Weekly Report: P, Queen Shirt, White Man Contacting

Hey Everyone!
First, I'd love to give a shout out to my little bro, who's going to TAIPEI! I'm so thrilled for him. He's a hero. We'll be on the same little island soon (Matt, the mail system is a dream. I'll write you when you get here). Everyone go and congratulate him for me.

This week was good. It was hard, and a lot of things fell through, but we learn from those type of situations. Not everything can go perfectly, and something that I've really come to know and believe is that everything works out. Seriously. If we do what we know is right, nothing can go permanently wrong. The Lord is at the helm. There's no need to worry just cause we need to bail water for a while. Remember that (that things work out, not the poor metaphor) when things go bad. I love you all, and know that God does too.

First off, in English this week, we talked about the movie Elf. Oh man. Wow. That movies is even more funny when you can't watch movies and you're in a totally foreign country. Just thought I'd let you know.

Shirt Review:
This one's for Julia. I saw a girl wearing a shirt that said, "Sorry, But I'm The Queen." I thought of Julia instantly, and knew that she needed one just like it (hint, hint, Matt). 5 perfect princesses out of 5.

Food Review: P
One of Elder Harris's English students brought some soda to class, and it's call P. This is really funny when you say things like, "we're gonna go drink some P" or "I just spilled P everywhere." What's better is that the stuff is flourescent yellow. Just so you know, I'm not much more mature than I was before I left. This makes that very obvious. P just tastes so good. 4 juvenile jokes out of 5.

Excuse Review:
This week, I contacted a guy, and he wouldn't set up. When I asked him why he didn't want to hear such a happy message (which I know will bless your life and bring you lasting happiness), he responded, "My eyes are uncomfortable." Not sure what that has to do with hearing the gospel, but you get, "my body's uncomfortable" sometimes as well. Kind of funny, but in his mind, it was apparently a real enough concern that he thought it could dissuade me. And dissuade me it did, and I just let him go, thinking that he simply wasn't prepared. 3 out of 5 eye doctors would recommend this excuse.

The last couple of days have been hard. I'm not sure why, but a lot of our plans have just fallen through. We rode out to Linnei yesterday, and nobody was there that we had planned to visit. We felt like we had wasted an afternoon. The same thing happened in the evening. We tracted, and we got shut down hard core. I contacted a lot of rude and hard hearted people. I was feeling really discouraged (I know PMG says not to, but it was HARD), and was just praying desperately that the Lord would give me success or at least something to lift my spirits. I contacted a few more people who were no good. I came to an intersection with only one person there. He was white. White people are scary. They can be VERY rude. But I knew I had to talk to him, so I pulled up and said, "Hello, how ya doin'?" He turned to me with a big smile and in a very heavy American accent said, "I'm doin' great, man." I don't think it's ever felt so good to be called "man" in my life. Ben, the guy I'd contacted, was very nice. He didn't set up a time to meet with us, and it felt REALLY awkward to contact in English, but he was friendly. A minute later, as he drove away, I felt much better just to have met someone nice. Spirits lifted, I went and added the next two people I talked to. It was a great way to end the night. The Lord truly cares about our feelings. When we suffer hardships, it's not because He's vengeful or because He doesn't care. It's so that we can learn; it's so the good things in life can be sweeter. While I don't think I can openly embrace them, I think it's important to have a hopeful view of the future when experiencing afflictions. I know that all of you have your own challenges and things that you have to face. I hope that as you do, you will all remember that God loves you, and that if you will trust Him, there's always hope.

I love you all,
Elder Siebert