I'm sorry that I did not get an email in last week, but I sure have some awesome things to share for this week!
Wednesday-we had the awesome opportunity to gather as a whole mission (the Vietnam Hanoi Mission) for a mission conference where Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came and visited Vietnam! It is such an incredible opportunity to have an Apostle visit your mission! It was really cool, because he came to Vietnam two years ago when the mission first started. When he came, there were only 10 missionaries here in Vietnam. Now he has come back two years later, and there are about 68 missionaries here in Vietnam! It is truly a miracle to see how much love the Lord has shown for His children here in Vietnam! Another cool thing is that the last time Elder Stevenson came to Vietnam, there was a meeting for the members, and they all met in a chapel in Hanoi, Vietnam. This time when he came, the member meeting had to be at a ballroom in a hotel, because there are so many more members and missionaries now! It was cool to realize the miracle of the growth of the church here in Vietnam. So for the mission conference, all of the missionaries serving in Ho Chi Minh City flew up to Hanoi! I served up in Hanoi for about 5 months, so it was really cool to see all of the members and missionaries at the member meeting that I remembered from Hanoi.
Thursday-we flew back to Ho Chi Minh City. We also had a lesson with an investigator named Anh Duy. It has been a while since we've met with him. He had a question about how he could strengthen his faith, and we shared with him from Alma 32 about how faith requires experimenting, and it is like a seed. When we think about it, the principle of faith is so important because many things we do requires some faith. It requires us to experiment.
Sunday-I had the opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting about how to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I really like what Preach My Gospel chapter 4 says about how to recognize the promptings of the Spirit: In answer to the quest
My companion (Elder Kilpack or Anh Cả Thịnh) and I also had the opportunity today to teach a class at the church. Every Sunday we have Missionary Work Class at 6:00 PM, and Book of Mormon Class right after at 7:00 pm. Today, we had the opportunity to teach Missionary Work Class, and the topic was how to prepare people for baptism and confirmation (Preach My Gospel chapter 12). We had a good activity in the class where we typed out three different situations about three investigators. At the end of each situation, the question was asked if they were ready for baptism yet. For two of the situations, we had a returned missionary named Chị Hà, lead out in reading the situations and ask the question at the end. We also had an opportunity to visit the house of some members in the branch. This family is really incredible, and is the biggest member family that I have ever seen in Vietnam: The mom and the dad are members, and four out of their five kids are members. Two of their kids served missions already, and one of their kids is on a mission right now. At the end of the visit, they fed us a traditional Vietnamese cake with sticky rice, bean paste, and pork! Delicious!
Testimony Time: Today, I would like to share a message about how Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd, and how we can be His sheep if we will hearken to His voice: Alma 5: 33 says, "Behold, he sendeth an
It really is incredible to know that the invitation to find healing and peace through His Atonement is extended to everyone! He really does love all of His Children, and He really will receive anyone who comes forth with a repentant heart! Furthermore, Alma 5:60 says, "And now I say unto yo
If we will hear and hearken to His voice, we are His sheep! I want to testify that the Lord loves each and everyone of us, and that Repentance is a gift! By bringing forth fruit meat for Repentance, we will feel of the Savior's grace, love, and mercy. We will come to truly know the need for a Redeemer. The joy that comes from missionary work is the joy of seeing others come unto Christ, know Him, and feel of His love and mercy for them. I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Vietnamese Culture (Văn Hóa ở Việt Nam) 
: In the Vietnamese culture, having a good name is very important. Names do have meanings to them. For example, my Vietnamese name is Dũng (pronounced "yoom"). Dũng means "BRAVE".
Picture Time:
1. A view of Hanoi from the mission home.
2. Throwback: eating Bún Chả when I was serving up in Hanoi.
Love,
Elder Ly (Anh Cả Dũng)
