From the Land of flying squid and Jackie Chan

something food:

One of the sisters i live with, sister harding, is going home in a week and is going all out buying food her last week here in Hong Kong. she has come home almost every night with something new and different to eat, which is fun, but kind of interesting sometimes. she has brought home dried blood shrimp (like beef jerky, just shrimp dried in blood) and last sunday she brought home flying squid!!!! it was amazing and actually quite delicious once we got it cooked, but chopping it up and all was an adventure....kind of like chopping up a fish with 8 legs and tentacles. yum!!!!!! i loved it, but not quite sure if it was worth it, because our apartment smelled like squid for the next 3 days...:)

something precious:

the other day i bought bagels and cream cheese. it has been at least 6 months since i've eaten them. it was so good and so american-like and so expensive. so worth it.

something cantonese:

ok, this is something cool i found out yesterday. so you know how we always say the phrase "he was so gang ho about...." as in he was so into something or excited or supportive, etc. there's not really a good translation for this phrase, because it is actually cantonese!!!! yep, the word "gang" means "even more" and "ho" means "good." i have no idea how that got into the english language, but there it is. i found out during language study yesterday when i came across the character for "gang." yea for language. it is so interesting sometimes.

something all missionaries do:

this last week sister wilson and i knocked on Jackie Chan's door here in Kowloon Tong. he lives on one of the main streets in our area and all missionaries go there and ring his doorbell to try and preach the gospel to him. ha! he is never home anyways, but it's fun just to try and see what happens. he has a large tire on the wall outside his home and a large mural wall of tiles with different drawings and sketches. sister wilson was too nervous to ring the bell, as there were lots of cameras and stuff, so i did it. i talked to his maid for a little while and she said she wasn't allowed to let visitors in, so that was that, but it was fun just for kicks! he is actually not very well liked here in Hong Kong, which is kind of ironic, because americans love him! oh, and just so you know, his last name is not really "chan." of course, that's kind of to be expected...most movie stars make up their names anyways...

something known and unknown:

so, i found out last week that my companion sister wilson is training a new missionary. which means that i am bye bye! sad...:( i just got here! 6 weeks and moving on...i just don't know where to. i will find out next week at moves calls on monday, but i really have no idea what they are going to do with me. there are lots of sisters going home and they will probably be combining and closing areas for the sisters like crazy. we will see. either way, i won't be in the temple ward anymore. it was fun while it lasted!

something unreal:

i didn't have time to write last week, but i hit my 9 month mark on the 3rd of september (last thursday). that means my mission is now 1/2 way done. crazy. and scary. and unreal in so many ways. i have so much to learn still!!! it's going to fast!!!

something miracle:

with our new program, sister wilson have gone visiting many people on the ward lists that no one has seen or heard from in a long time. we went to one apt. looking for a young girl. instead, her mom was home and said that her daughter was gone to Australia studying for 4 years. he mom is not a member of the church and we were able to visit with her and share the message of the restoration and invite her to church. she came! people very rarely just let strangers inside their home here, much less committ to come to church and then come! wahoo! this program is amazing and we are seeing so many miracles because of it. yea for the gospel, yea for the church, it is true. amen.