Dear Mom, Dad, Eric, and Belle,
Nimen hao ma? I'll begin by following up on the email I was sent. I got the package with everything in it. It was easily the most random package I have ever received hands-down. Kool-aid, a journal, pistachios (spell check that for me), and chocolate. Zhende ma? Kaiwan xiao. It was seriously awesome! Thank you so much! I'm always very appreciative of everything you guys send me. Also, what was super bizzare is that I LOVED the pistachios. I don't normally like them much at all....actually not at all. I think it's just that it's the first real food I've had in forever and a day and it was delicious. My favorite part is always the letter that's included. I read it first thing, then I looked what was inside. What you guys have to say is always a million times more worthwhile than any candy or treat.
Hmm...I don't know what you could send that would be beneficial. Maybe IF YOU CAN FIND IT, a Chinese hymnbook. Our generation of missionaries isn't going to have them because, for whatever reason, the shipper in Taiwan won't send them. I think they're retranslating a lot of the hymns. That aside, I feel like it would be very helpful. Supposedly I can purchase a children's Book of Mormon (like the one I had to read before I could be baptized) and a children's song book in characters. I may try to do that while I'm here if I can (I'm trying to save my money for it, I feel like it would be a wonderful tool when dealing with children). I don't know though. I think I'm going to stock up on sticky tabs (I mark all of my scriptures with Eric's key and then put a tab on the edge so I can access it quickly) and paper, and sticky notes, and stuff like that. I've been burning through those like crazy. Hard to say for sure though. I don't know what you guys can actually send me. I feel like I'm putting you guys through too much with all of these packages.
The General Authority who spoke on Tuesday was only a regular 70. No big name, but that being said, it was still a great talk. I've noticed that outside of General Conference, 70-members and other General Auxilaries are outstanding speakers. Maybe it's the fact that I'm on a mission, maybe not.
Nimen hao ma? I'll begin by following up on the email I was sent. I got the package with everything in it. It was easily the most random package I have ever received hands-down. Kool-aid, a journal, pistachios (spell check that for me), and chocolate. Zhende ma? Kaiwan xiao. It was seriously awesome! Thank you so much! I'm always very appreciative of everything you guys send me. Also, what was super bizzare is that I LOVED the pistachios. I don't normally like them much at all....actually not at all. I think it's just that it's the first real food I've had in forever and a day and it was delicious. My favorite part is always the letter that's included. I read it first thing, then I looked what was inside. What you guys have to say is always a million times more worthwhile than any candy or treat.
Hmm...I don't know what you could send that would be beneficial. Maybe IF YOU CAN FIND IT, a Chinese hymnbook. Our generation of missionaries isn't going to have them because, for whatever reason, the shipper in Taiwan won't send them. I think they're retranslating a lot of the hymns. That aside, I feel like it would be very helpful. Supposedly I can purchase a children's Book of Mormon (like the one I had to read before I could be baptized) and a children's song book in characters. I may try to do that while I'm here if I can (I'm trying to save my money for it, I feel like it would be a wonderful tool when dealing with children). I don't know though. I think I'm going to stock up on sticky tabs (I mark all of my scriptures with Eric's key and then put a tab on the edge so I can access it quickly) and paper, and sticky notes, and stuff like that. I've been burning through those like crazy. Hard to say for sure though. I don't know what you guys can actually send me. I feel like I'm putting you guys through too much with all of these packages.
The General Authority who spoke on Tuesday was only a regular 70. No big name, but that being said, it was still a great talk. I've noticed that outside of General Conference, 70-members and other General Auxilaries are outstanding speakers. Maybe it's the fact that I'm on a mission, maybe not.
I'm glad that Eric is happy about hanging out with "a bunch of nerds" at his new job. It sounds like it's something that Eric enjoys. He'll be able to save up heaps of money (I've been saying "heaps" a lot because of Sister Mitchell).
I'm not surprised that mom destroyed in cycling. She needs to ride with a tougher crowd! She's a beast! GO MOM! And you as well dad! It sounds like going up in category has really been a tough transition, but I'm confident in your ability and imagine that you'll catch 'em all before too much longer! It's funny because I told Nie Zhanglao that Dad must be enjoying Daylight Savings (for us, it's just a lost hour of our PRECIOUS sleep time), and then Dad mentioned it in the email. Keep it up you two!
I'm happy that BYU sort of made it to the NCAA Tournament. I imagine they'll win the "play-in" game, but get their stuffing kicked out of them against Marquette. The Suns stink man. :/ I'm disappointed. There are loads of Arizonaites here who comment on my apparel. It's really funny, but awesome. I don't much mind if the Jazz don't do well, but I despise the Spurs and Heat. I've always like the Bulls and Thunder.
I wish I could hear Bryan Parry speak, I bet that will be phenomenal. Sister Clawson as well. I miss Bryan. I imagine that he has developed into an outstanding young man, kinda like Spencer Apsley. Not that they weren't already, but they're even better now! :D
The language still seems to be going along at a steady rate. I mean, it's a lot of refining. I didn't even realize that I was leaving in three weeks. Some of our Elders (the ones going to New York) leave in two! Next week, I get my travel plans! DON'T PLAN ON TAKING WORK OFF UNTIL I DO!! It probably wouldn't be the fifth anyway, it would be the third. This is because I think I actually get there on the fifth and leave on the third. Just saying. Just sit tight for the next while, unless you can't, then count on the third. I'm....relatively pleased with how I'm progressing. I ALWAYS feel like I can work harder, and I'm really trying to do that. I've developed a detailed language learning plan that I'm excited to begin tomorrow.
I'll try to record the Elder's comments, but I can't make any guarantees. It might be against the rules. I'm glad you liked my scripture and those videos. The scripture is so eloquent. It really makes me happy and realize the importance of what I'm doing. I found another one that I like equally as much but I forgot to write it down for this email. La Costa seriously sounds DELICIOUS. I would kill for real food. Zhende. I can't believe that Hunger Games is already here! I can't wait to hear ALL about it! Oh ya, and....Wo ye feichang ai nimen. I'm sorry to hear about Grandpa Wilkes and Grandpa Woolsey. Please keep me updated. It's very upsetting, but I would like to know.
I actually talked to Elder Taylor last night for a while. He feels like he's learning a lot. He KNOWS the tones super well, but claims his vocabulary is poor. I don't know. He's such a stud and ever so humble. I seriously doubt he would tell me if he was destroying the competition. With regards to my emails. I would like you to print them off and store them somewhere, then you can edit them and put them up on a blog. I would love to have the original copies.
This week, my companion and I had the zui hao de kecheng we have ever had. It was seriously epic. We traded off and were led by the spirit the entire time. Our investigator understood what we were teaching and we could apply our purpose to everything. He accepted commitments and we really grew as a companionship. This is several prayers in the making here! It was awesome!
Oh yeah, Dad, the other Elders thought that your handwriting was so good that it was typed. Keep it up! I feel like my decent handwriting is hereditary! Umm...I want you guys to look up a talk by Neal A. Maxwell from 1981 that I stumbled upon. It's so eloquent and beautiful. I think it may be the first talk he ever gave. He is essentially just bearing his testimony the entire time, but it's so extremely fantastic. It's called "O, Divine Redeemer." I think you'll love it. You know how smart that man was. :) I'm also sending a letter your way that includes about 10-12 pictures. I think you'll like them. I took most of them the day Sun Zhanglao (Elder Snyder) went home.
I get to do curb-side pick up next week and possibly the week following that as well. ALSO, most importantly, we get the younger generation next week and we are finally the BMoC. So...that should be sweet. Sorry about the hurried nature of the ending of my letters. I'm usually very near my time limit so I apologize. I love you guys so much, and I hope you realize that always. I always want to reflect on my performance by thinking about how proud of me you would be if you were here. KEEP LEARNING CHINESE! When I've mastered my grammar (in about eight months), I'll send home my grammar books and things. They break it all down so much that you'll love it and hopefully learn a lot quickly!
Wo de Zhongwen hai hao ke shi wo hui jinliang zuo wo do jianzheng. Wo guanyu wo de jiuzhu yao zuo jianzheng. Wozhidao wo de jiuzhu huozhe. Ta wei women shouku. Yinwei ta wei women si suoyi women hui fuhuo haiyou gen women de Tianfu zhu. Wozhidao ta wei women si yinwei ta zhende feichang ai women. Wozhidao zhege jiaohui shi zhenshide. Wozhidao Mo'ermenjing shi Shen de hua. Wozhidao Yuesi Sime shi Shen de xianzhi. Dang women jinliang fucong Tianfu de jieming de shihou women dedao henduo de zhufu. Feng Yesu Jidu de ming. Amen.
Sorry that that was so brief, but my companion really wants to go to dinner. I love you guys and I can't wait to hear from you next week and I can't want to go to Taiwan. JIAYOU!!!
Zaijian,
Wu Zhanglao
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