Just a week before Christmas (Week 12)

Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2017 9:50 PM
Subject: Week 3 in Vietnam
Hi everyone!

Well, I have now made it through my third week in Vietnam! Things are still going great here. It is now starting to get a bit cold, and I now wear a sweater every day. It actually isn't too cold based on the temperature, but with the added effects of humidity and wind, it does feel quite cold. But, with my jacket, I am dealing with it just fine.

 

So I have really seen how much the Lord prepares people to receive the gospel this week. I think I already mentioned the one investigator who is already super active in all of the church activities and is thinking of baptism and going on a mission last week, but once again, I think that is so cool that someone can be that ready after such a short time frame. The other cool example I saw was someone we are teaching who took initiative without our prompting to start reading the Book of Mormon. Last time, we gave her a card to download the Book of Mormon on her phone and asked her to download it. When we met with her yesterday, she had already read through 1 Nephi chapter 7! It was really exciting to see an investigator take the initiative, it shows that they actually want to learn more! Oh, and I guess one other thing that I learned this week on the topic of religion is that people in Vietnam like to read, and apparently one of our contacting methods is to offer them a download of a book for free that they can read called the Book of Mormon, and sometimes the person actually will read it on their own just for reading purposes! Honestly, I don't know if I have ever heard of someone just picking up the Book of Mormon to read for fun in the US, I feel like most people who read it read it with some religious intent. Anyways, I just thought it was a funny way of getting someone to learn more about the church. 

 

Alright, so for some more on what I have been doing. I am still working on the language, and am still not very good. I try to talk with the Vietnamese people when I can, but usually I have no idea what they say when they answer the few questions I know how to ask. And sometimes I don't know what they ask me either. Actually, I have found quite a few people here who just start laughing when they learn I can actually speak some Vietnamese since I am white. Usually though they are pretty nice after that and talk to me a bit. Actually that is something else interesting I have learned here.

 

 

Apparently in Vietnam, it is abnormal to just talk to strangers. If a Vietnamese person starts to talk to another person they don't know on the streets, people think you have an exterior motivation, like you are trying to sell them something. However, if you look like a foreigner they are fine with talking with you and are more friendly. My companion, Elder Danh, actually said I make it slightly easier for him to proselyte since I am a foreigner. Apparently with his last companion, everyone thought they were both Vietnamese (even though they were actually Cambodian) and didn't want to talk to them much. Now since he is with a foreigner (me), they are a little more curious and talk a bit more. I guess there are advantages to sticking out like a sore thumb in a crowd.

 

I also continue to try new foods here. Most foods are either a plate of rice with something else, or are soups, but I really do enjoy most of it. I had the opportunity to try eel the other day! It actually tasted alright, but it didn't sit too well with my stomach and I couldn't finish the bowl, so I could go without eating it again. I also got to try some other foods as well, but none stick out in my mind right now.

I guess the last thing I will bring up is self reliance class. The class is still going well. I hear attendance will go down in the upcoming weeks, as a lot of people go to their home towns this time of year, but we should still have some. This week, we taught about finding a good husband or wife! I thought it was a bit of an odd topic, but it actually went pretty well, and everyone was glad to practice their English. We also talked about the importance of communication, and for a game we did Simon Says, which they were really good at for having just learned how to play! Oh, and next week we will be having more of a Christmas party since it is right before Christmas, and we will be having the class focus on serving others. I will tell you how that goes in two weeks! And yes, I mean two weeks since next week is Christmas, and I probably won't be emailing that week. Instead I will be Skyping with my family! So I will have to send out a big email the week after. Merry Christmas everyone!

Elder Watson/ Nghiêm