July 18, 2007
Family,
Things are going really good here. Hong Kong is pretty crazy! It is so different from America, but the same in a lot of ways. It is pretty crazy over here the hours are so different. In America everything starts really early in the morning, shops and things don't even open til like 12 or 1 over here it's really different but everything stays open until like like 1 or 2 in the morning, it's pretty crazy. So for missionary life is changed a little bit. For example, our days are different most mission days start at 630-1030, we get up at 7 and then have to be back by 11 so that's a little different. I kind of like it though because seven doesn't seem like it is so early. I kind of feel like I'm sleeping in.
The apartment is a rat hole! Like I said the eye of the tiger is like the Ritz Carlton compared to my place. It's super small. In 10 steps I can't get from the door to the back wall. I can get anywhere I need to in 10 steps and we have 4 missionaries living in it. My bed is harder than a rock, and our apartment is so small in our bedroom our beds are right next to eachother, I mean like right next to eachother. It's like one big bunk bed with our mattress on top of eachother. I sleep right next to another elder. Oh yeah in the bedroom it's so small 2 mattress is all their is room for. So you walk in the bedroom and you are immediately on the beds. The place is dirty so dirty it's disgusting. I'm scared to get in the shower because I might get some weird disease. It's bad! But everyone says the apartment I live in right now is the worst apartment they have and the smalllest and at the end of this "moves" HK calls it moves but transfers they are getting rid of it. I filmed it on my camera so when I send the card home you'll be able to see it. It's probably good for me the Lord is humbling me and he's doing a real good job of it. I reallly appreciate where I live now 100x more. I make it sound really bad but it's not that bad because we are hardly ever there.
My companion Elder Holbrook and I get a long good. No problems. He doesn't bug me. Everything is going good in that respect. The only problem we have is that he doesn't like to spend money. He never wants to eat out. We have eaten out like 3 times this past week, but I'll slowly start changing him. The food isn't to bad, or what I've eaten. If you saw the places we buy food, you'd cry. I don't know how I dare eat it, but I have been and feel fine so that's good. If you remember in China town where they have the ducks hanging up in just in the middle or the road, that's where I eat. Except here they have pork, chicken, fish, you name it they have it. and with the chicken and fish they don't clean it or anything. they just fry it. So they have like whole fish not even cleaned out or anything just staring at you as they walk by, the same is for the chicken. I've haven't had the fish yet, that'll be sometime this week I hope, but the pork and the chicken isn't bad. You can get these things called rice bowls for like 12 HK dollars like 50 cents american and it is a box of rice and chopped up meat with some veggies so we usuallly eat those and they are pretty good.
I said last week we have a bunch of investigators, I think like 12. 8 of them are really good. I think they will get baptized within the next month. We can only baptize on the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month so I think the 12 of next month we will have a few baptisms. But because we teach mandarin people they are always coming and going back to the families a lot so right now we have like 3 Investigators that should come back next week that are ready for baptism, I haven't met them yet, and then 2 of our investigators that are making good progress go to mainland next week for like 2 weeks so people are always coming and going so it's really hard, but I lucked out and walked into a really good situation. NExt week I will tell you more about them.
I don't understand anything that's going on. Everyone speaks super fast, and the real problem is everyone has a different accent. because we only teach mainlanders everyone is from different parts so its like trying to listen to someone with a southern accent, a new york accent, english accent, and australian accent. Every place sounds so different and use different vocab words so its really hard to understand. and even if they were speaking normal I woudn't understand them so basically when we go teach I sit there with a big smile on my face and nod. It's kind of funny. I really am my companions shadow, but he's nice and works with me, he gives me little parts to teach and I prepare all morning for them and then try to teach and usually they don't understand me so he goes back and clarify's but its all good. It's also really hard to learn because I don't hear mandarin all day. I only hear it when we teach so its going to be a bit more of a challenge, but I'm not to worried, I just have to study extra hard.
We teach English class and it is Wednesday afternoons. It is so funny trying to listen to all these chinese people try to speak English. I had so much fun trying to listen to all of these people try and introduce themselves and say numbers. The way you move your mouth in Chinese is totally different than English (this is part of the reason no one can understand me) but they can't make English sounds. It's so funny.
All in all things are going good. I'm not homesick at all so that's good. I've only been here a week so I don't really know what's going on, but I'm having fun and enjoying myself. It sounds like things at home are going good. Sounds like Girls camp went good, JJ's opened, sounds like things are moving a long.
I do need a few things. I need another towel. Darin will know what I mean I want the millitary size bible bom and p of gp. I think I have one in my room on the left hand side of my sink those drawers, i don't know what drawer they will be in, but they are little small scriptures. Ilike my big ones to study in every morning but they are to big to carry around all day so if you could send me some millitary size ones that would be awesome. and I need a power converter. Just one that you plug into the outlet that I can then plug american plugs into. Over here they use 220.
Overall everything is going good. I'm enjoying myself. Thanks for everything you do. I love you guys.
Elder Glendenning
