Hello!
We just had Zone Conference on Tuesday, and it went very well.
Things are going great here in Amarillo, and certainly much better than last week.
First, we went to the apartment complex managers and asked them to replace our toilet seat, which doesn't stay up. Apparently, it has been broken for months. Next, I went to the store and bought three packs of light bulbs. For the last long while, each room had a single 40-watt bulb, and it was really bothering me. Not only was it annoyingly impossible to see anything, but also the Spirit usually doesn't reside in dark places. Now, each room has at least two 100-watt bulbs (and some, four). The next thing to do would be a really good cleaning of the place, which has been rather tough with me unpacking my stuff.
Other than that, we've been having really warm weather, so bike riding is actually fun. Also, Elder Christopherson, who is in the Amarillo 2nd East area, doesn't have a companion yet, so he's been hanging out with us on and off. Every once in a while, he'd go with other missionaries also in "limbo", but he's anxious to have an official companion. In the meantime, though, he's been staying at our apartment, and we've been splitting time working in our area and his. We also get to use his area's car too sometimes.
That brings up an interesting question. Should I arrange to have my bike sent home at the end of my mission? I've always planned on it. Recently, I've thought that I might not have use for it at home and it would cost a lot to ship, but maybe it would be good to have. What do you think?
Anyways, I know the Church is true, and I love bearing my testimony of it.
I love you
-Elder Brandon Wong
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010 - Hello from Amarillo
Hi Everyone!
I've been transferred to Amarillo, Texas!
This is the first time in a long while that I've been transferred "normally". That is: on the bus; without knowing where I'm going; without knowing my new companion; and without any special assignment. Because of all this, it was pretty exciting. It also made me really nervous. It took forever to pack all my stuff (I have a lot more than when I started off).
Anyways, I'm in Amarillo 2nd West [ward]. I've been released as a district leader, and I'm in my very first bike area. My new companion is Elder Pearce, and he's from western Idaho. That reminds me, this is the first time in a long while that I got a companion that I never heard of before.
It's rather interesting - I've never served in the Amarillo zone before. My whole mission, I've been slowly going north. Then, after Lubbock, I came down south again. Now, I'm in the northernmost zone in the mission. I wonder if that's symbolic...
The apartment is really dirty. Every time the south winds start up, it carries a certain foul odour from Hereford, which is nick-named "the beef capital of the world" (I think you can guess what that smell is). The library computers don't look like they'll be able to send my pictures home. Not to be pessimistic, but there's a lot that doesn't appeal about this area. But then again, when are we not supposed to face trials? Besides, I'm told that the ward is great. I've already met the new stake president (he just happened to drive by while we were out working), and he's very missionary-minded. I'm excited to really get things moving here.
Anyways, (there's a time limit on these computers - I really don't like library computers) that's all that's been going on around here. I've never been in this zone, so I don't really know any of the other missionaries here, and I'm looking forward to get to know them.
I hope everything is going well for you.
The Church is true.
I love you
-Elder Brandon Wong
I've been transferred to Amarillo, Texas!
This is the first time in a long while that I've been transferred "normally". That is: on the bus; without knowing where I'm going; without knowing my new companion; and without any special assignment. Because of all this, it was pretty exciting. It also made me really nervous. It took forever to pack all my stuff (I have a lot more than when I started off).
Anyways, I'm in Amarillo 2nd West [ward]. I've been released as a district leader, and I'm in my very first bike area. My new companion is Elder Pearce, and he's from western Idaho. That reminds me, this is the first time in a long while that I got a companion that I never heard of before.
It's rather interesting - I've never served in the Amarillo zone before. My whole mission, I've been slowly going north. Then, after Lubbock, I came down south again. Now, I'm in the northernmost zone in the mission. I wonder if that's symbolic...
The apartment is really dirty. Every time the south winds start up, it carries a certain foul odour from Hereford, which is nick-named "the beef capital of the world" (I think you can guess what that smell is). The library computers don't look like they'll be able to send my pictures home. Not to be pessimistic, but there's a lot that doesn't appeal about this area. But then again, when are we not supposed to face trials? Besides, I'm told that the ward is great. I've already met the new stake president (he just happened to drive by while we were out working), and he's very missionary-minded. I'm excited to really get things moving here.
Anyways, (there's a time limit on these computers - I really don't like library computers) that's all that's been going on around here. I've never been in this zone, so I don't really know any of the other missionaries here, and I'm looking forward to get to know them.
I hope everything is going well for you.
The Church is true.
I love you
-Elder Brandon Wong
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010 - Happy New Year!
Howdy, y'all!
It's a cold day here today (and tomorrow). The high today is at freezing.
Missionary-wise, there's not too much going on here. We're working hard to find new people to teach. It's at a time like this that I realize not only how much I appreciated having work to do, but how much I personally value the message of the Restoration.
No matter what Church you go to (or if you feel that "you are your own church", and don't need to go at all), what is taught will have interpretations, opinions, and different views. If you're going to get interpretations, opinions, and views, you might as well get God's. The only way to do that is through current revelation. Hence, a current prophet. Hence, a Restoration.
Anyways, for New Year's, all the missionaries went to the chapel for a mini-party. After we arrived, a bunch of other people came and set up their own party, and we joined in for a while with them. We also had "flamin' diablos", which are steak cubes with jalapeno slices and bacon. It was fun, except Elder Wilson's camera got stolen by somebody.
Hope everything is going well.
(Lucky I got a tuque for Christmas from the ward!)
The Church is true!
I love you.
-Elder Brandon Wong
It's a cold day here today (and tomorrow). The high today is at freezing.
Missionary-wise, there's not too much going on here. We're working hard to find new people to teach. It's at a time like this that I realize not only how much I appreciated having work to do, but how much I personally value the message of the Restoration.
No matter what Church you go to (or if you feel that "you are your own church", and don't need to go at all), what is taught will have interpretations, opinions, and different views. If you're going to get interpretations, opinions, and views, you might as well get God's. The only way to do that is through current revelation. Hence, a current prophet. Hence, a Restoration.
Anyways, for New Year's, all the missionaries went to the chapel for a mini-party. After we arrived, a bunch of other people came and set up their own party, and we joined in for a while with them. We also had "flamin' diablos", which are steak cubes with jalapeno slices and bacon. It was fun, except Elder Wilson's camera got stolen by somebody.
Hope everything is going well.
(Lucky I got a tuque for Christmas from the ward!)
The Church is true!
I love you.
-Elder Brandon Wong
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009 - Merry Christmas!
Hey!
Merry Christmas from Texas, y'all!
Even better, it's snowing here today! Full-on, bona fide snow all over the place! That was totally unexpected.
Other than that, I went to the doctor's the night I sent that email (instead of the following week), who confirmed a small case of bronchitis, and prescribed some antibiotics for it. Meanwhile, Elder Cherrington's got something of his own. All six of the missionaries got sick with something in the last week or two. By the time we went to interviews/district meeting on Tuesday, it was a sad sight to see (except Sweetwater). Fortunately, with Christmas around the corner, it's a "slower" week, which makes all of us staying in to recover... not so bad of a thing.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to your phone call.
Talk to you soon! Bye!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Merry Christmas from Texas, y'all!
Even better, it's snowing here today! Full-on, bona fide snow all over the place! That was totally unexpected.
Other than that, I went to the doctor's the night I sent that email (instead of the following week), who confirmed a small case of bronchitis, and prescribed some antibiotics for it. Meanwhile, Elder Cherrington's got something of his own. All six of the missionaries got sick with something in the last week or two. By the time we went to interviews/district meeting on Tuesday, it was a sad sight to see (except Sweetwater). Fortunately, with Christmas around the corner, it's a "slower" week, which makes all of us staying in to recover... not so bad of a thing.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to your phone call.
Talk to you soon! Bye!
-Elder Brandon Wong
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009 - Christmas is approaching!
Hey!
What's up?
With me, I'm sick... again, or still. I don't know. It's been at least a month since I had my cold. Normally, I have a cough that lasts a while and gradually disappears. A couple of days ago, it started to get worse. Sister Robison said it might be bronchitis or pneumonia. She insisted that I see a doctor, and this time, I'm going to listen. I set up an appointment for early next week. This is the best Christmas ever.
Also, sadly, the lady that was preparing to be baptized on Sunday asked us to stop visiting her. She had been making so much progress, and we don't understand. We love her and her testimony, so we took it pretty hard.
On a positive note, thanks for the card, Dad. I love the pictures of your baptism. It's also probably the most powerful testimony you've ever borne to me. I'm keeping it on the cover of my study journal so I can look at it and show it to others.
The Sisters are doing a "12 days of Christmas" thing for one of their investigators, and for the first couple days, they asked Elder Cherrington to dress up as Santa for it. He would drop off a gift on their doorstep, knock, and run. The costume was just in case they opened the door too quick and saw who was there.
The other day, we decided to visit a member of the Church whose name we didn't recognize. When we met him, he informed us that he was born and raised in the Church, but he had since converted to Catholicism. We did a daily mass reading with him, a few prayers, and then he and Elder Cherrington discussed doctrinal points for the next hour. I wasn't quite in the mood. Then Elder Cherrington made the terrible mistake of giving him our phone number, and he has since called several times to discuss scriptures. He explained that when we are ready to make the change from Mormonism, he will be ready and willing to help us make the transition.
I wondered how someone could lose all the light and truth they once had. Then I remembered a passage of scripture in D&C 93:36-42. It is interesting: we could remember every detail discussed in Primary, every verse in the Bible and Book of Mormon, but without light and truth, none of it makes sense, and the doctrines of the world suddenly become appealing. Light and truth come by living the Gospel more and more everyday. I hope all of us will change every day for the better. If you've lived two days in a row that went exactly the same, you've done something wrong.
I don't know when the next P-day will be. Just be on the lookout for my email (as well as a phone call!).
Anyways, Merry Christmas!
I hope everything goes well, and that you get your wish.
The Church is true!
I love you
-Elder Brandon Wong
What's up?
With me, I'm sick... again, or still. I don't know. It's been at least a month since I had my cold. Normally, I have a cough that lasts a while and gradually disappears. A couple of days ago, it started to get worse. Sister Robison said it might be bronchitis or pneumonia. She insisted that I see a doctor, and this time, I'm going to listen. I set up an appointment for early next week. This is the best Christmas ever.
Also, sadly, the lady that was preparing to be baptized on Sunday asked us to stop visiting her. She had been making so much progress, and we don't understand. We love her and her testimony, so we took it pretty hard.
On a positive note, thanks for the card, Dad. I love the pictures of your baptism. It's also probably the most powerful testimony you've ever borne to me. I'm keeping it on the cover of my study journal so I can look at it and show it to others.
The Sisters are doing a "12 days of Christmas" thing for one of their investigators, and for the first couple days, they asked Elder Cherrington to dress up as Santa for it. He would drop off a gift on their doorstep, knock, and run. The costume was just in case they opened the door too quick and saw who was there.
The other day, we decided to visit a member of the Church whose name we didn't recognize. When we met him, he informed us that he was born and raised in the Church, but he had since converted to Catholicism. We did a daily mass reading with him, a few prayers, and then he and Elder Cherrington discussed doctrinal points for the next hour. I wasn't quite in the mood. Then Elder Cherrington made the terrible mistake of giving him our phone number, and he has since called several times to discuss scriptures. He explained that when we are ready to make the change from Mormonism, he will be ready and willing to help us make the transition.
I wondered how someone could lose all the light and truth they once had. Then I remembered a passage of scripture in D&C 93:36-42. It is interesting: we could remember every detail discussed in Primary, every verse in the Bible and Book of Mormon, but without light and truth, none of it makes sense, and the doctrines of the world suddenly become appealing. Light and truth come by living the Gospel more and more everyday. I hope all of us will change every day for the better. If you've lived two days in a row that went exactly the same, you've done something wrong.
I don't know when the next P-day will be. Just be on the lookout for my email (as well as a phone call!).
Anyways, Merry Christmas!
I hope everything goes well, and that you get your wish.
The Church is true!
I love you
-Elder Brandon Wong
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009 - It's December!
Hey!
How are things going?
It's getting pretty cold around here! Some days, it's foggy and never goes above 30, and the following days, it's sunny and goes up to 60 or 70! Sometimes, Texas just can't make up its mind.
I saw the pictures for Nathan's [Olympic] torch run! You looked way good! I also love that poster [coca-cola ad] of you! You're famous! I hope you had fun.
Nothing's been going on here, really.
We did go to the First Presidency Christmas devotional, and it was very good.
My companion had a couple doctor's appointments.
After having (almost completely) recovered from my cold (I still have a light cough), we're trying to catch up to the pace we were working before, and it's tough. I've never felt so useless when sick as when I have important work to do.
Our investigator quit drinking tea and we're all helping her keep a close eye on it. Elder Cherrington offered to quit drinking milk (which he loves) while she quits drinking tea. We also fasted with her for the Lord's help. So far, she's still going strong.
This Friday (tomorrow) we're having our Christmas zone conference. It's a combined one, so we're driving to Midland tonight.
Thanks for the pretzels, by the way! We're putting them to good use.
All is well here. Oh, except that I lost my tuque. Still looking for it. Worse comes to worst, Elder Cherrington will crochet me a new one.
Make the most out of this Christmas season.
The Church is true. Work on your testimony (that's what I'm doing). Christmastime is the best time for that! As the "Church of Jesus Christ", we should know the story of Jesus Christ the best, including His birth.
I love you!
Talk to you next week.
-Elder Brandon Wong
How are things going?
It's getting pretty cold around here! Some days, it's foggy and never goes above 30, and the following days, it's sunny and goes up to 60 or 70! Sometimes, Texas just can't make up its mind.
I saw the pictures for Nathan's [Olympic] torch run! You looked way good! I also love that poster [coca-cola ad] of you! You're famous! I hope you had fun.
Nothing's been going on here, really.
We did go to the First Presidency Christmas devotional, and it was very good.
My companion had a couple doctor's appointments.
After having (almost completely) recovered from my cold (I still have a light cough), we're trying to catch up to the pace we were working before, and it's tough. I've never felt so useless when sick as when I have important work to do.
Our investigator quit drinking tea and we're all helping her keep a close eye on it. Elder Cherrington offered to quit drinking milk (which he loves) while she quits drinking tea. We also fasted with her for the Lord's help. So far, she's still going strong.
This Friday (tomorrow) we're having our Christmas zone conference. It's a combined one, so we're driving to Midland tonight.
Thanks for the pretzels, by the way! We're putting them to good use.
All is well here. Oh, except that I lost my tuque. Still looking for it. Worse comes to worst, Elder Cherrington will crochet me a new one.
Make the most out of this Christmas season.
The Church is true. Work on your testimony (that's what I'm doing). Christmastime is the best time for that! As the "Church of Jesus Christ", we should know the story of Jesus Christ the best, including His birth.
I love you!
Talk to you next week.
-Elder Brandon Wong
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009 - Another one into the fold
Howdy!
There's an expression that people use: " *such and such will happen* when hell freezes over!" We just had snow in Abilene, Texas. Does that count?
The last couple days, we've been getting rain and cold weather. At night, the two would combine and the result is that the following morning... there's snow randomly in patches on the ground. I've met residents here who have never seen snow in their life. I guess this is their chance.
We had a baptism on Sunday for a nine-year-old boy. They asked me to perform it. It was the first time I had ever done a baptism myself. It went a lot quicker than I expected. I'm just glad I got it right the first time. Right after coming out of the water, he commented that he was glad that no part of his body floated to the top.
We were also going to have a baptism this coming Sunday, but she is still drinking tea. We thought it would be the easiest thing to get rid of, but I figured, if it's part of the Word of Wisdom, obviously God didn't think it was so easy. We are still confident that she can be baptized. She has a great testimony and a great spirit.
I'm still sick. My cold is in its final stages, the last being a lingering dry cough. Exactly a year ago (in Midland), around Halloween time, I got a cold. As I was getting over it, I got some kind of stomach virus from something I ate. Now, a year later, I got a cold around Halloween time, and, as I was getting over it, I got some kind of stomach virus from something I ate. Last time, it was a Mexican buffet. This time, I don't know what it was, but it sure tasted great coming back up. First time I threw up in many years. It felt awful, but afterwards, it felt much better. Funny how those things are. (I guess it's like repentance - it doesn't feel good while you're doing it, but you'll feel much better after.)
We also had transfers this week. A lot of changes happened. Elder Cherrington and I are still serving together, but Elder Allred, Sister Wallwork, Sister Westover, and Elders Rasmussen and Wakefield left. Elder Allred is training in Midland. Sister Wallwork is training in Amarillo. Elder Lowe is training here in Abilene. Sweetwater got whitewashed. Now, our district is all of Abilene and Sweetwater, and Eastland is now part of the Brownwood district. The ones who came in are Sis Ficken, Elder Clove (a greenie), and Elders Rackley and Hansen for Sweetwater. It was pretty crazy. After the transfer bus left, we all went to New York Pizza for supper and got to know each other.
It's going to be an exciting transfer.
I know the Church is true.
I love you! take care.
-Elder Brandon Wong
P.S.: Isn't it interesting how it's always cold and rainy in Abilene at transfer time?
There's an expression that people use: " *such and such will happen* when hell freezes over!" We just had snow in Abilene, Texas. Does that count?
The last couple days, we've been getting rain and cold weather. At night, the two would combine and the result is that the following morning... there's snow randomly in patches on the ground. I've met residents here who have never seen snow in their life. I guess this is their chance.
We had a baptism on Sunday for a nine-year-old boy. They asked me to perform it. It was the first time I had ever done a baptism myself. It went a lot quicker than I expected. I'm just glad I got it right the first time. Right after coming out of the water, he commented that he was glad that no part of his body floated to the top.
We were also going to have a baptism this coming Sunday, but she is still drinking tea. We thought it would be the easiest thing to get rid of, but I figured, if it's part of the Word of Wisdom, obviously God didn't think it was so easy. We are still confident that she can be baptized. She has a great testimony and a great spirit.
I'm still sick. My cold is in its final stages, the last being a lingering dry cough. Exactly a year ago (in Midland), around Halloween time, I got a cold. As I was getting over it, I got some kind of stomach virus from something I ate. Now, a year later, I got a cold around Halloween time, and, as I was getting over it, I got some kind of stomach virus from something I ate. Last time, it was a Mexican buffet. This time, I don't know what it was, but it sure tasted great coming back up. First time I threw up in many years. It felt awful, but afterwards, it felt much better. Funny how those things are. (I guess it's like repentance - it doesn't feel good while you're doing it, but you'll feel much better after.)
We also had transfers this week. A lot of changes happened. Elder Cherrington and I are still serving together, but Elder Allred, Sister Wallwork, Sister Westover, and Elders Rasmussen and Wakefield left. Elder Allred is training in Midland. Sister Wallwork is training in Amarillo. Elder Lowe is training here in Abilene. Sweetwater got whitewashed. Now, our district is all of Abilene and Sweetwater, and Eastland is now part of the Brownwood district. The ones who came in are Sis Ficken, Elder Clove (a greenie), and Elders Rackley and Hansen for Sweetwater. It was pretty crazy. After the transfer bus left, we all went to New York Pizza for supper and got to know each other.
It's going to be an exciting transfer.
I know the Church is true.
I love you! take care.
-Elder Brandon Wong
P.S.: Isn't it interesting how it's always cold and rainy in Abilene at transfer time?
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