On a Rainy Monday.

That title was most assuredly a reference to the Shiny Toy Guns song.

I love that song. It makes me think of ninth grade, which makes me think of receiving notes reading things like, "HELP ME DECIDE WHO TO LIKE!!! WHO SHOULD I GO FOR?!!" You remember those days. The anticipation of the sweaty school dances just because you could touch the opposite gender in a dark room and had a nearly legitimate excuse. The stiff hands on their shoulders. The toy-soldier arms barely touching either side of the girl's rib-cage. Both of your shoulders up to your ears because you are so tense. The small talk. The sexual tension. (Hahaha. I'm just going to keep going until you find yourself in the middle of one, or maybe one hundred, cringe-worthy junior high memories.) GOOD TIMES, GUYS.

So, the thing is, I need you to listen up.

First, please understand that there is nothing nicer than a rainstorm in China on a quiet Monday. Gash. Pure poetry.

Second, there is nothing sweeter than a quiet girl with glasses errupting with joy because the American girl waved to her.

Third, I love watching the cute students walk to the dining hall from our fifth floor window. (I'M NOT A PEDOPHILE. I just like the kids. In a friend way. All right? All right, all ready! Goood NIGHT!) I love watching them be human, their little moments of spazzing in the otherwise organized, uniform lines. I love these children. And we haven't even started teaching them yet. We thought today was our first day of school. Yet another miscommunication. Hahaha. China is nothing if not a lesson in patience and in waiting. You just have to be content to roll with what comes and prepared for whatever they throw at you.

Fourth, we are out of creamy peanut butter. I try to ration our chunky... but I have an uncontrollable need for the peanut butters. What if I can't buy it in stores here? The very thought makes me want to cuss.

Fifth, I love doing laundry by hand. And that was a sincere statement.

And also, this:

"The Lord doesn’t care at all if we spend our days working in marble halls or stable stalls. He knows where we are, no matter how humble our circumstances. He will use—in His own way and for His holy purposes—those who incline their hearts to Him.

God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history. They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Savior’s example and spend the days of their lives doing good." -You Matter to Him, Uchtdorf, 2011 General Conference. (Give it a read. Like. Stop. Go, right now.)

:)