Sister Xia is one of those people. She was transferred to English work, a great blessing for her. She will have the direct opportunity to learn English very fluently before she goes home next transfer. She was sent to a capable and fun English companion, Sister Maughan.
How we miss her!
As senior missionaries, fortunately we have the latitude to visit her on occasion, such as her upcoming birthday, when we will go to her new area and take Sister Xia and Sister Maughan for birthday dinner.
We also bid "good-bye" to a wonderful young couple who were baptized while they were in the US awaiting the birth of their second child. They came to English class and became interested in the church. They are such good-hearted people and they will be a strength to the church in China. They blessed their brand-new baby girl their last week here before going home to China.
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| The GOOD-BYE Group |
Good-byes were also bid to Elder Chen, also transferred to another Chinese area. He was always such fun to play "Pit" with. He laughed so hard in that game, as we continually exchanged the same commodities time after time.
So, of course, Sunday Night Treats included wondrous family photos. Comic Relief, I suppose, to an otherwise dramatic event.
President and Sister Lee, Branch President for Valley Branch, invited all the Chinese branch leaders and us to a special dinner at a very fine restaurant. It was beautiful. The round tables were massive with an equally large turntable in the center. Items were placed on it and passed around for each person to take the desired portion of a desired dish. It's a traditional Chinese way of passing food, and certainly efficient.
Sister Martin and I took an opportunity to visit Janessa and her companion, Sister Hernandez, in her new Spanish area. She seems happy and engaged in learning Spanish. I'm guessing she is quite a rapid learner, though she wouldn't agree. We're all harder on ourselves. Elders who have worked with her say she is doing marvelously.
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| Taken from surveillance angle, AKA high selfie stick! Janessa, Sister Hernandez, Me, Sister Martin |
As always, we had a very fun time. It was so great to see each other again, as we both press forward through our Arcadia, CA missions.
We enjoyed our second annual Valley Branch summer picnic. Has it really been a year since our last one? It's incredible to think about how much has transpired in that year between picnics. So many lessons learned, so many friends made, both English and Chinese, so many experiences that are now tied tightly into my heart.
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| Thelma, Jason, and Jalen Yu Wonderful friends |
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| Hilarious watermelon-eating contest So deliciously yummy and messy! |
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| "Left-overs" after most of the group had gone home |
And marvelous adventures.
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