Wish me Happy Anniversary! It's been one year TODAY!

Hello family and beLOVEd peoples and animals etc,

Chihng Yahn Jit Faai Lohk! (Sweetheart's Holiday Happiness!) Happy Valentines!

Valentines (Hong Kong China is REALLY GOOD at the junk part of Valentines actually--little paper/stickers/craft shops are EVERYWHERE).

We were pricked in our hearts in last week's weekly planning--OK, mostly because we had nothing planned for Wednesday night and wanted to do something fun and different and non-boring-- to make up and set up a
Valentine's activity.

So I already told you how we pulled off an almost genuine USA Laurels level activity--made frosting (blending the sugar into sorta powdered) and that it went really well? We made little rose/pencils (substituted green electric tape for green floral tape and I had to figure out how to ask for red cellophane at the shop and we used pencils instead of sticks which was actually infinitely cuter and more useful).

But then we had all these supplies left over, so we used the same supplies to do THREE other activities at an English teaching class last Saturday night. The poetry the kids wrote was HILARIOUS:

"Dear Friend;

The hand(s) and the feet.
You are.

My energy."

and another,

"Behind the moon
Under the sun
You are my brightest star"

and yet another,

"Hope you always have considerate friend at your side everytime."

Oh man, it really was inspired and the best idea ever. OH, and the favorite one was the one Sister C made just for me, which I will try to remember... It starts, "It's hard to explain how awesome you are/ You are more awesome than a Fender guitar" and ends... "I've used the word awesome four times, now five/Poe would slaughter me if he was alive/But he isn't, so I'll still give you this Valentines card/ and you'll always remember Gou Ji Muih, "The Bard"

... BEST THING EVER.

We repeated the activity at a make-Valentines-for-less-actives-and-build-relationship-with-new-ward-missionary
thing at Sister L's house Sunday night (which worked perfectly since a couple of appointments had just fallen through), and a SERIOUSLY LAST MINUTE AWESOME activity at the church Monday night that was
constructed entirely because our district leader was trying to get us in contact with a couple friends of a member student in HIS ward (Tin Shui Wai) and he knew they'd be in Yuen Long on Monday so he called us and we pulled everything back together from the other activities and did it AGAIN--and met two new friends (R and R) both from Yuen Long AND got back in contact with Y., that gal we met at the beach-bum activity from LAST Saturday... basically
activities are infinitely more effective AND more fun than tracting in missionary work. AND did I mention more fun...

We're focusing on the JOY and happiness of getting to have the Lord as our boss in our work! It's so wonderful and hopeful to just release and trust him. I've been working myself into a rut for a while, and I've been pulling back out of it and seeing dawn.

Bye for now, Sister Darcey

More CHINA Dates and Hong Kong Suplises

To Continue:

On Monday, the president of our Mission, showed up at our apartment (surprise!) and held interviews with us. I  showed him our "Happy Tree", the piece of plastic we sticky-tac'd to our wall and drew/wrote miracles on so that we would remember the joy and the success of missionary work. He simply said, in his adorable accent that I'll never forget my whole life, "Sister Darcey, in fact, you don't need a tree. I can tell you, you are an excellent missionary."

He then talked just a little. He is so powerful... he only says like three sentences, but they are SO profound. He spoke about not sacrificing more than you have. The Lord wants a sacrifice of righteousness but he only wants what he asks for.

In comp study on Tuesday we tried to figure out what that is that He asks of each of us--and on Wednesday I think we figured out that we're really already consecrating and giving it all, we just need to do as He asks and trust Him more. I think we do that through relaxing and relying on Him.

On a lighter note to end, I got asked on a Valentine's Day date! I was just walking along on Daai Tung Road (busiest street in Yuen Long) minding the Lord's business when I heard "Mo Muhn Gaau?" which means that I must immediately stop in my tracks and try to explain to someone that we're not an evil church. I looked over and found a WAAAAAAY-too-interested-20-something-Chinese male walking along beside us and asking me to explain the Bible to him and could he come to church with me and what was my number and could I come visit him at his house and what was I doing tonight and then Oh my goodness, then he put his hand on my shoulder (it's been a LOOOONG time since I've been touched by a male in any way besides a handshake bleeeeeh) and his face was 5 inches from mine and he asked, "Do you have blue eyes?!"

Oh, man. Sister C was pretty much cracking up and I was like, "Um, we have to get on THIS TRAIN, goodbye!"
And we got on the light rail pulling up with absolutely no idea where it was going--but not until he forced me to give him a number (I gave him my OLD number from my last area and then called those sisters and told them not to answer it, haaaaaaa). Sister C's explanation was just perfect: "What did he THINK would happen? You're a SISTER MISSIONARY! Did he think you'd just say,

*speaking in falsetto* "Oh, yes, I want to give up my life of serving in the church and run away with you! Something in your aura just caught my heart away! Can I meet you tonight?" Bleeeeeeeh ;)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make his/my/our date that night as we had a lesson at W's house planned (and taught two more suplise lessons on the way, woot!) but I did take out Sister C for a romantic neon-lit dinner of steamed rice, salty fish and greasy octopus patties mmmmmm. 

Got Cami's package and a lot of mail that night, so fun! So perfect, on the list of best Valentines ever ;)

1 John 4:11 is what we've been writing on all our Valentines all week. Everyone could read the whole chapter to remember the source of all love and goodness, our Savior.

Love forever and throughout eternity,

Sister Dia Darcey

PS no camera this week it's a long story :)