Skip to main content

End of a Transfer, End of an Era (8-12-13)

So, I'm officially done with my 12 week training. I've now been in two areas, Kingsbridge 2nd Ward in the Bronx, NY, and Footscray, VIC Australia. And I've been informed that I'm getting transferred to a new area tomorrow. :) You'll find out next week.
Now just as all things, there has been some good, and some less good. The good news is that I'm healthy, energized, and out of the funk, so I'm pumped to be a missionary! Whoo Yeah!
The less good news (not bad news) is that the baptism for Sunday was postponed until the 23rd. It was easier for all parties involved.
So as a way of recording, since I am the absolute worst at Journal writing, I'm going to summarize the last 8 weeks here in Melbourne.
So I arrived very tired and don't really remember the first three or four days. I met a lot of people, had serious jet lag, and slept a lot. Then it got better. Here, they call street contacting GQ'ing. When we are GQ'ing, I find it to be the hardest thing ever. Since we can't tract for Vietnamese, we just stalk people on the street. It's horribly ineffective, but it's what we have.
So the first week was mostly that, with a few appointments.
Then, as I got more used to things, we started to go and visit more members and do less active look-ups. Apparently a lot of people move... We've gone to attempt to visit several less-active members just to find they no longer live there. We've also found some fun characters.
I've come to find out that my interest in KPOP makes me uniquely qualified  to connect with the younger male Vietnamese population. They all know Girls' Generation, and I can make song references. It makes me seem more human and less "crazy Jesus freak". Also, through my odd and quirky talents, I can do something that is known as "White Charm". Just by speaking in Vietnamese, people will listen to me for just a little bit. If I don't get their attention soon after that about God, then I've lost the golden opportunity.
I've only eaten a few odd things. Pigs feet, fish cake, and quail. Otherwise it's been pretty normal and easy to handle.

There are a lot of great members here. They love the Lord, and they're faithful to the gospel. There are several people who have recently joined, and their testimonies are so amazing and their dedication is even more impressive. I want to be like them.
If you are looking for some fun reads, the book of Genesis is a little racy, I know understand what really happened in Sodom, and I'm a little surprised with Lot. But it's a good story.
If you want something more uplifting, read the parables, specifically the parable of the prodigal son. You'll learn how every soul is precious, and every repentant sinner is a miracle.
With Love,
Elder Ryan

Popular posts from this blog

my feelings

The rest of my mission can be summed up through reading my posts sent via email. The purpose of this post is to sum up some of my final feelings and bring some closure in my mind to the events that led to me finishing my mission early. Earlier today I read a blog post by another missionary who served in the same mission that I did. She went through a similar experience. She was so open and honest, and through her display of courage, I figured that I could do the same. (Her post can be found HERE ) To provide a short disclaimer, the things expressed in this post are entirely my own thoughts based on my own knowledge and experiences. They may not always be accurate because I don't know everything, and I would encourage anyone and everyone to investigate and form their own conclusions. In August of 2013, 5 months after I left on my mission, an ugly beast that had plagued me most of my life, decided to manifest itself in the most forward and unavoidable way. For most of my ...
Read more

Preparation

Sorry for not writing for a fairly long while. the plans I had to write regularly kind of went up in smoke. Despite my best intentions, and my several recurring attempts, I never seemed to manage converting the thought and intent into reality. ...Continued As I left the temple that day, I was riding in the passenger seat of my friend's car. I pulled out my iPhone 4 and called my boss at the time. In a concise way, I informed him of my decision to quit, that I felt it was right, and that I'd be willing to work it out to make it as smooth of a transition as possible. We decided that it would be best for me to give it a few weeks, and I decided that it was okay not to be hasty. When you quit a job without a contingency plan, it can be a very stressful experience. All of a sudden you have bills that you know you're not going to be able to pay, the things that you've become accustomed to will vanish. But despite all of these fears and worries, I knew everything would b...
Read more

Pre-Story ( I love Context!)

My journey to becoming a missionary was far from your stock-standard, trial ridden, discovering of myself experience that it seems to have been for most of the missionaries that I served with. For me, the experience was pretty much just normal life, decisions, and an increase of trust and faith. Anyone who is familiar with the culture that exists in most LDS congregations (wards) will understand; missionary service is highly respected, and highly encouraged (even expected) of young men. At an early age, in Primary (Sunday school for children) I remember being taught about the great calling of missionaries. We would sing songs about hoping to serve a mission, color pages and write letters to missionaries serving from our ward. Growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the church) I don't ever really remember being confused about what it was that missionaries did -- Even if my original idea was that they came to people's homes ate dinner and shared scriptur...
Read more