift of the Holy Spirit--and that can only happen through baptism and conversion.

I experienced, in that lesson, the miracle of the Spirit's witness of truth--its sanctification of my imperfect Cantonese, imperfect belief, imperfect testimony, imperfect conviction and commitment and covenant keeping, and imperfect living of principles of which I'm trying to witness.

Yet, the Spirit burned within all of our hearts and witnessed that the truths we professed were true as we confessed a lack of faith, (my!) lack of trust, my need to hope and believe and act in a way that showed that I trusted that God would fulfill his promises to me.

When you speak to someone--lookinto their eyes and tell them you know it's hard and you don't understand yourself, but that what you DO know is faith has strengthened you for good, the Spirit offers such an eloquent and profound testament--much more powerful than anything I could say myself, even if I were fluent in Chinese and a lifelong disciple. .

When Brother Chan spoke to the class afterward he asked them --"Did they speak perfect Chinese? No. Did they understand everything I said? NO way. But they spoke the words of Christ--as in the words he would speak if he were here." I didn't expect to get that kind of testament to happen in the MTC. What a beautiful experience and blessing. I'm so grateful I'm here.

******************************************************************************************************

So it's been a rollercoaster of Chinese, because we had that great lesson and Saturday's TRC was the best ever--then the bomb dropped! I think they waited until we were far along in the language introduction before they told us this: Cantonese has THIRTY ending particles. Ahhhhh! I am re-humbled: turns out

Chinese is hard. Good thing we're not learning on our own!

I've tried so hard this week (continued trying, really) to help Sister Farr feel good and capable. It is so hard--especially with my pride and impatience--and she is so, so wonderful. Such a kind person; it breaks my heart when she thinks she's behind or that she can't learn this language. She is SO humble and so close to God's spirit.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One more miracle: Saturday night I made a goal and mentioned in prayer that I wanted to try out for a musical number this week. I'd been trying for weeks to find a piano player, though, so something was going to just have to drop in my lap--which is exactly what I prayed for. In Relief Society the next day, Sister Norton (a fellow Women's Chorus alum.) walked up to me and asked, "Do you remember enough of 'where can i turn for peace' from Women's Chorus to try out with me on Thursday? Sorry, this is kind of just dropping it in your lap, but I started thinking about it last night..." WOW. I just started giggling. It was hilariously awesome. So, we're trying out Thursday! A-cappella and lovely.

One challenge: Mom, this week, when you fall asleep, count your blessings instead of sheep. You'll wake up smiling! I've never woken up so happy at 5:45 every single day...

And Dad, I need a little caribiner.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Sister DIA

Hokie Easter Package

Easter 2011

Aidan and Mom sent a package to the mission home. We're sure, despite the cautious packaging, that it will have a Humpty Dumpty ending, but it's the thought that counts.

Hair Ties are not Disposable?

Hola! ...? This salutation dedicated to my Peruvian cousin, Derick! Welcome home soon!

I am so thankful for a wonderful family! We are practicing with "progressing investigators"(that means teachers who act as if they are real investigators with histories pulled from their real life experiences of people they taught). Two of them didn't have a family group growing up, they were raised in a communal environment without parental figures. I am thankful for the foundation of Love, kindness, charity, morality, responsibility and hard work that I learned from you, Mom, Dad, Aidan and Ian.

Bwahhha! I loved Aidan and Dad's email today. I only wish I could read them over right now... 'cause we're not allowed to go to the temple when we're sick, so we don't cough on people, so we're holed up in our room. Good thing we're BOTH sick, or this would be even more boring! Other missionaries here are calling the weather bi-polar--beautiful, then freezing, then hot--we never know what to expect!!! I hope it's nice for women's conference for Mom!

I need a packet of hair ties sent to me while you are here, Mom. You know the ones I usually get, brown, blue, white, black and another box of Corn Chex. I want to take a box of Chex to China. You will probably be amazed at how much stuff I just sent home to Brian (Sorry, I couldn't remember Ian's telephone number--it's saved on my cell phone!) I drop the box off and someone calls him and he picks it up somewhere in Orem and it's all free! What a blessing for a plentiful packing person like myself! (nice alliteration). I've decided to purchase whatever extra I need in Hong Kong.

I appreciate the General Conference talk, but I actually get to access LDS.org -- so it was so funny--I had just printed Elder Oak's talk when you, (Mom) dear eldered it to me!

Tell Ian that if it is his white mission handbook that he is waiting for, the WAIT is over! It's in the box and he should go over and get it and dig through it and get the handbook and get his interview! I heard that he is waiting for his new bishop next week. Transition time at BYU at semester end is chaotic for everyone!!

Thanks for the letters and the updates, except for Derick's welcome home date. I WILL MISS his little face. Sorry for such a pathetic letter, but... I got nothin'.

Oh yeah, I'm sick! Sister Farr's mom sent me GF Brownies this week! She is so nice. Mom, you could meet her at Women's conference since you will be working in the humanitarian aid booth.

I am so ready to be out doing the work. I know there is a plan and purpose for all things, but that assurance doesn't help with the impatience. I'm counting down the days to Hong Kong and I love each and every one of you who are such a strong family support.

Do, please, have a Special and Happy Easter thinking of our Savior and His Love,

My Love, love, love, Sister Dia

Tonight I Fight A Dragon

Dear Everyone:

I just found out Kowloon City (where the temple is in HK) means Port of 9 Dragons.

Question. Is HK the most awesome mission in the universe?

Answer. Kowloon means Port of 9 dragons.

Unfortunately, on Saturday in the Teaching Resource Center when we had to give directions in Cantonese, no one thought it was very fun when I directed them to "daap ba si sahp hou A, yi hauh daap luhng..." = "take bus 10 A, then change to a dragon and ride it from Kowloon to TST, then..."

I'm coordinating sister now, which is kinda like a zone leader assisting the sisters in the branch. Good thing Sister Farr's been doing it for 8 weeks now, or I'd have no idea what I'm doing. I also found out that when you're set apart as a missionary, you're automatically set apart for any calling and assignment you get on your mission-- from district leader to branch or RS president! Craziness.

We've been trying to increase our positivity these past two weeks as a district (P.S. I HEART MY DISTRICT). Last week one of our new district members--Elder Blake, or Bik Jeung Loh--told one of our branch presidency members that "our older district is so positive, it's great..." Then he continued, "Actually, President, it's so positive that it's almost a little annoying sometimes..."

YES! So positive it's annoying?! PERFECT.

We had an amazing fireside Saturday night by the BYU Men's Chorus! They gave a fabulous program--both beautiful AND fun music, wonderful testimonies and stories, and all the energy with which they always bless their audiences. Unfortunately, Monday morning there was a new record for sister missionaries requesting leaves from the MTC (all of them with the same vague excuse, something like, "I just feel like my calling is waiting somewhere else... maybe in a men's choir somewhere... I mean...I just need to leave.")

All jesting aside, please watch "His Sacred Name: An Easter Declaration," It is so beautiful! I really think that Grandma Pat will really like it--it speaks to my heart of her love for Christ.

I am blessed with such wonderful women around me--Sister Farr, Platt (just left for temple square yesterday) and Sister Bishop, who are my angels. I've so enjoyed getting to know them better. They are such blessings to me--so fun, so wonderful, so kind and such good missionaries--and they make me want to be a better woman and person!

Gam Maahn Dou Louh Fu = sounds like, Comment t'allez vous,

it means

Tonight, I will fight a dragon.

And THAT is why Cantonese is the best language in the world.

Love,

Sister Awed, (not ODD). I mean Sister Darcey

Smitten

Lovely people,

I need to repent. I doubted, and I have been smited down (smitten...?) for my inadequate faith. I opened a package from my mother, and asked myself, "Why on Earth would she send me a whole BOX of ginger tea?!" Then I opened the next one and asked the same thing--"MOTHER. You are a crazy person,"

Sister Farr recalls me saying, "Just because you're smitten with this stuff doesn't mean everyone else needs 500 packets of it!" I opened the next one and further denied a mother's omniscience, "What am I going to need a hot pack for in HK??"

Finally in packet four, I dispaired at ever understanding the mother instanity. "I just needed a LITTLE jar of mentholadum, Maaaaum. Crazy lady."

I was so wrong. Yesterday I found myself humbled while lying on my bed trying to breathe with a hot pack on my chest, Mentholadum shlathered all over my face and 20 empty packets of ginger tea littering the room around me.

Sister Farr and I are both sick, and we've been downing ginger tea like... well, like water. It's one of those afraid-to-fall-asleep-because-it's-hard-to-breathe-even-when-you're-awake-and-if-you-fall-asleep-you'll-probably-suffocate illnesses.

You know those kind?

Yet, Please resist the urge to send me a care packet--I'm already on the mend and by the time it gets here I won't need it for another 3 months--and I already have everything I need from Mom's genius packages :) If it doesn't clear up totally soonest, I'll probably ask the Sweet Man, Brian to send me a couple garlic cloves... and noone here will care that I reek of garlic!

Other than that, being sick at the MTC is good and I'm set!

Moral of the story: never doubt your mom. God gave her so-awesome-it's-almost-creepy know-everything powers!!!

Lizards and Baby Dolls

Dear Family,

I just thought I'd drop you a quick line to show you that the stickers you sent are being well used. So well in fact that I am just about out.

See postcard front-------------------------->

It seems that the MTC is the official sounding board for the General Authorities speeches for conference--Elder Kearon, Sister Dibb and someone else whose name escapes me momentarily, all come first to the MTC to practice talks on us. No kidding! We can't decide if we should be flattered or not. We're an easy crowd.

So y'know Tin Guy, our frog finger puppet? We love him so much that our teacher bought us a panda finger puppet to practice our language skills--if you are wondering, YES! We've been here too long.

Please pray for me to have more success with the language and more patience and love for my companions. I am too often too selfish and thoughtless.

Thank you, thank you, and tell the ward thank you for all the cards and prayers and letters! I love them!!!

Love, Dia, Sister Bai

P.S. One of our new Elders going to Kong Kong is a 22 yr old Marine. He just got back from his tour in Afghanistan. He is profoundly spiritual and he has great stories of faith.

Unicorns, Rainbows and Conference

To begin: A little joke. "A missionary in General Conference awoke to find a frustrated sister poking him in the side with her pen. 'Listen!' she said, 'If you're going to sleep through Conference, don't SNORE!' 'Yeah,' another Elder in the seat in front of him added, 'Some of us are trying to nap here.'"

I didn't say I thought it was a FUNNY joke.

Here's a "better" joke to make up for it: What goes woof, woof, tick, tock,?......a watchdog.

Well, although that first non-funny joke actually does describe some of my Conference experience, it was mainly AWESOME. I love hearing from the prophet, apostles, seventy, General Board and choirs. Elder Oaks' was my favorite talk, I will write more as I learn more about it.

We went to the YW general

broadcast as sister

missionaries on Saturday night while the Elders were in Priesthood, and though Sister Farr and I mocked it mercilessly by drawing rainbows and hearts and unicorns all over our notes, it was really amazing, as well.

We got to hear Vai Sikahema talk Sunday night, which is apparently a big deal. He was the first Tongan to play for the NFL. It was a great fireside about his miraculous mission experiences.

Two sisters in our room left for the field this week--one to Georgia and one to Connecticut. We had one sister come in, and unfortunately, she is an angel.

She may be translated before she even gets to HK (which must be a really huge problem for the HK mission presidency--sisters continually getting taken up like Enoch just when they were perfecting the language. No wonder so many sisters get called there... Good thing I'm here to make up for all the perfect people around me).

Seriously though, I am really looking forward to learning how to deal with a less than angelic sister before I get dropped off in HK... with Sister Farr and Sister Bishop, no such luck.

Sis Bishop is from Lindon, graduated from BYU-I and spent the last 8 months working for a troubled-youth survival camp in Arizona. Basically she's incredibly awesome and I'm planning on marrying her to Derick too AND she likes to run with me yay!!!

One amazing blessing that happened this week was finding out that we can run OUTSIDE on MTC grounds during our gym time and at 6 am. YES. I was getting so sick of our wonderful track, and Sis B and I have similar... canters. Similar... you know. Running-ness. Stride? Whatever.

This section is for Cami/Ian:

We woke up two nights ago at 10:45 (when's the last time you were ASLEEP by 10:45 pm? I'm speaking to the college age crowd, not Mom and Dad--old fogies who I used to wake up when I'd call after 7:30 pm...) to hear what sounded like an 80's tune blasting through our window. That's right, some girl had driven her car to the back of the MTC and was blaring "WAIT FOR ME, WAIT FOR ME, I'LL WAIT FOR YOOOOU" to her starstruck missionary. Oh. Brother. We got up and calmly closed the window, but not until we discussed if we should share some loudish words with her about waiting in the terrestrial kingdom. Who said that?---that section was specifically for Cami/Ian.

(post admin note: may have been last screaming stanza of " I'll wait for you"by Sherwood or some other song by hundreds of other artists anxiously waiting?)

I saw Carter from the home ward! He seems good, but typically he didn't say much.

I got your package! The cookies were in the most crumbled hilarious state I've ever seen... I still ate them. With a spoon. So. Good. I have more stamps than I know what to do with, thank you!!!

This week the miracle has been seeing the goodness of God. I take a small step of faith and am immediately blessed--like watering my seed of goodness (in Alma 32) and feeling it beginning to swell. It's much easier to water a tree than a seed, so I persist in (almost habitually) watering and weeding. Sometimes, when I turn back to this seedling of faith, I realize that it's become a TREE--and it's been growing all out of proportion to what I've given it.

Often, once I eat the fruit of my tree which I've nurtured and watered through steady work and scripture study and prayer, I'm surprised by joy--blessed by God's goodness that is given so generously, so kindly. He loves you and me, and He blesses us far more and lives with us far longer than we could ever expect from our small stream of faith at the beginning.

I realized this concept also from my relationship with Ian--I just got the best letter from him that has ever been written

in the universe, and I realized that the small steps of faith that I put forth in high school, just trying to strengthen our relationship have been rewarded and blessed a hundred fold. The blessings of family are so much more diverse, lasting and eternal than I have ever and can ever see-- and I am so grateful for God's love for us and for me, for each of his children as we take that step of Faith.

Love always,

SIster Dia Darcey

Goin' Coconuts

Dear Aidan,

You are Awesome and I love your face.

I will tell you a story: Today, whilst doing laundry, Sister Farr and I met some Tongans. Sister Farr let it slip that her mom had sent her a COCONUT last week in a package (with a mini-hammer, no joke). Said Tongans got super excited and since Sister Farr and I had little motivation ourselves to conquer a coconut, we went and got it.

The Tongans broke it open with their bare hands! (On the floor in the laundry room.) It was terrifyingly awesome. All island craziness broke loose. Coconut juice flew everywhere and everyone started singing "Cabin Fever" from the Muppets Treasure Island and dancing around.

Wait, no that was a dream I had... Anyway, he so didn't need our puny hammer and everyone there got to eat coconut!

Yet, sad story:

It made the all the Polynesians homesick.

Love, your best sister on the planet, Dia

P.S. (Three Chinese characters that we have no hope of duplicating here.)

Aidan chooses to believe that it means:

"You, wonderful little brother, are keeping the parents from freaking out without me. Thanks, I owe you big time."

Religion in the Restrooms

(from early letters transcribed later)

Dear Family,

In the MTC, the potty is the only private place one can go to be completely and totally alone. The rest of the time I am companioned (and quite nicely I assure you). Yet, there are times when a conversation alone with the Lord happens in the restroom--which is why it is a room of rest.

FromThe Gift of Prayer by Richard G. Scott: Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer

Prayer is a supernal gift of our Father in Heaven to every soul. Think of it: the absolute Supreme Being, the most all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful personage, encourages you and me, as insignificant as we are, to converse with Him as our Father. Actually, because He knows how desperately we need His guidance, He commands, 'Thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private.' D&C 19:28

It matters not our circumstance, be we humble or arrogant, poor or rich, free or enslaved, learned or ignorant, loved or forsaken, we can address Him. We need no appointment. Our supplication can be brief or can occupy all the time needed. It can be an extended expression of love and gratitude or an urgent plea for help. He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer."

Everything in the sister's residence hall, by law, (I'm still looking for it in the white handbook,) is sparkly cute, clean, efficient and adorable. The signs in the bathroom that tell you to pick up your stuff are dye-cuts from patterned paper, the cleaning check sheets are filled out in pink gel pen, the vacuums are named Shirley, Sandy, Susan and Yolanda. No kidding, there are names taped to the back of the vacuums--probably so you can know which to avoid when she spits up laahp-saahp (trash) all over your floor!

Poor segue Mom, but tell your temple teacher, Luke 24:49. At the temple yesterday, the Provo Temple President says it's all about the temple! And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

While I am executing bad segues, we also have Ugandan Elders, (we call them huge, because they are at least 6'3" and over 250 lbs for sure,) who are leaving next week. We are terrified of them, even though they are really nice. We tread lightly through their district hall.

Anyway, anyway, back to the topic of prayer. I am learning like Abraham Lincoln, who was driven to his knees by his overwhelming conviction that he had nowhere else to go, that man's desperation teaches him (in my case her) humility for the Lord.

And I am convinced that the MTC keeps their restroom floors pristine clean for just this reason.