July 14, 2104: The Real World Smells Like Poop

Sometimes, the things we say in the MTC are pretty profound. LIke when we teach an amazing lesson or something. And other times, we say things like "The real world smells like poop!!" There is a story behind that one for sure. They are redoing the gym floor, so we have to walk down to the Marriot center to have our devotionals. It's nice to get out of our little confinement and leave campus for something other than the gym field or temple. But we had to go out the south gate, and that's where all the dumpsters are. Needless to say, as we walked past them and were expressing excitement for a few minutes in "the real world" cute little Sister Hadley said "The real world smells like poop!" because of the stinky dumpsters. It was great.

There is also a reason behind "The Plague". It's hit hard here.About two weeks after we got here, Sister Cox (in the other Canto district) got sick. She was worried it was strep so she went to the doctor. They said it was just a virus so they couldn't do anything. I felt pretty bad because she looked miserable. Well, about a week later Elder Klein got sick with it, and he's in my district. The other elders in the district got sick too. They all got better so we figured we were safe. Nope. the night of the 4th of July my nose started to get a little stuffy. By Monday night my throat was searing and I seriously couldn't eat anything. we took an adventure to the doctor Tuesday and he said again, it was an upper respiratory virus so they couldn't do anything. I've spent the last week trying not to die as I cough up internal organs (not literally) and take meds for the congestion that feels like someone is stepping on my face. It's definitely not been fun. Being sick in general sucks, but when you're sick and don't have the option to go lay down and sleep it off for a day, it seriously sucks. way bad. one of my companions also got it, so Friday night we just went back to our room early and studied there. Thank heavens I'm finally feeling like I can function again!

We had a pretty cool experience this week teaching one of our investigators. Actually, both, really. So Jyu Jimuih is one of our investigators. we spent some time teaching her about the plan of salvation. She seemed pretty excited. I really felt like we needed to invite her to baptism, so I did and she accepted! We still have a lot of lessons to teach, especially since lesson 5 now has to be taught before baptism (new mission rule as of this week!) but she's progressing and I'm excited. Our other investigator, Suki, is a little wary of what we have to say. She lives with her boyfriend and we're all terrified to address the law of chastity for fear that she'll be offended, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Anyways, we planned to teach Suki the first half of the plan of salvation one particular day.

Side story- one of my companions really struggles with the language. she just learns things at a different pace than every one else, which is expected. it's a hard language, what do you do? Anyways, this language is one where pronunciation is KEY. you MUST pronounce stuff right or you'll be saying things like Joseph Smith had pregnancy problems or that apostles kill people. So this sister was trying to read out of our Romanized Cantonese Preach My Gospel about the atonement, and the investigator just wasn't getting it. Suki jsut sat and looked confused and finally pretty firmly said "I just don't understand what you're speaking." my companion looked really frustrated. It actually looked like she was about to give up, and then out of nowhere she started to bear her testimony. It was powerful. It was the most simple testimony I've seen, but when she finished Suki had tears in her eyes and quietly thanked her. The spirit was so strong in that lesson. We have yet to feel the spirit that strongly in another lesson since then, but it was definitely amazing.

Tuesday night Niel L Anderson came to speak to us. He spoke about the importance of the Holy Ghost and talked about how we speak by the tongues of angels. That's a pretty cool promise to a bunch of greenie missionaries who struggle with their language. Last night the MTC administrative guy came and spoke with us about charity, and that too was an amazing devotional.

Sorry there isn't more to talk about this week...

OH. Hump week. So, this week is the very middle! After like... Thursday or so, I only have four more weeks here. As scary as that is because I am NOT ready as far as my language is concerned. But we spend Sundays watching mormon messages and stuff like that. This week we watched everything possible that had to do with Hong Kong- from native Cantonese speakers to things about the temple and an interview with Elder Holland and his visit to the saints of Hong Kong. I get so emotional because I love the people there already. I love their language and am SO exicted for this wonderful adventure!!!!!!!!!

Much love, ngoh ngoi leihdeih!

-Kuk Jimuih

P.S.
Totally forgot to mention my awesome hosting adventure. Basically when new missionaries come to the MTC, they're "hosted" by people who've been here a few weeks. This week we got the chance to host new missionaries. We went to a 30 minute training meeting and then stood on the curb and smiled and waved as we watched new missionaries drive past. Cool story though-

I knew I had a few friends coming in that day. So I stood at the top and waited. and waited. and waited. I saw my friend Sister Yardley (Headed to San Jose Costa Rica!) drive past so I frantically waved and almost ran down to be her host, when I saw none other than SISTER MERTENS drive past me. For anyone who doesn't know, that woman is my soul sister and we are the best of friends. I got such a wonderful opportunity to be able to greet her and be with her as she said goodbye to her family. I got to show her around and help her get her tag. I took her to her residence hall...literally lives on the floor below me. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful friend serving in the field and I am so glad i have the opportunity to see her so often! It's seriously the best.

I'm pretty sure we're going to host every week until we leave. They like us to be the hosts because we have cool name tags. Which is true. my name tag is legit. I seriously loved hosting and am so glad I got to see my best friend in the whole wide world!!!( :  There's a possibility I'll be here and able to host Aaron... how cool would that be!  I just can only take him to get his tag and books- then I have to hand him off to an elder to let him go to his room. but yeah, tell her to check it. I'm going to tell her to keep an eye out for me. we won't know till that week if we're hosting but I seriously hope I can. it'd be awesome.

 Guess who Sister Crook Found!  Her sister from another mother!  Sister Mertens just arrived at the MTC and is headed to Vancouver, WA in an ASL mission.

 The whole Hong Kong clan

 Loves being a host on Wednesdays!

 Sister Crook and her companions

 Sister Crook and Sister Mertens...

... and again

 Cute little Tessa made these adorable Sister Minionaries for her sister.  How amazing are they?   I think Sister Crook has the most beautiful happy eyes in this photo.

 Sundays are the day of rest, literally.

 Sister Mertens and Sister Crook again.

 P-Day #4 with the whole Hong Kong clan!

July 11, 2014: Handwritten Letter to Makynlee

Chen ngoi ge Makynlee,

When you remember who your new teacher is, tell me.  I'm glad you all had fun at Lagoon.  Did you make dad ride Wicked?   There are several wugwai in the lake by the tidal wave.  There are also lots of frogs and fish.  I'm also glad you had a good party.  I heard from mom that you one o your friends forgot her lunch and threw a fit about it.  That's definitely not cool.  I'm also glad you got to see Madeleine.  Cousins are fun.  I might get to be one of the missionaries waving on the curb when Aaron gets here in a couple of weeks.

I actually got to do that this week.  It was really run to see so many new missionaries.  It was kind of sad to watch the families dump their missionaries, but that's okay.  I got to be the missionary that helped my friend Emilee!  I took her to get her name tag and books.  Turns out she just lives on the floor below me so that's fun.

I very highly doubt you'll be able to speak Cantonese when I get back, because I honestly don't know if I will even be able to.  It is such a hard language.  But I'll keep trying to send you new words.  I just look most of them up in my dictionary.  I really only know gospel words and basic conversation.

Vocabulary:
watermelon:  saigwa (sigh-g-wah)
pineapple:  boloh (bo-lo)
orange: chaung (ch-ah-ng)
lemon: nihngmung (neng-moong)
grape: pouhtaihji (po-tie-gee)
grapefruit: saiyau (sigh-yow)
awkward: leuhngjeuhng (lung-jung)
Holy Ghost: Sihnglihng (sang-lang)
gospel: fukyam (f-oak-yum)

There is no Cantonese word for minion, sorry.  Also, practice volleyball, so we can play together when I get back.  I play almost every morning here.

Thanks so much for the package.  It was really cute!  Love you,

Kuk Jimuih

P.S. I miss you is ngoh seungnihm leih (no-sung-neem-lay)

P.P.S I liked that you wrote your letter in sparkly pen.  That's cool.

July 11, 2014: Handwritten Letter to Tessa

Chan ngoi ge Tessa,

I'm really glad you ahd fun at Lagoon.  Outrigger is way fun.  It was my favorite slide to work when I worked there because it was funny to watch people fall off all the time, but then I got to help pick them up and put them back on their tubes.  You should ride the pipeline slides and race Makynlee.  We rode them once and it was pretty fun.  I also like the slide on the tall tower that you can ride on a tube on.

What other rides at Lagoon did you go on?  Wicked and Samurai are my favorites.  Someday I want to go to Knott's Berry Farm in California and ride all the crazy roller coasters there.

Thank you so much for the picture.  It's very pretty.  I'll hang it up as soon as I clean off my desk then I will hang it up in Hong Kong.  Maybe I'll take it with me to the airport and have my companion take a picture of me and your picture in Hong Kong so you will know it made it.

Will you draw me another picture of the temple?  I packed the one you gave me in a box and forgot to take it out.  I'd love to have one to hang up!

Vocabulary
temple:  singdihn  (sing-deen)
gospel: fokyam (f-oak-yum)
animals: duhngmaht (dung-mah-t)
family: gatihng (gah-teng)
friends: pahngyuah (pan-g-yow)
missionaries: chyungaausih (ch-oon-gow-see)

I'm going to draw a picture and send it with this letter.  Love you!

Kuk Jimuih

July 9, 2014: Handwritten Letter to Mom

Dear Mom,

We had a pretty profound talk between the sisters in our district tonight.  For companion study we decided to all share what we read about.  I shared the story of how Korihor denied Christ, asked for a sign, was struck dumb, and then was squished and "trodden down."  Real profound ha ha.  But then we got talking about how many testimonies Korihor probably destroyed.  Just something to think about.

But the thing that really got us going was the thoughts of our sweet Sister Hadley.  Her grandpa passed away last night.  They called her out of class to tell her.  When she came back we all just knew what happened.  It was heart breaking.  Last night's devotional was all about the spirit.  Elder Neil L. Anderson spoke about how we will be surrounded by angels.  Anyway, we got talking about how WE will be surrounded by angels.  Then Sister Killpack told us about a boy in her ward who told his family he wanted to start his papers.  The day after he started them, he died in his sleep of an asthma attack.  Just before his funeral, the mom got a call from President Hinckley that her son's mission call was to the spirit world.  As soon as she told me that, I was totally overcome with emotion as I thought of your cousin Doug.  I know you probably already know this, but I truly believe that his mission in heaven was far greater than his mission on earth.  I want you to know that I have such a testimony of God's plan for us.  Everything we go through happens for a reason.

I also have a strong testimony of angels I have here by my side are real.  I know Doug is here.  I know that Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks are here.  Grandma is probably here as I practice piano.  I'm sure Grandpa Yancey is here too.  I know with all my heart that the angels walk these halls.  My family is here cheering me on as I bear a simple testimony, and they kneel with me as I pour my  heart in prayer in a language I barely understand.

I love this gospel.  I am so blessed to know that I have something stronger than Helaman's army behind me- my family, both living and from beyond the veil.  I am grateful for my love of my family history and I am very proud of my awesome ancestors.

Love,
Leui Crook (Daughter)

July 7, 2014

 The tree that truly smells like cream soda

 I love to see the temple

 Sister Nuttal (from Layton) and another girl that all went to Jr. High together.

Mom sent minion graham crackers and Nutella in a package...YUM!

Leih hou, pangyauh! Hello friends! This week has been a whirlwind. Everyone here says the days are long and the weeks are short. I cannot even begin to tell you how true that is. The days are SO long. I spend 9,10, 11 hours a day just studying the language. If we're lucky we have time to take a nap on P days.

So last Tuesday we got two new investigators, Jyu Jimuih (Sister Jyu) and Suki. I seriously love them. They aren't real- they're just our teachers, but they act like investigators and ask many questions that we'll have to know the answers to. I actually learn a ton from those experiences. Suki wanted to meet with the missionaries because she wanted to learn English. (This is the best, by the way. made my whole day.) we started to teach our lesson but ended up way off track because our Cantonese sucks and we ended up teaching prayer instead. Long story short, Suki asked "Well, if I pray will God help me learn English? He helped you with your Gwondung-Wa, right?" Sis Robinson was SO excited at that statement that all she could do was grin with this goofy look on her face and nod really fast. So we taught Suki how to pray and she asked God to help her learn English. I seriously felt so great about that lesson.

Another one of our investigators, Jyu Jimuih, wanted to meet with us because she heard we teach about eternal families and she wanted an eternal family. So our first lesson was....eh. It was okay, but we were kind up jumping around and could've done better. But she seemed to get it and asked us to come back. So we did. and I can't remember what day we taught her, but we taught her again later in the week and spoke about the Plan of Salvation. we hit a rough patch when explaining about the fall of Adam and Eve (Aadong and Hawaa, in case you were wondering) but we picked it up after that and she seemed to be excited. We felt prompted to challenge her to baptism. Now rewind to our last lesson with our very first investigator,Stellar. That lesson was so bad and crashed and burned...but we had challenged her to baptism and said no. So when Jyu Jimuih sat there contemplating, all of us had a silent prayer in our heart to have the Lord soften hers to our message. So we were terrified. BUT SHE SAID YES. We have successfully committed an investigator to baptism. I am so excited that we can finally move on from teaching the same two lessons and finally move on to help her come closer to Christ. I think the best part of that whole lesson was how we sang "I am a Child of God" in Cantonese, and she clearly felt the spirit and asked if she could read the words to our song. I was so excited!!! AH. Love her. I know what it's like to truly love our investigators, even though they're just our teachers.

So in case any of you wanted to know, minions speak Cantonese. I'm sure I've said that before. but if anyone wants to know what Cantonese sounds like, go watch Despicable Me. (They don't really, but some of their words sound like Cantonese). So Mom, when you send that Nutella with the minion crackers all of us ate some and were praying that the crackers would give us Cantonese speaking powers...haha just kidding. But they were cute and I love them! thanks! Also for all you chocolate lovers out there, the word for chocolate in Cantonese is "jyugalik".

I have to say that i am so grateful for the branch presidency down here. The wives of them come to our residence hall a couple times a week at bedtime just to hug us goodnight since our own moms aren't here. It really is the sweetest thing I've ever seen and I seriously appreciate their willingness to come sacrifice their time to take care of us. They're the great.

So here's the funny Chinglish of the week. Mihngbaak means to understand. We have an Elder who is seriously so smart. he's totally getting this language and we always ask him if we have questions. I can't remember the context of the comment (all my days run together) but we said something, and someone commented "Just because Elder Anderson is over there mihngbaaking everything..." and I just had to laugh. it's probably not funny to any of you who read this, but it makes me laugh just thinking about it, so roll with it.

So if anyone gets bored and really wants to hear Cantonese, there's a good video on Mormon.org called "I'm a Mormon, Supportive Sister, and grateful daughter" by a Hong Kong girl. it shows some cool shots of HK. way cool. Also, there's a video somewhere on LDS.org about the story of the very first sister missionaries. It was touching and really made my day.

Sundays here are pretty awesome. We usually have time to take a short nap, but it has to be in the classroom. so the 7 sisters in my district literally lay on the floor and just sleep. It is the funniest thing ever!! we took a nice nap for like an hour yesterday evening. We also have time to watch the LDS.org videos. Anything. We watch Mormon Messages (which sucks because they're so great that we just cry over them all) and really old seminary/church movies. Those are definitely pretty entertaining.

Yesterday was mission conference. We had the opportunity to listen to our mission president of the MTC speak. His wife shared a touching story about Amanda Barnes Smith, my sweet grandmother. I always get teary over her story, and all those that crossed the plains. I have such a love for my ancestors and really appreciate everything they did for me. I am excited to see them again after I die and give them all a great big hug. I definitely could not have crossed the plains. Anyways, she told us about the lyrics to How Firm A Foundation. If you get the chance, go read all of the verses. They're pretty powerful.

The best part of my week? DUHKLAAPYAHT!!!!! Independence Day! It really was the most amazing thing ever and I am really really glad I had the opportunity to be here for it. We had a really great devotional Friday night that was all about how Joseph Smith brought back true freedom- the knowledge of the gospel. And then we got to watch the fireworks from BYU stadium of fire. that was pretty cool. It made us all a little homesick, but it's okay.

I have such a strong testimony of this gospel, and the work that I'm out here to do. I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel of Christ as it was when Christ walked the earth. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and I know he has a plan for me and for my family. I love the opportunity to be here preparing to serve the people of Hong Kong!

Ngoh ngoi leih!!

-Kuk Jimuih

PS. Thank you to everyone who sent me letters/dear elders this week. I love hearing from you! (:

P.P.S

So here's a funny story for you. I went in with my teacher Sister Heaton to sit down and do our "interview." Basically she asked me questions in Cantonese like how is the MTC, how is the language coming, how are my companions, what are my goals...etc. and then I answered in English. Anyways. The first thing she said when I walked in and sat down was "You know Paige Heninger." I was like. Umm............... yes. But because she was speaking in Cantonese I couldn't understand everything she was saying, so I was sort of REALLY confused as to how she knew that. Apparently her mom and Paige are really good friends/neighbors, and Paige said something about me to Sister Heaton's mom, and then she told Sister Heaton who then told me. So. Small world. Just in case you wanted to know.

June 30, 2014: Handwritten Letter to Dad

Dear Dad,

Thank you so much for your letter, well DearElder, I guess.  I really love getting those.  They're more personal because I can hang them up and reread them when I start missing home.

Things here are going pretty well.  Seeing (hearing about, I guess) Jaiden set back again makes me sad.  I pray for him and the rest of you daily but sometimes I feel like my prayers aren't heard because things only get worse.  I know that's silly to think because I know hears all our prayers - the answer is just not right for the moment.

So far I've taught 4 lessons and as you probably read in my email, one really did not go well.  It's hard to teach a lesson in Cantonese when you don't even know how to teach one in English.  We have two new investigators this week so that will be a nice fresh start to recollect our thoughts and try again.

I love you so much.  Thanks for supporting me while I am here.  I know it's a financial sacrifice and I know there are probably better things for you to do with that money but I also know the Lord needs me out here.  I haven't figured out why  yet but I know I need to here.  I love this gospel so much.

Ngoh ngoi leih!  I love you!

Kuk Jimuih

P.S. There is a place on main street by Nielson's custard that does same-day shipping to the MTC.  I would greatly appreciate some raspberries :)  If I won't die if I eat day old fruit that is.

June 30, 2014: Handwritten Letter to Mom

Dear Mom,

I'm glad you finally decided to get the mail.  You'll be getting a lot of letters from me in the next few weeks since I have so much to say but hardly any time to email.  It's usually just a few minutes here and there.

I am way bummed that Jaiden got set back again.  I just wish he could understand that he's not just hurting himself when he does that.  I'm hurt by it, and I'm not even around.  I do agree that it's better that it happens now than later.  I hope he knows that I'm out here for him.  It's people like him who maybe have heard the gospel but probably don't understand the fullness of Christ's atonement.  Our purpose is to bring people to Christ. If I could bring him to a better understanding of Christ's infinite love for him, I would consider my mission a success.

I wish I could say the language is as easy as I made it look.  The words aren't hard, and the tones aren't too hard either...but the sentence structure kills me.  Everything is all messed up.  The order is subject, time, place, verb, object.  So basically it looks like:  You tomorrow home read scriptures.  There are not "it, and, but, or," or anything like that.  It's totally bizarre.  Though I can usually understand our teacher, it's hard to speak and think your sentences in an order that Chinese people will understand.

I am grateful my testimony is reaching many people.

Love,
Kuk Jimuih