Happy New Year

So the time has come for me to live and eat my way through a second Chinese New Year. I'm not sure if you remember the last one-- but I ate a lot and a lot of really interesting things including pig foot and snail soup (please note that I didn't actually eat the snail soup because I'm not that adventurous). You'll be happy to know that this New Year has been a lot more pleasant on my stomach. There has definitely been a lot of food-- but I haven't eaten anything too shocking (only the usual-- tofu and cow stomach). Hahah. We still have a couple more meals left in us though so I'm not sure what that will bring.

Honestly there isn't a whole lot to say. We've been out on the streets finding for the last 4 days. We've knocked a ton of doors and talked to a lot of people that are not interested in the gospel. That being said though-- we've also met a handful of people that are super willing to meet with us after the New year week long celebration ends! So we have a lot of set ups Wednesday through Sunday! THE CHURCH IS TRUE AND GOD LOVES US!

We did run into a very interesting lady though. She was probably in her late 20s. She scolded us for a solid 10 minutes for doing missionary work during their holiday and told us to stop. So we left... obviously. And knocked on the next door... obviously. Missionary work doesn't stop.

I did run into a very interesting man who offered me a Buddhist Bible and spit all over when he talked (consequently getting on my face). He wasn't trying to be rude though-- he just hasn't mastered the skill of keeping the saliva in the mouth. That's okay-- he's probably not the only one. I told him I could take the scriptures he wanted to give me.. and I wiped off my face. Meanwhile Sister Bang invited his family to English class. So that's pretty much all that has happened in the last week.

We are just trying to keep spirits up and soak in the BEAUTIFUL weather that God has blessed Taiwan with. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Mostly I guess since I don't have a lot of stories to tell I can just tell you all how much I love you. And I love this gospel. I love the temple. I love being on a mission. I love all the people I have met on my mission. I love knowing that my whole family can all go to the temple with me. I love knowing that my brothers are still holding up to our agreement to stay awesome forever. I love that Shandi is the greatest sister in the world who is helping to make sure that good things will happen when I get back to school. I love that Sham is getting puppies! I love to dance. I love having the gospel. I love the Book of Mormon. I love reading it in English and I love reading it in Chinese. I LOVE JESUS.

I just love everything.

And I'm also going to tell you how much I love my companion. Sister Whitney Bang is the GREATEST. She's also ridiculously accomplished and wicked smart. She plays the violin like a pro. Her family has lived all over the world including China and Korea. ALSO SHE LOVES TO DIAGRAM SENTENCES, MOM! She, like me. does not like Jelly or Jam. We make a good pair. We have the same thoughts about many things-- it's weird how alike we are. She wants to be a doctor---and she'll do a great job at it. We've been companions for almost 3 months. Seriously working with her is like working with myself. OH HAVE I MENTIONED THAT SHE'S HILARIOUS. And so we laugh a lot-- and thus she will fit beautifully into the Anderson/Teel family. She believes in laughter and mixed patterns. Aka-- she is super fashionable and I adore her. Enough said. I'll miss her a lot when we aren't companions anymore. But life goes on and we intend to all go to the Celestial Kingdom together. That will be a wonderful time.