Aloha!
Here I am again! I so survived this first week hurrah! There is SO MUCH I want to tell you all so I'll try to get it all in. I've never walked so much in my life! You'd think there'd be people EVERYWHERE but for some reason, there haven't been--not in Yuen Long anyway! Go figure.
Last Friday, I decided that finding on the MTR is really fun! At least they can't run away from you hehe! I just remember that if it weren't for some missionaries finding and teaching Dad and Mom, I wouldn't be here! It's my goal to start talking to someone right away cause if I wait too long to say hi, it gets even more awkward to approach people! The Chinese people are so funny when they "reject" you cause they will literally wilt like a drooping flower and become lifeless as you try to talk with them. It's funny to see how many people all of a sudden fall asleep or have to talk to people on the phone when they see you coming!
Our first teaching appointment was with Wuh Jimuih and her friend Jan Jeh. They ended up making us food and Wuh Jimuih was SO HARD to understand! She's in her 60s but is not in good health so Jan Jeh takes care of her. I just nodded most of the time, and tried to help my companion when I could. I basically just bear testimony when Taahm Jimuih (Sister Thompson) gives me that look LOL! Otherwise, I only know what's going on half the time. They said they would come to church this Sunday, and we got them a ride so I'm really excited!
Sister Thompson and I also teach an English class every Friday evening at a language center run by one of the ladies in one of the wards we cover (she's either from Yuen 1 or Yuen 2 . . . sisters get to cover two wards because there aren't enough of us to go around!). Last Friday, we had seven very energetic girls and one less-than-energetic boy who refused to tell us his name. The girls have names like January and we've heard stranger ones like Pancake and Vickle. Gotta love them! I wonder who chooses these names for them. It's a great missionary opportunity cause none of these kids are members so we're teaching them how to pray and will tell more Book of Mormon stories. :)
Thanks to Dad and permission from President Van Dam, I got to meet with Grandma, Dad's brother's wife, brother (I think!), and Dad's two older sisters. And Dad's sister's little girl (I think!). We met them in the MTR last Sunday afternoon, and it was so fun to finally meet them! I didn't recognize anyone except for Grandma. Healthwise, she said she is doing better and they're all worried about Darilyn. They gave me all these snacks and forced me to take money. They are way too nice! They say to try acupuncture but I told them we already tried that LOL! I could barely understand them . . . it's really funny cause my companion is super good at Canto after just seven months. Everyone always is so shocked that she can speak so well, and it somehow makes a huge difference to them because she's white and from Canada. We laugh all the time when people think I am native, and they tell me how amazing it is that she can speak Chinese. And then I can only nod LOL! I felt a little bad because last Sunday, people kept telling me how bad it is that I don't speak Chinese "because you are Chinese!" Oh well, I've learned that God wants this work done more that I do, and He will help me learn how to speak Canto if I just do all I can! So in the end, I'm glad that I got the chance to meet with my family, and we even got to share with them a little of what we're doing as missionaries!
Monday was perhaps the hardest day for my companion in her whole mission so far! We dub this day the "Crazies Day" cause this day was seriously the WEIRDEST day ever! First, we went with the Mandarin-speaking elders to their teaching appointment, and it turned out that the lady just wanted the elders to come for the wrong reasons and didn't believe in any of our message. She kept feeding them grapes, while Sister Thompson and I were trying to stifle our laughter because the whole situation was ridiculous! Then, we went to this park--where there was NO ONE except for this guy from China who basically just wanted my number to hang out. And then the next guy just wanted Sister Thompson's number to hang out! We ran away from both and by the end of the day, were really tired of finding in places where there are no people. Yuen Long is the booniest of boonies LOL! At least we're getting around better. This is what happens when you whitewash an area and know nothing and no one!
We thought the next day would get better because after trying to schedule people for hours and getting no one, we felt inspired to paakmuhn (go tracting!) in Ping Shan. We ended up in this backwoods kind of area and found a tin village. All of the houses were made of tin or some sort of rusting sheet metal. It was a dump, and we felt so humbled and blessed to have an apartment and everything. It's so weird to see so many broken-down homes hidden away in a hill and then a mansion right next door. I'd like to say that we found a tiny, old man at the last door (well it you could call those doors!) at the very end of a hidden road, but we didn't. In fact, we found no one again! Well, no one except for this excitable guy who had to run to work. We found a squashed frog, tons of the fattest dragonflies I've ever seen, and a graveyard hidden away up a long flight of broken stone steps. Sister Thompson said the area looked a lot like her home in Alberta and that all we needed was a cow to cross the road to complete the picture. Well, God really has a sense of humor cause within the next hour, a cow appeared out of no where! We took many fun pictures of us trying to proselyte to it hehehe! It was so fun to go exploring even though we didn't find anyone, though!
We went finding once again yesterday and we finally were able to teach eight people! Hurrah! God loves us! We even found a man at the very last door at the very top of a hidden staircase wanting to hear the gospel. :) Even though we don't have very many investigators so far, things are looking up.
I love and miss you all!
The Church is true!
Sister Chu :)
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