3/4/10
HAHA! It happened. The Mandarin zone was abolished and the Mandarins
were all desegregated into Cantonese zones and districts. Three
Mandarins went to international, Elder O'Neill who came in with me but
has poor Mandarin, Elder Mills who is new and rad but could use the
boost of international work where finding and tracting is effective
and me. They both are still living in Wan chai on Hong Kong island
and pretty much do all of their work there.
I, on the other hand, am in Macau. I was told that I should teach
everyone, Mandarins included and my companion is to study Mandarin
with me. He is a really tall Hawaiian named Elder Lindsay, he studied
Mandarin for three years at BYU Hawaii, but got a call to Hong Kong
speaking Cantonese. I like him, I think he is probably also about as
old as my brother and yet I treat him as a peer. Missions are weird.
The amount of languages here is intense, the housemaids speak
Ilicano, Tagalog, Cebuano and Indonesian but we will teach them in
English. We will probably teach Cantonese lessons as well though.
The other crazy thing is the Portuguese, all the street signs and
businesses are written with Portuguese and Chinese characters
underneath. It’s insane. I don't know how I will get around this
place, there is almost no English. We have like eight different
languages of the book of Mormon in the chapel and the sign on our
building is in English, Chinese and Portuguese.
I hope I can grasp Cantonese and intensify my Mandarin. I am so
excited I cannot even try and explain it over an email. I guess I
will call on Mother’s Day from over here so it’s all good.
I will miss the Mandarin branch though. There is pretty much no such
thing as a International primary, because all the Philipinas and
Indonesians are over here working and their kids are still in their
native lands. But I’m sure their children are way adorable.
The thing about Macau is that it is like twenty million times better
than Hong Kong. The only two Mandarins ever to go besides me were
Zone leaders because they both had pretty good Cantonese and did
mostly Cantonese work. The entire mission is jealous of anyone going
to Macau there are only ten missionaries here. Needless to say I
never even had a glimmer of hope that I would get here but, my wildest
dreams did take place here from time to time. Mandarins also have
never been to international work ever before. Everyone is so jealous
and they all told me that I was going on a vacation mission.
I have a call to literally talk to everyone and teach everyone. I
don't have to turn anybody over. The only problem is that the sisters
in Macau international don't either.
I still don't know all that's going on over here yet, I've only been
here one day.
This is maybe the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.
Probably will be the best time of my life.
Man, I don't know what to say really. I promise to take pictures and
actually write in a journal. You won't miss a beat.
Some times I wish I had my father's talent, because I'm sure that he
would pick up all seven languages that Macau offers other than
English. I didn’t understand what he wrote me about animal Abkaz.
I am the Mandarin "go to guy" over here. I can't wait to get to work.
At first it kind of seemed like an accident, but now I'm starting to
feel really special.
My suitcase wheels got jammed and turned into erasers and left two
black trails behind me as I painstakingly drug my suitcase grinding the
wheels on the cement all the way. I have so much literature in my
suitcase that I brought. I was way sweaty when I got home.
I don't even know all the Mandarins in the mission now and I only know
like three of the people here in Macau, so bear with me as I get to
know people before I talk about them.
I think that was probably a sporadic letter I hope you captured a
little of my excitement.
Love,
Hua Zhanglao
PS If I ever decided to write a letter it would probably never get to
is destination. Packages would take months to obtain.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Anticipating Transfers
2/25/10
I am way excited for whatever happens next move. I think it is very likey that I go to international. I really want to have variety in my mission. Instead of baptizing large amounts of mainland visitors I will baptize large amounts of humble Filipinas and Indonesians.
Elder Joshua Wallace- Came in at the same time as me, he is in international, pretty cool
Elder Jacob Reeser-came in same time as me, he is cool
Elder James Cowser (Mandarin, this is the guy who lives next door to
the Anderson's from Japan. He was our Branch Pres.)-Is he one who is coming in?
Elder Marcus Wingate-Has the same Chinese last name as me, pretty shy
Elder Lamb- tall white dude from Shanghai, pretty cool
Elder Blake Harper-I don’t know
Elder JD Quinn-I don’t know
Stephen Vidmar- Office Elder, way rad
Dexter Llybert-I can't remember who this is
Elder Cope-I don't know
Noah Kirshisnik (Mandarin)- Probably one of my best friends in the mission actually
My companions were Elder Lee, Bendall and Ngai
The reason I dont talk about Kong Zhanglao very much is because I don't talk about anybody but my selfish self in any of my letters and if I did you would probably all get the wrong impression about the guy (or sister I guess). I suppose I could start doing that if you really want me to.
I enjoyed my package, thanks. I makes me feel good every now and then to get one, but you don't need to go crazy. I can get cookies over here that don't cost a lot of shipping. Maybe I'm grasping the Chinese culture and only really want money. To be honest all I want is more Matis Yahu (Reggae Jew) in my life. I enjoy pictures though and am sorry about not ever being able to send them because the planets probably all need to be in alignment before I can. I was also extremely excited to receive a letter from my grandmother. I also liked how she defined "inversion" for me; in Hong Kong that’s all we get in our sky. I wonder how it could be so hot without a sun.
Speaking of money for gifts I got about 300 Hong Kong dollars (over forty bucks US) , but I have the stipulation of not being able to use it for "personal missionary use" , which can be interpreted however one wants. I guess about ten red pockets equivilated to 300 bucks.
Man, my time is almost up actually. Ummm. It sounds like life over there is the same old stress with working on children. People change, even children I've been told, because that's the meaning of life. I hope that I have changed because of my mission and my parents' stress. I enjoy life actually, which means I could be doing it wrong. I probably need a little bit more strenuous (if that’s how you spell it), stressful work ethic probably. The things that are most difficult are often the things that are most worth it. This is why there are difficulty levels on most video games.
Five minutes left, I really love you all. But maybe not enough to attend U of U. I probably will rely on the Dodges when I get back to maintain the mandarin that I have developed on my mission. I do like affordable living at my parents house though, we'll see, I still have forever left on my mission.
Hua Zhanglao
I am way excited for whatever happens next move. I think it is very likey that I go to international. I really want to have variety in my mission. Instead of baptizing large amounts of mainland visitors I will baptize large amounts of humble Filipinas and Indonesians.
Elder Joshua Wallace- Came in at the same time as me, he is in international, pretty cool
Elder Jacob Reeser-came in same time as me, he is cool
Elder James Cowser (Mandarin, this is the guy who lives next door to
the Anderson's from Japan. He was our Branch Pres.)-Is he one who is coming in?
Elder Marcus Wingate-Has the same Chinese last name as me, pretty shy
Elder Lamb- tall white dude from Shanghai, pretty cool
Elder Blake Harper-I don’t know
Elder JD Quinn-I don’t know
Stephen Vidmar- Office Elder, way rad
Dexter Llybert-I can't remember who this is
Elder Cope-I don't know
Noah Kirshisnik (Mandarin)- Probably one of my best friends in the mission actually
My companions were Elder Lee, Bendall and Ngai
The reason I dont talk about Kong Zhanglao very much is because I don't talk about anybody but my selfish self in any of my letters and if I did you would probably all get the wrong impression about the guy (or sister I guess). I suppose I could start doing that if you really want me to.
I enjoyed my package, thanks. I makes me feel good every now and then to get one, but you don't need to go crazy. I can get cookies over here that don't cost a lot of shipping. Maybe I'm grasping the Chinese culture and only really want money. To be honest all I want is more Matis Yahu (Reggae Jew) in my life. I enjoy pictures though and am sorry about not ever being able to send them because the planets probably all need to be in alignment before I can. I was also extremely excited to receive a letter from my grandmother. I also liked how she defined "inversion" for me; in Hong Kong that’s all we get in our sky. I wonder how it could be so hot without a sun.
Speaking of money for gifts I got about 300 Hong Kong dollars (over forty bucks US) , but I have the stipulation of not being able to use it for "personal missionary use" , which can be interpreted however one wants. I guess about ten red pockets equivilated to 300 bucks.
Man, my time is almost up actually. Ummm. It sounds like life over there is the same old stress with working on children. People change, even children I've been told, because that's the meaning of life. I hope that I have changed because of my mission and my parents' stress. I enjoy life actually, which means I could be doing it wrong. I probably need a little bit more strenuous (if that’s how you spell it), stressful work ethic probably. The things that are most difficult are often the things that are most worth it. This is why there are difficulty levels on most video games.
Five minutes left, I really love you all. But maybe not enough to attend U of U. I probably will rely on the Dodges when I get back to maintain the mandarin that I have developed on my mission. I do like affordable living at my parents house though, we'll see, I still have forever left on my mission.
Hua Zhanglao
Monday, February 22, 2010
Chinese New Years
2/22/10
So Chinese New year wasn't as special as I thought it would be, everybody seems to leave Hong Kong to party somewhere in the Mainland or Taiwan. I did get a lot of Red Pocket money, which kind of weirds me out when I think about it. It seems pretty strange to me to hand out cash for a holiday. We got treated to several meals by the few members who stayed. We didn't see the fireworks. The whole mission went to the largest outside buddha in the world named "Big Buddha" or "Da Fo" in mandarin or "Dai Fut" in Cantonese which I think is pretty funny. It was super cold.
I got zero pictures because my battery was dead. I guess there's always next year. I heard the package is at the temple but I haven't picked it up.
I thank my mother for the letter on hymns. I enjoy hymns and that method of singing a hymn mentally to ward off bad thoughts works pretty well. I just actually feel my mind melting from all the Mormon Tabernacle choir and EFY. But it is great incentive to leave the apartment as soon as possible, maybe even early.
So there are three Mandarins coming in now; one missionary is moving up early because his parents are Chinese. There are at least two Mandarins now that will go into International work. I have a not so secret desire to go.
The work was pretty slow during the holiday but it will pick up here pretty soon with a baptism next Sunday and another two weeks later into the branch.
My Mandarin is not progressing much and an elder who came in with me who had no Mandarin background before the mission seems to understand and say a whole lot more than me. I'm not jealous, I just know that I could definitely be doing a whole lot better especially with about five years under my belt. It kind of seems like band all over again. I had an advantage of playing the trumpet since fifth grade and by the time I was a senior I was last chair trumpet with about three freshman above me. At first, because I could work less and obtain the same results as everyone else, I did. Eventually people who were working harder than me who were not as blessed initially started passing me up. Don't fall into that trap, especially if you have the advantage of being born into the only true church on the face of the planet. Work hard, strain yourself in all that the Lord has blessed you with.
I don't wish to harrow up any body's soul now. I know what I have to do. All I have to do is do it. Its a whole lot better than not knowing what to do or only knowing sort of what to do. And that is why I’m a missionary.
That is my message for the day, I hope James can get something out of it.
Hua Zhanglao
So Chinese New year wasn't as special as I thought it would be, everybody seems to leave Hong Kong to party somewhere in the Mainland or Taiwan. I did get a lot of Red Pocket money, which kind of weirds me out when I think about it. It seems pretty strange to me to hand out cash for a holiday. We got treated to several meals by the few members who stayed. We didn't see the fireworks. The whole mission went to the largest outside buddha in the world named "Big Buddha" or "Da Fo" in mandarin or "Dai Fut" in Cantonese which I think is pretty funny. It was super cold.
I got zero pictures because my battery was dead. I guess there's always next year. I heard the package is at the temple but I haven't picked it up.
I thank my mother for the letter on hymns. I enjoy hymns and that method of singing a hymn mentally to ward off bad thoughts works pretty well. I just actually feel my mind melting from all the Mormon Tabernacle choir and EFY. But it is great incentive to leave the apartment as soon as possible, maybe even early.
So there are three Mandarins coming in now; one missionary is moving up early because his parents are Chinese. There are at least two Mandarins now that will go into International work. I have a not so secret desire to go.
The work was pretty slow during the holiday but it will pick up here pretty soon with a baptism next Sunday and another two weeks later into the branch.
My Mandarin is not progressing much and an elder who came in with me who had no Mandarin background before the mission seems to understand and say a whole lot more than me. I'm not jealous, I just know that I could definitely be doing a whole lot better especially with about five years under my belt. It kind of seems like band all over again. I had an advantage of playing the trumpet since fifth grade and by the time I was a senior I was last chair trumpet with about three freshman above me. At first, because I could work less and obtain the same results as everyone else, I did. Eventually people who were working harder than me who were not as blessed initially started passing me up. Don't fall into that trap, especially if you have the advantage of being born into the only true church on the face of the planet. Work hard, strain yourself in all that the Lord has blessed you with.
I don't wish to harrow up any body's soul now. I know what I have to do. All I have to do is do it. Its a whole lot better than not knowing what to do or only knowing sort of what to do. And that is why I’m a missionary.
That is my message for the day, I hope James can get something out of it.
Hua Zhanglao
Friday, February 12, 2010
Hulk with Green Skin
2/11/10
Actually, I have my camera and cord but I can't reach the USB hole because its with the CPU several feet above my head. Do you know what kind of chip I have for my camera; its kind of a special one that nobody really has I fear you purchased the wrong one over there. Plus all things computer are way cheaper here than in America.
Do I still have to pray for Ezra or is he okay? That really scares me. He is pretty much adorable. I definitely have to pray for Peter right? I guess Kevin as well. I learned tricks in the MTC to avoid the time limit. One is through notepad; just write your letters in the notepad application and when you're done, log in to the email and copy and paste the letters. This saves all the time spent on writing letters and then gives you a ton of time to read letters. Another way is to type the days date as a password instead of your birthday, for some reason the time limit never pops up. I incorporated a strategy of both while in the MTC, which is the only way I could avoid my mom calling leadership to scold me.
I wish I could do that now, I only have twenty minutes left after reading all the traumatizing (if that's how you spell it) letters about Ezra. I also enjoyed deciphering the Spanish letter that was sent to me, about mocos in a nariz aftecting respirar. Kind of scary though.
Right now is the holidays so the work is pretty much slow, especially for Mandarins, everybody is back in the mainland with family. So on Sunday I predict only missionaries being at church. I hear pretty soon Hong Kong becomes a ghost town on the streets and nobody is out trying to receive the gospel. But I heard that in International zone, all the domestic workers get off and so they just roam the streets on Hong Kong Island and a ton of missionary work gets done over there with Filipinas, Indonesians and Thai ladies. I think I might get sent there next transfer.
My breakfast always includes an egg ham and cheese sandwich and a high potency multi vitamin. When I eat ramen I place "choy" or "cai" (in mandarin) in my noodles, which is just like vegetables and sometimes I place awesome frozen dumplings in the water too while its boiling. I am pretty dang healthy, although still obese, and one day I will come back looking like the hulk with green skin from all the choy that I eat every day. And we actually do pretty well with members and investigators feeding us, we call this occurrence a "chang out" or "qing out" in Mandarin. And I have only been sick twice, probably food poisoning both times because of the suspicious way in which they handle and prepare their chicken over here. But that which doesn't kill me only makes me stronger right?
I just doesn't really know what to write one. That's the way my trainer spoke English although his English was pretty dang powerful.
Maybe that’s all I have to say,
I love you guys
Actually, I have my camera and cord but I can't reach the USB hole because its with the CPU several feet above my head. Do you know what kind of chip I have for my camera; its kind of a special one that nobody really has I fear you purchased the wrong one over there. Plus all things computer are way cheaper here than in America.
Do I still have to pray for Ezra or is he okay? That really scares me. He is pretty much adorable. I definitely have to pray for Peter right? I guess Kevin as well. I learned tricks in the MTC to avoid the time limit. One is through notepad; just write your letters in the notepad application and when you're done, log in to the email and copy and paste the letters. This saves all the time spent on writing letters and then gives you a ton of time to read letters. Another way is to type the days date as a password instead of your birthday, for some reason the time limit never pops up. I incorporated a strategy of both while in the MTC, which is the only way I could avoid my mom calling leadership to scold me.
I wish I could do that now, I only have twenty minutes left after reading all the traumatizing (if that's how you spell it) letters about Ezra. I also enjoyed deciphering the Spanish letter that was sent to me, about mocos in a nariz aftecting respirar. Kind of scary though.
Right now is the holidays so the work is pretty much slow, especially for Mandarins, everybody is back in the mainland with family. So on Sunday I predict only missionaries being at church. I hear pretty soon Hong Kong becomes a ghost town on the streets and nobody is out trying to receive the gospel. But I heard that in International zone, all the domestic workers get off and so they just roam the streets on Hong Kong Island and a ton of missionary work gets done over there with Filipinas, Indonesians and Thai ladies. I think I might get sent there next transfer.
My breakfast always includes an egg ham and cheese sandwich and a high potency multi vitamin. When I eat ramen I place "choy" or "cai" (in mandarin) in my noodles, which is just like vegetables and sometimes I place awesome frozen dumplings in the water too while its boiling. I am pretty dang healthy, although still obese, and one day I will come back looking like the hulk with green skin from all the choy that I eat every day. And we actually do pretty well with members and investigators feeding us, we call this occurrence a "chang out" or "qing out" in Mandarin. And I have only been sick twice, probably food poisoning both times because of the suspicious way in which they handle and prepare their chicken over here. But that which doesn't kill me only makes me stronger right?
I just doesn't really know what to write one. That's the way my trainer spoke English although his English was pretty dang powerful.
Maybe that’s all I have to say,
I love you guys
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Dear loved ones,
I spent half an hour reading all the emails that I received so it might be hard to write a good letter or even make an effort to respond to them.
I just got back from my temple, which I still haven’t taken a picture of. I couldn't think to bring camera attachments to the temple with me so no pictures today. Sorry.
I actually really want to go do international work, when the new Mandarins come in. International work is basically for the domestic helpers who live in Hong Kong who are almost exclusively all Filipina and Thai ladies. And they go to church like every day.
I don't recognize the Elder Gu, but I bet I'll be friends with him one day. All the mainlander missionaries pass through these parts so I saw some who went to Vancouver too. Did I tell you that before?
A temple missionary that used to be father's coworker is going to feed me and my companion on Monday. Elder Bishop. I like him, he speaks Mandarin well too. He knows Elder Ngai's father. Elder Ngai's father is the Branch President of the Calgary Mandarin Branch and Calgary Canada Mandrin speaking is where my MTC companion Elder Stewart is. I don't think I told you this yet. I just am not really good at talking about anyone else but myself. Did I even tell you my companion's name when I was in the MTC.
I have a list of people to send snail mail to that include Katy Seely and my cousin Kevin Wall who is in the MTC on his way to Madagascar.
I actually am still not that good at being social with strangers yet. Those new investigators that I found took about ten minutes of my companion urging me before I sat by them and offered to help the boy do homework.
Actually mainland people are way nice. A ton of Cantonese missionaries' baptisms are just mainland people that they should have turned over, I would say probably a majority of the Cantonese baptisms are. Hong Kong culture is just not so receptive to enthusiastic foreigners trying to talk you about God on the street.
One day the patience and persistence of my parents will pay off with my little brothers and sisters. I know one day it will pay off for me too.
I can't wait to talk Chinese with my one brother and see him go to China on his mission.
I am almost out of time so I will wrap up with some righteous thoughts I guess. Families can be together forever. I guess I like my family more on my mission than before. It's actually not because of the usually reasons; I am not homesick one bit, this is my new home now. There is a quote from one prophet that they really like over here and put all over ties and bumper stickers, it says "No success can compensate for failure in the family" or "Meiyou renhe chenggong keyi mibu jiating the shibai". It's true, I hope to be able to be a better family member when I get back home and finally move out of the house.
I love you all,
(Hua Zhanglao)
I spent half an hour reading all the emails that I received so it might be hard to write a good letter or even make an effort to respond to them.
I just got back from my temple, which I still haven’t taken a picture of. I couldn't think to bring camera attachments to the temple with me so no pictures today. Sorry.
I actually really want to go do international work, when the new Mandarins come in. International work is basically for the domestic helpers who live in Hong Kong who are almost exclusively all Filipina and Thai ladies. And they go to church like every day.
I don't recognize the Elder Gu, but I bet I'll be friends with him one day. All the mainlander missionaries pass through these parts so I saw some who went to Vancouver too. Did I tell you that before?
A temple missionary that used to be father's coworker is going to feed me and my companion on Monday. Elder Bishop. I like him, he speaks Mandarin well too. He knows Elder Ngai's father. Elder Ngai's father is the Branch President of the Calgary Mandarin Branch and Calgary Canada Mandrin speaking is where my MTC companion Elder Stewart is. I don't think I told you this yet. I just am not really good at talking about anyone else but myself. Did I even tell you my companion's name when I was in the MTC.
I have a list of people to send snail mail to that include Katy Seely and my cousin Kevin Wall who is in the MTC on his way to Madagascar.
I actually am still not that good at being social with strangers yet. Those new investigators that I found took about ten minutes of my companion urging me before I sat by them and offered to help the boy do homework.
Actually mainland people are way nice. A ton of Cantonese missionaries' baptisms are just mainland people that they should have turned over, I would say probably a majority of the Cantonese baptisms are. Hong Kong culture is just not so receptive to enthusiastic foreigners trying to talk you about God on the street.
One day the patience and persistence of my parents will pay off with my little brothers and sisters. I know one day it will pay off for me too.
I can't wait to talk Chinese with my one brother and see him go to China on his mission.
I am almost out of time so I will wrap up with some righteous thoughts I guess. Families can be together forever. I guess I like my family more on my mission than before. It's actually not because of the usually reasons; I am not homesick one bit, this is my new home now. There is a quote from one prophet that they really like over here and put all over ties and bumper stickers, it says "No success can compensate for failure in the family" or "Meiyou renhe chenggong keyi mibu jiating the shibai". It's true, I hope to be able to be a better family member when I get back home and finally move out of the house.
I love you all,
(Hua Zhanglao)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
"Stephen is Awesome" - so says his mom
1/28/10
Hello family,
I am doing pretty well. Me and my companion did the impossible, we found a new investigator on our very own, she brought her almost eight year old son with her to English class. The boy, named Benson wants to come to English class next week as well. He is a genius and says that his favorite subject is math. However his least favorite subject is English. We found them when I noticed them struggling through his English homework together. I offered to help them after a whole lot of encouragement by my companion. We gave them a Book of Mormon after English class. To be honest, I feel it is very likely that they will both get baptized. That is the way with our Mandarin English class, about a 90% baptizing rate - if they come.
I am just actually a really shy person when it comes to talking to strangers and adults. I like children much better. They are just so receptive and patient, and it’s okay to make faces at them and tell them that you can run faster than them. I hope to be able to over come my fear that I have been developing for the past few years.
I brought my camera, but the USB cord that I brought was the wrong one. I like the recipes, actually Gyoza, or Jiao zi in Mandarin, is probably my favorite Chinese food now. We just went to a members house who just got back from the mainland and seriously ate probably like a hundred that she made. I am totally going to learn at New Years or Valentines activity that our branch will put on.
I got a letter back from Daoqi Zhanglao (Elder Dodge). He said that his Cantonese is slowly improving. Man! I thought I could like brag about how I learned too languages or something on my mission and he just got to brush up on one that he already knew. Oh well, we are going to tour the world together after the mission though. I can't wait to have conversations with him in Chinese.
I am improving really slowly. Probably at my own pace. I am satisfied, but I’m sure that if I improved at the level that the Lord knows that I can, I would have been as powerful as I am now back in the MTC. I am definitely not saying that I am powerful or anything, but I bet my language could be pretty good if I had worked my hardest the entire time. I probably would have really good social skills too.
I still don't really have any crazy miracles or super hilarious stories that have happened yet. This makes it really hard for me to write a journal.
Maybe this was the longest letter I have ever written. It sure feels like it. I have learned about families on my mission, I really love you guys. I am really blessed to have a powerful family. I can't wait to have all the nieces and nephews become endeared to me. I have decided that I will probably adopt a Chinese girl when I get home. My reasons are that one, adopting a girl makes you feel better than if you adopt a boy because they don't like them up there in mainland and two, they are a couple thousand dollars cheaper. Its a win win situation. I have also learned the value of women on my mission. Here in Hong Kong there is so much pornography and prostitution and as a Mandarin a large portion of all of our investigators and branch members are single mothers who were mistreated by some dirt-bag. It makes me sick, I’m glad that I know that women are daughters of God. Also basically all of our turnovers and new investigators are given to us by sister missionaries. I also really like the “please mind the gap” talk by that one single sister during conference, it hit me because we have that at our subways too. They also say queue up, and rubbish bin and chips instead of fries. Britain really jacked this place up.
I love you, Hua Zhanglao
Hello family,
I am doing pretty well. Me and my companion did the impossible, we found a new investigator on our very own, she brought her almost eight year old son with her to English class. The boy, named Benson wants to come to English class next week as well. He is a genius and says that his favorite subject is math. However his least favorite subject is English. We found them when I noticed them struggling through his English homework together. I offered to help them after a whole lot of encouragement by my companion. We gave them a Book of Mormon after English class. To be honest, I feel it is very likely that they will both get baptized. That is the way with our Mandarin English class, about a 90% baptizing rate - if they come.
I am just actually a really shy person when it comes to talking to strangers and adults. I like children much better. They are just so receptive and patient, and it’s okay to make faces at them and tell them that you can run faster than them. I hope to be able to over come my fear that I have been developing for the past few years.
I brought my camera, but the USB cord that I brought was the wrong one. I like the recipes, actually Gyoza, or Jiao zi in Mandarin, is probably my favorite Chinese food now. We just went to a members house who just got back from the mainland and seriously ate probably like a hundred that she made. I am totally going to learn at New Years or Valentines activity that our branch will put on.
I got a letter back from Daoqi Zhanglao (Elder Dodge). He said that his Cantonese is slowly improving. Man! I thought I could like brag about how I learned too languages or something on my mission and he just got to brush up on one that he already knew. Oh well, we are going to tour the world together after the mission though. I can't wait to have conversations with him in Chinese.
I am improving really slowly. Probably at my own pace. I am satisfied, but I’m sure that if I improved at the level that the Lord knows that I can, I would have been as powerful as I am now back in the MTC. I am definitely not saying that I am powerful or anything, but I bet my language could be pretty good if I had worked my hardest the entire time. I probably would have really good social skills too.
I still don't really have any crazy miracles or super hilarious stories that have happened yet. This makes it really hard for me to write a journal.
Maybe this was the longest letter I have ever written. It sure feels like it. I have learned about families on my mission, I really love you guys. I am really blessed to have a powerful family. I can't wait to have all the nieces and nephews become endeared to me. I have decided that I will probably adopt a Chinese girl when I get home. My reasons are that one, adopting a girl makes you feel better than if you adopt a boy because they don't like them up there in mainland and two, they are a couple thousand dollars cheaper. Its a win win situation. I have also learned the value of women on my mission. Here in Hong Kong there is so much pornography and prostitution and as a Mandarin a large portion of all of our investigators and branch members are single mothers who were mistreated by some dirt-bag. It makes me sick, I’m glad that I know that women are daughters of God. Also basically all of our turnovers and new investigators are given to us by sister missionaries. I also really like the “please mind the gap” talk by that one single sister during conference, it hit me because we have that at our subways too. They also say queue up, and rubbish bin and chips instead of fries. Britain really jacked this place up.
I love you, Hua Zhanglao
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Baptizing Mainlanders on P-Day
1/25/10
Dear Family,
I was baptizing mainland visitors last p-day - which explains a late letter. I would totally love to show pictures but I think I fried my camera battery in much the same way I fried both my electric razors. I really love teaching all the lessons one after another. It saves so much hassle of having people come to church and investigate for months.
I decided that I can't really recall stories with very much accuracy. I just will be patient and show you the video of my mission when we're in the Celestial Kingdom.
I can totally still beat James in a race. Yeah, you could probably send me recipes, but there are only toaster ovens in our apartments. Actually Elder Kershisnik is kinda getting a reputation as a chef. I really would love receiving a Matis Yahu cd in a package. I don't really need much besides money. I got Peter's letter and a whole bunch from ward people.
I am pretty much same old same old over here. I really want to get sent to do English work in the International zone when all the new Mandarins come in. I feel my Mandarin is not horrible, so it could take a hit like that.
I wouldn't mind hearing mission stories from my father, brother or sister so I could know what kind of story I should probably share. I need advice on how to deal with atheists and people who say that Buddhism and Christianity are both right and are pretty much the same. Polar opposites: people who believe everything and people who believe nothing.
One time I was upset when a leader's wife had the audacity to say that her mission in Mexico was probably harder than over here because we get to start at square one and we don't have to deal will catholic misconceptions. False! The Catholic church is actually pretty big over here. You can Bible bash if you want.
Starting at square one is hard. I can't explain the Abrahamic Covenant or the gathering of Israel with nothing to go off of. I was also trying to explain what it meant to baptize the earth with fire when Jesus comes again to one of our investigators and I tried to bring up Noah and the flood but she had never even heard that story, let alone Israel and Joseph getting sold into Egypt. There is a large attraction/amusement place that is called Noah's ark in Hong Kong by the way. Surprisingly that investigator just tore up the Isaiah chapters no problem.
So I could probably use my father relating with me how he slammed people who said "There are many paths to the top of Fuji".
My testimony is growing and my life is getting happier and happier, I want other people to have that too.
I love you all
(Hua Zhanglao)
Dear Family,
I was baptizing mainland visitors last p-day - which explains a late letter. I would totally love to show pictures but I think I fried my camera battery in much the same way I fried both my electric razors. I really love teaching all the lessons one after another. It saves so much hassle of having people come to church and investigate for months.
I decided that I can't really recall stories with very much accuracy. I just will be patient and show you the video of my mission when we're in the Celestial Kingdom.
I can totally still beat James in a race. Yeah, you could probably send me recipes, but there are only toaster ovens in our apartments. Actually Elder Kershisnik is kinda getting a reputation as a chef. I really would love receiving a Matis Yahu cd in a package. I don't really need much besides money. I got Peter's letter and a whole bunch from ward people.
I am pretty much same old same old over here. I really want to get sent to do English work in the International zone when all the new Mandarins come in. I feel my Mandarin is not horrible, so it could take a hit like that.
I wouldn't mind hearing mission stories from my father, brother or sister so I could know what kind of story I should probably share. I need advice on how to deal with atheists and people who say that Buddhism and Christianity are both right and are pretty much the same. Polar opposites: people who believe everything and people who believe nothing.
One time I was upset when a leader's wife had the audacity to say that her mission in Mexico was probably harder than over here because we get to start at square one and we don't have to deal will catholic misconceptions. False! The Catholic church is actually pretty big over here. You can Bible bash if you want.
Starting at square one is hard. I can't explain the Abrahamic Covenant or the gathering of Israel with nothing to go off of. I was also trying to explain what it meant to baptize the earth with fire when Jesus comes again to one of our investigators and I tried to bring up Noah and the flood but she had never even heard that story, let alone Israel and Joseph getting sold into Egypt. There is a large attraction/amusement place that is called Noah's ark in Hong Kong by the way. Surprisingly that investigator just tore up the Isaiah chapters no problem.
So I could probably use my father relating with me how he slammed people who said "There are many paths to the top of Fuji".
My testimony is growing and my life is getting happier and happier, I want other people to have that too.
I love you all
(Hua Zhanglao)
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