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

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

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.