Chinese New Year - WOW!!! Fish Brains - OOOH!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Fish for Dinner!

Do not be alarmed by the title of the email! I have just eaten so much this week that I am at the point where I can't get up.  hahaha!  It was crazy, our ward all of a sudden just decided that we needed to be fed tons this week because of GuoNian!  (Chinese New Year)  haha so we had lunch and dinner appointments every day this week!! haha These weren't just any lunch and dinner appointments... they were all ChiDaoBao's (all you can eat).  It was crazy.  If you love rice, and love fish... you would love GuoNian!!  I ate some crazy things this week... haha!!! Every fish here has it's head and eyes ... and you just eat it. haha, it is actually really good.  You are supposed to eat the head too.  I was given multiple fish heads this week to eat at dinner and lunch appointments.  You need to eat the eyes and brain and all!  haha I thought you guys would like that part. I am sure Taylor got his fair share of that in Tahiti.  Our members are too kind, and give everything they have for us.  It is really amazing, and very humbling.  I am so grateful for them.  

Sucking Out the Fish Brains from the Fish Head

GuoNian is interesting here... it is like the 1 time a year where people don't feel like they have to run a million miles an hour to work and get things done.  In fact, when it starts... there is not a store open.  Everyone goes back to where their family is and everyone just eats, and eats, and EATS!!! hahaha! The hard thing is is that no one wants to meet up and talk or meet up with us.  We spent a lot of hours this week tracting and contacting with little or no success.  It was hard, but was understandable. I almost can't even think right now writing this email... haha I am so full!!  We still have ward members feeding us for the next couple days both lunch and dinner!!! haha.  It is just crazy.  It is awesome.  

I was lying in bed the night of Chinese New Years, and I was woken up at like 12 by all the fireworks. They were so loud and lighting up our apartment window like crazy.  I laid there thinking about all these wonderful people who are all spending time with their families and how much this gospel would bless their lives.  It was a powerful thought that is really hard to describe the feeling.  The culture is so different here, that sometimes you almost don't feel like it is real.  It almost feels fake and that one day I will wake up and this will all be a dream.  During that moment I felt how real all these people are.  I felt to a deeper level that their needs are just as important as mine.  I felt a special love for them.  It is so hard for me to imagine how deep the Savior's love is for all of us.  It is so powerful.  

Chinese Lanterns for New Year Celebration

At one of the dinner appointments this week, a member shared his conversion story.  It was so cool.  He just talked about the importance of working your very hardest as a missionary!!  He said that the only reason he let the missionaries in was because they were dripping sweat they were working so hard.  He said if they weren't he would have never let them in and never heard the gospel.  He also told us the similarities between the Chinese people and the Children of Israel.  That was pretty deep stuff and some rather advanced Chinese! haha it was a little tougher to understand!  Here the people hang this red paper around their doors, because they believe that on New Years night this monster comes and eats everyone.  They believe that the monster passes by everyone who has this ChunLian up on their door.  It is just like the Children of Israel and the lambs blood on the door.  There were a bunch of other similarities that were really cool.  It is interesting.  

A cool miracle this week was when we were tracting.  We had been tracting for hours with zero success!  We came across these little kids playing with a ball in the street!  We walked by and I told the little kid to pass it to me.  He did, and then I spun it on my finger for them.. haha!! They thought that was the coolest thing ever.  hahah they loved that!! They then followed us for the next hour while we were tracting!! They were starting to get a little crazy, and we were thinking about telling them to go away, but just let them be.... Thinking if anything they could only help us get in someones home!  So we continued, and no luck.  We walked with them back to our bikes and on the way the kid says, "that's my family! Go talk to them" His whole family was outside getting ready to leave and we talked to them.  They gave us an umbrella because it was raining... (the people are so giving) and said we could come back again to share more!! That was awesome!!! 

I sure do love you guys so much!!  I wish that you could have been here for GuoNian, because it was awesome!!  We will just have to celebrate it when I am home!!  I love you all so much and am so grateful for your prayers and your faith.  Love you all!! 

Love,

Elder Redding