5-3-15
Black Angel

Well, this week was quite the adventure.

So, as you know, Elder Barker went home, and I moved, which meant a lot of packing and a lot of worrying and all the things that are involved with that. Such is life. It was a really interesting experience to be with someone who had reached the end of the thier two years. Elder Barker wasn't very trunkie, (becoming unfocused at the end of the mission and talking about other things,) but I can imagine how hard it was to truly keep his mind centered on the work. I could tell he was thinking about going home a lot, and it was weird to see how that affected me as well.

"I feel like I'm going home too."

It was a really weird experience, and taught me a lot about the things that I can do to keep myself from becoming trunkie and losing focus.

It was also pretty funny to be packing at the same time as him. Elder Barker kept weighing his suitcases and setting things aside that he wasn't going to take home. He folded all his shirts nicely and made sure that all of the valuables were wrapped up and put somewhere safe. I packed in about thirty minutes and my suitcases looked more like burritos. I actually did have to sit on one to get it to zip up ;D

On Thursday, moves day, we actuallly had to wake up at five in the morning so that we could get over to the church in time to help the Assistants drive around and pick up luggage. I didn't get to drive, unfortunately. The best part was, though, that Elder Ching and his companion, Elder Lai, didn't get to the church until eleven. So, I had about three hours of sitting around and not doing much. I couldn't study because the mission office was entirely full of departing missionaries, and you can imagine what that was like. There were eighteen of them! And only ten new missionaries came in.

Once Elder Ching finally arrived I was surprised to see that he wasn't the stereotypical short asian person. He's actually quite tall, but definitely from China. I'll have to send pictures later.

And the area is very different. I am now in Yeun Long II Ward. Yeun Long I elders are Elder Shipp, who was in the MTC with me, and Elder Bus, who's super funny and the classic "nerd." In a good way. Compared to Cheung Sha Wan, Yeun Long is a Monticello. We're all the way out in the boonies, and there are even places where you're not sure if you're in civilized country anymore. There are these huge groups of Chyun Uks, or smaller homes that usually have six or eight apartments in them, usually quite a ways away from the main part of the ctiy. Almost like their own community. We went out there to teach a Less-active named Peter, (who's kind of a weirdo,) and got to sit at the bus stop for awhile and watch as the entire population of the Chyun Uks got together and had some sort of celebration.

They always listen to some sort of traditional chinese music, which sounds like Mahnori beating on pots and pans and me trying to sing like Adele with Sig as my backup singer. Quite the experience.

My second day here we were walking back to our apartment after a finding session when this random guy fell in right behinds and just startign following. I thought I saw something so I turned my head, but just figured it was a classic Chinese person who was walking to fast and they'd just move around us. But a moment later the guy grabbed our shoulders.

"I have some questions I want to ask you." He said. We were super confused so we just nodded and then sat down to talk to him. He was a most interesting person, with long hair and a goofy way of speaking super slangy Chinglish. Apparently he's talked with missionaries before, and all he wanted to to do was get us to say what we belived so he could tell us we were wrong, and then "reveal" the scriptures to us. We told him we had to go home so he asked if he could say a pray, which we agreed to. In the prayer he asked God that "our eyes would be opened" and that we "would see the wrongs of our ways and be converted unto the true light of Jesus."

As we left and said our last fe parting words, trying not to laugh out loud, he informed us that God had sent him to us to save us, and that he was our Black Angel.

Weirdo :D

Things are going well, and the area comes pre-prepared with lots of people to teach, mostly Less-actives, so we don't have to go finding all day every day. I'm excited to serve in this new area, and really excited that I get to give a talk next Sunday in Sacrament Meeting :D

You guys are all so awesome. I'm still goind fine, even though I can't spell in English anymore. I have a lot of pictures to send next week and I'll take a lot of all the interesting places in Yeun Long.