Oh There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays!

No, no, stop flipping out, I'm not coming home.

Gam yeung (I feel like that) because I'm back in Mong Kok emailing ( and we're going to the temple today at 11 in KlnTong) and everytime I come back to the beautiful, smelly, Mong Kok East train station it seriously feels like coming home!! I get all nostalgic and sniffly (though it may just be the pollution...).

This week was ...testing prep :P. When Chinese KIDS have testing, the whole world stops. Moms, Dads, GRANDPARENTS, no matter how old you are (starts at 3!!! NOT KIDDING) everyone is mhdaakhaahn. Which is
actually OK--we have worked a lot at getting records corrected and consolidated, which will really REALLY help us meet and strengthen more members and less actives = get more referrals= make more eternal
families yes! We also got to do some finding, which is always fun.

This week (Tuesday and Wednesday) when we went to find we picked a Book of Mormon scripture to share first. Tuesday's was Helaman 14:13 and Wednesday's was 3 Nephi 11:38. Both were REALLY neat experiences.
I can really, really testify of the reality of the "experiment"--I'd been promised by the APs that if we shared more from the BOM we would find more investigators and have more progress, basically that Satan would be bound by the power of that book. (I don't know if I've made it clear, but I've really felt that in this area, Satan is running
amuck.

Maybe it has to do with the affluence or the more severe kind of idolatry or Satan worship that more people do out here in the heung hah (country) but it's really different that Tai Wai or Sha Tin. Sometimes it really is scary when I consider how young and dumb I am compared to the power of the adversary--really interesting experience. Only when we really see our own powerlessness, I think, do we learn how much we really REALLY do need to rely on God--see Moses 1.) So we tried it--even though before we've had days of finding for hours with no one who would talk to us for more than 15 seconds, much less listen to us read a scripture--we prayerfully picked a scripture and then prayed for
opportunities to share it. AND (wordly kind of cool, now) I could read them. Not quickly, but I could--which led to such funny and special experiences! People would say (like always...) "Your Chinese is so good!" and I'd say, "Naaaaaah--but hey! I just learned how to read this scripture, can I share it with you!" and it was so awesome. We really did find more prepared people (one man whose door we knocked on--interaction was gam yeung: "Jesus? Hey, can I come to church? OK, I will come on Sunday. Are there boy missionaries who can visit me here? Yes? Good. OK, goodbye." haaa) and awesomely got to open and read from the scriptures more and more and more. So fun.

Haaa, another funny random thing: whenever I read with people (happens a lot when I read out loud waiting for a train or a bus) people start talking to me in Mandarin. WHY? I have no idea. Actually, I don't have any, but then I asked my second half Sister Chan and she knew: if HK people hear you speaking Cantonese, they think you're smart. If HK
people see you READING Cantonese, they think you also speak Mandarin.

I ... don't see the relationship, but it's led to a lot of hilarity and mhsicteng-ing in the past couple days.

In other news, my hair is falling out. Woot! Yes, I've been wondering about it for a while, because though I've always been a heavy shedder (that sounds like a great name for a rock band) (in Sister Black's words... "You shed like a panda..."), it's been a little more than heavy lately. Then last night when I took out my hair a goodly chunk

came with it. Super fun! The buhn deihs (native HK ren) are convinced it's the water or the weather. I'm pretty sure it's related to celiac disease or stress, but whatever. I'll be more careful about GF, pray about it and get a blessing if it gets worse and I'm sure it'll be fine. Who needs hair, anyways?

(I'm itching to write a version of "Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair" about "Baahk Ji Muih mouh tauh faat" in
Chinese, but since no one but mb Sister Black would understand it AND it would probably take the rest of emailing time, I will refrain).

Dad would love HK--every single apartment complex has EVERY kind of recycling right at the base. I mean, all kinds. Mom would love HK--the poh poh "exercises" (basically consists of slapping your arms and legs, doing silly dances and --most important--exercising your jaw as you babble to your neighbors who are out there with you every
morning--are right up her alley.

Can I just say how unfair it is that Ian can email sabeybaby2@whatever and I can't... hilarious. On Monday I got 4 letters AND a package---which had Brother Sabey's old CHARACTER WRITING MANUAL! I'm rejuvenated and reenergized to actually progress in my Chinese--mostly because I've been recentered on the importance of
continuing to progress AND we now have "assigned" passoff lessons every Monday after district meeting. So, you have to "test" your Chinese, whether you're ready or not. It's really been good.

Oh, hilarious experience Monday when we talked to a girl who was crying on the MTR stairs, shared a scripture, prayed with her, she was smiling and our hearts were glowing by the time we left to walk to church--then 3 hours later when we came back to go home she was still there, now REALLY smiling--overjoyed, really-- which MAY have been related to the fact that she was surrounded by about 5 empty beer cans. SO FUNNY.

Yeah, we do what we can, and God really does strengthen our efforts, rejoice in our victories and patiently counsel us on how to do better. Sometimes I really do feel like I'm a toddler thinking I'm up to my own business and he's following me around keeping me from falling down the stairs and picking up my messes, waiting patiently for me to ask
for help...

I love you all so much! Your letters are as always, so inspiring and uplifting! I am so thankful for your love for me and of Christ, your prayers and your patience and your testimony. Yes, you.

We're going to go BBQ with C today at her house! Oh, and I finally saw the Christmas devotional on Sunday night! ...in Chinese!

I love you!!
Sister D