From the land of heat and humidity

something cool:
so here in china they are big on exercise. not the kind of exercise you are thinking of. I'm talking old person exercise. the old people here are called popos. and they have exercise "stations" all over the parks and public areas here for them to do their version of America's "sit and be fit" workouts. it's hilarious. you're walking along in the park and all of a sudden there's a bunch of equipment for old people and other strange things like rocks cemented into the ground that they like to walk on barefoot because they think it stimulates the nerves in the feet and it's healthy or something. strange and kind of cool.

something funny....kind of:
so one of our investigators, Chahn Ji Muih, has a devil dog. her name is Muih Muih, which means, "little sister." the very first time we came to teach her, he peed all over the place and then ran all over my lap. it was pretty gross, but i could handle it right? well, we've been teaching her for a couple weeks now and this last week we had another devil dog attack. this time he put his paws up on my knees and peed all over the floor where my backpack was sitting. gross. if that wasn't bad enough, when i went to get up, i realized that before that he had peed all over the couch i was sitting on and that i had sat right in it. yes, dog pee all over my skirt and my backpack. fabulous, thank you Muih Muih. i HATE that dog. behind Chahn Ji Muih's back, i call her Mo Gwai, which means devil. ha!

something miracle:
i didn't melt this week from the heat and humidity. it got up in the 90's this week and in the 90's for humidity until it would burst and just pour rain. especially fun when you're out tracting. at least when it rains, people can't see your sweat marks anymore, because your entire shirt is wet!!!...:) so fun! i am still trying to run every morning, but it's getting hard. i come in from running and i literally have sweat from every pore. i took a picture it was so amazing. i have to wash my workout clothes twice a week because they are soaked and smell sour if i don't wash them, as things don't really air dry well here...:) and believe it or not, this isn't even summer weather yet really. ha! wahoo! bring it, baby!

something exciting:
so, my ward has had to move buildings as the one in Sha Tin is under construction for the next year to make it bigger. this has caused some difficulty, as we now have no place to teach lessons or meet as a district. with all the setbacks, there have also been many blessings. the new building in Ma On Shan is far away, but very beautiful and brand new almost. much more room and accommodating. despite the distance, we still had 3 investigators at church on sunday and that is pretty good for us! it was very exciting and it will really stretch us to find the creme of the crop that are willing to travel that long to get to church.

something spiritual:
so, i've been reading about Amulek lately in the book of Alma and i just have to say that he is probably my favorite Book of Mormon person. his story is very similar to Job's if you read closely and he still endures and overcomes and continues to preach the gospel after losing everything he once had. i especially like the scripture that talks about Alma strengthening him in the Lord after all the hardships. it reminded me of Alma 31:31 as well, finding comfort in the Lord. as missionaries, we don't have all the options and things to do that we had before to get out stress or release frustration. we have to turn to the lord for comfort and strength. and that is how it should be always actually. i've realized this lately. the mission is making me realize who i can always turn to even for the smallest of things. before, i would go running, or out in nature or just get away from people and go driving somewhere or paint or read or something. well, as missionaries, you can't do a lot of those things. so you are drawn to your knees. it's amazing how much more affective that is than all those other things are....:) i know i can always find strength and comfort in the Lord.