3/5/13

Wo de jiating! Well, this week has been amazing, crazy, exciting, sad, scary, and a plethora of emotions! It's been hard to say goodbye to these amazing friends I've had who have supported me through so much these last 11 weeks but I know they will all change the world and we are all doing Heavenly Father's work. You can't go wrong there. I also know I'll see them all again someday so I can handle it just fine! Just wait until it hits me tomorrow that they're truly gone and I break down crying about it though! So, for this week... I got my full Chinese name yesterday! I'm still Tang Jiemei (which by the way, means Sister Boiling Water, technically) but yesterday Sister gave me my full name. So now, I'm Tang Mei Xing Jiemei, which means Sister Beautiful Star Boiling Water. I love my first name, I wont lie. Our whole district got them and it's so amazing how well the names seemed to fit everyone else in my district. Our teachers truly know our elders! We had our last district prayer yesterday and sang "God be With You til we Meet Again" in Chinese. It was incredible. I'm amazed I didn't cry but I am so excited for all of them, to see how they all change the world. Last Tuesday night, we had Elder Ballard come speak in our Devotional and it was incredible! It's always incredible to be in the presence of these apostles of the Lord and see the true love they have for missionaries but also the humility they have in their lives. His talk was all about Christ and how we can and should utilize His atonement, especially in teaching our investigators so that we can relate to them and truly help them. It was such an incredible talk, but it's always amazing to listen to the talks, I'm super excited for tonight's too because I know it will be great. I love Tuesdays! On Sunday we also got a great talk from the Provo Temple President and I loved it. It was all about temples and the covenants we make but also how temples can bless our lives. I loved it. I feel so blessed to be here daily. I get to learn from these amazing people, my fellow missionaries, the great teachers, and the hundreds of people we get to learn from here. I just hope to be able to make the best of this last week and learn all I can. We're lucky because An Laoshi (Brother Anderson) is basically privately coaching those of us left in my district so that we don't stagnate. It's amazing how blessed we are and how loved we are. I also really loved testimony meeting on Sunday. Sacrament is always with our zone which is also our branch and it was amazing to see so many of these amazing people I have learned so much from and grown to love get up and share such amazing testimonies. I have such a love for all of them and I know they have such a love for our Savior, for our Father in Heaven, and for the people they will serve, whether they're serving them here in the States, in Canada, Taiwan, or in England. They already love them and they already have such a love for this language. We have all grown together so much. Chinese isn't an easy language, but with God all things are possible as I have truly seen here, especially in myself. I love this language, I love the people I will get to teach and serve, I love this gospel, and I'm so grateful that my Father is letting me take it to the incredible people of Taiwan. I've decided my motto for my mission is "change the world" because I have met many that I know will change the world. I want to be like them. I also want to live worthily and be the kind of missionary He wants me to be. A missionary He can be proud of but also so that I can help bring to pass the blessings I've been promised. I know this gospel changes lives and changes hearts and will change the world. It is true. Wo feichang ai nimen! Tang Mei Xing Jiemei