Twelve Pounds Over

Arriving at the airport this morning, my bag was overweight. We were only allowed one

suitcase,and I packed only essentials (which in my case was mostly clothes). I was surprised to find that my suitcase was 12 lbs overweight. I opened it to see what I could throw away, but how can you throw away 12 lbs of clothes? You would think I would be stressed out, but I wasn't. Instead, I chose to smile, and everything turned out alright in the end. The flight worker seeing my predicament brought me a garbage bag to put my clothes in, and I took that bulky bag of clothes through security as my personal item. Haha

On the plane I sat next to this wonderful Chinese lady (Su Meng) and her son (Zi Han). We talked through much of flight. I remember at one point she talked about how she sometimes worries about her son. Her husband left her when her son was only five years old, and she had been left to raise her son all alone. Earlier I mentioned that I had been a missionary in Taiwan, so she began asking questions about what I believed. I told her that I would love to share with her more, but because of Chinese laws I couldn’t. She continued to insist though, and said something to the effect that the law said I couldn’t proselyte, but since she asked it was ok for me to answer her. Trusting her I went on to explain about Christ’s atonement and the restoration. I told her that I hoped one day she would have an opportunity to read the Book of Mormon. When we finally arrived, I felt we had developed a pretty good relationship. If I have the opportunity to visit Xi’an, she said that I should let her know and she will take me out to lunch.