Stomaching Cow Stomach

Xin chào mọi người!

Hoping you all had a great week and are getting back into the routine of things. The holiday season hasn't ended here in Vietnam yet, as many people are preparing for Tet! I am so excited to be here during this time of year. I'm looking forward to trying lots of treats and learning more about the culture.

This week was eventful and fun! We have been working with lots of friends and saw a majority of them come to church which was exciting. During church on Sunday, I was asked to give a short 1-3 impromptu message to share because the assigned member didn't show up. Luckily I had some pre-written Vietnamese talks I wrote during previous language studies which really saved me. The ward translator said she appreciated me speaking slowly and simply, haha.

This week I stomached some cow tongue, intestines and stomach. Fortunately I didn't know what it was before I ordered, but my companion got a kick out of it. Just so you know- if you are halfway done eating your food and think, "Huh, this really feels like what a tongue would feel like" - you are most likely correct. 1/10, I do not recommend it. Stick with the Phơ and other tasty food here.

This week a scripture I enjoyed was Jacob 4:7 which reads, "Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things". I know that through Jesus Christ we truly do have power to do all things. Whether it be anything from overcoming a trial to learning a language.

Life is great. God is good. Phơ is tasty. Wishing you all safety, blessings and success. I love you all!

Sincerely,

Anh Cả Reynolds

Photos: (This week's photo Credit to Chị Le) https://photos.app.goo.gl/KXNEyuJ6epdKQtAq6

Sporting a new helmet

And I got my brakes fixed

(Mom is happy)

Fresh coconut water - as delicious as I remember from China!

Locals helping with the language

We teach English once a week at the church building,

but apparently there is also a demand for Mandarin.

It's breaking my brain a bit, but we're going for it.

Getting to know a local sister

Last Pday we visited a local Catholic Church. They had

a pretty garden with a small river of koi in the back.

I went on a brief exchange (where companionships switch their companion for a day) and got to see a different part of the city. This is our church building. They renovated an old residence into this meetinghouse. I thought it was cool.

Everyone who lives in my apartment with Landmark 81

in the background

Local traffic

Comments

Welcome to Vietnam - Don't Take the Honking Personally

Xin chào mọi người! They're sending me to Vietnam... it's a whole lot of scooters... Things have been great here in Vietnam. I'm currently sitting in a park after doing my second dance practice with some people we met last week. We're waiting for a friend to meet us to play some pickleball. If I wrote down everything that has happened within the past week this email would be too large to send, so here is a brief bullet point list of the highlights: -Landed in Hanoi and did orientation. Was told I would be serving in the Ho Chi Minh area. Woo hoo! My Mission Presidency is awesome. -Met my companion Elder Luân. His English is good but communicating is sometimes still difficult. 😅 I am constantly speaking Vietnamese, which has helped me learn a lot. -Had first English Activity night and taught about Idaho, haha. The slideshow was already made by someone from Vietnam, and went over all the highlights of things like: Potatoes, sagebrush, dairy cows, and irrigation....

Hours in Hồ Chí Minh

Alo, This week was an adventure - filled with good stories and blessings. I'm a little tired, but I'd rather be a tired missionary than a bored missionary. Monday - Trains, Planes, and Automobiles Monday afternoon while enjoying Preparation Day in the Old Quarter District, we got a call from the Elders who help our Mission President, the Assistants. The Assistants were flying down later in the evening to Hồ Chí Minh City to do a mission presentation -- but unfortunately one of them became very ill and would be unable to fly. They asked if I would be willing to pack and head down to help. Certainly wasn't what we expected, but we were ready to help. Elder McBride and I traveled back to Hà Đông, packed, and headed over. Elder McBride stayed with the ill missionary, while the other Assistant and I went down South. We left at 7:15pm and landed in Hồ Chí Minh at 9:30pm. We got a taxi and stayed the night in Thảo Điền- the very first area I served in Vietnam, one year ...

We Didn't Start The Fire

(Note from Sally: This week is an extra long letter, so good thing you have the holiday break to read it. :) Ethan just found out this morning that he was on the Vietnamese National News - his part starts at the 19:00min mark. Also, he was asked to write his testimony and thoughts about this Christmas to share with our home ward here in Idaho, so I attached those in a Word Doc as well. ) Merry Christmas! Alo mọi người, Yes - the title of the email is a reference to Billy Joel "We Didn't Start The Fire" and it is relevant to the story. This week was one for the books. That's why this email is going to be a bit longer than the previous ones I have been sending. We've had about everything, from the police in our apartment to a wild Branch Christmas Party. Make sure to check out the Google Photo Album this week. Last Monday - The Vietnamese UFO: Last Preparation Day, as I mentioned in the previous email we were visiting a Non-Profit Government Organizati...

Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

Search This Blog