Christmas was so good, thanks for calling me! I am so glad that I have a pretty cool family. So did anyone get anything way awesome for Christmas? I told you I got a birthday package for Christmas right? Also there was a beautiful flower drawn by Alyssa wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. It made me really proud to be a mother.
I am remaining with Elder Yu for a third transfer; the longest I have ever had one companion. I hope we can continue to do good work. For some reason I end up getting really tired of most of my companions at about two moves. I was under the impression that President Chan was aware of this and would not suffer that I should remain with one companion for more than two transfers. I guess I was wrong. I do need to exercise patience. Eventually I guess I will remain with one companion for enternity, so nineteen weeks isn't really much time at all, let alone six to twelve. I just feel that an attractive lady of my choosing will probably be easier to get along with. Actually I feel most of my previous companions were handsome in their own different ways, I just don't think any were my type.
I think I recall Peter telling us that he had a companion that he wanted to marry the girl version of. Is Emily that girl? I'm curious.
So anyways, I want to know what new years resolutions I can attempt. Any suggestions. I think I'm gonna do the 365 push up challenge. Where on January first, you do one push up and then on the second you do two and so forth, all the way to december 31 where you do 365. I wonder if that's possible. Its not a leap year next year is it? I would sure hate to have to do 366.
Maybe I should just resolve to write in my journal once or twice. I really failed this year, maybe I never wrote in it this entire year. I have no idea what to write in it. The only things I can think of writing in it, I have already wrote in a letter back home.
Its way better to recall stories and experiences incorrecly, with interesting embellishments (thats not how you spell it) and fictional additions added in. If I wrote a journal, then I couldn't take creative liberties when I retell mission experiences. People would totally say, "thats not what you wrote in your journal about it".
I think that the closest I could come to writing a journal would be a semi-autobiographical fictional short story that involved fantasy elements.
So I want some suggestions and hear what others have resolved to do. I know that through the Atonement of Christ all are able to repent and better themselves. It is really hard to improve yourself without goals, believe me.
We could potentially get seven baptisms - three almost for sure. I thought you'd like to know how powerful we are. Elder Kershisnik is a zone leader now. Thankfully, I am still Elder Wall, the ex-district leader.
I love you all.
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Christmas Phone Call
We called Stephen on Christmas Eve on the phone first. The connection was not good but it woke him up. They are 15 hours ahead so it was morning for him. Then, we called back and talked for a few minutes and then we called him up on Skype which is much cheaper than the landline. We told him that we wished we could see him on Skype. He said that office elders do get to use Skype for their calls home. Sigh.
In the meantime, Laura and Job were hurrying over to get to talk too. Job's parents had just arrived from Mexico and they had to leave them and the babies to come over and talk.
Stephen said he shared a 1 bedroom apartment with 2 companionships. He thinks it is very large and feels that it must be a very expensive apartment. The apartment has 2 offices in it so that each companionship has their own office. He says he will send pictures.
They live in Fen Ling by Towlow Harbor. They have 2 bunkbeds squeezed into the space and there is no floor. He says he cannot see the harbor but he can see a grave yard. He thinks of all the dead who need to be saved. A chinese young man that he know pointed to the graveyard and said that his mom lived there.
Laura and Job arrived and she launched into a discussion about Pandora's Box music that Stephen used to have. The weather was cold but it seems colder due to the humidity. Then James and Dion serenaded Stephen with Jingle Bells in Mandarin, or, Ding, Ding Dang. Laura chimed in on the last line. Stephen said he had heard it before but that was in America in his Chinese classes. This particular copy of the song came from James's Mandarin class.
He had Chinese food for dinner last night. Ha-ha! It was Hong Kongized American food with rice, pork chops and chicken, they put tomato sauce on it which is called ketsap in Cantonese. They think they invented ketchup. They probably did come to think of it. They also think they invented Wyoming. I don't know how that could have happened.
We talked for a little over an hour which we justified because the last phone call was cut short by 15 min., because Stephen's calling card was not really a 60 min. calling card. We got to call him this time. It was much nicer this way.
We noticed that Stephen has a strange accent. He was happy enough and at one point started eating his breakfast which was a Swiss Roll. He said it was his Christmas breakfast. That does not make a mother happy to hear about. Everyone chimed in and talked to him and we laughed and talked about what is going on with us and with him and our old memories. It was a refreshing phone call and I think we can make it until Mother's Day when we get to talk to him again. In the meantime, we will be working on when Stephen will get off of his mission and when we will possibly visit him. Of course Tanya and Ross's new baby will be born early in the month. He should get off later in May or maybe in June. He has some say in what happens.
He was just telling us how that works when the call was dropped. Laura and Job went home and we called Stephen back to have a proper goodbye. Now we have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday to hear from him again. I do have an assignment. He wants "that Seely Girl's address" and Brannon's address. Katy is her name, but he calls her "that Seely Girl". He said she was living in England right now. We looked her up on Stalker.net and that is where she is but her family does not appear to be there too this time.
I got depressed because my stupid computer lost a portion of what I wrote down and now I have to go back now and then and add parts that were omitted.
In the meantime, Laura and Job were hurrying over to get to talk too. Job's parents had just arrived from Mexico and they had to leave them and the babies to come over and talk.
Stephen said he shared a 1 bedroom apartment with 2 companionships. He thinks it is very large and feels that it must be a very expensive apartment. The apartment has 2 offices in it so that each companionship has their own office. He says he will send pictures.
They live in Fen Ling by Towlow Harbor. They have 2 bunkbeds squeezed into the space and there is no floor. He says he cannot see the harbor but he can see a grave yard. He thinks of all the dead who need to be saved. A chinese young man that he know pointed to the graveyard and said that his mom lived there.
Laura and Job arrived and she launched into a discussion about Pandora's Box music that Stephen used to have. The weather was cold but it seems colder due to the humidity. Then James and Dion serenaded Stephen with Jingle Bells in Mandarin, or, Ding, Ding Dang. Laura chimed in on the last line. Stephen said he had heard it before but that was in America in his Chinese classes. This particular copy of the song came from James's Mandarin class.
He had Chinese food for dinner last night. Ha-ha! It was Hong Kongized American food with rice, pork chops and chicken, they put tomato sauce on it which is called ketsap in Cantonese. They think they invented ketchup. They probably did come to think of it. They also think they invented Wyoming. I don't know how that could have happened.
We talked for a little over an hour which we justified because the last phone call was cut short by 15 min., because Stephen's calling card was not really a 60 min. calling card. We got to call him this time. It was much nicer this way.
We noticed that Stephen has a strange accent. He was happy enough and at one point started eating his breakfast which was a Swiss Roll. He said it was his Christmas breakfast. That does not make a mother happy to hear about. Everyone chimed in and talked to him and we laughed and talked about what is going on with us and with him and our old memories. It was a refreshing phone call and I think we can make it until Mother's Day when we get to talk to him again. In the meantime, we will be working on when Stephen will get off of his mission and when we will possibly visit him. Of course Tanya and Ross's new baby will be born early in the month. He should get off later in May or maybe in June. He has some say in what happens.
He was just telling us how that works when the call was dropped. Laura and Job went home and we called Stephen back to have a proper goodbye. Now we have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday to hear from him again. I do have an assignment. He wants "that Seely Girl's address" and Brannon's address. Katy is her name, but he calls her "that Seely Girl". He said she was living in England right now. We looked her up on Stalker.net and that is where she is but her family does not appear to be there too this time.
I got depressed because my stupid computer lost a portion of what I wrote down and now I have to go back now and then and add parts that were omitted.
Friday, December 17, 2010
12/16/10 Parable of the Ax
Dear family,
I am totally bah humbug this year, it seems like its been a while since I had Christmas - a for reals Christmas. I remember Tatiana gave me a really cool knife once, or was that for my birthday? I have a desire for eggnog. Its actually kinda cold over here, it went down to six centigrade. I don't think it will snow though. I caroled with Elder Kershisnik, went we went on Mandarin exchanges, it wasn't a very successful finding technique. It seems like there is a whole lot of Ebeneezer Scrooges, or Ebeneezer Chan, Ebeneezer Wong, Ebeneezer Choi and the like, all over Hong Kong. Hong Kong needs to get haunted really bad, so grumpy. I say Merry Christmas in my most peppy, charismatic way that I can possibly muster and literally half of the people I talk to act like they didn't hear me. I know they heard me I was practically shouting it.
Anyways I am pretty trunky these days. I have a goal not to lose focus or quit my mission at least until I finish baptizing the rest of brother Xia's family. I think they are all good and will probably do it in the next month or so. It is the impossible. I am sure you have heard me rant about how we only teach ladies who are single in mandarin work and how we only can get investigators from referrals or turnovers form the Cantonese missionaries. I totally found a man by myself, helped him quit smoking after forty years and now his whole family will be baptised pretty soon. I am so happy that I got to experience that. I feel pretty powerful. The first family I have seen baptised into mandarin work since I started my mission. The second man baptised since I have been a missionary, the first one being Chester who was baptized by the Malaysian Tiger and me.
I don't boast in myself, I boast in my Lord. He is so good. I am an instrument in his hands. I feel like sometimes I am an ax, and that I am really dull. I just keep getting thwacked against a tree over and over, and while I am making a little head way, it would probably be more productive to stop and sharpen myself before I go any further. I can probably not finish the work I am required to finish even if I was sharp, eventually someone with a chain saw will handle the rest of the tree after I made my small dent of a contribution.
I am not so sure what that analogy all means, but I feel the redundancy of being endlessly smacked against a log is a lot like my mission. Am I doing something right?
I about died when I heard that story about Gideon blessing Silas. That is seriously funny. Some of those kids are too smart and witty, I remember Tasha telling me about Asher asking if she was a "windian" because she liked the car window down. I wish one day I could be hilariously clever like that.
I love all of you,
Hua zhanglao
ps Mother, hang in there, james will turn out eventually. I get a headache all the way over here in hong kong when I hear about his grades, I am so glad its not my problem.
Expect a call at about six on christmas night.
I am totally bah humbug this year, it seems like its been a while since I had Christmas - a for reals Christmas. I remember Tatiana gave me a really cool knife once, or was that for my birthday? I have a desire for eggnog. Its actually kinda cold over here, it went down to six centigrade. I don't think it will snow though. I caroled with Elder Kershisnik, went we went on Mandarin exchanges, it wasn't a very successful finding technique. It seems like there is a whole lot of Ebeneezer Scrooges, or Ebeneezer Chan, Ebeneezer Wong, Ebeneezer Choi and the like, all over Hong Kong. Hong Kong needs to get haunted really bad, so grumpy. I say Merry Christmas in my most peppy, charismatic way that I can possibly muster and literally half of the people I talk to act like they didn't hear me. I know they heard me I was practically shouting it.
Anyways I am pretty trunky these days. I have a goal not to lose focus or quit my mission at least until I finish baptizing the rest of brother Xia's family. I think they are all good and will probably do it in the next month or so. It is the impossible. I am sure you have heard me rant about how we only teach ladies who are single in mandarin work and how we only can get investigators from referrals or turnovers form the Cantonese missionaries. I totally found a man by myself, helped him quit smoking after forty years and now his whole family will be baptised pretty soon. I am so happy that I got to experience that. I feel pretty powerful. The first family I have seen baptised into mandarin work since I started my mission. The second man baptised since I have been a missionary, the first one being Chester who was baptized by the Malaysian Tiger and me.
I don't boast in myself, I boast in my Lord. He is so good. I am an instrument in his hands. I feel like sometimes I am an ax, and that I am really dull. I just keep getting thwacked against a tree over and over, and while I am making a little head way, it would probably be more productive to stop and sharpen myself before I go any further. I can probably not finish the work I am required to finish even if I was sharp, eventually someone with a chain saw will handle the rest of the tree after I made my small dent of a contribution.
I am not so sure what that analogy all means, but I feel the redundancy of being endlessly smacked against a log is a lot like my mission. Am I doing something right?
I about died when I heard that story about Gideon blessing Silas. That is seriously funny. Some of those kids are too smart and witty, I remember Tasha telling me about Asher asking if she was a "windian" because she liked the car window down. I wish one day I could be hilariously clever like that.
I love all of you,
Hua zhanglao
ps Mother, hang in there, james will turn out eventually. I get a headache all the way over here in hong kong when I hear about his grades, I am so glad its not my problem.
Expect a call at about six on christmas night.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
12/9/10 - The Real Meaning of Christmas
Did I tell you yet? I'm gonna be Santa Claus again. Sometimes I go to primary because my companion will play the piano for them. When we were in primary last Sunday and the teacher talked about Christmas, all the little kids started chanting that I was Santa. I don't particularly like it, but because I am the only Mandarin elder who is fat I am pretty much obligated. I wish I could lose fifty puonds, I bet you will all look so strange when I get back. I look the same but with less hair
I hope you send me a Christmas family photo and I can be jealous of how skinny everyone is. The weather isn't hot anymore, so I can't sweat away the pounds. Not that I did when it was hot. The public transportation in this city is pretty phenomel. I don't need to walk very often or ride a bike ever. I can just get on the bus or subway or train.
I wish I could watch an interesting movie every now and then, it seems like a million movies came out since I came on my mission. There are also like a million "classics" that I haven't seen before my mission. Then I realize that probably a whole lot of those movies would be a huge waste of time and that I wouldn't enjoy very many of them. I wonder if any of you have seen the church movie about John Tanner. That movie was unbelievable, it blew my mind. I wonder why I had never heard of that story ever before, it was just too amazing. Its in the D+C supplemental videos.
So I want all of you to know the real meaning of Christmas, because it is totally commercialised over here. It is kind of close. Next Christmas I will totally be home and could be married or something.
My family is actually way awesome, it took a mission of seeing other people's broken families and the terrible way parents spoil their children (not that my parents aren't guilty of spoiling me) and the worldy priorities that people put before their families over here, just to help me realize that we are pretty rad. We are just ultra powerful. My dad is a bishop, now there's power!! Just kidding, it just helps me know more that he is called of God.
I love you all
Elder Wall
I hope you send me a Christmas family photo and I can be jealous of how skinny everyone is. The weather isn't hot anymore, so I can't sweat away the pounds. Not that I did when it was hot. The public transportation in this city is pretty phenomel. I don't need to walk very often or ride a bike ever. I can just get on the bus or subway or train.
I wish I could watch an interesting movie every now and then, it seems like a million movies came out since I came on my mission. There are also like a million "classics" that I haven't seen before my mission. Then I realize that probably a whole lot of those movies would be a huge waste of time and that I wouldn't enjoy very many of them. I wonder if any of you have seen the church movie about John Tanner. That movie was unbelievable, it blew my mind. I wonder why I had never heard of that story ever before, it was just too amazing. Its in the D+C supplemental videos.
So I want all of you to know the real meaning of Christmas, because it is totally commercialised over here. It is kind of close. Next Christmas I will totally be home and could be married or something.
My family is actually way awesome, it took a mission of seeing other people's broken families and the terrible way parents spoil their children (not that my parents aren't guilty of spoiling me) and the worldy priorities that people put before their families over here, just to help me realize that we are pretty rad. We are just ultra powerful. My dad is a bishop, now there's power!! Just kidding, it just helps me know more that he is called of God.
I love you all
Elder Wall
Thursday, December 2, 2010
12/2/10 -Xia's Wife and Daughter
It sure feels like there are a lot more family gatherings now that I am on my mission. I expect to have one as soon as I get back home. It feels like its been two or so years since I have been to California I'm about over due.
I am so happy that I have such a strong and united family. I feel so bad for those people up in the mainland who can only have one spoiled brat and no uncles or aunts. I also feel really bad for all the orphans that have parents who didn't deem them good enough to keep. I am so glad that I can be a fat American who is way more spoiled than the average spoiled brat only child in China. I am totally working on fixing my problem with being a brat.
We still have to baptise Xia's wife and daughter. he went to mainland and won't be back for two months. I remember him saying that he had quit smoking for a half a year once but still picked it back up. I am certain it had to do with pressure from friends that brought him back into smoking after half a year. So now I hope he can endure these next two months in mainland. We will finally get to meet his daughter on the 12th accompanied by Sister Xia.
There is my family, they don't live in Hong Kong and I really doubt that they will be able to help the branch out for too much longer, but it feels like I can leave my mission with a sense of being successful. I hope I can visit them later in life and still see them being strong and sealed and stuff. I hope their daughter can go on a mission or something. She's graduating soon, so they will probably all leave very soon.
I really don't have much to say. I have not really lost much weight on my mission, except for the weight of the hair on my head. Chinese is pretty fun, I like my mission and still faithlessly wait to go back to Macau.
Nothing has changed much, which is probably a bad sign, but I am still so positive and hopeful. I truly miss you guys, even though I never thought I would. I think you should all move to c\China with me, its pretty much where we belong.
Tell me how I can be amaizing and how my letters can me more informative and interesting. Farewell comrads!
I love you all
华长老
接着天父永恒救恩计划，家庭能在一起，
我希望与家人永远同住，那条道路主已经说明，
那道路主已经说明
I am so happy that I have such a strong and united family. I feel so bad for those people up in the mainland who can only have one spoiled brat and no uncles or aunts. I also feel really bad for all the orphans that have parents who didn't deem them good enough to keep. I am so glad that I can be a fat American who is way more spoiled than the average spoiled brat only child in China. I am totally working on fixing my problem with being a brat.
We still have to baptise Xia's wife and daughter. he went to mainland and won't be back for two months. I remember him saying that he had quit smoking for a half a year once but still picked it back up. I am certain it had to do with pressure from friends that brought him back into smoking after half a year. So now I hope he can endure these next two months in mainland. We will finally get to meet his daughter on the 12th accompanied by Sister Xia.
There is my family, they don't live in Hong Kong and I really doubt that they will be able to help the branch out for too much longer, but it feels like I can leave my mission with a sense of being successful. I hope I can visit them later in life and still see them being strong and sealed and stuff. I hope their daughter can go on a mission or something. She's graduating soon, so they will probably all leave very soon.
I really don't have much to say. I have not really lost much weight on my mission, except for the weight of the hair on my head. Chinese is pretty fun, I like my mission and still faithlessly wait to go back to Macau.
Nothing has changed much, which is probably a bad sign, but I am still so positive and hopeful. I truly miss you guys, even though I never thought I would. I think you should all move to c\China with me, its pretty much where we belong.
Tell me how I can be amaizing and how my letters can me more informative and interesting. Farewell comrads!
I love you all
华长老
接着天父永恒救恩计划，家庭能在一起，
我希望与家人永远同住，那条道路主已经说明，
那道路主已经说明
11/24/10 The Random Man-child in Hong Kong
亲爱的家庭，
除了我爸爸以外没有人可以看得懂我写的事。你好james,你的中文怎么样？ I am very satisfied with my purchase of that electronic dictionary. In fact I don't need anything for christmas because of how much I have wasted on the dictionary.
Anyway I just ate a huge thanksgiving dinner this morning. We have another one tonight too. I think that Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays. It was really adorable when Elder Yu came up to me and told me that he was really sleepy and didn't know why. I told him that it was the thanksgiving effect and that turkey has some sort of chemical that puts people to sleep. Then he was wondering what the sauce was and what it went on. I told him that it was gravy and that it went on everything. he was so adorable on his first thanksgiving. he turns nineteen tomorrow. I am grateful for his patience with me and for any Chinese that i learn from him.
I am most grateful for families, although I am the random man child, I still feel like I belong in my family. I really do miss you guys, honest. I do feel left out in all the adorable baby stuff. Can I adopt a little Chinese girl in mainland after my mission? I can worry about a wife when I get back to america.
Yeah so I am feeling pretty okay with my mission. if we get Xia, his wife and eventually his daughter I will feel like my mission is complete and I can feel most satisfied with myself. Both Xia and his wife want to take me around china, can we? I like him, he is so mainland. His wife was so astounded with him quitting smoking, she thanked us alot and really felt her husbands testimony. In her very first prayer, she asked heavenly father to help her join the church as soon as possible. My mission feels so fake and yet so awesome, totally a miracle. I have no doubt in my mind that mainland will explode once its open to missionary work. I hope to be one of the first mission presidents or MTC presidents one day. Sorry if I sound negative sometimes. I can't wait until after my mission and things like mandarin steeling missionaries don't really mean anything to me.
This is the life, I hope I can keep it up for a couple more months. I am so tired and sleepy.
We must be grateful. I hope you can feel how grateful I am. When I get back I will totally try and help out and stuff. I just cannot explain how grateful I am to have such a strong, powerful, active and caring family. 真的很感谢你们。
我爱你们，每一个人，
华长老
除了我爸爸以外没有人可以看得懂我写的事。你好james,你的中文怎么样？ I am very satisfied with my purchase of that electronic dictionary. In fact I don't need anything for christmas because of how much I have wasted on the dictionary.
Anyway I just ate a huge thanksgiving dinner this morning. We have another one tonight too. I think that Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays. It was really adorable when Elder Yu came up to me and told me that he was really sleepy and didn't know why. I told him that it was the thanksgiving effect and that turkey has some sort of chemical that puts people to sleep. Then he was wondering what the sauce was and what it went on. I told him that it was gravy and that it went on everything. he was so adorable on his first thanksgiving. he turns nineteen tomorrow. I am grateful for his patience with me and for any Chinese that i learn from him.
I am most grateful for families, although I am the random man child, I still feel like I belong in my family. I really do miss you guys, honest. I do feel left out in all the adorable baby stuff. Can I adopt a little Chinese girl in mainland after my mission? I can worry about a wife when I get back to america.
Yeah so I am feeling pretty okay with my mission. if we get Xia, his wife and eventually his daughter I will feel like my mission is complete and I can feel most satisfied with myself. Both Xia and his wife want to take me around china, can we? I like him, he is so mainland. His wife was so astounded with him quitting smoking, she thanked us alot and really felt her husbands testimony. In her very first prayer, she asked heavenly father to help her join the church as soon as possible. My mission feels so fake and yet so awesome, totally a miracle. I have no doubt in my mind that mainland will explode once its open to missionary work. I hope to be one of the first mission presidents or MTC presidents one day. Sorry if I sound negative sometimes. I can't wait until after my mission and things like mandarin steeling missionaries don't really mean anything to me.
This is the life, I hope I can keep it up for a couple more months. I am so tired and sleepy.
We must be grateful. I hope you can feel how grateful I am. When I get back I will totally try and help out and stuff. I just cannot explain how grateful I am to have such a strong, powerful, active and caring family. 真的很感谢你们。
我爱你们，每一个人，
华长老
11/17/10 This letter leaked the new calling and had to be held back. . .
Good luck dad. It sounds like your already busy life just got about as busy as it could possibly get. Try and take it easy will you. Watch your blood pressure and stuff.
I am kind of excited actually to go back "home" to a new ward. I am totally willing to do whatever ridiculous calling my father is inspired to give me. Who knows, maybe I'll stay up there and go to U of U. I as of now have no idea what to do with my life after the mission. That is a good thing no? I think so. I am so caught up in the work that it doesn't seem to matter what happens in my future.
We can probably get four baptisms this transfer. We have one for the 28th and two for the 5th. And probably a miscellaneous will get in there too. There is this eighteen year old girl named Sister Wang who has an atheist eight year old brother. I think the brother could probably get baptised too eventually. Brother Xia finally quit drinking. I hope you can meet him one day. He might not be in hong kong when you get here. His baptism will go through on the 28th. That will make me feel pretty satisfied because I was the one who originally found him and I will get numbers from him. His beloved "Ai Ren" as he calls her will come this sunday and then on his baptism will come too. I hope to one day baptise her and his daughter "Ma Fan" or "pain in the neck" as he calls her.
I am still with Yu this transfer and Kershisnik is training. LIfe cant get much better. except if I go back to macau. Speaking of which, AP LI went to macau. His Little brother got his call to be a mandarin in hong kong. I hope I can train AP LI's brother; I will totally trun him against his brother if I do. AP stole Sister Zhao and Macau. I will totally get him back by training his brother.
So thats about all I have to say, I love you all.
Hua Zhanglao
I am kind of excited actually to go back "home" to a new ward. I am totally willing to do whatever ridiculous calling my father is inspired to give me. Who knows, maybe I'll stay up there and go to U of U. I as of now have no idea what to do with my life after the mission. That is a good thing no? I think so. I am so caught up in the work that it doesn't seem to matter what happens in my future.
We can probably get four baptisms this transfer. We have one for the 28th and two for the 5th. And probably a miscellaneous will get in there too. There is this eighteen year old girl named Sister Wang who has an atheist eight year old brother. I think the brother could probably get baptised too eventually. Brother Xia finally quit drinking. I hope you can meet him one day. He might not be in hong kong when you get here. His baptism will go through on the 28th. That will make me feel pretty satisfied because I was the one who originally found him and I will get numbers from him. His beloved "Ai Ren" as he calls her will come this sunday and then on his baptism will come too. I hope to one day baptise her and his daughter "Ma Fan" or "pain in the neck" as he calls her.
I am still with Yu this transfer and Kershisnik is training. LIfe cant get much better. except if I go back to macau. Speaking of which, AP LI went to macau. His Little brother got his call to be a mandarin in hong kong. I hope I can train AP LI's brother; I will totally trun him against his brother if I do. AP stole Sister Zhao and Macau. I will totally get him back by training his brother.
So thats about all I have to say, I love you all.
Hua Zhanglao
Monday, November 15, 2010
November 11, 2010
We went to 10,000 Buddhas (if that's how you spell it). there were way funky buddhas, like one with super long eyebrows and one with a super long arm just like that dude on street fighter who is really stretchy, I think his name is Dhalsim "yoga fire!". So anyways also there is this leprechaun looking buddha see if you can spot him on the hill. he has a red beard. After we went there we ate Ikea food and got to drink soda at the only place in Hong Kong with free refills - all for ten bucks although I think that Costco wins hands down. The Ikea dog was lame. I hope to maybe experience this with my family perhaps depending on how long you want to visit.
Actually I think that I wouldn't necessarily want to visit Hong Kong myself if I didn't serve here. It is just way to hot and sweaty all the time.
So everything is going pretty well. Our investigator Xia has completed the no smoking plan and has quit his addiction of forty years. Now all we have to do is get him off his dependancy of alcohol. He says he needs it to go to sleep and that's because his daughter gives him so much to worry and stress about. His daughter seems to have the opposite problem and is able to sleep through everything, including really important exams. We still haven't met her but Xia tells us that we are probably her only hope and that Jesus is what can help her if she would give Him a try. He is so powerful. He has like no Christian background and he still has so much faith. He totally relied on God the entire time he was quitting smoking.
I have a good chance to train next move because two new Mandarins are coming in. I don't want to, I wish to remain with Elder Yu and selfishly improve my Mandarin and rely on his language strength. Mandarin numbers don't look too good this year and President Chan seems worried about adding two more to the Mandarin pack. I found out something really upsetting today, I feel slightly betrayed. AP Auduong, who is a great friend and mentor of mine, quite inspiring really, is actually a dirty rotten no good Mandarin stealer. Not even the APs respect us enough to give us their investigators whose mother tongue is Mandarin. Not to play the blame game, but I think the declining success in Mandarin work is because of people who are number hungry and don't want to do what's best for their investigators.
Sorry to tell you that, but I really need someone to understand and feel the frustration I have had pretty much my whole mission.
On a lighter note we just had a mission tour and It was so great. Elder Perkins the Asia area president who speaks Mandarin and frequently attends our branch talked with us. I really love that guy. I received alot of personal revelation on how I can change and better myself and how I can utilize Mandarin after my mission.
So there's this really cool electronic dictionary, that has touch screen so you can write characters into it and study radicals and pronounciation and a dictionary in like 13 languages including Hakka Shanghainese Cantonese Sichuanese and taiwanese that I think I really want. it has a whole ton of dictionaries on it including the oxford advanced learners Chinese-English dictionary. I think I want this really bad. The best part about it is that it has no internet acess so I can have it on my mission. I have looked into it for some time and I have come to the conclusion that if I hadn't bought a airsoft gun and so many language learning books I would have enough to purchase it. Maybe I can get it for my birhday slash christmas or something. I should probably get the brand name so my father the linguist can look into it. its like four hundred fifty US dollars and I have 388 in my account right. But I have probably never wanted any physical object more. After Christmas it will probably be way cheaper, I can wait patiently though.
Yeah, that's my way of begging.
I love you all and hope that this letter wasn't me sounding like a spoiled brat who complains. I really have changed alot that way on my mission, I promise. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been doing its work on changing my heart. I love you again.
Wall Zhanglao
Actually I think that I wouldn't necessarily want to visit Hong Kong myself if I didn't serve here. It is just way to hot and sweaty all the time.
So everything is going pretty well. Our investigator Xia has completed the no smoking plan and has quit his addiction of forty years. Now all we have to do is get him off his dependancy of alcohol. He says he needs it to go to sleep and that's because his daughter gives him so much to worry and stress about. His daughter seems to have the opposite problem and is able to sleep through everything, including really important exams. We still haven't met her but Xia tells us that we are probably her only hope and that Jesus is what can help her if she would give Him a try. He is so powerful. He has like no Christian background and he still has so much faith. He totally relied on God the entire time he was quitting smoking.
I have a good chance to train next move because two new Mandarins are coming in. I don't want to, I wish to remain with Elder Yu and selfishly improve my Mandarin and rely on his language strength. Mandarin numbers don't look too good this year and President Chan seems worried about adding two more to the Mandarin pack. I found out something really upsetting today, I feel slightly betrayed. AP Auduong, who is a great friend and mentor of mine, quite inspiring really, is actually a dirty rotten no good Mandarin stealer. Not even the APs respect us enough to give us their investigators whose mother tongue is Mandarin. Not to play the blame game, but I think the declining success in Mandarin work is because of people who are number hungry and don't want to do what's best for their investigators.
Sorry to tell you that, but I really need someone to understand and feel the frustration I have had pretty much my whole mission.
On a lighter note we just had a mission tour and It was so great. Elder Perkins the Asia area president who speaks Mandarin and frequently attends our branch talked with us. I really love that guy. I received alot of personal revelation on how I can change and better myself and how I can utilize Mandarin after my mission.
So there's this really cool electronic dictionary, that has touch screen so you can write characters into it and study radicals and pronounciation and a dictionary in like 13 languages including Hakka Shanghainese Cantonese Sichuanese and taiwanese that I think I really want. it has a whole ton of dictionaries on it including the oxford advanced learners Chinese-English dictionary. I think I want this really bad. The best part about it is that it has no internet acess so I can have it on my mission. I have looked into it for some time and I have come to the conclusion that if I hadn't bought a airsoft gun and so many language learning books I would have enough to purchase it. Maybe I can get it for my birhday slash christmas or something. I should probably get the brand name so my father the linguist can look into it. its like four hundred fifty US dollars and I have 388 in my account right. But I have probably never wanted any physical object more. After Christmas it will probably be way cheaper, I can wait patiently though.
Yeah, that's my way of begging.
I love you all and hope that this letter wasn't me sounding like a spoiled brat who complains. I really have changed alot that way on my mission, I promise. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been doing its work on changing my heart. I love you again.
Wall Zhanglao
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Hotdog Oatmeal with Barbeque Sauce?
Dear family, I just watched other side of heaven and pretty jealous of Kolipoki. My missionary experience could never make an interesting movie. Maybe that is why I don't write in my journal. We will be having a pretty big typhoon on Saturday though. Its all on the news and we got a special letter from the mission telling us about what precautions to take and stuff:
Elder Rickertsen,
Please give me the latest weather report of this typhoon Megi.
Please alert all missionaries to secure all windows in their apartments. They should have identified a safe place in their apartments in case the windows are broken by the strong wind. They should ensure that they have sufficient food and water storage. They should remain indoor if Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above is hoisted.
Warm Regards,
President Chan
So its kind of like a terrifying storm will come and destroy the village of Hong Kong. Its supposed to be the biggest one to hit Hong Kong since the 70's. I am so excited. If my windows break, I will get a video of it.
Wow mom, you sound like you are working your tail off (literally). My goodness you guys. First you say how Jerrica is so small then you say how much you have lost. You are all little people now. Laura has almost lost an entire Jerrica. I am finally back down to 220 where I started my mission at.
The other day I was eating oatmeal with hot dogs and barbaque sauce in it. It was way good but gave me gas. My companion is constantly amaized at American food. Then I tell him that nobody would eat barbeque sauce and hotdog oatmeal but a missionary.
I definately need to talk to my companion in Mandarin more. He is so bright eventhough he is just eighteen. Quite mature; more than me. He is way ready to get up and go to do the work. He tells me to hurry up at least fifty times a day. fireball. I tease him about him not shaving, I tell him he needs to be obedient and shave everyday. He probably will never need to shave his entire life.
We don't have many good investigators right now, except this old dude named Brother Xia who is here looking after his college student daughter. Also a Lady named Susan and her daughter Jessie. Her daughter is twelve and attends school here in Hong Kong, but can't speak Cantonese and almost definately has no friends. She simply MUST go back to Shen Zhen every weekend to look at her huge collection of pets. I wish she could just see that if she came to church she could make friends with girls her age who speak Mandarin. We are praying that she will get the desire to make friends with people. Other than that, she is way good. Jessie and Susan are totally willing and ready to follow Jesus and read the Book of Mormon and pray. I just need them to forget their pets on sunday morning and come to church. I guess we do have pretty good investigators. Its a shame church attendance seems to be whats holding people back.
I want to do something amaizing, like Kolipoki, but that will take alot of faith and effort. I wish I could do that. Maybe I will just start writing a really embellished journal instead.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Elder Rickertsen,
Please give me the latest weather report of this typhoon Megi.
Please alert all missionaries to secure all windows in their apartments. They should have identified a safe place in their apartments in case the windows are broken by the strong wind. They should ensure that they have sufficient food and water storage. They should remain indoor if Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above is hoisted.
Warm Regards,
President Chan
So its kind of like a terrifying storm will come and destroy the village of Hong Kong. Its supposed to be the biggest one to hit Hong Kong since the 70's. I am so excited. If my windows break, I will get a video of it.
Wow mom, you sound like you are working your tail off (literally). My goodness you guys. First you say how Jerrica is so small then you say how much you have lost. You are all little people now. Laura has almost lost an entire Jerrica. I am finally back down to 220 where I started my mission at.
The other day I was eating oatmeal with hot dogs and barbaque sauce in it. It was way good but gave me gas. My companion is constantly amaized at American food. Then I tell him that nobody would eat barbeque sauce and hotdog oatmeal but a missionary.
I definately need to talk to my companion in Mandarin more. He is so bright eventhough he is just eighteen. Quite mature; more than me. He is way ready to get up and go to do the work. He tells me to hurry up at least fifty times a day. fireball. I tease him about him not shaving, I tell him he needs to be obedient and shave everyday. He probably will never need to shave his entire life.
We don't have many good investigators right now, except this old dude named Brother Xia who is here looking after his college student daughter. Also a Lady named Susan and her daughter Jessie. Her daughter is twelve and attends school here in Hong Kong, but can't speak Cantonese and almost definately has no friends. She simply MUST go back to Shen Zhen every weekend to look at her huge collection of pets. I wish she could just see that if she came to church she could make friends with girls her age who speak Mandarin. We are praying that she will get the desire to make friends with people. Other than that, she is way good. Jessie and Susan are totally willing and ready to follow Jesus and read the Book of Mormon and pray. I just need them to forget their pets on sunday morning and come to church. I guess we do have pretty good investigators. Its a shame church attendance seems to be whats holding people back.
I want to do something amaizing, like Kolipoki, but that will take alot of faith and effort. I wish I could do that. Maybe I will just start writing a really embellished journal instead.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Friday, October 8, 2010
10/7/2010
So there is always so much that I cannot remember to tell you. Our apartment has a ton of roaches and two guitars, I have been trying to figure out how to play the melody to "la cucaracha" and I got it stuck in my Taiwanese companion's head, I don't even know the words myself but it is the funniest thing to hear him sing and try and pronounce the word "cucaracha". I think someone must write me the lyrics so that I can sing it properly and serenade all the creatures that share our abode with us. I just remember about the roach being drunk and cant walk and how it doesn't have marijuana to smoke. Burracha? he zui jiu? caminar? zou?
I am kind of jealous of how Mexican the family is. There are legit Mexican food places here actually, but what I really crave is the fake Mexican food, give me some Taco Bell and grade D meat. It will probably be one of the first things I will eat when I get back. That and Panda Express or some Chinese buffet. I need the fake Americanized stuff. But KFC is so awesome here. I eat it way too much, they always have the best deals and special offers and the bucket is so cheap. I think I have eaten KFC maybe twice in America and like a million times over here.
Mooncake? Yeah I have eaten my fair share of that. What an experience. egg yolks surrounded by a thick paste that can only be eaten in the smallest of portions. It is also way expensive, so there is almost no point other than for the experience of trying something new.
I have baptised maybe ten people from Chengdu Sichuan. They like to eat way spicy stuff, usually boiled in a pot in front of you. I also hear that the most pretty Chinese girls are form Sichuan. They call them "la mei" or "spicy little sisters" in reference to the unnecessarily hot food that they eat. Does the lady who lives in Grandma's basement cook well?
I am so jealous of the world's missionaries. I bet half of the investigators in the world are Chinese people. Everyone can baptise one, except me; someone who is actually in China. The training videos we watched had a Chinese student baptism too. Tatiana can baptise one in Lithuana of all places.
We have taught alot of visitors that we baptise in one day, but I really don't get any satisfaction out of it. Me and my companion had to do it twice this week because everyone else has real investigators with scheduled appointments. This gives me stress because everything that can go wrong does just like Brother Murphey said. I always jack up the paper work forget a signature, write unclearly, don't fill up the font, and about a hundred other things. Its not as easy as you think, you should see how bald I am now, all thanks to mainland baptisms. The one we taught yesterday was a girl who got baptised in England who brought her mom over to hear the gospel and get baptised. Those England elders baptise Chinese investigators too.
Anyway, sorry to be so negative. I know the gospel is true and everyone is a child of God even if they are also a baptismal statistic. I am so glad that I have a chance to repent and get better everyday. The atonement of Jesus Christ is truly the best thing ever.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
I am kind of jealous of how Mexican the family is. There are legit Mexican food places here actually, but what I really crave is the fake Mexican food, give me some Taco Bell and grade D meat. It will probably be one of the first things I will eat when I get back. That and Panda Express or some Chinese buffet. I need the fake Americanized stuff. But KFC is so awesome here. I eat it way too much, they always have the best deals and special offers and the bucket is so cheap. I think I have eaten KFC maybe twice in America and like a million times over here.
Mooncake? Yeah I have eaten my fair share of that. What an experience. egg yolks surrounded by a thick paste that can only be eaten in the smallest of portions. It is also way expensive, so there is almost no point other than for the experience of trying something new.
I have baptised maybe ten people from Chengdu Sichuan. They like to eat way spicy stuff, usually boiled in a pot in front of you. I also hear that the most pretty Chinese girls are form Sichuan. They call them "la mei" or "spicy little sisters" in reference to the unnecessarily hot food that they eat. Does the lady who lives in Grandma's basement cook well?
I am so jealous of the world's missionaries. I bet half of the investigators in the world are Chinese people. Everyone can baptise one, except me; someone who is actually in China. The training videos we watched had a Chinese student baptism too. Tatiana can baptise one in Lithuana of all places.
We have taught alot of visitors that we baptise in one day, but I really don't get any satisfaction out of it. Me and my companion had to do it twice this week because everyone else has real investigators with scheduled appointments. This gives me stress because everything that can go wrong does just like Brother Murphey said. I always jack up the paper work forget a signature, write unclearly, don't fill up the font, and about a hundred other things. Its not as easy as you think, you should see how bald I am now, all thanks to mainland baptisms. The one we taught yesterday was a girl who got baptised in England who brought her mom over to hear the gospel and get baptised. Those England elders baptise Chinese investigators too.
Anyway, sorry to be so negative. I know the gospel is true and everyone is a child of God even if they are also a baptismal statistic. I am so glad that I have a chance to repent and get better everyday. The atonement of Jesus Christ is truly the best thing ever.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sept 28, 2010 and Sept 23, 2010
yay! I am off of the dismal island now. I just got moved to the area that is closest to the mainland in the mission. My area got whitewashed and the previous AP took my spot along with elder so who was my companion and Elder Kershiniks companion and Cowsers trainer and Kershisniks trainer. They are both zone leaders too. It kinda sucks since I just gave out the first legit baptismal date I have ever given on the island. So now elder AP Li can baptise Sister Zhao for me. I don't want the glory, don't get me wrong, I just want to be with an investigator from the beginning to the end, and I was denied. President Chan will totally think his whitewashing idea was genious once those two instantly get a baptism. I was also fired from my job as district leader. My previous district leader is my district leader again, I love him, his name is Elder Macallister. I wasn't that great of a district leader anyways.
I am not to bitter though. I am way excited to be companions with a native speaker of Mandarin. His name is Elder Yu. He is Elder Bendalls trainee and he is from Taiwan. What is funny is that he is only eighteen. He has to serve in the military once his mission is over. AP Li also served in the singapore army too. So powerful. I call Elder Yu the secret weapon. I am getting those crazy ideas that I can find a family again. I will totally take advantage of this opportunity to learn good mandarin. It is the Lord giving me a second chance, because I never SYLed with the Malaysian Tiger. He was just too intimidating for me to speak to in Mandarin. SYL means speak your language.
So anyway, Fenling is so far away form everything. I am excited to not be five minutes away from the church's Asia area headquarters and be somewhat free in a somewhat remote place. Goodness I miss macau.
Anyway, I have a bright outlook for my mission. I might even start exercising regularly. I like the Mandarins now, there is so much power if you exclude me. This has potential of being a blast. I only have eight months left. Elder Cowser was always correcting me when I told people that I have been out about a year. Now I have to say I've been out more than a year. I have that terrible dream where I haven't made much of a difference in the field but my mission is already over. It terrifies (if thats how you spell it) me. I do miss you guys and think it would be cool to spend like a weekend with you, but my real home is probably somehwere in the mainland. Mainland is two stops away on the train from Fenling. I have a huge desire to just go over on pday. It is so smart of the mission to keep my passport so that I can't.
Elder Yu is such an adorable teenager. I like him, I think we will hit it off. I really hope I don't squander the blessing of having him as a companion. The only two native mandarin speaking missionaries that have been in the mission since I have been a missionary have both been my companions. I am reminded of the parable about talents. AP Li was given many talents and he multipied them, and then maybe like elder Kershisnik didn't have as many talents as AP Li but he still multiplied what he was given. And then there is me, that wicked and slothful servant who was only given one talent, and then I buried it because I was nervous. And then President Chan takes my talent and gives it to the one who has ten talents. Or in other words gives my baptism to AP Li.
I hope I can get a baptism as a senior companion one day. Maybe this is why I was fired? This next transfer will be seven weeks instead of six, which will give more time to build up this area and find a family and investigators.
Was this letter long enough? I tried to write everyone who wrote me last week a little letter back. This week only mommy wrote me, but thats fine. I liked hearing about all the craziness with Spanish Immersion school. I liked reading a missionary spanish book and laughing at how all the words were english with an o at the end. It was great fun. I hope I can get in on the action when I get back home. Arriba!!(if thats how you spell it) (Harriba?)
Anyways, I love you guys.
Hua Zhanglao
9/23/10
So I got so many letters that it took a lot of time to read them and so consequently I have little time to write. I appreciate it, thanks:) We met an Elvis impersonator on the bus the other day, He is a member actually. He is the source of legends. Can you imagine teaching a guy in an Elvis costume the gospel? He sang way good and was intensly entertaining. It lifted my spirits so much to run into him on the way home.
Since today was the day after Mid Autumn Festival, it was a holiday and employers were forced to give their Filipina workers a day off, so we helped out the international elders to try and pull back sisters to the church. It was fruitless but pretty funny. I like Filipina English, it is interesting.
So we are just trying to keep track of the many investigators that we have. Not many people seem to have time to come to church on Sundays though - that makes me sad. I feel like that's the only real obsticle between us and having success. We have enough appointments throughout the week and enough people to teach, but we just need something more I guess.
I am starting to love the mission again despite the difficulties. My second companion is going home next week, his 2 years are up. The last two days we attended a leadership training which was quite possibly the most boring thing I have ever encountered from 830 to 530 two days in a row. Leadership has its rewards. The content of the lectures were good but easy to grasp and probably didn't need quite so much time spent on them. I did score some awesome training dvds that are pretty much done in a reality tv style with "real" missionaries using the training principles that we learned in "real" situations. So hilarious, I hope to show you them when I get home. they are hysterical.
Umm, maybe nest week I won't get as many letters so that I can have enough time to send you photos and a longer letter. just kidding I love you guys
hua zhanglao
I am not to bitter though. I am way excited to be companions with a native speaker of Mandarin. His name is Elder Yu. He is Elder Bendalls trainee and he is from Taiwan. What is funny is that he is only eighteen. He has to serve in the military once his mission is over. AP Li also served in the singapore army too. So powerful. I call Elder Yu the secret weapon. I am getting those crazy ideas that I can find a family again. I will totally take advantage of this opportunity to learn good mandarin. It is the Lord giving me a second chance, because I never SYLed with the Malaysian Tiger. He was just too intimidating for me to speak to in Mandarin. SYL means speak your language.
So anyway, Fenling is so far away form everything. I am excited to not be five minutes away from the church's Asia area headquarters and be somewhat free in a somewhat remote place. Goodness I miss macau.
Anyway, I have a bright outlook for my mission. I might even start exercising regularly. I like the Mandarins now, there is so much power if you exclude me. This has potential of being a blast. I only have eight months left. Elder Cowser was always correcting me when I told people that I have been out about a year. Now I have to say I've been out more than a year. I have that terrible dream where I haven't made much of a difference in the field but my mission is already over. It terrifies (if thats how you spell it) me. I do miss you guys and think it would be cool to spend like a weekend with you, but my real home is probably somehwere in the mainland. Mainland is two stops away on the train from Fenling. I have a huge desire to just go over on pday. It is so smart of the mission to keep my passport so that I can't.
Elder Yu is such an adorable teenager. I like him, I think we will hit it off. I really hope I don't squander the blessing of having him as a companion. The only two native mandarin speaking missionaries that have been in the mission since I have been a missionary have both been my companions. I am reminded of the parable about talents. AP Li was given many talents and he multipied them, and then maybe like elder Kershisnik didn't have as many talents as AP Li but he still multiplied what he was given. And then there is me, that wicked and slothful servant who was only given one talent, and then I buried it because I was nervous. And then President Chan takes my talent and gives it to the one who has ten talents. Or in other words gives my baptism to AP Li.
I hope I can get a baptism as a senior companion one day. Maybe this is why I was fired?
Was this letter long enough? I tried to write everyone who wrote me last week a little letter back. This week only mommy wrote me, but thats fine. I liked hearing about all the craziness with Spanish Immersion school. I liked reading a missionary spanish book and laughing at how all the words were english with an o at the end. It was great fun. I hope I can get in on the action when I get back home. Arriba!!(if thats how you spell it) (Harriba?)
Anyways, I love you guys.
Hua Zhanglao
9/23/10
So I got so many letters that it took a lot of time to read them and so consequently I have little time to write. I appreciate it, thanks:) We met an Elvis impersonator on the bus the other day, He is a member actually. He is the source of legends. Can you imagine teaching a guy in an Elvis costume the gospel? He sang way good and was intensly entertaining. It lifted my spirits so much to run into him on the way home.
Since today was the day after Mid Autumn Festival, it was a holiday and employers were forced to give their Filipina workers a day off, so we helped out the international elders to try and pull back sisters to the church. It was fruitless but pretty funny. I like Filipina English, it is interesting.
So we are just trying to keep track of the many investigators that we have. Not many people seem to have time to come to church on Sundays though - that makes me sad. I feel like that's the only real obsticle between us and having success. We have enough appointments throughout the week and enough people to teach, but we just need something more I guess.
I am starting to love the mission again despite the difficulties. My second companion is going home next week, his 2 years are up. The last two days we attended a leadership training which was quite possibly the most boring thing I have ever encountered from 830 to 530 two days in a row. Leadership has its rewards. The content of the lectures were good but easy to grasp and probably didn't need quite so much time spent on them. I did score some awesome training dvds that are pretty much done in a reality tv style with "real" missionaries using the training principles that we learned in "real" situations. So hilarious, I hope to show you them when I get home. they are hysterical.
Umm, maybe nest week I won't get as many letters so that I can have enough time to send you photos and a longer letter. just kidding I love you guys
hua zhanglao
Sunday, September 19, 2010
15 Sept, 2010
Dear family,
I enjoy teaching lessons and I enjoy the Chinese language. Can life get better than this? As far as physical things I need, maybe I can just take money out of my account and buy shirts and maybe a suit. It is very cheap over here if you go to the right place.
So recently, no investigators really understand why coming to church is important. Maybe its my fault. There is one pretty cool investigator who just walked in to church one sunday who met with us like a million times in one week and came to a branch activity. She is pretty good, her name is sister Peng, she is super talkative so, although we have met with so so much, we havn't even got to the restoration yet. We just talk about baptism a whole lot. Kinda weird that thats how it worked out.
She is a mother who is nearly fifty and has a daughter who is 23 or so who graduated from MIT. We had the really less active girl named claire who also went to MIT to fellowship for Peng once. It went okay considering that Claire didn't know much. Claire wants us to teach her the book of mormon in english, I really don't want to do that at all. That is definately not what she needs at this point.
Anyways, I feel like I'm accomplishing things other than my purpose to baptise. Its okay I guess. I think hong kong would be a great city if everyone wasn't so unnecessarily stressed all the time and the weather didn't suck. I sent you photos of some sort of like building scenery or something. Its pretty cool being in a relatively big city. I also don't like huge population either actually.
The food though is pretty nice, the branch activity that we went on was to Lamma island and we ate so much delicious seafood and a million clams and a lot of cuttle fish and garlic scallops and schrimp and fish and delicious sweet and sour pork and it was amaising. Then we went on a lame hike in the rain with so many mosquitos. It was amaising.
Lamma island is in my area, I lthink I might so finding there one day.
I still don't write in my journal. i think I will start writing in chinese because then it will be more interesting and people who want to peek at it probably cant understand it, particularly Cantonese Elders. I don't think many people would really want to read my journal anyway though. It would be ten times more boring than my letters.
Anyway, I love the Old Testament student manual that I'm reading, it is way intertaining and helps my testimony and its weird too. I recommend it. I like how Jacob wrestled an angel and wouldn't let him go until he blessed him.
I love you all and miss you and cold weather and snow and mama's cooking.
Elder Hua Zhanglao
I enjoy teaching lessons and I enjoy the Chinese language. Can life get better than this? As far as physical things I need, maybe I can just take money out of my account and buy shirts and maybe a suit. It is very cheap over here if you go to the right place.
So recently, no investigators really understand why coming to church is important. Maybe its my fault. There is one pretty cool investigator who just walked in to church one sunday who met with us like a million times in one week and came to a branch activity. She is pretty good, her name is sister Peng, she is super talkative so, although we have met with so so much, we havn't even got to the restoration yet. We just talk about baptism a whole lot. Kinda weird that thats how it worked out.
She is a mother who is nearly fifty and has a daughter who is 23 or so who graduated from MIT. We had the really less active girl named claire who also went to MIT to fellowship for Peng once. It went okay considering that Claire didn't know much. Claire wants us to teach her the book of mormon in english, I really don't want to do that at all. That is definately not what she needs at this point.
Anyways, I feel like I'm accomplishing things other than my purpose to baptise. Its okay I guess. I think hong kong would be a great city if everyone wasn't so unnecessarily stressed all the time and the weather didn't suck. I sent you photos of some sort of like building scenery or something. Its pretty cool being in a relatively big city. I also don't like huge population either actually.
The food though is pretty nice, the branch activity that we went on was to Lamma island and we ate so much delicious seafood and a million clams and a lot of cuttle fish and garlic scallops and schrimp and fish and delicious sweet and sour pork and it was amaising. Then we went on a lame hike in the rain with so many mosquitos. It was amaising.
Lamma island is in my area, I lthink I might so finding there one day.
I still don't write in my journal. i think I will start writing in chinese because then it will be more interesting and people who want to peek at it probably cant understand it, particularly Cantonese Elders. I don't think many people would really want to read my journal anyway though. It would be ten times more boring than my letters.
Anyway, I love the Old Testament student manual that I'm reading, it is way intertaining and helps my testimony and its weird too. I recommend it. I like how Jacob wrestled an angel and wouldn't let him go until he blessed him.
I love you all and miss you and cold weather and snow and mama's cooking.
Elder Hua Zhanglao
9 Sept, 2010
I had a pretty awesome day yesterday. I just felt like I worked hard all day and I didn't really go finding at all. I hate finding in the hot sun. I like traveling from place to place on the subway and talking to people on that. I just can't explain it very well but it was probably the best day I have had since I left my Macau.
I feel like we can get someone baptised eventually although it probably won't be a family. The Zhu family is seriously hindered by the dad. He wouldn't schedule us because "Its raining really bad tomorrow". Like we wouldn't be meeting inside the chapel or something and he couldn't use an umbrella for the two minute walk from his home to the chapel. As it turned out, that day it didn't rain a single drop at all. I wish he just told me that he wasn't interested in meeting that day, it would be alot better than saying some ridiculous excuse and blame not being able to come on his daughter. I wish we sould just meet his daughter and wife. He is what makes it a family though, and he could potentially hold the preisthood. I wish dudes weren't such dirt bags over here in China. It gets tiring teaching single mothers and ladies.
I just feel like a small something is missing from my mission. I just don't feel completely satisfied with it quite yet. I had a terrible dream once that my two years were up with the same ammount of experience that I have now. It was pretty depressing. I just reasoned to myself that it wasn't the end of the world to waste my mission and that I could pick up all the skills that I still lacked somehow later in life.
At least I have eternity to develop talents and learn and progress right? I have changed I'm pretty sure. Macau changed me.
Anyways that's boring to just talk about me. I'm pretty sure its essentially the same letter week after week and you might be tired of it. There are so many Chinese students getting baptised in the world. Some people's mission calls are essentially just for those Chinese students. There is a MIT grad who just moved to Hong Kong. She learned the gospel in English and got baptised four years ago in America. I originally wanted to use her for fellowshiping because she is from Taiwan. But sadly because she was taught in not her native tongue, she pretty much knows nothing, so we are meeting with her to teach her about the gospel in Mandarin. She claims that the Chinese translation of the Book of Mormon is terrible but she can't understand the English. That bugged me because my father translates the Book of Mormon for a living. I imagine we will slam her with the word on this Friday. She hadn't even heard of Lehi's dream and didn't know if Lehi was the dad or the son. Anyway, when we're done, she will totally help out the branch.
That took about an hour to write, sorry.
I love you all
zai jian
Hua Zhanglao
I feel like we can get someone baptised eventually although it probably won't be a family. The Zhu family is seriously hindered by the dad. He wouldn't schedule us because "Its raining really bad tomorrow". Like we wouldn't be meeting inside the chapel or something and he couldn't use an umbrella for the two minute walk from his home to the chapel. As it turned out, that day it didn't rain a single drop at all. I wish he just told me that he wasn't interested in meeting that day, it would be alot better than saying some ridiculous excuse and blame not being able to come on his daughter. I wish we sould just meet his daughter and wife. He is what makes it a family though, and he could potentially hold the preisthood. I wish dudes weren't such dirt bags over here in China. It gets tiring teaching single mothers and ladies.
I just feel like a small something is missing from my mission. I just don't feel completely satisfied with it quite yet. I had a terrible dream once that my two years were up with the same ammount of experience that I have now. It was pretty depressing. I just reasoned to myself that it wasn't the end of the world to waste my mission and that I could pick up all the skills that I still lacked somehow later in life.
At least I have eternity to develop talents and learn and progress right? I have changed I'm pretty sure. Macau changed me.
Anyways that's boring to just talk about me. I'm pretty sure its essentially the same letter week after week and you might be tired of it. There are so many Chinese students getting baptised in the world. Some people's mission calls are essentially just for those Chinese students. There is a MIT grad who just moved to Hong Kong. She learned the gospel in English and got baptised four years ago in America. I originally wanted to use her for fellowshiping because she is from Taiwan. But sadly because she was taught in not her native tongue, she pretty much knows nothing, so we are meeting with her to teach her about the gospel in Mandarin. She claims that the Chinese translation of the Book of Mormon is terrible but she can't understand the English. That bugged me because my father translates the Book of Mormon for a living. I imagine we will slam her with the word on this Friday. She hadn't even heard of Lehi's dream and didn't know if Lehi was the dad or the son. Anyway, when we're done, she will totally help out the branch.
That took about an hour to write, sorry.
I love you all
zai jian
Hua Zhanglao
Sept 2, 2010
My family,
Thanks for writing. Today I went to the temple and I am quite happy right now. I am so happy for China to be "regularized". I feel like it was my fault somehow. I have some kind of a special love for those people of the mainland although they are quite oblivious at times. I love their humbleness and meek nature. They feel so innocent to me, like little children. I am so happy that I have had the priveledge to be here and serve them.
I feel like my mission is coming to a close and I have not made much of an impact. I can feel the spirit with me and often receive comfort and guidance from my Heavenly Father so I can't say that I am totally unsuccessful. At least I personaly have changed a little. I hope you guys can see that when you see me in a few months or in my letters I guess.
The quest for a family seems within grasp. I just noticed in the record books an investigator family that was pretty good in Kowloon East over in kwun tong that just somehow fell though the cracks. I also heard of a less active who was baptised in 01 and has a wife and child who are very nice people. I feel we have more chance of getting a family if we have more potential families. I wish we could baptise them all though.
Basically I don't know what to say. I watched the documentary "Planet Earth" today before I went to the temple. It is approved by our mission to watch. I highly recommend it. I really like the caves episode so far. It really helped my temple experience, just by helping me ponder upon all the things that God has created that beautify the earth. Some of the caves were gorgeous. I didn't know what to think of the worlds biggest mound of guano though.
As far as ping pong goes, I am pretty sucky. I have not picked up any skills on my mission even though I am in china. I can't play the guitar (let alone ukalele), I can't do a rubix cube, basketball is awful, and I can't do magic. Chopstick skills have gotten considerably better though. and my ability to eat freaken spicy junk from Sichuan has increased too.
I still have around a year left though. I bet I could go back to Macau, Kershisnik is getting kicked out. You should pray for me to go to Macau instead of getting a family. That was the happiest time of my life for sure. They all miss me way bad I hear. They still haven't got that Vietnamese thing going. I really wan't to learn Indonesian.
Anyways, my companion is pretty cool and pretty tall. I keep telling him that I could beat him in a race though. His Mandarin could be better than mine. He knows some good vocabulary. I don't like basketball that much though. He's way good at pingpong.
I really like the gospel. I love feasting on scriptures and I am attempting the scripture mastery scriptures again. Right now I really like section 130; it has three scripture mastery verses in a row. I like the one about obtaining more knowledge and wisdom than others and how you will be ahead of them in the life to come. I probably compare myself with people to often. God has certainly given everyone talents and blessings though.
So I love all of you guys and hope that this letter was okay,
Hua Zhanglao
Thanks for writing. Today I went to the temple and I am quite happy right now. I am so happy for China to be "regularized". I feel like it was my fault somehow. I have some kind of a special love for those people of the mainland although they are quite oblivious at times. I love their humbleness and meek nature. They feel so innocent to me, like little children. I am so happy that I have had the priveledge to be here and serve them.
I feel like my mission is coming to a close and I have not made much of an impact. I can feel the spirit with me and often receive comfort and guidance from my Heavenly Father so I can't say that I am totally unsuccessful. At least I personaly have changed a little. I hope you guys can see that when you see me in a few months or in my letters I guess.
The quest for a family seems within grasp. I just noticed in the record books an investigator family that was pretty good in Kowloon East over in kwun tong that just somehow fell though the cracks. I also heard of a less active who was baptised in 01 and has a wife and child who are very nice people. I feel we have more chance of getting a family if we have more potential families. I wish we could baptise them all though.
Basically I don't know what to say. I watched the documentary "Planet Earth" today before I went to the temple. It is approved by our mission to watch. I highly recommend it. I really like the caves episode so far. It really helped my temple experience, just by helping me ponder upon all the things that God has created that beautify the earth. Some of the caves were gorgeous. I didn't know what to think of the worlds biggest mound of guano though.
As far as ping pong goes, I am pretty sucky. I have not picked up any skills on my mission even though I am in china. I can't play the guitar (let alone ukalele), I can't do a rubix cube, basketball is awful, and I can't do magic. Chopstick skills have gotten considerably better though. and my ability to eat freaken spicy junk from Sichuan has increased too.
I still have around a year left though. I bet I could go back to Macau, Kershisnik is getting kicked out. You should pray for me to go to Macau instead of getting a family. That was the happiest time of my life for sure. They all miss me way bad I hear. They still haven't got that Vietnamese thing going. I really wan't to learn Indonesian.
Anyways, my companion is pretty cool and pretty tall. I keep telling him that I could beat him in a race though. His Mandarin could be better than mine. He knows some good vocabulary. I don't like basketball that much though. He's way good at pingpong.
I really like the gospel. I love feasting on scriptures and I am attempting the scripture mastery scriptures again. Right now I really like section 130; it has three scripture mastery verses in a row. I like the one about obtaining more knowledge and wisdom than others and how you will be ahead of them in the life to come. I probably compare myself with people to often. God has certainly given everyone talents and blessings though.
So I love all of you guys and hope that this letter was okay,
Hua Zhanglao
August 25, 2010
I'm sitting in a coffee shop doing my email. I should hurry before people get the wrong idea. Speaking of the Estonian, I have been meaning to tell you about an Estonian fellow who lives in our apartment complex whom we played badminton with once. I am pretty sure he's gay though so we probably won't meet with him again. Elder Reber was too handsome for his own good.
Anyways now am going to be with Elder Reber's MTC companion who is name Elder Cowser, his is really tall. Elder Reber is international now and "Guess Who" is still in my spot in Macau. I am really excited to be with Elder Cowser, he is really tall and athletic, but I am pretty sure I can run faster than him, he doubts it.
I really want a family to baptise, Zhu family just got back and we probably should meet them on Saturday. I think we should get a few more families just in case the Zhu family doesn't turn out.
I feel my mission isn't quite over. I hope I can get a family and then I will be satisfied. That's all I want, probably the greatest desire of my life right now. I want something to show for myself when I get back home. In many ways I'm pretty much the same. Probably a little more righteous and patient with others flaws. Im a little less patient with my self.
How is my father's Chinese? I really want to read the art of war and the analects and journey west and three kingdoms and dao de jing. I bet it will be decades before my Chinese abilities will be able to tackle that kind of literature. Is that what your're studying dad? I tell everyone I want to be just like my dad when I grow up. I totally brag about you way to much.
I love you all,
Hua zhanglao
Anyways now am going to be with Elder Reber's MTC companion who is name Elder Cowser, his is really tall. Elder Reber is international now and "Guess Who" is still in my spot in Macau. I am really excited to be with Elder Cowser, he is really tall and athletic, but I am pretty sure I can run faster than him, he doubts it.
I really want a family to baptise, Zhu family just got back and we probably should meet them on Saturday. I think we should get a few more families just in case the Zhu family doesn't turn out.
I feel my mission isn't quite over. I hope I can get a family and then I will be satisfied. That's all I want, probably the greatest desire of my life right now. I want something to show for myself when I get back home. In many ways I'm pretty much the same. Probably a little more righteous and patient with others flaws. Im a little less patient with my self.
How is my father's Chinese? I really want to read the art of war and the analects and journey west and three kingdoms and dao de jing. I bet it will be decades before my Chinese abilities will be able to tackle that kind of literature. Is that what your're studying dad? I tell everyone I want to be just like my dad when I grow up. I totally brag about you way to much.
I love you all,
Hua zhanglao
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Aug 18, 2010
Hello my dear family members,
How are you guys? I will remain on the Hong Kong island this transfer. Hopefully we can get new investigators someday. If we have faith it can be done.
I am the oldest missionary on Hong Kong island. Most of the missionaries have been on a mission for three to four transfers. I am going on ten. I am such an inspiring person to look to for adivce because I am so full of wisdom and experience and I know what I am doing when it comes to missionary work.
I agree with James. In someways I am a mindless zombie for the Lord. I think it would be more accurate to say like a power tool or some kind of instrument or something though. I just want to infect the whole world with the message of the restored gospel. Think of how much easier it would be to just have to bite someone instead of having to tell them my message and help them decide to get baptised. It would also help if nothing could hurt me. I also have a unquenchable hunger for investigators and human flesh.
Hey, so Im a district leader. There are two Cantonese companionships in my district. I don't think I can do baptismal interviews for them. All I will basically do is inspire them will my pep talks and motivational speeches. I can do interviews for mainland visitors though. I did two yesterday and probably will do another today. Talk about akward. Have you ever had an abortion? are you sure? Have you ever had a gay relationship? really? and the best part is that its all in mandarin.
Maybe this letter is inappropriate for children.
I am starting to love teaching, I really want to increase my skills and language. I think teaching by the spirit feels really nice. Its pretty bogus the other way. Too bad none of the people I teach are ever investigators.
I finished Jesus the Christ, I want to read the Old Testament, but I bet that won't help my teaching.
I love you all,
Hua zhanglao (Elder Wall)
How are you guys? I will remain on the Hong Kong island this transfer. Hopefully we can get new investigators someday. If we have faith it can be done.
I am the oldest missionary on Hong Kong island. Most of the missionaries have been on a mission for three to four transfers. I am going on ten. I am such an inspiring person to look to for adivce because I am so full of wisdom and experience and I know what I am doing when it comes to missionary work.
I agree with James. In someways I am a mindless zombie for the Lord. I think it would be more accurate to say like a power tool or some kind of instrument or something though. I just want to infect the whole world with the message of the restored gospel. Think of how much easier it would be to just have to bite someone instead of having to tell them my message and help them decide to get baptised. It would also help if nothing could hurt me. I also have a unquenchable hunger for investigators and human flesh.
Hey, so Im a district leader. There are two Cantonese companionships in my district. I don't think I can do baptismal interviews for them. All I will basically do is inspire them will my pep talks and motivational speeches. I can do interviews for mainland visitors though. I did two yesterday and probably will do another today. Talk about akward. Have you ever had an abortion? are you sure? Have you ever had a gay relationship? really? and the best part is that its all in mandarin.
Maybe this letter is inappropriate for children.
I am starting to love teaching, I really want to increase my skills and language. I think teaching by the spirit feels really nice. Its pretty bogus the other way. Too bad none of the people I teach are ever investigators.
I finished Jesus the Christ, I want to read the Old Testament, but I bet that won't help my teaching.
I love you all,
Hua zhanglao (Elder Wall)
Aug 11, 2010
Dear my family,
I am so jealous that you got to see a whole lot of things that are historically significant to my life as an American and as a member of God's latter-day church. I also wish I could have gone to those relatives' house and rode on their vehicles and modes of transportation. I enjoy it over here pretty well though, there just isn't the amazingness of America here, no free refills, customer service and you have to queue up for McDonalds instead of lining up. I'm working on an American translation of "Please mind the platform gap" I think that "watch out for that hole dude" would be accurate.
I have discovered that I have been making progress. Ever since I went to Macau I don't get mad or flip out at people anymore. Others have noticed it too, particularly my previous companions. I don't really get embarassed or fear "losing face" like a real missionary now. I am pretty happy. See? look how happy. I'm now longer one of these things .
Wow google mail has like a billion smilies. I do wish I could get in contact with old family and family friends (in person via vacation) like you guys.
How are everyones body parts after the trip? I am way suprised that my mom let those two in particular ride an ATV together. What was she thinking? ATV's are at least a thousand times more dangerous than bikes. I hope they at least didn't have their casts on still.
I enjoy teaching lessons, too bad I don't do that often, only a couple of times a week to be honest and a lot of less active work. Most of the time is spent trying to obtain investigators trough creative measures and through uncreative street contacting. Street contacting for a mandarin is particlularly tedious. I'm sure that I have explained it to you before. Next transfer though, which is very soon, I feel that we will have so much success that we will baptise somehow.
The work satisfies, even when there is not much to show for it but personal growth of the missionary.
Thanks for your support, love and vacation information that makes me trunky.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao (Elder Wall)
I am so jealous that you got to see a whole lot of things that are historically significant to my life as an American and as a member of God's latter-day church. I also wish I could have gone to those relatives' house and rode on their vehicles and modes of transportation. I enjoy it over here pretty well though, there just isn't the amazingness of America here, no free refills, customer service and you have to queue up for McDonalds instead of lining up. I'm working on an American translation of "Please mind the platform gap" I think that "watch out for that hole dude" would be accurate.
I have discovered that I have been making progress. Ever since I went to Macau I don't get mad or flip out at people anymore. Others have noticed it too, particularly my previous companions. I don't really get embarassed or fear "losing face" like a real missionary now. I am pretty happy. See? look how happy. I'm now longer one of these things .
Wow google mail has like a billion smilies. I do wish I could get in contact with old family and family friends (in person via vacation) like you guys.
How are everyones body parts after the trip? I am way suprised that my mom let those two in particular ride an ATV together. What was she thinking? ATV's are at least a thousand times more dangerous than bikes. I hope they at least didn't have their casts on still.
I enjoy teaching lessons, too bad I don't do that often, only a couple of times a week to be honest and a lot of less active work. Most of the time is spent trying to obtain investigators trough creative measures and through uncreative street contacting. Street contacting for a mandarin is particlularly tedious. I'm sure that I have explained it to you before. Next transfer though, which is very soon, I feel that we will have so much success that we will baptise somehow.
The work satisfies, even when there is not much to show for it but personal growth of the missionary.
Thanks for your support, love and vacation information that makes me trunky.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao (Elder Wall)
August 4, 2010
Man, I wish I could have gone on the vactation just on like a pday or something. America is way more interesting than Hong Kong. I really want to eat chilie, that is something that I miss. I remember the chilie cookoff the ward in Provo used to do. trunky.
I don't really know what to say but I am so glad that I have a family that loves me and stuff.
To laura, whitewash means to have two new missionaries in an area and they both have to familiarize themselves with all the investigators of that area as well as the terrain of the new area with out really anyone being able to introduce the missionaries to them. Thanks for writing me about journals and keeping up routines or projects.
I think we will get a baptism of the investigator that Ngai and I had eventually. We helped her move a little yesterday. She tried to feed us, but we know she is isnt that well off. so we both ran a way blaming it on being worried we wouldn't get home on time.
Elder Ngai goes home in two weeks. I am going to miss him. Elder Bendall the next transfer will go. I feel alot like my mission is almost over, and I have hardly anything to show for it. If I had a chance to do it over again...
Anyways, I really liked reading about the vacation. I think experiencing it would have been more fun though. I wish that I could say I was from DC, but I have to tell everyone that I am from Provo Ut instead. Even though I was born in Germany and lived in Japan and only spent seven or so years in Utah. People say that I am sheltered from living in Utah. There is a Chinese idiom that has something to do with a frog at the bottom of a well that I can relate to. I kind of liked being in a city with relitively amaizing moral standards. It is really disturbing passing all the freaky ladies on the way home that are just one street over from the Wanchai Chapel. I hate the worldliness of Hong Kong, I think it will be sunk or disintegrated or rent in Twaiwan. People honestly think that the meaning of life is money. The way to wish someone a happy new years is by saying "congradulations, get rich" and solicit red envelopes with money from them. That part of Chinese Culture seems disgusting to me.
Man, am I always so negative? I really do love it here and am having the best time of my life. I kind of don't want to come home, since the city I would be coming home to isn't really my home. My soul is just starting to quake at all the sin I come acrossed over here.
I exhort you all to pray for charity. I need alot more of this personally. Charity can work miracles and get things done. I like it.
Thats about all I can say with only an hours time. I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
I don't really know what to say but I am so glad that I have a family that loves me and stuff.
To laura, whitewash means to have two new missionaries in an area and they both have to familiarize themselves with all the investigators of that area as well as the terrain of the new area with out really anyone being able to introduce the missionaries to them. Thanks for writing me about journals and keeping up routines or projects.
I think we will get a baptism of the investigator that Ngai and I had eventually. We helped her move a little yesterday. She tried to feed us, but we know she is isnt that well off. so we both ran a way blaming it on being worried we wouldn't get home on time.
Elder Ngai goes home in two weeks. I am going to miss him. Elder Bendall the next transfer will go. I feel alot like my mission is almost over, and I have hardly anything to show for it. If I had a chance to do it over again...
Anyways, I really liked reading about the vacation. I think experiencing it would have been more fun though. I wish that I could say I was from DC, but I have to tell everyone that I am from Provo Ut instead. Even though I was born in Germany and lived in Japan and only spent seven or so years in Utah. People say that I am sheltered from living in Utah. There is a Chinese idiom that has something to do with a frog at the bottom of a well that I can relate to. I kind of liked being in a city with relitively amaizing moral standards. It is really disturbing passing all the freaky ladies on the way home that are just one street over from the Wanchai Chapel. I hate the worldliness of Hong Kong, I think it will be sunk or disintegrated or rent in Twaiwan. People honestly think that the meaning of life is money. The way to wish someone a happy new years is by saying "congradulations, get rich" and solicit red envelopes with money from them. That part of Chinese Culture seems disgusting to me.
Man, am I always so negative? I really do love it here and am having the best time of my life. I kind of don't want to come home, since the city I would be coming home to isn't really my home. My soul is just starting to quake at all the sin I come acrossed over here.
I exhort you all to pray for charity. I need alot more of this personally. Charity can work miracles and get things done. I like it.
Thats about all I can say with only an hours time. I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Only Elder Kevin Wall Wrote to me :(
Hey Elder Wall,
Thanks for writing me, if you hadn't I wouldn't have received a single email. I did get your letter in the MTC. I just figured that I would write you an email one day because snail mail sucks. I am doing alright I just don't have much visible work being done. You can use your hotmail? Elder Sexywall huh?
Thanks for telling me about the Atonement and how Christ didn't really get anything in return from us for doing it. I am a pretty selfish person who needs to learn to do things for free.
It was so great to hear from you. You really are an example to me and I wish I could be your companion, or at least be your roomate again. I wonder how many chinese people live in Madagascar. When you read your call letter was the first thing you said "I like to move it move it"? I am almost positive it was. Tell me about the lemours man.
You can stop reading if you wan't the rest of the letter might be just like a waste of time. I love you dude. You are powerful.
We have a pregnant lady who can't probably be baptised until after she gives birth, she is way powerful for not having any religious background. She repeats what we say in a more simple and concise way to make sure that she is understanding what we are teaching. Her doctrine is way more thorough than ours. She totally knew that there was an apostasy after christ died, she said so before we taught her about it. She has a son who is twenty as well, kinda weird to have children twenty years apart but that's mainland chinese people for you. I wonder how big the gap is between Tatiana and Daniel. We are gonna jam with her older son one day.
The whole family is from Inner Mongolia. They aren't mongolians though and they don't ride horses or drink yaks blood or fermented mare's milk. I bet they don't even know who Ghengis Khan is. Disapointment. Even if they were that awesome, I dont think pregnant ladies can or should ride horses while shooting arrows at villigers.
I get to go to the temple today. I am excited. Initiatories are not that meaningful because the workers do it all in Cantonese at a billion miles an hour while mumbling. I feel the spirit there though. I am so extremely lucky to have a temple for my own. I am still working on a photo of it but my camera battery is dead and of course I can't find the charger.
You are all on vacation anyway and can't write me, so I dont mind not sending photos or writing a really lame letter mainly addressed to my cousin Elder Wall
I love you all,
Elder Cuz (Hua Zhanglao)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
23 June 2010 & Who is My Neighbor?
Dear family,
I just finished going through a temple session. The temple here is way awesome because all of the crazy languages going on. Now we are in a net cafe with juveniles who have colorful language going on. They are so adorable.
I am progressing in my studies and am attempting to read Jesus the Christ. I am starting to get hungry for the mysteries of God. I am at page 170 which is a little more than an eighth done with it. I feel James E Talmage is pretty powerful. The language in that book oftimes bewilders me. Way complex for me. I feel like Talmage beat the Bible in complexity and length when he wrote that one.
I had noticed that Sister Reneer was in the new Gospel Principles book. When it first came out I was shocked and ran around telling everybody that my bishops wife was in the book. Then Elder Kershisnik said something like, "Hey! Thats my next door neighbor". Elder Kershisnik is always topping what I do. I wont be suprised when his Mandarin gets better. I am working on not being prideful so that it won't upset me.
I really dislike being asked how long I have been studying Mandarin. Because then I have to shamefully reply that I have been studying for six years. Then my companion who has been studying for only a couple months blows everyones mind.
I want to go back to Macau speaking Indonesian this time. I should still be there but the stupid government had to be disagreeable.
Man. I really love the gospel. I am growing spritually if not mentally.
That Zhu family didn't show up on Saturday because the little girl was sick. Man! Instead on Saturday we got treated to dinner in the police station next door to the Wanchai Chapel and there was this dude from Camaroon who lived in mainland for two years who ate with us. His Mandarin was easily a thousand times better than mine. Only two years of study! I wish I could be that powerful by the time I'm done with seven years of study. He also spoke Sichuanhua the local dialect where he stayed. He wouldnt beleive me when I said I can understand it. He's Methodist but wants to play bball with us sometime. It would be so rad to baptise a black man into the Mandarin branch.
Our numbers don't look good on paper, but pretty soon people are gonna get baptised. It will probably be next move though. I hope to stay with Elder Reber one more transfer.
I think too much about my future in a selfish way. I need to focus more on others eternal salvation and what I can be doing right now to help people. Instead I think about exploring the Mainland and becoming a peasant and learning good Chinese and then going back to BYU and then getting a job sitting at a computer typing junk all day.
I look forward to the future, especially because I will be a way better person by then at everything I do. I will also have a six pack and adorable children.
So anyway, I am sure the content of this letter was less than uplifting.
I love you all and can't wait to have a forever family one day. I also miss Fourth of July barbeques.
Hua Zhanglao
Various Rice Toppers Called Cai
Family,
That family that we found was pretty awesome. A family is so rare to come acrossed in mandarin work , so our new branch president offered to fellowship for us after I complained about not having very many people who could fellowship for us. I really think that we can eventually baptise them. Mainlanders are kinda like that. They are pretty humble and willing to accept and follow what the Lord asks of them. They do what it takes. In Hong Kong, we have a saying: If anyone stops, they are either crazy, or mainland. To be honest sometimes I don't like hong kong culture, very rude and very subborn, It's also really hot and humid all the time. Sometimes I wish I was in the mainland in the freezing cold north; then I could study russian as well and just be loved by everyone I came in contact with.
I am pretty content with my mission still. I was more content with Macau, but that's over with.
I am going to be tempted to quit once I baptise a family. That's the ultimate goal. No other Mandarin has done that before, at least not for several years. I would feel so satisfied if we got the Zhu family, my mission would be complete, at only a little over one year!
I bet there are more families out there though. I just don't know if I have the faith to do the impossible twice before anybody else.
James keep holding in there. One day you can realize and put everything into perspective. I am in the process of doing that. Having fun is like the opposite if the meaning of life.
Man, I don't have much to say.
What do you eat? Mostly rice with various toppers called cai
Who does the cooking? usually the owners of the little chinese resturants called fanguan thas is where we eat most often
What kind of eating out do you do? that is pretty much every single lunch we have and occasionally dinners as well
What are your favorite native meals? cambells new england clam chowder with a chinese label on the can
What is a typical day like? wasting time going around talking to cantonese people who reject you and teaching one or two lessons
What is your favorite scripture as a missionary? probably ether 12
What kind of wildlife to you see there monkeys, roaches, vermin
How do you pronounce a 'Y" in Mandarin? before an"i" or just a "u" its doesnt make a sound but normally just like english.
What city are you in?Wanchai on hongkong island
Are you working in wards or branches? victoria third branch (putonghua)
Love,
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, June 10, 2010
A New Pillow June 10, 2010
Hello family,
I am so happy of the success we are having. We could probably get seven baptisms next transfer period. Seven investigators baptised is way better than most get their whole mission. In fact an awesome miracle happened.
So my companion was inspired to have us go to the japan home center to buy me a pillow so that I can sleep good. I couldn't fit a pillow in my bag when I left Macau and the sisters took everything when they left the apartment. So, being the responsible junior companion that he is, he reminded me that I needed a pillow. Its wasn't p-day mind you, but it was pretty much an emergency; just like the necessity of getting a slurpee throughout that sweltering hot day. So we went to the store and found a really good pillow (one that didn't have green tea inside of it) but it didn't have a price tag so I went up front and asked the lady how much it costed. The thing is, I could have chosen to ask her in English or even Cantonese. But for some reason I asked her Duo shao qian? instead of Gei do chin? and this one dude in the store over heard me and exclaimed "wow very good! mandarin is well", We talked to him after I bought this extremely cheap pillow which provides excellent comfort while I sleep. He was in the store with his wife and ten year old daughter. They are all from shanghai. So anyway, I told him that we had a free English class and he started practically having a seizure. Then I said that we could even tutor his daughter and help her with English homework. I think it was a miracle because nobody ever finds a mandarin family, especially not a mandarin missionary. most investigators are single mothers or students (female students). We scheduled them for Saturday and I hope we can schedule them for pretty much every week and set up a regular "English tudor day" and we will proceed to convert them by degrees. HAHAHA. They'll never see it coming...
What we can learn from this miracle is that we need to follow the spirit where we should be led. And we always need to be speaking our mission language. I would probably give up our other awesome investigators who are students and single mothers just to baptise a fully functional family. Is this sin? If that's what it took I would do it in a heartbeat.
The gospel blesses families. Families are forever. If we do what we are supposed to do in this life, we can see our family again. Relationships are strengthened and disagreements are resolved when true doctrine is applied in the home. Of course you all know this, but nobody outside the church does. I really hope we wont blow this one. I have high hopes for the zhu family. The reason is because the father practically scheduled us and was so jittery and shivered so much when we told him about teaching his daughter English. Apparently he must love his daughter, which is better than most of china who only want sons. I really hope that they can become a forever family.
Of course I am totally counting my chickens before they hatch. I really feel like we can harvest soon though. Last transfer period no mandarins baptised an investigator, so the mandarins were downsized. Did I tell you this already? It really upsets me. Anyway we will show them how fruitful the mandarin work can be.
I will for sure write Elder Dodge this week. I have only wrote him once. Poor guy.
i like how my older brother can speak Chinese now. I only really know like 1000 characters myself. I really think that the twenty questions game in Chinese is helpful I should purchase it for gifts. I cant write to save my life, my awful English handwriting carries over into Chinese and its pretty frustrating.
What are some of your favorite scriptures as a missionary? Ether 12
When you did international work, did you do service if so what kind? Cleaned mold off out of the Fely's restaurant and painted a house
Did Elder Oaks go to Macau?I dont know
Did you know your way around Macau?Not really
Are you a senior missionary?Yeah
What was a typical daily routine in Macau? Wake up, study, proselyte, eat some time, baptise, sleep.
What is a new typical daily routine where you are now?Study, eat, leave, fruitless finding attempt, decide the most effective way to waste our time, maybe teach a lesson that day, eat, return home.
Can you send some pictures? I'll see what I can do.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
I am so happy of the success we are having. We could probably get seven baptisms next transfer period. Seven investigators baptised is way better than most get their whole mission. In fact an awesome miracle happened.
So my companion was inspired to have us go to the japan home center to buy me a pillow so that I can sleep good. I couldn't fit a pillow in my bag when I left Macau and the sisters took everything when they left the apartment. So, being the responsible junior companion that he is, he reminded me that I needed a pillow. Its wasn't p-day mind you, but it was pretty much an emergency; just like the necessity of getting a slurpee throughout that sweltering hot day. So we went to the store and found a really good pillow (one that didn't have green tea inside of it) but it didn't have a price tag so I went up front and asked the lady how much it costed. The thing is, I could have chosen to ask her in English or even Cantonese. But for some reason I asked her Duo shao qian? instead of Gei do chin? and this one dude in the store over heard me and exclaimed "wow very good! mandarin is well", We talked to him after I bought this extremely cheap pillow which provides excellent comfort while I sleep. He was in the store with his wife and ten year old daughter. They are all from shanghai. So anyway, I told him that we had a free English class and he started practically having a seizure. Then I said that we could even tutor his daughter and help her with English homework. I think it was a miracle because nobody ever finds a mandarin family, especially not a mandarin missionary. most investigators are single mothers or students (female students). We scheduled them for Saturday and I hope we can schedule them for pretty much every week and set up a regular "English tudor day" and we will proceed to convert them by degrees. HAHAHA. They'll never see it coming...
What we can learn from this miracle is that we need to follow the spirit where we should be led. And we always need to be speaking our mission language. I would probably give up our other awesome investigators who are students and single mothers just to baptise a fully functional family. Is this sin? If that's what it took I would do it in a heartbeat.
The gospel blesses families. Families are forever. If we do what we are supposed to do in this life, we can see our family again. Relationships are strengthened and disagreements are resolved when true doctrine is applied in the home. Of course you all know this, but nobody outside the church does. I really hope we wont blow this one. I have high hopes for the zhu family. The reason is because the father practically scheduled us and was so jittery and shivered so much when we told him about teaching his daughter English. Apparently he must love his daughter, which is better than most of china who only want sons. I really hope that they can become a forever family.
Of course I am totally counting my chickens before they hatch. I really feel like we can harvest soon though. Last transfer period no mandarins baptised an investigator, so the mandarins were downsized. Did I tell you this already? It really upsets me. Anyway we will show them how fruitful the mandarin work can be.
I will for sure write Elder Dodge this week. I have only wrote him once. Poor guy.
i like how my older brother can speak Chinese now. I only really know like 1000 characters myself. I really think that the twenty questions game in Chinese is helpful I should purchase it for gifts. I cant write to save my life, my awful English handwriting carries over into Chinese and its pretty frustrating.
What are some of your favorite scriptures as a missionary? Ether 12
When you did international work, did you do service if so what kind? Cleaned mold off out of the Fely's restaurant and painted a house
Did Elder Oaks go to Macau?I dont know
Did you know your way around Macau?Not really
Are you a senior missionary?Yeah
What was a typical daily routine in Macau? Wake up, study, proselyte, eat some time, baptise, sleep.
What is a new typical daily routine where you are now?Study, eat, leave, fruitless finding attempt, decide the most effective way to waste our time, maybe teach a lesson that day, eat, return home.
Can you send some pictures? I'll see what I can do.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Keep asking questions and Mandarin Woes
June 2 2010
Hi folks,
It’s good to hear from you. I am enjoying my new area, I think I am the Mandarin missionary who is the least familiar with the island. All the others, including greenies know it better than me. I remember in Macau the large amount of Nepalese (or Nepali?) people there. We even had an eternal investigator who faithfully came to all three hours of church every Sunday for about two years. For some reason I feel if we spoke Nepalese he would get baptized. For some reason he was reading the Hindi Book of Mormon, but I thought I saw a Nepali copy in the church basement? Anyway, I really hope that my fathers effort could eventually help brother Sen get baptized. (Stephen is referring to a new assignment Dion has translating Nepali scriptures)
I really want to make a triumphant return to Macau. I know exactly how to do it, and that is by learning Cantonese. I love the Mandarin branch, but it is just not cutting it missionary wise. The Mandarins made zero baptisms last transfer and so President Chan cut another Mandarin companionship. Out of the thirteen Mandarins now, five are in international work, including Elder Kershisnik and Elder Ngai. I am told that me going to international work was the first time that ever happened to a Mandarin. Now we all have the threat of going to teach Indonesians and Filipinas hanging over our heads to motivate us to baptize more. I thought that love was enough to motivate me.
I feel like this companionship will baptize. Have I ever told you that I have a blessing of baptizing with every companionship; even the companionships that only lasted one transfer.
Having baptized quite a few people, I can say that baptisms aren't everything and by no means proves if a companionship or missionary is successful. I just wish some people out here knew that... I miss my mandarin brethren who are in international bondage. that missionary who went home was my friend and Elder Kershisniks MTC comp, I think that psychology is a stupid science and that Satan is attacking Mandarin work. The brethren likely know this because they keep sending more and more mandarin missionaries. Too bad only four companionships are open to receive them.
I love the work and think that my companion and I teach well together. I found out that I probably played in football games against him, he is from Springville. My Mandarin didn't suffer a huge blow by being in English work. I hope that I am still improving daily, although sometimes it’s hard to tell.
I think that I will write my best friend and Katy Seely today. They both have written to me tons of letters and I have only written Elder Dodge once and Seely maybe twice. I have receive a letter about one every week from both of them. I am such a terrible friend. I also love my sisters who write me emails and snail mails. I hate snail mail and wish I could just email Elder Dodge and Seely. And I wish that just casually mentioning my beloved older sisters Tatiana and Laura could count as writing them back personalized letters. I type so slowly and struggle to think of subjects to talk about, please forgive me, this letter alone took almost my whole hour to write.
God is good. I like how he sent his son to the earth to atone for our sins. The ability to repent as a result of Jesus Christ's atonement is really comforting and amazing. I am glad that it is basically never to late for me to improve myself, and while I will miss out on certain opportunities and receive the consequences of my poor choices, I am not hopeless as long as I don't give up. I still have one whole year on my mission to push myself and get better and a whole lifetime to work on being like Christ.
I am sorry to hear that some of my brothers and sisters are having a hard time learning sometimes, but I know that they will eventually get the point because of their goodly parents and their Father in Heaven.
Thanks for being so supportive and being such a good family that I can show you off to everybody.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao, Wah Jeunglouh, Elder DingDing, Elder Wall
Please continue to ask questions and constructively criticize me.
Hi folks,
It’s good to hear from you. I am enjoying my new area, I think I am the Mandarin missionary who is the least familiar with the island. All the others, including greenies know it better than me. I remember in Macau the large amount of Nepalese (or Nepali?) people there. We even had an eternal investigator who faithfully came to all three hours of church every Sunday for about two years. For some reason I feel if we spoke Nepalese he would get baptized. For some reason he was reading the Hindi Book of Mormon, but I thought I saw a Nepali copy in the church basement? Anyway, I really hope that my fathers effort could eventually help brother Sen get baptized. (Stephen is referring to a new assignment Dion has translating Nepali scriptures)
I really want to make a triumphant return to Macau. I know exactly how to do it, and that is by learning Cantonese. I love the Mandarin branch, but it is just not cutting it missionary wise. The Mandarins made zero baptisms last transfer and so President Chan cut another Mandarin companionship. Out of the thirteen Mandarins now, five are in international work, including Elder Kershisnik and Elder Ngai. I am told that me going to international work was the first time that ever happened to a Mandarin. Now we all have the threat of going to teach Indonesians and Filipinas hanging over our heads to motivate us to baptize more. I thought that love was enough to motivate me.
I feel like this companionship will baptize. Have I ever told you that I have a blessing of baptizing with every companionship; even the companionships that only lasted one transfer.
Having baptized quite a few people, I can say that baptisms aren't everything and by no means proves if a companionship or missionary is successful. I just wish some people out here knew that... I miss my mandarin brethren who are in international bondage. that missionary who went home was my friend and Elder Kershisniks MTC comp, I think that psychology is a stupid science and that Satan is attacking Mandarin work. The brethren likely know this because they keep sending more and more mandarin missionaries. Too bad only four companionships are open to receive them.
I love the work and think that my companion and I teach well together. I found out that I probably played in football games against him, he is from Springville. My Mandarin didn't suffer a huge blow by being in English work. I hope that I am still improving daily, although sometimes it’s hard to tell.
I think that I will write my best friend and Katy Seely today. They both have written to me tons of letters and I have only written Elder Dodge once and Seely maybe twice. I have receive a letter about one every week from both of them. I am such a terrible friend. I also love my sisters who write me emails and snail mails. I hate snail mail and wish I could just email Elder Dodge and Seely. And I wish that just casually mentioning my beloved older sisters Tatiana and Laura could count as writing them back personalized letters. I type so slowly and struggle to think of subjects to talk about, please forgive me, this letter alone took almost my whole hour to write.
God is good. I like how he sent his son to the earth to atone for our sins. The ability to repent as a result of Jesus Christ's atonement is really comforting and amazing. I am glad that it is basically never to late for me to improve myself, and while I will miss out on certain opportunities and receive the consequences of my poor choices, I am not hopeless as long as I don't give up. I still have one whole year on my mission to push myself and get better and a whole lifetime to work on being like Christ.
I am sorry to hear that some of my brothers and sisters are having a hard time learning sometimes, but I know that they will eventually get the point because of their goodly parents and their Father in Heaven.
Thanks for being so supportive and being such a good family that I can show you off to everybody.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao, Wah Jeunglouh, Elder DingDing, Elder Wall
Please continue to ask questions and constructively criticize me.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Out of Sight - Not out of Mind
27 May 2010
Those photos were adorable. I am here in Wan Chai back in mandarin work. Presently there are 13 elders with the mandarin call, only eight of them are in mandarin work. Only four companionships will certainly make the work more difficult. Hopefully we can get a baptism or so to make President Chan realize that there is a whole lot of work in the mandarin side of town. Elder Oaks came and told me stuff that I already knew and asked for comments about what we have learned about revelation. I really like the main point of his talk which was about improving ourselves and always repenting and learning and doing better. I really want to improve and hopefully I will with my new companion. His name is Elder Reber.
I am quite out of it, so thank goodness my new companion is so responsible and patient. Even though he is the "junior companion", he helps me remember keys and the cell phone and how to get places and basically all the common sense things that I am incapable of. I think I will love him. About the only thing I have on him would be mandarin, and a guy like him will certainly pick it up really fast.
We helped all the Filipina sisters move around and then replaced all of our stuff into their old apartment. We also escorted some to the ferry pier to get to Macau. Today we also taught a mainlander who wants us to get his art into America so that people would want to hire him as a cartoonist. His art skills are pretty crummy. Poor guy. When we taught, I taught a whole bunch and then basically turned the lesson to my companion to take over when it was time to talk about the book of Mormon and then the cartoonist very vigorously rejected it. Poor Elder Reber.
We sorely need more investigators, baptisms and all around more success. I really don't know how to write a lot. I will probably start again to write in my journal now that today is my hump day and because I want to improve myself.
Me and Elder Reber are going to be really patient and understanding with each other. Our theme is to "keep it real". This basically means to be humble and non-sarcastic and never to hide our feelings. I hope I don't have to stop being "fake" all at once. It is not meet for a man to run faster than he is able.
I do miss Macau totally and I will probably study Cantonese in an effort to qualify myself for a return transfer period. I love you all and hope that everybody will improve at least a little and will push themselves more.
I really am kinda bummed by James's performance, but I am so happy that I can be in Hong Kong and it can be out of sight and out of mind. I’m grateful its not me. But I know he will still have ample opportunity to correct this, I myself feel like I wasted a whole year of my life and I have a bright outlook at what this next year will have in store. This internet cafe is packed will tons of fourteen year olds who swear loudly while playing computer games together, please excuse me because I would really like to leave soon and don't really have much to say.
I truly am the happiest I have ever been in my life.
I love you all
Hua Zhanglao
Those photos were adorable. I am here in Wan Chai back in mandarin work. Presently there are 13 elders with the mandarin call, only eight of them are in mandarin work. Only four companionships will certainly make the work more difficult. Hopefully we can get a baptism or so to make President Chan realize that there is a whole lot of work in the mandarin side of town. Elder Oaks came and told me stuff that I already knew and asked for comments about what we have learned about revelation. I really like the main point of his talk which was about improving ourselves and always repenting and learning and doing better. I really want to improve and hopefully I will with my new companion. His name is Elder Reber.
I am quite out of it, so thank goodness my new companion is so responsible and patient. Even though he is the "junior companion", he helps me remember keys and the cell phone and how to get places and basically all the common sense things that I am incapable of. I think I will love him. About the only thing I have on him would be mandarin, and a guy like him will certainly pick it up really fast.
We helped all the Filipina sisters move around and then replaced all of our stuff into their old apartment. We also escorted some to the ferry pier to get to Macau. Today we also taught a mainlander who wants us to get his art into America so that people would want to hire him as a cartoonist. His art skills are pretty crummy. Poor guy. When we taught, I taught a whole bunch and then basically turned the lesson to my companion to take over when it was time to talk about the book of Mormon and then the cartoonist very vigorously rejected it. Poor Elder Reber.
We sorely need more investigators, baptisms and all around more success. I really don't know how to write a lot. I will probably start again to write in my journal now that today is my hump day and because I want to improve myself.
Me and Elder Reber are going to be really patient and understanding with each other. Our theme is to "keep it real". This basically means to be humble and non-sarcastic and never to hide our feelings. I hope I don't have to stop being "fake" all at once. It is not meet for a man to run faster than he is able.
I do miss Macau totally and I will probably study Cantonese in an effort to qualify myself for a return transfer period. I love you all and hope that everybody will improve at least a little and will push themselves more.
I really am kinda bummed by James's performance, but I am so happy that I can be in Hong Kong and it can be out of sight and out of mind. I’m grateful its not me. But I know he will still have ample opportunity to correct this, I myself feel like I wasted a whole year of my life and I have a bright outlook at what this next year will have in store. This internet cafe is packed will tons of fourteen year olds who swear loudly while playing computer games together, please excuse me because I would really like to leave soon and don't really have much to say.
I truly am the happiest I have ever been in my life.
I love you all
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Man, I love Macau
5/13/10
Man. I love Macau. But Macau doesn't love me. I have to leave in ten days and never come back for at least fifty days. The phone company also robbed me of all my Mother’s Day talking. Maybe I'll call just out of the blue sometime. I surely will miss the people here.
I never got the opportunity to get all those Vietnamese people. Too bad. I guess the work the Lord had for me do is finished over here with only a mere three baptisms after Sunday night. I will be trunky for Macau for the rest of my mission. I have no idea what will become of me now. I am pretty sure I will go senior. There is also a Taiwanese elder coming in a few transfers. I hope I get to train him. Im next in line to train by seniority.
When I come back from Macau I better appear to be a big dog in the eyes of the new elders, most of whom I don't know. The lessons that I have learned over here will perhaps aid me in the work over in the Mandarin branch. I will be a lot more friendly to people. I probably will long for friendly people who are not too busy to stop to at least say a quick hello.
We saw the Michael Jackson gallery at a casino named Pointe 16. We ate a buffet at a casino named star world. and we watched a dragon show and then a water fountain show at a casino named The Wynn. Today was a day to remember.
I am way bummed, but I realize how blessed I was to get to come here. It seemed like it was an impossible dream every minute. I will be slightly upset when Elder Kershisik will probably come and take my place. What a mission stealer!
I really loved Elder So. Too bad it was so short.
My Mandarin will probably get better though. I will probably go back to Mandarin work.
I don't think I’m ready to be a senior especially since I don't know my way around Hong Kong. I have lost most of my knowledge from living in Macau for a while.
Sorry I don't have much to say. I love all of you and I will try and make up my Mother’s Day phone call when I get back to Hong Kong.
Hua Zhanglao
Man. I love Macau. But Macau doesn't love me. I have to leave in ten days and never come back for at least fifty days. The phone company also robbed me of all my Mother’s Day talking. Maybe I'll call just out of the blue sometime. I surely will miss the people here.
I never got the opportunity to get all those Vietnamese people. Too bad. I guess the work the Lord had for me do is finished over here with only a mere three baptisms after Sunday night. I will be trunky for Macau for the rest of my mission. I have no idea what will become of me now. I am pretty sure I will go senior. There is also a Taiwanese elder coming in a few transfers. I hope I get to train him. Im next in line to train by seniority.
When I come back from Macau I better appear to be a big dog in the eyes of the new elders, most of whom I don't know. The lessons that I have learned over here will perhaps aid me in the work over in the Mandarin branch. I will be a lot more friendly to people. I probably will long for friendly people who are not too busy to stop to at least say a quick hello.
We saw the Michael Jackson gallery at a casino named Pointe 16. We ate a buffet at a casino named star world. and we watched a dragon show and then a water fountain show at a casino named The Wynn. Today was a day to remember.
I am way bummed, but I realize how blessed I was to get to come here. It seemed like it was an impossible dream every minute. I will be slightly upset when Elder Kershisik will probably come and take my place. What a mission stealer!
I really loved Elder So. Too bad it was so short.
My Mandarin will probably get better though. I will probably go back to Mandarin work.
I don't think I’m ready to be a senior especially since I don't know my way around Hong Kong. I have lost most of my knowledge from living in Macau for a while.
Sorry I don't have much to say. I love all of you and I will try and make up my Mother’s Day phone call when I get back to Hong Kong.
Hua Zhanglao
Friday, April 23, 2010
Patience, Caveman Talk, Better Letters
4/23/10
So when I went back to Hong Kong and attended the temple the man in the changing room stall across from me asked me if I knew where Elder Wall was. Turns out He was brother Leurng or Uncle Parkenson as Elder Dodge addresses him I guess. He is the missionary leader of his Chinese branch in Vancouver, I did an endowment session for his great great grandfather. Brother Leurng was a awesome dude who didnt stop smiling or punching; he playingly socked all of the really old temple workers he could find. He told me that he is a bao li person and abuses his missionaries. A wise leader I assume.
When I got back, the Macau government only gave me seven days stay. I would love to have prayers to be able to remain in macau. I also think my investigators all need that same prayer.
I'm gonna do it. I will actually take advantage of having a Chinese companion and learn amaizing Chinese. Brother Leurng told me that Elder Dodge's Cantonese was marvelous. I am so jealous.
I bet the other missionaries' mothers get way better letters from their sons. Its true nothing happened really this week. I was pretty sick. Our investigators are ticking bombshells of drama. No casualties yet, but I've heard the horror stories of international work in hong kong. Never serenade a sister over the phone!!
We have a sister named Augustine who quit smoking after 22 years she had be smoking since ten. The only problem is her slave driver boss.
Maybe more later
I love you all.
hua zhanglao Elder Wall
4/15/10
Family. Isn't it about time? That's the message of General Conference in my opinion. It made me severely trunky. I loved the patience talk during preisthood by President Uchtdorf (if thats how you spell it). I really need that. The patience section in my preach my gospel got ripped out - complete accident.
So the next transfer happened and my new companion is Elder So, a really cool Hong Kong guy who is actually also a Mandarin missionary. He is about twenty-five.
So there were really awesome ladies that came from Philipines last pday after I wrote you all. What is so awesome about them is that they are Chinese teachers in philipines. One is a member already. What is even cooler is that they really teach Fuijianhua which looks alot like Fijian to me after I wrote that down (its a Chinese dialect). They speak Mandarin too though. Now they are learning Cantonese. The day after my companion and I met them we had to go back to Hong Kong for supplies and to make our exit date that the Macau government gave us. I was so excited to meet them because we had an automatic fellowshipper because one is already a member. I would also be their bestest friend because we all speak Mandarin. Wouldn't you know it, just as I suspected, once we got back from Hong Kong on Saturday, the sisters had already taken them as their own. The first thing I told Elder Lindsay after we met them on p-day was "don't let the sisters know about them" and that's exactly what happend. I miss Mandarin work where we didn't have to deal with theaving sisters. We're definately all on the same team, but they have no idea how bad they thrashed all my dreams and crushed all my hopes. I totally had a skip in my step all last pday and thought it an absolute miracle that I had met Philipinas that spoke Mandarin and that taking time out of my preparation day gave me blessings. Its okay though, every single companionship here in macau has Mandarin investigators and wouln't turn them over to me. Elder So will tell them, he's gonna be the Zone leader.
Elder So and I will definately have a stronger emphasis on Mandarin people this transfer. I am so excited. And we will only speak Mandarin to each other.
Elder Dexter Gomez was one of the many missionaries sent out from the Oakhills second ward. That ward is a powerhouse.
I was so happy to receive my father's letter in his area of expertise. I wonder if now I should print out that email and gloat it around in front of everybody. I think maybe I should have patience to weather out people's comments instead. Uchtdorf's talk was the absolutely tailor made for Elder Wall talk of this general conference. I definately need patience with the sisters.
Thanks for having patience with my constant complaining about others. I hope you all will tell me your hardships and frustrations just as much. I hope my mother will recover soon. I hope my little brother's beard will come in soon (seriously shaving is the ultimate acne cure). I hope that my little brothers and sisters particularly Alyssa will learn to listen to mom and dad. I have almost learned that they have been right all along.
I will keep a journal starting tonight.
I love you all and will have better letter.
Hua Zhanglao( Elder dingding)
PS Ding ding means wall in both indonesian and tagalog. Indonesian took alot from arabic huh dad? They have kitab mormon and are always talking about Allah.
4/7/10
I want to start off by asking my father one thing. So I never hear the end of Cantonese being the hardest language on Earth, with the exception of Finnish and that's it. The logic I have heard is that the writing system doesn't match the spoken and that the pronounciation (if that's how you spell it) is probably some of the hardest in existance. I have the feeling that Vietnamese is more difficult. I always get hasseled about how easy Mandarin is in comparison to Cantonese. I realise that this must be true to some extent since most Cantonese missionaries only know about two hundred characters and I can easily thrash them. But the grammar! Same! Caveman talk. Today he/she/it eat rice. Simple.
So my question is: How many hundreds of languages out there are harder than Cantonese?
The answer to that question should satisfy my pride for being incapable at this moment to learn that particular language. To be honest the only thing I can't do is the pronounciation; a couple more tones and a few weird sounds is all. If I get that, its a sinch and I know it.
I also get bugged when they say that Mandarin sounds like drunk cantonese. It is so obviously the other way around.
I have to be cautious with this letter because my companion glances at my screen periodically to insure that I am not saying any thing bad about him or his mission language.
We all know that mandarin is so much more useful. And all the Cantonese missionaries are destined to study it one day.
That felt really nice to vent to you dad. I really hope your expertise in this field of study will agree with me.
I feel so handicapped sometimes because I can't speak. I can understand alot.
I love Macau. I love the gospel. I love my companion. He is such a softy. so sensitive. He makes our lessons really long and likes to sing with our investigators and kneel down when we pray with them. Its not a bad thing. It gets the job done in international work. He can make the sisters cry easily.
We have two investigators with a baptismal date. Both are Indonesians.
I want to get this Vietnamese thing goin. We dont have any pamphlets in Vietnamese so its hard. I'm gonna order some. I feel like we can probably baptise twenty if we work hard. Thats my honest feeling.
General Conference hasn't happend yet over here. Was it any good?
I hope there is something on journal writing that doesn't just tell me to keep one, but will tell me how to go about doing it.
I hope this letter wan't be too bogus. I couldn't remember anyhting that went on this week.
I love you all,
Elder Wall (Hua Zhanglao)
So when I went back to Hong Kong and attended the temple the man in the changing room stall across from me asked me if I knew where Elder Wall was. Turns out He was brother Leurng or Uncle Parkenson as Elder Dodge addresses him I guess. He is the missionary leader of his Chinese branch in Vancouver, I did an endowment session for his great great grandfather. Brother Leurng was a awesome dude who didnt stop smiling or punching; he playingly socked all of the really old temple workers he could find. He told me that he is a bao li person and abuses his missionaries. A wise leader I assume.
When I got back, the Macau government only gave me seven days stay. I would love to have prayers to be able to remain in macau. I also think my investigators all need that same prayer.
I'm gonna do it. I will actually take advantage of having a Chinese companion and learn amaizing Chinese. Brother Leurng told me that Elder Dodge's Cantonese was marvelous. I am so jealous.
I bet the other missionaries' mothers get way better letters from their sons. Its true nothing happened really this week. I was pretty sick. Our investigators are ticking bombshells of drama. No casualties yet, but I've heard the horror stories of international work in hong kong. Never serenade a sister over the phone!!
We have a sister named Augustine who quit smoking after 22 years she had be smoking since ten. The only problem is her slave driver boss.
Maybe more later
I love you all.
hua zhanglao Elder Wall
4/15/10
Family. Isn't it about time? That's the message of General Conference in my opinion. It made me severely trunky. I loved the patience talk during preisthood by President Uchtdorf (if thats how you spell it). I really need that. The patience section in my preach my gospel got ripped out - complete accident.
So the next transfer happened and my new companion is Elder So, a really cool Hong Kong guy who is actually also a Mandarin missionary. He is about twenty-five.
So there were really awesome ladies that came from Philipines last pday after I wrote you all. What is so awesome about them is that they are Chinese teachers in philipines. One is a member already. What is even cooler is that they really teach Fuijianhua which looks alot like Fijian to me after I wrote that down (its a Chinese dialect). They speak Mandarin too though. Now they are learning Cantonese. The day after my companion and I met them we had to go back to Hong Kong for supplies and to make our exit date that the Macau government gave us. I was so excited to meet them because we had an automatic fellowshipper because one is already a member. I would also be their bestest friend because we all speak Mandarin. Wouldn't you know it, just as I suspected, once we got back from Hong Kong on Saturday, the sisters had already taken them as their own. The first thing I told Elder Lindsay after we met them on p-day was "don't let the sisters know about them" and that's exactly what happend. I miss Mandarin work where we didn't have to deal with theaving sisters. We're definately all on the same team, but they have no idea how bad they thrashed all my dreams and crushed all my hopes. I totally had a skip in my step all last pday and thought it an absolute miracle that I had met Philipinas that spoke Mandarin and that taking time out of my preparation day gave me blessings. Its okay though, every single companionship here in macau has Mandarin investigators and wouln't turn them over to me. Elder So will tell them, he's gonna be the Zone leader.
Elder So and I will definately have a stronger emphasis on Mandarin people this transfer. I am so excited. And we will only speak Mandarin to each other.
Elder Dexter Gomez was one of the many missionaries sent out from the Oakhills second ward. That ward is a powerhouse.
I was so happy to receive my father's letter in his area of expertise. I wonder if now I should print out that email and gloat it around in front of everybody. I think maybe I should have patience to weather out people's comments instead. Uchtdorf's talk was the absolutely tailor made for Elder Wall talk of this general conference. I definately need patience with the sisters.
Thanks for having patience with my constant complaining about others. I hope you all will tell me your hardships and frustrations just as much. I hope my mother will recover soon. I hope my little brother's beard will come in soon (seriously shaving is the ultimate acne cure). I hope that my little brothers and sisters particularly Alyssa will learn to listen to mom and dad. I have almost learned that they have been right all along.
I will keep a journal starting tonight.
I love you all and will have better letter.
Hua Zhanglao( Elder dingding)
PS Ding ding means wall in both indonesian and tagalog. Indonesian took alot from arabic huh dad? They have kitab mormon and are always talking about Allah.
4/7/10
I want to start off by asking my father one thing. So I never hear the end of Cantonese being the hardest language on Earth, with the exception of Finnish and that's it. The logic I have heard is that the writing system doesn't match the spoken and that the pronounciation (if that's how you spell it) is probably some of the hardest in existance. I have the feeling that Vietnamese is more difficult. I always get hasseled about how easy Mandarin is in comparison to Cantonese. I realise that this must be true to some extent since most Cantonese missionaries only know about two hundred characters and I can easily thrash them. But the grammar! Same! Caveman talk. Today he/she/it eat rice. Simple.
So my question is: How many hundreds of languages out there are harder than Cantonese?
The answer to that question should satisfy my pride for being incapable at this moment to learn that particular language. To be honest the only thing I can't do is the pronounciation; a couple more tones and a few weird sounds is all. If I get that, its a sinch and I know it.
I also get bugged when they say that Mandarin sounds like drunk cantonese. It is so obviously the other way around.
I have to be cautious with this letter because my companion glances at my screen periodically to insure that I am not saying any thing bad about him or his mission language.
We all know that mandarin is so much more useful. And all the Cantonese missionaries are destined to study it one day.
That felt really nice to vent to you dad. I really hope your expertise in this field of study will agree with me.
I feel so handicapped sometimes because I can't speak. I can understand alot.
I love Macau. I love the gospel. I love my companion. He is such a softy. so sensitive. He makes our lessons really long and likes to sing with our investigators and kneel down when we pray with them. Its not a bad thing. It gets the job done in international work. He can make the sisters cry easily.
We have two investigators with a baptismal date. Both are Indonesians.
I want to get this Vietnamese thing goin. We dont have any pamphlets in Vietnamese so its hard. I'm gonna order some. I feel like we can probably baptise twenty if we work hard. Thats my honest feeling.
General Conference hasn't happend yet over here. Was it any good?
I hope there is something on journal writing that doesn't just tell me to keep one, but will tell me how to go about doing it.
I hope this letter wan't be too bogus. I couldn't remember anyhting that went on this week.
I love you all,
Elder Wall (Hua Zhanglao)
Friday, March 26, 2010
Multilingual - Won't be on the 2010 Census
3/25/10
I understand more and more Cantonese everyday. I decided that I am going to seize some sort of business opportunity in Macau one day. This place is getting huge and I heard it makes more money in revenue than Las Vegas. I also want to be a good member of the church and help it explode over here. There is a Marriot being built and when its done it will probably give out lots of Books of Mormon.
As always I forgot what I needed to write. I will totally keep a journal soon. I also didn’t take much pictures this past week. I love that all the children here are multilingual (if that's how you spell it). for instance that Filipina girl shoving flowers in my face can speak English, Tagalog, Cantonese, mandarin and Portuguese, her name is Danielle and she is eight. I think it is just the most awesomest thing to speak mandarin with her; most of the other primary is that same way only her mandarin is the best. The little boy is Chinese and his care taker is a member so he comes and disrupts sacrament all the time. The only young man in the branch can't really speak English, or tagalong from what I hear, but his mandarin is really good. I have got to get a photo of him, he looks like a Chinese trapped in a Filipino body. Frances needs to go on a mission and trash the world, he's the teacher’s quorum president now, James is approximately twice as tall as him.
So I just want to learn every language that is flowing around over here, particularly Vietnamese and Nepalese. Recources for these people are basically limited to the Book of Mormon. There are some Vietnamese members here though.
I really feel that there could be a mandarin branch here very easily. The only problem with that is that then there would be no Cantonese branch because all of the members are from mainland or Taiwan.
The University is jam packed with people I can teach. It is a huge temptation to teach ten million mandarins and forget the other people. Our baptism is on Sunday and Doreen is inviting her friends to come.
I have learned that baptisms and numbers are definitely not what a mission is about. Sure I have baptized with every one of my companionships, but I feel I am far from being a successful missionary. I heard a disturbing analogy of missionary work like being on a boat. So missionaries are all on a ship saving all the people who are overboard by pulling them onto the ship. While the amount of people who are coming onto the boat is high, there are about two times as many people jumping off of the boat.
It is really hard to retain members over here and keep them active, I guess ultimately its there decision but I’m sure we need to put a larger focus on them rather than putting more people on the boat. Correct me if I'm wrong RM friends and family.
I love Macau and I am so upset that I came so early in my mission. When I get back, I will be so "Macau trunky" as they call it. They also have a disease called "international trunky" as well. Lucky me - to be destined to contract both. Yellow fever already interferes with the work enough. God definitely knows what to do to test me.
But he did know that Jessica Li would be coming to Hong Kong, so he wisely put me in Macau while she stays there. I’m not so sure why that's wise, but its probably best that I don't see her while I'm on my mission. As far as requests for things that she can bring me, perhaps a letter with some photos and the hook ups with her relatives.
My time is up. I am so glad that I wont exist for ten years
Love
Hua zhanglao
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Estrada Santa Xavier do Alfonzo al Costa Cabral de Carlos
3/18/10
Actually my mailing address is still the temple in Hong Kong at #2 Cornwall street. I just rarely get the opportunity to go and pick up mail over there. I would have no idea how to mail something to Macau because all the streets are like Estrada Santa Xavier do Alfonzo al Costa Cabral de Carlos, and are way easier to read in Chinese than Portuguese. Why in the heck is everything in Portuguese? Its a good thing I know not to fumar in the elevator because of the Chinese and the picture of a cigarette with a circle and a cross though it. Our chapel has the church name in English, Chinese and Portuguese. All the bills we get are in Portuguese too.
Anyways, about Macau, the greatest place on earth. This place is just like a tame Las Vegas actually, most people work at the casinos; we do weekly planning at the casinos too. We sometimes tract next to the water fountain shows that happen.
There are actually many people who speak Mandarin over here, particularly at the colleges. We are getting Vietnamese investigators and we have a recent convert who is Vietnamese that we are going to use to fellowship. We teach way more lessons than I used to in Mandarin work. All the members try their best to fellowship and give referrals, also the find people like a missionary would. We teach lessons by accident about twice a day, usually with a member present.
I really haven't taken much pictures yet. I am pretty sure I will stay in Macau for six months so don't worry about me never getting any good ones to you. I sent a photo of all my previous companions. I will get a photo of my new companion soon.
I like my companion, he is really cool. He just turned twenty four. He likes to teach lessons for a long time though. Its good, but technically we are only supposed to teach for fouty five minutes maximum. I am used to teaching people for six hours at a time though, back when I was in Mandarin, so its no problem.
I kinda miss the Mandarin branch Victoria 3rd, I wonder if any of them miss me. We are going have Filipino night soon and I heard there is going to be balute. I am excited to try that. I will for sure get a picture. Speaking of disgusting poultry. I think that chicken with no preparation other than taking feathers off and some guts out is gross. Freshness in this case does not make it taste better. I dislike millions of bones and floppy skin all in my food. In Macau I don't need to eat that stuff, we have US mart. I am going over there right after I leave the Biblioteca Central de Macau.
I love you all. I will keep a better record of my mission this week. I like how my brother in law is famous. I think i might purchase the hint of lime Tostitos right now.
Hua Zhanglao
Monday, March 15, 2010
"Favorite Missionary Ever"
Stephen is Elder Lamb's "favorite missionary ever". Thanks to Elder Lamb, I have several pictures of Stephen and some pictures of Hong Kong too.
3/11/10
Dear family,
I like my new calling. I like my companion who just had his 24th birthday. Actually, I failed to mention Nepalese people who read the Hindi Book of Mormon, African people who read the French Book of Mormon, Vietnamese people who read Vietnamese ones and we have a couple Korean copies just in case. The cool thing about Indonesians is that alot of them don't speak English and learn the gospel through Cantonese but the cooler thing about Vietnamese people is that they don't speak Cantonese and need to learn the Gospel through MANDARIN!
We have an investigator with a baptismal date already, we have only met her four times total. What is hilarious is that she is from Sichuan China. My companion speaks English to her and I clarify with Mandarin. He is going to baptize her in Mandarin. It will be his first baptism, he doesn't even know the prayer in Cantonese. I, one the other hand have baptized probably about twenty. This investigator's name is Doreen and she wants to serve a mission. When we told her that some people don't believe in the book of Mormon, she told us "As a matter of fact I feel quite angry" Elder Lindsey, Abby and I laughed really hard. Abby is a Filipina member who doesn't really relate much to a mainland student, but is so nice that she is an amazing fellow shipper (for pretty much all of our lessons).
I really love our branch, there are so many different types of people but they all love each other and I feel that they probably epitomize what heaven looks like.
In Macau seriously I can get everything that they have in America for a little less than you can, before the postage. US mart has all the name brand companies' obscure products. Extra large low fat pizza Pringles? Got 'em in Macau. Oh Henry chocolate bars? Yep. They even have Maruchan Ramen, which makes no sense. Why import ramen from America? That baffles my mind. When we were in the immense candy section, observing all the Wonka candy that I have never seen in the US, Elder Lindsey said "It's too bad they don't have Raisonettes." Then I said "Of course they have." I promptly found him a bag. Then he said "I just wish they had the big box kind." Then I said, "Of course they have the big box kind," and found him one instantly. They have these sets of products all taped together and sell them for sixty patacas these sets include a bag of pretzels and like a package of double stuff chocolate Oreos and Chunky Nabisco chips ahoy all together. There is also every type of Malto meal cereal and every single Western Family product known to man.
So in short, don't send me packages with goodies. I will probably get way fat as it is. Food is so cheap that we can eat out pretty much every meal.
Church starts at 5 and ends at 8, its pretty much the coolest thing ever. And we go to the Cantonese ward in the morning in case any investigators can’t make the later one and translate for them. I am useless in Cantonese as of now, but I will totally start studying it so I can communicate with Indonesians and translate church perhaps.
I didn't understand why we needed to be at the church so early on Monday morning and was sort of complaining until my companion said "Surprise! We're the branch Clerks!" I enjoy counting money and sorting the many different bills that also include Hong Kong dollars in addition to patacas. The exchange rate is one to one so no problem.
I have the same thoughts as my father about visiting Macau. To heck with Hong Kong! Just kidding there is just a spirit out here, everybody says hi when you say hi to them and genuinely smile back at you; Chinese people included. We should definitely visit the mandarin branch though. I am missing a convert baptism that me and Elder Ngai got together. It is Liu Jiemei, a single mother who has an adorable three and a half year old daughter who is definitely on the kidnap list. My other convert baptism, the one I got with Elder Bendall apparently misses me a little too much. Her name is Elsa and she recently graduated from Baptist U in Kowloon tong by the temple. I will get photos to
you guys of my baptisms eventually.
I have lots more to say so tune in next time.
I will probably have pictures as well too.
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Transferred to Macau!
3/4/10
HAHA! It happened. The Mandarin zone was abolished and the Mandarins
were all desegregated into Cantonese zones and districts. Three
Mandarins went to international, Elder O'Neill who came in with me but
has poor Mandarin, Elder Mills who is new and rad but could use the
boost of international work where finding and tracting is effective
and me. They both are still living in Wan chai on Hong Kong island
and pretty much do all of their work there.
I, on the other hand, am in Macau. I was told that I should teach
everyone, Mandarins included and my companion is to study Mandarin
with me. He is a really tall Hawaiian named Elder Lindsay, he studied
Mandarin for three years at BYU Hawaii, but got a call to Hong Kong
speaking Cantonese. I like him, I think he is probably also about as
old as my brother and yet I treat him as a peer. Missions are weird.
The amount of languages here is intense, the housemaids speak
Ilicano, Tagalog, Cebuano and Indonesian but we will teach them in
English. We will probably teach Cantonese lessons as well though.
The other crazy thing is the Portuguese, all the street signs and
businesses are written with Portuguese and Chinese characters
underneath. It’s insane. I don't know how I will get around this
place, there is almost no English. We have like eight different
languages of the book of Mormon in the chapel and the sign on our
building is in English, Chinese and Portuguese.
I hope I can grasp Cantonese and intensify my Mandarin. I am so
excited I cannot even try and explain it over an email. I guess I
will call on Mother’s Day from over here so it’s all good.
I will miss the Mandarin branch though. There is pretty much no such
thing as a International primary, because all the Philipinas and
Indonesians are over here working and their kids are still in their
native lands. But I’m sure their children are way adorable.
The thing about Macau is that it is like twenty million times better
than Hong Kong. The only two Mandarins ever to go besides me were
Zone leaders because they both had pretty good Cantonese and did
mostly Cantonese work. The entire mission is jealous of anyone going
to Macau there are only ten missionaries here. Needless to say I
never even had a glimmer of hope that I would get here but, my wildest
dreams did take place here from time to time. Mandarins also have
never been to international work ever before. Everyone is so jealous
and they all told me that I was going on a vacation mission.
I have a call to literally talk to everyone and teach everyone. I
don't have to turn anybody over. The only problem is that the sisters
in Macau international don't either.
I still don't know all that's going on over here yet, I've only been
here one day.
This is maybe the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.
Probably will be the best time of my life.
Man, I don't know what to say really. I promise to take pictures and
actually write in a journal. You won't miss a beat.
Some times I wish I had my father's talent, because I'm sure that he
would pick up all seven languages that Macau offers other than
English. I didn’t understand what he wrote me about animal Abkaz.
I am the Mandarin "go to guy" over here. I can't wait to get to work.
At first it kind of seemed like an accident, but now I'm starting to
feel really special.
My suitcase wheels got jammed and turned into erasers and left two
black trails behind me as I painstakingly drug my suitcase grinding the
wheels on the cement all the way. I have so much literature in my
suitcase that I brought. I was way sweaty when I got home.
I don't even know all the Mandarins in the mission now and I only know
like three of the people here in Macau, so bear with me as I get to
know people before I talk about them.
I think that was probably a sporadic letter I hope you captured a
little of my excitement.
Love,
Hua Zhanglao
PS If I ever decided to write a letter it would probably never get to
is destination. Packages would take months to obtain.
HAHA! It happened. The Mandarin zone was abolished and the Mandarins
were all desegregated into Cantonese zones and districts. Three
Mandarins went to international, Elder O'Neill who came in with me but
has poor Mandarin, Elder Mills who is new and rad but could use the
boost of international work where finding and tracting is effective
and me. They both are still living in Wan chai on Hong Kong island
and pretty much do all of their work there.
I, on the other hand, am in Macau. I was told that I should teach
everyone, Mandarins included and my companion is to study Mandarin
with me. He is a really tall Hawaiian named Elder Lindsay, he studied
Mandarin for three years at BYU Hawaii, but got a call to Hong Kong
speaking Cantonese. I like him, I think he is probably also about as
old as my brother and yet I treat him as a peer. Missions are weird.
The amount of languages here is intense, the housemaids speak
Ilicano, Tagalog, Cebuano and Indonesian but we will teach them in
English. We will probably teach Cantonese lessons as well though.
The other crazy thing is the Portuguese, all the street signs and
businesses are written with Portuguese and Chinese characters
underneath. It’s insane. I don't know how I will get around this
place, there is almost no English. We have like eight different
languages of the book of Mormon in the chapel and the sign on our
building is in English, Chinese and Portuguese.
I hope I can grasp Cantonese and intensify my Mandarin. I am so
excited I cannot even try and explain it over an email. I guess I
will call on Mother’s Day from over here so it’s all good.
I will miss the Mandarin branch though. There is pretty much no such
thing as a International primary, because all the Philipinas and
Indonesians are over here working and their kids are still in their
native lands. But I’m sure their children are way adorable.
The thing about Macau is that it is like twenty million times better
than Hong Kong. The only two Mandarins ever to go besides me were
Zone leaders because they both had pretty good Cantonese and did
mostly Cantonese work. The entire mission is jealous of anyone going
to Macau there are only ten missionaries here. Needless to say I
never even had a glimmer of hope that I would get here but, my wildest
dreams did take place here from time to time. Mandarins also have
never been to international work ever before. Everyone is so jealous
and they all told me that I was going on a vacation mission.
I have a call to literally talk to everyone and teach everyone. I
don't have to turn anybody over. The only problem is that the sisters
in Macau international don't either.
I still don't know all that's going on over here yet, I've only been
here one day.
This is maybe the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.
Probably will be the best time of my life.
Man, I don't know what to say really. I promise to take pictures and
actually write in a journal. You won't miss a beat.
Some times I wish I had my father's talent, because I'm sure that he
would pick up all seven languages that Macau offers other than
English. I didn’t understand what he wrote me about animal Abkaz.
I am the Mandarin "go to guy" over here. I can't wait to get to work.
At first it kind of seemed like an accident, but now I'm starting to
feel really special.
My suitcase wheels got jammed and turned into erasers and left two
black trails behind me as I painstakingly drug my suitcase grinding the
wheels on the cement all the way. I have so much literature in my
suitcase that I brought. I was way sweaty when I got home.
I don't even know all the Mandarins in the mission now and I only know
like three of the people here in Macau, so bear with me as I get to
know people before I talk about them.
I think that was probably a sporadic letter I hope you captured a
little of my excitement.
Love,
Hua Zhanglao
PS If I ever decided to write a letter it would probably never get to
is destination. Packages would take months to obtain.
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