Sept 22, 1991
Boy, have I ached inside today or what? I’m not sure how to deal with being homesick, but I’m working on it. I didn’t deal with it very well today.
We had the Primary Program today in church. It went really well. The primary is a combination of Hmong, Lao, and Cambodians. It always fills my heart to hear children sing. i and tears in my eyes through the whole program. It also was very apparent that the Hmong branch is far ahead of the other two branches. Our young men and Priesthood leaders were very much the leaders our young men took charge of administering the sacrament and did so in a manner that I am certain would please the Savior. They were not shy or embarrassed to perform their priesthood duties. It was awesome.
Not a whole lot else has happened today. We walked to church with Her Thao’s kids. Since she has remarried as a 2nd wife this week. I doubt she’ll ever be back in church but her children still want to be baptized. I hope that the Lord will bless and watch over those children. They’ll need it.
I still haven’t decided how to deal with the new husband. We don’t want to recognize their marriage, yet we want to make sure that he is not angry with the kids either.
Sept 24, 1991
Transfer calls are tomorrow and I am sure anxious to find out whether or not I am going to get moved. I really love sit here in Stockton, but I am also starting to feel like it is time to move on to other things. i guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens when transfer calls come. I am excited to serve where ever the Lord wants me. i guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Today seemed like a rather slow day. After DDM, we went on team-ups for a while. I went with Xiong Vang to see some people. He is really a neat guy. He is 21 years old, and he has not been on a mission yet. I talked to him quite a bit about going. He said that he would talk to his dad about it and see. I think that if he had enough encouragement he would go on a mission. That would be awesome to be able to have another Hmong guy go on a mission.
It has been a very long time since I heard from my family. I hope that all is going well with them. I sure do wish that they would write to me more often. There is more to supporting a missionary than just financial support. If my family would write to me once a week, that would be enough for me. Oh well, that’s the way it goes. The one letter I receive today was from a member of the High Council back home.
Sept 25, 1991
Well transfer calls came and went this morning. I didn’t get moved, and either did my companion, so that was a relief. Transfers are always a stress for me. it’s like I always have a weight hanging over my head. I never know for sure whether I will be going or not. What a stress. Anyway, no one around here got transferred so everything is cool.
We went and taught Npuag Cheeb Lis and his wife today. It went really well. I sure hope that they are able to make a baptismal commitment soon.
Tonight Pao Vang, Patrick Vang, and Xiong Yang took us to a Vietnamese restaurant. The food was really good. After that, we went to the church for mutual.
No mail today. That’s getting old. Where are my parents? It’s even bee a week since Kristin wrote. (That’s a long time for her) Where is everyone?
Sept 27, 1991
Well, most of yesterday did not go very well. We just had a really hard time catching people at home. Then at about 8:30 pm, we were visiting Tsheej Muas and his family. The phone rang and Kiab answered. She said that an old man was in the emergency room at the hospital and had asked for us to come and translate for him. The woman that had called was Tuam Yaj’s wife. She later told us that she had called us three times but was unable to reach us. Then she prayed and asked for help to locate us. The next call she placed was to the house that we were at. It is amazing to me that the Lord is able to use us as instruments in his hands as long as we are striving to do his work.
I received quite a bit of mail yesterday. I got a letter from Eric, letter and chocolates from Mom, and a letter from Kristin. It was really good to hear from Mom. She said that everything back home was going really well. Kristin’s letter was postmarked the 23rd, but it was dated the 18th. I’m kind of frustrated that I never know for sure how much or when I’ll hear from her. Sometimes I get a ton of mail, and at other times I hear from very little. I just wish that I knew what to expect. I imagine that she writes when she can. It’s just that for the last 2 weeks I haven’t heard much at all. I guess that the mail system in Heber could also be screwed up too.
Today was a pretty good day. I am still struggling with how much room to give Elder Taylor in his planning days and his work. That is going to be one of my biggest struggles for the entire time that I am with him.
I didin’t get any mail today. I imagine that yesterday was all that I’ll hear from my family for a while. I had kind of hoped to hear something more recent from Kristin, but I didn’t. I wonder what she is doing, how she gets along with everyone, how she spends her time each day, and what she is up too. I miss her constantly. I only wish that she could know how much I miss her.
Sept 28, 1991
I’m not too sure what it is, but every day for the past week I have gradually gotten more and more homesick. In fact, today I have felt most of the day like I just had this big lump in my throat all day long. It seemed as though nothing could go right today. None of our teaching appointments went well, my companions bike broke down, I didn’t hear from Kristin again today, and I have just plain ached inside all day long.
One good thing did happen today. I found out that Lisa Schwediman is engaged. That is really good because she will be married when I get home and I won’t have to worry about her wanting to go our with me when I get home or anything like that.
Grandpa Hansen wrote me a letter today too. He says that all is going well in Utah. Jane is apparently doing some better, although she is still struggling a great deal. I wish that there was some way to snap my fingers and make everything all better for her, but I am sure that the Lord will bless her for all of the tribulations that she is now suffering.
Sept 29, 1991
Well, this will be my last recording in my journal for the month of September. it has truly been a great day. We had a ton of people at church- 116 people including 16 priesthood holders. I fasted today and asked the Lord to truly bless my efforts here in Stockton as well as blessing me with an outpouring of His Spirit so that I could truly know that what I am doing here is making a difference in the lives of others. The Lord has truly responded to my prayer in both ways. I have truly felt an outpouring of the Spirit today.
I had the opportunity tonight of viewing the women’s session of General Conference that was broadcast last night. I translated it in Hmong for our Hmong sisters that attended the Relief Society meeting tonight. There is definitely something special about times that women in the church meet together. There just seems to be a natural outpouring of the Spirit. It was truly a choice experience to be able to attend that meeting tonight.
I have not be aching or homesick at all tonight. I have just felt really good all day. i don’t know why it has been so long since I have heard from Kristin, but I hope that I have not done something to hurt her. i do know that everything will be all right and that I love her. I guess that that is what really matters. I sure do miss her though.
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