August 29, 2011

Hey Mom!

Love the picture! I can't wait to see more!

Ok so the new place- my apartment isn't as big or nice but it is in a great location in town and we have a working washer and dryer and air conditioner- not much more you can ask for, especially considering how little time we spend at home. The one thing I miss the most is having 2 bathrooms, we have to do a little more planning to get ready on time in the mornings but still, can't complain. We are city, but not as city as Xitun. We are about an hour and a half bike ride from the harbor- maybe a p-day activity in a couple weeks? We still bike, all day every day. This week we spent a lot of that time in the rain. At least it cools you off, though. The people here are so great. The ward members are amazing and we have been meeting with some really awesome mudaoyou. Ok so get this- Monday while Sister Morey was waiting for me at the train station a lady called her and said, do you live on the third floor? Sister Morey said, yes. She said, I live on the 8th floor- I want to come to your church. Sister Morey said, when can we meet with you? Tonight? She said, ok what do you like to eat? So monday night we went to her apartment and had fried rice and taught her the first lesson and when we gave her the Book of Mormon she said, wow, this is so precious! And we said, yes, yes it is. Then we met with her 2 more times last week and on Saturday she came to the baptism (that story's next). She had told us her daughter lives close by with the grandma, and we told her to bring her to the baptism too. The daughter lives in the other sisters' area, and after the baptism she came up to us with a contact card and asked, Can I fill this out right now? Ok, this NEVER happens! We call her the miracle on the 8th floor. I have never met anyone as eager and excited to learn the gospel as this lady is.

Baptism! I completely forgot my camera cable so pics will come next week. There is a little girl who's been meeting with the missionaries for a few weeks now, and she and her mom were both supposed to get baptized on Saturday. About a week before though, they found out her mom and dad are actually not legally married, so her mom couldn't get baptized and they were going to postpone it for a couple of weeks until they could get it figured out but then the little girl was really sad and she said, does that mean I can't get baptized this week? So they decided to still have her get baptized and then let her be a good example for her mom and dad so that they can feel the Spirit she brings into their home and help them get ready to get baptized soon too. She is 9 years old, and she is so sweet! I braided her hair and she got in the little jumpsuit and got her picture taken in every combination possible of missionaries, her mom, and her ward member friends. The best picture of all was the one of her walking out of the font- she had the biggest smile ever on her face and she was sooooo happy. It was such an awesome way to start out my time here in this area. I am so excited to keep helping her family and helping the other mudaoyou we have keep learning the gospel and gaining a testimony.

We have one mudaoyou that is really special. He is 18 and he has been meeting with missionaries for months. He comes to church for 6 hours every week- both of our wards- and he meets with missionaries probably about every day. He is one of the most interesting people I have ever met- he has such a strong testimony of God and Jesus Christ and all he wants to do is get closer to them, but he is super unsure. He thinks about things so much that he goes in circles over and over again and he second guesses everything. We met with him last night and we would ask him a question and we could see him be about to answer but then he'd back off for a second and rethink whatever he was about to say and then just say, I don't know. He knows what's right, but then he says he's not sure. It's like he literally has a shoulder angel and a shoulder devil and he just goes back and forth and back and forth. We pray for him all the time and we hope as we keep teaching him and figuring out where he's coming from we'll know what he needs to get the answers he's looking for and make up his mind about them once and for all.

Ok so more about our area- our district is great! I love Sister Morey, this is her first time being senior companion and she is doing such a good job. We are figuring out a lot of things together and I know it will all work out great. the zone leaders are in our district so we get to see them all the time, which is so awesome. We have one other set of elders and another set of sisters! Sister Stirling, who I knew at the MTC (she's one transfer behind me) and Sister Cooper, who is a legend in this mission. Also---- Sister Lee is in my zone! They come to DTM at our chapel every week so I got to see her Tuesday and all of us sisters are going out to lunch today so I will get to see her then too. I love that we are so close!

Yesterday, today and tomorrow we are on typhoon alert. It has been raining pretty hard. We have strict instructions to avoid areas with over a foot of water and when street signs start flying to go back to our apartment. So far none of that has happened, we have just been really wet. But I will take pictures for you if it starts getting intense.

Dad and Nicole- have fun on your trip! Take lots of pictures! Tell Daniel I say hello.

Katie- I can't wait to hear your song! Playing at church is super nerve-wracking. me and Sister Morey sang at the baptism and I was super nervous. but it turned out... ok. I'm sure you did great!

I love you guys so much! Thank you for all of your love and support. I loved getting Katie's letter this week... hopefully I won't have to wait as long for the next one! Hint hint. I love your emails and pictures and I am just really happy that when people ask about my family you are the ones I get to tell them about :)

Have a great week!

Love,

Danielly