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
Monday, March 28, 2011
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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