October 25, 2010

Hello everybody!

Alright, so this past week has gone very well! We had our transfers and I got my new companion Elder Kim from Korea. I am the senior companion and it has been a lot different for me with a lot of added responsibility. I was also chosen as the driver for our companionship! It is nice to drive again, but I have got to say that driving down here in California and more specifically Irvine, is crazy! Roads that in Oregon would normally be 25 or 15 mph, down here are marked as 55mph, and the freeways are even more ridiculous, everyone drives way above the speed limit (including cops) and there are exits on the left and the right and if you aren't paying attention you end up going in all sorts of directions. So the driving has been very interesting down here, and don't worry mom, I am driving the speed limit and I am driving safe :). Well, this week elder Kim and I found 3 new investigators all with a lot of potential, the Lord has blessed us greatly!! One of those investigators is an eighty something year old man named Fang (pronounced "Fawn-with a g at the end). When he first answered the door he looked at me and said in Chinese "I will only speak to you if you speak Chinese!" and so I said back in Chinese "That's good! Because I love speaking Chinese!", it caught him off guard but he stepped outside and started talking to us. He eventually invited us in and we taught him a little bit and then he told us that he is from Taiwan and he loved seeing missionaries there riding there bikes! We set up a time to meet with him again! We are very excited to teach him!! A funny thing about my companion: he is still learning English so sometimes I help re correct his sentences, but one night this week we were making dinner and I decided to make pancakes for both of us, after I made them I gave him some on a plate and we started to eat, then Elder Kim turned to me and said "This is very good, thank you chief", I started to laugh and he was really confused but then I explained to him that it would be chef and not chief, he realized what he said and then we were both laughing pretty good. Every morning before we go out the door he says "Let's kick this thing off" in his accent and it cracks me up every time ha ha. I am blessed to have a great companion. The language this week has been tough. It is really hard to see how much I have learned because there is always more to learn, so sometimes I get a little frustrated with myself because of the language barrier, but it is coming along day by day. This Sunday I had the opportunity to say my first sacrament prayer in Chinese!!!! That was an awesome experience. I actually ended up saying it twice because we ran out of cups at the last person who was taking it, so I said it again for one cup :). The work is going well and I am happy but I would be lying if I said this work isn't hard. It is a very very tough work, but I love it, even when it gets hard! I hope all of you are doing well! I also want everyone to know that I know that the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church on this earth, I know that we have a living prophet that speaks to god and receives the guidance that we and our families need for this day and generation. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It truly has power. Power to change lives. Power to change our character. And Power to help us know that God has once again given us his true Gospel. I love you all! Until next week!