Week Seventy-Two: 1/6/2015 to 1/12/2015--A Quick Update

Hello Everyone!

So, I didn't plan what I was going to talk about in my email this morning like I normally do. Forgive me if it's choppy. 

This week, Elder Stevens was kind of sick(can I get an aaaawwww?). But seriously, it was rough for him. We could still go out and do missionary work, but he had to blow his nose all the time, and just felt kind of lousy. I think it's almost gone, though, so that's good. We had some good success this week in helping some recent converts and less active members set goals for when they want to attend to temple. That was cool! It's always sad when members don't want to go, though. I want to go so bad! I haven't been in over a year:(. I'm hoping I can move up farther north so I can attend the temple trips. 

Dhylyn's doing super well still. We taught her and her boyfriend, Baolo, the ten commandments yesterday. They already knew all about those, so it went pretty fast. Although, they stopped and asked a bunch of questions about "Though shalt not kill." which I feel like should be a no-brainer. Like, just don't kill people. It just ethically makes sense. I think Baolo was testing us. He had this kind of smirk on his face the whole time like he was trying to catch us in our words. But we kept our cool, and I think we really gained his respect. That's nice, because Dhylyn told us he said he was born a Catholic and he'd die a Catholic. I hope he can open up a little with us. We also stopped and discussed the law of chastity and they both seemed really serious about keeping it. I'm excited for them! There wasn't much progress made with our other investigators. Keep praying for them, though! Our EQP's brother said he'd come to church this next Sunday and he needs to if he wants to be baptized on the 7th of February. Our lesson was pretty positive yesterday, but his brother was giving him a lot of pressure. I hope he didn't get scared. 

Love you all! Also, get pumped for the song we did this week. It's super awesome. 

-Elder Smith

Week Seventy-One: 12/30/2014 to 1/5/2015--Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone,

So the new year came too fast. That's all there is to it. It was always really comforting when people asked me when I was going home and I could say "next year." Next year always seems ages away, but then when "next year" becomes "this year," it becomes frighteningly more close. 

But enough of that! This week was pretty fantastic. Lately, it just seems like everything's going right. I don't know how long it'll last, but I'm very happy to just let it stay forever haha. First of all, Dhylyn is doing great. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and she had a little problem with coffee, but she was really willing to give it up for a greater cause. Her boyfriend, Paolo wasn't there, though and he's the one who really needs help, so we hope we can get in contact with him this week. They are both set to be baptized on the 31st. 

Also, miracles! Brother Lu, who's been pretty anti-gospel discussion lately, told us yesterday that he talked to the sister missionary who contacted him in the first place at temple square and she helped him set a goal for January 31st as well. We walked into gospel principles and he was like, "Elder Smith, just so you know, I've set another goal to be baptized on the 31st. I know you're going to call me tomorrow anyway, so I just thought I'd let you know now and get it over with." Not the most positive way of telling me, but I think he's just kind of trying to save face or something. I don't know, but we'll keep talking with him about it and just see what his thoughts are about it. That was really exciting and super unexpected though! Then, also yesterday, Yonghan(a member's younger brother) set a goal with us to be baptized on the 7th of February. That was awesome and his family is so stoked! Ever since Brother Su's been baptized, the ward's seemed a lot more excited about missionary work and it seems like they trust us a lot more as well. It's exciting! 

Last Friday, I had an exchange with Elder Rock. He's super funny. I was super impressed by how hard he worked especially on learning the language. With any spare minute he had, he was getting out his flashcards and studying them. It was awesome and made me realize that I can't let myself get comfortable with my Chinese speaking level. I need to always be striving to improve. 

Last thing, we went over to the Ramos' house yesterday and ate something called Balut. I don't know if you know what that is, Kayla or Georgette. I don't think they sell it in America. It seems kind of unethical. but it's basically a duck egg where the duck is already partially formed inside. It was SO gross. I almost threw up twice. But I ate it. It's over. And next time, I can eat it more slowly(they told me eating the whole thing at the same time is the best way to do it). This is what it looks like:  

​NAAAAAASSSSTTTTYYYYYY! but as you can see, we also ate some nice chicken soup and some papaya. That was pretty tasty.

Anyways, I hope no one threw up when they saw that. Have a good week! 

-Elder Smith 

P.S. Also, in other news, my family is moving to Olympia. So here's a sad-ish song:( -- Abide With Me 'Tis Eventide.

Week Seventy: 12/23/2014 to 12/29/2014--Well, Christmas has come and gone, but the miracles haven't:)

Hello, everyone!

First of all, Merry Christmas. This was a good week. Good week, indeed. Brother Su was baptized on Saturday with minimal support from his family, but they all came on Sunday to see him confirmed. Here he is:

​I had to use that website to make it landscape and it got super fancy. Sorry...Anyway, we'll be looking for opportunities to visit the rest of his family this week. His wife, who we thought was super grumpy about the church for the longest time, is actually really nice. All the members were really good about welcoming them. Dhylyn and her boyfriend Baolo accepted a baptismal goal for January 31. Dhylyn's thrilled. Baolo is a little more doubtful, but Dhylyn will be a huge help to him. Maybe a little too much help. She was getting pretty preachy yesterday haha. Either way, I'm grateful to be able to teach both of them.

Junwei hurt his foot this last week, so he wasn't able to come to church. Please pray for him and for us! This could be pretty hard on his progression in the gospel as he can't really ride his bike anymore and his parents don't really want us coming over to his house. 

Other than that, this week we skyped our families(awesome!), we had dinner with an American/Taiwanese family and had one of the most awkward dinner conversations ever, we exchanged with the Zone Leaders and had a good time, I got my package from my family! I got a tie-hanger which sounds really simple and it totally is! My life has been simplifiedx999. I love being organized. I also got some goodies from Trader Joe's(I miss that store SO MUCH) and some other stuff that I'll need. I also got some fake glasses to keep the construction dust from getting into my eyes. They also make me look much smarter and hopefully less intimidating so I'll have more success contacting on the roads. 

Love you all! Have a fantastic week and a Happy New Year!

-Elder Smith  

P.S. Also, here's the Song: How Great Thou Art.