Mom Deleted Stephen's Latest Letter Home

Sorry,

I somehow deleted Stephen's letter home. I did read it to "the dad" and James. My plan is to recreate it. Stephen struggles with writing letters home each week. He asks for questions so that he will know what to write. Much of his letter was in reply to something someone had written or asked.

He said, no, he has not discovered any special talents that help him be a better missionary. His language skills are getting better. He wishes he got more of his genetics from his dad instead of from his Grandfather Blanchard.

Transfers are in 4 weeks.

Brannon wished him a happy birthday and encouraged him. He is going to write to him today.

He said his apartment is small and has roaches. Only the office elders and zone leaders get to drive, everyone else walks or bikes. Unfortunately Chinese girls are attractive. His companion is Elder Bendall and Elder Bendall is teaching him how not to notice the attractive girls and how to prevent him from turning into a "Larry" when he gets off of his mission.

He is glad James is passing all of his classes and wanted to know how tall James is now and how big his mustache is and if he will get sturdy like Stephen is. Stephen is told a lot that he will lose weight on his mission like the other missionaries. He has no proof of this but wants to be companions with this other large guy to find out his weight loss secrets.

Madagascar for Kevin Wall's mission - wow! His favorite supervisor at the MTC is from Madagascar. He couldn't remember his name but when Kevin is in the MTC, he can practice his French and Malagasy on him.

For Christmas he wants Christian heavy metal music or rap. He is not sure it that is kosher on missions though.

He misses his grandmother Wall and is afraid of doing anything wrong for fear his grandmother is watching him. He knows he should fear God more.

He loved the picture of Katy (having eaten all of the birthday cake) and he said he may not print it out because it might be similar to idol worship.

So, that's all I can think of.

Sorry

Burst Worthday 11/5/09

Family. This has been the burst worthday I have ever had but I think baptizing people is probably the best birthday party you can have though. Yesterday I confirmed for the first time, which in case you didn't know includes a blessing that is dictated by the spirit. It was rough and I don't believe I was exactly saying what Heavenly Father wanted me to say. We had a Thanksgiving dinner yesterday too. Today we went to the DBC with all of the main-landers who got baptized and their friends, I bought myself white suspenders for my birthday.


Members over there are pretty hilarious. There was a branch president who came with the group of about sixteen. He was baptized about seven years ago in LA. He was a little misinformed and was telling the visitors that we worship Joseph Smith, and also asking if they had purchased their garments yet. Nice guy though.

We also have an investigator who is from the west part of China. His last name is Liang, he has mental problems and hangs in the park but his wife is very sane and loving. He kept showing us his card that said that he is mentally handicapped, evidently he wasn't handicapped when he first came to Hong Kong looking for a job. He kept saying what a hassle it was to be retarded. He seemed very with it to me. We asked him if he had prayed before, he said yes. Then we asked what praying did for him. He gave the best answer I had ever heard. I was stunned how he could be handicapped, so much that I was a little too shocked to talk. Then he asked if I knew how to speak mandarin and if I really understood his answer. So anyway he can't really come to church because its so far away and costs a lot of money because he can't work. This place is a buffet of languages. One time I was talking with a Pakistani child with the couple of Cantonese words that I knew.

In the course of looking at Liang xiansheng's disabilities card so much, I saw his name that wasn't Chinese. I tried to pronounce it. It turns out that it was Kazakstani - pretty rad.

I want to learn all the languages Tagalog, Cebuano, Thai, Arabic. Too bad I'm struggling with the easiest on of them all: Mandarin.

I enjoyed the packages. I like that I got sent pictures of me and girls. That truly shocked and amazed people. I was reminded of how I hadn't written back one of the girls in the picture. I tried to get mom to give me her address but I guess I had too many friends named Alison on Facebook. Maybe she could find the address to a girl named Alison who is in the picture she printed off for me, and then tell her my sincere apologies. I wrote Jessica and Katy. I hope they received the letters, it was about three or four weeks ago. I got a letter from Elder Dodge. And I get emails from Laura a whole lot. Maybe mom can send me pictures of Jessica and Katy next time :)

I need confidence. I am too scared to rap for people and to do my Bill Cosby impressions. But worst of all I am pretty scared to talk to people. My mission is a fourth of the way over now. Pretty soon I'm going to be home and regretting what a poor job I did.

I love you all, the church is true

hua zhanglao

Mandarin Zone 28 Oct 2009

Thanks for your conversion story. At first I didn't notice that there was an attachment to your email (just comments on the family). I was very disappointed that that was your conversion story, but then I saw the attachment and was comforted.

Anyways, there is a Mandarin zone now. This is probably so we won't be able to interact with Cantonese missionaries and corrupt them or pollute their language. I am not really feeling the love. Zone activities and functions will be especially lame because all the Mandarins see each other about three times a week as it is.

I think we need a battle call like "Mandarins! Asseeeemmmbblllle!!!!!!". I really am dying about what to write. Actually I did turn my study journal into a rhyme book. Everybody says that my raps are good, I'm pretty sure that it is my favorite talent that God gave me. It makes journal writing much more interesting and bearable. I wanna buy a drum machine so that I don't have to wait for someone who can beatbox to practice. The only thing that makes me upset is that I can't really rap for zone or district activities because it would just be for the Mandarins now, and I’m pretty sure they will get sick of me. I hope President Chan doesn't cut Christmas. I mean he is Chinese and they don't really celebrate it.

Elder Kershisnik came yesterday. I bet his Chinese thrashes.

I love all of you and if my emails don't suffice, tell me what you want to hear.


Hua Zhanglao

Birthday November 5th

10/22/09

I bought the shaving cream because that's the only shaving cream they have in Hong Kong that isn't soap and shampoo as well. The truth is my electric razor got fried the first day I was in hong kong because I stuck it in an outlet that had too high of a voltage.

We pretty much eat out everyday because we are never close to home. It isn't as bad as it sounds because Chinese food is really healthy, also its only equivilent to like a dollar or so American. But the travel is always what kills me.

I would like more photos to show to my investigators and mainland visitors. Preferably ones that include me. But its not that necessary. I only really want deoderant for my birthday.

Mainland visitors come down and get taught all the lessons, then get an interview, then get baptised and then get confirmed. Previous to coming they need to be recomended by leaders that are in the mainland. A whole lot of the people we teach know the lessons backward and foreward, but also many don't hardly know anything. We just barely baptised a visitor a few days ago. Her brother was a member who lived here in Hong Kong so we got him to preform the baptism. Her baptism was in Cantonese and her confirmation was in Mandarin. The guy who did the confrimation was a leader from the mainland with a "president" title; he actually didn't quite know how to do it. I'm just glad that I didn't have to confirm her like we had planned.

I really like what my sister Tatiana wrote about the Russian elders. I enjoy hearing about all the kids in all the families. I do like to use English, but my companion tells me to speak Chinese when I talk English to people. I'm proud of everyone. Happy Birthday to Laura and Jerrica.

I don't know if I wrote enough. Let me know if my emails don't cut it.
Love,

Hua Zhanglao

Despised Language

10/15/09

I don't know if I said it already, but I think my mission could probably be compared to like a Russian elder in Ukraine or Lithuania. Everybody basically speaks Russian over there but they kind of despise it for communist reasons. Over here basically everybody knows Mandarin but despise it for communist reasons as well.

I want my sister Tatiana to tell me about the Russian elders (there were Russian elders right?) and to tell me about how rough they had it.

My father. I have only written in my journal four times since I have been in Hong Kong. I got inspired to turn it into a rhyme book to improve my rapping skills. I saw a Cantonese rap battle in the mall once. I pointed out that that wouldn't fly in America because it would be way to obscene for children to hear. Plus not even the natives we had with us at the time could understand what they were rapping about.

I just don't know what to say. I might be progressing. I still could use more confidence. I'm pretty sure that the level of fluency in a language exhibited by a person depends greatly on their confidence. Is this right dad? Was my grammar correct in that sentence? I don't think it matters if it wasn't because I totally typed it with confidence.

I just need to pray harder and study harder probably. I do have problems with sleeping. I totally sleep in sometimes and I am still sleepy throughout the day.

I think that I would like deodorant for my birthday. If at all possible I would like the "Aqua Reef" or "Old Spice Red Zone" or something like that but its not totally necessary.

Over all I feel my Savior's love and your love and the Spirit quite often so don't worry.

Continue to tell me what to write you and I will try to follow your commands. This time it's impossible to send pictures. I don't think a picture of the temple with me and my companion is really possible because of how close the temple is to the sidewalk.

I hope this letter isn't too lame. I spent a lot of time writing it. I did spend a lot of time reading all of the excellent emails that I received.

Wo ai nimen.
Hua Zhanglao

ps I think DD's name is Elain but maybe it has another "e" at the end

What I Say to One, I Say to All

Hi Family,

Daphnie? HAHA I think if its a boy it should be Scooby or Shaggy. Tatiana and Laura want personalized letters? What I say to one I say to all. I feel left out with all the babies coming when I'm not there. I'm just the isolated manchild who lives in China. I dislike writing letters but if Tatiana and Laura want me to send them each emails I suppose I could (probably next p-day).

Work is alright. We are receiving more and more investigators. We are maintaining a few but mostly we just drop them. I found a guy from Shanghai who will come to general conference and his last name is Mao Zedong's Mao. I personally would prefer him to come to a sacrament meeting and priesthood meeting. It takes a lot of faith to endure a general conference, but if he can endure a two hour session of conference he can certainly endure three hours of normal church . Ours isn't until this Saturday (today it's Thursday). I assume it has already happened over there.

I don't really know what to say. I need more confidence, I just barely passed off the first lesson in mandarin for the language recognition program. Once I pass off the five lessons then they will "allow" me to study characters. I just study them anyway. The Gospel principle's book is very helpful as well as all of the lesson pamphlets. However they are only in characters. Once I get the lessons passed off, the character pass off will be a breeze. I mostly just want to teach well, I could care less if people think Im a Chinese genius. I do have a desire to do Cantonese pass offs once I'm a Mandarin Language Legend.

To answer Dad's questions. We live in Kwai Fong, our Area is Kowloon west, which includes Lantau Island and the area where the Temple is. Our mandarin branch meets in Wanchai in the Hong Kong island in the most expensive piece of property the Church owns, on the sixth floor. We have about five Melchizedek (if that's how you spell it) priesthood holders. So many members are just mainland ladies who married a Hong Kong guy. Its not true that ALL their husbands are dirt bags, some are very loving respectable people, they just speak Cantonese and probably can't learn the gospel in mandarin. We have a lot of white mandarin RMs who were asked to join our ward to help out. I can already imagine the Mao Zedong brother being a worthy priesthood holder.

I'm sorry but emailing photos is a huge hassle.

Anyways, I love you all.

Hua Zhanglao

100109 MyFather

My Father, I wish I had your magical language powers. Cantonese really shouldn’t be this hard to pick up since it is a language almost entirely composed of cognates with Mandarin. I am pretty sure it is mostly the pronunciation that makes it nearly impossible.

We actually have a whole ton more investigators. Mandarin investigators only fall into a few categories. We have received one of each of the "Mandarin Tutor", "College Student" and “difficult married to Hong Kong resident-type marriages” varieties. Surprisingly, the "difficult marriage" type of investigator makes up the majority of our ward members. The College Students always leave after getting baptized it seems. All of the investigators we have are women excluding Tang JieMei's husband who fancies himself a strong Atheist.

Thanks for the great package. I wish I got warning so I could say that I already had four pairs of shoes. The clothes were great. I probably haven't been sharing the goodies that well. I actually did share the shoes with my companion. His right shoe had a hole worn into it and it rains a lot in Hong Kong. Since I probably don't need replacement shoes for about a year I lent them to him.

I haven't really gotten too much mail. I haven't written a single letter yet. I'll do my best to write one today.

I am getting less scared. I might start talking to people on the subway. I will probably go senior companion next move. I will struggle.

I love you all, I know you love me.

Hua Zhanglao

(Elder Wall)