3/13/2016

To Kelly Wadsworth Message body I saw God's hand in Suzhou this weekend. I don't know what you consider as a "miracle", but I'll tell you about it, and you can decide for yourself. The first thing that happened, was on Friday afternoon, when it was almost time for me to go home. I left the office for a brief moment, and while I was gone, Alisa sat at my desk. I came back and she let me have my desk back, but then realized that she couldn't find her phone. She turned her back for a few seconds, and somehow it was just gone. We searched everywhere, and it was nowhere to be found. I prayed in my mind that we could find it, but no luck. I remembered when I got lost at West Lake, and how it wasn't until I sat down and said a real, heartfelt prayer that things were okay. So, I went and hid in a bathroom stall and prayed that Alisa could have her phone. Sure enough, right after I came back, she found it in a really obscure place, in the pages of a book on my desk. (How it got there, I'll never know.) That night, after going for an evening stroll and having dinner, I showered and watched one of my DVDs, and it was awesome! (Me parties are the best.) Amelia had a bit more excitement than me. She went to a club with some friends. The house was so quiet the next morning, I thought she must have stayed over at someone else's house. But, then I walked down the stairs and saw Rosie (another intern) crashed on the couch. I was confused for a second, but figured out what must have happened pretty quickly, and I picked up on more details throughout the day. Amelia, Rosie, Lisa, and a bunch more of them had a bit too much fun, and then at some point in the morning, somehow or other made it up the stairs to our apartment. The others all made it home, though a couple of them are not sure how. Lisa had lost her wallet. They were all really sick, and I just wanted to make them feel better, but all I could do was let them have water and rest. I said a secret prayer in my room that Lisa could have her wallet, and literally as soon as I finished, I heard a joyous exclamation downstairs that someone had found a wallet at the club. Prayer works, I guess. That afternoon, I finally got out the door, after I was really sure the invalids would be all right. I'd been dying to explore the markets in my area a bit more. I had a fabulous time just walking around. I found a nice little park, and an entire marketplace dedicated to tea and tea-related things. I had so much fun looking at the beautiful tea sets. I finally found the shop where I got my coat. When I got it, the lady forgot to take off the magnetic thingy that makes the alarm sound, but I finally got it off. As I walked through some more street markets, I saw a man, who looked as though he'd been born crippled, calling out, "Ayi! Ayi!" to get people to drop coins in his bucket. I gave him a couple extra coins I had, but as I walked away, I couldn't help feeling like I should do more. I was sure Christ would, if he was there. So, I went to a supermarket and found some red bean buns, and bought one to give him. He couldn't take it from me, because his hands didn't work, so I put it in his bucket, and opened it for him. He smiled and said, "Xie." (Thanks.) I was really touched when another man (his father?) came and lovingly fed it to him. As I walked away eating my own bun, I almost cried. I wished Christ could come and touch him and make him better. In China, begging is the lowest thing you can do. I just wanted him to know that he is worth it, and that he is loved. I made it to church today, for the first time since I came to China over a month ago. It's an entire branch of foreign passport holders, since it's illegal to go to church with Chinese citizens. Joan, who also lives in Wuzhong District, was willing to go with me, which was good, because there's no way I would have known how to get there myself. You never know how precious the gospel is until you've been isolated from it. It was so wonderful to take the Sacrament, go to Sunday school, and play the piano in sharing time. (They're happy to have anther piano player.) Next weekend is district conference in Shanghai, and they're having a bunch of YSA activities there. Know what that means? I'm most likely spending the weekend of my birthday in Shanghai! I'm going to work on some lesson planning before bed, so good night to you all. Good luck with everything. I love you! Love, Chelsey*:x lovestruck