December 21, 2009

Dear Family,
Wow! I only have a little bit of time so I am really gonna try to get all the info in!

This week has been amazing!I have two companions - Sister Ko (Gao Jiemei) and Sister Malmrose (Ma Jiemei)! Sister Malmrose is not sure yet if she is related to Holly. Do they have any family in Salt Lake or distant cousins in Hawaii?

Anyways, my companions are amazing! They are so much fun to be around and they invite the spirit so strongly when we teach. And yes, we are already teaching! Not in Chinese yet, but that will come.

Our District has three other Elders in it - Elder Brough (Bao Zhung Lao), Li (Li Zhung Lao), and Edwards (Wu Zhung Lao). They are really neat. Elder Li is from Honk Kong, but he speaks Cantonese. He is catching on fast, but we all still have a lot to learn. Out teachers are Mi Laoshi and He Laoshi. They are amazing. I can't believe how well they teach both the Chinese language and the language of the spirit at the same time!

Chinese is a really tough language! There are four different tones, but I can't describe them by just typing. You really have to hear it. My Chinese name is Ke Jiemei. You kind of sing it, where Ke is a high note, Jie is a low note, and Mei is an angry note. Yup.

Our third day we learned to pray. It was amazing. I can pray in Chinese! It is a really humbling experience. I can only thank and ask for a few things, but I learned the words that I really wanted to know, so even though my prayers sound like sing-song gibberish, they really mean a lot to me.

I am so amazed how much I have learned about the gospel in just these few days. Having so much personal and companion study time is really amazing. like for example, today Gao Jiemei and Ma Jiemei and I were reading in Nephi, and we read the part where Nephi has a vision of Columbus and such. It is so, so detailed! I was shocked! We just kept reading and discussing, and every major part of religious and secular history was accounted for! And yesterday we were reading earlier in Nephi and we noticed that the two things that Nephi and his family went back for was the scriptures and family. and what was restored in the restoration? Scripture and temple ordinances that bring together families! Wow! Yeah, it has been a great couple days.

Also, I just have to say that Rebecca's Luggage tags literally saved me from having to buy a new wardrobe. At the airport they put the wrong luggage tag thing on my bag, so it was sent to Texas to someone with the last name of Marx. Not me at all. But my name was on the luggage, nice and clear on a polka-dot tag. I filed a claim and they found it right away, and it was delivered to the MTC the next day! Thank you so much Rebecca! You are a lifesaver!

I am so excited to be in the MTC durring Christmas! This is the greatest place to be! I am so happy and excited and filled with the spirit all the time! Also, there are amazing guest speakers in relief society and at firesides. Sister Uchtdorf taught Relief society this past Sunday, and it was amazing! And we are going to have special speakers on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday! Wow! I am so blessed to be here right now. I am so excited because I really feel that the Savior gave his whole life for me, and now I get to give a little bit of my life to him during the best season ever! I am so blessed!

Wo ai Nimen! I love you all. Tianfu zhufu nimen! God bless you!

Love,
Sister Collyer, Ke Jiemei