Amelikas Yog Zoo N Kaub us

 What an insane week! We got to celebrate the 4th holiday all week-
Hmong people are surprisingly patriotic. There's a big festival that
goes on called J-4 where there's soccer and football tournaments, good
food, and lots and lots of booths. We had a booth giving out copies of
the Book of Mormon and pamphlets, and it was an incredibly effective
way to get new investigators! It forced me to use my Hmong without
Sister Xiong's help, so it was a good proving ground for my language
skills. There was just one little hiccup throughout the whole
weekend...this kid comes up to the table, looks through all the
different stuff we have splayed out, and acts like he's super
interested. But when he walked away and Sister Xiong was reorganizing
the materials on the table, we saw he left condoms under all the
pamphlets. We had a mini panic-attack because our mission president
and his wife showed up and were right behind us, so we didn't want
them to see what was going on. So we quickly disposed of them and
tried to ignore it, but seeing Sister Xiong fuming hard core was one
of the highlights of the day. She's so cute when she's mad, because
she has this cute little voice but sounds so angry. You know like in
The Emperors New Groove where Yzma gets turned into this tiny little
squeaky cat, but she's so angry? That's the perfect example. It's zi
hlub heev. And I definitely learned a lot of new insults in Hmong.

Mor called us last week to come over ASAP. We were freaking out that
something was wrong, and when we got there she was a wreck. Her
boyfriend got arrested, and she was having a mini-meltdown. Honestly
we had no idea what to do or how to comfort her, and it was almost our
curfew so we couldn't take her out or anything. We went for a walk
outside and saw the sprinklers at the school were on. Sister Xiong and
I looked at each other and were completely on the same wavelength- we
grabbed Mor's hand and we ran across the street through all the
sprinklers. We got so soaked, but we were going home anyway, so we
took advantage of it and LOVED it! People honked at us as we were
running around, so it must have been a funny sight. It relieved a lot
of her stress (and ours) and was so fun. Mor is so incredible, she
puts up with so much and is such a trooper. Can't believe she's
getting baptized in a little over 2 weeks!!! Speaking of...

Vicky got baptized!! The spirit was so strong throughout the service.
It was kind of like baptismal Barbie dress-up. We helped her put on
the white jumper, and braided her hair, and got her ready since her
mom isn't a member and wasn't too thrilled about the whole ordeal as
it was. Usually Vicky is a little angsty, but that day she was all
smiles. After she got dunked, we were drying her off in the dressing
room and she was just glowing and saying how amazing she felt. The
spirit really does change people! We watched her receive the Gift of
the Holy Ghost during sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she was still
radiating light. I am so lucky to have gotten to be even a little part
of that. The service afterward was awesome! It was fast and testimony
meeting, and people literally lined up to bear their testimony. In Mis
Cas wards usually it's dead quiet for a while until someone decides to
get up, but literally they started lining up as President Ertel was
conducting. I love how much faith and desire they have to share their
love of the gospel! This was the first time I bore my testimony
completely in Hmong in front of everyone, and I was super nervous I
would look stupid or say something wrong, but Heavenly Father helped
me remember everything and deliver it the way I wanted to. It was
encouraging!

Last night we had a fireside/BBQ at President Ertel's home (which is
GORGEOUS- I want to wait till they're on vacation and then go be a
squatter in it so I can live there). It was so fun! All the YSA and
married young adults talked about dating, and finding a suitable
companion who has the same standards as you and is a worthy priesthood
holder who can take you to the temple. So many people in the branch
are pairing off and dating, so it's fun to get to be with all the YSA
and talk about boys and dating like we did back home :) anyway, we're
having a Tri-zone Pday today, so I'm going to hop off, but I love you
guys! -Sister Brett

Quotes of the week:

Sis Xiong: "Wait, Backstreet Boys and n*Sync aren't the same band? My
whole life is a lie! I thought BSB was just when Justin Timberlake was
taking a hiatus!"

Sister Forbes: "What are you shouting to these people?"
Me: "Repent."
Sister Forbes: "Is that very successful?"
Me: "Not really. That's why I just stick with saying hello."
Sister Forbes: "Oh, so you were kidding?"
Me: "But I can totally teach you how to shout repentance!"
Sister Forbes: "Maybe it's best if I just stick to English."

Sister Xiong: "What a me nyuam li! Next time I see that punk I'm
giving a Law of Chastity pamphlet, not that it looks like he needs it