Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Auburn-September 29, 2015

Dear family,

I am so glad to hear from you. Sadly, Elder Jiao is leaving Auburn. But the coolest thing is that he is going to serve in my first ward, Skyway. There are a lot of Chinese people there! I am so excited for him. That means I won't have language study anymore, and we won't be able to go visit Chinese people. But that's ok. Now we can focus on teaching as many people as we can in our own area. That will take a load off my shoulders. I don't need to teach English anymore. My new companion is Elder Samuels. I was really excited to hear that Jess met a guy that is coming to my mission. More likely than not, we'll see each other at zone conferences.

The last Sunday I had with Elder Jiao was amazing. This Sunday was Zhong Qiu Jie (Mid-Autumn festival). It falls on the fifteenth day of the 8th lunar month. Sister "Q" invited us to her house to celebrate. The food was incredible! It was real, authentic Chinese food. The meat was so tender and juicy. I can't wait to travel to China someday. We talked to a lot of people. Elder Jiao even taught a lesson to a man in Chinese upstairs. His name is "J W". He is from Kun Ming in the province of Yun Nan, which is close to the border between China and Laos. He told Elder Jiao that he wants to follow Jesus Christ, but he doesn't know how. He said that it makes him sad to see so much corruption. He is Chief of Police where he's from, and he sees his superiors accept bribes to let criminals get away with their crimes. He is pressured to accept bribes as well, but he knows that it is wrong. Elder Jiao told him that although there is evil in the world, God watches over us and cares for us. We told him that even though there is probably no branch of the church in his province, he can look up information on the Chinese Mormon.org page. On his trip to Las Vegas, he even stopped at temple square!! That was incredible. Dad, you told me you had a feeling I would preach the gospel in China. This is as close as anything! I know that the Lord is preparing the hearts of people the world over for the gospel. It is my privilege to meet those people. What a neat experience! Brother "W" told me that if I ever go to China, to give him a call, and he would give me a tour of Yun Nan province! Elder Jiao has his phone number.

I can't wait to share my experiences with Elder Samuels. I hope you all have a great week. 




Love,

Elder Herbert