Alo -
Wishing you all a successful start to your New Year and Winter Semester. This week was pretty mellow, but we have some fun stories.
Tuesday - Wednesday I did an exchange with one of the newer Elders, Elder Châu. He is from Provo, Utah and speaks Vietnamese very well. We had an enjoyable New Year. We saw some small fireworks and then went to bed. Things will be a lot more exciting for the upcoming Tết holiday. I've heard it is really big in the North - most streets are decorated in red and tons of trees blossom. Transfer news will be on the weekend, so we will see what happens!
Wednesday we were invited over to a member's house and celebrated the birthday of their 5 year-old son. We had some cake and then went to dinner at a Spicy Fish restaurant. Despite not being the biggest fish lover, it was actually pretty alright. With enough spice the fishy taste was gone and I could eat it just fine.
You might have seen on the news that Vietnam just won the Southeast Asia soccer tournament. They had 2 games against Thailand and it was crazy. We knew every time someone scored a goal because we could hear people yelling, honking, and setting off fireworks in the street. Large screens would be set up on the road and you could go watch for free. We stopped by for about 15-20min on our way back home for the night, and found some people interested in English class, so it was worthwhile.
This week we ate at a friend's house who lives outside of the city. He owns a decent amount of land and lives sustainably on his chickens and vegetables from his garden. Apparently in Vietnam there is no property tax. So, with his solar panels and garden he is off the grid. He was telling us how the government puts chemicals on the food so we should be careful and not eat anything from supermarkets. The family prepared a wonderful dinner - with all of their fresh vegetables and - "Grub" - meaning snails/worms that were grounded up into our soup. Fortunately, it was fast Sunday, so I was really, really hungry, but I don't think I could do it again.
For Preparation Day today we went to a palace and afterwards had some burgers. This district and time in Hà Đông has been really fun. Change is inevitable with the upcoming transfer, but it will help us experience new things and meet new people.
--------------------
This week I really enjoyed reading the talk given by Elder Kearon in the October 2024 General Conference, "Church of Joy". We truly do have so many things to feel joyful about, especially as we learn and share about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
----------‐---------
Best of luck to you in 2025!
Sincerely,
Elder Reynolds
Comments
Post a Comment