Dear Family and fiends,
Nimen Hao! This week was pretty amazing!
First of all, I may be able to get some pictures this week, so get excited! But not too excited because I don't know for sure yet...
Today I cut my hair. A lot. I am not sure if I like it yet, but in case I do get pictures, just don't be alarmed. I'll grow into it. :)
Anyways, I really want to start off with something hilarious that happened yesterday. We had a Devotional by the missionary coordinator for the MTC - Brother Allen. He asked a few missionaries what they gave up to go on a mission. The first elder stood up at the stand and said, "Marriage." We all laughed a little, but it got better. Brother Allen asked the Elder is he left the girl in his hometown, and he said, "No, she is here." We all started laughing so hard, and after about a minutes pause the sister stood up! It was hilarious! Pretty awesome.
So this week was the first time we taught in Chinese, and it was an amazing experience. I definitely learned a lot of things I need to work on, but the spirit was so strong. We shared the message of the restoration. Ma Jiemei explained about Joseph Smith and his time, I recited the First Vision, and Gao Jiemei bore testimony. The Spirit was so strong, and I learned a valuable lesson. The spirit truly speaks louder than words. I know that my Chinese was hai OK, and I could barely understand the words that the investigator was saying sometimes, but we all understood each other so clearly. The gospel is true. Nothing can speak these words louder than the spirit. I am so grateful for companions who are so obedient, diligent, and genuine. They brought the spirit so strong. I will never forget the lesson I learned in that first lesson.
All of the older missionaries are going to leave tomorrow morning, and I really can't help but be super sad about it! They are truly amazing sisters. Two of them - Sister Hintze and Sister Dowdle - are going to my mission, so I am sure I will see them again, but the others - Sister Weinheimer, Sister Howard, Sister Peterson, and Sister Clyde - are going to Taichung! They are all going to be amazing missionaries. I know the Lord has big plans for them. I have learned so much about love, patience, diligence, and obedience from their examples and friendships. Maybe I will be companions with Sister Hintze or Sister Dowdle in the future. That would be pretty amazing. Ah! I love all the sisters so much! We are already planning an MTC mission reunion, and I offered our pool... :)
Also, I want to tell you all about Dearelder.com. You can type me out a letter and I get it that day or the next day. Hen Gaoxing! How exciting! So if any of you feel that you are better at typing your letters, go ahead and find me on dearelder.com.
Wo ai nimen! I love you all!
Gen Ai (With Love),
Ke Jiemei
Sister Collyer
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
January 18, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
Ni hao! another great week in the MTC. Since mom asked, the only thing I need for valentines is Dark Chocolate Covered pecans from the bookstore, so get Eric to send me some. Ruth sent me some last week, and I already finished them!
Also, I met an Elder from Farmington, New Mexico, and He knows Percy and Kami! Elder Cory Eddy. He is doing great, and he wants to tell them hello.
This week was a real treat. I can honestly say I have never worked so hard in my life and still got a full night's sleep! We had a lot of Chinese to learn last week - we learned all the words to help someone move, to talk about families and to teach them how to pray- so it was really intense, but I really learned a lot This coming week is going to be even crazier! This week we have to teach the entire first lesson in Chinese on Saturday. Wow. We have a lot to do. Still, I know that God qualifies those whom he calls, so I know that I can teach the lesson in Chinese. I may have to be more diligent than ever before, but I can do that. I am a missionary!
I feel like on top of learning a lot of Chinese, I really have gained a testimony of how much the Lord supports his missionaries, and also how much he expects of us. We can do nothing. truthfully, I am not good at all at learning Chinese. It seems hard for me. But God is upholding me, and through faith, prayer and diligence I was able to get done what he wanted. I could definitely have done more, but all that I did I did for the Lord, and that is important.
This week I have been constantly reminded of a scripture: Alma 26:12. Ammon says, "As to myself, I am weak, but through God I can do anything." I know this is true. As to myself, I am weak, but I am strong with the Lord.
Also, this week I got a calling in my branch! I am the coordinating sister. It is kind of like the district leader, but for all the sisters in the Branch. At first I was a little scared since my time is already pretty short, but as I said earlier, with God we can do anything. So now, I am pretty excited about it. I feel like this is a really big responsibility, but I know that I will have the spirit in all that I do. Anyways, Six sisters are leaving next week for Taiwan, and I get to help them check out and leave. After that only three of us will be left until Jessica comes in. I am so excited because I get to help train the new missionaries when they get here! I really feel a huge sense of responsibility for the incoming sisters. I hope when they get here in a couple weeks they know how much I love them!
Well, time is short, but I love you all! Thank you for the emails and letters of support. I always love them!
Love,
Ke Jiemei.
(Jessica, in case you are reading this, the Ke is first tone. :) Good luck on your talk this week. You will be awesome!)
Monday, January 11, 2010
January 10, 2009
Dear Family and friends,
Ni hao! another great week at the MTC!
Today I had a real Chinese breakthrough. I was waiting in line to buy something at the Bookstore and an elder in front of me was actually from China. He asked me a question in Chinese, and I knew what he was saying! And I knew what to say back! It was amazing! Admittedly, the other few questions he asked me I had no idea what he was saying, but I still glorify in that one special moment.
This week I left the MTC to go get a Chest x-guang (X-ray) at the BYU Health center. it was quite and adventure wandering off the MTC campus. I kind of liked it. Also, I am pretty sure that is the last thing I need to do for my visa, so hopefully I will leave on time! Speaking of Visas, I see Ryan Lew ALL THE TIME because he hasn't got his Visa yet. There are a TON of Brazilian missionaries right now with that problem. Please pray for them! Some have been around for over 14 weeks, when they were supposed to go straight to Brazil.
At our teaching appointment today we finally had a volunteer instead of teaching another Chinese missionary. And guess what? I knew the girl who was our volunteer! Emily Anian was in the Accounting program with me, and she is from Burbank! It was very exciting. it was a great lesson. My companions are such a blessing to me. Their prayers and testimonies truly invite the spirit so strong. I have so much to learn from them. They are just so humble and loving! It is awesome.
Now for a little bit of humor - Chinese is quite an adventurous language. The same word can really mean so many things. For example, I mispronounced two very significant words this week. If you are inviting someone to meet the bishop, don't mispronounce the word "zhujiao" (bishop) because you might introduce someone to your pig's feet instead. Also In reciting the first Vision, the word "aizi" means beloved son. Misprounounced it means Short person or midget. Yeah, I laughed pretty hard when Li Laoshi told me what I was actually saying. But I learned a great mission - TONES ARE VERY IMPORTANT! That is our password to get into the classroom now.
Our new teachers are great. Li Laoshi is from China, and she is like the most energetic and happy person I could ever imagine. Class is so funny when she is teaching! She is always correcting our pronunciation, which is really good. Also, she tells us what we accidentally said, which is often hilarious. He Laoshi is an awesome teacher. He always encourages us to be better, and he is so sincere and teaches with the spirit so strong! I am so excited to have two awesome teachers!
I had two particularly special experiences this week. Yesterday, in Sacrament meeting, one of the sisters in our branch sang ,"I know that my redeemer lives." She has an amazing voice, and her expressions were even more amazing. I thought she was sure to be exalted right then and there! I felt the spirit so strong, and It lasted the rest of the day. I can honestly say I will be a better person because I heard her sing. She is going to be an amazing missionary. Today we went to the temple again and My companions and I did sealings. I was so touched there! I know that Families can be together forever! I am so excited to help people along that path to those blessings! The people of Taiwan need these blessings, and I get to be an instrument in God's hands to help them make it. I am in awe of the power of God. He truly knows us, and he knows the people we will serve.
My favorite scripture this week is Jeremiah 1:5. God loves us. He knew us before we were born. He has lead us to this point in our lives, and he has a plan for us that we cannot even imagine. I am so grateful for his love and guidance.
Well, Time is almost up! Wan'an! Good night!
Love,
Ke Jiemei - Sister Collyer
Ni hao! another great week at the MTC!
Today I had a real Chinese breakthrough. I was waiting in line to buy something at the Bookstore and an elder in front of me was actually from China. He asked me a question in Chinese, and I knew what he was saying! And I knew what to say back! It was amazing! Admittedly, the other few questions he asked me I had no idea what he was saying, but I still glorify in that one special moment.
This week I left the MTC to go get a Chest x-guang (X-ray) at the BYU Health center. it was quite and adventure wandering off the MTC campus. I kind of liked it. Also, I am pretty sure that is the last thing I need to do for my visa, so hopefully I will leave on time! Speaking of Visas, I see Ryan Lew ALL THE TIME because he hasn't got his Visa yet. There are a TON of Brazilian missionaries right now with that problem. Please pray for them! Some have been around for over 14 weeks, when they were supposed to go straight to Brazil.
At our teaching appointment today we finally had a volunteer instead of teaching another Chinese missionary. And guess what? I knew the girl who was our volunteer! Emily Anian was in the Accounting program with me, and she is from Burbank! It was very exciting. it was a great lesson. My companions are such a blessing to me. Their prayers and testimonies truly invite the spirit so strong. I have so much to learn from them. They are just so humble and loving! It is awesome.
Now for a little bit of humor - Chinese is quite an adventurous language. The same word can really mean so many things. For example, I mispronounced two very significant words this week. If you are inviting someone to meet the bishop, don't mispronounce the word "zhujiao" (bishop) because you might introduce someone to your pig's feet instead. Also In reciting the first Vision, the word "aizi" means beloved son. Misprounounced it means Short person or midget. Yeah, I laughed pretty hard when Li Laoshi told me what I was actually saying. But I learned a great mission - TONES ARE VERY IMPORTANT! That is our password to get into the classroom now.
Our new teachers are great. Li Laoshi is from China, and she is like the most energetic and happy person I could ever imagine. Class is so funny when she is teaching! She is always correcting our pronunciation, which is really good. Also, she tells us what we accidentally said, which is often hilarious. He Laoshi is an awesome teacher. He always encourages us to be better, and he is so sincere and teaches with the spirit so strong! I am so excited to have two awesome teachers!
I had two particularly special experiences this week. Yesterday, in Sacrament meeting, one of the sisters in our branch sang ,"I know that my redeemer lives." She has an amazing voice, and her expressions were even more amazing. I thought she was sure to be exalted right then and there! I felt the spirit so strong, and It lasted the rest of the day. I can honestly say I will be a better person because I heard her sing. She is going to be an amazing missionary. Today we went to the temple again and My companions and I did sealings. I was so touched there! I know that Families can be together forever! I am so excited to help people along that path to those blessings! The people of Taiwan need these blessings, and I get to be an instrument in God's hands to help them make it. I am in awe of the power of God. He truly knows us, and he knows the people we will serve.
My favorite scripture this week is Jeremiah 1:5. God loves us. He knew us before we were born. He has lead us to this point in our lives, and he has a plan for us that we cannot even imagine. I am so grateful for his love and guidance.
Well, Time is almost up! Wan'an! Good night!
Love,
Ke Jiemei - Sister Collyer
Monday, January 4, 2010
January 4, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
Nimen Hao! It has been another great week at the MTC. I feel like I have been here forever! The cafeteria food is even starting to taste good!
Mom, I got both packages you sent me, but I did not get my driving record yet. I will keep watching for it. Also, the computers will not let you load pictures, so I am going to have to mail some.
Xin Nian Kuaile! Happy new year! I hope you all have some great resolutions. I don't know if I have "New Years Resolutions" per se, mostly because we set major goals practically every day. I guess my new years resolution would be to be the best missionary that I can! Wow. I have a lot to learn for that one! :)
This week we have had a lot of changes in our district - mostly our laoahimen (teachers) because of the crazy Christmas break we actually had a long term substitute - Han Laoshi. He is in China now, so he can't be our teacher anymore! Also, because of the new semester they shuffle the teachers around that teach in the classroom and do workshops, so we are losing our other laoshi, mi laoshi, as well! A lot of changes are coming up this next week! I am excited though because the two new teachers we are getting are amazing. He laoshi was in the accounting program with me, and Li laoshi is from Taiwan, so she knows a ton! I have been to a lot of workshops with Li Laoshi, and she is an amazing teacher. Once, she told me I said my fourth tones like a man, and I told her that is how Mi Laoshi taught me. She said, "Ah, of course it was Mi Laoshi. Don't worry. I will fix it." I laughed inside.
Along with having new laoshimen, this coming week we also only speak Jongwen in class! No English at all! I am a little scared, but I think it will really help me learn a lot faster.
Gym was cancelled twice this past week, which was a killer! It was really hard not to have that time to unwind, but luckily I have two amazing companions who also like to work out, so we ran up and down our susha stairs during the time we were supposed to go. It really helps me concentrate when I get a little bit of time to get blood flowing again!
Our district leader, Li Zhenglao, is absolutely amazing! He is such a funny guy. He is just a little Chinese boy, but he is awesome. For example, when we pray in class, he is supposed to call on someone to say it. So we all kneel down, and he chooses just by staring at you with his huge Chinese smile on his face and when you look at him, somehow his smile gets even bigger and he starts to nod his head. We have all now adopted the same response - we smile right back, point at our noses and nod. Never a word is spoken, though every time I want to burst out laughing. It is awesome.
During the week we get about an hour and a half to go work at the referral center, calling people who have ordered books or DVD's and making sure they got them. I got a woman on the phone this week who I spoke with for a while and she is going to read part of the Book of Mormon and I get to call her back on Friday to see what she thinks! As Mi Laoshi always says, "She is going to get baptized!" Who knows really, but I am excited to help her come unto Christ. I know the gospel can bless her life, and I am excited I get the opportunity to be a tool in God's hands to bring her this knowledge.
Well, time is short, but I want to take a little bit of time and bear my testimony in Jongwen:
Wo Zhidao Shen ai wo. Shen ai nimen. Wo hen ganji Shen dui women de ai. Wo zhidao Yesu Jidu cigei women jihui huigai. Wo zhidao Yuese Simi Shi Xianzhi de Shen. Ta gei women Moermonjing. Wo ai Moermonjing. Wo Zhidao Ta shi Shen de hui. Kuaile! feng Yesu Jidu de Ming, A'men.
I know god loves me. I know god loves you all. I am very grateful for his love towards us. I know Jesus Christ gave us the opportunity to repent. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He gave us the Book of Mormon. I love the book of Mormon. I know it is the word of God. Happiness! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Also, I would like to leave you with a scripture about how I feel about my mission: D&C 31:3.
Wo ai Nimen! I love you all!
Sister Collyer
PS - Jessica will not be in my district, but there is only one Mandarin Zone, so we will do pretty much everything but class together! Wo gaoxing!
Nimen Hao! It has been another great week at the MTC. I feel like I have been here forever! The cafeteria food is even starting to taste good!
Mom, I got both packages you sent me, but I did not get my driving record yet. I will keep watching for it. Also, the computers will not let you load pictures, so I am going to have to mail some.
Xin Nian Kuaile! Happy new year! I hope you all have some great resolutions. I don't know if I have "New Years Resolutions" per se, mostly because we set major goals practically every day. I guess my new years resolution would be to be the best missionary that I can! Wow. I have a lot to learn for that one! :)
This week we have had a lot of changes in our district - mostly our laoahimen (teachers) because of the crazy Christmas break we actually had a long term substitute - Han Laoshi. He is in China now, so he can't be our teacher anymore! Also, because of the new semester they shuffle the teachers around that teach in the classroom and do workshops, so we are losing our other laoshi, mi laoshi, as well! A lot of changes are coming up this next week! I am excited though because the two new teachers we are getting are amazing. He laoshi was in the accounting program with me, and Li laoshi is from Taiwan, so she knows a ton! I have been to a lot of workshops with Li Laoshi, and she is an amazing teacher. Once, she told me I said my fourth tones like a man, and I told her that is how Mi Laoshi taught me. She said, "Ah, of course it was Mi Laoshi. Don't worry. I will fix it." I laughed inside.
Along with having new laoshimen, this coming week we also only speak Jongwen in class! No English at all! I am a little scared, but I think it will really help me learn a lot faster.
Gym was cancelled twice this past week, which was a killer! It was really hard not to have that time to unwind, but luckily I have two amazing companions who also like to work out, so we ran up and down our susha stairs during the time we were supposed to go. It really helps me concentrate when I get a little bit of time to get blood flowing again!
Our district leader, Li Zhenglao, is absolutely amazing! He is such a funny guy. He is just a little Chinese boy, but he is awesome. For example, when we pray in class, he is supposed to call on someone to say it. So we all kneel down, and he chooses just by staring at you with his huge Chinese smile on his face and when you look at him, somehow his smile gets even bigger and he starts to nod his head. We have all now adopted the same response - we smile right back, point at our noses and nod. Never a word is spoken, though every time I want to burst out laughing. It is awesome.
During the week we get about an hour and a half to go work at the referral center, calling people who have ordered books or DVD's and making sure they got them. I got a woman on the phone this week who I spoke with for a while and she is going to read part of the Book of Mormon and I get to call her back on Friday to see what she thinks! As Mi Laoshi always says, "She is going to get baptized!" Who knows really, but I am excited to help her come unto Christ. I know the gospel can bless her life, and I am excited I get the opportunity to be a tool in God's hands to bring her this knowledge.
Well, time is short, but I want to take a little bit of time and bear my testimony in Jongwen:
Wo Zhidao Shen ai wo. Shen ai nimen. Wo hen ganji Shen dui women de ai. Wo zhidao Yesu Jidu cigei women jihui huigai. Wo zhidao Yuese Simi Shi Xianzhi de Shen. Ta gei women Moermonjing. Wo ai Moermonjing. Wo Zhidao Ta shi Shen de hui. Kuaile! feng Yesu Jidu de Ming, A'men.
I know god loves me. I know god loves you all. I am very grateful for his love towards us. I know Jesus Christ gave us the opportunity to repent. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He gave us the Book of Mormon. I love the book of Mormon. I know it is the word of God. Happiness! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Also, I would like to leave you with a scripture about how I feel about my mission: D&C 31:3.
Wo ai Nimen! I love you all!
Sister Collyer
PS - Jessica will not be in my district, but there is only one Mandarin Zone, so we will do pretty much everything but class together! Wo gaoxing!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Dec 28, 2009
Dear Jiating (Family),
Ni Hao again! How are you all doing? The MTC is still great! Also, as many of you can email me as you want, but I can only spend 30 mins on email a day, so I may not get to email you all back! Literally, there is a clock ticking down in the top corner, and if it reaches "0:00" I get kicked off. Brutal!
Anyways, before I forget there are a couple things that I need that I don't have. I should have a brown fancy-ish blazer in my closet. If someone took it find it and steal it back. Apparently we need to wear blazers to large group meetings and I only have a winter coat, which gets really hot in a room of 2,000 missionaries! In my room there is also a scripture case and a journal. I need those too. Things that are not in my room that I need is Hypoi-allergenic laundry detergent for about 24 loads. My skin is so dry and the detergent is not helping! I have plenty of lotion, though, which is a blessing. I would also appreciate a semi-nice looking watch. Not expensive at all, just nice looking. I lost mine and there are practically no clocks here at all! So to Sum it Up: Blazer, Scripture case, journal, detergent, watch. Thanks! Sorry for the inconvenience!
Now to get on with the week. Christmas was amazing! Christmas week we had some awesome speakers. Last Tuesday Niel L Andersen came and talked about the condescention of God. It was amazing! It was particularly special for me because his talk, "You know Enough" in October 2008 is one of the reasons I am here. What a great Christmas Gift!
On Christmas Day L Tom Perry came and spoke about Jesus. From where I was sitting, He looked a lot like Grandpa Timms! I felt so special. It was such an amazing talk! The Christmas evening Devotional was Greg Olsen. He is the one who painted most of the pictures of Christ we recognize. He was amazing. One funny story he told is that He had models dressed as Jesus and His Disciples that he was taking pictures of in the middle of a field and for a split second one of the neighbors thought it was the second coming! I loved it! I still laugh!
The coolest part of the week is that we had our first TA (Teaching Appointment). Even though it was just a girl pretending to be an investigator it felt so real! We taught her that God loves her, and the spirit was so strong. My companions were amazing. I am so blessed to be with them to learn and grow. I couldn't have asked for better companions! We talked to the girl who played the investigator at lunch and she said that she was pretending to be one of her friends and she did not know what to say to her about the church but we answered the question for her. I was really humbled by the experience. I know that the spirit worked through me and my companions to bring her answer to her because we could never have known on our own. The spirit is real! I love it!
One of the scriptures we shared in teaching really hit home with me too. It is one of my classic favorites: Proverbs 3:5-6. Learning Chinese is hard. Truthfully, I know by myself it would really be impossible. But god wants me to do it. I know I can do it because of that. I need to stop trusting my own abilities and start trusting his. He parted the red sea for crying out loud! Of course he can teach me Chinese! :)
The funniest thing that happened this week actually happened this morning. There is optional morning gym time for the sisters and they bring in an instructor and she does a class. today the class was Step Aerobics. I have never done that before. Now I know why! I am so not coordinated! I tripped over my step a couple times and I even feel down! I could not stop laughing! I guess I got more of an ab work out than I expected from a step aerobics class by laughing so hard!
Well, Wo ai Nimen! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Collyer
PS - I am trying to figure out pictures. Maybe next week!
Monday, December 21, 2009
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
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
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Leaving
Well, Amy made it to the Missionary Training Center relatively incident free. Her luggage did get sent to Texas instead of Utah, but it should be with her now. Thanks Ruth for running her around to get the stuff she would need until her luggage got there. We already miss Amy, but we're so proud of her decision to serve the Lord, and excited for the adventure upon which she has now embarked.
If you would like to write her, send letters to the MTC address in the side bar of this blog.