Diana Leaney López Ruano

I was afraid that my testimony was dwindling...  I had been thinking about all of the devotionals I had missed out on and institute lessons I hadn't attended in these past seven months.  I was worried that I wasn't the same person I had been,  that being in China had pushed me away from what I knew and loved,  the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Maybe I have changed... -I haven't taken sacrament since I've arrived in China.  I don't have the blessing of having a preisthood holder here to do the ordinance.  -I am so far away from the Hong Kong Temple that I haven't attended,  just that is so different then SLC where I'm used to having a few within a fifteen minute drive from my home.  -I don't even know what my Bishop looks like because "church" is a conference call with members around mainland China.  All of these things have changed for me.  I'm the only member in ZhuZhou,  a city of two million....

Amazing. Absolutely Breathtaking. Wonderful. Inspiring. I have said it once and I'll say it again.  There is no way that God is not an Artist.  He is.  And Zhang Jia Jie proved it. ZhanJiaJie was one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the blessing to step foot in.  I was astounded by its sheer magnificence.  Just think of a green heaven.  Clouds and mountains,  I felt as if I was in this special place,  reserved just for those adventurers that could scale mountains.  Except we really didn't hike that much did we? "hiking" in china would be disgraceful to the outdoorsy people of the midwest.  I saw plenty of girls in high heels as they stepped on the rocky steps and along the rocky paths of the mountain.  To each their own right? Rivaling my Rocky Mountains,  Moab,  the jungles and beaches of Mexico and Guate... I love visiting small towns.  People just seem to be so much ha...

Can't Sleep.   can't sleep.  CAN'T sleep .   can't sleep.   can't SLEEEEEEEP .  CAN'T.  SLEEP.  no puedo dormiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...................... Things I usually do before bed:   -  eat cereal.   Or whatever I can find in china that resembles milk and cereal.  usually oatmeal & yougurt.  -  read from the scriptures.  and that didn't make me fall asleep?!  wow,  I must have actually learned something.  -  journal .  I wrote.  and I guess there wasn't anything left to write besides this blog.  allllll of the thoughts running through my headdddddd.  -  pray .  I spoke with my Heavenly Father.  He listened,  yet I still can't fall asleep.  So I tried a few new things:   -  like dancing around my apartment to the sound of the Latin DJ in my mind.  Dancing alone isn't as fun though.  bachateando by yoursel...

We took a trip to Feng Huang with Golden Focus.  They paid for the bus,  hotel,  and a few meals!  sweet! The bus ride was one I wouldn't jump to repeat.  Six hours isn't bad for a bus ride when its filled with the right people.  We were lucky enough to be traveling with our coworkers:)  It was like a chinese tv show on wheels-  games and kareokee included.  As I tried to zone everyone out with my nook (best birthday present ever!)  All I could think was "Why are they so loud???" haha.  it was actually really nice because we got to hang out as coworkers which never happens.  why?  i don't exactly know,  its hard to really talk to the Chinese teachers.  not only is there the language barrier,  but we're actually very...  different. Mei guan shi.  We had fun the first night,  walked along the river and tried to find a bar that we all agreed upon.  That was an adve...

There are people I miss from back home more then anything.  Certain people that I am counting down the  days (one hundred twenty eight to be exact) until I see again. There are people in China that I'm going to miss.   There are people that have left China that I'm already missing.   Its funny how that is,  people making connections and building relationships.  Bridges crossed even in foreign lands.   Who would have thought that I'd be missing and preparing myself to miss people from parts of the world that I've never even visited?? We're foreigners,   w àiguó rén  ,  outsiders,   l ǎowài  ,  different.  Different then the Chinese,  different even from each other.  We speak different languages and have different opinions about absolutely everything.  How does it work then? That's just it though,  isn't it?  All of us together here in China,  holding on to eac...