Sunday, July 14, 2013

Merced & Atwater

July 9th, 2013




So Merced is awesome! I'm lovin' it here. Elder Bone is great. I left on Wednesday to come up here. Jonathan gave me a ride. I was really sad to say goodbye to everybody in Fresno but Merced is great too! Elder Bone is from the same town in Utah as Elder Burton (Kaysville, UT). On 4th July we went and gave service to a brother in another ward up here in Merced. We poured cement into these tubes in the ground to create solid bases for a fence to be installed. It was intense. Elder Bone is like the greatest "handyman" on the planet. He's done a ton of service! He's poured patios, redone roofs, fixes yards, fixes cars etc. So we also did a ton of laser leveling to prep the ground and make sure all the concrete bases would be level. Therefore, when I get home, I will definitely be ready to do all the big fixes around the house. Haha. We had a great lunch at Pheej's house (Pang). She's a super awesome Green Hmong lady from the branch. By the way, green Hmong is another dialect of Hmong! There is a lot of myths of how it came about, but nothing super solid about how it came forward. Anyways, we had to be in by 6pm on 4th of July. We had to have a ride in a members car if we wanted to be out longer. But by the time it got dark outside, we only had about an hour before we'd have to be back at our apartment so we just stayed in and got things organized. 

The next day, we had a baptismal interview with the sisters about an hour away. He was a young kid. He was really funny though. Apparently he had recently egged somebody's house and so he wanted to get his "sins" washed away. Gotta love it. 

The following day, we went and did more service for another member in another ward. We cleaned out his storage unit. Tons of cool junk in there. Then we went and did more service for a non-member ; a Japanese lady that lives way far away. We did some yard work and Elder Bone did some crazy work on her sprinkler system. We cut pvc pipe and moved one of the sprinklers closer to some dying trees. SO MUCH FUN. Like I said, I can do a lot of yard work now. 

Yesterday, I met the branch. They're great. We have about 60 people that attend regularly. Lots of non-Asian people are pulled in to help support the unit. Everyone's way nice and love to help the missionaries. Also, the branch isn't exclusively Hmong. Its actually a southeast Asian branch. So we have Mein, Hmong, Cambodian, and some other people I think I forgot. I love the branch already. 

Also, our area covers a lot of area, but not a whole lot of people. We cover primarily Atwater and Merced (you can probably Google map it). Its been in the 100s all week. Its not too bad because we're in a car most of the time, so no biggie. The heat is not like VA. Its not very humid here, just straight heat. 

Spiritual Thought: 
Never alone. Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Shouted from the Summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone, even though we may sometimes feel we are." Because of Jesus Christ, we can be comforted in our trials. We will never have to face them alone. We will always have someone there  lifting us and encouraging us. I know that our Heavenly Father is always close to us! He will always be there for you. 

I love you all very much! Keep the questions coming! xoxox
Love, 
Elder Tseem Fwv Leem Xai Yob Vaj



First Transfer

July 1st, 2013

So I'm going to Merced! Elder Doane will be coming to Hmong East to be with Elder Dunnaway. I'll be up in Merced 5th with Elder Bone. He's been out for 2 transfers longer than me. Should be a ton of fun! This last Sunday our two investigators got confirmed so that makes me super happy. One is a part-member young man. The other is a lady that was a math teacher in Laos for 30 years. She's so stinkin' cool. She's reading the Book of Mormon in Laotian. 

Its hot in Fresno....I haven't slept under the covers all week. It was around 90 degrees when we ran this morning around 6am. Ahh! crazy crazy. 

It's been super sad saying goodbye to everyone but maybe I'll come back. I actually have no time to write today because I've got to get everything packed up. But up in Merced the family history center is right near the apartment so I'll be sure to put some good quality letters your way. 

Well, I love you all very much! Keep asking questions and I will respond!
 
LOVE,
Elder Burdick