holy cow time is flying

Ok, I only have exactly 24 minutes to write this so we'll see how this goes! Man it has been one crazy week full of ups and downs. I don't even know where to start…well before I start I'll thank everyone for the packages and mom for the pic! (yes I would love more!) Aubs, Kait, Mom, you made my week! Seriously it couldn't have come at a better time. So like every district, ours has struggled a bit. But at the same time we are getting much closer too. This last week there were some issues with one companionship getting along and it kind of weighed on the rest of us. I was really concerned about it all and I could just feel the tension in the room whenever we were together. What I've realized here is that I am praying harder than ever before. But when I prayed for my district I would pray about something and then sit and listen for a while and all these thoughts would fill my mind about what to do. It was a really special experience. I knew that we needed to have a district inventory as soon as we could. The district leader must have been praying really hard too because the next day he said we were going to have the district inventory. It was really good and I was able to say things I felt like needed to be said. It’s so funny because I’m such a girl and have cried a lot but we talked about how we all feel the spirit differently. It was really cool. We also discussed our goals and the type of missionaries we want to be and that we need to give the Cantonese missionaries a good name. We know that we are doing a great job but know that we can step it up. We refined our goals and set up a plan to accomplish them. Yesterday was AWESOME! We learned so much Cantonese and everyone seems much more focused. I can still tell that there are a few little problems with the other companionship but I just pray that each of them will find peace and continue to work diligently. The elders I teach with are doing really well! We all get along great but we just want to keep pushing ourselves harder so we're all helping each other out. Its incredible looking back and seeing how much we've improved teaching wise and language wise already. Yes, we have so much more to learn, but we also need to reflect on the progress we've made. We have been so blessed!

So I don't know what my deal is, but things make me laugh 50 times harder here than other places. It must be the whole cooped up in one room all day thing. You all know what happens if I laugh too hard and that has almost happened NUMEROUS times. Something sets Sis. Bishop and me off and we can't stop laughing all day. It's so awesome. I've also told some of the Elders in the other district about Miranda and although they've never seen her they always laugh when they catch me talking like her and quote her just from the things I’ve said to them. "Oh hey, I did not see you standing there" hahaha it's so awesome. They thought it was absolutely hilarious when I told them about it. Good times hahaha Well like I said before, the language is coming along. I get frustrated with myself because I am comparing and that is exactly what I shouldn't do. but it's not even comparing with other Cantonese, it's like other languages! I am just praying all the time that I'll stop because Satan wants me to compare myself with everyone to get me down. But I know that the language I’m learning is difficult but as i continue to learn it doesn't seem as bad as I thought. I just have to keep studying and practicing to speak...just like you would anything else. I still have a long ways to go. And need a lot of prayers. But it's so amazing...since I've just been at the mtc my love for my mission, the language, the people has all grown more than I can explain. We are all getting so excited to go but we know we need to be comfortable teaching and speaking which motivates us more to study hard. We had a devotional on Sunday by Stephen Allen that I’ll talk about briefly. He talked about our weapons of rebellion that we might have brought to the mtc (such as pride, laziness, anger) and how to overcome them. it was very powerful. then he wanted us to sing "we are all enlisted" for the closing hymn. once we started singing a few elders stood and then soon enough every missionary was standing, singing with our booming voices. I can't even describe the spirit that was there! It was so unbelievable! we are all just ready to serve with faith and courage. Mom, to answer your questions real quick, I think just from visiting the temple before I could actually go in helped me develop an appreciation and love for it. i understood its sacredness which i think caused me to love it. it is such a special place to go and be away from the world and feel that peace.

As for the fire alarm story, yes I forgot to put it in my first email. The Thursday I was sick I was in the shower that night and in the middle of it the fire alarm went off! I just started laughing....this WOULD happen to me! haha so I just threw my clothes on then ran outside to find my comp. I was soaked and it was cold outside but it really didn't bother me that much. the girls were all loud and rowdy so my roommates and comp and I started singing hymns (we're such girls hahaha) and then everyone joined in. we sang hymns the rest of the time and it was awesome! Well thanks again for the prayers and love! I appreciate everyone sending letters and things and I love hearing about everyone's life! Hannah gets married so soon! I can't believe it! and chels comes in so soon! I'm stoked cause she's going to LOVE it! Well thanks again everyone! I love you all!

Love,
Sister Kiene

Two Weeks Already?

So it's crazy because I can't believe I've been here for two weeks. But at the same time I feel like I've been here FOREVER. hahaha So mom to answer a few of your questions, yes my district is 5 elders and me. Elder Farnsworth from texas, Elder Parkin from SLC, Elder Sutherland from Mapleton, Elder Broderick from Ogden area, and Elder Wu from New Zealand. I have learned so much already just from this last week and hopefully I can fit it all in here before my time is up! First of all, I love my district. Everyone is SO different and there are times I definitely get frustrated, but in the end I've started developing a love for them. It's like we've become family. we're opening up more and more and learning from each other constantly. My "companions", or elders that I teach with are Elder Farnsworth and Parkin. I'm sooooo grateful I am teaching with them. I just feel like we're always on the same page and much more focused. It's crazy when I think they are just 19 year-old boys because they teach me stuff all the time. And I'm so grateful that I feel like I can ask them for help and they don't judge me and I can help them at the same time. We had Elder Richard Hinckley, son of President Hinckley come speak to us last tuesday and it was so great. He just focused on us forgetting ourselves and working. At times it's hard because everything here is so repetitive and draining but I'm really trying to learn to forget myself and give myself fully to the Lord and his work. There is so much that I have to learn and I cant even begin to explain it, but if I'm to teach the Chinese people the gospel, I'm going to have to work extra hard. But I know that if I do this, no matter what the Lord always provides. I just need to keep having faith that I can do it!

I feel that my teaching is getting better. I'm getting used to teaching fake investigators and constantly trying to be myself when I teach them. I think that is so important! I know I have to be myself if I'm going to touch anyone's heart. So as you all know, I'm definitely a crier sometimes. I think you'd be impressed with how much I've not cried. But my district has seen it when we have district testimony meetings or when others share something really special. Sometimes I feel a little dumb because I'm the only girl and it's such a girl thing to do, but they are all so nice about it. On Friday nights we're supposed to have a workshop for like an hour and a half but it says on the schedule that workshop doesn't start until Aug 1st. So our district and the other cantonese district (sis bishop, elder blake, elder cuevas, and elder roper) decided we would do a sharing stories/testimonies bonding thing during that period. So we first told embarrassing stories and I told a few good ones that got people laughing...i mean what can i say? my life is full of that kind of stuff! but after that we went around talking about what we were grateful for that week or what miracles we saw. Everyone just opened up! we have so many amazing people here and they have so many awesome stories. A mom with cancer, one who fought in Afganistan and had two close friends killed before they were able to serve, another who's brother died before he could serve, another who is a convert and the only member in his family, others who are just struggling with personal things like understand their purpose and it was just so awesome that everyone could share such personal things and notice what miracles they see as being a missionary. We are all so grateful to be here. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can't stop thinking of how blessed I feel that I am someone who gets to experience it! My companion and I are getting along great! It's nice that we're in diff. districts because we can talk about what's on our minds and get an outsider's opinion. But we're always lifting each other up and encouraging each other. It's just really cool how we can be so open and trusting of each other too.

So I don't have much time but I wanted to share a few hilarious experiences. So Saturday is TRC day and we have to do a task which is like contacting an investigator in Cantonese for about 10 min and then we teach for 35 min in english. So last week there was only 1 volunteer so a teacher called a bunch of people and we had ALL OF CHINA there volunteering! ok maybe not all of china but about 20 volunteers for 4 companionships! hahaha so in our room there were 5 others! there was this old man that kept going off on stuff and the others wouldn't say anything so i was the only one tryin to respond in anyway i could. later i found out he was asking if i drank beer and i was happily responding that i did! hahahah what a stinker! so funny things like that happen all the time here. we've had so many great times but the language is still very difficult. it will come though. I just need to study harder and keep praciticing. Well my times about up but I just want to say that I love you all and i'm grateful for those who have written me! But i also know that I am in the right place and doing the right things. They're only helping me become the better person i need to be. Thanks again! i love you!

Kahm Ji Muih (sister Kiene)

MTC Tuesday May 17, 2011

Hello hello! Ok I have a lot of random things I'm going to tell you about so hopefully this runs smoothly. First off, things are going well! I entered on Wed not feeling too well and it was good but a little rough the rest of the day. My body just wanted to fall apart. At least that's how it felt. When I got my tag I noticed the lovely white sticker in the corner that said "SOLO". yep, i'm a solo sister! hahah which means i'm the only sister in my district. luckily i still have a companion, sis. bishop (who is the girl from aunt annette's stake!) and she has been such a blessing to me. she's been here 7 weeks now and is doing well on learning the language. she's also a solo sister and she was completely alone for about a week so she was pretty stoked when i got here! so thurs morning i woke up and i couldn't stop throwing up. i'm pretty sure jason was throwing up on their road trip home so i think i may have gotten a little bug. luckily thurs we didn't have class til the afternoon and all morning was just personal studying. sis bishop new exactly what to do and called the front desk. they let her class know that we'd be in the room for the morning until i felt well enough to go out. around lunch time i wanted to try to get a little bit of food in my system and didn't want to miss class. i felt super weak but i could tell the nausea had passed by. Alhtough I'm not completely healthy, I'm feeling MUCH better and so grateful for my good health now.

My district is me and 5 other elders. Our personalities are so different but everyone is really great and we all have similar goals. My teacher Bro. Jackson is really good. He pushes me a lot and always stretches my thinking. I have learned so much already and i know that the learning will continue to come. The other teacher can only come on saturdays right now b/c of her class schedule but she's incredible too! She's a native from hong kong and she has such a great spirit. We also have a temporary teacher Bro. Raule who is really good too. I feel very blessed to have such good teachers! So the language...it is very hard. I am slowly learning how to read and hear the new vowel sounds and the tones....they're hard to hear sometimes but I know with time it will get easier. i can SLOWLY say a prayer and when people speak I can pick out words. but a lot of words sound the same but they are on different speaking levels like mid level or low. so i am trying to learn to hear the differences. i new learning a language would be hard but this is something else hahaha but i really enjoy it. it's so difficult but i love taking on the challenge. I know with time things will start making more sense and start falling into place. please just keep me in your prayers. I need as much help as i can get right now.

We are starting to learn how to teach and that's another thing i'm struggling with. I know what type of teacher i want to be, but it's just figuring out how to get to that point. i think i'm slowly starting to get it. i just need to practice teaching more and studying the principles. what i've noticed that has helped is thinking of how the principle we're teaching has impacted my life and why it is important to me. it's as if i'm regaining and strengthening me testimony of everything. it's really neat but does take a lot of pondering. i teach with two elders and i'm glad i'm paired with them. they are really hard workers and we understand each other pretty well. not going to lie, it's a little different working so much with elders haha sometimes i wish i had a sister to study with and teach with but i know i'm a solo sister for a reason and i know there are things i need to learn from this experience. i'm excited to see how these next few months pan out! my branch president, president miller is awesome. he has a lot of faith in me and always encourages me. well it's been a good first week so far. there is SO much work i have to do but it is all worth it. thanks so much for the letters. I'm sad to hear Mike got hurt in his last meet but excited to have him hear! everyone knows that he's coming haha the older district won't meet him because they leave a few weeks before but my district will get to. he'll love it! and they're is a SLIGHT chance he could be in my branch! we only have cantonese and english speaking missions! sis. bishop and I are the only sisters in it right now haha pretty crazy. anyway, i'm glad to hear everyone is doing well! love you all and thank you for your love and support!

Love,
Sis Kiene aka kahm ji muih

And she's off!

Sister Kiene has left for Utah and will be entering the MTC tomorrow. I will keep you updated with her emails. Don't forget to write. Mail in the MTC is golden........and so are packages.

Love Mama Kiene

P.S. Beginning May 11, 2011 there is a writing contest for who can compose the most letters to Sis. Kiene in an 18 month period. The winner of the contest will be rewarded with a special, authentic, "Made in Hong Kong" gift (not found at your local Walmart). Sis. Kiene will keep us updated with a running tally of the top 3 writers in her weekly email. Packages are worth 3 letters or as much as Sis. Kiene see's fit.

Home is where the Heart Is

I am home for less than a week now and the family is gathering and the chaos is increasing.  But I love it.  My WHOLE family is almost together.  Just need Pops and Noogie and we're complete.  I should leave on a mission more often if that's what it takes to have my family all together again. :)  The packing is...well..coming along slowly but surely.  I think I only need a few more socks and I'm good to go.  I thought only having two suitcases would be a bit difficult to pack for 18 months but with everything piled together I think I'll have some room to spare which is AWESOME. Anyway, I thought I'd document the most recent festivities that have gone down in M-Town.

It's tradition in my family to have an Easter egg hunt with the boiled eggs we made! This was my dad's favorite hiding spot haha

 

 

This speaks for itself

 My mom and friends and I were going through my old school stuff and found some GEMS! And this was one of them.  My self-portrait. I know, I was born with the gift of drawing.  We look identical.  But not only could I draw, I was a master poet.  Just see for youreslf.

This brought back too many high school memories HAHA

We're practically the same person.

Mike got his mission call to the Billings Montana mission! We'll be in the MTC together too! Congrats Mike!

Ty loves is "PaPa"

One last dinner with my girls.

My new niece! This snuggly bear is stinking adorable.