remember the email ordeal in the mtc? round 2: taiwan style. myldsmail.net wasn't working this morning. we got word about a half an hour ago that it was back up so we rushed here from the other side of kaohsiung. half an hour until preparation day is up, so this won't be as wonderful as most. sorry.
i have a little topic list, i'm not sure if i'll stay on it. we'll see.
the first point won't be from it...
today we went to monkey mountain with sister angulo and her comp. it was so fun. it's a mountain covered in trees that is supposed to have TONS of monkeys all over. i guess we went too early. we only saw one monkey, but i got really really great pictures. i'll develop them next week. i need to send you a bunch from taiwan so far.
dad- i think the first thing you should give me when i walk off the plane is a gift certificate for a massage. i swear my shoulders get closer and closer to my ears by the day as my neck tenses up. qian laoshi said that if we're stressed and overwhelmed that means we're not relying on the lord enough. that may be true. but it's hard to not be stressed. i think this is how it is for a parent. you feel like you know what is best for the people you care about (investigators, for you children) and it stresses you out as you watch them going against your best word, and the holy ghost's best promptings.
this week we had the activity i mentioned a while ago. it turned out so good! listen to this--one elder counted 30 non-members (i'm sure there were more) and my comp and i got 9 there by our own efforts. that's almost ONE THIRD of the non-member count! so good! we were really happy and so were the elders.
so, being a missionary helps you realize all the things that are wrong with you. it's depressing but wonderful at the same time. wonderful in this way-- out here it's all about you and the savior. the first time i met with president hsu he told me that i need not compare or be competitive (did you tell him i'm competitive or was it the spirit?) because it's not about impressing anyone here or at home. rather, it's about me and the lord. nothing else. i've thought about that and i love it. when else can you this intensely focus on becoming like him? missions are the greatest thing! i'm convinced of this. so, out here i see a lot of things i do and have done wrong. whoa! there are so many things. can i throw a blanket apology at there to anyone and everyone i have wronged in one way or another? i'm not a very nice person. but i think i'm improving. so i guess some of this email will be about improvements i've seen i can make.
a. denying the spirit.
this week we met with julie, our crazy visionary investigator. we planned to find out her interest level and then decide if we need to drop her or not. we read some scriptures together. when we read alma 37:37 (counsel with the lord in all thy doings...) she LOVED it. she couldn't explain her feelings beyond "very, very good". DUH! that's the holy ghost! but she won't herself feel it. she's still stuck on bai bai (ancestor worship) and won't give it up. i think too often i've been more like laman and lemuel than i'd like to admit. i've seen angels (if you will) and then have chosen to murmur and live in disbelief. we can tie this to my personal great apostasy, but i think it's something that probably happens daily. i probably ignore promptings because i'm scared, or too busy to notice, or just negligent. please don't be a jade or a laman or a lemuel.
b. my excellent district leader, elder beck, gave us a conference talk to read: "this day" by henry b. eyring. president eyring is the bomb! he's SO cool! this is now one of my favorite talks. it's all about choosing "this day" over "some day". anyone who knows me knows that i am the queen of 6 am, the day they are due, papers. i'm the queen of last minute shopping. i'm the queen of just barely meeting the deadline. do i want that to happen with eternity? NO! THIS DAY is the day for men to prepare. not tomorrow. even here in taiwan i've been heard saying, "tomorrow i will run harder", "tomorrow i'll put more effort in to being brave." "tomorrow i will start memorizing that scripture." today, not tomorrow go read that talk. so good!
c. do you know how cool the ensign is? it is hands down my new favorite thing! (right above the wraps we buy from the corner for dinner.) oh my gosh! there are so many amazing followers of christ around the world! i had no idea. i love that their testimonies strengthen mine every time i read! in the february 2008 (i think) issue there is a little thing by a kathy truman called "second testimony" (i think) could it be our kathy truman, married to mitch? you should read it then find out. i'd tell you the story but i'd hate to ruin the surprise/waste the five minutes i have left.
i'll wrap up. dang it! i feel like i was just preachy. that's not my intention. i'm sorry. i think sometimes writing letter and emails turns out to be more for me than anyone else. that's selfish. i'm sorry.
thank you all for being so wonderful. i love you and miss you. every time i introduce myself ("i'm zeng jiemei. i have four younger sisters. my family lives in las vegas. they are all members...") my heart pangs a bit. but, i know that this is time well spent. i'm grateful to be here. can i also say, i have the greatest friends. can i tell you how many items of mail i've received since last time i wrote... 18! what? who am i to deserve such love. my friends are amazing. my family is amazing! my life is more than i could ask for. thank you thank you!
i love you!
zeng jiemei.
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