I am not to bitter though. I am way excited to be companions with a native speaker of Mandarin. His name is Elder Yu. He is Elder Bendalls trainee and he is from Taiwan. What is funny is that he is only eighteen. He has to serve in the military once his mission is over. AP Li also served in the singapore army too. So powerful. I call Elder Yu the secret weapon. I am getting those crazy ideas that I can find a family again. I will totally take advantage of this opportunity to learn good mandarin. It is the Lord giving me a second chance, because I never SYLed with the Malaysian Tiger. He was just too intimidating for me to speak to in Mandarin. SYL means speak your language.
So anyway, Fenling is so far away form everything. I am excited to not be five minutes away from the church's Asia area headquarters and be somewhat free in a somewhat remote place. Goodness I miss macau.
Anyway, I have a bright outlook for my mission. I might even start exercising regularly. I like the Mandarins now, there is so much power if you exclude me. This has potential of being a blast. I only have eight months left. Elder Cowser was always correcting me when I told people that I have been out about a year. Now I have to say I've been out more than a year. I have that terrible dream where I haven't made much of a difference in the field but my mission is already over. It terrifies (if thats how you spell it) me. I do miss you guys and think it would be cool to spend like a weekend with you, but my real home is probably somehwere in the mainland. Mainland is two stops away on the train from Fenling. I have a huge desire to just go over on pday. It is so smart of the mission to keep my passport so that I can't.
Elder Yu is such an adorable teenager. I like him, I think we will hit it off. I really hope I don't squander the blessing of having him as a companion. The only two native mandarin speaking missionaries that have been in the mission since I have been a missionary have both been my companions. I am reminded of the parable about talents. AP Li was given many talents and he multipied them, and then maybe like elder Kershisnik didn't have as many talents as AP Li but he still multiplied what he was given. And then there is me, that wicked and slothful servant who was only given one talent, and then I buried it because I was nervous. And then President Chan takes my talent and gives it to the one who has ten talents. Or in other words gives my baptism to AP Li.
I hope I can get a baptism as a senior companion one day. Maybe this is why I was fired?
Was this letter long enough? I tried to write everyone who wrote me last week a little letter back. This week only mommy wrote me, but thats fine. I liked hearing about all the craziness with Spanish Immersion school. I liked reading a missionary spanish book and laughing at how all the words were english with an o at the end. It was great fun. I hope I can get in on the action when I get back home. Arriba!!(if thats how you spell it) (Harriba?)
Anyways, I love you guys.
Hua Zhanglao
9/23/10
So I got so many letters that it took a lot of time to read them and so consequently I have little time to write. I appreciate it, thanks:) We met an Elvis impersonator on the bus the other day, He is a member actually. He is the source of legends. Can you imagine teaching a guy in an Elvis costume the gospel? He sang way good and was intensly entertaining. It lifted my spirits so much to run into him on the way home.
Since today was the day after Mid Autumn Festival, it was a holiday and employers were forced to give their Filipina workers a day off, so we helped out the international elders to try and pull back sisters to the church. It was fruitless but pretty funny. I like Filipina English, it is interesting.
So we are just trying to keep track of the many investigators that we have. Not many people seem to have time to come to church on Sundays though - that makes me sad. I feel like that's the only real obsticle between us and having success. We have enough appointments throughout the week and enough people to teach, but we just need something more I guess.
I am starting to love the mission again despite the difficulties. My second companion is going home next week, his 2 years are up. The last two days we attended a leadership training which was quite possibly the most boring thing I have ever encountered from 830 to 530 two days in a row. Leadership has its rewards. The content of the lectures were good but easy to grasp and probably didn't need quite so much time spent on them. I did score some awesome training dvds that are pretty much done in a reality tv style with "real" missionaries using the training principles that we learned in "real" situations. So hilarious, I hope to show you them when I get home. they are hysterical.
Umm, maybe nest week I won't get as many letters so that I can have enough time to send you photos and a longer letter. just kidding I love you guys
hua zhanglao
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