One week left!
Léihdeih hóu
Just like that, we're done with week 8 out of 9!! I feel like the MTC has just flown by, don't you? It's been full of so much fun. Laughter and tears and lots of stories about bō lòh (pineapples) for some reason.
This week especially has been quite eventful. I'll start with the beginning of the week.
On Monday, my district got the opportunity to meet the newest Cantonese district (who Sister Yau is teaching). This district is huge! It's full of 14 missionaries, 8 Elders and 6 Sisters and this was only their second week! We had told Sister Yau we wanted to meet them so she arranged for them to join us for a bit during our afternoon class. We did an activity where we worked on the get to know you phrases (where are you from, what's your name, what do you like to do, etc etc). Brother Ng put us into breakout rooms and had us just get to know each other and work on the phrases a bit. In the first breakout room, I was put with one Elder and one Sister. We said hello and I asked "Léihdeih gāmyaht hóu ma?" (how are you today) and they looked at me with the blankest faces haha. It gave me real flashbacks of being in week 3 and joining with Sister Yau's district at the time, who were in week 6, for a scripture study. There were only 4 in that district, 3 Sisters and 1 Elder, and they barely spoke any Cantonese in front of us, but we were so intimidated 😂. We were like, oh no, they're so much better than us, we don't know anything. So being in front of these newbies and speaking so much Cantonese in front of them I felt like must have been even worse. I made sure to say the English translation after I spoke to them though. The Elder asked me, "so in which week did you become fluent?". I laughed so much, I was like, "I am NOT fluent." It was nice to think of how far we've come though. I also went into another breakout room with a different Elder and Sister who I didn't know. The Elder was Chinese and said that he and his family speak Mandarin at home but he doesn't know any Cantonese or where to start. When I found out he spoke Mandarin I said "Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma?" (you can speak Chinese?) and he just went off on a whole spiel in Mandarin. He spoke so quickly I, with my 2 months of mandarin study, was like 😃"uh huh". It was fun though. Apparently like three of the missionaries in that district know mandarin from home or from immersion school. Pretty cool stuff. I know that where they're at, getting to where we are is very intimidating (I was literally in their position). But I know that even just based off of where we are now, they'll be okay.
We also got the opportunity to meet Brother and Sister Phillips! (the most recent former mission presidents of Hong Kong). Since they are back in Salt Lake City now, Brother Ng invited them to join our zoom for the last hour of our afternoon class. They were so nice! We got to play some fun SYL games with them and ask them lots of questions about Hēung Góng (Hong Kong). One of my favorite things that they told us was actually 4 things. 1. Love God and know that this is His work, 2. Love your companion no matter what, 3. Love the people of Hong Kong, even though sometimes they might make you mad, and 4. Love your mission presidents and do what they ask. I know that if I follow this advice, I will be able to have a wonderful mission experience.
Sister Richardson and I weren't able to teach our Cantonese TRC lesson this week because Acacia (the lady we teach) had to take a friend to the hospital. But, we did get to teach a lesson in English yesterday. We met with a guy named Stuart and it was a pretty difficult lesson. This is mostly because he did not even have a strong belief that God exists. It's hard to get into the restoration and the plan of salvation if you do not first believe that God is real. He said he has nothing against believing that God is real, but that he thinks if He is real, it would be a bit more obvious. We told him that to really know of God, takes faith, and faith is something that you probably won't just receive all at once. We told him that if he will first choose to just open himself up to believing that there could be a God, that he will start to see it and feel it more and more. We weren't able to change his beliefs much, which I kind of expected, but we did invite him to start looking for the small blessings in life, and as he does he will see miracles more and more. I am still not super confident in teaching those who do not have some sort of initial belief in God or Jesus Christ, so if anyone has advice on that, I would appreciate it.
And now for what you've been probably wanting to be updated on, travel updates. So on Wednesday, during afternoon class, some of my district members started to get their travel plans. All of the girls in Utah except for one, Sister Johnson got theirs. The only people who didn't were Elder Ng who already has his plans to go to Vancouver, Sister Johnson, Sister Yamane in Las Vegas, and me in California. We are also coincidentally the four missionaries who still don't have our visas. We theorized that we didn't get our plans yet because of our visas. Elder Ng is set to go to Vancouver on the 4th and all the Utah Sisters are set to fly out of Salt Lake City on the morning of the 5th, have a layover in New York for about 5 hours, and then make the 15 and a half hour flight from there to Hong Kong. Sister Yamane and I were talking about our visa situation shortly after when she got an email with her flight plans. She will be flying out of Vegas to New York City on the same day and catching the same flight from there to Hong Kong. We were confused because her getting her flight plans disproves our no visa theory. My mom ended up talking to the mission travel department over email though, and they said that it's not uncommon to get flight plans before the visa and that if you do, it means that your visa has been approved. So even though Sister Yamane doesn't have her visa yet, this must mean it's been approved and is probably on it's way. However for Sister Johnson and I, that means our visas haven't even been approved yet.
Then, Sister Whitney got an email saying that her visa which was lost in the mail and then found, is now void because Hong Kong was already in the process of making a new one and had to cancel the old one. But the good news is it should get to her within a few days. And she already has her itinerary so there should be no problem right? You'd think so, but Thursday evening she got a call from her Stake President, telling her that she's received a temporary reassignment to North Dakota leaving on the 2nd. This was quite shocking. Sister Johnson and I were now losing much hope of being able to go straight to Hong Kong. Then on Thursday, I got the call. My stake president told me that I've received a temporary reassignment to Fort Collins, Colorado also leaving on the 2nd. But, we talked to him more and he said that the reassignment is a backup plan in case I don't get my visa before everyone else leaves. They can't just have me sitting here doing nothing when MTC is over and I don't have my visa, so they want to send me somewhere until it arrives. The good news is though that as soon as my visa gets here, they can send me to Hong Kong. So if I'm still here by then, then they'll change my plane ticket and get me to Hong Kong, or if I'm in Colorado at that time, then they'll send me out as soon as they can. Either way, I know I'll get there eventually and if I'm meant to be in Colorado for a bit, then so be it. I think the biggest worry is keeping up my language, but me and the others in my district that are waiting or are reassigned have agreed to do a video call once a week so we can do language study together. This should at least help some.
Nevertheless, my district and I have decided we would like to do a district wide fast this Sunday. We will be fasting for the purpose of everyone being able to be sent exactly where God needs us to be, that we can all receive comfort as we figure our situations out, and that our visas can get to us as soon as possible. I'd like to invite anyone and everyone who'd like to join us in this fast to do so. I know that through the power of fast and prayer, miracles can happen, and that through our faith, our Heavenly Father will bless us.
I want to thank everyone so much for your prayers and support so far along my journey. There's still so much more to come! I can't wait to get out into the field in less than two weeks and start teaching for real! I know there will be lots of struggles but also so much joy. It will be amazing.
Also if you haven't heard, I will be giving my farewell address tomorrow in church! I would love for you to come! If you aren't able to be there in person, however, we are fortunate enough to be able to invite you to join in on zoom. The meeting will start tomorrow (Sunday, July 25th) at 11:30am PST (so do the math based on where you are). Along with giving my talk, I will also be doing a musical number on violin accompanied by Adam Aina on violin and Natalie Roos on piano. I know how much you guys like hearing me play because they make me do it all the time haha, so I'd love for you to see it! It will be great.
The scripture I'd like to share this week is from Mosiah 24, verses 13 and 14, which says:
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
I love these verses because I know that when we have faith in our Savior and our Father's plan for us, our burdens will be made light, even to the point we will not feel them on our backs. I know that Jesus Christ is there for us in our afflictions. He will always be right by our sides, always knowing what we are going through, and always willing to comfort us.
Sincerely,
丁姊妹
（Sister DelHoyo)
Quotes of the week:
"The sun is alive, it's part of nature!"- Má Jímuih
"Ngh Jéunglóuh DO IT" - everyone
"FLEEEE" - Jong Jímuih
"THAT'S MY TONGUE BONE"- Waaih Jímuih in reference to (tùhng buhn aka companion)
"Léih giu mātyéh méng?" "Hóu" 😃- Jong Jímuih in reply to an Elder from the new district (transcription--"What's your name?" "Good")
"0/0 can be anything you want :)"- Ngh Jéunglóuh sweetest person ever
"Yus!!"- Má Jímuih
"Sauna gang"- Jong Jímuih
"QUAAAAND IL ME PRENDS DANS SES BRAS"- Gwok Jímuih quoting La Vie En Rose
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| Ngh Jéunglóuh showing us his pet turtle named Jóufaahn (breakfast) for pet show and tell |
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| Meeting Brother and Sister Phillips! |
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| Me in my new raincoat I got for Hong Kong |
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| Jong Jímuih in hers (Waaih Jímuih called her Cone Head) |
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| Waaih Jímuih in hers |
Pics!
1. Ngh Jéunglóuh showing us his pet turtle named Jóufaahn (breakfast) for pet show and tell
2. Meeting Brother and Sister Phillips!
3. Me in my new raincoat I got for Hong Kong
4. Jong Jímuih in hers (Waaih Jímuih called her Cone Head)
5. Waaih Jímuih in hers
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