Sept. 16, 2013 - Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

It was a long week last week just because of P-Day getting pushed back to Thursday, but the bright side is that it makes for a short week this week. I'm already sitting back at a computer emailing home! Time just keeps on going. It should be a big week coming up. This week is the Mid-Autumn festival. To describe it, it is kinda like Thanksgiving. Only there isn't any turkey, football, colder weather, or pie. So maybe its not so alike after all. The family is a huge focus so that is one thing alike. They also eat lots of mooncakes (gross cakes, except for the ice cream ones) and they light lanterns that float into the sky. Kinda like Tangled. Im so stoked to see it! We also have a big meeting with the Asia area Presidency this week. So it should be an exciting week!

Not much has changed since Thursday's email. So sorry if this seems a little bit lame. We had a big day at church. The ward is really helping us out to move the work along in Butterfly. Members are so critical. 

Have I told you all about Erica? Well Erica is a new investigator that we started teaching this last week. The Mandarin missionaries found her and introduced us and we began teaching. She is the best! She is about to graduate from college and become a Kindergarten teacher. So on Sunday she was able to check out the Primary and she just loved it. She doesn't have a ton of knowldge about Christianity but she is willing to learn and study and that is what matters! She was pretty Buhddist before so it has been a pretty cool process so far helping her learn. But we are both learning slowly together. It is so awesome to see how the Lord prepares people. Erica is prepared.

One thing that I thought of was that we am coming up on Conference again. How exciting is that? I don't think there is anything else a missionary looks more forward to!

You all probably already know my next point that I want to share, but I will share it anyways. Life is crazy. Never in a million years did I think that I would know Chinese and teach Buddishts about Christianity and God's Chruch on the Earth. Never did I think that I would or could make such a difference. It has been an adventure for sure.

One thing that has been on my mind is the importance of time and daily miracles. I see miracles everyday. God I think helps us out day by day and when you look back you will see a life full of His love, His hand in our life. So make it through today if things are tough. Pray for help today. Try and do better than you did the day before. Its those small steps that lead to the big changes.

I love you guys. whether you are going to school, working, or anything else, just keep doing your best. Keep at it!

Until next week,

Elder Woodburn