Standing on Holy Ground in a Commune in Vietnam

Chúc Mừng Năm Mởi - Happy New Year!

2017 welcomes in the Year of the Rooster – an auspicious year to be sure.  If you were born in a Year of the Rooster (Years of the Rooster include 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029.) then you might be very observant, hardworking, resourceful, courageous, and talented.  Roosters are very confident in themselves. Roosters are talkative, outspoken, frank, open, honest, and loyal individuals. They like to be the center of attention and always appear attractive and beautiful.  And being a surgeon is a good career for them.

Do you know someone born in one of those years?  Do they fit the mold?

But watch out - If you are a rooster, the Year of the Rooster is actually unlucky for you – sorry. Go figure!

To help prevent bad from getting worse, stay away from red, avoid 1, 3 and 9, and don’t go east. All very unlucky, they say! There are 12 of these animals, and they rotate on a 12 year cycle. Sister Coffey is a dog.  Elder Coffey is a horse.  Guess we’ll be safe this year!

But we always start the year off big – and Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is a great way to welcome in the New Year. The amazing array of flowers in Ho Chi Minh City - thousands and thousands of flowers brought in special for the occasion, excites the senses, but especially the bright yellow Mai flowers. "Mai" sounds like "may" in Southern Vietnamese, which means luck, so the Mai flowers are the luckiest of all the flowers for Tết.

Tết is a bit like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's all put together. The central event of the occasion is a big dinner with family and friends.  Or several big dinners, as Tết will last for up to 7 days. We were blessed to be invited to three dinner celebrations.

This is the home of our Branch President and his family, who live with his wife's parents and other extended family members on different levels of the home.

For another meal, we spent 2 hours traveling first by bus, then by tuk tuk. Our friend lives in a commune in the southern most part of the province, and the only way to her home includes crossing two small bridges that are only big enough for motorcycles or tuk tuks. Thus the need to travel by tuk tuk - our first experience with this!

After a very long wait at the bus stop, we finally found a tuk tuk going our way, but it was full.  Ten people were already loaded in.  But they seemed undaunted and cheerfully let two more on board, as we squeezed, squeezed, squeeeeeezed in until we found a spot to sit.  Elder Coffey was assigned to a tiny plastic stool in between the two passenger benches, amidst poking knees, bags, and assorted wares. The tuk tuk stopped to pick up more people along the way.  At it's peak, there were 17 people in and on our little tuk tuk! Finally we reached our destination and gratefully piled out.

Elders hopping off the tuk tuk on their way to our friend's Tết dinner.

After the 2 hour ride, we walked down alleys and around corners and over bridges to finish the trip to her home.

Elder Coffey makes his way down one of the alleys.

The Elders cross the last bridge. Notice the hanging sausages

 drying out in the sun to the left.

Branch members and missionaries gathered at our

 friend's home to celebrate.

Our wonderful friend who graciously hosted us in her home that day. 
She has been taking the missionary lessons from us 
and is such a wonderful person.

Helping prepare the red dragon fruit in the kitchen.

As the meal concluded, we invited the missionaries to share a spiritual message before they left. One of the Elders began sharing the message. He is one of the newest Elders here and is still learning the language. 

As he spoke, he struggled with each word and phrase.  Sometimes he would have to stop and think how to say the next part.  Sometimes his pronunciation was not clear and the investigator had to guess what he was trying to say and help him a bit. His companion/trainer watched, patiently, never intervening, never showing any signs of impatience or frustration, even though any of them in the room could have delivered an eloquent, fluent message.

Instead, we watched as this humble Elder struggled, paused, then continued with his message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our hearts went out to him as he endeavored to find the right words with his limited vocabulary. It seemed like it took forever.  But with that slowing of time came a power into that room that filled the hearts of everyone present. The Holy Ghost, in powerful majesty, bore eloquent testimony of the truthfulness of the young Elder's words.  The Spirit filled the home, the room, and the heart of each person there.  What the Elder lacked in language, the Lord provided with the language of the Spirit.  What he lacked in fluency, the Spirit amply supplied. We realized then that we were witnessing a sacred, hallowed moment in time in a little commune in Vietnam. We stood on holy ground.

"Do ye not remember", Nephi reminds us, "that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels?" (2 Nephi 32:2) 

This was the tongue of angels.  

The Lord has said, "...that the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world..." (D&C 1:23), and "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37:6)

Thank you, Elder, for your simple message that day.  It was a lesson we will not soon forget.

Why I Can't Say "I Love You"

Learning the language here is daunting.  I can't even say something as simple as, "I love you."  Here's why it's a challenge....

So the word for "love" in Vietnamese is "yêu".  That doesn't change.  But the "I" and the "you" change all the time in a constant flow of relationship exchange and community spirit of familial understanding. (confused yet??)

To try to say "I love you", I might say "em yêu anh" (I love you) if I was talking to Greg but if I was talking to my grandmother I would be a cháu not an em and she would be a bà not an anh. So "I love you" would be "Cháu yêu bà".  Of course I might want to say that to my grandchildren, at which I'd be the bà and they would be the cháu. So this time "I love You" would look like: Bà yêu cháu.   So at any given point in time for any kind of conversation,  I might be a chị or a cô or a bà or a cháu, (sister, older aunt, grandparent, or grandchild) and I might be speaking to an em, or a cháu or a con or an ông (sister, grandchild, child or a grandfather)! And since everyone here feels related to each other, everyone uses family terms, even if there is no relation.  It's the polite thing to do!

I haven't memorized this chart yet.....a list of all the possible pronouns....

Term	Reciprocal	Literal meaning	Non-kinship usage	Note
cha	con	father	a priest	Many other terms are used, depending on the dialect: ba, bố, tía, thầy
mẹ	con	mother		mẹ is the Northern form, má is used in the South. Many other terms are used, depending on the dialect: u, bầm, mạ
anh	em	older brother	an older man of the same generation; the man in a romantic relationship; a man (formal use)	Can be used to address any male regardless of status. e.g. By military personnel to those of lower ranks.
chị	em	older sister	an older woman of the same generation; a woman (formal use)
em	anh or chị	younger sibling	a younger person of the same generation; a child; the woman in a romantic relationship
con	cha, mẹ, bà, etc.	biological child or grandchild	a young child; a person at least one generation younger
cháu	ông, bà, bác, chú, etc.	grandchild; niece; nephew; cousin of junior generations	a young child; a person at least one generation younger
ông	cháu or con	grandfather	a middle-aged man	paternal and maternal grandfathers are differentiated as ông nội (paternal grandfather) and ông ngoại (maternal grandfather), respectively
bà	cháu or con	grandmother	a middle-aged (married) woman	paternal and maternal grandmothers are differentiated as bà nội (paternal grandmother) and bà ngoại (maternal grandmother), respectively
cô	cháu	father's sister	a female teacher, an older woman as old as one's father, a young (usually unmarried) woman (formal)	in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to father's younger sister
chú	cháu	father's younger brother	an older man as old as one's father, a slightly younger man (formal)	in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to father's younger brother
thím	cháu	chú's wife
bác	cháu	a parent's older sibling; his/her spouse	a person older than one's parents	in some dialects, can also refer to father's elder brother or sister as well as mother's elder brother or sister
dì	cháu	mother's sister, stepmother	a woman as old as one's mother,	in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to mother's younger sister
cậu	cháu	mother's brother	a man as old as one's mother, a close friend (Northern variety)	in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to mother's younger brother
mợ	cháu	cậu's wife		in some dialects, used by the husband to refer to his wife, children to refer to mother, or parents-in-law to refer to a daughter-in-law
dượng	cháu	the husband of cô or dì, stepfather
cụ/cố	cháu	great-grandparent	a very old person
sơ	cháu	great-great-grandparent
họ		clan	they	third person plural for a group of people

So before I launch into saying anything, I have to evaluate who it is I am, in relation to the person to whom I am attempting to share my feelings, and then evaluate who THEY are in relation to my position in the family or age or relationship tree.  By the time I have it figured out, the moment has passed and I end up all tongued-tied and mind-blank from a dizzying array of options.

It's just downright exhausting!

Fortunately, a smile and a "Xin Chào" (hello) seem to work for nearly everyone - and we end up with lots of happy faces in spite of our communicative limitations!

Of Lessons and Languages – Life in the MTC

Fifteen Missionary Training Centers (MTC) around the world process thousands of new missionaries through weeks of gospel and language training. The MTC in Provo, Utah is a busy place this particular week.  There are several thousand missionaries being trained, and 400 new ones just arrived yesterday. The logistics alone are staggering – housing all these new missionaries and welcoming new ones every week; feeding several thousand hungry missionaries three times a day; 

organizing training for them in small group settings where they can practice their new skills and become comfortable talking to people; keeping track of immunizations needed for each one; arranging flight plans; providing language training; handling and arranging service opportunities such as cleaning, hosting, greeting new missionaries, and lawn care;  - it is mind boggling just to think about it.  Watching it in action one feels it is nothing short of miraculous.

In addition to residences, classrooms and the huge cafeteria, the beautifully landscaped MTC contains a gym, medical services, a barbershop, laundry facilities, a bookstore, a travel department, a mail room, a print and office room, and of course vending machines in multiple convenient places for snacks and drinks in between meals.

Our nametags!!!

Senior couples or single sisters stay anywhere from one to 2 weeks depending on their assignment. Here is the group of seniors for this week!

Missionaries are divided into groups called districts. Elder Coffey was chosen to be one of the District Leaders. We study gospel topics and practice role playing with each other and with volunteers from the community.

Elder Coffey and I planning the next teaching role play.

Senior missionaries in our district have been assigned to Chile, Japan, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Canada, England, Germany, Baltic, Spain,Vietnam, Belgium, and multiple places throughout the United States. Foreign language skills are usually not needed for senior missionaries, though many, like us, try to learn a little bit.

A husband and wife team taking a few minutes to plan their schedule.  They have been called to serve in Chile. This is their second mission.

Senior sisters also make up the worldwide missionary force.  We have five single sisters in our group this week.  They will be serving in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission in Salt Lake City.

Younger missionaries stay from 3 – 9 weeks.  If they are learning a language they usually stay the full 9 weeks. Over 50 languages are taught in the MTC! 

Philippines-bound Elders having a prayer together before they begin their language (Tagalog) and gospel studies as a companionship. Missionaries are taught to rely heavily on the Lord for help every step of the way.

A Philippines-bound District of Elders, preparing to preach the 

Gospel in the Ilokano language.

But the greatest miracle is all of these young people who take so seriously their call to serve the Lord.  Their countenances beam as they scurry back and forth between classes, memorizing lessons and languages on the go, or studying quietly in personal study times. It is a delight to see. They are courteous, respectful, hard working and filled with faith.  The world, truly, is in good hands with these missionaries!

 Called to serve Him, heav'nly King of glory,

Chosen e'er to witness for his name,

Far and wide we tell the Father's story,

Far and wide his love proclaim.

Called to know the richness of his blessing--

Sons and daughters, children of a King--

Glad of heart, his holy name confessing,

Praises unto him we bring.

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;

Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing.

God our strength will be; press forward ever,

Called to serve our King.

                                                                                Called To Serve, Hymn # 249

Our next post will be from Vietnam!

The Gift of Tongues, Senior Style

 좋은 아침! ¡Buenos días! Доброе утро! Chào buổi sáng! Good morning!

Morning is well under way at the Amanda Knight Hall in Provo, Utah. Senior missionaries and language tutors fill little classrooms lining the hall of the aged, but comfortable, building.  The Missionary Language Training immersion program for senior missionaries is in full swing.

This week it is Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese being taught. Next week it might be Swedish or Japanese.  Whatever the need, senior missionaries going all over the world can receive language training for their respective mission, either here in person or via Skype with tutors and native speakers.

Elder Coffey and I struggle to sound out the phonetic difference between “tập” and “đọc”, when both sound like “dop” to untrained, Western ears. Young but completely fluent tutors, all returned missionaries, mentor us in pronunciation, grammar patterns, and scenarios. Patiently they answer a seemingly endless stream of questions. They are all absolutely excellent.

 

Our schedule includes a variety of tutors, personal study time, and plenty of breaks when we need them.  And need them we do! Though the pace is slower than what the young missionaries get, it is plenty fast for us seniors.

The senior sister missionary next door pops her head in to introduce herself. She and her husband are preparing to serve a Spanish speaking temple mission in Bolivia.  This is their second mission. Another couple down the hall is studying Korean for a Military Relations Mission.  This is their third mission.  The first two were in Russia.

Come 5:00 pm our eyes glaze over, our heads spin, and it is time to end for the day. It is hard to teach old dogs new tricks.  But swelling up inside, a ray of optimism surfaces.  His voice whispers, “You got this. You can do this.  Open your mouths and they shall be filled.  This is not your work.  It is mine. You are on my errand.”

Flickr.com courtesy of  Harry and Rowena Kennedy