If you eat taro ice cream, red bean ice cream and black rice ice cream for dinner...

...that equals a red bean, black rice, taro balanced meal, right? Particularly if served with Octopi?

[ice-cream photos courtesy of internet]

Dear Family,

Funniest ("coincidence...") just happened:

[The editor-Mom doesn't know what the funniest coincidence might be as it is never fully explained in the following letter. And FYI, this letter was one of the most difficult to English grammarize--still debating the neither/nor, either/or, and semicolon issues. But never mind, hold onto your hats for the wind beneath Sis. Darcey's wings is gusting. And away we go!]

Yesterday was awesome, amazing, miraculous; all of our planned lessons worked out!

1. We enjoyed one cute analogy about the Word of Wisdom/Law of Chastity that Sister C. shared--a story of her little brother putting bologna in her CD player. That visual really helped S--our investigator--understand how the things we allow into our bodies affect us.
2. We were able to track down and meet an amazing less-active who'd just gotten divorced last week (and see her smile!!! after reading Moroni 10:32 with her!)
3. Sister C. was able to give a recent convert guitar lessons in CHINESE while I taught his little sister English while the mom (who was TOTALLY opposed to the rest of her kids' baptisms) listened in.

Yeeeessss! And... we ran around crazy and didn't eat dinner. SO last night I had a huge headache and was simultaneously praising the awesomeness of our day and lamenting the non-food-situation of our apartment (actually... the no-ICE CREAM situation of our apartment) when Sister Cook said, "HEY, it's only 9:25 and we didn't get dinner. Let's run down before planning and grab some ice cream."

"Whaaaaat, no, we're in our normal clothes already, that's so mh dak!" (= not done!) I responded mommy-like.

Buuuut she convinced me and we grabbed our tags, phone and Books of Mormon and raced down to the store right below our apartment. We got the prize and had almost made it safely back into the elevator---when we ran into the zone leaders. NOOOOOooooooo it was too perfect. I've NEVER run into them at night before... I've never made an ice cream run before... the one night... yup. God has a sense of humor.

And He proved that again in another instance this week wherein I became convinced that not only does God have a sense of humor but that our AP's [assistant to the president] are crazy.

Last just-a-second-where's-my-planner Tuesday, the AP's called and asked me to... whoa, let's back up a bit.

Remember when I told you about the HUGE Hong-Kong-wide fireside about which, for the last month, we've been spreading the news? The one that will include 100+ other missionaries; the one that will kick off our new English program called "Study and Faith;" the one that has been touted on the news, on Facebook, in papers and on the radio as "The Secret Revealed: How Foreigners Learn Cantonese in Two Months," and the one that President Chan told us, "...will drastically change the face of the church in Hong Kong," he hopes forever?

Remember that fireside?

Remember how Sister Cook and I were curiously wondering as we passed out our 100+ fliers, what it would include since it was such a BIG DEAL?

Well, No, you don't remember because I don't remember if I told you all that, but now you know.

SO we were minding our own business meandering through the acid drizzle to the church from a miracle lesson on the street where the investigator's employer met up with us and we were able to help her move from an entirely negative perspective on the church, to reading the scriptures with us and learning about how God is a God of Miracles in Mormon 9, and her totally opening up (for a Chinese person) and sharing what was going on in her life; then heading to an awesome FHE activity where Sis C. and I pulled together a game out of the random stuff we had at the church including cookies from Christmas, frosting (again! from Valentines!) and random items like scarves/ties/ spoons--When The Phone Rang.

(Stay with me, here).

And the AP started talking about the fireside. I was sure he was going to ask me to lead the music, but then he asked me to speak.

I asked him if he was kidding. Then I asked if he was sure. Then I asked if he was crazy.

Then I stopped talking (=being unable to talk) because he told me my topic: Jesus Christ.

This coming Sunday night, I will share. "How Faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel Helped Me become Fluent in the Second Hardest Language on Earth in a Little Over One Year," to an audience of business people, professors and news people who have largely either never heard of or have already rejected Jesus Christ and his gospel. It will be 5-7 minutes long followed by fifteen minutes of questions and answers and "should be given in as near to perfect Chinese as possible".

...

So when we got back to the church, I collapsed on the ground and Sister Cook dredged up a box of Lindor truffles and I didn't see the "barley malt" ingredient so we ate like half the box together while we dished out to each other pep talks and moaned.

It was so awesome/awful. THEN we went and taught the best lesson ever to our investigator whom we'd thought didn't have any faith in Christ and then blew us away with her testimony...

(Also did a neat food coloring/ bleach example of the atonement that we altered a little to be truer to the doctrine of repentance and baptism. Usually you just stick in some food coloring to the water, say that it is sin, and then add bleach and stir to represent the atonement washing away sin, but we changed it to adding bleach to represent all the ways WE forget, cover up or deny our sins or repentance without the turning to God.

Then we asked if, even though the water LOOKED clear, anyone would be willing to drink it. No way, it's like half bleach now. Truly understanding and accepting the truth of the atonement not only does away with the sin-- the pain and stain of acting against what we know to be true--but pours us another cup of new, clean water).

This week also included:

• a guitar/how-to-share-your-beliefs-with-your-parents-who-don't-want-you-to-come-to-church class,
• a 15 minute lesson with a super sweet mom who said she just didn't have time with her two jobs and didn't want to see us again. But on the phone, I bore all the testimony in me that she would not regret just 15 minutes with us--and she accepted,
• a lady who randomly came to the church at Tuen Mun's and wants to come regularly but actually lives in Yuen Long, so she called us to come see the church and hear the gospel (we'll meet her tomorrow!),
• and then God granted me time--time when I really enjoyed singing beautiful hymns in harmony with Sister C.--truly a personal gift from my Lord just for Dia Darcey.

I love it here and love my life and love being part of God's work.

I know God loves us and is completely aware of us.

He only gives us as much as He can handle.

We must totally turn to Him when we feel it's too much.

Pray for me on Sunday! Thanks loved ones!

Sister D