Hi friends!! How is dà jiā / everyone?
Sister Althoff and I have been soooo busy this past week getting everything in order and project #cleanthemoldoutofourapartment. Okay maybe it's not mold but it is just awful and that's all you need to know. Oh and that it's getting taken care of :D So that is why there are only a few pictures this week...sorry! Next week I will do a "day in the life of sista mo" because I feel like my life here is hard to adequately describe or translate into words. So that will be for next week! Here's what happened this week:
Miracle of the Week: One afternoon last week, Sister Althoff and I began a conversation with two women. After a bit we found out that they were both from China and had no familiarity with Christianity. We asked if we could pray with them and they were so confused, thinking prayer was a only something American's did before they ate a meal. But they said "sure"! After the prayer, they expressed how they both felt a super "shū fu" (really comfortable) feeling and that it was really interesting to them that they both felt that. Then the coolest thing- we learn that they are from the same province that Sister Althoff was born in in China! (remember my post a few weeks ago?! Sis Althoff was born in China and adopted by her family from America when she was 5 and has been trying to find her biological mother/learn her story.) So this was sooo cool! Where the women and Sis. Althoff are from is a very small province, so the odds of us meeting people in Taiwan from that province were just so slim. SUCH A BIG qì jī (miracle)! We are having lunch with them this Saturday to get to know them and introduce a bit about Christianity. Ahhh it is so cool! I will let dà jiā (you all) know how this goes!
ā mā (grandma) story of the week: featuringggg XU AMA. One night last week, it was raining SO hard as it likes to do here in Taiwan, and as we were walking along an ā mā sitting on a bench yells at us, "hēi yú shì jiǎ wǔ suì jiù!" / "HEY I am 95 years old!" tip/expectation: if you ever talk to an elderly person here the first thing they tell you is their age. It's the best hahaha. Xu ā mā then said "nǐ men hěn xīn kǔ. wǒ qǐng nǐ men yǐn liào" (doesn't directly translate but basically means you work too hard/poor you, I am going to buy you drinks") and before we could say anything she gave us money to buy drinks from the drink stand next to us. We order drinks for her too, asking for them with no sugar. We gave Xu Ama her drink and she takes one sip and yells "bù hào hé!" (not good drink/tastes terrible!) Sister Althoff and I were laughing so hard and Xu Ama was seriously disturbed that we would drink a drink with no sugar in it. So she gets up, all of her healthy 95 year old self, and walks over to the drink stand counter to tell the man it was bù hào hé. He added like a cup of sugar and she takes a sip and just sat back down smiling. Hahahah it was so great. I LOVE AMAS. We took a selfie with her-see below. TOO CUTE.
"Special" Moment of the Week: In Xīn ān we get to ride our bikes on sidewalks because this area actually has sidewalks! BUT there are tons of columns along the sidewalks at the storefronts so we have to weave through them. Sometimes the decision of which way to go around the column is too much to handle. Two days ago, my decision making abilities were a bit off and I did this awkward "right? left? right?" thought process, but the column was approaching too quickly and I drove STRAIGHT into it! Soo many people were around (which is part of why I met the column) and every single one of them stopped walking and just kinda stared... "HELLO EVERYONE! Listen to my message about Jesus Christ!! Trust me!"
lol fun
Scripture of the Week: I have been thinking a lot about my favorite quote- "Live life for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don't strive to make your presence known just make your absence felt." Well what does it mean? I was thinking about it and doesn't making your absence felt still revolve around you? But then I read 3 Nephi 12:16 that says: "Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven." We gotta try to live our lives in such a way that when we are with others, we want them to feel as if they are the most important person in the world because we love them as Christ loves them. Jesus told us to love others as he loves them, so that must mean that we are capable of loving that way. How we live is then to point others towards Christ and the way we treat others to be the way the Savior would treat them. I know I've shared this in my weekly before but I'm just gonna keep on sharing it because it is so important! Lately I have been thinking so much about - why do we need personal recognition when we could help everyone feel/recognize the love that God has for them instead?
I really love all of you and am so appreciative of your support. It means everything to me! Thank you thank you thank you.
Have the best week! Share your stories of loving others/making a fool of yourselves/anything you want with me! I love hearing about life back in the good old wherever you are.
hehe love you xoxox
mó jiē měi
1. I'm siiiinging in the raiiiinnnn (aka talking to people who just worry that we will get sick)
2. XU AMA- tell me she isn't the cutest person you've seen
3. so night, so bright
