It's been another eventful week. Due to performances by our little missionary choir/orchestra, our usual schedule was thrown into disarray (all for the best, though). While that group is off performing, my companion is on exchanges with another sister whose companion is in the group as well. On Friday, I was gone all day, because we had three performances: two at a high school, one at a stake center. I didn't get home until almost 11:00pm, which is pretty much as edgy as my life has gotten within recent memory (and yet, not that edgy because it was with permission). The stake center we performed at serves my first area, Chaozhou. Two sisters that I started teaching while I was there came to see, and brought me a Christmas card with gift. It was so good to see them again, and see that they still remember me. (SIDENOTE: Being remembered by people isn't my primary goal, because I hope their own spiritual experiences and connections with the local church members are more significant to them than I am, but it's a nice side-perk when it happens). The program is a mix of large-group numbers and smaller ensembles. One of the highlights of our performance is a jazzed-up rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman", including tenor sax, alto sax, drums, trumpet, and jazz piano. They just sort of made it up on their own, and it's a big hit every time. I'm accompanying "Beautiful Savior" with a violinist for two sisters singing a duet. As a result of my failing to practice diligently in my more youthful youth, I'm a classically mediocre cellist, but whatever talent I have is there for the Lord to use or not use as He likes. I guess something that I've thought about as a missionary is consecration, putting everything I have at God's disposal. I suppose that can be difficult when we have a lot (e.g. a very rich person being willing to use all her money for whatever the Lord asks), but it can also be difficult when we have a little (e.g. a new missionary whose language skills aren't great being asked to speak in lessons, even though his companion can speak more fluently than he can). I think I personally have an easier time neglecting the latter case, but if embarrassment over the meagerness of our resources keeps us from using them as God asks, that's probably just as bad as keeping them to ourselves for any other reason.
On Sunday night we had dinner at the Gao family home. Using my companion's knowledge of Mexican cooking (part of her extended family is Mexican), we made fajitas. Sister Gao couldn't restrain herself from contributing to the meal, so she prepared curry. I love curry. And fajitas. Also, this family is wonderful. As we were getting the food ready, Brother Gao asked if I would especially miss home around Christmas. I said it was alright; I'll get to call home in a couple weeks. He said their home could be my home for the evening, and it came surprisingly close. It's such a blessing to associate with the members of the Church here. For all my efforts to think of ways to serve them, I always feel like I get a lot more from them than they get from me.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
New Things Learned and Blessings Received
Hello from the beautiful land of Yongkang! Well, according to our apartment security guard there's no pretty places to see here, but I like it. It's not super-rural, but it's definitely not the big city either. Here are things that I've learned since I got here:
1. How to tim tam slam. Tim tams are a type of cookie, and slamming them involves using them as a sort of straw substitute to drink milk. Then the cookie gets nice and saturated, so of course you eat that as well. I've heard of tim tam slamming since I got to Taiwan, and now Sister Angulo (an-GOO-low) has finally shown me how it's done. I'm pretty sure it's just a missionary tradition, but I really have no idea where it came from.
2. Danbaofan is really good. "Dan" means egg, "bao" means wrap, and "fan" means rice. It's basically fried rice wrapped in an egg, with ketchup on top, and it's delicious. I can tell Sister Angulo will do wonders for my familiarity with local food.
3. I can write notes in Chinese! Granted, I need to use a dictionary a lot, but I can do it. Every time we stop by someone's house and she's not there, we leave a little card. My companion said we should just take turns writing them, so we do. Every card I write is a little tender mercy, considering that six months ago I didn't know a thing about writing characters.
Other miscellaneous blessings I've gotten since moving to Yongkang:
1. Seeing Sister Du's baptism. Sister Du met with the sisters for about two months before being baptized, and I was only here for the last week of that. I'm sorry that the sister who just moved out didn't get to see an investigator that she taught baptized, but I'm always grateful for that opportunity myself. She has the happy gospel glow, which is apparently a big change for her :) This is how my econometrician-to-be mind looks at it: It's a natural experiment. She's living her life, and there are certain factors which can cause or alleviate stress. Over a period of time, we observe that she has become noticeably more happy and confident. Fortunately for our natural experiment, most of the factors have stayed relatively constant except one: learning the gospel and getting baptized. Not bad evidence that there is a causal relationship between the gospel and happiness (though my sample size is abysmal...I still have a year to collect data). I guess I have that personal conviction anyway, mostly from my own personal experience and faith in the teachings that come through prophets, but it's good to see it play out in the lives of others as well.
2. We've had some really good street contacts this week--just being in exactly the right place to meet someone who is totally willing to set up with us. With just the two of us wandering around a fairly large geographical area, it's a testimony to me that God helps us find those people who want what we're sharing.
3. Playing play-doh pictionary! Missionaries are encouraged to spend some time doing service every week. In Kaohsiung, we all teach English every week, but it's good to have an additional service. We have the sweetest service activity here, which is going to a home for disabled adults and doing activities with them. Last week we brought play doh, divided them into teams, and then had them draw words out of a bag. They had to shape whatever they drew (although we let people draw until they found one they felt good about). It was so fun! They are so sweet and amazingly loving, with each other and us. I'm really looking forward to going back every week.
1. How to tim tam slam. Tim tams are a type of cookie, and slamming them involves using them as a sort of straw substitute to drink milk. Then the cookie gets nice and saturated, so of course you eat that as well. I've heard of tim tam slamming since I got to Taiwan, and now Sister Angulo (an-GOO-low) has finally shown me how it's done. I'm pretty sure it's just a missionary tradition, but I really have no idea where it came from.
2. Danbaofan is really good. "Dan" means egg, "bao" means wrap, and "fan" means rice. It's basically fried rice wrapped in an egg, with ketchup on top, and it's delicious. I can tell Sister Angulo will do wonders for my familiarity with local food.
3. I can write notes in Chinese! Granted, I need to use a dictionary a lot, but I can do it. Every time we stop by someone's house and she's not there, we leave a little card. My companion said we should just take turns writing them, so we do. Every card I write is a little tender mercy, considering that six months ago I didn't know a thing about writing characters.
Other miscellaneous blessings I've gotten since moving to Yongkang:
1. Seeing Sister Du's baptism. Sister Du met with the sisters for about two months before being baptized, and I was only here for the last week of that. I'm sorry that the sister who just moved out didn't get to see an investigator that she taught baptized, but I'm always grateful for that opportunity myself. She has the happy gospel glow, which is apparently a big change for her :) This is how my econometrician-to-be mind looks at it: It's a natural experiment. She's living her life, and there are certain factors which can cause or alleviate stress. Over a period of time, we observe that she has become noticeably more happy and confident. Fortunately for our natural experiment, most of the factors have stayed relatively constant except one: learning the gospel and getting baptized. Not bad evidence that there is a causal relationship between the gospel and happiness (though my sample size is abysmal...I still have a year to collect data). I guess I have that personal conviction anyway, mostly from my own personal experience and faith in the teachings that come through prophets, but it's good to see it play out in the lives of others as well.
2. We've had some really good street contacts this week--just being in exactly the right place to meet someone who is totally willing to set up with us. With just the two of us wandering around a fairly large geographical area, it's a testimony to me that God helps us find those people who want what we're sharing.
3. Playing play-doh pictionary! Missionaries are encouraged to spend some time doing service every week. In Kaohsiung, we all teach English every week, but it's good to have an additional service. We have the sweetest service activity here, which is going to a home for disabled adults and doing activities with them. Last week we brought play doh, divided them into teams, and then had them draw words out of a bag. They had to shape whatever they drew (although we let people draw until they found one they felt good about). It was so fun! They are so sweet and amazingly loving, with each other and us. I'm really looking forward to going back every week.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Moment of Truth
Hello everyone!
Now the moment of truth, when you will discover my fate for the next six weeks. Did I stay in the big city? Who is my companion? These questions were answered on Friday night, when we got the much-anticipated move call. Every transfer (or move-same thing) lasts six weeks. The mission president, his wife, and their two assistants (a companionship of elders) spend most of the sixth week each move doing the move board, in which they figure out who needs to go where with whom. On Friday night after 9:00pm, the assistants start making phone calls to notify people of their assignments (President will call if you are assuming a leadership position, which for me would mean becoming senior companion or training). We got our call around 9:45, at which time we learned that Sister Frasier would be staying in Zuoying, while I move to Yongkang with Sister Angulo. Yongkang is north of Kaohsiung, in Tainan province, and Sister Angulo is now on her second move there, but she's been in Taiwan about nine months. I packed up my things on Saturday and sent them by a moving company (which cost the equivalent of about 15USD). This morning I got up bright and early to gather up my remaining stuff, clean my bathroom, and take the train up to meet Sister Angulo. This area is definitely not as big city as Zuoying (most areas are not), but it's not as rural as Chaozhou. As I write this, I've only been here for about three hours, but I'm getting a very good vibe. I like Sister Angulo a lot (although I'm sad not to be with Sister Frasier for her last four weeks until going home...). Something that really amazes me about the missionary program is that missionaries get shuffled around among companions and places so often, frequently spending six solid weeks with someone they never had a relationship with before, and it works. I know there are problems, and every companionship has to learn how to work together, but it really astounds me how few problems there are relative to what I would predict. I guess there is a lot that can come from a common desire to do the same work, and also from a willingness to seek God's help to smooth over things that 20-something young men and women probably wouldn't know how to work out themselves.
My last week in Zuoying was a miracle week. It honestly felt like the windows of heaven opened up and dumped on us. We set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, we found several less-active members (one of whom came to church for the first time in years!), we were blessed with some amazing new investigators, not to mention lesson after lesson with a huge powerful Spirit. I'm still not sure if every lesson should feel that way (i.e. would perfect missionaries feel that every time they taught?), or if it is saved for special circumstances and needs, but we sure got a lot of it this week. I think one of the reasons that missionaries are so young is so that, if we are willing to be realistic, we'll know we cannot possibly give ourselves the credit for the blessings and miracles that happen. There's a scripture in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 15:17 that prophesies: ". . . it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles. . ." I think it's very interesting that the Lord uses the Gentiles as an instrument to do His work so that they themselves can see his power. The instrument learns in the process that it is not responsible for the work. That's what missionary work feels like to me.
Now the moment of truth, when you will discover my fate for the next six weeks. Did I stay in the big city? Who is my companion? These questions were answered on Friday night, when we got the much-anticipated move call. Every transfer (or move-same thing) lasts six weeks. The mission president, his wife, and their two assistants (a companionship of elders) spend most of the sixth week each move doing the move board, in which they figure out who needs to go where with whom. On Friday night after 9:00pm, the assistants start making phone calls to notify people of their assignments (President will call if you are assuming a leadership position, which for me would mean becoming senior companion or training). We got our call around 9:45, at which time we learned that Sister Frasier would be staying in Zuoying, while I move to Yongkang with Sister Angulo. Yongkang is north of Kaohsiung, in Tainan province, and Sister Angulo is now on her second move there, but she's been in Taiwan about nine months. I packed up my things on Saturday and sent them by a moving company (which cost the equivalent of about 15USD). This morning I got up bright and early to gather up my remaining stuff, clean my bathroom, and take the train up to meet Sister Angulo. This area is definitely not as big city as Zuoying (most areas are not), but it's not as rural as Chaozhou. As I write this, I've only been here for about three hours, but I'm getting a very good vibe. I like Sister Angulo a lot (although I'm sad not to be with Sister Frasier for her last four weeks until going home...). Something that really amazes me about the missionary program is that missionaries get shuffled around among companions and places so often, frequently spending six solid weeks with someone they never had a relationship with before, and it works. I know there are problems, and every companionship has to learn how to work together, but it really astounds me how few problems there are relative to what I would predict. I guess there is a lot that can come from a common desire to do the same work, and also from a willingness to seek God's help to smooth over things that 20-something young men and women probably wouldn't know how to work out themselves.
My last week in Zuoying was a miracle week. It honestly felt like the windows of heaven opened up and dumped on us. We set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, we found several less-active members (one of whom came to church for the first time in years!), we were blessed with some amazing new investigators, not to mention lesson after lesson with a huge powerful Spirit. I'm still not sure if every lesson should feel that way (i.e. would perfect missionaries feel that every time they taught?), or if it is saved for special circumstances and needs, but we sure got a lot of it this week. I think one of the reasons that missionaries are so young is so that, if we are willing to be realistic, we'll know we cannot possibly give ourselves the credit for the blessings and miracles that happen. There's a scripture in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 15:17 that prophesies: ". . . it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles. . ." I think it's very interesting that the Lord uses the Gentiles as an instrument to do His work so that they themselves can see his power. The instrument learns in the process that it is not responsible for the work. That's what missionary work feels like to me.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Invitations
It has been quite the week. It feels like a lot has happened, even though I suppose it's mostly all within the business-as-usual categories of missionary work. I think we've seen a lot of miracles and blessings in our work this week. For starters, we met three less-active members who said they would come to church on Sunday. One is a mother who apparently just got out of the habit of coming, another is a college student who was baptized when she was 16, and the last is a woman who is vegetarian and feels bad about not eating meat at church activities. Every week we visit some less active members, and most of them do not come to church the following Sunday, so it's especially exciting to see the ones who do come. Another less-active sister that we visited this week felt like she couldn't come because she needs to be making sales. She is an older widow. She used to run a nursery, but the economy recently has made it less likely for parents to pay someone else to take care of their children. Now she sits in front of her house selling cell phone covers. I hope she can make ends meet, because her house is far from a prime location for finding cell-phone-cover seeking people.
We also set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, and we have another who wants to set a date with us this week :) Setting a baptismal date means that we invite an investigator to set a goal--a date by which they will try to prepare themselves for baptism. To be prepared for baptism, they need to have a personal conviction of some basic principles of the gospel (i.e. God is our Heavenly Father, Christ is our Savior, the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through Joseph Smith and is led by a prophet today), be willing to repent of their sins and live life in accordance with the laws and commandments of the gospel, and have a desire to continue doing that and to take upon themselves the name of Christ. They need to attend several consecutive sacrament meetings, and be living commandments such as the Word of Wisdom and law of chastity. It's not unusual at all to set baptismal dates before all these requirements are met, but then the missionaries help the investigators learn and plan what they need to do in order to meet the requirements by the baptismal goal. So that's what we'll be doing with these two sisters in the next little while, and hopefully they can both be baptized next transfer. I would be extremely excited for both of them, especially because after baptism they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be able to have His constant companionship. I know from my personal experience that always having the Holy Ghost is the way to get all the peace, guidance, and protection that I need to be happy, so it's wonderful to see others enjoy the same blessing.
We also set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, and we have another who wants to set a date with us this week :) Setting a baptismal date means that we invite an investigator to set a goal--a date by which they will try to prepare themselves for baptism. To be prepared for baptism, they need to have a personal conviction of some basic principles of the gospel (i.e. God is our Heavenly Father, Christ is our Savior, the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through Joseph Smith and is led by a prophet today), be willing to repent of their sins and live life in accordance with the laws and commandments of the gospel, and have a desire to continue doing that and to take upon themselves the name of Christ. They need to attend several consecutive sacrament meetings, and be living commandments such as the Word of Wisdom and law of chastity. It's not unusual at all to set baptismal dates before all these requirements are met, but then the missionaries help the investigators learn and plan what they need to do in order to meet the requirements by the baptismal goal. So that's what we'll be doing with these two sisters in the next little while, and hopefully they can both be baptized next transfer. I would be extremely excited for both of them, especially because after baptism they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be able to have His constant companionship. I know from my personal experience that always having the Holy Ghost is the way to get all the peace, guidance, and protection that I need to be happy, so it's wonderful to see others enjoy the same blessing.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Cool Stuff Happens All the Time
I'm doing email a little early today so I can get off to rehearsal for the musical group that the mission is putting together for Christmas. I'm not quite sure what it will be like, to be honest, but I hope I can hold up my end. I actually get to go on exchanges with my trainer, Sister Lin, for practice. Aside from moving to a new area, we are literally always with a companion; since Sister Frasier doesn't need to be at practices, we're exchanging with Sister Lin (who is participating) and her companion (also Sister Lin, who is not participating). They're coming up to Zuoying this morning, and from here we'll split off into our temporary companionships. It already feels strange to me to think of not having a companion with me all the time; I'm sure that will be an interesting transition after my mission. It will be nice to have alone time occasionally, but I know I'll miss having someone around to be excited with, disappointed with, late with, see blessings with, etc.
Speaking of seeing blessings with your companion, this week was no exception to the constant stream of little miracles. One of the tender mercies this week was a street contact we made. We actually contacted her three times in the same day, twice at lights and once outside a 7/11 (coincidence? I think not). The third time we had a little more time to talk, and she gave us her contact information for us to set up with her. On another occasion, we went looking for a church member who hasn't been to church for a very long time (probably years). When we called, the man who answered said she wasn't at that number, so we decided to go knock on the door of the address we had. When we got there, no one answered. We were just about to leave, when a girl pulled up to that very house. She was able to get us the new number for the woman we were looking for, who we got in touch with later that day. I'm always amazed at how the timing on these things works out just right; just a few seconds difference and we wouldn't have talked to the woman at 7/11 or the girl pulling up to the house. So basically cool stuff happens all the time, and I'm not sure if it happens more now than it used to in my life, or if I just notice it more often, but it's really exciting to see every day.
Last Friday Sister Frasier and I celebrated Six Day. No, Six Day is not a lesser-known Taiwanese holiday. It is the day that marked my six months from entering the MTC, and Sister Frasier's six weeks from going home. To commemorate this historical day, we used our dinner hour to eat out, plus Coldstone for dessert (yes, my area has a Coldstone in it. When I got to Zuoying, Sister Frasier welcomed me to little America--which I always thought was just an overly-advertised tourist spot in Wyoming--because we have tons of American restaurants and stores here). Time is flying.
Speaking of seeing blessings with your companion, this week was no exception to the constant stream of little miracles. One of the tender mercies this week was a street contact we made. We actually contacted her three times in the same day, twice at lights and once outside a 7/11 (coincidence? I think not). The third time we had a little more time to talk, and she gave us her contact information for us to set up with her. On another occasion, we went looking for a church member who hasn't been to church for a very long time (probably years). When we called, the man who answered said she wasn't at that number, so we decided to go knock on the door of the address we had. When we got there, no one answered. We were just about to leave, when a girl pulled up to that very house. She was able to get us the new number for the woman we were looking for, who we got in touch with later that day. I'm always amazed at how the timing on these things works out just right; just a few seconds difference and we wouldn't have talked to the woman at 7/11 or the girl pulling up to the house. So basically cool stuff happens all the time, and I'm not sure if it happens more now than it used to in my life, or if I just notice it more often, but it's really exciting to see every day.
Last Friday Sister Frasier and I celebrated Six Day. No, Six Day is not a lesser-known Taiwanese holiday. It is the day that marked my six months from entering the MTC, and Sister Frasier's six weeks from going home. To commemorate this historical day, we used our dinner hour to eat out, plus Coldstone for dessert (yes, my area has a Coldstone in it. When I got to Zuoying, Sister Frasier welcomed me to little America--which I always thought was just an overly-advertised tourist spot in Wyoming--because we have tons of American restaurants and stores here). Time is flying.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I Love the Book of Mormon!
Time is flying by. I can't believe that this Friday will mark six months from the day that I entered the MTC (also six weeks from the day my companion goes home). Last week we had zone conference for this move, and the topic was the Book of Mormon. Focusing on the Book of Mormon this move has been pretty awesome, and zone conference just made it all the better. The Book of Mormon is amazing for too many reasons for me to list all of them. Probably the one I've noticed the most recently is something President Benson (former prophet) taught: "There is a power in the Book of Mormon which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path." I couldn't explain why exactly (except that God designed things that way), but that statement is so true. The Book of Mormon really has the power to change anyone's life, even if he/she has already been studying it for years. When I think about the people that I've taught as a missionary, those who embrace the Book of Mormon, read it, apply it themselves, etc. are the ones who get the happiness they're looking for, and who find out for themselves what is true. I was thinking about how God knows everything, and out of all the vast store of stuff that he knows, He's picked out the most precious and necessary to our salvation, and given it to us through the scriptures. When I think about that, I'm always asking myself why He decided to stick different parts in there. I haven't come up with answers for lots of parts, but it wouldn't be any fun to get all the answers all at once (also, it would certainly be too much for me to take in one batch anyway). The other interesting thing about the Book of Mormon is that it exists. I mean, there's definitely a book, and it came from somewhere. And it itself contains a method to figure out if it came from God or not, which is sincere prayer. I think it's fascinating to have a piece of tangible evidence of God's existence and doctrine AND not be required to take anyone else's word that it's true. For myself, I know that I've felt the book to be the word of God dozens of times as I've read it, and I also don't think a false book would have the power to change lives that is within the Book of Mormon. Focusing on all these things has inspired my companion and me to rely more heavily on the Book of Mormon as we teach and study, which is great. I try not to take for granted the time I have now to have the scriptures so naturally involved in my life all day every day...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Stress Relief and Dumplings
I think I've really been seeing the fulfillment of Ether 12:27 from the Book of Mormon as I've been in this area. I was thinking about to the things that stressed me out when I first got to Taiwan, and prominent among them are making phone calls and contacting outside (especially at intersections). Since I've gotten to Zuoying, I realized that I am no longer apprehensive about either one. In Ether 12:27, the Lord promises that he can make weaknesses into strengths, and I'm pretty positive that's what happened. I know I could still learn a lot about talking to people on the phone and on the street, but my fears about it basically evaporated while I wasn't looking. I think a lot of missionaries probably have similar experiences, but that doesn't make it less meaningful to me. I know that I (along with probably every other missionary) am inadequate to do what is expected of us on our own merits, but that's what makes it all the miraculous when things come together. It's comforting to see how the Lord makes up the difference when we fall short ourselves, as long as we put everything we have out there.
The last few days my companion has been a bit under the weather, so we've spent more time than usual inside, which means more time on updating records and making phone calls. I think we're both excited to be outside more as she feels better, but there are still blessings to be seen from the indoors. For example, during one of my many hours of phone calls, I got in touch with several church members who haven't come to church for a long time, and haven't been answering their phones, and was able to understand more about their situations. Information like that is really helpful for missionaries (us now and others later) trying to figure out how to spend their time, who to meet with, etc., so we'll chalk those conversations up under tender mercies of this week.
On one of the occasions when we were out and about, we went to give cookies to the ward mission leader in 10th ward, Brother Jin. He and his wife have a little restaurant food stand thing. It's not exactly a stand--I mean, it's in a building, but it's mostly open to the outside (until they bring down the doors at night), and you can see everything they're doing to prepare the food. They sell things like noodles and dumplings. We actually didn't know it was their restaurant, because they just moved there. By the time we got there, it was quickly apparent that we'd be eating dinner there. At first I had a faint glimmer of hope that we might be able to pay ourselves, but that was dashed as soon as Brother Jin ordered for us. They ended up serving us delicious noodles with thinly sliced pork, a plate of appetizer things (tofu, among other things), a plate of dumplings (stuffed with shrimp and seafood), and soup. It was basically amazing. Of course, we offered to pay, and of course they refused. By happy chance, two church members came together to eat dinner as well, so we all ate together. It was one of those nights when I felt really at home, for some reason. Plus, I love dumplings.
The last few days my companion has been a bit under the weather, so we've spent more time than usual inside, which means more time on updating records and making phone calls. I think we're both excited to be outside more as she feels better, but there are still blessings to be seen from the indoors. For example, during one of my many hours of phone calls, I got in touch with several church members who haven't come to church for a long time, and haven't been answering their phones, and was able to understand more about their situations. Information like that is really helpful for missionaries (us now and others later) trying to figure out how to spend their time, who to meet with, etc., so we'll chalk those conversations up under tender mercies of this week.
On one of the occasions when we were out and about, we went to give cookies to the ward mission leader in 10th ward, Brother Jin. He and his wife have a little restaurant food stand thing. It's not exactly a stand--I mean, it's in a building, but it's mostly open to the outside (until they bring down the doors at night), and you can see everything they're doing to prepare the food. They sell things like noodles and dumplings. We actually didn't know it was their restaurant, because they just moved there. By the time we got there, it was quickly apparent that we'd be eating dinner there. At first I had a faint glimmer of hope that we might be able to pay ourselves, but that was dashed as soon as Brother Jin ordered for us. They ended up serving us delicious noodles with thinly sliced pork, a plate of appetizer things (tofu, among other things), a plate of dumplings (stuffed with shrimp and seafood), and soup. It was basically amazing. Of course, we offered to pay, and of course they refused. By happy chance, two church members came together to eat dinner as well, so we all ate together. It was one of those nights when I felt really at home, for some reason. Plus, I love dumplings.
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