Making Connections

                                                   Middle part Monday (the elders started it)

                                    My first received text! I promise I read it once, with some help!

            Elder Gray's mom sent muffins this week and I was the chosen one to model them. Yum!

                                                 The sisterhood of the traveling skirt!

Da Jia Hao! 

This has been a great week, and I've really learned a lot. First of all, thanks so much Alicia for sending another package! It causes  quite the hype in my district (: Also, Sis Bowman already loves you and says thanks for keeping us fat and happy (:

This week we focused a lot on the 'whys' of the gospel.  We need to get baptized, but why? Jesus performed the Atonement for us, buy why? The plan of salvation is vital, but why? You would think these are easy, primary questions, but no! When you're actually teaching an investigator, they can be really hard to answer, especially in the limited zhongwen that I know haha. However, I have improved a lot this week with teaching.  Our lessons with Liang JM have improved immensely! She's our less active, and she finally opened up to us! She's engaged, but she's afraid to tell her fiance's parents because they won't like her because she goes to church.  Haha it's a long story, but we're working on it! With He JM, We're really making improvement as well. We've taught her the restoration and about the BOM and it's just great.  I'm trying to memorize Joseph Smith's first vision so it will have more meaning in my lessons, rather than just reading it.  She's so great though! I can't tell you  how amazing it is to hear an investigator pray for the first time! And this is my teacher acting as an investigator, I can't imagine what it will be like with a real investigator! What a day that will be.

We started learning how to teach  the Plan of Salvation this week, and it's a lot harder than I thought! Some things are pretty complex to explain, especially in zhongwen.  But I'm learning, and it will definitely come with lots of lianxi! (practice)

So when Sis Peine left, she left behind a few things, including a skirt.  We call it the sisterhood of the traveling skirt haha. I had the honor of wearing it this week! Also, our old teacher, Jin Lao Shi stopped teaching us a week or so ago, and we made a balloon for him so we would always remember him because he was the coolest! But he died this week, so we had a ceremony for him.  Poor Jin. 

Guess what! So to 'text' our investigators, we put a sticky on the board.  Sis Bowman texted He JM in characters, and so I received my first text in characters! It's so sweet! I also learned how to write my name in characters!! Brother Seow taught me on sunday.  Chinese is so sweet (:

OH BOY. We got to hear from Elder Richard G Scott last tuesday devotional!! It was AMAZING.  The feeling that was there when he walked in the room was just incredible.  He talked about prayer and why it's so important.  He said that if he could, he would have a personal interview with everyone in the auditorium place, but obviously he can't.  But instead, we can do something better. Just pray tonight. But of course! haha. But when you pray, its so important to have an actual conversation with Heavenly Father, rather than just talking to him.  So I had something better than an interview with an apostle of the Lord, but an interview with the Lord! Good stuff. I think we'll get an apostle tomorrow, too because the choir teacher said it's gonna be another broadcast! So I can't wait! Also, he said that only the elders will get to sing for general conference because it's during priesthood session :( So just look for my district.

I'm so glad that we got to see the rededication of the Ogden temple! Oh it was just amazing.  I'm so thankful that I've made going to the temple a priority in my life, and I can't wait for the blessings that I know I'm going to get from serving.  I'm also thankful to have worthy parents that go often, and who could take me to the temple when I went through.  You guys are such a good example to me.  I love thinking about the day that I went through the temple, and what a special day that was.  I really hope that I'll get to take at least one convert through the temple! That would be so amazing.
Last wednesday we got to host!! Ah hosting is just so much fun (: haha I don't even know why I like it so much.  Just the feeling that I've been there before, and now I get to help someone when I know how hard or scary it can be.  Huh, I just had a thought, that's kind of like the atonement.  Jesus Christ has been through everything we've been through, and he's so excited to help us get through our trials.  Anyway, sorry haha. I saw a few people I knew! That's always so fun! So Rachel Harmon, I more knew of her name but she went to Mountain View and knew Kiona and TJ. Then I hosted Whitney Winkel, who I went to maybe 1st grade with (she lived by the Bradley's)? I first recognized her mom, which was surprising, and then she hopped out of the car! It was so fun to see her and catch up with her.  Then I also saw Cami Robinson, who I worked with at the BYUstore.  I can't believe she's finally here! Also, Elder (Ian?) Berlin from Timpanogos. He's such a sweet kid.  So yeah, there's always people I know here, and it's so fun to see everyone around (:

The Taichung district got reassigned and are all leaving this week, they're all going to Portland, Detroit, and Salt Lake. We still have no idea if we'll get reassigned but by this point, I almost want to! It would be a really good experience to actually learn how to teach in my native language.  It's so weird that we're the oldest district in our zone now! Our district got all the assignments, so Sis Jensen and Meyer are sister training leaders, and Elders Sessions, Green, and Tang are zone leaders.  And me and Sis Bowman are still the cute little tech sisters (:

Well, if all goes well I should be out of here in exactly a month! Guess what day it is?? HUMP DAY!! Haha two points to whoever actually understands that reference. All is well here in the MTC.  I love the days when it rains, or we get a glimpse of what it's like in the real world with weather or something haha.  I think of you guys often and hope you're doing well.  Thanks for all the prayers and letters, they really do help and I really can feel the support that everyone gives me. Always stay true to the church.  You never know if you fall away, you could have been the differnece in someone's life.  Think what would have happened if Joseph Smith just didn't want to pray that day in the Sacred Grove? That would have affected millions of people.  We may not have that big of an effect, but it would still affect a lot of people.  Act as if everything depends on you, but pray as if everything depends on your Heavenly Father.  I've been trying to make that have meaning in my life, because that's really how things should be done.  I love you! Have a great week!

Sister Facer