Week 33: The kid did NOT want to learn...

Well this week was interesting!

Monday we were pretty stacked so we didn't have any time to play soccer. :( But! We went to the mission home and I got some cool new ties. I will send a picture of them next week because I forgot. Then the new guy really wanted to take a look at New Market, which is just a huge market with everything a tourist would ever want and it all for at least half price. So we walked around there for a while. 

Tuesday I taught District Meeting. This one was pretty dry because it was about learning the language. This lesson always just makes everyone self-conscious and ashamed for not being more diligent (haha). I tried to keep it as upbeat as possible though. After that, we found out that the Burger King has a super whopper deal where you get two and one meal is for free. Those were nice. Then I think Elder Toan ate too much and he was feeling sick so we took him home and he slept for a while. I just started making a bunch of calls trying to set up appointments with less actives and lost members. It actually ended up pretty good. 

Wednesday I was invited to attend this English Class training meeting for all the English Class leaders. It was super cool! We finally got our Facebook page and website set up. A whole new program is being set up and I can't wait to get it started! Then after that we had a Mission Leadership Meeting with all the Leaders in the mission. That was so cool. I love being in discussions with other missionaries about the work. They are all so seasoned and have so many great insights. That was really neat.

After all that, we went out and taught a lesson and then went out contacting. We found this lady because this guy on the side of the road said there was one Viet lady living in the alley nearby. She was kind of asleep when we came. She woke up and told us that she has a serious hard problem and had been sick for months and will pass away soon. I felt like we needed to tell her who we were and that our message was what she needed. She took the pamphlet and asked us to pray with her. 

Thursday we had weekly planning. Well kind of. Some of us fell asleep and we didn't end up getting a lot of planning done. But we turned it around and got a few good lessons in for the day. I had an idea that we should do something for the members that are still in Cambodia for the Chinese New Years. Oh by the way, It has been like a ghost town the past couple of days because of the holidays. It sucks if you’re a missionary. 

Anyways, we went out and bought a bunch of bananas and stuff and I started making banana bread for our members. 

I don't want to brag but that banana bread was pretty good. 

Friday we made a butt load more bread and started our quest to visit all the members. We spent the day sharing messages with them and trying to serve others. 

Saturday I went on a mini exchange with the zone leader elder Tri. He is really cool and knows this language really well. We went and taught a lesson in the morning to one of his investigators. The investigator is like 10 and his mom is less active but helps in all the lessons. We came to their house the kid did NOT want to learn. His mom made him sit down with us and he started crying. 

It is pretty weird teaching the 10 commandments to a crying 10 year old.

Then later that day we went back to the sick lady's house to share a lesson with her. We went by and this other lady was there. She said she was her daughter and kindly asked us to sit down with her. We sat down at the table and there was a bible open and it looked as though someone had been studying. That made me happy until she said that she was a Jehovah's Witness… and so were the other 10 kids in the family. YIKES. I immediately started sweating profusely when the lady asked if she could share a few things she really liked out of the bible. It wasn't quite a bible bash, but we had to use a few scriptures to counter the crazy stuff she was saying. She got stuck when we shared about prophets and Joseph Smith so she said she had to go. It kind of sucks because she was really sweet to us. We will go back there and try and help them. 

Sunday was church! We didn't have very many people there but it was really awesome! Everyone was helping a lot and things went smooth. It was also the birthday of one of the youth. A girl named Nhi who just turned 19. She is preparing for a mission and will hopefully turn in her papers soon. I made her a Banana Cake which turned it out to be crazy, because everyone at church started saying how good it was and that they had birthdays coming up too! Ahhh!! Then that night we went out and decided to just find people to do service for. It was really fun and we met some really cool people. Love you all and hope you have an amazing week!   

Week 32: A Crowded House

Hey Everyone! 

This week was full of fun stuff. 

Monday we played some soccer...as usual, and then right after that we were told that President Moon would be coming to inspect our house to see whether or not we were following the simplified housekeeping challenge! I almost pooped myself at this announcement seeing as our house is not up to par. We rushed home and cleaned everything as fast as we could.  

It turned out that our house was one of the cleanest houses in the mission. We even got some cookies from sister Moon. 

Then we got some new ties at the mission home, they are nice. 

Tuesday we went to have District Meeting at the church only to find that the guard took the day off and no one had unlocked the gate to the church. We got to have our meeting at the stake center which is so cool! I shared a lesson on the Atonement and then we had a musical number, because one of our sisters was about to finish her mission.

Wednesday we got the baptismal date we had hoped for! Our investigator is so awesome and he hopefully will be progressing towards the first of the month. :) Then we went and helped out doing some translation work. I am really starting to like doing translations. I have finished a few Mormon messages and talks in Vietnamese, just in case anyone wants to check them out. ;) While we were helping with that, one of the Elders came across some really funny articles on this website called Millennial Mormons. It is borderline sacrilege, but a pretty entertaining read.

Thursday, I am so tired is all I have written down in the notes for the day. Thinking back, we did weekly planning. Oh we looked around for people to serve, and then hunted down a less active member, who has been dodging us like we're the mob or something. He is a nice kid though. He just loves the computer games. 

Friday we went out and taught a lesson in the morning to another investigator. Then we went out looking for the Lost Sheep. After that we had a good time translating the new hymn book for the Vietnamese Branches. Hopefully, we will be done with all of that in the next week or so. I am stoked. Then we biked out like an hour and a half to find a less active member. He is so great and promised he was going to start coming back to church and back to the path of righteousness… I hope so. 

Saturday was Transfer Day. Not really for my companion and I. We will be sticking together for another one. It should be fun. We also got a call that we would be taking care of not one, but three companionships. We have nine people in our house that usually has four. It has been a blast but it gets pretty cozy at night and all the food is gone. 

Luckily its p-day and we bought more food. We also got a new Elder in the Vietnamese program! He is awesome. His name is Elder Guoach I may have spelled that wrong though. He is part Chinese and half Vietnamese. He is from Australia. He is a big boy and very funny. Reminds me a little of Winnie the Pooh. 

Sunday we had Church and it was glorious. The sister who ended her mission on Saturday had her parents come to Cambodia to visit! They were super cool and they even bore their testimonies during sacrament. It was really special and everyone was moved. I was so happy because instead of teaching Sunday School this week, the other Elders said they would teach and we got to be in the gospel principles class with our investigators. I love that class. 

After all that we had a surprise birthday for one of our members who is preparing to go to the temple with her husband. It was really special. The thing that is so cute about birthdays here is that people always do two things: 1. They bare their testimony and thank everyone for everything. 2. Instead of making a wish, they say the prayer and bless the food for everyone. It is really special that they make something so fun and simple as a birthday party a spiritually uplifting experience. I love that. 

This was definitely a good week and I couldn't be happier. I love you all and hope you have the best week ever! 

Love 

Elder Morris

Week 31: I've really grown to love this language...

This week was a pretty good one. Monday we played some soccer and stuff. We had some misunderstandings and had to go home and talk them out. So even though there has been some stuff going on with my companion and I, I think this week went really well. 

Tuesday we had an exchange and I went to another area for the first time in forever. I went to Branch 6 and it was awesome. There are so many people over there and you can just talk to anyone. It was like a dream not hunting down Vietnamese people. We had some great lessons and did some contacting.

On Wednesday we switched back and had English class. The elders from Vietnam came for the leadership counsel and they slept over that night. It is never a good night sleep when the elders from Vietnam come over. They always keep us up with questions and awesome stories. I got to spend some time with my old companion Elder Cuong though. It was fun :)

On Thursday we had our weekly planning…and things were a lot better. We talked a lot of things out and I think it went well. My companion had an interview with the president and I did a lot of translation work. I have really grown to love this language through translating. It is something to work towards. 

On Friday we had a big leadership training from our zone leaders. They gave an awesome part about true love and how to show more love for others. I really like all the things we talked about.

On Saturday we had a meeting with the leadership of the branch to figure out our goals and how they should improve so that we have more progression in this area. It was a really productive meeting and I am so happy about the direction the Branch is going.

Then Yesterday was Sunday and things got interesting. At the last minute, the pianist told me that I had to play. I quickly recalled my four years of percussion…Honestly I didn't completely butcher the hymns. haha that was fun. 

We had the lowest church attendance I have ever had in my mission. I have no idea why no one came to church this Sunday, except that it was the Vietnamese New Year. Everyone goes back to their hometowns and stuff. It is a dark time for the missionaries. After that, we taught Sunday School and then Priesthood. I taught about charity and the pure love of Christ. I love teaching that class. The youth are amazing.

After church we went home and studied and then headed over to a member's house to get their help for a lesson. We all went over the lesson and then watched “17 Miracles” together. We then shared about sacrifice and temple work. It was super spiritual and they promised to come back to church... and that they wanted to go to the temple. 

This week I didn't have a ton of things to write about, but I know I saw miracles. I know that Heavenly Father is always there; He loves us and knows what we need in order to grow the most. I shared D&C 122: 7-9 with our less-active members. I know that everything will be for our own experience and benefit. I know that this Gospel is true. I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration, and that through him I am blessed by this Gospel. I know that... because I have been given much, (so) I too must give, and I am so grateful for this opportunity to do that. I love you all and hope you have an amazing week.

Love Elder Morris