From the land of CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Something CHINESE:

RED PACKETS....aka "lai si." Tiffany might know what this is...:) we get packets of money from people during new year. it is fabulous. as missionaries, we are only allowed to use it for missionary purposes and for our investigators and members, but it feels like christmas! wahoo!

Something BIG:

all the missionaries in Hong Kong went to the big buddha monastary today in tung chung. it was fabulous and yes, the buddha was big..:) it was freezing but so worth it!



Something COLD:

the temperature last week in hong kong was 24 degrees celcius and i wore short sleeves. today it 1.5 degrees Celsius and i wore 5 layers of clothes. i love china.

Something TRADITIONAL:

every year before the new year begins the chinese people will clean out their homes and organize and throw things away. kind of like american spring cleaning. it is bad luck to do after new year has began because you are suppose to rest and visit family and things during that time. well, we missionaries follow that tradition as well. we are given an entire day to clean out our entire apartment from top to bottom with toothbrushes and bleach. seriously. it was awesome though and our apartment shines. i love it because i am a clean freak...:) we threw out so much old stuff that has probably been there for ages. wahoo! more space! missionary work is more slow during the new year because people are busy seeing family and traveling so it was nice to have a day to clean and rest. this week has been so strange, but i love following the chinese new year traditions. church was also only an hour long on sunday so people can go and be wit their families. my district painted fai cheun...aka "new year greetings" on red paper and gae them to the ward members as they came to church. we also wore our chinese clothes as many of the members and children do as well. so fun!

Something IMPRESSIVE:

Monday night after cleaning all day, we went and watched the fireworks. being as it's china, they were amazing! so beautiful and the night was so cold and clear you could see everything so well!

Something UNEXPECTED:

I am training a new missionary next moves....in 2 weeks. AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!~ just kidding. i am actually so excited. i just wasn't expecting it because there was only one sister coming in and there are so many sisters that haven't trained yet due to the slow down in missionaries coming to this area of the world. i just hope i can be good trainer! ahh! i have to be a good missionary now!!!!! blah! she'll probably think i'm a lunatic. which is true. hee hee. cheers! i love you all!