Dear Mom and Dad,
We had a huge rainstorm last sunday, it was super epic. Tuesday
was really good too, so when we heard we would have a typhoon on
wednesday and thursday, we were super excited. While most people
dislike the typhoon (flooded houses, roads, bridges, etc.,) missionaries
overall enjoy it. Its a little harder to find investigators, but it
gives you time to call A LOT of phones, organize the area, etc. Plus,
riding around in a typhoon is hilarious, everyone thinks we're crazy, so
they let us come into their houses to dry off. However, the typhoon
was super lame. There was a grey drizzle all day, which kept people
from being on the streets, but was not fun at all. I felt a little
guilty, but I wanted to get slammed with the perfect storm! :)
I love the picture of Braidyn in the swimming pool with Grandma
Leatham. Hey mom, what do you want your grandkids to call you?
Grandma? Gramgram? In Chinese, they say "nainai," but in Taiwan, they
use the Taiwanese "amah." "Hey, amah! Li he!" For grandpa, Chinese is
"yeye," and Taiwanese is "agong" or "beibei." Because I am the uncle
of my younger brother's child, Braidyn would call me "abei." That's
Taiwanese, I don't know the Chinese. Kyle is my "didi," I am his
"gege." You have two "erzi." I am your "laoda," Kyle is your
"laoyao." Braidyn is a "dushengzi," an only child. Mom, you are my
"muqin" or "mama," and Dad, you are my "fuqin" or "baba." Do you got
all that? The names for family relations in Chinese are tricky.
Depending on your age and order would depend what other family members
would call you.
I would rather have my bed. I'm confused, why am I sharing a
bed with Braidyn? Its not a big deal, because I'll be getting married
soon after my mission. Hehe.
Oh, Vanessa Chang sent you a
message! Yeah, she's the friend I was talking about. Ah, I don't know,
just remember its her first time to America, think of something
thoughtful that wouldn't freak her out. Haha! Elder Dailey suggested
"show her a real American hamburger!" Like Abs or something. Her
Chinese name is "Zhang1 Ya3Ting2," good luck. Ah, Chinese culture de
hua, its always polite to offer someone something to eat or drink when
they come to visit. She might reject you a few times, so you have to
offer at least three times. Don't be offended if she does that. The
other thing is giving people face. Give her a lot of praise for having
really good English, being the only member in her family, etc.
Obviously don't make any jokes about Chinese stuff. She's super cool
and funny, and she's been around a lot of Americans because of the
church, so she's used to how we do a lot of stuff. Don't worry about
offending her or anything.
ANYWAYS, can you believe, I get home in 4 months and 12 days. Its
gone by way too fast. I'm starting to think more about who I wanted to
become at the beginning of my mission, and seeing what I can do in the
next 4 months to become that person. I've talked to my Zone Leader,
Elder Chung, he's going home to Draper in a week, so he's been reviewing
his mission quite a bit. He said that now he's going home, he's not
perfect yet, and he has a lot of flaws. But he realized that the
mission is not the end, we can continue progressing and growing after
the mission. So my biggest goal right now is not to be perfect, but
collect all the habits and skills that will help me to continue to
progress for the rest of my life.
Mom, Dad, I love you. I've realized, you were always right. Well...most the time.
Have a great week.
-Elder Travis Leatham
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