From Jon 4/3/09

Subject: Nyob zoo ib zaug ntxiv

Nyob zoo!

It's me again! P-day was moved to today to accommodate conference. I just wrote, so not much is new. It's always nice to be able to say hi though. Any news on the location of the people Lopeytope will teach, and the brand of words they will use? What about Georgie?

We are really pushing for everyone to come to conference this weekend, particularly our progressing investigators. The only thing holding back Xai Chor, and therefor Mee, from being baptized is that Chor wants a stronger testimony first. He believes the church is true, but he hasn't received an answer from God yet. He told us that when he prays, it feels kind of empty, and he wants it to feel good and refreshing like he hears people describe it. Next lesson we will read Enos with him and teach him how to make prayer more powerful. We may invite him to fast. Hopefully conference will give him the spiritual confirmation he needs.

Recently we were visiting with a nice Hmong lady who liked to talk a lot, and she was describing the differences between the US legal system and the way things are done in her village in Laos. She said if someone is accused of theft, and they deny it, the suspect is to dip his arm in chicken grease, then rinse with water. If he is innocent, his arm will be fine. If he is guilty, his arm will be irritated, inflamed, and/or it will break out with blemishes.
If one is accused with adultery, they must drink water from the accuser's jug. If he has a stomach ache, he is guilty.
If one is accused of murder, a legitimate trial is held with witnesses, evidence, etc. If he is found guilty, he must pay a "head price" of about the equivalent of $13,000. If he cannot, he is imprisoned until his family and friends can pool together enough money to get him out. Keep in mind, the people in Laos are dirt poor, and a dollar goes a lot further there.

They also have many interesting medical practices, including dropping a few small beetles into a cup of water and swigging it down to cure headaches. (She offered this to me, and I politely declined, telling her I was sure my headache would go away soon, and that it was very small, and besides, I had some medicine at home if it persisted).
She also showed me some special grass she was growing that she was going to soak in water to make a kind of eye-drop solution that evidently cures pink-eye. One time I had a brief bloody nose, and the member we were with immediately whipped out a piece of some kind of root from her purse. She told me to shave off a little of the root and cram it up my nose, and it would never bleed again. My nose stopped bleeding before I even had to decide whether or not to try it, but she swore it works like magic. I wonder if our medicines are actually made of the same stuff they use, just in bottles...

Well, that's all I have to say about that. Love you all, and I'll talk to you later!

-Elder Moua Ying