Week 48: Yo Hablo Español
大家好！
This week we went to go do service for a family in our branch who is from Mexico! The family's name is Hidalgo, and they're so fun. I got to practice my Spanish a bit with them and it has officially died. But my accent was good enough they thought I knew Spanish haha. So there was that. The service we did was clearing out a concrete rain gutter that runs along a hill in their backyard, it was full of mud and stuff so when it rained it would overflow. In the process of clearing it out I was bitten by two mystery bugs, we saw a spider as big as a jar lid, and destroyed an entire ecosystem that existed in the gutter. Twas a fun time
Highlights:
- We had a packed week. So packed that we only got language study maybe two times
- We had Zone Conference on Tuesday! So I helped give my first Zone Conference training. It was a little shaky but all in all the Lord made up for our weak points and it went great.
- Our Zone Conference had some amazing messages about companionship unity and casting out contention. I reflected a lot about where I can improve, and how to become more charitable and humble.
- We worked out with a giant Tongan dude in our branch who plays professional Rugby in Hong Kong. Brutal workout, I was sore for days
- I finally had Dim Sum for the first time in Hong Kong!!! The funny thing is that it was members in my old ward who took us out haha. They found out I hadn't had it and decided to take us even though I had already moved out. It was delicious
- We also had some members in our branch feed us, they're called the Tyagis and they're from India. They are an incredibly poor immigrant family, and eating with them was really special. We could tell that them feeding us was a sacrifice for them, and I was so touched by their kindness. Their apartment was about the size of my bedroom back home, and that includes the beds for all three of them, a kitchen, table, bathroom, and storage. That was the entire apartment. They were some of the most humble, kindest people I have ever met in my life.
- We put our friend Noumonvi on baptismal date!! The lesson was amazing and we had our member who spoke French help teach since that's Noumonvi's native language. At one point we asked Noumonvi if he though Jesus Christ's original church was still on Earth. He starts having a conversation with our member in French, and when he finishes our member goes "Elders. He says he already believes this church is Jesus Christ's true church. So naturally we invited him to get baptized. It was amazing
Spiritual Thought:
Recently I've been struggling with all the responsibilities I have in my area, and as a Zone Leader. Right now there are a lot of missionaries in our zone that are struggling because of various issues. As we were discussing how to help them I felt so inadequate thinking about how I had no idea how to solve their problems or fix things for them. But over the next few days I started to realize I don't need to be able to fix things for them, because so much of the time the things we struggle with in life aren't things with an easy fix. So much of the time all you can do is show up, be there for them, and let them know they're loved. As I've prayed for these missionaries and spent time studying scriptures and conference talks related to their problems, I've felt so much more charity towards them and desire to help them in the ways that I can; through simply serving and caring for them and supporting them as they go through these struggles. And when we have that desire the Lord magnifies our efforts tenfold
Love you all!
Elder Blankenbiller
Google Photos
Pictures
1. Meal with the Tyagis
2. The building the Tyagis live in
3. McDonald's ice cream stand
4. Lightsaber chopsticks
5. Dim Sum
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