Taiwan or Bust!

oh my heck! zao gao. i cannot believe that it's time for me to go. i'm freaking out a little. i feel like i have a lot more to do. but i'm going, stepping into the dark, with faith that our heavenly father will put something beneath my feet. i'm sure he will.
so, this week has been nuts. it has gone by super fast and has been so hard to focus. i don't think i've ever wasted so much time at the mtc. it seems like my brain is always a million places. what freaks me out (and needs to stop) is that if i'm not thinking about taiwan and mandarin, i'm thinking about what it will be like when i come home. i think i'm already a bit more apprehensive about the flight to the us from taiwan than vice versa. one thing that i find relieving is that i know i'll have friends when i come home. i know this because a. a ton of amazing people write me and i love it, b. i have made some of the best friends i imagine i'll ever have, c. tianfu will bless me, i'm sure of it.
this saturday was our last at the trc/lrc and we had the best experience! qian laoshi put us in a room with a REAL investigator from mainland china, everyone was sort of jealous. she's teaching mandarin in oklahoma for two years and has been living with a member family. i was so nervous. as we prepared to go in qian laoshi told us not to worry. the only thought i had (which i expressed out loud) was, "ruguo wo outu, women jiu zuo shenme?" "if i throw up what do we do?" but as soon as we started talking with her the fear left. we talked about the book of mormon and our testimonies of its truth. she asked us about our favorite stories and how it has effected our lives. it was awesome. it felt so good. but the best is yet to come. (this story acts as proof of how awesome qian is) after we taught he went somewhere with her and talked to her briefly about the gospel. then HE INVITED HER TO GET BAPTIZED! SHE SAID YES! on may 8! holy cow! amazing! i am so happy for her and so grateful to have these experiences.
after the trc we took pictures with our district and had a final testimony meeting. i am surrounded by the best of the best. i feel so unworthy of their friendship. really, my district could be translated. i love them and will miss them, but we're all going to gaoxiong. : )
i'm not sure what else to tell you. i have so many thoughts that seem so muddled and messy.
i am so grateful for what i've learned in the mtc. before coming here i took so much of the gospel for granted. i regret not reading the book of mormon everyday, skipping prayers and not utilizing the atonement to it's fullest. we are so blessed to have the knowledge we do. we are truly loved by our heavenly father and by the savior, jesus christ. the mtc has been hard, but so happy. i hope i have grown, i feel like i have. i pray that i'll be able to help the people of taiwan grow in the gospel. it has changed my life. there is so much i know i wouldn't have gotten through without it. i know that i will be blessed according to my faith. i know that heavenly father is watching all and protecting us where he can. i know that we have agency. the savior is as near as we allow him to be, he will never turn his back on us. the atonement is real and it is infinite. whatever we bring to the table, whether it be 2 or 20 or 2000, christ will make up the difference for, as long as we are working our hardest to become like him. i know that death is not the end. i am so comforted by this knowledge. i am comforted to know that ryan, ray, mae, kai and everyone else are serving the lord in a way that we can't on earth. my goal is celestial glory with my family. i know that if i keep that goal in mind always, my actions will bless the lives of others.
the next year and a half will be tough, but i know they will be great. i was flipping through my planner and found a sticky note that said, "just know that it will be wonderful." it was something qian laoshi said to us once. i don't remember exactly what the context was, but i feel like we can say it about all that lays ahead of us. heavenly father wants us to be happy, and if we do our part we will be.
thank you family (and friends) for being wonderful. i cannot express the love i have for you, or the hope that i have that you realize the power of the gospel.
here i go! i'm excited, nervous, scared, comforted all at once. muah muah muah!!
zeng jiemei