Lessons Learned From A Sketchy Aisian Slaughterhouse!

Where did the week go? I can't believe it's already Monday again! It's been a jam-packed 7 days. We picked up several new investigators and have 2 baptismal date-sets! One of them is a 19 year old girl named Ruth. We tracted into her and taught her about the restoration. At the end of the lesson we felt prompted to invite her to be baptized at the end of the month, and she said yes! Her parents go to the Hmong Alliance Church, and are already showing some pushback to her joining the church, but we're planning on teaching her whole family tonight! We're praying so hard that it goes well. We're also teaching this cute old lady named Pang Vang. We help her garden and go on long walks with her, which she really appreciates since she's alone most of the time. She is so hilarious and wants us to come to Bingo with her....contacting opportunity? :) Our other investigator Mor is awesome! She's the girlfriend of a less-active member and they're currently living together. She's also a smoker and drinker, but she is the most committed person, and once she found out those things were wrong she made a game plan to resolve it. We set her baptismal date for July so she has plenty of time to stop smoking and drinking, and find a place to move. The dedication is unreal. She took us out to eat pho, and when she opened her fortune cookie it said "The goal you want to achieve will be accomplished shortly." It was so cool! She got super emotional and said she was going to tape it to her goal sheet that she has on her bathroom mirror. I'm telling you, she's solid!

So we got invited over for dinner at a member's house, and he asked if we could do some service for him beforehand. So we met him and the elders over at his house and he drives us to an unknown location to help him out. The second we pull up, this overwhelming smell of death and manure fills the whole car. I look over at this poorly hand-crafted sign that says "Meat Slaughterhouse" and he informs us we'll be catching, killing, de-gutting, and bringing home our dinner. In my head I'm going "No no no no absolutely not," but outside I'm like "Yeah, sounds fun!" because offending someone you're trying to get referrals from probably isn't the best idea. So we indeed caught, killed, de-gutted, and took home our very own chickens. I named mine "Joseph and Hyrum" because the scene was definitely a set-up of Liberty Jail. I internally sobbed and externally shed a few hidden tears...first rule of food- don't name it if you're planning on eating it. We got home and cooked it, and I was able to force a few bites down so I didn't look rude, but there was NO way I was finishing off a chicken that I had just pet not even 2 hours beforehand. I felt like such a monster, and am eternally grateful I'm serving in the states so I never have to kill my own meal again. But when the zombie apocalypse comes around, I'll at least know how to kill and cook food for my family #survivalskills 

Shout out to my mom for sending an awesome Cinco de Mayo package! It was filled with lots of good stuff (Horchatta for daysss!), and we turned it into a make-shift pinata. I love having the Hermanas live with us! We pillow-talk for hours after bed, which isn't great for our energy levels, but great for our comp unity levels. We went fishing with the elders and went shopping at Hmong village (the best place you will ever go) and found out that I've been missing out on Boba tea, which to my surprise, isn't actually tea! So I found a new love. I got to Skype my family on Mother's Day which was so sweet! I've missed them so much, but this time next year I'll be home! I just want to take a moment to publicly thank my mother for all the things she's done for me. She is the most Christ-like woman I know, and I would give anything to one day be the kind of wife and mother she is. She is my best friend, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for making sure she was stuck with me! :) -Sister Brett