Hualien - Week 29 - Black Tea and Mothers
On Wednesday I will have been on the mission for nine months. I don't even know what the differences between Taiwan and America are because everything is blending together.
For example, I can't be inside a house without wearing slip on shoes. Also, the food. My companion made me and our roommates, the Sister Training Leaders Sister Hansen and Sister Chu, sandwiches one day for breakfast. The masterpiece included two pieces of toast sandwiching an egg, cheese, (so far so normal, but wait), sauteed cabbage, and sliced apples. I felt like it was missing a little flavor so I decided to add peanut butter and inspired everyone at our table to do the same. What is happening to me?
I also forgot that America doesn't have little convenience stores such as 7-11 and Family Mart at every street corner (this is not an exaggeration, my friends. Any time you want to get some A.C. and a drink, you have three options within 20 steps.) I have become so used to walking into a Family Mart to do studies that when someone said America doesn't have Family Mart, I said "Lehi does! It's on state street to your right as you head toward American Fork!"
The store I was referring to, I realized shortly thereafter, is Family Dollar and it's not even a convenience store. Haha.
I also drank an entire cup of black tea last week. Oops. One night Sister Tu and I both ordered what we thought was herbal fruit tea at this sweets shop called 85°C. At the end of the evening, though, they only had enough stuff left for one drink so Sister Tu gave it to me. Since I had never before tasted black tea, all I detected was fruit and sugar. Well, fast forward a few days, we returned to the same place and Sister Tu ordered the same tea again, only she tasted it and recognized the flavor right away. The workers confirmed that it was black tea, but they were willing to give Sister Tu a black tea-less version. And I totally downed a whole cup of tea that we tell everyone they shouldn't drink, lol.
We had a fun Mother's Day where we wrote cards for members and investigators. Actually, I only wrote two cards because one was in English and the other took me like an hour to finish in Chinese. But thank goodness for Sister Tu and her ability to write quality characters quickly. Saves us a lot of time.
Mothers are amazing. We have some awesome investigators who are awesome mothers. One of them, Sister Huang, texted us last week saying she couldn't come to our lesson because she had to go home and smack her son for being disobedient and continually making the same mistakes. Sister Tu encouraged her that hitting her son would solve no problems, and she said she knows but she was just so mad. A few minutes later, though, she sent us a picture of her with her son; she had taken him out for drinks to peaceably discuss his behavior and then chat and get to know each other better. After that, she brought him to the church so we could have the lesson, and they were both in good spirits. I was super inspired by her motherly example to choose the loving route.
I also re-read a talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland called "Behold Thy Mother" and wept. I don't know exactly what it was about his talk or the subject of mothers that makes me so emotional, but as I read I thought about my own mother and what she must feel about me. I have seen her cry for me, seen the lack of sleep in her eyes from staying up all night worrying about me and my siblings, heard her cry out in frustration when we didn't do what she asked us to do. She only ever asked us to do things she knew would help us. Everything she ever did was for her children. Her children are her world. And while I was over in my own world doing my own thing worrying about my own problems, Mom placed every ounce of focus, energy, and care into her family, and she placed her family members before herself. I still don't understand how she has deliberately chosen to put herself through so much heartache and worry for the sake of me, Aaron, Gabby, and Nathanael. It must be because she loves us. Elder Holland said: "No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child." I owe everything to my mother. How lucky I am to be loved by her.
To mothers everywhere: Thank you for what you do and I love you! Happy Mother's Day!!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/behold-thy-mother?lang=eng
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My fifth transfer district...
It took me an hour to write this note...
For example, I can't be inside a house without wearing slip on shoes. Also, the food. My companion made me and our roommates, the Sister Training Leaders Sister Hansen and Sister Chu, sandwiches one day for breakfast. The masterpiece included two pieces of toast sandwiching an egg, cheese, (so far so normal, but wait), sauteed cabbage, and sliced apples. I felt like it was missing a little flavor so I decided to add peanut butter and inspired everyone at our table to do the same. What is happening to me?
I also forgot that America doesn't have little convenience stores such as 7-11 and Family Mart at every street corner (this is not an exaggeration, my friends. Any time you want to get some A.C. and a drink, you have three options within 20 steps.) I have become so used to walking into a Family Mart to do studies that when someone said America doesn't have Family Mart, I said "Lehi does! It's on state street to your right as you head toward American Fork!"
The store I was referring to, I realized shortly thereafter, is Family Dollar and it's not even a convenience store. Haha.
I also drank an entire cup of black tea last week. Oops. One night Sister Tu and I both ordered what we thought was herbal fruit tea at this sweets shop called 85°C. At the end of the evening, though, they only had enough stuff left for one drink so Sister Tu gave it to me. Since I had never before tasted black tea, all I detected was fruit and sugar. Well, fast forward a few days, we returned to the same place and Sister Tu ordered the same tea again, only she tasted it and recognized the flavor right away. The workers confirmed that it was black tea, but they were willing to give Sister Tu a black tea-less version. And I totally downed a whole cup of tea that we tell everyone they shouldn't drink, lol.
We had a fun Mother's Day where we wrote cards for members and investigators. Actually, I only wrote two cards because one was in English and the other took me like an hour to finish in Chinese. But thank goodness for Sister Tu and her ability to write quality characters quickly. Saves us a lot of time.
Mothers are amazing. We have some awesome investigators who are awesome mothers. One of them, Sister Huang, texted us last week saying she couldn't come to our lesson because she had to go home and smack her son for being disobedient and continually making the same mistakes. Sister Tu encouraged her that hitting her son would solve no problems, and she said she knows but she was just so mad. A few minutes later, though, she sent us a picture of her with her son; she had taken him out for drinks to peaceably discuss his behavior and then chat and get to know each other better. After that, she brought him to the church so we could have the lesson, and they were both in good spirits. I was super inspired by her motherly example to choose the loving route.
I also re-read a talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland called "Behold Thy Mother" and wept. I don't know exactly what it was about his talk or the subject of mothers that makes me so emotional, but as I read I thought about my own mother and what she must feel about me. I have seen her cry for me, seen the lack of sleep in her eyes from staying up all night worrying about me and my siblings, heard her cry out in frustration when we didn't do what she asked us to do. She only ever asked us to do things she knew would help us. Everything she ever did was for her children. Her children are her world. And while I was over in my own world doing my own thing worrying about my own problems, Mom placed every ounce of focus, energy, and care into her family, and she placed her family members before herself. I still don't understand how she has deliberately chosen to put herself through so much heartache and worry for the sake of me, Aaron, Gabby, and Nathanael. It must be because she loves us. Elder Holland said: "No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child." I owe everything to my mother. How lucky I am to be loved by her.
To mothers everywhere: Thank you for what you do and I love you! Happy Mother's Day!!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/behold-thy-mother?lang=eng
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My fifth transfer district...
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