"Waiter, there's a fly in my soup." "Ah yes, there atop the snake's head?"

Okay, okay, okay, I have not, as yet, eaten snake soup as it is a winter food, But I have eaten a bunch of other AMAZING STUFF!!!!

(this section is for mommy):

A member in the Tai Wai ward took us out to "yam chah" Monday for lunch (literally: drink tea, but it's actually a kind of restaurant where you eat dim sum), and it was SO GOOD. Oh my goodness: I ate taro root balls (sweet, kinda looks like a big purple eyeball, wrapped in sticky gooey rice stuff), about a hundred stuff-wrapped-in-rice-paper things, beef balls, mai sin noodles (I've had those before---just rice noodles, really good), these SUPER SWEET things that look like a gooey orange marshmallow sprinkled with peanuts, about a million shrimp-disguised-as-something-else things, long DELECTABLE rice stuff wrapped around meat stuff wrapped around vegetable stuff and this is just really descriptive, huh?

Whatever! The point is that it is all so, so, so good. It was the weirdest experience, though--it was as though the members who took us found joy in the missionaries' suffering. They'd keep ordering food, even when we cried for mercy because we were so full, and then they'd eat about half a dumpling and keep enjoining us to "sic do di, sic do di!" (eat more, eat more!). It wasn't as bad for me because I couldn't eat any of the stuff with bread wrapped around it. Tee hee. It is true that Hong Kong is known for it's cuisine!

We also go to FHE with nonmembers at the bishop of Ma On Shan's ward, Bishop Mak, and his wife's cooking is to DIE for. She changed her recipes for almost EVERYTHING so I could eat there! SO nice!

Ah, yes, but...

Some of my eating experiences haven't been so nice. [Mom couldn't resist putting up this internet photo of a Hong Kong theme'd Wedding.]

Last Saturday we went to a wedding reception for one of the ward member's daughters in MOS, and I ate pretty much anything I wanted that looked vaguely OK. I should tell you first--I feel like I've been super blessed so far in having NO celiac reactions--even though I for SURE ate a malt thing on accident my first day here and definitely have eaten soy sauce on accident since then. But I got cocky at the wedding and was supremely humbled with the worst reactions I've ever had for the next 2 or so days. Bleeeeh. Big mistake; I'm asking from now on!! (Sister Black is really good--almost as good as Brian!!--at being super careful about what I have to eat. She even reminded me to grab my food first at yam chah, before all the soy-sauce-contaminated chopsticks got into it. She's AMAZING.)

BUT! The wedding was totally worth it, despite getting dog sick because: B) Chinese (Mormon, at least) wedding receptions are HYSTERICAL and more importantly: A) We met KEN!

Details of B) OK, just in general, anything that would be considered hokey, tacky, cloyingly sweet or juvenile in America is ADORED here. The wedding was a huge, lacy-covered and dripping with frosting. For example: Imagine the cultural hall floor (except it's tiny because this is Hong Kong) covered in green plastic and the ceiling veiled in a frothy canopy of fake lace and glittery pink and purple hearts, complete with BELL in the center of the room. Every surface that doesn't move (and some of the kids, too) are covered with glitter. Cupids are abounding. I'm not kidding. It was AWESOME.

Now, for A!

A) We met KEN! Ken was a friend of the groom--who is a Larry [an earlier blog identified the Hong Kong term Larrys as Caucasian men who marry Asian women.] who came on his mission to HK and met his bride on a trip back)and came to the wedding reception by himself. It was a little awkward for us to start talking with him--especially at a wedding reception--because honestly he's a hou leng jai (extremely attractive male). Sister Black made me sit next to him when we went back into the hall after dinner because she felt too awkward and, in her words, "babies aren't weirded out by men yet." [again, in a previous blog, babies are "greenie missionaries"] So we started talking in Chinglish--he went to the University of Utah (roomies with the groom) and LOVES Zion's Park, has even hiked Angel's Landing before, but really had very little interaction with the church while he was there.

He asked us about our families and identified with mine, because he and his Dad aren't Christian, but his older sister and his mom are. We started talking about faith and he mentioned that he sometimes wished he could believe, but can't just pretend God exists when he doesn't. He also said that he totally agreed with the morals and lifestyle and service of a Christian, but couldn't believe God was really there. I told him he reminds me of my dad and a scripture, and we looked at Alma 32:27.

It was the neatest experience--we read together, asked questions together and let the Spirit teach. I asked questions I would never think to ask ("have you ever tried to do what this is describing? Trying to believe in God?") and, in his words, he said "I want to try--maybe I've never really tried before." I wish I could explain better. It was such a beautiful experience with the Spirit, not me, teaching someone who really wanted to know.

He was also my very first miracle number!! I had made a goal early the night before--and wrote it in my planner-- to get my very first contact number from someone I talked to that next day--then, I talked to EVERYONE, on the bus, on the MTR, on the street.

Finally, the very end of the night, this guy suggested he get our number and give us his number so we could talk more about this (and we, of course, mentioned that next time the ELDERS would be there--as we Sisters cannot teach a man alone without the Elders present).

That night at home, I opened my planner to make calls and remembered--I did it! God really does make miracles and help us along when we have righteous desires and then do all we can to accomplish them. Wow.

Ayiyah, I have so much more to say and so-no-time to say it.

OH! Just real quick--being blonde gets me so much attention. I know at least... 6 contacts that we made this week originally started talking with us because I'm blond. One of the old ladies at the old folks home we did service at last Saturday morning kept stroking my face with her crippled hands saying "tin si, baahk tin si" (angel, white angel). It was such an amazing experience.

One of the girls who accompanied us to the rest home on that activity named Syrina is a former investigator and also thinks I'm the best thing ever (must be ENTIRELY because I'm blonde). She took about 100 pictures (it's kinda like a deacon having a crush on me... yup, that's almost exactly what it's like. Hilarious!) BUT! She's meeting with us (we made muddy buddies on Tuesday, so fun!) AND more importantly, she brought a friend--a friend who at 15 has just moved out of her house to live with her boyfriend's family and who has a real, deep and urgent need for a real foundation in her life.

We're so blessed to be able to teach her about the sure and steady and unmoving rock of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!! Her name is Janice and she needs your prayers.

Elder Holland comes on the 25th!!! SO excited!

Today we're going to hike Ma On Shan!

LOVE,

Sister DIA