Week 36: Josh's Branch Has 13 Members, On a Good Day

1. Did you get to listen to General Conference? I actually get to listen to it this Sunday .
2. What great things did you do this week? You will see.
3. How are you finding new investigators? We are focusing on reactivating.
4. Are you feeling any better? Should I call your mission president yet to come check on you? Oh no, he checks on me all the time. It's all good.
5. How many people are in your branch? 13 on a good day.
6. How is your Chinese progressing? Are you learning the language better and understanding it better now that you are with a native companion? Yes, actually I am throwing my self into Chinese and I always speak in Chinese with him. I actually call random missionaries and pretend to be President Blickenstaff and it works and some people say I sound like a native.

Ni hao everyone!!!  This week was good!!! 

I'm glad to hear conference was awesome and that everyone liked it!!! I am outrageously jealous that she and Jerber got to go see one of my favorite bands ever. I listened to them every night at home.

Dang it... I miss night games so tell Caitlin to live it up. 

That's so tight that Jacob got to freaking have his video shown on BYU TV. Dude that kid has talent more than I ever did!!! How's his soccer going!!!

 

I hear Jared is going home in soccer and has a game boy micro? What the heck is that?  Caitlin, glad to have you back in the full dance force!!!! I heard about Chuckie.  Tough loss for him. He is awesome!!! I hope he gets that medical redshirt. 

How was Brother Pickney's funeral.  I am trying to write Sister Pickney!!! I loved Dave.  Ilike to think of him as an honorary grandpa. He was always willing to talk to me about football and the military and always wanted to know if I was gonna play at BYU. If anyone deserves heaven, its that man.

I'd like to think I was raised by the old men of Spring Oaks Drive. Hooper, Head, Palefryeman, Tretheway and Pickney. Grassley too, but he's not an old man.

Anyways this week has been nice. I had a really fun exchange with the ZL, Elder Christensen.  He is from Salem Hills and was Jean Valjean for Les Mis!!! So ya he's boss.  We nerded out!!! I was doing pull ups and the pull up bar fell. I landed on my knees while the ZL was laughing his head off.

I ate some yucky mushrooms. I hate mushrooms still and squid.

We went to another area on Saturday and the place is known for their bananas and I got the biggest gorilla bananas ever. They were so good. I also had banana fried rice which is alright.

Main story I  met these 2 waigoren ( white guys) one is from Sweden, the other is from Florida!!! I was scared to meet em but I was straight up and said he looked like he played college ball and ya he did.  He played for the Mets!!! His name is Sean Bo from Florida. He was a pretty good high school quarterback back in the day and he had all the main schools like Ohio State recruit him and such but chose to go to FAU where Justin is currently at!!! 

But ya we just had this awesome talk and they told me I was not like other missionaries and I was like ya I get that a lot. I answered questions like why we wear garments and why we don't have more than one wife. They really were cool about it. I am actually going to throw routes with Sean today and the Swede named Sam is super cool!!!  Anyways they made me a free pizza because they said I was the coolest Mormon they had ever met.  The reason is because I admitted I had faults before the mish, that i was just a normal guy,  that i understood life better.

I feel like some missionaries forget that people make mistakes and do things because you know they are addicting or they really are fun for the moment... but ya it was a really humbling moment. They have this Taiwanese kid with them who told elder Xu that if that mean white dude ever brought 30 taike he would bring 100 taike... so its like a turf war down here.... but ya they are awesome... Sean also said he was the biggest Scott Mitchell fan ever hahaha. It was kinda funny he was naming off stats and everything. That's when I told him Scott used to be my coach. He lost it then ahhaha.

My comp has been teaching me magic card tricks and stuff. Whoever said guys can't get girls with magic is wrong. I have girls and they are 80 year old taiyou women!!!! hahaha!

But ya my area, Mingjian, is super beautiful!!! One of my investigators is a father and has 2 sons who are ranked in the top 100 of the world in tennis. They are super cool, but ya just working hard out here!!! I love getting emails from everyone. I love you all!!! Thanks Coach Bradley and Calvin for writing me. Thanks everyone who writes me. These emails really pick me up. It helps when I get homesick and when I feel down to hear from you all. 

I love you all so much.

Elder Buhler