Hello, Ni hao
My family I will only write to you two more times after this. I want to do a semester in Salt lake so I can be Elder So's roomate. When Tatiana chose classes for me I did take into consideration all of the cute girls that would be taking those classes and decided that I want to put off marriage for at least a year after my mission.
When Elder Holland visited and he punched me in the arm after he shook my hand. He hugged Elder Kershisnik. He went on to say that shaking our hands was basically a personal interview with each of us. Did I pass my interview?
I think way to much about the future, but my companion is very patient with me. he rocks man. At the begining of the transfer I was sick and while everybody was trying to convice me that I was "sick" he stuck with me. I really hope I don't seem like elder Wall's dying companions to elder Wyatt. I got my flight plans from the mission today as well as from you, I am totally trunkified.
I will have to pass on the silk. This is a pretty modern city, so silk is insanely expensive and ordering it on the internet would be way cheaper. I do have a hello kitty on my backpack though to remind everyone that I served in Asia.
I realised that maybe the most righteous desire of my heart at this point in my mission would be to someday have the opportunity to do the Lord's work while in Mainland China with the people I love. Instead I am stuck in a different place among people I don't serve. I am more trunky for the mainland than for BYU, that's for sure.
Congradulations Tatiana.
Anyway, I'll see you all in about three weeks. Keep me posted if any more babies are born between now and then.
I love you all
Hua zhanglao
PS got packages from laura and family. The comic book laura rodriguez sent me is funny. The candy was gone the day I opened the package.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
5/18/11 - Liu Jiemei, Powerful Lawyer Baptism
Hey, Tatiana,
Thanks for signing me up for classes. I hope it wasn't a hassle as a result of you having a baby any second now. Good luck, I am totally praying for you and the baby, I hope all goes as smoothly as possible. Um but why did you sign me up for sissy classes? I guess that I need them so I can function in a society that is fifty percent ladies. I kinda don't want to dance or sing. I think elementary education sounds kind of interesting. Thanks for everything though, I suppose I will just endure those classes with a positive outlook and be really open and a good sport about it.
I wish you signed me up for body combat or ultimate fighting or mixed martial arts or something. Then I can lose weight and train to be a cage fighter. Whatever.
We have a baptism on the 29th of a really cool Mandarin lady who was a headquarter referal. Somehow her grandpa was a member. So strange, her name is Liu Jiemei and she is a widow with a son about our age. She is so powerful and is a lawyer. She also sings really well. I think she thinks I'm cool.
Anyway, I can't wait to come home. I am suprised how much I can still accomplish with so little time left. Holland will come and visit next week on tuesday. I feel slightly nervous for some reason. He is probably the most passionate and vicious one out of them all.
So I don't have much to say still. I'll see you in about thirty days.
Hua Zhanglao
Thanks for signing me up for classes. I hope it wasn't a hassle as a result of you having a baby any second now. Good luck, I am totally praying for you and the baby, I hope all goes as smoothly as possible. Um but why did you sign me up for sissy classes? I guess that I need them so I can function in a society that is fifty percent ladies. I kinda don't want to dance or sing. I think elementary education sounds kind of interesting. Thanks for everything though, I suppose I will just endure those classes with a positive outlook and be really open and a good sport about it.
I wish you signed me up for body combat or ultimate fighting or mixed martial arts or something. Then I can lose weight and train to be a cage fighter. Whatever.
We have a baptism on the 29th of a really cool Mandarin lady who was a headquarter referal. Somehow her grandpa was a member. So strange, her name is Liu Jiemei and she is a widow with a son about our age. She is so powerful and is a lawyer. She also sings really well. I think she thinks I'm cool.
Anyway, I can't wait to come home. I am suprised how much I can still accomplish with so little time left. Holland will come and visit next week on tuesday. I feel slightly nervous for some reason. He is probably the most passionate and vicious one out of them all.
So I don't have much to say still. I'll see you in about thirty days.
Hua Zhanglao
5/11/11 Can we Keep Him?
Dear Mom,
You could have just asked me my password for BYU and I could have told you instead of making me change it and then tell you. Its okay though it inconvenienced (that's not how you spell it) me for like five seconds.
I will not be ready to go shopping when I get back home. Least of all for any items or articles of clothing that can be obtained at Mr. Mac. I will do my best only to wear a white shirt and tie and perhaps a suit, depending on the temperature, once a week.
I thank you for all that you do for me, I will only write home like four more times after this. Pretty crazy, but I'm not counting down.
Really short email okay this week? The mission is just same old same old only its really hot and I wet my pillow by night with all the sweat, kinda like Nephi only without tears.
I love you all
Hua zhanglao
P.S. Also acutally, Elder So did get accepted to LDSBC and is coming in September. I am pretty sure he wants to try and live with us. I will get the details this week. I totally want to be his roommate somehow. Maybe I can just go to the BYU center in Salt lake, or skip a semester of singing and dancing and just like work and stuff.
Please mommy can we keep him? I am sure you would love him and think that he is so cute in a chinese way.
I will not be ready to go shopping when I get back home. Least of all for any items or articles of clothing that can be obtained at Mr. Mac. I will do my best only to wear a white shirt and tie and perhaps a suit, depending on the temperature, once a week.
I thank you for all that you do for me, I will only write home like four more times after this. Pretty crazy, but I'm not counting down.
Really short email okay this week? The mission is just same old same old only its really hot and I wet my pillow by night with all the sweat, kinda like Nephi only without tears.
I love you all
Hua zhanglao
P.S. Also acutally, Elder So did get accepted to LDSBC and is coming in September. I am pretty sure he wants to try and live with us. I will get the details this week. I totally want to be his roommate somehow. Maybe I can just go to the BYU center in Salt lake, or skip a semester of singing and dancing and just like work and stuff.
Please mommy can we keep him? I am sure you would love him and think that he is so cute in a chinese way.
5/5/11 - Ka Dixiong Peter's Neighbor?
Dear Family,
So I guess that nine thirty pm is fine for you to call but I just got transfered from Macau so my new number is XXXX-XXXX. I'm in Tun Mun, just like I called it. Elder Edwards new companion is Filipino and is a Cantonese missionary. I predict Mandarin work will die over there. But before that they will baptize Julian, who is a stud (Mandarin). His date is for the 15th.
Goodness I miss that place. I can honestly say that those were the happiest times of my life
On the bright side, I'm a district leader again right before I finish my mission. Although I have the zone leaders and sisters in my district. I think it will be funny to be a district leader with the worst numbers in the district by far. I guess its probably nothing special to be district leader, but I was pretty hurt after I was fired the first time so I kinda feel a little more loved now. I totally have a lot of wisdom I could share, my district meetings are gonna be way rad, I'm up for suggestions for games and object lessons or spiritual messages.
Anyway, I am pretty trunky. Elder Holland is coming on the 24th and I am terrified that he might want to interview me or something. That's what happened when the Asia area seventies came. I think he seems like he would be intimidating.
I can't wait to call my mama. I think that it is really awesome that Ka Dixiong is Peter's neighbor. I really liked him. He is one of my most favorite Larrys. Their son is seriously weird and naughty sometimes. I am pretty sure he's bit me and spat at me before. Rui Sen is his Chinese name. I don't think I have room for airsoft guns in my suitcase because of all the books I'm taking home. I do remember losing the clip to one of Ka Dixiong's pistols once.
So I don't have to much to say, I will talk to you guys on Mother's Day anyway.
So I guess that nine thirty pm is fine for you to call but I just got transfered from Macau so my new number is XXXX-XXXX. I'm in Tun Mun, just like I called it. Elder Edwards new companion is Filipino and is a Cantonese missionary. I predict Mandarin work will die over there. But before that they will baptize Julian, who is a stud (Mandarin). His date is for the 15th.
Goodness I miss that place. I can honestly say that those were the happiest times of my life
On the bright side, I'm a district leader again right before I finish my mission. Although I have the zone leaders and sisters in my district. I think it will be funny to be a district leader with the worst numbers in the district by far. I guess its probably nothing special to be district leader, but I was pretty hurt after I was fired the first time so I kinda feel a little more loved now. I totally have a lot of wisdom I could share, my district meetings are gonna be way rad, I'm up for suggestions for games and object lessons or spiritual messages.
Anyway, I am pretty trunky. Elder Holland is coming on the 24th and I am terrified that he might want to interview me or something. That's what happened when the Asia area seventies came. I think he seems like he would be intimidating.
I can't wait to call my mama. I think that it is really awesome that Ka Dixiong is Peter's neighbor. I really liked him. He is one of my most favorite Larrys. Their son is seriously weird and naughty sometimes. I am pretty sure he's bit me and spat at me before. Rui Sen is his Chinese name. I don't think I have room for airsoft guns in my suitcase because of all the books I'm taking home. I do remember losing the clip to one of Ka Dixiong's pistols once.
So I don't have to much to say, I will talk to you guys on Mother's Day anyway.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
4/27/11 Ferdinand from Camaroon
Dear Family,
Mother's day is the eighth right? I guess you could call so that I can talk in the morning sometime or at night after 9:30. I guess you would call me the day before at night to talk to me on the morning of Mother's Day. You could even call me on Mothers Day whenever. Mornings are good whenever but night is after 9:30 ish.
Anyway, last Sunday Rence and Erwin didn't show up. This week we are doing a undercover Sacrament meeting just for them to confirm Rence because they still can't make the normal time this week. I am wondering how powerful Rence really is. I do understand that employers over here are unreasonable though.
So I will leave way soon and maybe only get one baptism and leave two or three for Elder Edwards to finish up. For some reason the government gave him a lot of days last time. We had a African guy named Ferdinand for our investigator but I am pretty sure that he is a refugee so we can't baptise him. It sure seems alot like dad has baptised refugees in Germany and even in Rose Park. Maybe its just a Hong Kong mission thing. It also seemed alot like Ferdinand wants the church to support him too. he is way cool and completely understands everything and beleives it all too. Too bad, he has to be evading political persecution in Camaroon.
We are going to the all you can eat pizza place again today. James (the waiter) is sick so we couldn't meet with him and he probably won't go to work today. He wants to meet us though. How is James (the brother)? I was just wondering if he has black hair yet or has facial hair or fur. Is he still way skinny or has he any meat on his bones? Can I still run faster than him - of course.
I want technology when I get back home. I don't super regret purchasing a really awesome Chinese dictionary. I don't know if I want to go to BYU again because I can get the Stephen Wall Basement Scholarship. I also haven't registered for classes and it is way past my priority date, I am a junior you know. All the freshman have stolen my good classes so there is maybe no point. I could even take some classes at LDSBC. I wonder where I will work though. Maybe I want to work at Frito Lay moving boxes out of trucks and can live with the Rodriguezes. I don't know, I shouldn't worry about my future.
I am pretty sure that I will go to the most Mandarin free zone in the whole mission once I leave Macau. I did hear one good thing though. My recent convert from TKO, the one that Elder So and AP Li stole from me but still let me baptise moved over there in Tin shui wai so she can help me fellowship maybe. Its just a guess that I will go there, but with only ten Mandarins it is pretty easy to assume. Zhao Jiemei is so awesome, she moved a really far way; TKO and TinShuiWai are about as far away as you can get in Hong Kong from the way southwest to the way northeast. I bet that will be a tender mercy. I don't expect any success over there.
Anyways, I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Mother's day is the eighth right? I guess you could call so that I can talk in the morning sometime or at night after 9:30. I guess you would call me the day before at night to talk to me on the morning of Mother's Day. You could even call me on Mothers Day whenever. Mornings are good whenever but night is after 9:30 ish.
Anyway, last Sunday Rence and Erwin didn't show up. This week we are doing a undercover Sacrament meeting just for them to confirm Rence because they still can't make the normal time this week. I am wondering how powerful Rence really is. I do understand that employers over here are unreasonable though.
So I will leave way soon and maybe only get one baptism and leave two or three for Elder Edwards to finish up. For some reason the government gave him a lot of days last time. We had a African guy named Ferdinand for our investigator but I am pretty sure that he is a refugee so we can't baptise him. It sure seems alot like dad has baptised refugees in Germany and even in Rose Park. Maybe its just a Hong Kong mission thing. It also seemed alot like Ferdinand wants the church to support him too. he is way cool and completely understands everything and beleives it all too. Too bad, he has to be evading political persecution in Camaroon.
We are going to the all you can eat pizza place again today. James (the waiter) is sick so we couldn't meet with him and he probably won't go to work today. He wants to meet us though. How is James (the brother)? I was just wondering if he has black hair yet or has facial hair or fur. Is he still way skinny or has he any meat on his bones? Can I still run faster than him - of course.
I want technology when I get back home. I don't super regret purchasing a really awesome Chinese dictionary. I don't know if I want to go to BYU again because I can get the Stephen Wall Basement Scholarship. I also haven't registered for classes and it is way past my priority date, I am a junior you know. All the freshman have stolen my good classes so there is maybe no point. I could even take some classes at LDSBC. I wonder where I will work though. Maybe I want to work at Frito Lay moving boxes out of trucks and can live with the Rodriguezes. I don't know, I shouldn't worry about my future.
I am pretty sure that I will go to the most Mandarin free zone in the whole mission once I leave Macau. I did hear one good thing though. My recent convert from TKO, the one that Elder So and AP Li stole from me but still let me baptise moved over there in Tin shui wai so she can help me fellowship maybe. Its just a guess that I will go there, but with only ten Mandarins it is pretty easy to assume. Zhao Jiemei is so awesome, she moved a really far way; TKO and TinShuiWai are about as far away as you can get in Hong Kong from the way southwest to the way northeast. I bet that will be a tender mercy. I don't expect any success over there.
Anyways, I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Friday, April 22, 2011
4/21/11 Rence, Erwin, Julian and James
Dear Family,
So many people wrote to me this week that I have hardly anytime to write at all. I don't type fast and I read even slower than I type somehow, and I also have to spend time deciding what to write.
There aren't any cute babies running around doing disgusting things so I think painting a picture of my surroundings would be boring to you guys.
Rence got baptized last Sunday by her husband Erwin. I got to conduct the baptismal service which made me way nervous for some reason. Everybody laughed at me when I was telling them not to take photos and to silence their cell phones. It was so spiritual though. I cried when she bore her testimony, it was so powerful and her two little boys were running around like little hooligans. It turns out she had been investigating for four years! I had no idea. Anyways I don't feel like it counts too much as a "family baptised". It made me feel so good that I got to give the final last bit of support when she decided to get baptised. She was way ready, Im not judging but in someways I feel she is a little more prepared than her husband who is already a member. I mean he had to wait four years to get the Aaronic Priesthood for goodness sakes! It meant a whole lot to her for her husband to baptise her. A highlight of my mission!
Anyways, we have a Mandarin dude name Julian who is so powerful and handsome. All of our branch missionaries seem to be Mandarin college girls so he'll be running the show pretty soon. I hope he can be a branch missionary after he's baptised. He reads the Book of Mormon every day like twice, the part we assign him and the part that he's in by reading straight through. I like him.
Last p-day we went to a really good Italian restruant for its all you can eat lunch special and contacted our waiter James who is from Xi An, the place were the Terracotta Warriors are from. He met with us last Sunday and brought his girlfriend I guess. She's way interested - he's not so much. But they both with probably continue to meet with us. I think the restruant was so delicious. I want to go again. I will eat like a million calzones and have James grate the entire block of parmesan on top of them. It was totally legit italian too except for the Mandarin waiter.
I am loving my mission although I kinda wish I went to
Lithuania mandarin/russian speaking [like his sister did]. The gospel ought to be taught in communist languages because the law of consecration is just communism with God involved. But I am technically not allowed to write political things in my letters home to you guys.
I hope that I can avoid being trunky, I am pretty sure you guys will only get like seven more emails from me....
But I'm not counting down till I go home, Im counting down until I am kicked out by the Macau Government, I have 29 days to do all the damage I can. I am planning for three more baptisms by May 19th.
I am so jealous that all my older siblings have babies though. I don't even have one. Filipino and Chinese babies are way cute too. I can't wait to come home and be "Uncle Stevo". I hope I can learn Spanish one of these days so I can chit chat with Levi and Ezra [Laura and Job are teaching their children Spanish first].
Stop going on any more vacations before I get home okay? or at least stop telling me about them.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
So many people wrote to me this week that I have hardly anytime to write at all. I don't type fast and I read even slower than I type somehow, and I also have to spend time deciding what to write.
There aren't any cute babies running around doing disgusting things so I think painting a picture of my surroundings would be boring to you guys.
Anyways, we have a Mandarin dude name Julian who is so powerful and handsome. All of our branch missionaries seem to be Mandarin college girls so he'll be running the show pretty soon. I hope he can be a branch missionary after he's baptised. He reads the Book of Mormon every day like twice, the part we assign him and the part that he's in by reading straight through. I like him.
Last p-day we went to a really good Italian restruant for its all you can eat lunch special and contacted our waiter James who is from Xi An, the place were the Terracotta Warriors are from. He met with us last Sunday and brought his girlfriend I guess. She's way interested - he's not so much. But they both with probably continue to meet with us. I think the restruant was so delicious. I want to go again. I will eat like a million calzones and have James grate the entire block of parmesan on top of them. It was totally legit italian too except for the Mandarin waiter.
I am loving my mission although I kinda wish I went to
Lithuania mandarin/russian speaking [like his sister did]. The gospel ought to be taught in communist languages because the law of consecration is just communism with God involved. But I am technically not allowed to write political things in my letters home to you guys.
I hope that I can avoid being trunky, I am pretty sure you guys will only get like seven more emails from me....
But I'm not counting down till I go home, Im counting down until I am kicked out by the Macau Government, I have 29 days to do all the damage I can. I am planning for three more baptisms by May 19th.
I am so jealous that all my older siblings have babies though. I don't even have one. Filipino and Chinese babies are way cute too. I can't wait to come home and be "Uncle Stevo". I hope I can learn Spanish one of these days so I can chit chat with Levi and Ezra [Laura and Job are teaching their children Spanish first].
Stop going on any more vacations before I get home okay? or at least stop telling me about them.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
4/13/11 Happiest Time in My Life
Hello my family how are you?
I am feeling like this is the happiest time in my life again.
We are having a baptism of Rence this Sunday, her husband will finally get ordained and immediately after Sacrament meeting will baptize her, if all goes well. While, my missionary skills aren't so amaizing, Elder Edwards and I are still gonna get like four baptisms together in the approximately sixty days that the Macau government will allow us to stay.
We just gave out a baptismal invitation to a Mandarin guy named Julian. he is so rad. I gave him the invitation using the scripture in Mosiah 18 at the Waters of Mormon speech that Alma gives. I asked him how he would answer Alma's question "what have you against having his Spirit poured more abundantly upon you?" or something like that I only sort of remember the Chinese. His answer was "lai ba!" something like "bring it on". Probably the best answer to a baptismal invitaion I have ever heard. He will get baptised on the eighth of May.
I enjoyed conference. I think it was aimed at making me ultra tunky. A million talks about marriage and how awesome women are. President Monson telling me not to have so much fun being single. My goodness. I am suprised that I can still get stuff done for the Lord out here.
Julian was a turn over by the Zone Leader companionship. They say they have a Japanese dude that they have ready for us too. I think that would be sweet to baptise a Japanese man. I only wish that I could speak to him in his native tongue. I get so uspet when people teach Mandarins in English. especially when there are actually Mandarin speaking missionaries available. Even though there aren't any Japanese missionaries in the mission I would feel kind of bad because my father could teach the investigator way better and that would be ideal.
Anyways, I love my mission. I wanna have you call me for Mothers Day, because the phone situation here in Macau is ridiculously expensive. I droped 200 patacas on the 40 minute phone call last time. thats like 30 US.
1. Are you taller? No, James is taller than me probably
2. How are your suits, shirts, ties shoes and socks?Nasty, but my mission is almost over, so don't worry about it.
3. How are your teeth. I made you an appointment in June for your teeth. Yellow, but I assume relativly cavity free
4. Do you hear anything about Noah anymore? He's a powerful zone leader and gets a good birthday present of me leaving.
5. Do you take pictures anymore? Maybe no, I am lazy and my camera never seems to have batteries.
Anyway, I love you guys
Hua Zhanglao
I am feeling like this is the happiest time in my life again.
We are having a baptism of Rence this Sunday, her husband will finally get ordained and immediately after Sacrament meeting will baptize her, if all goes well. While, my missionary skills aren't so amaizing, Elder Edwards and I are still gonna get like four baptisms together in the approximately sixty days that the Macau government will allow us to stay.
We just gave out a baptismal invitation to a Mandarin guy named Julian. he is so rad. I gave him the invitation using the scripture in Mosiah 18 at the Waters of Mormon speech that Alma gives. I asked him how he would answer Alma's question "what have you against having his Spirit poured more abundantly upon you?" or something like that I only sort of remember the Chinese. His answer was "lai ba!" something like "bring it on". Probably the best answer to a baptismal invitaion I have ever heard. He will get baptised on the eighth of May.
I enjoyed conference. I think it was aimed at making me ultra tunky. A million talks about marriage and how awesome women are. President Monson telling me not to have so much fun being single. My goodness. I am suprised that I can still get stuff done for the Lord out here.
Julian was a turn over by the Zone Leader companionship. They say they have a Japanese dude that they have ready for us too. I think that would be sweet to baptise a Japanese man. I only wish that I could speak to him in his native tongue. I get so uspet when people teach Mandarins in English. especially when there are actually Mandarin speaking missionaries available. Even though there aren't any Japanese missionaries in the mission I would feel kind of bad because my father could teach the investigator way better and that would be ideal.
Anyways, I love my mission. I wanna have you call me for Mothers Day, because the phone situation here in Macau is ridiculously expensive. I droped 200 patacas on the 40 minute phone call last time. thats like 30 US.
1. Are you taller? No, James is taller than me probably
2. How are your suits, shirts, ties shoes and socks?Nasty, but my mission is almost over, so don't worry about it.
3. How are your teeth. I made you an appointment in June for your teeth. Yellow, but I assume relativly cavity free
4. Do you hear anything about Noah anymore? He's a powerful zone leader and gets a good birthday present of me leaving.
5. Do you take pictures anymore? Maybe no, I am lazy and my camera never seems to have batteries.
Anyway, I love you guys
Hua Zhanglao
04/06/11 Keep Praying for Me
Dear Family,
Today we are going to see the giant pandas. I am pretty excited even though I have heard that the pretty much just sleep a lot and lie around. I hope Elder Dodge gets my letter I sent him before he finishes his mission. I am so worried because I forgot his birthday; I can only remember it in Japanese because its like san kiu or something and he would always say like "san kiu berry much".
Anyways, I haven't seen conference yet. I hope that it was pretty amaizing. I really hope to find a whole family and bring them unto the gospel. If I can't do that maybe helping partial member families become all member families willl have to do.
I enjoy it out here although my investigators are few and lessons taught in a week are few as well. When it comes down to it, I don't quite have the finding investigators skill that I need. It gets tricky to move from "Hello how are you?" to "Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ". Goodness, I feel like a greenie again, I think I could be losing Elder Edwards
trust as a senior companion. Probably not, I just need you guys to keep praying for me and the rest just depends on my own faith. I just feel like I am getting rejected a whole lot more than a year ago when I was in Macau. Shoot, it seems like I never even got rejected a year ago.
I am starting to miss my family and hope that I can go on some kind of trip or have some kind of family reunion sometime after I come back. I am thinking about doing the study abroad in Nanjing eventually to help my Putonghua so I don't want to go to China with my family.
I am not so sure what to say, I bet I will have alot more after conference. I hope that the Lord's prophets can inspire and help me to get the fire back. I need to finish strong, I hope I can make taking my late departure date worthwhile.
I love the Book of Mormon, I don't know if I can finish in Chinese before my mission is over. I am on page 245 in the missionary study version with pinyin. I think I can still make it if I read eight to ten pages a day. I only have like seventy or so days left. Anyway, the Book of Mormon is true, I wish others wouldn't keep quoting revelations and interpreting it to mean that the Book of Mormon is false. I feel so good when I read that book and I know that it is a true history.
I love everybody,
Elder Hua
Today we are going to see the giant pandas. I am pretty excited even though I have heard that the pretty much just sleep a lot and lie around. I hope Elder Dodge gets my letter I sent him before he finishes his mission. I am so worried because I forgot his birthday; I can only remember it in Japanese because its like san kiu or something and he would always say like "san kiu berry much".
Anyways, I haven't seen conference yet. I hope that it was pretty amaizing. I really hope to find a whole family and bring them unto the gospel. If I can't do that maybe helping partial member families become all member families willl have to do.
I enjoy it out here although my investigators are few and lessons taught in a week are few as well. When it comes down to it, I don't quite have the finding investigators skill that I need. It gets tricky to move from "Hello how are you?" to "Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ". Goodness, I feel like a greenie again, I think I could be losing Elder Edwards
trust as a senior companion. Probably not, I just need you guys to keep praying for me and the rest just depends on my own faith. I just feel like I am getting rejected a whole lot more than a year ago when I was in Macau. Shoot, it seems like I never even got rejected a year ago.
I am starting to miss my family and hope that I can go on some kind of trip or have some kind of family reunion sometime after I come back. I am thinking about doing the study abroad in Nanjing eventually to help my Putonghua so I don't want to go to China with my family.
I am not so sure what to say, I bet I will have alot more after conference. I hope that the Lord's prophets can inspire and help me to get the fire back. I need to finish strong, I hope I can make taking my late departure date worthwhile.
I love the Book of Mormon, I don't know if I can finish in Chinese before my mission is over. I am on page 245 in the missionary study version with pinyin. I think I can still make it if I read eight to ten pages a day. I only have like seventy or so days left. Anyway, the Book of Mormon is true, I wish others wouldn't keep quoting revelations and interpreting it to mean that the Book of Mormon is false. I feel so good when I read that book and I know that it is a true history.
I love everybody,
Elder Hua
Sunday, April 3, 2011
03/30/11 Rence, Alcris, Elder Edwards's Blood Sugar
Hello my family,
I don't know if they count as the family you were praying for but I am so happy that we will be baptizing Rence, a mother of three and wife to a member named Irwin. She was investigating a whole year ago when I was here last time. They are a Filipino family with two really cute boys. Their daughter, which she had a month or so ago, I have never seen. Its so crazy that I have been away from Macau for so long that a woman could get pregnant and have a baby in the time that I was gone. Anyways, because it is so hard to arrange a time for her to be baptised because she can only come basically every other week, we are taking advantage of her maternity leave to get the appropriate amount of four Sundays in a row. Also a member named Josephine referred her son Alcris, who has a baptismal date already, we meet with him quite often. I wish I could speak Tagalog so that I could explain things in a more clear way to Alcris, but we have really awesome fellow shippers who help us with translation stuff.
In the Mandarin neck of the woods,we are kind of struggling, I know there are families that are Mandarin. The other day I contacted a mother and daughter who were speaking Mandarin together, the daughter was wearing a school uniform indicating that she lived there. The little daughter was quite bratty to me and the mother just told me that she wasn't interested.
The Mandarin family that has a new baby that I contacted a week or so ago won't answer their phone. I guess there are Mandarin families here but finding a prepared one will be hard. I think working with Filipino families is way better than working with student girls. We do have several Mandarin speaking student girls but they don't come to church when they say they will and always have the excuse of having tests and homework to take care of. But we have a ton of excellent fellow shippers for them, if we can just find some good ones.
I hope that I can continue on boldly talking with everyone I can. I find it hard to open my mouth at times, even in a place as relaxed and friendly as Macau. I hope Elder Edwards won't lose trust in me as a senior companion because my finding/contacting skills aren't where they should be. My teaching lessons skills and baptising skills are about average I think. We really get along, I hope I don't kill him from neglect, he has diabetes you know. I delayed his lunch yesterday for about three hours because I couldn't find a restaurant that didn't cost a lot at the casino areas.
The first councilor of the "Cantonese" branch who is from Taiwan and has Cantonese about as good as mine, ran into us while we were in the Venetian. It kind of looked bad to run into missionaries in a casino area. I gave him the alibi that I was hungry and then left the scene as fast and awkwardly as I could. I should have just told him that my companion has diabetes and that he needed to eat or he could die. Then bother Lin probably would have bought us lunch or something. Instead we walked around looking at expensive restaurants and wasted a lot of time all the while Elder Edwards' blood sugar was dropping. We eventually ate lunch about two hours later at a cheap rice box stand.
I hope you can appreciate how much of a fiasco that was.
Anyways, I think we will be fine, this is the land of promise.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
PS now we have a phone and can do alot more work.
P.P.S. from Stephen's mom:
I wrote a whole letter to Stephen on carrying food with them and making eating a priority. My brother had childhood diabetes, so I am worried.
I don't know if they count as the family you were praying for but I am so happy that we will be baptizing Rence, a mother of three and wife to a member named Irwin. She was investigating a whole year ago when I was here last time. They are a Filipino family with two really cute boys. Their daughter, which she had a month or so ago, I have never seen. Its so crazy that I have been away from Macau for so long that a woman could get pregnant and have a baby in the time that I was gone. Anyways, because it is so hard to arrange a time for her to be baptised because she can only come basically every other week, we are taking advantage of her maternity leave to get the appropriate amount of four Sundays in a row. Also a member named Josephine referred her son Alcris, who has a baptismal date already, we meet with him quite often. I wish I could speak Tagalog so that I could explain things in a more clear way to Alcris, but we have really awesome fellow shippers who help us with translation stuff.
In the Mandarin neck of the woods,we are kind of struggling, I know there are families that are Mandarin. The other day I contacted a mother and daughter who were speaking Mandarin together, the daughter was wearing a school uniform indicating that she lived there. The little daughter was quite bratty to me and the mother just told me that she wasn't interested.
The Mandarin family that has a new baby that I contacted a week or so ago won't answer their phone. I guess there are Mandarin families here but finding a prepared one will be hard. I think working with Filipino families is way better than working with student girls. We do have several Mandarin speaking student girls but they don't come to church when they say they will and always have the excuse of having tests and homework to take care of. But we have a ton of excellent fellow shippers for them, if we can just find some good ones.
I hope that I can continue on boldly talking with everyone I can. I find it hard to open my mouth at times, even in a place as relaxed and friendly as Macau. I hope Elder Edwards won't lose trust in me as a senior companion because my finding/contacting skills aren't where they should be. My teaching lessons skills and baptising skills are about average I think. We really get along, I hope I don't kill him from neglect, he has diabetes you know. I delayed his lunch yesterday for about three hours because I couldn't find a restaurant that didn't cost a lot at the casino areas.
The first councilor of the "Cantonese" branch who is from Taiwan and has Cantonese about as good as mine, ran into us while we were in the Venetian. It kind of looked bad to run into missionaries in a casino area. I gave him the alibi that I was hungry and then left the scene as fast and awkwardly as I could. I should have just told him that my companion has diabetes and that he needed to eat or he could die. Then bother Lin probably would have bought us lunch or something. Instead we walked around looking at expensive restaurants and wasted a lot of time all the while Elder Edwards' blood sugar was dropping. We eventually ate lunch about two hours later at a cheap rice box stand.
I hope you can appreciate how much of a fiasco that was.
Anyways, I think we will be fine, this is the land of promise.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
PS now we have a phone and can do alot more work.
P.P.S. from Stephen's mom:
I wrote a whole letter to Stephen on carrying food with them and making eating a priority. My brother had childhood diabetes, so I am worried.
Monday, March 28, 2011
3/24/11 Micau!
Hey guys,
I am really happy to be here in Macau. All of our recent converts from a year ago are still active and won't be recent converts by the time I get kicked out of Macau again. I am so happy to be back and this time we will teach and baptize a whole lot more Mandarins. I am so excited to get to be here again in this Asain-wanna-be-Vegas.
I hope that I can work hard and manage all of the phone numbers. Speaking of which, Elder Wyatt, my companion for about a week had lost our companionship's cell phone about a week ago. This makes things inconvenient, but in a country that is 26 square kilometers, it is still very manageable. I just have to carry a billion phone numbers around with me.
My new companion Elder Edwards is really cool so far. I liked him even before we both ended up in Macau together. I hope we can get a ton of work done. This field is so white and ready to harvest. I can virtually get anyone on the street's phone number. The only tricky thing is scheduling. I can see some baptisms happening soon. We just got a baptismal date set for April 24. Its a Mandarin college girl. Suprise! I don't super like that, but there are certainly a lot around that are willing to accept the gospel. I need a family though. I just contacted one yesterday oddly enough. The couple had a baby, when I asked how old it was they told me she was ten days old. I know that they live in Macau now. They are Mandarins too. They gave me their phone number and live really close to the church. I hope something can come out of it.
We attend the Cantonese branch, but the majority of last Sunday was done in Mandarin due to the large ammount of Mandarin student girls and the Taiwanese first councelor. The elders quorum president is from Fujian. Actually I think the poor Cantonese work over here is quite a shame. I am glad that I get English and Mandarin to work with. We had better get like four baptisms this transfer. I hope that one day I can be the branch president of a Mandarin Branch here. If I get a family, then that will be a great start.
I don't really know how to explain all of my happiness and joy. I need to do amazing things here for sure. Did I mention that everybody here loves me? or at least I imagine that they do. I like both branches very much.
Well that's all I have to tell you
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
I am really happy to be here in Macau. All of our recent converts from a year ago are still active and won't be recent converts by the time I get kicked out of Macau again. I am so happy to be back and this time we will teach and baptize a whole lot more Mandarins. I am so excited to get to be here again in this Asain-wanna-be-Vegas.
I hope that I can work hard and manage all of the phone numbers. Speaking of which, Elder Wyatt, my companion for about a week had lost our companionship's cell phone about a week ago. This makes things inconvenient, but in a country that is 26 square kilometers, it is still very manageable. I just have to carry a billion phone numbers around with me.
My new companion Elder Edwards is really cool so far. I liked him even before we both ended up in Macau together. I hope we can get a ton of work done. This field is so white and ready to harvest. I can virtually get anyone on the street's phone number. The only tricky thing is scheduling. I can see some baptisms happening soon. We just got a baptismal date set for April 24. Its a Mandarin college girl. Suprise! I don't super like that, but there are certainly a lot around that are willing to accept the gospel. I need a family though. I just contacted one yesterday oddly enough. The couple had a baby, when I asked how old it was they told me she was ten days old. I know that they live in Macau now. They are Mandarins too. They gave me their phone number and live really close to the church. I hope something can come out of it.
We attend the Cantonese branch, but the majority of last Sunday was done in Mandarin due to the large ammount of Mandarin student girls and the Taiwanese first councelor. The elders quorum president is from Fujian. Actually I think the poor Cantonese work over here is quite a shame. I am glad that I get English and Mandarin to work with. We had better get like four baptisms this transfer. I hope that one day I can be the branch president of a Mandarin Branch here. If I get a family, then that will be a great start.
I don't really know how to explain all of my happiness and joy. I need to do amazing things here for sure. Did I mention that everybody here loves me? or at least I imagine that they do. I like both branches very much.
Well that's all I have to tell you
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
3/16/11 The "Larry" Epidemic
What a dandy of a conversion story. (Mom sent me her conversion story) I am so upset that all these awesome family gatherings happen when I'm away. I think our family is so rad. How can we be so united? I hope I can be in on many future gatherings and reunions.
So anyways, the APs called me and told me that on Saturday I'm going back to Macau. I know that God hears prayers. I will probably end my mission there or get pretty close to ending it there.
I don't know what I should say. Acutally recently we had a brother from Brazil who lived in New Zealand come to have his Chinese citizen wife get baptised. Stressful situation. We had to go through a lot of authority checking and even had to call the seventy who covers Mainland up to get permission. All in all, I am so worried about how those two communicate. His wife was really prepared and somehow understood all the commandments ahead of time but she can't even really speak English at four year old level yet. I guess the spirit can help them. The Brazilian man was a high priest and obviously a powerful force in the Lord's kingdom and the language in his prayers sounded like patriarchal blessings, but I am so baffled why he married someone he can't really talk with.
Anyways, we call this sort of phenomenon being a "Larry" (marrying a Chinese lady when it would probably have been more ideal not to). I don't really want to be like that.
So I am so excited to be back with the Indonesian sisters and Mandarin speaking students over there in my home in Macau.
I know the restored gospel is true. It just makes so much sense, it gives me such a calm reassurance that any question I have about my existance on earth can be answered simply and beautifully. I just get such a peace in my heart to know that life is not an accidental occurance in the universe. I also am so comforted that our church has a clear organization and has no contradicting doctrines or systems of belief that were created by men. It helps to be made from a restoration and not a reformation, its the only way that logically makes sense to establish God's church that was once lost on the earth. I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon that it is a true history and the word of God. Joseph Smith couldn't have written it and could only have been translated it through the power of God. I read it and feel the love of my Heavenly Father.
I also have a testimony of the atonement. While I am still very far from being perfect, I know that I can be, I know that I must be if I want eternal happiness. I am so happy for the changes that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father have helped me make so far in my life and I strive to continually better myself through repentance. I hope to be worthy to have an eternal family one day.
I love you guys and still want feedback on my hairbrained idea to be an elemenary school teacher at Wasatch. I appreciated Laura's encouragement for me to be a Larry.
Hua Zhanglao
p.s. Next time I write you, Im in Macau
So anyways, the APs called me and told me that on Saturday I'm going back to Macau. I know that God hears prayers. I will probably end my mission there or get pretty close to ending it there.
I don't know what I should say. Acutally recently we had a brother from Brazil who lived in New Zealand come to have his Chinese citizen wife get baptised. Stressful situation. We had to go through a lot of authority checking and even had to call the seventy who covers Mainland up to get permission. All in all, I am so worried about how those two communicate. His wife was really prepared and somehow understood all the commandments ahead of time but she can't even really speak English at four year old level yet. I guess the spirit can help them. The Brazilian man was a high priest and obviously a powerful force in the Lord's kingdom and the language in his prayers sounded like patriarchal blessings, but I am so baffled why he married someone he can't really talk with.
Anyways, we call this sort of phenomenon being a "Larry" (marrying a Chinese lady when it would probably have been more ideal not to). I don't really want to be like that.
So I am so excited to be back with the Indonesian sisters and Mandarin speaking students over there in my home in Macau.
I know the restored gospel is true. It just makes so much sense, it gives me such a calm reassurance that any question I have about my existance on earth can be answered simply and beautifully. I just get such a peace in my heart to know that life is not an accidental occurance in the universe. I also am so comforted that our church has a clear organization and has no contradicting doctrines or systems of belief that were created by men. It helps to be made from a restoration and not a reformation, its the only way that logically makes sense to establish God's church that was once lost on the earth. I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon that it is a true history and the word of God. Joseph Smith couldn't have written it and could only have been translated it through the power of God. I read it and feel the love of my Heavenly Father.
I also have a testimony of the atonement. While I am still very far from being perfect, I know that I can be, I know that I must be if I want eternal happiness. I am so happy for the changes that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father have helped me make so far in my life and I strive to continually better myself through repentance. I hope to be worthy to have an eternal family one day.
I love you guys and still want feedback on my hairbrained idea to be an elemenary school teacher at Wasatch. I appreciated Laura's encouragement for me to be a Larry.
Hua Zhanglao
p.s. Next time I write you, Im in Macau
2/10/11 - Future Questions
Hello Everybody,
I am not upset at all for you guys not coming to pick me up. I pretty much have a lifetime to experience China. I will probably study abroad there if I ever have hopes of pursuing Mandarin. I totally don't need missionary regulations and parents preventing me from eating scorpions and purchasing chu ko nu's (an anchient chinese semi-automatic crossbow) from the market. I know that I really want to go to Macau now next transfer though.
About Elder So, I of course want to pretty much be his roommate. I want to see what Salt Lake has to offer and save money by bumming off my parents. LDSBC or the BYU center in Salt Lake are good, I would rather not waste all the religion generals and stuff that I took by going to the U. It still isn't certain if Elder So can get in yet but I really think its so cool that my parents would be willing to take on a Chinese child. I think he's 24 or 25 actually.
Although I am pretty sure I never said I was interested in business. I remember how football discount cards went for me, I pretty much sold none. I couldn't really get people to purchase aerating either. Now I am over here selling a product that is actually true and that everyone really needs and it doesn't even cost anything and I'm not having much success. So no, I don't want to do business at all.
About living in Provo though. I had the craziest I idea ever. I really like children and children's books and stuff and I want to use Chinese, but not in a business sense. I totally think that I should be a teacher at Wasatch if it still does dual immersion a while down the road. It sounds way difficult, but Elder Coswer said that if I marry a Chinese lady, than I can do it pretty easy, she could probaby teach also.
Then I could have my children grow up in several different bubbles all at once. I wonder how weird they would be once they went to a normal junior high.
Anyways, is that a good idea? It sounds probably like a dream or something. I do think lobster farming or nuclear power or an FBI agent would be pretty cool too. I do want to use Mandarin in the future, but I don't want to have to take advantage of a bunch of poor mainland factory people or have to do sales to people and sell them junk they don't need.
I wonder how Laos is. There are a lot of people form Cambodia and Thailand that come over here to do temple work I imagine Laotian people like them. The only other Laotian idea I have is from King of the Hill. maybe they're like Vietnamese or Hmong people too.
The work is doin' good and Elder Cowser should be able to scrape up some baptisms by the time I'm outta here. We have three baptismal dates for April, which is next transfer.
I love you all and hope that this letter was informative and doesn't make you think I'm trunky for the future or want to marry a Chinese lady or anything.
Hua Zhanglao
I am not upset at all for you guys not coming to pick me up. I pretty much have a lifetime to experience China. I will probably study abroad there if I ever have hopes of pursuing Mandarin. I totally don't need missionary regulations and parents preventing me from eating scorpions and purchasing chu ko nu's (an anchient chinese semi-automatic crossbow) from the market. I know that I really want to go to Macau now next transfer though.
About Elder So, I of course want to pretty much be his roommate. I want to see what Salt Lake has to offer and save money by bumming off my parents. LDSBC or the BYU center in Salt Lake are good, I would rather not waste all the religion generals and stuff that I took by going to the U. It still isn't certain if Elder So can get in yet but I really think its so cool that my parents would be willing to take on a Chinese child. I think he's 24 or 25 actually.
Although I am pretty sure I never said I was interested in business. I remember how football discount cards went for me, I pretty much sold none. I couldn't really get people to purchase aerating either. Now I am over here selling a product that is actually true and that everyone really needs and it doesn't even cost anything and I'm not having much success. So no, I don't want to do business at all.
About living in Provo though. I had the craziest I idea ever. I really like children and children's books and stuff and I want to use Chinese, but not in a business sense. I totally think that I should be a teacher at Wasatch if it still does dual immersion a while down the road. It sounds way difficult, but Elder Coswer said that if I marry a Chinese lady, than I can do it pretty easy, she could probaby teach also.
Then I could have my children grow up in several different bubbles all at once. I wonder how weird they would be once they went to a normal junior high.
Anyways, is that a good idea? It sounds probably like a dream or something. I do think lobster farming or nuclear power or an FBI agent would be pretty cool too. I do want to use Mandarin in the future, but I don't want to have to take advantage of a bunch of poor mainland factory people or have to do sales to people and sell them junk they don't need.
I wonder how Laos is. There are a lot of people form Cambodia and Thailand that come over here to do temple work I imagine Laotian people like them. The only other Laotian idea I have is from King of the Hill. maybe they're like Vietnamese or Hmong people too.
The work is doin' good and Elder Cowser should be able to scrape up some baptisms by the time I'm outta here. We have three baptismal dates for April, which is next transfer.
I love you all and hope that this letter was informative and doesn't make you think I'm trunky for the future or want to marry a Chinese lady or anything.
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, March 3, 2011
2/2/11 Elders So, Kershisnik, Yu and Gates
My Dearest Loved Ones,
How yall doin'? I just finished eating a Korean BBQ buffet, it was in honor of Elder Yu. Elder Yu got sent back to Taiwan. Actually an apostle changed his mission call to Taibei, so it isn't that serious. He had problems with the Taiwan government suspecting him of evading mandatory military service. So anyways I am most of his mission experience in Hong Kong. I will miss him, I hope I learned him a thing or two. I hope he doesn't have any crazy stories to tell people in Taiwan about the Hong Kong mission. Im pretty sure he doesn't have anything negative that he learned from me. Poor guy, Elder Kershisnik said that Elder Yu's situation is like if I were to have my call changed to Denver Colorado and that made me ponder; I really feel bad for Elder Yu. I don't doubt that it was all in the Lord's planning, but I wonder why the Lord gave him to me for so long. He was probably supposed to give me some sort of edge with my mandarin or something. I have totally had the most Chinese people or people of Chinese decent for a companion than any other Mandarin elder.
I just remembered one thing, about my Chinese companions that I have had in the past. I wonder how you guys would feel if Elder So, one of my companions in Macau, living in our house while he went to LDSBC. He is really cool and smiley. He even smiles when he is angry. Super nice and musically talented. He wants to transfer to BYU after, he just doesn't have much financial support or good grades at this point. His parents are non members so weren't really sure what the heck he was doing spending alot of money just to stay in Hong Kong on a mission and not come home for mid autumn festival or Chinese new year. So, I wonder if So could could stay at our place if he gets accepted to LDSBC. It was me who suggested it to him, because our home has a extra room or two and I remember everybody in the whole world has lived in our basement before.
Anyways, it is quite likely that I could go back to the city of dreams next transfer. I was just looking at my grades at BYU and let out sigh of deep dispair. My young zone leader is so powerful, he just comforted me and told me to apply the Atonement in my life. Thats true, Jesus can help me change my academic life. I hope I can apply what I learned in the mission to improve my chances and carreer possibilities in the future. President Lin of our mandarin branch told me that I can start worrying about the future now. He also was trying to hint at me coming back and marrying some lady in our branch. I don't think that single mothers are my type yet. Pretty crazy branch president, he is kind of obsessed with baptismal statistics, I will miss him when I die in international work.
I read Nathaniel Gate's letter and saw that his letters and my letters are different. If there is anyway that my letters need to be more spiritual or less negative, let me know.
Thats about all I have for now, good luck in all your numberless endeavors, don't worry about the past Rafiki might whack you again if you do.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
How yall doin'? I just finished eating a Korean BBQ buffet, it was in honor of Elder Yu. Elder Yu got sent back to Taiwan. Actually an apostle changed his mission call to Taibei, so it isn't that serious. He had problems with the Taiwan government suspecting him of evading mandatory military service. So anyways I am most of his mission experience in Hong Kong. I will miss him, I hope I learned him a thing or two. I hope he doesn't have any crazy stories to tell people in Taiwan about the Hong Kong mission. Im pretty sure he doesn't have anything negative that he learned from me. Poor guy, Elder Kershisnik said that Elder Yu's situation is like if I were to have my call changed to Denver Colorado and that made me ponder; I really feel bad for Elder Yu. I don't doubt that it was all in the Lord's planning, but I wonder why the Lord gave him to me for so long. He was probably supposed to give me some sort of edge with my mandarin or something. I have totally had the most Chinese people or people of Chinese decent for a companion than any other Mandarin elder.
I just remembered one thing, about my Chinese companions that I have had in the past. I wonder how you guys would feel if Elder So, one of my companions in Macau, living in our house while he went to LDSBC. He is really cool and smiley. He even smiles when he is angry. Super nice and musically talented. He wants to transfer to BYU after, he just doesn't have much financial support or good grades at this point. His parents are non members so weren't really sure what the heck he was doing spending alot of money just to stay in Hong Kong on a mission and not come home for mid autumn festival or Chinese new year. So, I wonder if So could could stay at our place if he gets accepted to LDSBC. It was me who suggested it to him, because our home has a extra room or two and I remember everybody in the whole world has lived in our basement before.
Anyways, it is quite likely that I could go back to the city of dreams next transfer. I was just looking at my grades at BYU and let out sigh of deep dispair. My young zone leader is so powerful, he just comforted me and told me to apply the Atonement in my life. Thats true, Jesus can help me change my academic life. I hope I can apply what I learned in the mission to improve my chances and carreer possibilities in the future. President Lin of our mandarin branch told me that I can start worrying about the future now. He also was trying to hint at me coming back and marrying some lady in our branch. I don't think that single mothers are my type yet. Pretty crazy branch president, he is kind of obsessed with baptismal statistics, I will miss him when I die in international work.
I read Nathaniel Gate's letter and saw that his letters and my letters are different. If there is anyway that my letters need to be more spiritual or less negative, let me know.
Thats about all I have for now, good luck in all your numberless endeavors, don't worry about the past Rafiki might whack you again if you do.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
2/24/11 Prayer to Go Back to Macau
Hello family,
I am sorry that a freaky lady had to go and crash a PTA meeting with the senator. I feel there are a lot of people like that in the world. Uninvited antagonisers who make illogical accusations and ignorant assumptions. We get that over here in missionary work. It sometimes seems like everyone has heard "anti" rumors over here, its not their fault though, Catholocism pretty much has a monopoly on the education system over here. I am so glad that America has public school, sometimes, of course I guess I wouldn't mind having to wear the same uniform everyday.
My father always gets to go on the best "business trips" seriously. Except when its like a nasty former Soviet Union place that is really cold, other than that it always seems to be some Pacific Island of some sort. Is Laotian harder than Cantonese? I bet it is.
I am very happy these days. Its that same old story with single mothers and college student girls, but we are doing some good work and teach with power and authority. We only have one baptismal date with a college girl, but we have many good investigators that are progressing rapidly. We just need to get past the coming to church obstacle. I think this is harder than most anything else, including Word of Wisdom, law of chastity and tithing. The Sabbath day is totally thrashed and disrespected in a city like this, in fact last sunday there was a marathon going on that caused traffic which made people late to church. It seems like everyone has to work on Sundays and students want to sleep in on their only day off instead of traveling an hour or two to church at nine in the morning.
Yeah, I really want to see what James's beard looks like. Is he six feet tall yet? Is his beard blonde? I prophesied this happening before I came home you know. Is he still skinny as junk, or is he getting chunky?
Anyways I still got a couple months. I think it might be really likely to go back to Macau. There are three new Mandarins coming in next transfer and so three will probably get kicked out of Mandarin work. I am never going to train and I probably won't be district leader ever again. The only options seem to be either put me back in Macau or put me into international work on Hong Kong island or a combination of both because Macau kicks people out really fast.
It would be kinda sad to leave Mandarin work to end my mission but I guess I deserve it for not baptising enough single mothers and students. Anyways, the Lord works in mysterious ways, and if I have to sacrafice training and leadership opportunities to have my prayer to go back to Macau answered I am more than happy. If I just get sent back to the Island again to baptise Filipina ladies I guess I will learn the Christ like attribute of patience.
Anyways, are you guys coming to pick me up or something? Just kidding, I really wouldn't mind just arriving home to an airport that has Taco Bell in it and then waiting for my father to come and pick me up at the curb like he did with Peter. Its maybe hard to tell if Im sarcastic or not, I in actuality am a person who enjoys the simple pleasures of life, such as Taco Bell.
So I love you all and just want to remind you that the Atonement can and will change people, if only we are willing to exercize faith in it. I am so grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will never give up on me, and my parents too who relied on His gospel to bring me up.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
I am sorry that a freaky lady had to go and crash a PTA meeting with the senator. I feel there are a lot of people like that in the world. Uninvited antagonisers who make illogical accusations and ignorant assumptions. We get that over here in missionary work. It sometimes seems like everyone has heard "anti" rumors over here, its not their fault though, Catholocism pretty much has a monopoly on the education system over here. I am so glad that America has public school, sometimes, of course I guess I wouldn't mind having to wear the same uniform everyday.
My father always gets to go on the best "business trips" seriously. Except when its like a nasty former Soviet Union place that is really cold, other than that it always seems to be some Pacific Island of some sort. Is Laotian harder than Cantonese? I bet it is.
I am very happy these days. Its that same old story with single mothers and college student girls, but we are doing some good work and teach with power and authority. We only have one baptismal date with a college girl, but we have many good investigators that are progressing rapidly. We just need to get past the coming to church obstacle. I think this is harder than most anything else, including Word of Wisdom, law of chastity and tithing. The Sabbath day is totally thrashed and disrespected in a city like this, in fact last sunday there was a marathon going on that caused traffic which made people late to church. It seems like everyone has to work on Sundays and students want to sleep in on their only day off instead of traveling an hour or two to church at nine in the morning.
Yeah, I really want to see what James's beard looks like. Is he six feet tall yet? Is his beard blonde? I prophesied this happening before I came home you know. Is he still skinny as junk, or is he getting chunky?
Anyways I still got a couple months. I think it might be really likely to go back to Macau. There are three new Mandarins coming in next transfer and so three will probably get kicked out of Mandarin work. I am never going to train and I probably won't be district leader ever again. The only options seem to be either put me back in Macau or put me into international work on Hong Kong island or a combination of both because Macau kicks people out really fast.
It would be kinda sad to leave Mandarin work to end my mission but I guess I deserve it for not baptising enough single mothers and students. Anyways, the Lord works in mysterious ways, and if I have to sacrafice training and leadership opportunities to have my prayer to go back to Macau answered I am more than happy. If I just get sent back to the Island again to baptise Filipina ladies I guess I will learn the Christ like attribute of patience.
Anyways, are you guys coming to pick me up or something? Just kidding, I really wouldn't mind just arriving home to an airport that has Taco Bell in it and then waiting for my father to come and pick me up at the curb like he did with Peter. Its maybe hard to tell if Im sarcastic or not, I in actuality am a person who enjoys the simple pleasures of life, such as Taco Bell.
So I love you all and just want to remind you that the Atonement can and will change people, if only we are willing to exercize faith in it. I am so grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will never give up on me, and my parents too who relied on His gospel to bring me up.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
2/16/11 Elder Cowser and the Parable of the Opera
Dear Family,
Kevin (Elder Wall) said that I sang that "Give up the Funk" song in my sleep once. He started to sing along with me but then realized I was still unconcious and felt really creeped out. Some Elders talk Chinese in their sleep, its funny.
I don't seem to ever have much to say, but I usually look forward to emailing my family. Elder Cowser is a stud and has excellent missionary skills including language and contacting and teaching.
He came up with this great analogy on the spot during one lesson about how the gospel is like a symphony or something. he said that God was the composer and that a conductor was like a prophet. there are so many different interpretations of music that you can't really know how the composer really wants it to be played with out a conductor who can chit chat with the composer.
He was telling this to a kid who was way into opera, so he just ate it up. He's powerful.
We went to the temple today, it was nice and peaceful. I pretty much did my scripture study for the day in the celestial room. I love my temple. I am barely in Second Nephi 31 as of today. I enjoy all the stuff on baptism. It spells it out so nicely. I told you I'm trying to finish the Book of Mormon in Chinese right? I wonder when I should give up.
Its hard to say who our investigators are at this moment. people just got back from break and are hard to get ahold of. I think we probably need to start all over from scratch. We just got three new investigators recently. Elder Cowser is just that much of a maniac. Of course they are all single mothers(including mainland woman married to a Hongkong dude) or female college students, but I guess they are people too, we will probably seem baptisms soon.
Im going home June 17th which seems like its pretty soon to me. Actually its a ton of time and I can probably get alot done. I hope I can finish strong.
There's a scripture in Galations by Paul which says that we are all in some sort of race and that there can only be one winner, SO RUN! that ye may obtain. or something to that effect. Our companionship theme for this transfer is RUN!
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Kevin (Elder Wall) said that I sang that "Give up the Funk" song in my sleep once. He started to sing along with me but then realized I was still unconcious and felt really creeped out. Some Elders talk Chinese in their sleep, its funny.
I don't seem to ever have much to say, but I usually look forward to emailing my family. Elder Cowser is a stud and has excellent missionary skills including language and contacting and teaching.
He came up with this great analogy on the spot during one lesson about how the gospel is like a symphony or something. he said that God was the composer and that a conductor was like a prophet. there are so many different interpretations of music that you can't really know how the composer really wants it to be played with out a conductor who can chit chat with the composer.
He was telling this to a kid who was way into opera, so he just ate it up. He's powerful.
We went to the temple today, it was nice and peaceful. I pretty much did my scripture study for the day in the celestial room. I love my temple. I am barely in Second Nephi 31 as of today. I enjoy all the stuff on baptism. It spells it out so nicely. I told you I'm trying to finish the Book of Mormon in Chinese right? I wonder when I should give up.
Its hard to say who our investigators are at this moment. people just got back from break and are hard to get ahold of. I think we probably need to start all over from scratch. We just got three new investigators recently. Elder Cowser is just that much of a maniac. Of course they are all single mothers(including mainland woman married to a Hongkong dude) or female college students, but I guess they are people too, we will probably seem baptisms soon.
Im going home June 17th which seems like its pretty soon to me. Actually its a ton of time and I can probably get alot done. I hope I can finish strong.
There's a scripture in Galations by Paul which says that we are all in some sort of race and that there can only be one winner, SO RUN! that ye may obtain. or something to that effect. Our companionship theme for this transfer is RUN!
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
2/10/11 Sister Tan's brother and Xia
Dear family,
I am so excited to have Elder Cowser as my companion again. We are going to work very hard and be charismatic and warm and friendly to everyone, even those people who think we are a cult.
So about taking single mothers' money. Right after I wrote you guys I was asked by a member to give all the other missionaries money from her. I totally felt like I was giving pay checks to all the false priests who practice priestcrafts. But, that's Chinese culture to give money away so its not too bad I guess. The worst part was that sister Tan is a single mother of two and gave all ten missionaries money. Anyways, that was pretty much my worst nightmare come true; me giving away a poor lady's money away to missionaries. Talk about grinding upon the faces of the poor. Mortifying experience really.
I feel way better now about the future. I am quite optimistic. I feel like I can make a positive difference in world. I have moved over my funk already in just like two days, in the future I will try to be less negative because you guys could perhaps overreact and assume to worst. Moods like those only last for so long.
So we are actually baptizing Sister Tan's brother in law this Sunday. He came down from Sichuan specifically to get baptised, but it feels a lot better than an ordinary mainland visitor baptism, because we are taking a week to teach him and not five hours. So I like things right now.
I hope that Xia will come down eventually with his wife and daughter so those two can get baptised. I really feel happy about him. I hope you guys can meet him, he said he will come back before I go home. This was the family that I prayed and prayed for. If I pull it off, I will feel complete. I will have done the impossible.
I feel like I already wrote you guys this week so, I won't write much more,
I love you all
Hua Zhanglao
I am so excited to have Elder Cowser as my companion again. We are going to work very hard and be charismatic and warm and friendly to everyone, even those people who think we are a cult.
So about taking single mothers' money. Right after I wrote you guys I was asked by a member to give all the other missionaries money from her. I totally felt like I was giving pay checks to all the false priests who practice priestcrafts. But, that's Chinese culture to give money away so its not too bad I guess. The worst part was that sister Tan is a single mother of two and gave all ten missionaries money. Anyways, that was pretty much my worst nightmare come true; me giving away a poor lady's money away to missionaries. Talk about grinding upon the faces of the poor. Mortifying experience really.
I feel way better now about the future. I am quite optimistic. I feel like I can make a positive difference in world. I have moved over my funk already in just like two days, in the future I will try to be less negative because you guys could perhaps overreact and assume to worst. Moods like those only last for so long.
So we are actually baptizing Sister Tan's brother in law this Sunday. He came down from Sichuan specifically to get baptised, but it feels a lot better than an ordinary mainland visitor baptism, because we are taking a week to teach him and not five hours. So I like things right now.
I hope that Xia will come down eventually with his wife and daughter so those two can get baptised. I really feel happy about him. I hope you guys can meet him, he said he will come back before I go home. This was the family that I prayed and prayed for. If I pull it off, I will feel complete. I will have done the impossible.
I feel like I already wrote you guys this week so, I won't write much more,
I love you all
Hua Zhanglao
2/8/11 Chinese New Year
Hello family,
I can't go to BYU in the Summer? I think I might tell President Chan to change my departure date to June 17th. There's no point for me to be home at May 6th. Is this wise? I am quite trunky and app
arently a not very successful missionary. I hope there is still much good I can accomplish. I feel I have not yet completed what Heavenly Father wants me to do.
I totally don't have much energy anymore. I hope I get a spunky new companion who can't speak a lick of Mandarin. We'll find out tomorrow if I remain with elder Yu for a fourth transfer.
So anyway, I am so happy that all my brothers and sisters are baptised. A huge accomplishment for a family of our size. There are plenty of members over here who have children who still need to be baptised, but the parents went less active so the children have no opportunity. You are all so powerful, especially my PTA ruler mother and bishop father. I can't wait to see what things are like in Rose Park? (Hills?,Cottage?) I want to hang out at the cool library all the time up there in Salt Lake.
There are three or four people that say they will be baptised before I go home, so I kinda wish I could extend my mission to give them just a little more time to commit to a specific date. I'm pretty sure they aren't converted to me, I think I'm much too unapealing for that. I am way bald now and cranky all the time and have no enthusiasm; I am definately not true.
Chinese new year wasn't too bad this year. I just feel slightly bad about having single mothers take all ten mandarin elders out to dinner and afterward giving all of us money in red packets. Was it elisha who had a widow lady make a cake for him? I wish, this sister would miraculously not run out of finances after feeding the missionaries. I know that they will be blessed somehow.
Anyway, I am still pretty positive about the future and love you all. Things will happen in the Lord's time and all we can do is put forth a big effort and continuously do better, no matter what point we are at now.
Grandpa's butterfly picture is so crazy. I want to be that rad when I grow up. I might have turned into a crochety senile old man already though, it could be too late. This picture is way better than the one with him playing with a hanger. It totally lifted my spirits. hilarious.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
I can't go to BYU in the Summer? I think I might tell President Chan to change my departure date to June 17th. There's no point for me to be home at May 6th. Is this wise? I am quite trunky and app
arently a not very successful missionary. I hope there is still much good I can accomplish. I feel I have not yet completed what Heavenly Father wants me to do.
I totally don't have much energy anymore. I hope I get a spunky new companion who can't speak a lick of Mandarin. We'll find out tomorrow if I remain with elder Yu for a fourth transfer.
So anyway, I am so happy that all my brothers and sisters are baptised. A huge accomplishment for a family of our size. There are plenty of members over here who have children who still need to be baptised, but the parents went less active so the children have no opportunity. You are all so powerful, especially my PTA ruler mother and bishop father. I can't wait to see what things are like in Rose Park? (Hills?,Cottage?) I want to hang out at the cool library all the time up there in Salt Lake.
There are three or four people that say they will be baptised before I go home, so I kinda wish I could extend my mission to give them just a little more time to commit to a specific date. I'm pretty sure they aren't converted to me, I think I'm much too unapealing for that. I am way bald now and cranky all the time and have no enthusiasm; I am definately not true.
Chinese new year wasn't too bad this year. I just feel slightly bad about having single mothers take all ten mandarin elders out to dinner and afterward giving all of us money in red packets. Was it elisha who had a widow lady make a cake for him? I wish, this sister would miraculously not run out of finances after feeding the missionaries. I know that they will be blessed somehow.
Anyway, I am still pretty positive about the future and love you all. Things will happen in the Lord's time and all we can do is put forth a big effort and continuously do better, no matter what point we are at now.
Grandpa's butterfly picture is so crazy. I want to be that rad when I grow up. I might have turned into a crochety senile old man already though, it could be too late. This picture is way better than the one with him playing with a hanger. It totally lifted my spirits. hilarious.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Thursday, February 3, 2011
From Christmas through Feb 1
2/1/11
Hey guys, I don't know any of my BYU passwords so getting back in for summer term might be difficult. My user name is XXXXXXXXXX if that could help.
If only I knew my social security number, then I could have got my net ID password. I also could have got it if I knew my hotmail password.
So anyway I guess I left behind all worldly endeavors behind me.
If you guys could help me out somehow over there it would be great. I don't need to pick classes till march, but it seems like today (Feb 1st) is the last day to sign up for summer or fall.
My departure date is May 6, I hope that wouldn't interfere with you guys being able to pick me up.
I love you guys.
1/26/11
Hello everybody,
Laura's video worked this time, way cute by the way. Will they be bilingual and I can still communicate with them, or do I have to learn Spanish eventually?
I am starting to learn that there is no secret ingredient to missionary work, just like being a dragon warrior. There is a quote in Preach my gospel where a prophet says " Missionary work is just that; work. There is no substitute..."
I used to think that if my teaching skills rocked or some new method of finding or obtaining referrals came out, I would probably be more successful. I feel that new methods and tactics are fine, but the main thing is to get out there and do stuff, and do it with charisma and enthusiasm. Eventually, you will get the results that the Lord wants you to get. The spirit is quite vital in guiding you, and there are certain ways of going about missionary work that will never work (Bible bashing), but the main thing is to give a good diligent effort.
I often get discouraged by getting rejected by tons of Hong Kong people, but I realise that as long as I tried and thrustheth my sickle, as least I will lay up in store that I personally won't perish. And eventually, I will make some sort of progress.
I am really proud of my family, we are so powerful. I enjoy my tranlsator father. In fact, I had noticed that same translation difference that he pointed out to me. Are you reading out of the pinyin columned one? I'm stuck in Isaiah, but I will finish the Book of Mormon in Chinese before my mission is over. In the pinyin comlumed one, there is 800 pages, so you just have to read eight pages a day to finish in 100 days, or 4 a day to finish in 200. I admit it's difficult to read eight pages of pure Isaiah, especially in Chinese, when the names of places and people mean even less to me than in English. I also ran into a classmate of my father. Ken Schupe who is a foreign echange student at the Hong Kong Chinese University, Elder Yu forced me to let him fellowship for us, his Mandarin had a ridiculous Cantonese/white person accent and he brought a Chinese girl with him to our lesson, I'm pretty sure it was his girlfriend, she is the AP's investigator. So anyways, Elder Yu regretted having him fellowship and I said "I told you so". I am one thousand percent certain my father's Mandarin is way better than his, not that that's important.
I don't know how to cook any Chinese food but Ramen. I guess I could theoretically stir fry stuff or fry rice, but I am lazy and eating out here is cheap and not necessarily unhealthy. I enjoy Chinese food though.
Keep being so powerful and don't give up.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
1/19/11
Hello family,
Nothing too wise to attempt to say this time. It is so sad that we have Mandarin speaking investigators that are literally too poor to go to church all the way in Wan Chai. One has a cute little haircutting tent thingy, Im going ot get a haircut from her for about two bucks American today. Her Last name is Wang, just like three other investigators we have. She devoures the Book of Mormon like no one I have ever seen since all the Indonesians we taught in Macau. Anyways, I hope we can baptise her somehow, at least into a Cantonese ward or something.
Elder Dodge sent me a wallet with a marijuana leaf on the front. He said that that pretty much represents his area that he's in now. Im going to tell him that the weed wallet was actually made a few train stops up from where I live and that I can bargain about three for under a dollar US. That totally represents my mission too. When I had first got here I saw sweet old lady wearing a t shirt with a marijuana leaf on it. She obviously had no idea what she was wearing, it was pretty adorable.
Anyways, life is good. A different Mandarin missionary is fortunate enough to get a second round in Macau and I was the one who invented Mandarin missionaries in Macau. I am way jealous. If I pray really hard and then beg President Chan, maybe I can go back. I don't know when I'm going to come home yet, I guess I have to ask President Chan. If you guys are coming to pick me up, then should I tell them not to buy plane tickets for me?
I can't write too much today because I have to email President Chan. My mother made me way trunky and wonder about my future. I wouldn't mind teaching missionaries at the MTC or washing dishes again. I just like to have free housing while I go to school.
I love you guys,
Hua Zhanglao
1/13/11
Hello my family,
I couldn't see the video laura sent me of Ezra. I assume he was just making really cute monkey noises.
Yeah, that is so embarassing that you guys go through my private archives. [Editors note - these archives were stored in a notebook that one of the kids found in a closet and took to church to draw in. We were actually attacked by the writings while in a sacrament meeting]
Did you know that as a rapper I go under the pseudonym "BB Wolff"? BB standing for "Big Bad". I just need an accomplice who will go by "RR Hood" and we'll go ridin' in da hood together. Oh man, that is totally why I can't write a journal, or a rhyme book. It will all leek out and anything that can humiliate me will be revealed by prying eyes. I really can only have people reading my stuff after I'm dead, like any real artist would. Post humously publishing things is a lost less akward.
I really like Jennifer's baby, Zoe right? She totally looks like babies over here, exhibiting an Asian dominace. Way cute.
Anyways, I guess my mother wants me to chastise my brothers and sisters. In the mission field we would say "recenter". I like what my mother said about making mistakes. I have recently remembered some wise thing that someone taught me once. Its called "learn from your mistakes". It is totally fine to make mistakes. Me and my companion go throughout the day saying this phrase at least a million times. Everytime we do something way ridiculous, we just say "Learn from your mistakes" convincing ourselves that we will never make that error ever again in our entire lives. Usually we would do something like purchase some food that is way too overpriced and small and not delicious and then we would resolve never to do that again. The beauty of mistakes is that you only really have to make them a couple of times to learn from them, often times once is enough.
It might have been my father, it may have been Rafiki, whoever said it doesn't matter, but you need to learn from the past. The past can hurt. I like to whack other elders randomly and then when they ask why I did that, then I will tell them that "it doesn't matter, it was in the past". This is really immature and goes to show that missionaries can only watch a selected few movies and are likely to go insane at any moment. I digress, anyways, don't fret too much about what bad things you have done just move on and don't do them any more. That is a simple way of explaining repentace.
That is one major theme for me this year "Learn from your mistakes". It can be said that is the meaning of life. So I don't really know how to explain this to children, but I know they could catch on eventually, it took me like twenty-one years and counting to realise that my past doesn't have to come back to haunt me too much if I just don't think about it or repeat it. Of course sometimes your parents get into your stuff and make you relive it. Just learn from your mistakes. You often can learn way more from making one mistake than you can learn by having many successes. Just don't make the same mistake twice. This one I know came from my father "You also don't have to make every mistake possible either" learn from other people's mistakes.
I imagine some cavemen experimenting with berries and mushrooms trying to find out which one's are edible. You should probably not eat that same type of berry or mushroom that killed Og over there. Likewise, if Daniel gets in trouble for doing something wrong, you probably shouldn't do that thing either, otherwise you will probably get in trouble too.
Yes, that is something that I really hope that I can have down in these next five months before I get back "Learn from your mistakes".
This phrase is really good at making me not have too much guilt as well.
Anyways, I hope that was good enough, I hope it wasn't to advanced for my brothers and sisters. I love you guys,
Hua zhanglao
1/6/11
Hello everybody,
I went to the temple today, I really like the Chinese aspect of it. I listened to the Mandarin translation this time. It was way awsome, I had a real spiritual experience. I recommend everyone to try it some time. Then I read from the Chinese copy of the Book of Mormon. I like it.
So anyway, I think that I will resolve to be more positive. I know its a really vague and unmeasurable goal, but I think it is probably what I need.
We have really good investigators, even if sometimes opposition gets in the way. I think that opposition is a blessing, it wouldn't be as satisfying to bring someone unto baptism if it was easy.
If someone asked me what food in the American diet makes us so robust and enormous, I would have to say meat. Although its not just because of a certain type of food. It has alot to do with portions. American meat portions are satisfying and borderline exsessive. While Chinese portions of meat are about half as big as American and are fifty percent bone matter. Bones add to the flavour and make food more fun to eat. It kinda feels like playing with your food, knawing on a bone that you're holding with chopsticks.
I really feel like I have only had KFC like twice in America and like a million times in Hong Kong. Maybe when I was in America I thought eating chicken in that manner was gross and not processed enough for consumtion, whereas here in hong kong KFC is a place where I don't have to worry about getting heads or feet served to me.
Its funny how opinions change based on one's environment. I still feel like some sort of ignorant westerner somtimes. Concepts like qi, yinyang and fengshui still feel alot like superstition or foolish traditions. I guess I haven't really been able to study them much. Acupuncture seems so crazy, I swear its just placebo stuff. Didn't my dad get acupuncture on his mission and then couldn't ride his bike home? Does dad believe? I am positive we can't get acupuncture on our missions or massages. Definetly not massages, especially not in Mong Kok or Wanchai - yikes.
I like it over here. It sure seems like I run out of things to say pretty easy. Its becoming more and more apparent I should keep a journal. I welcome any questions or comments, advice or constructive criticism.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
Hey guys, I don't know any of my BYU passwords so getting back in for summer term might be difficult. My user name is XXXXXXXXXX if that could help.
If only I knew my social security number, then I could have got my net ID password. I also could have got it if I knew my hotmail password.
So anyway I guess I left behind all worldly endeavors behind me.
If you guys could help me out somehow over there it would be great. I don't need to pick classes till march, but it seems like today (Feb 1st) is the last day to sign up for summer or fall.
My departure date is May 6, I hope that wouldn't interfere with you guys being able to pick me up.
I love you guys.
1/26/11
Hello everybody,
Laura's video worked this time, way cute by the way. Will they be bilingual and I can still communicate with them, or do I have to learn Spanish eventually?
I am starting to learn that there is no secret ingredient to missionary work, just like being a dragon warrior. There is a quote in Preach my gospel where a prophet says " Missionary work is just that; work. There is no substitute..."
I used to think that if my teaching skills rocked or some new method of finding or obtaining referrals came out, I would probably be more successful. I feel that new methods and tactics are fine, but the main thing is to get out there and do stuff, and do it with charisma and enthusiasm. Eventually, you will get the results that the Lord wants you to get. The spirit is quite vital in guiding you, and there are certain ways of going about missionary work that will never work (Bible bashing), but the main thing is to give a good diligent effort.
I often get discouraged by getting rejected by tons of Hong Kong people, but I realise that as long as I tried and thrustheth my sickle, as least I will lay up in store that I personally won't perish. And eventually, I will make some sort of progress.
I am really proud of my family, we are so powerful. I enjoy my tranlsator father. In fact, I had noticed that same translation difference that he pointed out to me. Are you reading out of the pinyin columned one? I'm stuck in Isaiah, but I will finish the Book of Mormon in Chinese before my mission is over. In the pinyin comlumed one, there is 800 pages, so you just have to read eight pages a day to finish in 100 days, or 4 a day to finish in 200. I admit it's difficult to read eight pages of pure Isaiah, especially in Chinese, when the names of places and people mean even less to me than in English. I also ran into a classmate of my father. Ken Schupe who is a foreign echange student at the Hong Kong Chinese University, Elder Yu forced me to let him fellowship for us, his Mandarin had a ridiculous Cantonese/white person accent and he brought a Chinese girl with him to our lesson, I'm pretty sure it was his girlfriend, she is the AP's investigator. So anyways, Elder Yu regretted having him fellowship and I said "I told you so". I am one thousand percent certain my father's Mandarin is way better than his, not that that's important.
I don't know how to cook any Chinese food but Ramen. I guess I could theoretically stir fry stuff or fry rice, but I am lazy and eating out here is cheap and not necessarily unhealthy. I enjoy Chinese food though.
Keep being so powerful and don't give up.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
1/19/11
Hello family,
Nothing too wise to attempt to say this time. It is so sad that we have Mandarin speaking investigators that are literally too poor to go to church all the way in Wan Chai. One has a cute little haircutting tent thingy, Im going ot get a haircut from her for about two bucks American today. Her Last name is Wang, just like three other investigators we have. She devoures the Book of Mormon like no one I have ever seen since all the Indonesians we taught in Macau. Anyways, I hope we can baptise her somehow, at least into a Cantonese ward or something.
Elder Dodge sent me a wallet with a marijuana leaf on the front. He said that that pretty much represents his area that he's in now. Im going to tell him that the weed wallet was actually made a few train stops up from where I live and that I can bargain about three for under a dollar US. That totally represents my mission too. When I had first got here I saw sweet old lady wearing a t shirt with a marijuana leaf on it. She obviously had no idea what she was wearing, it was pretty adorable.
Anyways, life is good. A different Mandarin missionary is fortunate enough to get a second round in Macau and I was the one who invented Mandarin missionaries in Macau. I am way jealous. If I pray really hard and then beg President Chan, maybe I can go back. I don't know when I'm going to come home yet, I guess I have to ask President Chan. If you guys are coming to pick me up, then should I tell them not to buy plane tickets for me?
I can't write too much today because I have to email President Chan. My mother made me way trunky and wonder about my future. I wouldn't mind teaching missionaries at the MTC or washing dishes again. I just like to have free housing while I go to school.
I love you guys,
Hua Zhanglao
1/13/11
Hello my family,
I couldn't see the video laura sent me of Ezra. I assume he was just making really cute monkey noises.
Yeah, that is so embarassing that you guys go through my private archives. [Editors note - these archives were stored in a notebook that one of the kids found in a closet and took to church to draw in. We were actually attacked by the writings while in a sacrament meeting]
Did you know that as a rapper I go under the pseudonym "BB Wolff"? BB standing for "Big Bad". I just need an accomplice who will go by "RR Hood" and we'll go ridin' in da hood together. Oh man, that is totally why I can't write a journal, or a rhyme book. It will all leek out and anything that can humiliate me will be revealed by prying eyes. I really can only have people reading my stuff after I'm dead, like any real artist would. Post humously publishing things is a lost less akward.
I really like Jennifer's baby, Zoe right? She totally looks like babies over here, exhibiting an Asian dominace. Way cute.
Anyways, I guess my mother wants me to chastise my brothers and sisters. In the mission field we would say "recenter". I like what my mother said about making mistakes. I have recently remembered some wise thing that someone taught me once. Its called "learn from your mistakes". It is totally fine to make mistakes. Me and my companion go throughout the day saying this phrase at least a million times. Everytime we do something way ridiculous, we just say "Learn from your mistakes" convincing ourselves that we will never make that error ever again in our entire lives. Usually we would do something like purchase some food that is way too overpriced and small and not delicious and then we would resolve never to do that again. The beauty of mistakes is that you only really have to make them a couple of times to learn from them, often times once is enough.
It might have been my father, it may have been Rafiki, whoever said it doesn't matter, but you need to learn from the past. The past can hurt. I like to whack other elders randomly and then when they ask why I did that, then I will tell them that "it doesn't matter, it was in the past". This is really immature and goes to show that missionaries can only watch a selected few movies and are likely to go insane at any moment. I digress, anyways, don't fret too much about what bad things you have done just move on and don't do them any more. That is a simple way of explaining repentace.
That is one major theme for me this year "Learn from your mistakes". It can be said that is the meaning of life. So I don't really know how to explain this to children, but I know they could catch on eventually, it took me like twenty-one years and counting to realise that my past doesn't have to come back to haunt me too much if I just don't think about it or repeat it. Of course sometimes your parents get into your stuff and make you relive it. Just learn from your mistakes. You often can learn way more from making one mistake than you can learn by having many successes. Just don't make the same mistake twice. This one I know came from my father "You also don't have to make every mistake possible either" learn from other people's mistakes.
I imagine some cavemen experimenting with berries and mushrooms trying to find out which one's are edible. You should probably not eat that same type of berry or mushroom that killed Og over there. Likewise, if Daniel gets in trouble for doing something wrong, you probably shouldn't do that thing either, otherwise you will probably get in trouble too.
Yes, that is something that I really hope that I can have down in these next five months before I get back "Learn from your mistakes".
This phrase is really good at making me not have too much guilt as well.
Anyways, I hope that was good enough, I hope it wasn't to advanced for my brothers and sisters. I love you guys,
Hua zhanglao
1/6/11
Hello everybody,
I went to the temple today, I really like the Chinese aspect of it. I listened to the Mandarin translation this time. It was way awsome, I had a real spiritual experience. I recommend everyone to try it some time. Then I read from the Chinese copy of the Book of Mormon. I like it.
So anyway, I think that I will resolve to be more positive. I know its a really vague and unmeasurable goal, but I think it is probably what I need.
We have really good investigators, even if sometimes opposition gets in the way. I think that opposition is a blessing, it wouldn't be as satisfying to bring someone unto baptism if it was easy.
If someone asked me what food in the American diet makes us so robust and enormous, I would have to say meat. Although its not just because of a certain type of food. It has alot to do with portions. American meat portions are satisfying and borderline exsessive. While Chinese portions of meat are about half as big as American and are fifty percent bone matter. Bones add to the flavour and make food more fun to eat. It kinda feels like playing with your food, knawing on a bone that you're holding with chopsticks.
I really feel like I have only had KFC like twice in America and like a million times in Hong Kong. Maybe when I was in America I thought eating chicken in that manner was gross and not processed enough for consumtion, whereas here in hong kong KFC is a place where I don't have to worry about getting heads or feet served to me.
Its funny how opinions change based on one's environment. I still feel like some sort of ignorant westerner somtimes. Concepts like qi, yinyang and fengshui still feel alot like superstition or foolish traditions. I guess I haven't really been able to study them much. Acupuncture seems so crazy, I swear its just placebo stuff. Didn't my dad get acupuncture on his mission and then couldn't ride his bike home? Does dad believe? I am positive we can't get acupuncture on our missions or massages. Definetly not massages, especially not in Mong Kok or Wanchai - yikes.
I like it over here. It sure seems like I run out of things to say pretty easy. Its becoming more and more apparent I should keep a journal. I welcome any questions or comments, advice or constructive criticism.
I love you all,
Hua Zhanglao
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