To the best family and friends in the world,
How are you? Wow it sounds like Philmont was INCREDIBLE. I wish I could have been there! I TOLD YOU BEFORE I LEFT YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING COOL WITHOUT ME! ;) just kidding. I'm doing plenty of great things without you. Someday we'll have to experience them together! Even if it's just in heaven watching back on the big screen of our lives ;) I wrote a HUGE long list of stuff I wanted to tell you in my planner. So here goes:
I was reading this week in my personal study about the Gadianton robbers and that immediately made me think of us reading it together as a family. Remember the "secret signs and combinations" we gave to each other? Haha so funny. I will always remember that. {this keboard is awful by the way, we came to a different library and i don't like it} I have the best family ever! We make everything fun, even scripture study! :) I love you guys so, so, SO much. Seriously. Don't forget it!!
So here in Macau, they give you 30 days to be in the country, then you have to leave, then they give you 20, then you have to leave, then they give you 10. BUT sometimes, they make mistakes and give you extra days. Anyway so on Wednesday a few of us had to do our "u-turn." I also had to pick up my Hong Kong ID, so Sister Pearl, Sister Jamison, and I went to Hong Kong! It was fun, and also a good reminder that Macau is SO different. When I get transferred it's going to be crazy getting used to the difference! Anyway, we got my ID (I'm officially chinese now!) and then came back to Macau, where they stamped our passports. The moment of truth: how many days would we get? 20 as usual? Or 30? GUESS WHAT! We got 30!!! Which means the next time they stamp our passports, we'll get 20, then 10 after that! So we got extra days!! :) We still don't know for sure if Pres Hawks will take advantage of that and leave us here or not (moves are on August 8), but we hope so! Macau is like a wonderland! So many miracles here! It's amazing!!
Guys. Sister Lau and I have been SO incredibly blessed. You have no idea. Guess how many investigators we have. Good ones, too. Like they have potential! EIGHT! We started out with NONE! The Lord has given us the most prepared, wonderful, amazing, inspiring investigators. I seriously can't even believe it. Sister Lau keeps saying, "This never happens! I've never had so much success! This is crazy!" Oh my goodness this life is the best! I love missionary work!
On Monday, we had a birthday party for one of our investigators, OL. She is so awesome! She just turned 18. I love her so much. We took her a little cake we bought for SO cheap, and a card (thanks for sending me those cards, i'm using them up and loving them mom!) It was fun. We had a member YW named T come and help us. The lesson was so good and then we took a bunch of pictures! We also extended her a baptismal date and she accepted!September 15th! So happy! But then... the sad news... she didn't come to church on Sunday :( We confirmed her Saturday night and it seemed like everything was good! But then on Sunday she didn't answer any of our calls and texts. We still haven't heard from her. Breaks my heart. I hope everything is okay. She is so amazing. I want her to have the gospel so bad! I have been praying my heart out for her. I hope she doesn't give up!
I finally bought me some water shoes... SO UGLY BUT I AM IN LOVE. I need to take a picture of them. They're seriously gross. They're not crocs brand (I refuse, Dad. haha) nah, the crocs brand were just more expensive. But they are rubber and hideous. But SO fongbihn (convenient... haha my Chinglish comin' out!) It rains here all the time, and socks are such a maahfaahn (inconvenience). So. I now wear crocs. You can make fun of me if you want.
Also. Chinese people just give themselves English names, and whenever I ask someone's name they always give me their English name because they think I don't speak Chinese. (They're right! haha! But not for long!) So far, I have met a Monkey, Rabbit, and Fish. All girls. NO JOKE. I have to stop myself from laughing sometimes. We're also teaching someone named Angel. The other sisters have someone named Candy. So funny :)
Last night we met a guy named C who was from Romania. His accent sounded pretty Nacho Libre, though. I don't know... anyway, we were looking at a map because we were less active finding and were a little lost, and he came up and said, "Can I help you?" (say it like Nacho). He tried to help us but he couldn't read Chinese either so finally he gave up. He looked at me and said, "Can I be straight up with you? I only talk to you because I want practice my English." Haha so funny. Then he asked us if we could go out for drinks sometime. We shook our heads and he said, "Like a Coke?" hahaha. Sister Lau said, "Well, we missionaries share a really special message that we'd love to share with you. So if you want to buy us Cokes and bring them to our church and listen to our message, that would be great!" We ended up exchanging phone numbers and I'm still not sure if he just wants to drink Coke with us or actually hear our message. Either way. Hahaha.
LICE UPDATE. For all of you who care. (By the way, thank you so much for all of your support with my lice trial! It means so much that I have so many people thinking of/praying for me. I am so humbled by the many people that love me. I love you all, too :)) I still comb my hair out every night. I'm not pulling out live bugs anymore. So that's good!!! I'm still pulling out eggs though. But I feel like it's getting less and less! No one in my apartment has gotten it, either. What a blessing. Straight up miracle.
It seems like life is getting better and better. The times when Sister Lau and I get the giggles so bad it hurts and we can't get through hymns or prayers, when we sprint to make the bus, when we have amazing spiritual lessons when I cry, when we get a new investigator and we're so excited we jump up and down... all these things make the really difficult moments worth it. Because yes, this is difficult. But oh my goodness, it's the best thing I've ever done. Best decision I've EVER made. I don't want to waste one SECOND!
I love you so much. I tell Sister Lau every single day how much I love you. She says our family sounds so fun. We really have the best family EVER! Dad, thanks for being such a great dad. You are such a good example to me. Mom, every time I think about you it strengthens me. I'm so glad I served a mission so we can have one more connection, one more thing alike. I love you so much and I'm so glad we're best friends! I really can't tell you how much your emails and letters mean to me. You are such an amazing woman and mother. Thank you for everything you do and are doing for me. I LOVE you :) Whit Twit, I miss you like CRAZY. Holy cow. I love you so much. You are so amazing. I was reading your email thinking "okay my sister is so much stronger than i am." You are going to be such an awesome college student. I know you're going to LOVE it in Idyho. I love you. You are so strong!! You can do hard things! You already have! You amaze me. I love you i love you i love you! Parker, your pictures from Kenya are so stinkin cute! You are such a great example! I can't believe you did that. Went to Africa all by yourself and did such hard things! It's not easy being in a foreign country and serving people all the time, but isn't it soooooo worth it? That will be such good "practice" for your mission. I am so proud of you! I miss hearing from you but I hear you're WAY busy. Busy with good things :) I love you Park! Jaren Kincade, how are all your camps going? I think it's so cool that most of your summer will be those camps! You are having all sorts of good experiences that are so fun too. Wow. Lucky lucky duck. How is the rest of summer going? Have you had fires with your friends? Bike riding? Floating the canal? Fill me in okay? I love you SO MUCH!
Have the best week. Remember how much Heavenly Father has blessed us. Try to give back to Him by blessing others :) I love you! So much!
All my love from the other side of the world,
Shay Bay
Gwok
xoxoxoxoxox
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