Weishenme Nihao Nali (Why Hello There – direct English translation therefore the mandarin is not correct haha)
Well, let’s just explain that subject line. Every Sunday we, as a district, pick a Christlike attribute to work on for the week. Last week we picked humility, and individually in some way or another we all got humbled. Last P-day while playing volleyball one of elders went up for a block, a missionary on the other side went up as well and they hit one another. Our elder fell pretty hard, he ended up tearing his ACL and partially his meniscus. He had doctor’s appointments all week trying to figure what he was going to do. He has decided to stay for the remainder of the time at the MTC; however, he will then be flying back to Australia to get surgery and recover. Throughout the week not knowing if he would stay or not hit our district hard. We have really grown together and imaging one of us no longer being there brought all of us to tears. One of my roommates got her wisdom teeth out on Wednesday. She was a trooper and we went to class that same night, she kept pushing herself because missing class would be rough. Well she ended up getting sick because she wasn’t resting enough and from the medication the doctor put her on. For myself personally it was almost everyday I had the reminder that I can’t do this only relying on myself. Which makes sense because I’m supposed to rely on Christ, however, I’ve had to learn the hard way that I haven’t been putting 100% of my trust to Him. I’ve had to humble myself and turn completely to Him accepting the fact that I am nothing without Him. It was hard to swallow but I’m grateful that He humbled me.
We’ve had amazing experiences this week as well! Tuesday night for our devotional, Elder Neil L. Andersen (of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles) came and spoke. PARENTAL NOTE: Kara and Elder Andersen are not related but they share a birthday. His wife Kathy spoke to us first about how what we believe in. She did an amazing job, the thing she repeated multiple times throughout her talk was that people can not take away what you believe in unless you allow them to. SO DON’T ALLOW IT! It was so good. Elder Andersen then spoke about temples. He talked about how when we go to the temple we get to learn about the thing in mind, but also we are learning things for eternity. It was a really cool way to explain the importance of going to the temple and learning while we are there. One other thing he mentioned that really stuck with me is that the spiritual experiences we have make us who we are. We don’t have the same experiences as others and that is for a reason. Don’t compare yourself spiritually to someone else spiritually, you have had different experiences! I’m so grateful that we had the opportunity to hear from an apostle. At the end of the devotional we all stood waiting for him to leave as the organ was playing hymns. We all started humming quietly but reached full volume while singing Called to Serve. Elder Andersen was singing with us too as the Spirit in that room was so strong! 
We got new missionaries in our zone this week, and I love them so much! Half of them have lived in China or something similar and already speak amazing Mandarin. It’s been so fun to get to know them! Oh and one of the new sisters might have re-injured her ACL (she had surgery in Jan. of this year) while playing Sister Soccer Saturday. It’s been rough for her, but she has an awesome attitude through it all. The way she is handling it is honestly amazing, I’ve gained so much respect for her.
Spiritual thought of the week comes from our Sunday Night Devotional: We talked about David and Goliath and how we have to have the Faith enough to prepare and the Faith enough to do. If we can do that them we can conquer the personal “Goliath’s” in our life.
Funny thing that happened this week at the MTC: 1. I’ve started quoting The Incredibles like crazy but slightly changing the lines so the newest addition is…”Pull yourself together you are a child of God!”
I love you all so so so much!!
An Jie Mei
Sister Kara Andersen 