Dear family,
We taught Sharon the law of chastity this week, and she struggled a lot to accept it. Because she'd been looking forward to her baptismal date so much, it upset her to realize that she'd have to live this commandment. This concern was a challenge and a surprise for us - I realized as we taught just how different Sharon's background is from mine and how blessed I am to have been taught the law of chastity from an early age. Despite the setback, though, she still really wants to be baptized. On Sunday morning she didn't arrive for sacrament meeting and I was really worried that she'd decided to stop investigating, but at the end of the meeting when I looked at the back row she and Richard were there! They'd just arrived late. Not only did they attend sacrament meeting but they stayed for gospel principles, something they haven't done for the past couple of weeks. The lesson was on baptism, and Sister Kala, one of the senior sister missionaries serving in the ward, shared some great experiences about her conversion and baptism. She had married a less-active member, received a witness of the truth of the gospel during a visit to Temple Square, and come to church and asked the missionaries to teach her shortly after the birth of their first son. I was so grateful that Sharon, who is coming to the gospel from a similar kind of situation, decided to stay and be a part of that lesson.
This week I went on exchange with Elder Wheat, a great English missionary who is serving in Shrewsbury. I went on exchange in Wales with him back in January, as you might remember. We had a good time together in our area and worked really hard at finding new investigators. Right at the end of the exchange we had about twenty minutes before we had to eat tea and head back to Shrewsbury, so we prayed on the street that we would be guided to the right place to find someone who had been prepared. We felt guided to knock the doors on that street, and met a good man named Richard who we set up an appointment with! It was great to see a miracle like that.
This week in our conversations with our district leaders we've tried to focus more on the spiritual needs of our missionaries and helping them progress and less on numbers. In our conference call on Friday we talked about getting investigators to church, and I felt that we should focus on thinking about and praying for the individual people who would be coming. I had the district leaders each write down a list of the names of all the investigators who'd been solidly committed to come to church across the zone (29 of them). We talked about how each of these people has a soul and an eternal life ahead of them, and how attending sacrament meeting or not this week is an important step for each one of them. We agreed to challenge every companionship in the zone to pray by name for each of the 29 people on the list on Saturday to help them attend church. I felt the Spirit a lot during the conference call and it was a great experience to pray for each of those people. Many of them didn't end up coming and our sacrament attendance was actually very low this week, but I still felt quite good about what we as missionaries had done and very grateful for the experience of praying for those souls.
We have a pretty new investigator who I'm quite excited about. His name is Ashley (it's a male name in England). We found him last week when we were tracting and his housemate Nikki invited us into their house. We started teaching them a really good lesson, but partway through a third housemate, very friendly and talkative but not spiritually-minded at all, came into the lesson and dominated it. It was a bit frustrating for us, especially because when we set up the return appointment we only got the contact number for this third least-promising housemate. But when we came back for the appointment yesterday, only Ashley was in! We had a really good lesson with him, good mostly because his thoughts and feelings were all really relevant (concerns about how the Bible has been changed and mistranslated, thoughts about how God speaks to us not directly but through spiritual messengers, etc.). As we left, he thanked us and remarked that both times we'd come we'd left him in a really good mood. The Spirit is working on him! We're excited to go back and teach him again on Tuesday.
Dad, you mentioned that Phil Ngo [Ruth's boyfriend] attended Waterford High School. My Stanford friend and future housemate Cliff Crosland (on his mission in Paris right now) also attended Waterford. There's a good chance they know each other.
I'm way excited to talk to you all next Sunday!
Love,
Elder Pimentel
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
From Jon 6/13
Subject: Cov dej uas kho kev mob
Nyob zoo!
Wahoo! Chor, Mee, and Nouchi were baptized today! This completes the family, and now they can look forward to being sealed together. I got to perform the ordinance, and Elder Hill will confirm them tomorrow. Mee is expecting a baby very soon, and it was hard for her to properly squat so I could help her backward into the water. Third time was the charm though. I did Nouchi's prayer in English, and the other two I did in Hmong. They are all very happy. Molly was very excited to see everyone in funny white clothes, and thought it was hilarious.
After the baptism, we stopped by the 2nd branch's summer picnic. It was great to see all the members from over there again and take pictures. I hadn't seen some of them for quite some time, and some had new hairstyles. I didn't even recognize some people.
No news with Yer. She has still been meeting with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which causes her to bring up a lot of questions she never would have come up with on her own. She's still pretty sure our church is true, just a few small doubts.
Fu is also struggling a little. He believes the Bible and the Book of Mormon are true, but he had a dream where his deceased parents' spirits came to eat a New Year's feast at his house, but they couldn't come in because he had Christian scriptures in the house. He removed the books and placed them outside, and his parents' spirits came inside and ate. He feels great concern for the welfare of his parents and the only way he knows how to help them is to keep the old traditions and burn incence and spirit money for them so they will have money in the spirit world to buy food and clothing and build a house. We spent a lot of time explaining to him about how he can best help them by giving them the opportunity to receive the blessings of the gospel by be baptized for them in the temple. We gently reminded him about the Plan of Salvation, and how our spirits are taken care of after we pass, and we cannot feel cold or hunger. We also reminded him about the resurrection and how once again, all pain, hunger, etc. will not affect our perfect bodies. He's going to search, ponder, and pray about it more.
[Editor's note: I posed Jay's question to Jon about members present when their friends are receiving the lessons. Is it better for a close friend to not be present, so the investigator feels more at ease speaking freely?] As far as teaching members' friends with the members in the room, I suppose it may depend on the sort of relationship the members have with their friends. In general, we are taught to teach in members' home with the member there, even if the investigator is a friend or relative. The key is to keep the atmosphere and discussion warm, comfortable, and open. Very honest and sincere. The only way I have seen one of these lessons be uncomfortable and awkward was when the member was a little too overbearing and seemed like he was trying to "straighten out" his friend and make him see that his beliefs were wrong. There wasn't much love, and there wasn't much spirit. When there is love and it is a sincere invitation to greater happiness, I haven't seen it be awkward to have the member participate in the lesson with his or her friend. Just don't make it too Gestapo-style.
Love you, Love you, Hurrah for Israel!
-Elder Moua Ying
Nyob zoo!
Wahoo! Chor, Mee, and Nouchi were baptized today! This completes the family, and now they can look forward to being sealed together. I got to perform the ordinance, and Elder Hill will confirm them tomorrow. Mee is expecting a baby very soon, and it was hard for her to properly squat so I could help her backward into the water. Third time was the charm though. I did Nouchi's prayer in English, and the other two I did in Hmong. They are all very happy. Molly was very excited to see everyone in funny white clothes, and thought it was hilarious.
After the baptism, we stopped by the 2nd branch's summer picnic. It was great to see all the members from over there again and take pictures. I hadn't seen some of them for quite some time, and some had new hairstyles. I didn't even recognize some people.
No news with Yer. She has still been meeting with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which causes her to bring up a lot of questions she never would have come up with on her own. She's still pretty sure our church is true, just a few small doubts.
Fu is also struggling a little. He believes the Bible and the Book of Mormon are true, but he had a dream where his deceased parents' spirits came to eat a New Year's feast at his house, but they couldn't come in because he had Christian scriptures in the house. He removed the books and placed them outside, and his parents' spirits came inside and ate. He feels great concern for the welfare of his parents and the only way he knows how to help them is to keep the old traditions and burn incence and spirit money for them so they will have money in the spirit world to buy food and clothing and build a house. We spent a lot of time explaining to him about how he can best help them by giving them the opportunity to receive the blessings of the gospel by be baptized for them in the temple. We gently reminded him about the Plan of Salvation, and how our spirits are taken care of after we pass, and we cannot feel cold or hunger. We also reminded him about the resurrection and how once again, all pain, hunger, etc. will not affect our perfect bodies. He's going to search, ponder, and pray about it more.
[Editor's note: I posed Jay's question to Jon about members present when their friends are receiving the lessons. Is it better for a close friend to not be present, so the investigator feels more at ease speaking freely?] As far as teaching members' friends with the members in the room, I suppose it may depend on the sort of relationship the members have with their friends. In general, we are taught to teach in members' home with the member there, even if the investigator is a friend or relative. The key is to keep the atmosphere and discussion warm, comfortable, and open. Very honest and sincere. The only way I have seen one of these lessons be uncomfortable and awkward was when the member was a little too overbearing and seemed like he was trying to "straighten out" his friend and make him see that his beliefs were wrong. There wasn't much love, and there wasn't much spirit. When there is love and it is a sincere invitation to greater happiness, I haven't seen it be awkward to have the member participate in the lesson with his or her friend. Just don't make it too Gestapo-style.
Love you, Love you, Hurrah for Israel!
-Elder Moua Ying
Monday, June 8, 2009
From Jon 6/6
Subject: Los nag es thiaj zoo siab
Nyob zoo!
Things are dandy as candy, and we've got a spot of rain to cool us down (at last).
I received what is known as "The Trunky Letter" this week. It is the letter they send to all missionaries who are on the final lap, asking them to write a big letter to the Mission President about what they've learned and how they've changed on their missions. *sigh*
Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke this morning to the missionaries serving in the Twin Cities. It was stupendous. At the beginning, he had us all get up by rows and come shake his hand. He asked each of us where we were from, and had a remark---often quite funny---about each of our home towns. One elder said he was from a town in Idaho (I forget the name) which lies on the border of Utah. Elder Perry said, "Oh, that's the worst place in the world!" "You just stop there for gas, and they'll always try to sell you a lotto ticket!"
Most of the time when I tell people where I'm from, I just say "Salt Lake" because nobody's heard of East Millcrik. I figured Elder Perry would have heard of it, so I told him "East Millcreek". He raised his eyebrows in delight and said, "Oh, good!" It's good to know I come from a good town, as opposed to an Apostolically-dubbed "worst place in the world". ;) It's an exciting time to be alive, and an exciting time to be a full-time missionary. Great things are in store for the future. Elder Perry said that he was more successful as a member missionary in the marines after his mission than he was as a full-time missionary in the field, and encouraged us to continue to develop missionary skills even after our missions. He also made fun of the Navy because they wore bell-bottoms during WWII, and that's why he changed his mind and joined the Marines.
Elder Hill and I are doing great. Elder Hill served with me and Elder Vang in a threesome for a transfer last winter. He is the one who baptized Bao, Peter, and Lillian. He is the one who gets money from the government each month because he suffered some hearing damage while serving in the marines in Iraq firing artillery. He said those Howitzers are so loud, they'll make your heart skip a beat. He said the shock waves from all the explosions made his Game boy Advance SP go haywire and start turning on and off on its own. He has a lot of interesting stories. He is a good man. We get along great. :)
Still no change with Yer or Fu, but we made a breakthrough with Misty. We were teaching Tou Choua's parents the law of chastity, and explained that this is why Misty can't be baptized. They then told us that the reason they had not gotten the license papers done is not because they are flaky or lazy, but because Tou Choua doesn't want them done yet! He couldn't just tell us that, because any time we were with him, Misty was there too. He loves Misty, but doesn't feel ready to be married. It turns out Misty's parents kind of forced him to marry Misty culturally, and he would have rather waited. Chor and Mee are going to discuss with Tou Choua and Misty the possibility of Misty moving in with Cindy in Brooklyn Park for now, but we suspect Misty will not like the idea of being separated from Tou Choua.
Nouchi, Chor, and Mee are on track for baptism on the 13th. Brooklyn Park has a baptism on the 19th. It's a girl name Leanne, who has turned her life completely around.
We have a new investigator named Karen. Her Hmong name is "Kab Npaub", which mikafies into "Ka Bao" which is a fun, onomatapoetically explosive name in my opinion. She is pretty solid, and we may pick up her boyfriend, her mom, and her neighbor too.
Well, that's about all I've got for now. Hurrah for Israel!
-Elder Moua Ying
Nyob zoo!
Things are dandy as candy, and we've got a spot of rain to cool us down (at last).
I received what is known as "The Trunky Letter" this week. It is the letter they send to all missionaries who are on the final lap, asking them to write a big letter to the Mission President about what they've learned and how they've changed on their missions. *sigh*
Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke this morning to the missionaries serving in the Twin Cities. It was stupendous. At the beginning, he had us all get up by rows and come shake his hand. He asked each of us where we were from, and had a remark---often quite funny---about each of our home towns. One elder said he was from a town in Idaho (I forget the name) which lies on the border of Utah. Elder Perry said, "Oh, that's the worst place in the world!" "You just stop there for gas, and they'll always try to sell you a lotto ticket!"
Most of the time when I tell people where I'm from, I just say "Salt Lake" because nobody's heard of East Millcrik. I figured Elder Perry would have heard of it, so I told him "East Millcreek". He raised his eyebrows in delight and said, "Oh, good!" It's good to know I come from a good town, as opposed to an Apostolically-dubbed "worst place in the world". ;) It's an exciting time to be alive, and an exciting time to be a full-time missionary. Great things are in store for the future. Elder Perry said that he was more successful as a member missionary in the marines after his mission than he was as a full-time missionary in the field, and encouraged us to continue to develop missionary skills even after our missions. He also made fun of the Navy because they wore bell-bottoms during WWII, and that's why he changed his mind and joined the Marines.
Elder Hill and I are doing great. Elder Hill served with me and Elder Vang in a threesome for a transfer last winter. He is the one who baptized Bao, Peter, and Lillian. He is the one who gets money from the government each month because he suffered some hearing damage while serving in the marines in Iraq firing artillery. He said those Howitzers are so loud, they'll make your heart skip a beat. He said the shock waves from all the explosions made his Game boy Advance SP go haywire and start turning on and off on its own. He has a lot of interesting stories. He is a good man. We get along great. :)
Still no change with Yer or Fu, but we made a breakthrough with Misty. We were teaching Tou Choua's parents the law of chastity, and explained that this is why Misty can't be baptized. They then told us that the reason they had not gotten the license papers done is not because they are flaky or lazy, but because Tou Choua doesn't want them done yet! He couldn't just tell us that, because any time we were with him, Misty was there too. He loves Misty, but doesn't feel ready to be married. It turns out Misty's parents kind of forced him to marry Misty culturally, and he would have rather waited. Chor and Mee are going to discuss with Tou Choua and Misty the possibility of Misty moving in with Cindy in Brooklyn Park for now, but we suspect Misty will not like the idea of being separated from Tou Choua.
Nouchi, Chor, and Mee are on track for baptism on the 13th. Brooklyn Park has a baptism on the 19th. It's a girl name Leanne, who has turned her life completely around.
We have a new investigator named Karen. Her Hmong name is "Kab Npaub", which mikafies into "Ka Bao" which is a fun, onomatapoetically explosive name in my opinion. She is pretty solid, and we may pick up her boyfriend, her mom, and her neighbor too.
Well, that's about all I've got for now. Hurrah for Israel!
-Elder Moua Ying
Saturday, May 30, 2009
From Jon 5/30
Subject: Tshooj kawg muaj kev lav ris
Nyob zoo tsev neeg!
Sounds like lots of exciting things are happening out West! Always fun to hear about.
There have been some changes in our district.
The English team that covered the U of M campus, and was in our district has dissolved due to a diminished number of students during the summer. Our Zone Leaders are now the only team that covers campus.
The Saint Paul Hmong elders are still not in our district, and they didn't move with the transfers. In Brooklyn Park are Elders Erickson and Richard Vang. Elder Vang is very happy to be back in the district with all his old friends for his last transfer.
Elder Hill was sent to Minneapolis to fill the gap left by Elder Cutshall, who is now our Zone Leader on the U of M campus with Elder Brown, a 7'0" Spanish speaking elder and a great man.
I am still in Minneapolis, and the Lord has found a way to keep me very focused, busy, and engaged: I am the new District Leader. I am a little intimidated by all of the responsibility, but with the Lord, I can do anything I need to. I am very grateful to the Lord for my new companion, who is exceedingly diligent, and very good at helping me stay organized and on top of things. Sometimes I tend to be an absent-minded professor. He is also a lot of fun. With him as my companion, and all of the great investigators we have, and all the new responsibilities, I won't have any chance to be distracted and coast as some Elders tend to do. This is going to be the best transfer of my mission. Ramming speed!
On the 6th we will have the opportunity to attend a special meeting wherein Elder L. Tom Perry will speak to all the missionaries in the Twin Cities. I wonder what instruction, counsel, or promises he will give us. I am very excited. Right before I heard the news from the Zone Leaders, I was reading Elder Perry's talk about member missionary work with the sheep on the cliff (we are going to share it with John Thao). I thought it was a neat coincidence.
Fu moved his date to the 13th because he was superstitious about 6/6/9 being the date...too close to 666. This is good because he still isn't married, though he did talk to his girlfriend and they are now planning on getting married, they just don't have a date. Fu's fiancée, Nu, should be coming to church with him on Sunday.
We may talk to Tou Choua and Misty about the possibility of Misty moving in with Cindy for the time being. Cindy lives with her grandma in Brooklyn Park, and visits almost everyday anyway. We are not sure how taboo that is, or what other cultural complications that might trigger, so we are going to ask some experts first.
We moved Nouchi to the 6th, but we might move her to the 13th. Not because she isn't ready. She is solid throughout. However, as we were making plans for her baptism, her father asked us if we thought he and his wife could be prepared to be baptized by Nouchi's date too. I think my eyebrows must have dropped their sandbags and lifted off like hot-air balloons. I said I thought so, as long they make it to church this week. He then told us that he had spoken with his kwvtij (relatives) over the weekend during the wedding and helped them understand why he wanted to join our church and that he wasn't rebelling or distancing himself from them. Eventually they were all right with it, and now he wants to be baptized with Nouchi. Nouchi and Mee are ready, but we want to be very sure with Chor because he is so hard to read. For this reason, we plan to have all three of them on the 13th. Hopefully Misty will either be married, or moved out by then so she can go too.
No news yet on whether Yer's parents changed their minds. I'm sure they will. Her father doesn't really care, and her mother loves us and always supports us coming and teaching. I think she (the mother) just misunderstood what baptism is. If all goes well, Yer is scheduled for the 13th as well. That puts everyone on the 13th.
Love you all! Hurrah for Israel!
-Elder Moua Ying
Nyob zoo tsev neeg!
Sounds like lots of exciting things are happening out West! Always fun to hear about.
There have been some changes in our district.
The English team that covered the U of M campus, and was in our district has dissolved due to a diminished number of students during the summer. Our Zone Leaders are now the only team that covers campus.
The Saint Paul Hmong elders are still not in our district, and they didn't move with the transfers. In Brooklyn Park are Elders Erickson and Richard Vang. Elder Vang is very happy to be back in the district with all his old friends for his last transfer.
Elder Hill was sent to Minneapolis to fill the gap left by Elder Cutshall, who is now our Zone Leader on the U of M campus with Elder Brown, a 7'0" Spanish speaking elder and a great man.
I am still in Minneapolis, and the Lord has found a way to keep me very focused, busy, and engaged: I am the new District Leader. I am a little intimidated by all of the responsibility, but with the Lord, I can do anything I need to. I am very grateful to the Lord for my new companion, who is exceedingly diligent, and very good at helping me stay organized and on top of things. Sometimes I tend to be an absent-minded professor. He is also a lot of fun. With him as my companion, and all of the great investigators we have, and all the new responsibilities, I won't have any chance to be distracted and coast as some Elders tend to do. This is going to be the best transfer of my mission. Ramming speed!
On the 6th we will have the opportunity to attend a special meeting wherein Elder L. Tom Perry will speak to all the missionaries in the Twin Cities. I wonder what instruction, counsel, or promises he will give us. I am very excited. Right before I heard the news from the Zone Leaders, I was reading Elder Perry's talk about member missionary work with the sheep on the cliff (we are going to share it with John Thao). I thought it was a neat coincidence.
Fu moved his date to the 13th because he was superstitious about 6/6/9 being the date...too close to 666. This is good because he still isn't married, though he did talk to his girlfriend and they are now planning on getting married, they just don't have a date. Fu's fiancée, Nu, should be coming to church with him on Sunday.
We may talk to Tou Choua and Misty about the possibility of Misty moving in with Cindy for the time being. Cindy lives with her grandma in Brooklyn Park, and visits almost everyday anyway. We are not sure how taboo that is, or what other cultural complications that might trigger, so we are going to ask some experts first.
We moved Nouchi to the 6th, but we might move her to the 13th. Not because she isn't ready. She is solid throughout. However, as we were making plans for her baptism, her father asked us if we thought he and his wife could be prepared to be baptized by Nouchi's date too. I think my eyebrows must have dropped their sandbags and lifted off like hot-air balloons. I said I thought so, as long they make it to church this week. He then told us that he had spoken with his kwvtij (relatives) over the weekend during the wedding and helped them understand why he wanted to join our church and that he wasn't rebelling or distancing himself from them. Eventually they were all right with it, and now he wants to be baptized with Nouchi. Nouchi and Mee are ready, but we want to be very sure with Chor because he is so hard to read. For this reason, we plan to have all three of them on the 13th. Hopefully Misty will either be married, or moved out by then so she can go too.
No news yet on whether Yer's parents changed their minds. I'm sure they will. Her father doesn't really care, and her mother loves us and always supports us coming and teaching. I think she (the mother) just misunderstood what baptism is. If all goes well, Yer is scheduled for the 13th as well. That puts everyone on the 13th.
Love you all! Hurrah for Israel!
-Elder Moua Ying
Monday, May 25, 2009
From Jon 5/23
Subject: Tus Tswv muaj hwjchim heev
Nyob zoo!
I got a card from the Knapps inviting me to Elder Wilson's wedding! I guess he's just Brother Wilson now. Are these Knapps by any chance related to those from whom we bought our house? They live in Preston, ID. What is Brother Wilson's current address?---Not that you know off-hand, but perhaps you could do some sleuthing ... I've been meaning to write him, but I know not where he resides.
Did I tell you about the awesome lesson with Yer? Last Sunday she came to church, and went to the Mission President's fireside. She loved them both and had her guts fellowshipped out. Before the fireside started, she and Carmen, her primary fellowshipper, arrived early and sat in the chapel alone for a while (they learned after a bit that the fireside would be in the mission home across the parking lot, and not in the chapel). Carmen told her about Joseph Smith and his experience in the grove, something that we had felt impressed not to actually share in detail yet, but had at last felt that it was time and had planned to share it at our next appointment. Yer said that when Carmen got to the part where God appeared to Joseph, she felt tingly and warm, and got goose bumps. A day or two later, at our appointment, we shared the first lesson in Preach My Gospel. Naturally, as with all good stories, the spirit was strong. When we explained the great apostasy, she immediately understood and applied it, which surprised us a little. She got kind of a sad, blank look on her face, and said, "That's pretty sad...that means that Sister Katrina's (the Jehovah’s Witness that has also been meeting with her) church doesn't have all the truth." She didn't seem confused or troubled by this; she understood that Sister Katrina is a good honest person who is doing her best to follow God, but just doesn't know that there is more truth available.
We continued on, and as I began to recount Joseph's experience in his own words, Yer immediately smiled and looked down. For a split second I thought she was smiling because she was amused that I was using the exact same words as Carmen, and that she had heard this part already. I continued, and when I was done, we paused for a moment. She was still smiling. She looked up and said, "As soon as you said that God appeared to Joseph, I felt it again...those same goose bumps." After explaining that it was no coincidence that the feeling came at the same point both times because that is the most important part of our message that God wants her to know is true, we committed her to be baptized on June 13th. She wants to, but is afraid her father may not approve, as he is a Shaman. She will talk to him about it. We know we have Yer's mother's support...she loves us. We are praying that Yer's father will recognize that church helps peoples be better people, and won't object.
Fu has quit tobacco and alcohol, and is looking into marrying his girlfriend, though there are financial issues that may slow down the process. We know the Lord will provide a way for him to keep His commandments. We are praying much for him too.
Misty and Tou Choua are in Wisconsin this weekend for their cultural wedding ceremony. Misty's mom will be coming from California. With Tou Choua's parents and Misty's parents all present for the event, they can have all of them sign the paper work for the license in the presence of the same judge. Evidently they need to all be present in the same room with the judge and witnesses, so everybody knows that everyone is okay with it. I'm sure it's loads easier to get married if you're over 18.
Nouchi has a date set for the 30th, hopefully Misty can be ready by then, and Chor will have stood his ground with his kwvtij (relatives), and they can all share in those special blessings together.
Love ya!
-Elder Moua Ying
Nyob zoo!
I got a card from the Knapps inviting me to Elder Wilson's wedding! I guess he's just Brother Wilson now. Are these Knapps by any chance related to those from whom we bought our house? They live in Preston, ID. What is Brother Wilson's current address?---Not that you know off-hand, but perhaps you could do some sleuthing ... I've been meaning to write him, but I know not where he resides.
Did I tell you about the awesome lesson with Yer? Last Sunday she came to church, and went to the Mission President's fireside. She loved them both and had her guts fellowshipped out. Before the fireside started, she and Carmen, her primary fellowshipper, arrived early and sat in the chapel alone for a while (they learned after a bit that the fireside would be in the mission home across the parking lot, and not in the chapel). Carmen told her about Joseph Smith and his experience in the grove, something that we had felt impressed not to actually share in detail yet, but had at last felt that it was time and had planned to share it at our next appointment. Yer said that when Carmen got to the part where God appeared to Joseph, she felt tingly and warm, and got goose bumps. A day or two later, at our appointment, we shared the first lesson in Preach My Gospel. Naturally, as with all good stories, the spirit was strong. When we explained the great apostasy, she immediately understood and applied it, which surprised us a little. She got kind of a sad, blank look on her face, and said, "That's pretty sad...that means that Sister Katrina's (the Jehovah’s Witness that has also been meeting with her) church doesn't have all the truth." She didn't seem confused or troubled by this; she understood that Sister Katrina is a good honest person who is doing her best to follow God, but just doesn't know that there is more truth available.
We continued on, and as I began to recount Joseph's experience in his own words, Yer immediately smiled and looked down. For a split second I thought she was smiling because she was amused that I was using the exact same words as Carmen, and that she had heard this part already. I continued, and when I was done, we paused for a moment. She was still smiling. She looked up and said, "As soon as you said that God appeared to Joseph, I felt it again...those same goose bumps." After explaining that it was no coincidence that the feeling came at the same point both times because that is the most important part of our message that God wants her to know is true, we committed her to be baptized on June 13th. She wants to, but is afraid her father may not approve, as he is a Shaman. She will talk to him about it. We know we have Yer's mother's support...she loves us. We are praying that Yer's father will recognize that church helps peoples be better people, and won't object.
Fu has quit tobacco and alcohol, and is looking into marrying his girlfriend, though there are financial issues that may slow down the process. We know the Lord will provide a way for him to keep His commandments. We are praying much for him too.
Misty and Tou Choua are in Wisconsin this weekend for their cultural wedding ceremony. Misty's mom will be coming from California. With Tou Choua's parents and Misty's parents all present for the event, they can have all of them sign the paper work for the license in the presence of the same judge. Evidently they need to all be present in the same room with the judge and witnesses, so everybody knows that everyone is okay with it. I'm sure it's loads easier to get married if you're over 18.
Nouchi has a date set for the 30th, hopefully Misty can be ready by then, and Chor will have stood his ground with his kwvtij (relatives), and they can all share in those special blessings together.
Love ya!
-Elder Moua Ying
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Church Fire in Cambridge
You've probably all heard about the fire that broke out in the middle of stake conference in Cambridge. We spoke to Ruth, and she is safe. She lost some stuff in the fire (her violin, scriptures, etc.) but she got out safe. Kind of a traumatic day. This was the chapel we attended when we were students there over 20 years ago. Here's a link to some photos, a few of which are pretty dramatic. We couldn't find Ruth in any of them, though.
From Jon 5/16
Subject: Muaj hnub teem cia
Nyob zoo!
'Twas a grand pleasure to talk to those of you that I could! Good liver sun born (Happy birthday) to Rizzu! Molly (Chor's 3-years-old daughter) turned 3 on the 13th. We went over and gave her some cupcakes, and I made her a balloon hat and balloon dog. She was pleased as punch, all decked out in new Tinkerbelle (tm) paraphernalia, with the Tinkerbelle movie playing non-stop.
We made a small breakthrough with Chor. We discovered that the only real hesitation he has about joining the church is that his relatives are putting on a lot of pressure for him to join their church, and tell him that he is turning his back on his relatives and distancing himself from the rest of them. He just doesn't know how to help them understand. We also discovered that there are some important principles he still doesn't fully understand, which we will review. We did get his permission to baptize Nouchi on the 30th. We hope he will be ready by then too. If not, we'll talk to them about Mee getting baptized with Nouchi on the 30th.
Fu is doing great. We didn't get a chance to have a lesson about marriage with him yet. We are going to start him on the program for quitting smoking this week. It is hard for us to catch his girlfriend at home, but we are trying to get her on board as well.
Yer is more solid than we thought. She had a great experience at the mother's day activity, and now really wants to go to church. We haven't had a chance to commit her for baptism yet.
Last time we visited Ia and Lia (don't know if I've mentioned them), Ia's sister, Jessie (8-10 yrs), was sick. We taught her about prayer, and said a prayer for her to get better. She got better the next day. She's a good kid... I betcha she'll be up for a little eternal life.
We're looking at a good turnout at church this week. Should be Chor, Mee, Misty, Nouchi, Fu, Yer, and possibly Yer's mom, who evidently knows one of our strong relief society pillars. Fu might be able to get his girlfriend to come too. We also hope Neng, Mai Lee, Zoua, and Ia will come, but they might be busy.
The CD we recorded is finished, and Leng is making us copies. I haven't heard it yet. I've been mulling over some ideas for the cover art. ;) Elder Hill suggested a title for the album: "Moua Ying and The Destroyers: Live in Minneapolis". Heh, heh.
Well, thanks for being all you are and doing all you do! Sib ntsib dua!
-Elder Moua Ying
Nyob zoo!
'Twas a grand pleasure to talk to those of you that I could! Good liver sun born (Happy birthday) to Rizzu! Molly (Chor's 3-years-old daughter) turned 3 on the 13th. We went over and gave her some cupcakes, and I made her a balloon hat and balloon dog. She was pleased as punch, all decked out in new Tinkerbelle (tm) paraphernalia, with the Tinkerbelle movie playing non-stop.
We made a small breakthrough with Chor. We discovered that the only real hesitation he has about joining the church is that his relatives are putting on a lot of pressure for him to join their church, and tell him that he is turning his back on his relatives and distancing himself from the rest of them. He just doesn't know how to help them understand. We also discovered that there are some important principles he still doesn't fully understand, which we will review. We did get his permission to baptize Nouchi on the 30th. We hope he will be ready by then too. If not, we'll talk to them about Mee getting baptized with Nouchi on the 30th.
Fu is doing great. We didn't get a chance to have a lesson about marriage with him yet. We are going to start him on the program for quitting smoking this week. It is hard for us to catch his girlfriend at home, but we are trying to get her on board as well.
Yer is more solid than we thought. She had a great experience at the mother's day activity, and now really wants to go to church. We haven't had a chance to commit her for baptism yet.
Last time we visited Ia and Lia (don't know if I've mentioned them), Ia's sister, Jessie (8-10 yrs), was sick. We taught her about prayer, and said a prayer for her to get better. She got better the next day. She's a good kid... I betcha she'll be up for a little eternal life.
We're looking at a good turnout at church this week. Should be Chor, Mee, Misty, Nouchi, Fu, Yer, and possibly Yer's mom, who evidently knows one of our strong relief society pillars. Fu might be able to get his girlfriend to come too. We also hope Neng, Mai Lee, Zoua, and Ia will come, but they might be busy.
The CD we recorded is finished, and Leng is making us copies. I haven't heard it yet. I've been mulling over some ideas for the cover art. ;) Elder Hill suggested a title for the album: "Moua Ying and The Destroyers: Live in Minneapolis". Heh, heh.
Well, thanks for being all you are and doing all you do! Sib ntsib dua!
-Elder Moua Ying
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