Everyone! I miss you guys SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much. I'm frantically typing, we only have half an hour to type, so sorry for any typos or such :)
Mom, sorry that letter I sent was so frantic, you probably thought that I was on the verge of dying. We literally just haven't had any time to do ANYTHING other than work. Work work work. All the time. I love it! I was sort of nervous coming in, but can already feel strengthened by the Lord, and am taking everything really well!
Well, day 1 was insane. So after you guys dropped me off, I was taken inside and got my id and name tag! It says on it "ELDER DOANE, YEXUS KHETOS (Jesus Christ) LUB KOOM TXOOS NTAWN TSOOM HAIV NEEG NTSEEG HAUV HNUB NYOOG KAWG." So immediately I was terrified. Then I was left in this classroom by myself, then a teacher came in only speaking Hmong (if I say Hmoob, that's because that is how it is spelled). It was so frustrating, but yet empowering. When it comes to the language, I usually am on one extreme or the other. I feel amazing and like I'm a prodigy and that I'm going to have it down in no time, or that I don't understand anything and that I'm hopelessly lost. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO excited to be able to speak it well! (and just in case you were wondering, 'w' is a vowel, hence all the crazy words that made no sense)
Quickly my companions are Elder Lowry and Elder Burdick. Elder Lowry is from Daytona Beach Florida and Elder Burdick is from Virginia. We're getting along AMAZINGLY! I was kind of worried about companions coming in, but I feel really like myself around them, and we are definitely all focused on succeeding in the work. Nothing more I could ask for.
Anyways, later that first night, we were all team teaching this girl called Luana (if you were wondering why were we teaching already, the phrase I've heard most here is they use the 'fire-hose-in-your-mouth-technique.' Painful, yes successful :) ). Anyways long story short she came up to me, looked me straight in my eyes, and in the most intimidating voice I've ever heard said "Why should I trust you?" It was amazing because I know usually I would have been terrified in this sort of a situation, but I felt the spirit and I told her that we were dedicating our own time to serve the people and spread the message of Jesus Christ, and that we would do anything for her. It was such a cool experience. I truly do feel the powers of the priesthood as I have completed my calling as a missionary of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bah, only 16 minutes left to type!!!
Another thing I've heard a lot from other missionaries at the MTC is that the days are long, but the weeks fly by. I definitely agree. Every day we literally work in a classroom for over 6 hours working on Hmoob, teaching our investigator Meeg Laug (and yes, he only speaks Hmoob. And we had to give our first lesson to him on our second day here. Like I said, fire-hose-in-the-mouth technique), reading from scriptures and PMG, planning, and serving. I go to bed more exhausted than I have ever felt before, but also more content I have ever been before. It's amazing how when you put every ounce of energy you can muster into this work, the blessings you recieve from it are 10 times more than what you put in.
Mom, sorry that letter I sent was so frantic, you probably thought that I was on the verge of dying. We literally just haven't had any time to do ANYTHING other than work. Work work work. All the time. I love it! I was sort of nervous coming in, but can already feel strengthened by the Lord, and am taking everything really well!
Well, day 1 was insane. So after you guys dropped me off, I was taken inside and got my id and name tag! It says on it "ELDER DOANE, YEXUS KHETOS (Jesus Christ) LUB KOOM TXOOS NTAWN TSOOM HAIV NEEG NTSEEG HAUV HNUB NYOOG KAWG." So immediately I was terrified. Then I was left in this classroom by myself, then a teacher came in only speaking Hmong (if I say Hmoob, that's because that is how it is spelled). It was so frustrating, but yet empowering. When it comes to the language, I usually am on one extreme or the other. I feel amazing and like I'm a prodigy and that I'm going to have it down in no time, or that I don't understand anything and that I'm hopelessly lost. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO excited to be able to speak it well! (and just in case you were wondering, 'w' is a vowel, hence all the crazy words that made no sense)
Quickly my companions are Elder Lowry and Elder Burdick. Elder Lowry is from Daytona Beach Florida and Elder Burdick is from Virginia. We're getting along AMAZINGLY! I was kind of worried about companions coming in, but I feel really like myself around them, and we are definitely all focused on succeeding in the work. Nothing more I could ask for.
Anyways, later that first night, we were all team teaching this girl called Luana (if you were wondering why were we teaching already, the phrase I've heard most here is they use the 'fire-hose-in-your-mouth-technique.' Painful, yes successful :) ). Anyways long story short she came up to me, looked me straight in my eyes, and in the most intimidating voice I've ever heard said "Why should I trust you?" It was amazing because I know usually I would have been terrified in this sort of a situation, but I felt the spirit and I told her that we were dedicating our own time to serve the people and spread the message of Jesus Christ, and that we would do anything for her. It was such a cool experience. I truly do feel the powers of the priesthood as I have completed my calling as a missionary of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bah, only 16 minutes left to type!!!
Another thing I've heard a lot from other missionaries at the MTC is that the days are long, but the weeks fly by. I definitely agree. Every day we literally work in a classroom for over 6 hours working on Hmoob, teaching our investigator Meeg Laug (and yes, he only speaks Hmoob. And we had to give our first lesson to him on our second day here. Like I said, fire-hose-in-the-mouth technique), reading from scriptures and PMG, planning, and serving. I go to bed more exhausted than I have ever felt before, but also more content I have ever been before. It's amazing how when you put every ounce of energy you can muster into this work, the blessings you recieve from it are 10 times more than what you put in.
Like I mentioned in the letter, I've already been called to be a District Leader. Which is kind of decieving, considering our tri-companionship are the only people in my district. The three of us are the only Hmoob speakers in the entire MTC, so we're our own little district. I love it actually! It's only the three of us in our class, so we get lots of personal attention, which is great considering how CRAZY the language is. You guys are going to DIE when you hear me speak it! The tones make it sound like I'm singing basically. I LOVE IT!
There's a rumor that we're going to get another native-speaking Hmoob speaker coming in a week or two, which would be kind of sad because that means they would probably break our tri-companionship up into two normal companionships. We'll see!
Next door to our class is the Vietnamese class, and we've become pretty close with the missionaries in there. There are two Elders and three Sisters, and the great part is one of the Sisters (Sister Yang) is a native Hmoob speaker! We go to her all the time asking for help, it's great!
The food here is deceptive. It's amazing, don't get me wrong, but you have to be careful what you eat because a) I now understand why people gain so much weight here and b) eating all the rich food gives you stomach problems. I've been pretty careful in what I eat. Let me think............ best thing I've probably had yet was this lemon salmon salad. Classy eh? :)
There's a rumor that we're going to get another native-speaking Hmoob speaker coming in a week or two, which would be kind of sad because that means they would probably break our tri-companionship up into two normal companionships. We'll see!
Next door to our class is the Vietnamese class, and we've become pretty close with the missionaries in there. There are two Elders and three Sisters, and the great part is one of the Sisters (Sister Yang) is a native Hmoob speaker! We go to her all the time asking for help, it's great!
The food here is deceptive. It's amazing, don't get me wrong, but you have to be careful what you eat because a) I now understand why people gain so much weight here and b) eating all the rich food gives you stomach problems. I've been pretty careful in what I eat. Let me think............ best thing I've probably had yet was this lemon salmon salad. Classy eh? :)
I love you guys so much! I really do miss you guys, but I know being here at the MTC right now is what I'm supposed to be doing. The Lord is endowing me with power as I've worked my hardest to remain obedient, and I know He will do the same for you. I know things will probably be crazy, adjusting with me not being there, just know that my prayers are with you and that the Lord is on our side.
Doireann gets the favorite sister award for writing me. I basically cried of laughter from it. MEOW! (I'll hand-write a response ASAP)
Sib Ntsib Dua! (Good bye!)
- Es Daws (pronounced Eh Daw) Doane, aka Es Daws Fierce.
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