Cambietnam

"Do whatever you want, it's not like I need a play by play." NAME THAT MOVIE

I spent a few evenings trying to think of a specific theme and topic for this email based on the past week, but things were so mumbo-jumbo that I'm just going to give you a daily play by play.

Monday - I was in Cambodia. We spent the day at the market buying fabric to get dresses made. Heads up - I'm coming home with a hamburger dress! That night we taught an investigator named Chú Sang. He was drunk while we taught him, but we didn't realize it until the end of the lesson. You're probably thinking to yourself, "Emily, you idiot. How did you not notice that he was drunk?" First, it's so darn hot that the heat makes everybody go crazy and they're always running around like a bunch of drunks. And second, you can't smell the alcohol because the stench of garbage and your own body odor is overwhelming! He was a pretty cool drunk though. Before I began my mission I was really sad thinking that I wouldn't be able to hold hands with anyone for 18 months (I believe that all friends and families should always hold hands.) In the middle of the lesson though Chú Sang started crying because he hasn't seen his mother for like 20 years and the last time he saw her was in Vietnam and now he doesn't even know if she's still alive. It was so sad to see him like that so I just let him hold my hand while he cried. We had a good moment together. 

Tuesday - Still in Cambodia. We biked a lot resulting in lots of sweat. We went to visit a member who was kind enough to offer to let me take a shower in her bathroom because it was so hot. People in Cambodia have this thing about taking multiple showers a day and they always think the missionaries are barbaric when they hear we just take the traditional 2 showers a day. Trust me, if I could take 6 showers a day I would. But in the words of my companion Sister Thi, "nobody got time for that." 

Wednesday - Still in Cambodia. This day was enjoyed by having over 6 hours of training meetings with President Moon. I could tell you about the million and one cool things we learned, but I'm afraid if I type that much I'll get carpal tunnel...But let me direct you to a super amazing talk about the worth of a soul and that'll sum up most everything that I learned. (It's attached in a link at the bottom.)

Thursday - Woke up at 4:30 am to hop on a bus back to Vietnam. I think they made us go so early because the yearly water festival was going on and the AP's were worried that the streets would be extremely crowded. But from what I heard, this year was actually pretty mellow because a couple years ago the festival got so out of hand that the police weren't able to control the crowds and 300 people died...so yeah, now everyone is afraid to go outside during the festival.

Friday - Back in Vietnam. We had zone training and Sister Thi and I had the opportunity to share for the first time as sister training leaders. A little scary because I have a fear of unintentionally sharing false doctrine...in the end it was a good meeting though. In our zone we have a goal to help our members become 'Preach My Gospel members'. Like I shared a couple months ago about giving a member a copy of Preach My Gospel and having them share the five lessons with us - that's what we're going to try and do throughout our entire zone!

Saturday - Four eight-year-old kids in the branch were baptized! So many thumbs up for the second generation of members of the church here in Vietnam!! Afterwards one of the families provided a giant chocolate cake...in the shape of a minion holding a Book of Mormon. #TMS And they let us take the leftovers home so I was pretty thrilled. Saturday night we started our Chinese class! It was a success with a total of 9 students! And I can now say "Jesus loves you!" in Chinese! #SweetSuccess

Sunday - Church! Five minutes before Relief Society began they informed me that the teacher had forgot to prepare a lesson and they asked if I could teach. "Sure. What's the lesson supposed to be about?", I asked. The Relief Society president points to the white board that has the name of the lessons written on it - "THE WORTH OF A SOUL" Bingooooooo! Deal. I'll teach it! 

Sister Thi has only ever worn makeup once in her life, so last night I forced her to let me put makeup on her...then she got an allergic reaction. #SisterInZion

I really like being a missionary. 

That's it for this week.

Write me emails please. I've watched every single Mormon message already and I'm out of things to do to keep me busy while sitting at the internet shops.

Love,

Chị Cả Trịnh Ly

Prepare for lots of photos:

Zone luuuuuuuunch!

They used to call me Sister Sassy but now they're transitioning to the name Sister that has that stick for selfies...

Kids in Cambo. #BreakingTheWhiteHandbookAndAdoptingThemAll

My homies Xuyên and Nam at the baptism.

Cambodia - where one business fixes tv's and curls hair! #PMGUseTimeWisely

Teaching Bà Tư how to smile!

This whole group of people left the MTC together, and exactly one year later we all got to meet up at the mission home!

"These are a few of my favorite [and least favorite] things." - The Sound of Music

I got here to Cambodia on Friday afternoon and immediately hit the streets of branch 6 with Sister Thi. Not the same Sister Thi that's my companion though...a different Sister Thi. The Sister Thi that is my companion, her last name is Tieng. We would call her Sister Tieng...but we already have two other Sister Tieng's as well. 

Being back in branch 6 is fun, but like always, Cambodia just kicks my butt. I'm here getting my visa renewed and we have leadership council with President Moon on Wednesday. Meaning I have left my area for a week...Let's hope the elders didn't mess anything up while we were gone. I told them they couldn't have any parties while I was out of town, but I found out they had a huge Halloween party and invited all of the members! #NoInvite

I'm staying in a house with Sister Litchfield and her child Sister Thao, the one from Laos, and Sister Thi. The child is really cute and super goofy. She can't really say much in either English nor Viet, but she always laughs at my jokes so she's pretty cool in my eyes.

Honestly, there's not a lot to say about this past week. We just got permission from President Moon to start a Chinese class in Vietnam! Sister Thi will start teaching that next week so hopefully it goes well. 

Last night Sister Litchfield tried to sabotage me by giving me a bunch of chocolate right before bed. (By the way, if you want to send me anything for Christmas I found out that I really really like caramel apple Milky Ways...) After we all binged on chocolate none of us could go to sleep so after laying in bed for an hour or so Sister Thao sang us a song in Laotian and Sister Litchfield sang in French. I thought we were all singing songs to get in touch with our roots so I was going to sing Para Bailar La Bamba or some song in Spanish...but they all fell asleep before I could get the chance.

I was still wide awake though so I made a mental list some of the things I like and dislike about Cambo:

- I do like that there's a lot of missionaries here. It keeps things diverse and more fun. In Vietnam it's just the twelve of us. We're all Vietnamese people and we're all pretty boring.

- I don't like that I sweat so much. I didn't even know so much water could come out of my face.

- I do like that the missionary work is similar to the kind of stuff they teach you about in the MTC and all the stories I hear my friends talk about from their missions. No one ever really talks about the time that they accidentally contacted the police and thought they were going to go to jail. Serving in Vietnam in unique, but sometimes it's fun to hear stories from my friends and understand what they're experiencing because I'm going through similar stuff. 

- I do like seeing members and other missionaries when I'm out in public. Here it's a totally normal thing and people are always shouting "hello Sistaaas!" It reminds me of all the times while growing up that I would roll down the car window and say hello to the Elders while they walked down the street. 

- And the thing I've realized that I hate the most - REJECTION. I hate it in real life and I hate it as a missionary. I hate when people do it to me, and I especially hate doing it to other people. Because we are allowed to go to the homes of investigators here in Cambodia, there are a lot of times that we get to their homes and they reject us saying that they don't want to learn with the missionaries anymore. And all I can do is just awkwardly moon walk away from the situation. I hate it! Rejection and rejecting are literally the two worst words in my vocabulary. 

Sorry this email isn't very exciting. Emotions cause wrinkles so I try to stay away from those. Haha

Love you all! See ya in 15 weeks!

Love, Sister Egelund

Carving Viet pumpkins and a photo bomb courtesy of Elder Bao. 

Co Cuc Nga just got her call to serve as a church service missionary! She will serve in the Thao Dien and Tan Son Nhat branch and starts this week!

This is Sister Thi and Sister Tra's family! They're some of the most devoted people I know! Chi Xuan, their older sister, just got baptized a couple months ago while Thi and Tra were on their missions.

The Roller Coaster Ride

October 26, 2014

My first email I sent to President Moon when I arrived back to the mission field described what it feels like to be on this roller coaster ride of emotions I feel as a missionary. What I didn't realize at the time I wrote that email was that the ride hadn't even started! All I had done was sit down and fasten my seat belt. This week the roller coaster took off though and we have already gone through some crazy stuff.
This week had a couple steep drops down, but also a lot of high points. You know when you're at the very top of the coaster and you can look out and see everything in front of you? The sun is shining really bright and although you're only up there for one second the time feels infinite? The high points this week were like that.
So the ride quickly went to a high point this week on Wednesday when we found four new investigators at English class! In the middle of Elder Bao's class we split the students up because we had so many people there. I got to teach an English class of my own for the first time in like six months. Meaning that I also had the opportunity to teach the gospel message for the first time in a long time. And it went really well! These four students, this was their first time to class and they really wanted to learn about the church afterwards. That never happens!

On Thursday and Friday the coaster took us through a couple loops as we did exchanges for training.

Trinh Twins on exchange...

I spent the day with Sister Hunsaker in the Thao Dien branch and we planned ourselves an action packed, missionary work filled day...until the people we planned on meeting cancelled and the Elders called and said they noticed Sister Hunsaker's bike was broken and they took it out to get fixed. Well, it didn't take me 14 months of this mission thing to understand that it's not a companion exchange unless something goes wrong.
Around noon the bike was supposed to be done so we went to go pick it up. but we were left with only one bike so I had to bike while Sister Hunsaker rode on the back. Definitely not a skill I've picked up on the mission, but it went surprisingly well. (I took pictures to prove it.) So we get there, and they still didn't have the bike finished! So now what do we do? No bike = nothing to really do. All members live at least a half hour away by bicycle, and the area we were in was white people central so contacting would be difficult. So I followed my instincts and went and bought myself an oatmeal raisin cookie to cheer myself up. 

Even more of the Trinh Twins.

So now the Trinh Twins both had cookies in hand, and no place to sit down and eat them...so we went to Popeye's. We're sitting there, kickin' it old school while 2012 top 40 hits is playing and the air conditioner is making me drowsy, and I look around to find that two American members are there getting food too! The number of members here in Vietnam is really few, so seeing a fellow member out in public is as freaky as watching a dog walk on two legs.

While leaving we stopped to talk to them. Oh, their names are David and Josh by the way. Anyway, so Josh invited us to sit down and share a spiritual thought with them. Umm...okay. We're in Popeye's, it smells like fried chicken, the walls are painted the brightest shade of orange known to mankind, and One Direction is playing - it's a perfect setting to share the Gospel. But like I've told you all before, I think lessons are always better when the missionaries don't teach, but the members are the ones to teach and testify to us. So I invited Josh, a returned missionary from Australia, to share his favorite scripture with us. And the next half hour was like crazy Harry Potter magic!
He shared about the sons of Mosiah and how they were the "very violest of sinners", and they suffered "much anguish of soul because of their iniquities." The sons of Mosiah had done many many wrongs things and openly rebelled against God and His church in their past. And although they had left those things behind in their past, choosing to never do them again, they still had regrets. They were still remorseful for the things they had done. And they didn't feel worthy. But "the Lord saw fit in His infinite mercy to spare them." The Lord loved them so He saved them. Heavenly Father loved them so He forgave. And by feeling the grace and love of God in their lives, they chose to go and declare of the Lord's goodness to the Lamanites!

Every single one of us is going to face trials. Every single one of us is going to be faced with whirlwinds and storms that could potentially break us and throw us to the ground. Our trials are our make or break moments. And we have to choose - we have to choose if our sins will pull us into the storm, or if they will make us stronger! Are you going to hold on to the burdens that come from guilt and sulk in your misery because you feel weak? Or are you going to reach out and grab the hand of the Lord that is always extended towards you, and allow Him to pull you back to safety? That's the question we have to constantly ask ourselves - am I going to let the Lord save me? The sons of Mosiah were forgiven after true, sincere repentance. We too can be forgiven. They "experienced a change of heart, and . . . [sang] the song of redeeming love" then went out and shared that joy with others!

All of this happened while in the Popeye's! That's testimony to me that the Spirit can be felt in any place, and although a bunch of things go wrong and plans fall through, the Lord will always lead us to where we need to be. Shout out to Josh! I don't know how much of a help the sister missionaries were to you, but Sister Hunsaker and I both agreed that our testimonies were strengthened that day because of all that you shared!

I want to end this email right here on a high note, but this email is about the roller coaster. And all things that go up must come down. And this drop in the ride is probably the quickest, lowest drop I've experienced in my mission. Sunday afternoon while sitting outside of a members house I had to hear her blatantly tell us that she has chosen a different path in her life, and that path doesn't include the church. We all know inactive members, we all know people that don't want to attend church anymore, but being there as this member finally admitted this to us, and honestly admitted it to herself that she has chosen to not attend church anymore, it broke my heart. i just wanted her to understand that having faith in Christ is the best, and the only way to be truly happy! I know that! I've climbed up to some really tall points of the roller coaster and I've looked out and I know that there are a bunch of loops, and drops, and some scary heights coming up. Sometimes we're unsure if we're going to be able to handle it. But we have all been promised that if we will hold on tight we'll enjoy the ride.

I love roller coasters. I love when you drop down and your heart skips a beat, but then all of a sudden you're going back up and you feel on top of the world! The ride is amazing and I'm glad to be on it!

Saturday night was the wedding of two returned missionaries. I think it's weird that I know married people.

Married people...

I think it's extremely weird that that is one of those things that I'm supposed to actually be thinking about for my own life to happen in the near future. Life is freaky and growing up scares me. But I know that if you stay on the ride the Lord will provide (that rhymes).

The hope this roller coaster is like the ones at Disneyland and that when I get to Heaven and step off the ride there will be a place where I can see pictures that were secretly taken at the scariest points when I was freaking out. That would be pretty neat!

Thank you everyone for all of your support. I love you all! Have a good Halloween...I'll be spending mine on a bus to Cambodia :(

Reasons to get married: Really pretty flowers.

​See ya in 16 weeks,
Sister Egelund

Get Fit

I would like to refer to this week as "Get Fit" week. We exercised a lot! Each morning we actually got out of bed and went out exercising. That was a miracle because we were ending each day completely exhausted from contacting. The Holy Ghost can lift you out of trouble in times of peril, and also lift you out of bed when you're drowsy. 

Recently we haven't had many investigators so we're putting a lot of time into contacting and trying to find those people that are ready for the gospel!

It isn't contacting unless you find a cool place to take a selfie.

All of that contacting is part of the reason that this is Get Fit week. We walked everywhere we went and we walked and walked and walked like those little pioneer children. It was fun to wander around all of the little alleys and see how those people live a different life style compared to the people on the bigger roads of the city. They're a lot more relaxed. We met a huge group of old people just sitting out on the street drinking coffee and waiting for the winning lottery numbers to be announced. They were cool, but they think they're too old to learn English so contacting them was a bust. They made a huge fuss about the Cambodian and Indian girl that could speak Vietnamese though so all the neighbors came outside and we contacted them! Because we don't wear name tags and we don't really have the freedom to tell people exactly who we are, people always think that I'm a nun...that's always cool.

Can you all do me a favor? I want you to all go to your local nail salon and introduce the gospel to all of the Viet ladies that work there. Most of those women still have relatives that live in Vietnam. So, once they learn the gospel, get them to refer their family members to me! Okay?! I don't know about you, but that's what I call unity in the work of salvation! I promise you that this works too! So many of our members are people that were referred by family members in America! So c'mon and help a sister out!

Me and my boy Justin Timberlake.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, Sister Thi and I are the sister training leaders for Vietnam! But we're only leaders over one companionship of sisters - Sister Hunsaker and Sister Tra. Tra and Thi are biological sisters, and Sister Hunsaker and I are most than likely twins separated at birth. So exchanges should be interesting. All 5 of the sisters that came into the field from the MTC with me are now sister training leaders too. So leadership training meeting with President Moon should be fun little reunions. Or they're just going to want to hug a lot...I hate that.

The Elders really disappointed me this week when I found out that none of them are Eagle Scouts. I don't know what it is, but when I hear someone say that they are not a scout I literally cringe. I mean, how am I supposed to trust them when I know that they can't even tie a know or make something as basic as a boondoggle. What happens if we're in some sort of emergency out in the forests of Vietnam? We'll be dead men! #UpsetBeyondComprehension

I hope that you know that all things said in today's email were not sarcastic at all...

They are remodeling our apartment building and the roof is BEAUTIFUL. I just might move to Vietnam after this mission because the new houses are gorgeous. So here's a pic of Sister Thi and I kickin it old school.

I love you all, 

Sister Egelund

You Don't Know What You Have...

I've always had this problem that I don't know what I have until it's gone. I know that's a generic line that people usually say after breakups or financial loss or something like that, but it is almost always true in my life. Until something or someone is out of my life I really don't understand just how much I love them. And I know that's an awful way to be, and believe me I'm trying to change. The Lord sees me and knows exactly who I am though and He knew for me to really appreciate missionary work I had to leave it. That week and a half at home was kind of rough. All of the things that I imagined would be fun to do really were not all that great. Honestly, all of the things I once loved were all just a disappointment. It's probably because I knew that that wasn't where I was supposed to be. I'm supposed to be here in Vietnam serving a mission.

Sister Bailey was crying when I arrived at the airport. Haha. She's the sweetest lady in the world!

I am so happy that all of this thyroid stuff ended up being a small thing. Thank you so much to everyone that kept me in their prayers! Being back feels great! Flying from SLC all the way to Cambodia with the huge group of missionaries was a lot of fun. When we got to Cambodia President and Sister Moon were waiting outside. It felt like coming to Cambodia for the first time (except this time I was I was already familiar with Cambodia's unique smell.)

Now I'm back in Vietnam! Same branch, different companion. This is now my seventh transfer in this one branch! I might as well get my membership records moved here because it just feels like home. My new companion is Sister Thi. She's the younger sister of my former companion, Sister Tra. For the past year Sister Thi has been serving in the Khmer speaking program so her Vietnamese has gone down a bit. She's worried about her language skills but she shouldn't be because I'm one of the best Vietnamese teachers ever (said no one ever.) Sister Thi speaks four languages - Vietnamese, Khmer, Chinese and English. This morning when we were reading Preach My Gospel together I read in Vietnamese and she read in Chinese. 

Sister Hong is now a free woman...I mean a returned missionary.

This weekend we watched General Conference. Last week I watched it in the states at Temple Square and this week again here in Vietnam! I could tell you all of the awesome things I learned but that would take a load of time; plus I know that every other missionary already emailed home about everything that was said. One quick idea though - sometimes we receive personal revelation and don't understand why we're supposed to do something. But we just gotta trust in Heavenly Father and take that step into the dark using our faith and go for it!

Mid-General Conference lunch..the greatest time of year.

I love you ALL!

-Sister Egelund

A Temporary Returned Missionary

So if you read last weeks email you heard that I was going to go get the lump on my throat checked out...

 

Here's a recap of the week:

 

Monday - Went to an international medical center and met with the doctor. She immediately had me do some blood tests and then I was transported to another hospital for an ultrasound (Ultrasounds just make me think of Juno). The doctor was really awkward. I walked into the room and he didn't say a single word. He just pointed to the uncomfortable paper-covered bed and I assumed he wanted me to lay down.

Guess what? All of the rumors about ultrasounds that you've heard from pregnant ladies are true - that goo stuff is cold and gross.

So yeah that happened. I tried to take selfies for proof but it there was no photography allowed...

Tuesday - Went back to the hospital to get my results...

Woman doctor: "You need a biopsy."

Trinh Ly: "Where do I do that?"

Woman doctor: "I suggest you do it outside of Vietnam. You can go to Singapore, Hong Kong, or back to the States."

And that's what happened. I cried so hard for a solid 30 seconds then decided to be a big kid. Then spent the rest of the day stressing out and trying to get all the medical exams sent to Cambo so they could be sent to the area doctor in Hong Kong.

Wednesday - Sister Moon had told me she would call me back at about 4 in the afternoon to let me know what the area doctor suggested I do. 4 o'clock came and went...still no call...still lots of anxiety.

Finally at 9 PM President Moon called. Getting a call from the mission president is never a good thing. It's like when you're in school and they call you to the principals office. You want to believe he's asked to see you because you're a great student...but that's never it. Anyway, I don't really remember what he said. I just remember that after a whole bunch of talking it was decided that I needed to get on the early morning bus and get to Cambodia ASAP.

Then the anxiety got higher and in my moment of trial and fear I promised Elder Phat four boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats. That was very irrational.

Then I spent the night getting my bags packed...I didn't realize that I had accumulated so much junk. I thought that I would have no problem getting all of my stuff in those three pink suitcases...nope. It took three suitcases and four big boxes. #ClassicEmily

Thursday - Said bye to the four elders in my district and Mr. Hiep the security guy at the church. I gave the Elders my food...Elder Phat better thank me for those boxes of cereal. Honey Bunches of Oats is my life.

My cousin, Hoang, came to the church and gave me a Priesthood blessing. It was my first blessing I've received in Viet and it was a solid 10!

After peacing out Sister Tra and I jumped into a taxi that had a female driver...sups sketch. Sister Hunsaker and Sister Hong met us at the bus stop and it was like a horrible breakup. They bought me baked goods though so I didn't shed any tears.

5 That night we got the to mission home. I interviewed with President Moon to discuss what would happen and ultimately we decided it would be best for me to go home for further testing.

11 o'clock PM...I was on an airplane.

Friday: Home. They released me (not as cool as I thought it would be). And I became a normal person...

Saturday: Being normal is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Have you ever seen that movie Life Size with Tyra Banks and Lindsay Lohan. You know, the one where the Barbie doll comes to life? Yeah, well I'm the come to life Barbie doll that literally doesn't know how to do anything and eats plain butter.

Cool story right? I wish I could add a big fat JUST KIDDING...but it's true. So now I'm home and Tuesday I will go to the doctor. The doctor in Hong Kong says that it is probably one of three things: A schist, a thyroid nodule, or cancer. I along with everyone else doubt that it is cancer though. If it were cancer my blood  would probably be out of wack, but it's fine. Really everything with my health is completely normal, I just have this stupid lump! And if it's a schist or a thyroid nodule I should be healthy enough to go back out to the field!!

That's that. Don't worry about me too much, kay?! I know without a doubt that this is part of Heavenly Father's plan and there are things that I must learn from this. I already have so much more appreciation for my mission, and I know there are many other things I will learn through this experience! Remember, each one of our lives is in the hands of God. So don't stress, just trust Him!

I love you all! Thank you so much for all of your support during this crazy thing. And for all of you that are currently serving that receive this, remember YOSMO! You Only Serve A Mission Once so use this time the very best you can. We have the power to change lives!

I hope to be back in Cambam soon!

With toooooons of love,

Emily Egelund the RM :)

Viets are Poets

September 21, 2014

The Vietnamese have this weird thing that they do when they just start rambling off weird Vietnamese poetry. It's weird. One minute they're just having a nice, normal conversation about rice or phở and then before I can even process what they're saying they're going off about lotus flowers and wise old men.

More than anything I want to be a real Vietnamese person. I try my best to eat some of the funky things people put in front of me at the dinner table, I wear socks with sandals like all the ladies, I put whitening lotion on every morning and evening. I'm doing my best to be as Viet as I can be. The only major road block is the my Vietnamese is worth 2 cents. So, to try to get at the top of my game I'm learning the weird Vietnamese poems. Although half of them don't make sense to me people love it when I say them and slowly but surely I will become a Viet. You know, I'm just preparing for the day that I inherit mom's nail salon. Haha

So list of things that happened this week:

Monday: Everyone went to play soccer. I chickened out like usual so I just sat there taking pictures. Some things never change.

Soccer...I don't know what Elder Thái was doing, but I'm glad I got the picture.

Tuesday: We finally got around to having our zone training. Sister Trà and I are doing this thing where we give our members and recent converts a Preach My Gospel and have them teach us the lessons and we act like investigators. It's a little weird because they even follow up with us and ask us if we've been praying and reading the Book of Mormon often. The lessons are amazing though and it's awesome to have recent converts testify to us about the truthfulness of the gospel instead of the other way around. Then at the end we review and evaluate what things they taught that were really spiritual and what could be taught better in preparation of teaching actual investigators. Since the last General Conference in April 2014 we've been sharing Elder Ballard's talking with everyone:

". . . I invite all members, regardless of your current calling or level of activity in the Church, to obtain a copy of Preach My Gospel. It is available through our distribution centers and also online. The online version can be read or downloaded at no cost. It is a guidebook for missionary work—which means it is a guidebook for all of us. Read it, study it, and then apply what you learn to help you understand how to bring souls to Christ through invitation and follow-up. As President Thomas S. Monson has said, “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.”5
There are practical ways for members to help and support our remarkable missionaries. For example, you can tell the missionaries that you are studying Preach My Gospel and ask them to show you what they are learning in their studies. As you share with each other, increased confidence between members and full-time missionaries will surely develop, just as the Lord commanded:
“But that every man [and woman] might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world.”7
And “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.”8
Brothers and sisters, can you imagine the impact if family and friends included things they are learning from their personal study of Preach My Gospel in their letters and emails to their full-time missionaries? Can you picture the blessings that will come to families when they know and understand better what their sons and daughters will be studying and teaching on their missions? Can you even begin to fathom the extraordinary outpouring of atoning grace that will be ours, individually and collectively, according to the Savior’s promise to all who bear testimony in the process of inviting souls to come unto Him—and then following up on those invitations?"

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/following-up?lang=eng

Wednesday: There is a television program from India that is translated and broadcast on a local Vietnamese channel. Everyone watches this show...and everyone thinks that I am one of those Indians.

Thursday: I love Americans. Especially the American families in our branch that make us dinner every week!

Friday: One word: sweaty. We're making our way out of the rainy season and it's gettin' hot up in here. We spent an hour walking around trying to contact and by the end of it I was so sweaty that my lotion was literally coming out of my pores. I looked like I was melting because my arm just had this layer of white lotion on it. Hahaha Sups gross.

Saturday: It was a roller coaster ride of emotions that day. At noon we taught an investigator...she yelled at our member help and told her she didn't have any faith. That was suuuuuper awkward. Then I pulled an Elder Moreno from The District videos and told our nameless investigator that there was no way she is going to learn anything if she won't even open the Book of Mormon. Then we went home for lunch and I was really frustrated so I raged and asked the Elders to call the rice and chicken guy to deliver me food. The rice and chicken calmed me down. That evening the branch put together a going away party for the 3 members that will begin their missions this week. It was sad. We're all going to be serving within the same mission together but regardless it's still a goodbye and I hate goodbye's more than anything.

The going away party!

There's also a new girl in the branch. She's from Texas and is Mexican and Native American. She looks like she's from India though and everyone literally thinks that we are sisters...

Sunday: It was my cousins birthday. We had a party and they made my favorite food - rice porridge soup stuff with chicken! They just moved here and they've already made it three times for me. #TheGoodLife

Birthday party!

See ya,

Egelund

P.S. I'm going to the hospital today because I've had a lump in my throat for two months...Happy P-day.