Hello Everyone! Friends and family!
As promised last week, this week's group email will be much better, and much more detailed.
I will start by talking about the area I am in right now. The area I am in covers District 4, District 7, and Nhà Bè of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). My companion( Elder Vinh) and I live in an apartment complex in District 4. It's interesting how Ho Chi Minh City is divided up. It's basically divided up into Districts.
My companion is Elder Le. His Vietnamese name is Anh Ca Vinh. He is full Vietnamese, but is from Roy, Utah. He spoke a little bit of Vietnamese before his Mission, but not much. His Vietnamese is very good though, and he is a wonderful Trainer!
I only have about two and a half weeks more of training, and then we have transfers! I might be staying with my Trainer, or I might move somewhere else. It's very exciting to not know where I will be going in the next two and a half weeks! Everything is a new adventure!
The Vietnamese language is a very hard language, because there are six tones. So, you can't just learn a new vocabulary word, and then start using it. You also have to know what "tone" it has. For example, the Vietnamese word "ma" with your voice going up in intonation means "mother." If you say it with your voice going down in intonation, it means "ghost." I have a really funny story to tell that goes with this. One of the Sisters in my MTC group is in Cambodia Vietnamese speaking. In her group email, she said that they had a branch missionary meeting, and she was taking the lead about talking about people in her and her companion's area. She meant to say "Less-Active," as in less active member, but said it with the wrong tone, and ended up saying "poop" instead. Man tonal languages are the best LOL! My Vietnamese has been going okay. My companion speaks really good Vietnamese, and is always correcting me, so my pronunciation has improved a lot! I can have simple conversations with people, teach a few simple Gospel Doctrines, and Testify. I have actually made it a goal on my Mission to bear my Testimony in Vietnamese every fast Sunday, and so far I have hit that goal with three Testimonies in Church!
Overall, Vietnam is such a beautiful country, the people are amazing, and the food here is amazing. We get to pass by the Saigon River all the time, and there was even a cruise ship on the River for a period of time (like a real cruise ship!). The people here work so hard, and they get so excited when they find out that you can even speak a little bit of their language. The food here is so flavorful and amazing! They use a lot of fish sauce here in their food, but surprisingly it doesn't taste super fishy!
Above all, some of the most incredible experiences thus far on my Mission, have been being able to meet my Vietnamese family for the first time! I just had dinner with my grandma's sister on Thursday, and it was amazing!
Testimony Time: (Carrying on the tradition!)
This last Sunday was fast and testimony Sunday, and one of the Senior Missionaries got up and bore her Testimony. She talked about how the Savior is always with us, "on our right hand and on our left." This statement just hit me, because to be honest these past nine weeks in Vietnam have been very tough. The language is really hard, it's tough to connect with the people, and I get homesick a lot. But, I take great comfort in the fact that the Savior is always with me to guide me and to lead me. The Savior knows us personally, and he knows our trials, because he suffered for all of our sins on the Cross. I would like to invite all of you to always remember that the Savior is with you through all that you do. You do not have to walk alone in this life, because there is always someone that understands and there is always someone who is there for you. I want to testify that our Savior knows each and everyone of us, and that he loves us more than we can even imagine, And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
It's not over yet! Now for pictures and a video of me bearing my Testimony in Vietnamese!
And one more of the internet place. A lot of people go there to play games.
Famous Vietnamese market.
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