Notes from Mom: This week Ian didn't really send a group letter. I asked him some questions and he chatted about Thanksgiving, and sent some pictures. "Yeah, we were given a day for Thanksgiving actually. I made
a turkey without a recipe and it turned out to be one of the greatest things
that I have ever made on my mission. I haven't made many good things though.
The turkey was good though, and we actually had quite a lot of food for the
entire zone (20 people). Butter is expensive."
I also asked him about what he needs or wants for Christmas. His response:
"While I write this, I do need to tell you that it became
very cold VERY quickly, and I actually had to buy some extra clothes and a
blanket in response. I will be reimbursed for the blanket, but I don't have
enough money now to go pick up my suits today. Would I be able to get the
equivalent of 500 HKD so that I can pick those up? I felt like such a wuss though in the morning because I was shivering in the shower and COULD NOT get warm. Thanks mom! LOVE YOU!" Ian didn't really express specifics about Christmas so we decided he should buy another suit(s) since he gets so much use out of them and they are so inexpensive to have made there. When I asked if he needed me to send gloves or other clothes he said, "I don't need gloves. Hands are rarely a problem for me. I bought a sweater and some sweat pants (the ones that I brought are wearing out and the sweat pants that I brought have many many moth holes in them. The rest of my clothes are okay though. I need to begin to regularly wash all of my clothes.
Thanks momma. I can get thermals and sweats here. There are a few nike outlets (they are the only ones that have pants long enough for me that aren't so tight that I couldn't fit my leg through if I wanted to. EVERYONE HERE HAS SUCH SKINNY LEGS!"
I asked about his shoes and socks. His tennis shoes seem to be holding up well because here is one of the best things he's written: "Those shoes are the STURDIEST thing that I brought other than my testimony." I love it!
He also told us about his new companion. "Elder Lee was born
into a traditional Taoist family. They had this lifestyle for about 10 years,
but then Elder Lee's dad because very busy with work as a doctor, so they
didn't do all the traditional stuff that they used to. Then Elder Lee's uncle
became a bishop of the local ward. Elder Lee LOVE's his uncle, and when his
uncle told Elder Lee about this change of responsibility, Elder Lee was
curious. Curiosity turned to interest, then faith, and then turned into the
path of conversion in July 2014. His mom and brother then became a little
interested and Elder Lee pounced on the opportunity. NOW his dad is meeting
with the missionaries and his sister is turning 8 next year. He went on a
mission only a year after his conversion (meaning that he would miss his moms
endowment happening in two weeks). He loves the scriptures and is VERY familiar
with them."
He asked if that made sense, but wrote it in Chinese, which I don't read. 得唔得吖?
Our neighbor Ruth recently returned from Hong Kong and brought some gifts. One of them was a package of candy that she said was more of a gag gift. She wouldn't eat it. It smells and tastes disgusting, but I tried some and it wasn't horrible. When I asked Ian about it he was very informative. "Durian...Elder Lee eats it EVERY DAY and it doesn't smell good at ALL. I have learned to LOVE cottage cheese which is now a rare delicacy, but Durian is the one food that I have not yet conquered.
This is also the most
dangerous fruit to harvest. It is a large cause of death in that line of work
because it grows in a tree and is COVERED in spikes. The small ones weigh four
or five pounds. The BIG ones can be as much as 25 pounds. Elder Lee Loves it!" I asked if I should include the leftover Durian in Ian's Christmas package for Elder Lee. His response was quick and specific: "NOOOOOO!"
"President Lam invited
me in an interview as well as on multiple other occasions to study this verse
of scripture. Please tell me any thoughts or comments: D&C 109:15. Feel
free to invite the rest of the family too. I really want to see what ideas everyone
has on this before going to President Lam next week in interviews. Get everyone on it please." We had a lot of fun as a family discussing this scripture and the significance of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. I'm not sure that we had much more insight than Ian did, but I liked that it allowed us to focus our study together.
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