Three Weeks To Go!

oh my gosh.
the mtc has been kind of boring lately, so i made a list of the slightly not mundane things that have happened this week...
today we went to the temple early and did initiatories. it was amazing! one of the women had this wonderful way of saying things. you could feel her testimony in every word. it made me realize that i need to be that way and i can be that way. oh my word, i love the temple. i am going to miss it so much when i get to taiwan.
on tuesday at the rc qian laoshi helped me a ton with vocab. he is another great example of kindness. after his help i took a really interesting call from a man named george. i initially thought he was on drugs then figured out he was an old man kind of going crazy. he has been in a few convalescent homes that sound dodgy. he called for the missionaries at one but the priest working there sent them away in the rain and then threw away george's book of mormon. he's been a member his whole life but by the things he said i know that the homes' religion has seeped in. i contacted his area's priesthood so that they can get home teachers to him. HOME TEACHING is so IMPORTANT. make sure you do it. i'm realizing that we have a great duty to lift others around us when they need it. if we do so, the Lord will lift us. i know this!
on tuesday afternoon we decorated papers like different city features (for example, i drew a park with trees and a post office with a letter) then we taped them outside with "streets" we also made and practiced giving directions. this was exciting.
OH! the subpoena. that's big. i was called to the front desk then to spencer christiansen's office. he told me what was going on and told me that i may have to leave and that it's possible that the trial will be delayed and my mission too. oh my gosh! this threw me off all day. my district helped a ton. qian laoshi interviewed me the next day and gtave such good advice. that man's faith is astounding. you can't help but believe all that he does when you're around him. i imagine this is how christ is. on thursday elder welling said that he and elder cornelius had been talking and decided that they will be very sad if we don't all go to taiwan together. i agree. on sunday president garrett interviewed me and gave me so much comfort. he said they will do all in they're power to keep me here and that if i have to go to vegas for a few days i can still leave with my district! :) he said "if you have to leave, just enjoy the break." he's so awesome. he shared a quote that i loved. neal a maxwell said, "i am confident that the Lord will micro-manage your life if you allow him to." i need to rely on this. on sunday elder welling gave me a great blessing. i know this will all be alright. i have felt the lord's protection in the mtc. in helaman there is a verse that says, of Samuel the Lamanite, "the spirit of the Lord was with him insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones, neither with their arrows." (or something like that). i know this is the same here in the mtc. i'm grateful.
on saturday at the trc i saw my friend fu fan. (remember her mom? you met her at the party. her mom lives in kaohsiung.) it was SO COOL to be able to communicate with her in her language. it made me eager to work harder and learn more so that i can express myself better.
there is an elder here that looks like sufjan stevens but taller. RAD.
a sister from the phillipines is in the other mandarin speaking zone. she's amazing. listen to this... when she came she barely spoke any english, so in learning mandarin she had to translate from tagalog to english to mandarin (because all of our resources are english to mandarin/mandarin to english). now she's great with both! she is teaching me how to make books and how to sew a bit.
yesterday i took pictures with biff burley and josh cowles. i'll send some soon. (do you have the sneeds' address? i want to send one to them.)
curtis swarts' nephew elder harber is here. we have meals at the same time. he always invites me to sit with him and his comp. it makes me smile. what a good kid. he says that his brother is doing well in dc and he told me about zack. i'm sad that he was only able to be out for six months.
so, two of my friends left this week: elder kao, going to melbourne, australia, mandarin speaking. one of the kindest and most sincere people i know. and elder davidson, going to southern japan. their departures reminded me that i have three weeks! i saw my flights stuff in brother christensen's office. march 24 around 9 i head to LAX. crazy. time flies here. the next three weeks are going to be gone so fast! i think next week i'll send my stuff to a place where lauren can pick it up. it costs like five dollars from her end or something but works way better than mail. i'll let you know about it as soon as i can.
how is everyone in vegas? i miss you all. chloe, where have you been? i need to hear from you! little girls, i look at the pictures you've sent everyday. they are hanging next to my bed. dad, thanks for the mission stories. i had most of my zone cracking up during dinner when i got it.
i think that's it. oh! here is something... i have discovered that i really am a sister missionary. the other day i had an "encounter" with an elder i had so idea how to respond. i no longer know how to interact with the real world! kind of cool.
well, wo ai nimen!

zeng jiemei