2014-02-03 It Has Begun ... Chinese New Year!

WOW.  So everything I thought I had been prepared for, is nothing.  Haha I have been eating SO MUCH THIS WEEK!

Normally in our mission missionaries aren't asked over to anyone's house, because it is dirty or small or whatever the reason.  But during Chinese New Year that goes away.  Everyone asks us!  Thankfully I haven't had double meals .. but the week isn't over yet so it could happen!  After every meal I have been tryign to write WHAT I ate (if I knew what it was haha) and HOW much I ate.  We started to be qing-ed (ching meaning Chinglish invited over) on Wednesday.  There were 6 plates of food there.  Then on Thursday was THE DAY, basically New Year's Eve.  We ate for lunch, 3 big scoops of spaghetti with some crazy mushrooms, loads of snap peas with carrots and crab, scooops of veggies with something that looked like vegetarian fake meat maybe tofu, lots of squid, real fish sticks, bowl of taro and coconut milk soup, spicy bacon with bocai and a big bowl of rice.  Then for dinner we had (all cold) a massive plate of eggs with onion (no one else was eating it and everyone looked at me so I ate it all) 15 dumplings, fake meat, huge pieces of turnip, more snap peas and carrots, 2 shrimp, bowl of rice, and more bocai!  THAT IS ONE DAY!

Friday we were qing-ed to McDonalds for Lunch hahaha but we still ate more than you normally would because he bought 2 big things of chicken wings.  For Dinner we ate loads.  We went to the home of the 1st Counselor to the Mission, and all of their food was SUPER SPICY!  I still had 2 dumplings, a bunch of pork (and all their meat they love to keep the fat on) anyway you get the idea.  Loads of food everyday, every meal.  But just to make sure, some of the weirdest things I've eaten have been: pig knee (loads of jelly not much meat), octopus tentacle, super spicy sausage, baby shrimp/maggots I'm not sure I didn't want to ask.  My stomach is huge.  Thank goodness we have to bike everywhere and go running every other morning!!

But the food hasn't been the best part of the week for sure.  We have had some really amazing miracles!

So no one wants to meet during this last, and upcoming week because it is family time.  Which is the best time for us!  But it is too buhao yisi (boo-hao yee-seh meaning literally not too good meaning, not a good idea)  Anyway so we have been struggling trying to figure out what we should do.  I am in charge of our Area Books, which are actual binders rather than on the iPad </3 but I love them because you can flip through and see progress and why (if the missionaries put it in there)  Anyway I was flipping through and 3 Former Investigators stuck out to me.  We visited them the next day and MIRACLES!  They all where home, and wanted to meet again!  Most of them were from 2004/2007 time period.  One didn't even have info, it was just a family.  The family we went to see first, and they weren't home .. initially.  So we started to write a note, messed up and had to start again.  Before we finished the second note, they came home!  Weren't ready for us to meet with them then, but said we could call them for after guonian (guuu-oh knee-an meaning passing year aka New Year)!!!  THAT WAS SO GREAT!  Since then we have been trying to find at least 1 former each day!

We have a free English class every week here in Taizhong and it is very successful!  This last week we met a new girl who is just the bomb!!  Her English is very good and she is studying to be an English teacher here in Taiwan.  We met her once, had a first lesson where we did How To Begin Teaching and invited her to Church.  SHE CAME!  AND BROUGHT A FRIEND!!!  So excited for her!

We are NOT supposed to get home before 9 but before 9:30 which this last week we have seen MIRACLES WITH!  We usually bike home and could go home just 5 minutes early but like Saturday night we see amazing things happen if we don't.  So yea we had like 5 minutes before we could be home and start planning and getting ready for bed etc etc but we stayed out.  We were almost home but we turned down the road and went to a busy intersection.  We pulled up and started talking to people, Sister Graham got a phone number on her first one, the person I talked to pretended not to hear me and pull forward and away haha.  So I pulled up behind her and waited for us to move to the next intersection, but as I did another person pulled up and starting talking TO ME!  We got his number too!  We didn't have to really do anything but these people came to us!!  When we obey exactly He bless us :)

No surprise Chinese is HARD.  I have been really struggling feeling like I can do it.  Which is lame because I have been learning right?  No.  Teaching the gospel is completely different!  Anyway I kind of just cried and cried one day.  And kept saying I don't know what I should do, what do I do??  And I turned to where I had been reading in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 32.  And miracle.  It was perfect.  It was saying, STOP WORRYING.  He will give it to you, He will support you, He will make what needs to happen, happen.  2 Nephi 32:4-9

4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ^aask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will ^ashow unto you all things what ye should do.

6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall ^amanifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.

7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the ^aunbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the ^bstiffneckedness of men; for they will ^cnot search ^dknowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in ^eplainness, even as plain as word can be.

8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the ^aSpirit which teacheth a man to ^bpray, ye would know that ye must ^cpray; for the ^devil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must ^apray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall ^bpray unto the Father in the ^cname of Christ, that he will ^dconsecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the ^ewelfare of thy soul.

 

Then the even cooler thing happened.  We met with one of our STELLAR less actives.  She went on a mission, but has been in active to 10 years.  She saw the missionaries on the road and wanted to slowly start.  Now she is strong and coming back and bringing her kids with her, and her son is being baptized THIS WEEK!  Her husband met with us this last time for the first time too so super great and excited for her!  We had a really emotional lesson, she was really struggling with her faith and talked about these SAME VERSES that touched my heart.  And we just hugged and supported each other and showed her what she did have faith in, and made sure to tell her it starts slow, with tiny seeds like Alma says :)  Anyway perfect lesson, I know I am in Beiqu to be with her.  No doubt in my mind!!

 

I have really been trying to work out in my mind how I can give myself to the Lord while I am here.  How I can fully give of myself to the people in Taiwan.  I am still trying to figure that out, so any tips would be welcome!!  But I do know that I am going at it and talking with as many people as I can find!  Bearing quick and simple testimony!  A member we ate with said he saw us at the lights talking with people and it made him happy, he also suggest that we try singing a line of a hymn!!!!  I haven't used it yet, but we will!

 

I have been learning so much, I never realized how many scriptures are about missionary work!!  Woah!  I am marking up my scriptures with the green for missionary work like craazy!  I am also in the process of making a box for my flimsy missionary Book of Mormon triple column, because it just slides and gets all crinckled with out one!  So I am trying to piece one together with my Oreo box! haha

 

I am loving the weather!  All you really need is a light jacket and you are good to go!  I don't know how to describe how much we bike here, but I would estimate it's at least 20 miles each day :)  A good workout that's for sure!!  There is this one road, Dalu here in Taizhong that is just DEATH.  It is so long, and has a slight incline which I think is worse than like super high and there are so many intersections that you COULD stop at, but it's a green light so you push and keep going till Heavenly Father sees you can't go anymore and gives you a red :)

 

I love you all!!

 

Especially my wonderful mommy who gave birth to my sorry carcass!  It will be her birthday this next week and I love her so much!

 

Sister King

Wang Jiemei
Juju Jimmie

2 Nephi 30:7

7 And it shall come to pass that the ^aJews which are scattered also shall ^bbegin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.