5/25/16
The MTC: Where we cheat and swindle people EVERYDAY

I possibly have never been so mortified in my entire life. Grab some popcorn, sit back, and prepare to mock me forever.

WORST. BEST. LESSON. EVER.
Peanut Butter, Cheat/Swindle?
Which is better?
I. DON'T. KNOW.

So, listen. We are in our lesson with HouDiXiong (my teacher, LiLaoShi) and we are teaching about repentance and we were like "Hey. It's really good if you make a habit of repenting everyday." And he said "I totally understand the importance of repenting, but everyday? I don't kill people everyday... or ever." (So at this point I am desperately trying to think of some small sins that I know how to say in Chinese and start talking without realizing what the implications might be) And I said "Oh! Well, we don't either. Everyday repentance is for smaller sins that you do everyday like lying (pian) or making people feel bad." HouDiXiong looked so shocked and asked "You lie (pian) everyday?" And I was like "Well ye- (And here I realized my mistake) Wait! No, I mean sometimes. No! I don't lie (pian) everyday!" (Legit my exact words) So at this point I was pretty embarrassed and blushing pretty bad that I had accidentally implied that I lie (pian) everyday. Pretty bad, right? Couldn't get any worse? Wrong. He continued to look at me and said "Pian?" (Lie) and I was like *Crap. I'm not sure that pian is the right word, but I know it's close. I'm 98% sure* And I couldn't use the verb for lie because I couldn't remember it! I kept trying to say Hua Shang, but it's really Shou Huang, so I knew that I couldn't try and fix it and use that, so I just stuck with pian and said "Yes. Pian. Lie." And he looked at me and I looked at him and I was about to die and also laugh because I accidentally said we lie everyday. So my companion really picks things up and explains things really well and asks HouDiXiong a good thought provoking question about repentance, and he is still just looking at me. AND HE CRACKED. My teacher started laughing so hard, like convulsing and I burst because I had been trying so hard not to laugh and my companion just stared at us and then she laughed too and we kept trying to stop but it just kept coming and then my companion yelled "This is important!" So we tried to settle down. This took about 3 minutes all together. So we pulled it together, he answered the question and we wrapped up the lesson. Afterwards I was in class and I was just really feeling like pian was the wrong word. So I looked it up, and of all the things that it could mean, it means: cheat; swindle; deceive. I sat there for a few moments in mortification, but don't worry, it gets better. You aren't even going to believe what we had taught in the first half of our lesson. We taught tithing! And told him that we use this money to build temples and help poor people and nobody in the church gets paid, but then said "We cheat and swindle people everyday, (probably with your tithing money or something!)" So I looked at my teacher and said "So... cheat or swindle, ha?" And he was like "Yeah.... What happened? Why didn't you just say Shou Huang?" and I was like "I kept trying to say Hua Shang instead" And then he laughed again and told me that Hua Shang means peanut butter. So I never could have made it out of there alive is the moral of the story. Hope this long story made you laugh, it sure made me laugh.
Other Moral: I am well aware that I can teach repentance better and that I don't have to give them small sins to repent for everyday, but that repentance everyday helps us develop ourselves and improve through the atonement. I actually know how to teach sometimes. Promise.

But really, this has probably been my favorite week at the MTC so far. So many good and hard things-but teaching hard things- so that I feel so good!

Last night and this week I have learned a lot about my Savior.
1. On Sunday we watched the Testaments and I watched Helam live his whole life in faith, waiting for the return of his Savior, and then with undying love for his son, lost his sight. Then the Savior came, in all of His glory. Helam wanted more than anything to see His Lord, but only asked for a description. Then Jesus Christ came and with love that sent my heart bursting, called Helam by name and healed him, so that he might receive the reward of his unwavering faith. The Savior loves us SO much. I can't even describe it. All I know is that I want to be exactly like the Savior and I want to minister to His people in the way that He would if He were here.
2. For Choir this week we sang "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth" which was an experience in and of itself, as we testified through song of the journey Jesus went through, so meek and humble, to the King of all. However, our choir director always tries to make things very real. And he explained the glory of the Savior. John the beloved was Jesus' best friend. He sat with Jesus everyday and went out and watched Him perform miracles, heal, and teach people. You would think that He knew His glory more than anyone. Yet when Jesus appeared to John in His full glory it caused John to faint, as he had never fully realized the glory of the Savior. As much as Jesus is our older brother, He redeemed us and is ultimately glorified and perfect, and that is something that I want to always sing praises to, and treat with my utmost reverence, respect, praise, and awe.
3. Elder Dale G Renlund came and spoke last night and I learned a lot about the Atonement. He talked about its complete cleansing power. It leaves no traces, no tracks. What it heals, it heals. The paradox is in the fact that as Jesus took away our scars, He was given His own. He took our pains, our sins, and our afflictions. We must have the faith and belief in the atonement to fully be healed. I hope that I can learn to more fully utilize the atonement in my own life, because I am so grateful to my Savior. His sacrifice is there for all, regardless of their acceptance. I want to show Him my gratitude, and I love being His servant. I love 2 Ne 25:26 and want to adopt this mentality.

We have been working with our investigator ZhangWei for 8ish weeks and her husband is Atheist and we have been trying to get him involved so that their family can accept the gospel together. It has been a struggle, but we have tried to hard to focus on that need. On Thursday we received a note from her that she was bringing her husband to our lesson, so we hurried and adapted our plan. As we began the lesson, he said he was excited to be there, which shocked me. The lesson before we had invited ZhangWei to read the Proclamation to the Family with her husband and kids, so we asked about how that had gone and she told us that that was the reason that he had come, because his family is so important to him and he really liked what our church teaches about families. We were able to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of Faith and Repentance. He asked what makes our church different and I know that we were led by the spirit as we answered his question, in unity. This is a special experience. He has come to another lesson since then, and came to church. He really liked church and the things that he felt there. He started to read the Book of Mormon and loves Nephi's great faith. He is someone that we have tried for so long to teach, and he is a golden investigator. He doesn't necessarily believe easily, but he can see the difference in his life. We only have one more lesson with each of our investigators, and we hope to commit him to baptism this last lesson. I am sad to leave our investigators. I know that they are just acted out by our teachers, but I feel a deep connection to the actual story and person that they are portraying. I feel as though our work is unfinished, but I am very excited to go use what I have learned to help the people in Taiwan.

Our lessons for the last week and half have each been special in their own way, helping us learn something new as each one comes. I know that these experiences are placed in our path for a reason and that the Lord is with us as we teach. I know that as we proclaim our message of families, Jesus Christ, and repentance that people will hear and want to change their lives. I know that this gospel is so so so true and I cannot imagine a better way to spend the next 16 months of my life than living, learning, and teaching it everyday. It has already changed me so much for the better, and taught me how I can become more like Jesus Christ. I'm so happy to bring this joyful message to the people of Taiwan, which I get to do in just 6 short days. I love this work, and I love all of you. Thank you for your examples and your faith.

Keep moving forward and have big faith!
Sister Hayley DeWitt

Pictures:
1- WE GOT FLIGHT PLANS.
2- My companion and I!
3- I decided to be a sophisticated sailor! Pleas note the American flag in the background providing some nice Patriotism.
4- My cute mom sent us Taiwan flags, these are some girls in my district!