So, I forgot my journal so I will write what I remember and if I forget anything important I will write it next week
Wednesday: We had a service project today! We helped at a
Children's discovery center with their remodeling. It was super fun because we
got to hang out with reptiles and play with children's displays while doing
service!
Thursday: We got to go to the Temple today!!!!! It was super fun
and I love the temple!
Saturday: Today we got to go to a church owned vineyard!! It
rained so it was super muddy! I was walking in the mud quickly so I wouldn’t
sink in and get stuck but.... my shoe came off!!! So, then I took off my other
shoe and ran around below the grape vines like a real Hmong soldier fighting in
Laos!!! hahahaha It was way fun!
Also, today we went to a huge party with like
300 people. The kids of one of the members of our wards set it all up to thank
their parents and because it was their anniversary. We were able to talk to
some members and a few other people while there and the Hmong party food was
good! I love boba, it’s like a milkshake with tapioca in it. It is really
good!
Sunday: CHURCH!!! I translated today so that was fun! Also, today
we met a Hmong man who fought for the US in Laos during the Vietnam War. He
showed us where a bullet went through his arm and side and where he got shot in
the head!! His brother got shot twice through the chest too but they were both
alive! Crazy. He was about 10 years old when he fought too!! Crazy young. In
his group of about 50 there were 12 platoons and his platoon had 6 people. This
was all the soldiers they had to defend an entire province. He said there were
several battalions that were fighting them at one point. 1 Cuban 2 Chinese 1
Soviet and 3 Vietnamese. The other side thought they trapped all of the Hmong
soldiers in a valley. 5 battalions surrounded the area and began to attack the
area. They bombed it all night. The Hmong people had hidden up in the caves
though (I believe at this point there were more soldiers than just his group).
They ran out of the caves at night and fled the area. During this about 10
Hmong soldiers died because of stray rockets. They were not in the valley that
the other side was bombing though. So, the next day when the enemies cleaned up
all the bodies they were on their own! The Hmongs only lost about 10 soldiers
and the other side lost 30-40,000 because they were bombing their own soldiers!
It took them 3 days to clean up the bodies. I think his account is a little
exaggerated with the numbers but it is still a good story! hahaha
Also, this week sometime (I can’t remember which day) I heard the
bells jingling from "ua neeb" for the first time! "ua neeb"
(written in English it sounds like ue-a neng) It is a Hmong ritual that allows
a shaman to barter with evil spirits that have stolen one of someone’s spirit
(making them sick). This is supposed to allow them to know how many sacrifices
they need to make to make someone healthy again. We didn't go in and watch but
we heard the bells and one of the people outside said that is what they were
doing.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a good week!
-Elder Yskes
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