Getting Ready to Leave

July 27, 2009

Wooo! I'm leaving early. They're bunching us three with the Cantonese elders. We're gone on the third.

So don't send me any packages. I am not feeling ready. I have a mixture of terror, nervousness and excitement. I knew I would leave not feeling ready. The words of Come come ye saints come to my mind "why should we think to earn a great reward, when we now shun the fight? I want to have a movie mad of my mission like Groberg. But when I study it doesn't show.

I worry about the weight of my luggage. I have every chinese recource I could get ahold of here. They include, a white hand book, a missionary phrase book, a childrens song book, an illustrated book of mormon stories, gospel principles, two grammar books, 2 three column copies of the book of mormon, two oxford dictionaries and a traditional chinese-english dictionary, a bible and a book of mormon without pinyin. Oh yeah and Jesus the Christ.

I suppose I could have gotten all the resources in simplified too. I was really close to purchasing all the cantonese stuff (just a really fat hymn book). I think they're gonna give me a missionary phrase book for cantonese though.

I don't know what to say to you guys. I love you. Glad to get out of this happy prision, but also feeling a little unready. Next tuesday, this is my penultimate time to write you from the MTC
and a large hymnbook without pinyin and a small one with pinyin. Preach my gospel with characters and a preach my gospel without. I could be over in wight for my luggage perhaps.
I have english literature as well.
Love you still

Stephen Wall to me Jul 20, 2009
Really nothing is happening over here save some personal growth. I have no problem writing letters. I enjoy writing letters and am hurt you would ever think otherwise. I know my letters are often boring and quite dismal, the same old "Im lazy" deal every time.
I know I'm growing because I was really angry when I got called down to the presidents office because mom was just being a mom. I had to miss gym which is the only true and unlasting joy offered in the MTC (the meals definately last forever, I'm 253 lbs.). I then remembered a one pahoran and a one moroni. I promise I don't sit on my throne in a thoughtless stupor when I am writing you letters; I only do that when I need to be studying. I promise it wasn't my fault the two times you didn't get a letter. MY companion endured missing gym quite nicely, he's pretty cool. He also vouched for me to the president that I write letters every week.
I also realised what a ungrateful little worm I was for getting angry at someone who way paying for my mission. Who definately deserves to hear every last excruciatingly boring detail.
Really that was the highlight of my week, being chastised for a computer error that was out of my power to stop or realise that it happened.
I pray this one gets to you.
Im still pretty lazy. I learn more and more each day that Hong Kong was perfectly taylored by the Lord to test me. They won't lets us three who are going to hong kong sit in with the cantonese class. It makes sense and I'm not as upset as I thought I would be. I don't really study mandarin so why would I spend time studying cantonese? Also I'm sure I would forget it all by the time I got there since I'm not emersed in that language. I do remember the setting apart blessing I got that said I would learn all the cantonese that I would need to know. From what I gather, I won't need any :(
I love y'all,
华长老

Stephen Wall to me
Jul 18, 2009
I need to hurry up and get terrified that I'm going to China in like five weeks. I know the Lord will make up the difference once I do my best and extend my capabilities after all I can do. Only one problem, I have never "done my best" or "all I can do", no never in my whole life in any aspect.
It's sad when people who have never studied Chinese before are surpassing me because the rely on the Lord more and do their best. Maybe it's not sad.
The more I think about it, the more I know that Hong Kong is perfectly fitted to test me. I am going to sweat all day everyday, be too close to everybody else who is sweaty, get lost a city that doesn't have numbered streets like provo and is like fifty times bigger (at least), everybody speaks english except my investigators (so its essentially like a mission to Canada, Australia or the States, thus imparing my ability to learn my language), Noah will be my companion, no driving, and there happens to be several million Chinese girls there too.
At least it is safe to say that I won't have a leadership sentance asside from being a trainer or a senior companion. And at least I know that the Lord is mindful of me?
Im almost done with the Book of Mormon in English, I think Im going to go for it in Chinese afterward. There are several missionaries from Hong Kong who just arrived last wednesday, the white ones know absolutely no Chinese (either dialect) which reassures me that I wont have a good opportunity to learn the language as well. The Chinese one is confident that he doesn't speak mandarin although he is probably the best mandarin speaker here (teachers included) and should only stay for three weeks.
All in all, I am way excited to be physically worn down and uncomfortable, but I shrink to give my self mental strain.
I love you all,
Elder Wall (Hua Zhanglao)