"You said 'Hello' very well!"

This week has been great.  I love Easter so much!  The hope of the coming Spring, as well as the reminder of the sacrifices the Lord has made for us is awesome and inspiring.  Along with Easter we have had slightly warmer weather, which has made contacting a little more bearable.  Thank goodness for that!  I was afraid it would never get warm again.

While we were out contacting yesterday, the sun was shining and the missionaries were happy.  We said hello (nihao!) to everyone who passed by.  As I greeted one man, he turned and said (in Mandarin) "Ah, your Chinese is so good!" Confused, I replied "I only said 'hello,' how do you know my Mandarin is good?"  "You said 'Hello' very well!" he replied, and went on his way.  If I know nothing else, I know that I can say hello well.  A Chinese man told me that, so it has to be true, right?

We had a cool experience with one of our less active members this week.  We had challenged her to talk to her husband about meeting with the missionaries (he is not a member) and getting more involved in her beliefs.  As we talked in the next lesson she expressed some concerns with talking to him about these things and making him uncomfortable.  We discussed ways that could help him be more open to the gospel, and as a result we are going to meet with him tomorrow!  It was awesome to see her have a concern, and then have the three of us work together with the Spirit to figure out how to help her situation.  After we finished talking to her about her husband, she told us that she had opened a dialogue with her boss (a Korean man) about the Gospel.  Neither of them speak the other's native tongue, but they both can communicate a little in English.  She told him about the Book of Mormon, and we may see if he's interested in getting a copy for himself!  We are hoping that as he learns more about the Church and her beliefs, he will be more willing to give her time off on Sunday to attend church.  Prayers are welcome in this area.  She really is a wonderful lady, and one of the nicest people I have met since coming to Chinatown.

My dear Sister Lee opened my eyes to a parallel I had not drawn before. This week as we prepared our lessons about the Plan of Salvation, she suggested that we use the vision of the Tree of Life (found in 1 Nephi chapter 8) as a way to illustrate Heavenly Father's plan.  It really is awesome.  I highly recommend all of you to go do a side-by-side comparison of the two, perhaps using one of the Plan of Salvation pamphlets that the Church prints.  I was amazed at how well the two went together, and I am excited to use it in our teaching!  Way to go Sister Lee.

I love you all, and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Beer

I found DRAGONFRUIT!! and it was delicious.  Yum yum yum.... it will be even better once it's in season!

We had a Relief Society event, and our Relief Society President made little rolls that looked like bunnies!  It was such a good idea I took a picture so I will never forget.

My companion looks really sad in this picture.  I think it might have to do with the fact that the cap of the permanent marker wouldn't stay on the back of the pen, but I can't be sure.  I promise you she's usually really happy.

Last P-Day while on a (fruitless) search for rubber boots, we got this cool above-park shot in Burlington.  I think it made the trip worth it.  Well, that and Chipotle.