Little things can make us happy sometimes. Eric was happy to get a small package from home with a few lightweight(i.e. less expensive to mail) items. On their P-Day this week several missionaries in his zone were getting together to watch one of Eric's favorite movies from his younger days--Goofy Movie! Eric is hoping to enjoy another little thing soon, some good root beer, apparently something not easily found in England. The mission president has set some mission wide goals for November. If achieved, all the missionaries will be treated to an all day outing at an American military base with various adventurous activities and the aforementioned root beer. Ah yes, the simple pleasures of little things.
Of things of a greater significance-- Eric woke up on November 5th excited to hear the results of the presidential election. He does not get much news from the US but likes to hear news as he can. He also got a gift from Church headquarters. A copy of the Book of Mormon with Chinese characters, pinyin (as I understand it, a type of phonetic spelling of Chinese words), and English all side by side. The book is about 800 pages long.
According to Eric,
"It helps so much in learning characters and being able to read the Book of Mormon at appointments. I think it will help me learn characters immensely. I have made a goal to be able to read the Book Of Mormon in Chinese characters by the end of my mission. Long Long ways to go but I've got some time too...I get so excited when I feel myself progressing in the language."
The students that Eric comes in contact with are from various countries but primarily from mainland China. They are in England attending university and most plan to return to their home countries when they finish school. This makes it challenging because there are not many other Chinese members for these young Chinese students to talk to and learn from. Luckily Eric and Elder Chan can offer them lots of books, pamphlets and websites to help them learn about the church. As Eric pointed out,
"You can always read the scriptures and pray. We are never really alone are we?"
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