August 29 MTC week 4

Nyob Zoo

It is pretty crazy that it has already been 4 weeks. It feels like yesterday I just got here, but on Saturday it will be my halfway point for the MTC. Thanks again for all the emails throughout the week. I love reading them.

I have been blessed with an awesome district, zone, and zone leaders. When I first arrived at the MTC there were 3 other districts in our zone. They are all leaving in a week which is really sad to think about. They have all been so awesome and so much fun. I’ve heard a lot of times it is hard to fit in with your zone the first week They usually pull pranks or just give you a hard time because you are the new elders. They were so awesome to us from the start though. They adopted us into the zone. They called us the "Baby Hmong's" and we were like their little brothers. But now they are all leaving in a week and it is way sad. I have loved hanging out with them and playing sports with them. We have had some good times. The Hmong district is now going to be the oldest district in our zone. That is just crazy to me. We got some new elders this past week and I am pretty sure we will get some more when they all leave next week. It's going to be so different when they all leave.


The language is still really frustrating. I have made tons of flash cards.  I study them in lines for food and really any spare time I get. I'm just having a hard time getting them to stick.  I learn them, but I forget them. I feel like I am one of the hardest workers but still don't understand much.  I know it will eventually click. It will just take more time and patience. I can read the Book of Mormon aloud with all the tones and stuff which is cool. I don't understand it - haha - but it's still cool.

On Saturday we got to do TRC again. I love teaching them. The members that come are so much fun and are so awesome. They are all so cool about us teaching them. They don't get frustrated with us when we can't speak. They help us and teach us a lot. It is a lot more realistic than teaching our "investigators" (teachers). As well on Saturday, we had our first lesson on the Hmong culture. I will say that they have a very interesting culture and religious beliefs. Their religion is Shamanism mixed with their cultural beliefs. They are very ritualistic and don't believe in God, but believe in a lot of different spirits. It is cool to see how some of their beliefs are similar to what we believe, but they just have been changed over time. Their story of how they came to be is as follows:

There were 2 people on the Earth. A boy and a girl. The boy wanted to get married but the girl didn't want to. They decided that if they each rolled a rock down a hill and if the boy's rock landed on top of the girl's, then it was a sign from the spirits that they should get married. They did just that and somehow the rocks landed on top of each other and they got married. This is where the story gets a little weird. They have their first kid and instead of it being a baby it was a huge chunk of meat. They somehow decided that they were going to cut the "chunk of meat" into 18 slices and spread it all over the land. In the morning when they woke up the chunks of meat grew into individual people. This represents their 18 tribes that they have.

It's an interesting story. When I get out into the mission field I will get "adopted into one these tribes and they will give me their name. So I will become a part of their family. Maybe more than one tribe. They give you their name if they like you. For now, my name in the MTC is Elder Tshwj.  Our teachers gave each of us a Hmong name when we arrived here. They gave us names that were as close to our last names and that also had a good uplifting meaning behind them.  My name means special. But once I get out to Wisconsin, my name will change again once I become a part of one of their tribes and take on their name. 

I'll just end with one more thing. My Grandma Criss told me of a talk that really helped her in her life and I really loved the message so I thought I would share it will all of you. It is titled, "Come What May, and Love It" by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin from the October session of Conference in 2008. It has a super awesome message. I would challenge you all to read it. As well I have really found a love for the scriptures. It is one of my favorite parts of the day. I'll throw in a scripture that I really like this week as well. The one that I kept in mind this week was Alma 26:12. It is a super awesome scripture and a great message. And it says:

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

I am grateful for this gospel and how happy it makes me. I love my Savior and am forever grateful for what he did for me. I know this gospel is true. I can’t wait to get out and serve and help others.

Love,

Elder Tshwj

Pictures: (1)The zone, (2) Wisconsin Elders/Hmong ties (we borrowed these from Elder Vang, but we are getting our own ties soon. His mom is sending us some), (3-4) Roommates/Nerf Guns, (5) Birthday Boys - Elder McArthur and Elder Israelson on Monday turned 19. (6) Our teacher showed us this in class and it is a picture representing the Hmong rituals. 

We also got a few other pictures from Elder Rich this week

Treats in the mail

And the map photo