family

my dear family!

I am so happy to have the opportunity to email you today. I feel like I need it today more than other days. I have a lot of huge news. First of all, I have a new companion! In fact, you already know her! I was with her in the MTC, she was my older district, that left to hong kong only 6 weeks before me. Sister Nielson is a wonderful wonderful person. She is coming to Yuen Long to help me do the Lords work and I am so greatful for her.
Our area, besides me, has been completely white washed. Everyone that is coming to yuen long is new. Sister Darcey is going to serve in Macau with sister Wong, and sister Mercado is also going to Macau, International. Sister Taylor, from the MTC is going to live in the same apartment as me to serve the Tuen Mun ward! Sister Chan is training her! Almost all the missionaries in the Zone are different, and today, we received a new shipment of freshly born missionaries, straight from the MTC. The mission is getting younger.
Basically, everything is different, and even though I've only been here 12 weeks, Yuen Long is my area, i've been here the longest and I'm responsible for showing everyone else around. It's going to be like im the senior companion for the next couple weeks, until sister nielson can get to know all our investigators.
When we found out the news late on Tuesday night, I kind of had a melt down. But when I found out who my companion was going to be, I instantly felt comforted. I know that neither of us know how to speak cantonese, but we are going to take on this work completely relying on the Lord for help. And as long as we are exactly obedient. I know that we will succeed.
This area is so special to me. I love these people so much. Jennifer was able to come to church this sunday and she's also getting time off to come to conference, until she can find a new job. She's sacrificing so much!
Stella is doing well, no permission from her mom yet, and honestly i'm kind of worried about not having sister darcey, because stellas mom speaks a weird dialect and i can't really understand her. But stella still wants to get baptized and is reading her scriptures, i am proud of her, i bought scriptures to give her for her baptism day, and i'm making her a scripture case.
I really miss all of you.
We had our first new english class this week, it went well we had about 15 people there! And guitar class is still going strong! I love helping people develop their talents.
I am so excited to be able to watch conference tomorrow. I literally cannot wait. I have a list of questions ready that i know the prophet will answer.
I want you all to know that I constantly think about you. I pray for you too, I worry about you and I love you. I'm grateful for your sacrifices to allow me to be here.
Oh, we just found out that on may 22 elder Oaks is coming to visit hong kong, so i'm really excited to hear from him, and shake his hand.
One cool quick experience: I was riding the train the other day on the way to the church and I sat next to a lady who had a big suitcase. We didn't talk for a long time but i felt like i needed to talk to her, even though i wasn't sure what to say. I just said hello, and asked her where she was headed. She was going back to mainland, and she told me i was so smart for knowing how to speak chinese. I told her I wasn't smart, that I had god's help because i'm a missionary.She talked a little about her church and then, Just as I was going to invite her to hear more about our church, an old couple came and I gave them my seat, they didn't want to take it, but i told them i was getting off soon. The lady i was talking to before then said "this girl is a good person" and then she looked at me very seriously and asked me if she could give me a present. I said "mh saai" (no thanks) but then she whipped out a hand made skirt and said that she wanted me to have it. I didn't take it at first but she insisted, and said that she has many. It just so happened that I had a mormon tabernacle chior CD (singing with a chinese choir!) in my bag, that we were taking to give to a blind lady in our ward, and I gave it to her in exchange, I bore my testimony on music, which is the weirdest thing ever, but she accepted it with two hands and gave me her card. I don't know if anything will happen, but I felt the spirit so strong, and that lady could tell something was different about my message. I know she'll listen to that CD. I hope it will help her feel the truth, and want to know more.
Mom, you asked me if sometimes I hide how hard it is to be on a mission in my emails. The answer to that question is no. While this is the hardest thing I have ever done, it would be impossible for me to describe how hard it is actually.... I simply do not have time to tell you about all the miracles that happen to me as a missionary, so that's why i don't dwell on the difficulties of the work. It's because it's totally worth it. It's totally worth it if I never sleep again, or if I have nothing but horrible companions in the future, or even if i don't see a baptism, or my bike breaks, or i feel sick from eating weird food. The fact of the matter is that nothing could ever matter this much to me right now. I am finally understanding the atonement. I am finally understanding God's love. I understand how he feels about his children, and just being able to feel that through service, makes every hard thing worth it.