Hey! Happy Birthday dad!! Sangyaht Faailohk, baba!
Hope everyone's doing well. I'm afraid I dont have much to report either. I did a really bad job at writing in my journal this week, so I'm having a hard time remembering what happened. I take time to think back on it today, so dont worry! Things in Sham Shui Po are good! We had stake conference this weekend. Sundays are always the most exhausting for me, which is funny. Everyone just speaks so fast at church, and they always talk really loud and in your face, and it's hard to process it. And then they get really impatient and annoyed as you try to mumble back an answer haha. Every Sunday. But that's ok. They secretly love us, I know it... Chinese just dont say it or act like it, that's all :) No really, they're great. I'm continually impressed at how much work the members here are constantly doing to build up their wards. Seriously, the idea of modern day pioneers has such a different meaning to me now than it used to. They sacrifice so much.
Gam, we did a lot of finding this week. One day we walked from Sham Shui Po, all the way through Kowloon Tong and up to Tsz Wan Sam. I dont know if you can find that on a map or not, but it was a lot of walking and a lot of hills. But we have built up our teaching pool! we are working with 8 people. 1 part member family, another couple, a couple college students, a mom and daughter. It's so fragile right now, but we're excited. We were especially excited for this woman named Lala. she was so great. We taught her the restoration and she accepted a baptismal date. She was excited and loved Jospeh Smith's experience. So we called her on Saturday night to see where we could meet her to go to Stake Conference, and she threw down the "many wives" card, and doesn't want to meet with us anymore, or hear us out. So that was a blow. We're still hopeful to work it out with her, because really, we could clear it up with her so quick.
There is so much anti stuff here, it's amazing. School teachers warn their students of us. Churches here are literally like businesses. There are so many Christian churches and they usually have private schools with them. And every student goes to a private church school. It just feels like the idea of choosing a church based on what you believe, rather than on what is convenient or a good school, or gives you the best accommodations is a completely foreign concept. I understand and respect people who reject us when they genuinely just have different beliefs a lot more. But you know, to each his own. It's hard though when people really do just treat us like such a mahfaan. I'm not sure how to describe that word. Just an overall general way to describe something that you dont like. Literally, we walk away from some people feeling like we should apologize for living haha. But I get it, some missionaries are overbearing and dont respect people's agency or viewpoints. I guess I think it's really important to be tactful and respectful of what people think. I've seen a lot of missionaries try to force people into listening to us, and that is annoying. And with so much added finding experience these last few weeks, I'm gaining my own opinions of what's appropriate. And it's helping! we have some good conversations. So it's been a fun week. A very tiring week, but a fun week. We've met a lot of great people.
Sorry, I didn't have much to write about, so I went off on a tangent that is completely unrelated to much of anything ha. sorry. But hey, I got Morgan's postcard! Thank you! I was so excited to get mail! And now I have a great Carson City postcard on my desk nexct to the pictures of my family. Home means Nevada! Oh, and I need to take a picture of these models in this suit store. There's some really nice suit store in a mall next to our apartment, and one of the advertisement model guys looks like Tommy! Seriously, though. Later today I'll take a picture and send it next week. It makes me miss our family.
And I realized the real reason we have to wear such long skirts that cover our knees....this week we have been doing so much praying, that literally, I have callouses forming on my knees haha. Ugly? ya, a little. hence the long skirts. brilliant :)
Alright, I love you all. Happy birthday dad! you're the best dad any of us could have ever asked for! Thanks for always being such a good example for us kids. We look up to you more than you know. Especailly me. Thanks for helping me become who I am :) Love you dad
Love, hannah
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