September 8 2008

Hello,

How are things going?

Things aren't too different here.

One thing that is, is that Sis. King asked someone in our ward to speak on her behalf to encourage more people to feed the missionaries. Last night, we found the meal calendar with this week full. I'm not sure how long it will last, but it was pretty cool.

Also, Elder Maughan started driving again, so I've been able to relax a bit when in the car.

By the way, there are two members here whose children have served missions in Montreal. One of them says her son served in Montreal in the mid-80s. He also knew about the Tung Fong branch. It's a long shot, but have you ever met an Elder Hopwood? She just thought she'd try asking.

One member family has been inviting us regularly, and we went over and had BBQ chicken, and it was faaan-tastic. Also, he showed us something called "Insanity Sauce", a hot sauce that just keeps on burning.

I'm sending some pictures over - not too many; hope you like them.

Well, I have to go.
Talk again soon!

Love you,

-Elder Brandon Wong

August 12, 2008

Hello all,
how's it going?

I'm not sure what all this talk of a "tropical storm" is, but it hasn't touched us. We’re pretty far inland, it might not be able to. We did get some rain last night - the first in a long, long time - but that's about it. Other than that, it's been really hot, dry, and boring.

We decided to use our bikes for a day and it's been a while since I have. It was alright, except the part where I fell and bent my derailer, and at the end of the day, I got a flat tire, so I'll have to replace it, and we had to get a ride home. Also, Elder Maughan's been letting me drive more to get to know the area better. My driving's a little rusty for not having driven for who knows how long, but I'm getting used to it, and getting my sense of direction.

Oh, and I went on an exchange with the district leader, Elder Brandon, and I got to attend a stake correlation meeting with Elder Randall, one of the zone leaders. (and stake conference is on the 23rd-24th)

Have a good one.

-Elder Brandon Wong

July 21, 2008

Hi everyone

I'm sitting in the public library in San Angelo right now...
I've been transferred to the San Angelo 2nd ward South area, and my new companion is Elder Maughn. I already met him a couple times at zone conferences, and he's cool. Our district leader is a Spanish-speaking missionary named Elder Brandon, and he's also training a new missionary.

We also have a missionary mom here, named Sister King. We’ve been at her place quite a bit lately because we're helping repaint her room.

Some things here aren't so great. The thing I've been telling everyone is how much I hate the water in San Angelo. It tastes worse than a pool. But there are lots of good things too. There’s a member who owns a Golden Corral buffet, so the missionaries in the city (all ten of them) get to eat for free every Friday.

By the way, before I forget, how's the Canadian dollar doing?

Oh, and something really cool: I got a package from Elder Jenkins' mother! I have no clue how she got my new address so quickly, but she sent me a missionary blanket. it has little cartoon elders on it, with letters and everything! Interestingly enough, her last name is Kirkland.

That reminds me: my new address is:
Sunset Apt II (this line isn't that important)
1645 Sunset Dr. #84
San Angelo, TX 76904

Another thing I don't like about the big city is that the public libraries actually know what they're doing, and put a time limit on the computers.

I'll talk to you soon!

I love you all!

-Elder Wong

July 14, 2008

Hi!

Well, transfer calls came in, and I'm headed south. based on available spots, I'll either go to San Angelo, or Brady (which would be cool, since I can still see Brownwood once in a while). in either case, I'll be in the same zone as before. Elder Jenkins is staying, and will spend his last transfer here.

I won't do much shopping, but everyone who's transferred gets the chance afterwards
which reminds me, tubes of Pringles are going for a dollar each! That’s pretty weird. Are they going out of business, or something?

I'm also getting a new set of scriptures. Mine are too big to lug around all the time. I wish I thought of that at the MTC, because there's a 40% discount there! Instead, it's over $40 to order it here. We have to call the secretary in charge of orders, and place an order; but he doesn't submit the order until he gets the money. I'm probably going to have to mail it to him; so it's going to be a while before I get it.

I'm also considering buying a digital picture frame. I never really liked those dumb things, but because we can't have computers, and I never really print out my pictures, that would be perfect. I'll just shrink down the photos on my usb stick once I get it back from you, and it won't take up much space. (At least, that's the idea)

I met President Robison on Tuesday. He’s really cool. He used to work in schools and as a coach, so he knows how to handle teenagers, etc. during interviews, he emphasized getting some exercise done every morning, so I'm going to be doing that.

Today, we're probably just going to sight-see, and visit members so I can say goodbye. I really wish they would tell us Saturday evening at least, so we can do that at church...

by the way, did you know the world's smallest city block is here in Brownwood?
We saw it - it was a triangle with one tiny building in the middle.
We’re going to get some pictures of it.

Anyways, I'm really sad that I'm not going to be around to see our neighbours get baptized, but seeing a new place can't be all that bad, right?

Talk again soon!

Love you!

-Elder Brandon Wong

July 7, 2008

Hello!

I hope you had a happy Canada day! I sure did. 4th of July, however, was a different story. I guess because everyone was on vacation or something, no one was home. We planned for over 15 people to see (which would, in a perfect world, take 15 hours); we sat down with no one and ended up finding all day (with no return invites).

We recently got a new branch mission leader (we haven't had one since I got here) and he's real excited about the calling. Speaking of which, on Canada day, they invited us over for supper and I got to try buffalo for the first time. (They're also the ones who fed us steak last time.)

We also got our new mission president, President Robison. We’ll get to meet him tomorrow for interviews. (I need to get a haircut before that!)

Transfers are on the week of the 15th and 16th. It would be nice to see other places, but I really want to see the family we've teaching get baptized (possibly on the 20th!...if they can quit smoking on time).

Anyways, if there's anything else to write about, I've forgotten it.

Talk to you later!

Love you,

-Elder Brandon Wong

June 30, 2008

Hello!!!

Did you also get that letter from the first presidency about not asking the congregation to open their scriptures during sacrament meeting when giving a talk? I thought that was unusual, but it makes sense. This reminds me, we gave talks in Comanche Branch on the fourth Sunday. I spoke about faith, and it went well.

We were mowing someone's lawn one day, and I got attacked by ants and chiggers at the same time! The ants pinched, and chiggers burrow in the skin and live there for a while. I think next time I'll just wear my socks over my pants.

I already mentioned about our last zone conference with Pres. Rose, and as of last night, we have a new mission president. We’re going to meet him during our every-transfer interviews next week. That also means we're going to have to drive to San Angelo twice next month, so we'll be using a lot of miles.

Yesterday, we taught the 5th Sunday combined meeting in Brownwood. We talked about member missionary work and how to go about doing it. it was a really good lesson, and we're hoping that it will encourage the members to share the Gospel with others.

In the meantime, we've been teaching some great people. At least three golden investigators. Another guy we were teaching let us in just to hear what we have to say and see if it's as crazy as he thought it was, and the whole time he was just dismissing what we said, but he realized he didn't give us enough of a chance, and started listening. Cool things like that happen all the time.

Anyways, I'm taking too long. I should go. It FINALLY rained in this region, so it's not as boiling hot, but all the humidity will make it worse afterwards. Maybe we'll go mudding today, and make it all worth it.

The Gospel is true!

I love you all!

-Elder Brandon Wong

June 16, 2008

Hello everyone!

Things are great here.

Mostly because of the five investigators we got to church instead of the average none or one!
Those neighbours we were teaching managed to negotiate Sunday mornings off work with their boss, and came with their family!
Also, one man who drives the bus for his old (current) church managed to get a substitute this week!

Also, on Saturday, was Flag Day. The local military camp held a "Day at the Camp" family event to show support for the armed forces. We volunteered for the Red Cross and helped man the booth. We mostly gave out water and Gatorade, but we still got first aid certified for it, and got to see (and get) lots of cool (and free) stuff!

We’ve also been doing a lot of softball because our new investigator loves it and has been coming to the weekly games. (I may have already said this, but) next week, we're playing his old church, so he's excited about that.

Next week, we're going to Comanche again (and we're speaking, since they probably get tired of hearing the same seven people over and over), and the week after, we're giving the 5th Sunday lesson here in Brownwood about better member-missionary work.

-Elder Brandon Wong