February 15, 2010‏

Dear Family,

Nimen Hao! Another great week at the MTC! Today I want to share with you the fun and funny little things that I enjoy daily.

1. The Language. I love learning Chinese! It is really comming along, but the braver I get with speaking, the more funny mistakes I make. This week, My Laoshi asked me what I ate for lunch. I wanted to say "Bread" Which is "Mianbao" but I accidentally said "bianmiao" which means "A Flirty Cat." Yup, Chinese is great.

2. The Missionary handbook. It has a lot of great rules, but a couple that I especially like: "Do not do anything that is inappropriate or offensive, like chewing gum in public" and, "If you are involved in an accident, refer to the 'What to do if you have an accident' pamphlet." Yeah, that book is so great.

3. Xin nian, kuaile! Happy Chinese new year! The sisters all had a little party in the Dorm last night and ate a TON of chocolate and candy. I loved it! It was a great cultural and bonding experience for all of us. The best news - for the first time there is no extra candy in our dorm. PLEASE don't send anymore. It was so great to have and eat, but my waistline can't take it. :)

4. My district. They are just so much fun! This week we acted out Book of Mormon stories in Chinese and it was hilarious. The highlight was probably when one of my companions played a sheep in the Ammon Story. We really did learn a lot from this activity. I promise.

Ok, that is my list for now. I just love being a missionary. I am getting more and more excited to head out to Taiwan. I just know that God is preparing people for me to teach, and I can't wait to be an instrument in His hands over there.

This week, the biggest thing I learned was the importance of service. I really focused on trying to develop Charity, and in doing so found myself serving people a lot. I can truly testify that no matter how small the act is, anytime you serve your love for the person you are serving sill increase dramatically. For example, this week I helped someone find a particular chapter in our grammar book, and I feel so close to this sister now! It is unbelievable! I am so grateful for every opportunity I had to serve this week.

I also learned a lot about covenants. In Mosiah 24:13-14 God is talking to his people who are in bondage and promises that that BECAUSE they kept their covenants, he will support them and make their burdens light. I know that this is true. When we make two-way promises with the Lord, as long as we keep our end, he will always keep his. What a blessing this is! Literally, we choose how many blessings we get through our obedience. This realization helped me recommit to really focus on keeping the covenants I have made with the Lord.

Well, I hope all is well! Wo ai nimen!

Love,
Ke Jiemei
Sister Collyer