WEEK 7: shēnghuó hé hūxī (living and breathing) and a lil' bit of divine intervention

Hi family and friends!

This week has definitely been the longest week of the MTC so far but I am happy to let you know that my companions and I are still shēnghuó hé hūxī (living and breathing)! On Thursday we went to the podiatrist for Liang Jie Mei's foot and found out that her foot was actually broken. I wish I could tell you I am kidding but one of my comps legitimately broke my other comp's foot. 

Mandarin Word of the Week: Zhēnshí de Gùshì

Translation: TRUE STORY BRO. (well actually just "true story" but you get it hehe)

This morning, we spent a few hours at the doctor before they ended up telling Liang Jie Mei she could either go home today or wait till the end of her MTC stay. A bone on the top of her foot is sort of crumbled but her tendons are what is causing her the most pain and will need surgery to fix. If she stays, she has the option to fly directly to Taiwan when she is healed from surgery. She will be staying with us until the day before we all fly out so that if she decides to, she can go straight there and resume her mission. I am soooo glad she decided to stay because I, nor Lei Jie Mei, know what we would do without her at this point. 

Although this has probably been the most exhausting week in every respect, I have been really inspired by Liang Jie Mei's strength and outlook on everything. It was just her and I at the doctor appointment this morning (we were on splits) and the entire time she talked about how all she wanted was for Lei Jie Mei to not feel bad or worry about it. She really is one of the most selfless people I know and has inspired me so much to think less of myself, especially when things get hard. In the pictures below you can see her still being her same goofy, happy self. 

I JUST LOVE HER.

Because of all of the happenings of this week I have been thinking a lot about how Heavenly Father has a huge master plan for each of our lives. I was listening to Josh Groban's song "You Raise Me Up" while studying this week and realized how true that is. If you need a little boost, definitely go read the lyrics and listen to that song! My favorite lines are "I am strong when I am on your shoulders, You raise me up to more than I can be." There is no way I would stay sane through 9 hours of studying each day and there is no way Liang Jie Mei could be feeling the peace she's feeling without a lil' bit of divine intervention. 

I hope everyone is doing well! Write me whenevaaa<3 

love you all

xoxo mo jie mei

p.s. Taiwan in T-13 days!!

My people #xìngfú

This is Huang Jie Mei from Taichung Taiwan! She is sunshine.

My companions being amazing as per usual.

WEEK 6: Small Acts = Much Joy

This week was insaaaaane. I will start on Friday because I really have no recollection of Thursday haha. So after lunch on Friday my comps and I were in the line to put our dishes on the conveyor belt. Well Sister Reinhard (Lei Jie Mei) stepped backwards and didn't know that Sister Langley (Liang Jie Mei) was right behind her and she stepped on her foot. Normally this would be an "ouch get off my foot" situation. HOWEVER at the time of the stepping-on-the-foot, Lei Jie Mei was wearing these epic Dansko clogs. Now if you don't know what Dansko shoes are, they are basically bricks meant to survive a nuclear bomb. So Liang Jie Mei was in a ton of pain, limped out of the lunch room and we went to class. Well, class ended and her foot was getting worse but the doctors office had closed so all we could do was get her crutches from the training room. Needless to say it was a VERY long Saturday and Sunday with the doctors office being closed and Liang Jie Mei not wanting to go to the ER. It was only made longer by everyone asking if "sasquatch" had stepped on her foot....and Sister Reinhard was standing right there....many awkward moments. But we are still livin'!

So here is where the doctors come in. Sister Langley and I spent the entire day, 8:00-4:30, going to and from doctor's appointments while Sis Reinhard stayed in class. It was exhausting, but also quite the adventure. Turns out she has a "severe deep bone bruise." We have no idea what is going to happen or how long she will be in the boot & on crutches. It is always the elephant in the room because we are all supposed to leave in 3 weeks and Sister Reinhard feels horrible if Sister Langley isn't able to leave the same time. Please pray for us hahah.  We are on the struggle bus. #THANKSDANSKOS

Also, to describe the picture of me and Elder Stroud (#2). So at the temple on Sunday my companions were standing and talking to other people and I was sitting by Elder Stroud. He was telling me alllll about his girlfriend back home. Then this MTC zone president comes up to us and with GREAT concern says, "I know you are missionaries but this looks a lot like a date."  We both thought the entire situation was hilarious. Another Elder in our class captured our reactions after the zone president left hahaha. Rest assured that I was not in fact on a date. 

This week has been a long one, but I have still easily found so much happiness in each day.  If there is one thing I have learned this week it is that losing myself in serving others results in the most happiness. My favorite hymn is "Because I Have Been Given Much." The second verse says:

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care,
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-
my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,
that he too may be comforted.

Service definitely requires you to forget yourself and your wants, but I know that is why it is so meaningful. Small acts of service that require such minimal effort from us can bring someone else so much joy. I love these lyrics because it makes me think, "why am I not serving others every single chance I get ?!" My goal is to become a person that "cannot see another's lack and not share" what I have.

Spread the love & make other people happy. You will find so much joy! 

Don't worry be happy now!

i love you all!

xoxox

sister armstrong

PHOTOS

1.   I have a new obsession with glasses and wear anyone's glasses I can get my hands on. These were my fave. #i'mharrypott

2.   Elder Stroud 

3.   My last pic with sister clark :'((((((( i love that girl!

4.   Fun bumping into Jonathan Staheli (family friend) who works at the MTC.

WEEK 5: Flustered chickens, REJOICE ALWAYS and "let your pigeons go"

NIhǎo! Zěnme yàng?

This week has felt like an eternity. I will try to recount all the happenings but my brain is so cloudy with a bunch of Zhōngwén mixing with my English and the occasional Spanish word! I am confused haha ANYWAYS! Last P-day was pretty exciting.  We had gotten back to the room and I was brushing my teeth and walking around with Sister Clark (the Sister from Sweden). She was telling me a story when all of a sudden the fire alarm goes off!! I, in all my wisdom, bolted into the bathroom because I wanted to spit the toothpaste out and rinse my mouth really quick and then I started smelling a super horrible burning smell. I know you are thinking I am the dumbest person you know and you are 100% right. HAHAHA Mom and Dad I truly am sorry for being so dumb, I promise it won't happen again. Anywayyys so I turn around and sprint out of the bathroom and find my tóngbànmen (companions) and all the sisters evacuating looked and sounded like flustered chickens. Everyone was screaming and pushing and the whole time I was just thinking how annoying it was that I didn't get to spit out my toothpaste. 

So how did the fire start? Well turns out that someone on the 3rd floor (I live on the 4th) had put their ramen in the microwave for SEVEN MINUTES and it caught on fire. Don't ask me how or why. Wǒ bù zhīdào. But all that was lost was the ramen (#rip), the microwave didn't blow up, nobody died, and I got to spit my toothpaste out in the tulip garden.

Note: Mom and Dad I realize that this story wasn't comforting in any way. I was only in the bathroom for a split second but I ended up being in the front of the line of people evacuated if that helps hahaha I love you.

Next highlight was Elder Jensen going vegetarian for a whole entire day. I challenged him and, surprisingly, he agreed because he thought it would "detox him from the 3 feet of Subway sandwiches (from a recent challenge)." Best part is that he actually liked what I eat (he ordered the same food as me) BETTER than the food he has been getting! However, he didn't admit that he loved it until dinner when he had to explain why he was going back for another wrap. (Peyton- It was just like in spongebob when squidward finally admits he likes krabby patties) So yes. WINNING! #goveg 

On another note, learning Mandarin has been simultaneously the most challenging & most rewarding thing I have probably ever done. We spend soo many hours studying everyday and sometimes it feels like I am getting nowhere. But then my Lǎoshī will ask me a question and I can respond/have a conversation IN CHINESE and it blows my mind. It's only been 5 weeks and I am understanding and speaking Zhōngwén?! I don't have an impressive vocabulary at all but this is some crazy stuff. I really, really love the language. It is SO much fun to speak and it is very logical. For example: their number system literally involves math. So to say 31 you would do 3 x 10 + 1 making it sān shí yī. It all makes sense! & ooo that reminds me: 

Mandarin Word of the Day: Fàng gēzi

Say it: faaaang geezah

Meaning: To stand someone up

Literal Translation: To let your pigeons go

Last point in this novel of an email is something that has been on my mind constantly these past weeks: gratitude. Sister Andrew gave me a copy of a talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf called "Grateful in any Circumstances" and I highly recommend searching "The Google" (Laura and Teresa that one was for you ;) ) for it. He starts by saying, 

"Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count."

This made me wonder how I think of gratitude in a way that is conditional on how much I can find to be thankful for. I'm not saying this is wrong because counting blessings is something we can all benefit from. But what about the hard times when it is hard to feel grateful? I think that's what Elder Uchtdorf is saying here. I'm not quite sure what a "spirit of gratitude" is exactly but I think it looks a lot like Philippians 4:4,

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."

Obviously life is gonna get hard. But it is also going to be GREAT. It is easy to be grateful when life is going well but I easily get caught up in the bad when life doesn't seem to be going my way. My favorite line of the entire talk says, "Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? So instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances." No matter how much I complain about the food here or sitting for 9 hours a day. I can be grateful. And I have noticed when I stop complaining, life is much easier and much happier

So everyone- REJOICE ALWAYS!

& REJOICE that you made it to the end of this email!!! 

Hahaha I love you all. I miss you. Write me whenever. Keep me updated on life out there :)

all my love,

sista mo

PICS: 

1. HALFWAY PIC! These are ma people (sorry about the blurriness). 

2. My favorite picture from the mish thus far. Please appreciate each face individually.

3. Middle part Monday....

4. Some new sisters in our zone! Sister Woodruff & Sister Martin and some very successful photobombing. 

WEEK 4: Mama huhu

Hi fam & friends!!!

Mandarin word of the day: Mama huhu

Pronunciation: "mama who-who"

Literal translation: horse horse tiger tiger

Meaning: So-so

Example: If someone asks how you are doing today you can say "mama huhu." HOW GREAT IS CHINESE! 

These emails are so strange to write because every week is exactly the same in terms of schedule, but every week is so different at the same time. Pretty much every day is like deja vu, but there are many exciting things that happen throughout the weeks that help me survive the next day here at the incubator. 

My embarrassing language mistake of the week:  Our investigator (who is actually our teacher posing as someone he actually taught on his mission) was telling us a story about his mom who hasn't been doing well.  I thought he said his mom was doing a little better and able to get outside more. So after his story I said "Hǎo kě'ài!" which means "Oh how lovely/nice!" Little did I know he was actually saying that his mom was now having to go to the hospital more often for check-ups. Don't ask me how I did it, but I REALLY botched that one. hahahah I didn't realize until after the lesson what was actually happening. I was so grateful this wasn't a real investigator because things got awkward really quickly. hahah Oh, Zhongwen. :')  (an "investigator" is someone who is interested in learning more about LDS beliefs)

I am running out of time, but I love you all so much! I am sorry this email is short and doesn't have anything even somewhat inspirational. I am getting so anxious to get to Taiwan!!!  Although, I clearly have a lot of language learning to do still!

I hope you all have a great week. You are in my prayers! 

I LOVE YOU! 

xoxo mo jie mei

P.S.  Missionaries pick a scripture that expresses their feelings about their mission.  Hailey told us this week that she decided on Alma chapter 29 verse 9 from the Book of Mormon (a volume of scripture translated by the prophet Joseph Smith) ~ 

I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance, and this is my joy. 

I GOT MY CHARACTER NAME TAG. YAY!


Studying Mandarin.  (I still draw good lamas!)



I went up to the sister in the red and her friend and (in Chinese) said "you are so cute" and they literally LOST IT. They were so happy and could not stop laughing. Finally they calmed down and we got a pic. hahaha I love them!



I got to hold a hideous dog (loved it!).  It's name - Popcorn.


Some of my favorite sisters!





Our lil class and one of our Laoshi (teacher's) who left (tearz)

WEEK 3: Jiāyóu!

Welppp, the secret is out...everyone here now knows how weird I am. I guess it had to come out at some point. It started in class when we were working on grammar patterns. We were going around the room making an "In order to ___ we need to ___" sentence using part of the person's sentence before us. So my Lǎoshī was before me and he said "In order to learn Zhongwen, we need to have faith." I had done a little bit of studying on my own to find out how to say words such as spinach, avocado, and salad (very important words) so I thought I would get a lil’ fancy and *hopefully* impress him with my vocab. I said "Wèile xuéxí Zhōngwén wǒmen xūyào chī bōcài", which translates to -- In order to learn Chinese we need to eat spinach. This was followed by 1) awkward silence 2) awkward laughter 3) a 15 min conversation about me being vegetarian 4) everyone finding out that I am really weird.  Also, my Lǎoshī was not impressed with me knowing how to say spinach.  This also ended that activity because I ruined the reverence/seriousness. Some things never change I guess. 

Here are some lines of the week:

1. "Mo Jie Mei you eat like a horse."

2. "Mo Jie Mei you remind me of a sloth. But in a good way."

3. "Does that filter make your water vegetarian?"

I kind of feel like I should be insulted at 1 and 2 ?? I don't know though, I still haven't decided. Let me know what you think haha. Also pray for the Elder who said number 3 because he was dead serious and I am so concerned about him. 

This week was a week of breakthroughs. My first one happened when we were doing TRC on Saturday which is basically my comps and I talking to people about their lives with NO ENGLISH. We got to talk with a woman from Xiānggǎng (Hong Kong) who told a 7 minute story about her life back in Xiānggǎng. Breakthrough #1:  I. UNDERSTOOD. THE. STORY. I walked out after talking with her and had tears of joy in my eyes because I actually knew what she was saying! The gift of tongues is real. :) Also studying for 6 hours a day is real. It was amazing. I can't believe how much you learn here so quickly. 

My next breakthrough happened in the bathroom.... 

On Saturday, I was washing my hands in the bathroom and then noticed my shoe was untied. There are metal hand dryers in the bathrooms. I bent down to tie my shoe but ended up going straight into the metal blow dryer, full force. (try bending over right now to pretend tie your shoe and then imagine a metal thing stopping you IN THE EYE halfway down)  I yelled "OW!!" and I hear my companions laughing outside and I was like "Come help me!!" They did not help me and laughed all the way to the training room so I could get ice. Then the trainer gave me a legit gallon of ice for MY EYE. My companions thought it was the funniest thing. (I guess you do have to make the most of these things when you spend 9 hours in a classroom each day) SO yeah. Breakthrough #2: my eye literally breaking on the blow dryer. (I am aware that that was a terrible attempt at making the story work with the topic of breakthroughs. It was awful, I apologize, please just go with it hahah)

The next breakthrough happened when my comps and I were dying one night after dinner. This has happened three nights in a row where we were crippled-over in pain. The pain would start after dinner (around 6:30) and just got worse and worse until we got back to our rooms at 9:30. Then we would just lay on the floor dying. Sister Reinhard described it perfectly. She said it was like something clawing inside our stomachs. Well by the third night it happened again after dinner and we FINALLY realized what was causing it. Breakthrough #3: DO NOT EAT THE YOGURT. It really hurts my heart because I get yogurt with granola every time they serve it and it's quite a delicacy. But now it's gone and life is bland. I would rather have bland though than feeling like I am going to die every night. I guess. 

In all seriousness (or as serious as I can be), I learned so much this week. Not only in the language but also about LIFE. One of the speakers this week said that "all you need is a start." And she said it like 50 times so I think it was important lol. It's so true though. Sometimes we let (or at least I let) fear stop us from doing A LOT of things. And it can be anything from being scared to talk to people to missing out on doing something you have always wanted to do (a.k.a following ur dreamz). All you need is a start- you don't need to know how everything will work out or if it even will work out. If it is something you wanna do, pray about it and if it feels right...DO IT.  Fear stops me from doing so many things but I am really glad it didn't stop me from coming here. 

Mandarin Word of the Day: Jiāyóu!

Prounounced: jaiiii-ohhhh

This literally translates to "add oil", which is preeetttty sweet if you are familiar with the parable in Matthew 25! It is used to say "keep going!" "you can do it!" "good luck!" but I always think of adding oil/gas to a fire to make it bigger/better. So Jiāyóu! to whatever you are doing this week- make everything just a lil’ bit better than usual! 

I love you all and miss you very much!!

Add some oil to ya life

xoxo mo jie mei

Photo is of me with Sister Clark from Sweden.

WEEK 2:  LOVE <3

Nimen hao family and friends!!!

Mandarin word of the day: shenme dongxi. Say it really fast: "shen-maa dong-shee." Literally translates to what the stuff but means what the heck. This is my all-time favorite word in Mandarin.

Now that you now that......SHENME DONGXI, my brother is getting married!?!? You know you are on a mission when your mom sends a letter and casually slips in the "I'm sure you have heard -- Ian proposed to Savannah."  Actually THANKS A LOT IAN. Despite my being the last person in the entire universe to find this out it doesn't change how incredibly excited and happy I am for both of you. I love y'all (that was for Savannah cuz Texas) I am so sad to miss the wedding but I hope the life-size cardboard cut-out of me makes it in ALL your wedding pics. ;)

Also I have another "shenme dongxi" story... So we were role-playing and teaching our Laoshi (teacher) as if he was actually an investigator of the church. I honestly don't remember what I was trying to say, but I look straight into his eyes and with all seriousness I say, "Wo yao ni." This quite simply translates to "I want you." HAHAHAAHA  I am trying to teach someone about Jesus and I look at them with a straight face and say I WANT YOU!! Thennnnn a couple seconds later he's like "ni yao wo?!?! Shenme dongxi?!" (You want me? What the heck?!?!) It was one of the funniest moments of my life and I could NOT pull it together for the rest of the lesson. So yeah, shenme dongxi.

Anyway, I thought I would share something a tiny bit more serious. Le topic of the day (and of life) is LOVE <3. This week love keeps coming up for me. I have been thinking about how everyone talks about love and says it everyday, but I am wondering if I am actually showing it. I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 for personal study and read verse 8- "Charity never faileth". Or as I interpret it: A little love never hurt nobody (that's a song but I don't remember the name #mishlife).  Then I read an article about what one woman's children had taught her about love. The lessons she learned were 1) everyone deserves love, 2) we're all one big family and 3) everyone believes differently. Children are the best examples of love and inclusion - it's the only way they know until they are taught to see people differently. I know these lessons seem soooo simple and it's because they are! The heart of Jesus's message is love. Why do we make it so much harder than it needs to be?

As I am working to be the kind of companion and friend I would want to have myself, I have really been trying to understand how Jesus loved & loves us. If we all love as He did while he was on earth and as he does now, no one should EVER feel lonely, left out, unappreciated or unloved. It is so easy to love those who love us and are like us, but I don't know why I limit myself to showing love to only those who fit into those categories. Not one single person thinks or believes the same as you or me.  We can find something amazing and different in everyone we meet if we let ourselves love with no limits. 

For me, it is helpful to remember that I am flawed and make mistakes everyday, but Heavenly Father is always pouring out His love regardless of anything I do (if you don't believe me wake up at 6:30 and watch the sunset- God love us lots). THAT is the kind of love I want to have for people. I found a 14-day love challenge if you wanna spread sum luv:

Day 1: show patience with someone

Day 2: overlook someone's shortcomings

Day 3: look beyond looks

Day 4: resist the impulse to categorize others

Day 5: see a situation through the other person's eyes

Day 6: forgive somebody who you feel has wronged you

Day 7: don't criticize actions or circumstances

Day 8: show mercy to someone

Day 9: give 10 minutes to really listen to somebody (I especially love this one)

Day 10: speak kindly

Day 11: express thanks to somebody either verbally or through a note

Day 12: focus on what you have in common with everyone you meet

Day 13: offer a genuine compliment

Day 14: see everyone you talk to through God's eyes

I really did not expect to feel so much peace and love being physically separated from all my loved ones and spending each day with people who were complete strangers 2 weeks ago, but in the past couple days I have been *trying* to implement a better quality of love for people & for life. Lemme tell ya, it works! I think if we just TRY, we will feel God’s love for us and that helps us keep going. Maybe this is just a gigantic email rant for myself because I need to be reminded over and over again, but if you try out the challenge or even just one day, EMAIL ME and let me know how it goes.  Actually you can email me regardless.  I really love hearing from all of you and if you need to feel love I would be happy to tell you how great you are! 

I hope everyone has a great week in civilization!!!  I wish I could hug you all.

Sending lots of love and virtual hugs. 

xoxox

Sista Armstrong / Mo Jie Mei

P.S. Picture Captions: 

1) Neature

2) Sister Clark from Sweden. She is my 4th mom (the order is #1Mom  #2 Laura  #3 Peyton)

4) Sister Woo from Korea. She is my workout bud and I LOVE HER. She makes me do (3) 1-minute 30 second planks with her AFTER we are dead from a circuit workout. #projectnotgetfat

5)  The typical mish zone pic at the temple, wo do tongbanmen (my companions)

6)  Making mini hearts how they make them in Asia - with your thumb and pointer fingers

7)  Niu You Guo -- avocado (best food on the planet!)

8)  Photo added by Jess taken by Ian:  Ian “happened” to be at the temple, needing a break from finals(??) and "bumped into" Hailey and her comps while walking to the temple.