Four!!

1/31/2012
No more food. Ever.

Chinese new year is a terrifying experience for any waistline. I feel I should warn anyone with any opportunity to experience one. Last week we ate so much food. The members are too good too us, we had at least to feasts a day, and sometimes three since we wanted to get to know more members but have two wards to cover consequently occasionally going to two dinners or lunches...Asian culture is not really something that you can politely refuse, They just take your bowl and give you more. So there is a secret key, you keep your bowl tilted in your direction so they can't see how much food you haven't got left and eat very slowly. One grain of rice at a time if necessary. And you talk, so they eat and don't urge you to eat more...Small tactics that only take you so far but every little bit helps. The worst is when they take you to a beautiful 7 course meal steak restaurant. Then you have to eat it all...*sigh* My companion and I this week are eating only rice and fruit to try to shrink our stomachs back to a semi-regular size...

Besides that not much occurred last week, our numbers all took a dip for guonian (new years) despite our efforts at finding. Everyone goes to the south or the middle of Taiwan for guonian to be with their families. But that's ok. We press on. Sister Daye and I are getting along wonderfully. She is a beautiful person and I thank the Lord every day we can laugh with each other. I don't know what I did to get to be so privileged to have such a great trainee, and enjoy my last transfer so much. I can't express the gratitude I have to the Lord for all that I have learned out here and all that I have been able to experience. And even though my mission has been a-typical in a lot of ways, and I haven't seen hundreds of baptisms, the Lord has blessed me and I hope that somehow through my feeble efforts I have been able to make myself useful to him over this period of time in Taiwan.

I still have 4 weeks. I will push right on till it ends.

We get to go to the temple today, which is why this comes on a Wednesday... I'm pretty excited. But that also means I must go. Well I love you all. Thanks for you time and support and know that I pray for you. Have a great week!

Sister Melissa Thiessen