Sept 2, 2010

My family,

Thanks for writing. Today I went to the temple and I am quite happy right now. I am so happy for China to be "regularized". I feel like it was my fault somehow. I have some kind of a special love for those people of the mainland although they are quite oblivious at times. I love their humbleness and meek nature. They feel so innocent to me, like little children. I am so happy that I have had the priveledge to be here and serve them.

I feel like my mission is coming to a close and I have not made much of an impact. I can feel the spirit with me and often receive comfort and guidance from my Heavenly Father so I can't say that I am totally unsuccessful. At least I personaly have changed a little. I hope you guys can see that when you see me in a few months or in my letters I guess.

The quest for a family seems within grasp. I just noticed in the record books an investigator family that was pretty good in Kowloon East over in kwun tong that just somehow fell though the cracks. I also heard of a less active who was baptised in 01 and has a wife and child who are very nice people. I feel we have more chance of getting a family if we have more potential families. I wish we could baptise them all though.

Basically I don't know what to say. I watched the documentary "Planet Earth" today before I went to the temple. It is approved by our mission to watch. I highly recommend it. I really like the caves episode so far. It really helped my temple experience, just by helping me ponder upon all the things that God has created that beautify the earth. Some of the caves were gorgeous. I didn't know what to think of the worlds biggest mound of guano though.

As far as ping pong goes, I am pretty sucky. I have not picked up any skills on my mission even though I am in china. I can't play the guitar (let alone ukalele), I can't do a rubix cube, basketball is awful, and I can't do magic. Chopstick skills have gotten considerably better though. and my ability to eat freaken spicy junk from Sichuan has increased too.

I still have around a year left though. I bet I could go back to Macau, Kershisnik is getting kicked out. You should pray for me to go to Macau instead of getting a family. That was the happiest time of my life for sure. They all miss me way bad I hear. They still haven't got that Vietnamese thing going. I really wan't to learn Indonesian.

Anyways, my companion is pretty cool and pretty tall. I keep telling him that I could beat him in a race though. His Mandarin could be better than mine. He knows some good vocabulary. I don't like basketball that much though. He's way good at pingpong.

I really like the gospel. I love feasting on scriptures and I am attempting the scripture mastery scriptures again. Right now I really like section 130; it has three scripture mastery verses in a row. I like the one about obtaining more knowledge and wisdom than others and how you will be ahead of them in the life to come. I probably compare myself with people to often. God has certainly given everyone talents and blessings though.

So I love all of you guys and hope that this letter was okay,

Hua Zhanglao

August 25, 2010

I'm sitting in a coffee shop doing my email. I should hurry before people get the wrong idea. Speaking of the Estonian, I have been meaning to tell you about an Estonian fellow who lives in our apartment complex whom we played badminton with once. I am pretty sure he's gay though so we probably won't meet with him again. Elder Reber was too handsome for his own good.

Anyways now am going to be with Elder Reber's MTC companion who is name Elder Cowser, his is really tall. Elder Reber is international now and "Guess Who" is still in my spot in Macau. I am really excited to be with Elder Cowser, he is really tall and athletic, but I am pretty sure I can run faster than him, he doubts it.

I really want a family to baptise, Zhu family just got back and we probably should meet them on Saturday. I think we should get a few more families just in case the Zhu family doesn't turn out.

I feel my mission isn't quite over. I hope I can get a family and then I will be satisfied. That's all I want, probably the greatest desire of my life right now. I want something to show for myself when I get back home. In many ways I'm pretty much the same. Probably a little more righteous and patient with others flaws. Im a little less patient with my self.

How is my father's Chinese? I really want to read the art of war and the analects and journey west and three kingdoms and dao de jing. I bet it will be decades before my Chinese abilities will be able to tackle that kind of literature. Is that what your're studying dad? I tell everyone I want to be just like my dad when I grow up. I totally brag about you way to much.

I love you all,

Hua zhanglao

Aug 18, 2010

Hello my dear family members,

How are you guys? I will remain on the Hong Kong island this transfer. Hopefully we can get new investigators someday. If we have faith it can be done.

I am the oldest missionary on Hong Kong island. Most of the missionaries have been on a mission for three to four transfers. I am going on ten. I am such an inspiring person to look to for adivce because I am so full of wisdom and experience and I know what I am doing when it comes to missionary work.

I agree with James. In someways I am a mindless zombie for the Lord. I think it would be more accurate to say like a power tool or some kind of instrument or something though. I just want to infect the whole world with the message of the restored gospel. Think of how much easier it would be to just have to bite someone instead of having to tell them my message and help them decide to get baptised. It would also help if nothing could hurt me. I also have a unquenchable hunger for investigators and human flesh.

Hey, so Im a district leader. There are two Cantonese companionships in my district. I don't think I can do baptismal interviews for them. All I will basically do is inspire them will my pep talks and motivational speeches. I can do interviews for mainland visitors though. I did two yesterday and probably will do another today. Talk about akward. Have you ever had an abortion? are you sure? Have you ever had a gay relationship? really? and the best part is that its all in mandarin.

Maybe this letter is inappropriate for children.

I am starting to love teaching, I really want to increase my skills and language. I think teaching by the spirit feels really nice. Its pretty bogus the other way. Too bad none of the people I teach are ever investigators.

I finished Jesus the Christ, I want to read the Old Testament, but I bet that won't help my teaching.

I love you all,

Hua zhanglao (Elder Wall)

Aug 11, 2010

Dear my family,

I am so jealous that you got to see a whole lot of things that are historically significant to my life as an American and as a member of God's latter-day church. I also wish I could have gone to those relatives' house and rode on their vehicles and modes of transportation. I enjoy it over here pretty well though, there just isn't the amazingness of America here, no free refills, customer service and you have to queue up for McDonalds instead of lining up. I'm working on an American translation of "Please mind the platform gap" I think that "watch out for that hole dude" would be accurate.

I have discovered that I have been making progress. Ever since I went to Macau I don't get mad or flip out at people anymore. Others have noticed it too, particularly my previous companions. I don't really get embarassed or fear "losing face" like a real missionary now. I am pretty happy. See? look how happy. I'm now longer one of these things .

Wow google mail has like a billion smilies. I do wish I could get in contact with old family and family friends (in person via vacation) like you guys.

How are everyones body parts after the trip? I am way suprised that my mom let those two in particular ride an ATV together. What was she thinking? ATV's are at least a thousand times more dangerous than bikes. I hope they at least didn't have their casts on still.

I enjoy teaching lessons, too bad I don't do that often, only a couple of times a week to be honest and a lot of less active work. Most of the time is spent trying to obtain investigators trough creative measures and through uncreative street contacting. Street contacting for a mandarin is particlularly tedious. I'm sure that I have explained it to you before. Next transfer though, which is very soon, I feel that we will have so much success that we will baptise somehow.

The work satisfies, even when there is not much to show for it but personal growth of the missionary.

Thanks for your support, love and vacation information that makes me trunky.

I love you all,

Hua Zhanglao (Elder Wall)

August 4, 2010

Man, I wish I could have gone on the vactation just on like a pday or something. America is way more interesting than Hong Kong. I really want to eat chilie, that is something that I miss. I remember the chilie cookoff the ward in Provo used to do. trunky.

I don't really know what to say but I am so glad that I have a family that loves me and stuff.

To laura, whitewash means to have two new missionaries in an area and they both have to familiarize themselves with all the investigators of that area as well as the terrain of the new area with out really anyone being able to introduce the missionaries to them. Thanks for writing me about journals and keeping up routines or projects.

I think we will get a baptism of the investigator that Ngai and I had eventually. We helped her move a little yesterday. She tried to feed us, but we know she is isnt that well off. so we both ran a way blaming it on being worried we wouldn't get home on time.

Elder Ngai goes home in two weeks. I am going to miss him. Elder Bendall the next transfer will go. I feel alot like my mission is almost over, and I have hardly anything to show for it. If I had a chance to do it over again...

Anyways, I really liked reading about the vacation. I think experiencing it would have been more fun though. I wish that I could say I was from DC, but I have to tell everyone that I am from Provo Ut instead. Even though I was born in Germany and lived in Japan and only spent seven or so years in Utah. People say that I am sheltered from living in Utah. There is a Chinese idiom that has something to do with a frog at the bottom of a well that I can relate to. I kind of liked being in a city with relitively amaizing moral standards. It is really disturbing passing all the freaky ladies on the way home that are just one street over from the Wanchai Chapel. I hate the worldliness of Hong Kong, I think it will be sunk or disintegrated or rent in Twaiwan. People honestly think that the meaning of life is money. The way to wish someone a happy new years is by saying "congradulations, get rich" and solicit red envelopes with money from them. That part of Chinese Culture seems disgusting to me.

Man, am I always so negative? I really do love it here and am having the best time of my life. I kind of don't want to come home, since the city I would be coming home to isn't really my home. My soul is just starting to quake at all the sin I come acrossed over here.

I exhort you all to pray for charity. I need alot more of this personally. Charity can work miracles and get things done. I like it.

Thats about all I can say with only an hours time. I love you all,

Hua Zhanglao

Only Elder Kevin Wall Wrote to me :(

Hey Elder Wall,

Thanks for writing me, if you hadn't I wouldn't have received a single email. I did get your letter in the MTC. I just figured that I would write you an email one day because snail mail sucks. I am doing alright I just don't have much visible work being done. You can use your hotmail? Elder Sexywall huh?

Thanks for telling me about the Atonement and how Christ didn't really get anything in return from us for doing it. I am a pretty selfish person who needs to learn to do things for free.

It was so great to hear from you. You really are an example to me and I wish I could be your companion, or at least be your roomate again. I wonder how many chinese people live in Madagascar. When you read your call letter was the first thing you said "I like to move it move it"? I am almost positive it was. Tell me about the lemours man.
You can stop reading if you wan't the rest of the letter might be just like a waste of time. I love you dude. You are powerful.

We have a pregnant lady who can't probably be baptised until after she gives birth, she is way powerful for not having any religious background. She repeats what we say in a more simple and concise way to make sure that she is understanding what we are teaching. Her doctrine is way more thorough than ours. She totally knew that there was an apostasy after christ died, she said so before we taught her about it. She has a son who is twenty as well, kinda weird to have children twenty years apart but that's mainland chinese people for you. I wonder how big the gap is between Tatiana and Daniel. We are gonna jam with her older son one day.

The whole family is from Inner Mongolia. They aren't mongolians though and they don't ride horses or drink yaks blood or fermented mare's milk. I bet they don't even know who Ghengis Khan is. Disapointment. Even if they were that awesome, I dont think pregnant ladies can or should ride horses while shooting arrows at villigers.

I get to go to the temple today. I am excited. Initiatories are not that meaningful because the workers do it all in Cantonese at a billion miles an hour while mumbling. I feel the spirit there though. I am so extremely lucky to have a temple for my own. I am still working on a photo of it but my camera battery is dead and of course I can't find the charger.

You are all on vacation anyway and can't write me, so I dont mind not sending photos or writing a really lame letter mainly addressed to my cousin Elder Wall

I love you all,

Elder Cuz (Hua Zhanglao)

23 June 2010 & Who is My Neighbor?

Dear family,

I just finished going through a temple session. The temple here is way awesome because all of the crazy languages going on. Now we are in a net cafe with juveniles who have colorful language going on. They are so adorable.

I am progressing in my studies and am attempting to read Jesus the Christ. I am starting to get hungry for the mysteries of God. I am at page 170 which is a little more than an eighth done with it. I feel James E Talmage is pretty powerful. The language in that book oftimes bewilders me. Way complex for me. I feel like Talmage beat the Bible in complexity and length when he wrote that one.

I had noticed that Sister Reneer was in the new Gospel Principles book. When it first came out I was shocked and ran around telling everybody that my bishops wife was in the book. Then Elder Kershisnik said something like, "Hey! Thats my next door neighbor". Elder Kershisnik is always topping what I do. I wont be suprised when his Mandarin gets better. I am working on not being prideful so that it won't upset me.

I really dislike being asked how long I have been studying Mandarin. Because then I have to shamefully reply that I have been studying for six years. Then my companion who has been studying for only a couple months blows everyones mind.

I want to go back to Macau speaking Indonesian this time. I should still be there but the stupid government had to be disagreeable.

Man. I really love the gospel. I am growing spritually if not mentally.

That Zhu family didn't show up on Saturday because the little girl was sick. Man! Instead on Saturday we got treated to dinner in the police station next door to the Wanchai Chapel and there was this dude from Camaroon who lived in mainland for two years who ate with us. His Mandarin was easily a thousand times better than mine. Only two years of study! I wish I could be that powerful by the time I'm done with seven years of study. He also spoke Sichuanhua the local dialect where he stayed. He wouldnt beleive me when I said I can understand it. He's Methodist but wants to play bball with us sometime. It would be so rad to baptise a black man into the Mandarin branch.

Our numbers don't look good on paper, but pretty soon people are gonna get baptised. It will probably be next move though. I hope to stay with Elder Reber one more transfer.

I think too much about my future in a selfish way. I need to focus more on others eternal salvation and what I can be doing right now to help people. Instead I think about exploring the Mainland and becoming a peasant and learning good Chinese and then going back to BYU and then getting a job sitting at a computer typing junk all day.

I look forward to the future, especially because I will be a way better person by then at everything I do. I will also have a six pack and adorable children.

So anyway, I am sure the content of this letter was less than uplifting.

I love you all and can't wait to have a forever family one day. I also miss Fourth of July barbeques.

Hua Zhanglao