February 2, 2015

Jam packed week.  Lots and lots of stuff happened.  First of all, public service announcement, there are still more horses than people in Eastvale / Mira Loma.  It's annoying (as I’m allergic to horses).  But another thing is there are more Chinese people than Americans here (or so it seems), so that's good.  We walk around neighborhoods and just see tons of Chinese people walking around - a lot of them pregnant.  Lots of Chinese people come here where there are services for pregnant women.  They take care of them for a couple months until their baby is born (getting US citizenship) and then they return to China.

At the start of this week, I was really sad to leave all the work I did in Riverside behind and start it in a different area.  It's hard to leave when so many people have just gotten baptized and are about to get baptized.  But the second night, we dropped by this potential investigator from China and they were so warm and welcoming, inviting us into their house and giving us bao zi (steamed buns)! 

As we were sitting there talking about why bad things happen to good people, I just really realized how much I love these people I'm working with.  It doesn't matter where I'm serving, gotta love the people.  Sometimes it's hard to love them when they hide from you! :) we were walking back to our car in a neighborhood and saw an elderly couple who definitely saw us too.  They literally tried to hid behind and tree thinking we couldn't see them.  Too bad the tree trunk was two inches thick.  When we drove away, they started walking again.  I was laughing so hard. 

I love meeting with old Chinese people - there's just something about their (seemingly always) heavily accented Chinese that's just so fun to work with.  One of the couple's we're meeting with who are in their 70's are hilarious.  The wife is Christian and believes in God (hopefully getting baptized on the 15th) and the husband wants proof.  He says "if God's real, he'll come show himself to me!"  The wife tells us they argue everyday about this. 

One time as the husband was going on a rant, she comes in and says, "do you like this?! do you like hearing what's coming from his mouth? He's Satan! that man is Satan! He's got Satan hiding inside of him! When he dies, he's going to become a goat or a cow!" I couldn't hold back my laughter.  All of this conversation was in Chinese of course.  

One thing I love about this area is that I can use a gym, so watch out Simon, I'm coming for you.  Because we have a car, we cover three missions.  Our mission, Riverside, the Rancho Cucamonga mission, and the Redlands missions.  We were up in Chino Hills last week visiting an investigator and it felt weird leaving mission boundaries.  The landscape kind of changed too.

Visiting a family in Ontario (north of Riverside), we were teaching the 8 year old daughter of recent converts.  She is struggling a bit because she's in school in America and her English isn't perfect.  But something I was just captivated by was the way that the parents came to the US and enrolled her in school in the US because they want her to get that opportunity.  They're not hoping that they themselves become very educated or wealthy. All their hope is in their child and her success. Being a parent has got to be hard!

English class in this area is harder because our people aren't college students, they're just families in the area.  Their English is not very good.  I felt like the English teacher in the movie Pink Panther, trying to teach the word Hamburger.  I was trying to get this Chinese huge body builder/kick boxer to say "I am very good" and he just couldn't get that "v" down.  It was hilarious seeing this huge intimidating guy trying so hard to pronounce a sound that to us English speakers would be easy, but for him, is just so foreign.

I had to fix a toilet on Friday which was... interesting.  I didn't know there was so much grease inside a toilet tank... hopefully that was grease...

On Saturday we went with all four Chinese Elders to downtown Riverside to contact Chinese people at the "Lunar Fest."  Little did I know that there would be tons of crazy religious people getting all up in our face about everything.  We got into tons of "bashes" where people would just come up to us and argue about our doctrine and the Bible...  Really annoying and I don't know why they thought such a young guy could be so knowledgeable about the Bible. 

Anyways, one guy had this sign about everyone going to hell and was walking around with it and talking out of a little microphone thing.  We walked by him and he was like “Mormons are the whores of the earth” or something like that, and “they're all going to hell”.  So I turned around and said very boldly, maybe a little loud, "hey bro, come here and say that to my face" so he walked over and started talking to us, telling us that we're teaching evil and lies.

The best part, was that people started to come closer and two 7th Day Adventists, an Atheist, a Muslim, and a Unitarian (that's what he said he was) all came up to us and pretty much told this guy he can't talk to us like that and we're really nice people.  So a bunch of people from different religions/beliefs came together and pretty much got on this guy because he wasn't preaching Jesus Christ's beliefs.  The guy said we're not Christian and the Muslim guy was like "... of course they are... they believe in Jesus Christ you idiot."  Very interesting, very cool.

Some festival official drove by us and stopped later and was like “oh man you guys are the Mormons who speak Chinese! you're famous! everyone's talking about you.  That's really cool you guys speak Chinese!” It was interesting. So check the news! Wonder if we made it to You Tube, Mormons at the Riverside annual Lunar festival. 

Kids are the funniest people in the world.  One kid saw my homemade box for my Chinese scriptures, saw that Jesus was on it and was like, hey this is your "ye su he" or "Jesus box" and I was like, yeah dude, this is my Jesus box!  Another guy at testimony meeting where everyone can share their testimonies at church said, wow this church must be true.  I'm like why do you think that? He said, well eight people have all gotten up there and said it. so it has to be.  I was laughing so hard.  I had to translate that sacrament meeting which was difficult! but kind of fun!

We were teaching the word of wisdom and this Taiwanese member we got to help said (after we explained the law) “well for me I just think it's if you don't get addicted so a glass of red wine every once in a while is okay because it's healthy.”  and we're just like.... “um the law says no, so you have to follow the law”, to the investigator.  It was awkward...

My new church unit is a Chinese group in the Eastvale 1st ward.  There're about 30 members here. 20 active ones.  About half and half from China and Taiwan

We have a very nice apartment (the most "expensive apartment in the mission" as the housing coordinators always remind us). So we have a gym, tennis court, basketball court.  We go to the gym every morning so I'm getting more fit! I'll eat more fruit.  I'm working on the Tuttle [Chinese character] flash cards, I'm asking people about how to say things.  I'm trying to get biao zhun (standard) Chinese, not Taiwan accented Chinese :)

It's funny because there are so many "zuo ye zi" zhong xin's (centers for caring for women for the month after they give birth after the Chinese tradition) here, so many pregnant Chinese women are getting their children U.S. citizenship.  

We have 4 Chinese Speaking missionaries right now.  Me, Murray (my current comp), Schoonmaker, and Merriman (came in with me but is a transfer ahead because he was at the MTC longer).  There's a mainland Chinese missionary coming in in March, from Sichuan.  

As a district leader I push my district to hit "standard" every week.  I have the ZL's and the STL's in my district - it's the same district I started my mission in with Johansen, so I already know a lot of their investigators even though the missionaries have changed.  What's embarrassing was our baptism total for Januray - 39 for the mission.  Schoonmaker and me got 4 of those. When I came in the mission it was at 81... Our District meetings are always spiritually oriented - they have to be..that's what we're teaching!

Miracle though – my investigator from my previous area shi pin'd (Skyped) with his parents and they said okay he could get baptized.  He texted me yesterday with the good news and I was so excited.  I saw him at a baptism for for another investigator, that I went back to yesterday.  I used my pants this time and they worked out fine. 

I had to baptize twice because I forgot to say amen.  The investigator said sui bian (its up to me) if I use English or Chinese for the prayer, and I don't know it in English (not that it's hard) so I did it in Chinese – still haven't used English.  We're leading the stake and mission (well not me anymore :( in baptisms this year).  I've got to spark this area to get that many.  We have 4 on date for this month, we'll see if they turn out.

We cover the Redlands mission, Rancho Cucamonga mission, including ours.  So we were up in Chino Hills - we have an investigator up there, last week.

It is a miracle to be able to baptize all these people.  I've been blessed to find these people and have the pleasure of working with them.  What you said about the sacrament is 100% true.  Elder Johansen taught me to treat taking the sacrament as the celestial room and sanctify myself to receive revelation during that short time.  It's quite an amazing thing.  

We visited a convert of 2 years the other day (from Shanghai - so many people from shanghai here) and he was teaching us "tactics" on getting people.  It was funny because the Holy Ghost does the "getting" but he said when Chinese people get aggressive - turn on them and ask them really penetrating questions using "cheng yu's (Chinese aphorisms)" like xin cheng ze ling (Things work out if only one believes) - and asking, “well where does your conscience come from” - confusing but I had fun.

Love you guys,

Jake

Baptism

Post baptism group photo 

Another baptism

Another post-baptism photo

Riverside Lunar Festibal

Riverside Lunar Festival

It's so cold in the morning!

January 27, 2015

We had a great week that culminated in another baptism.  Our font is going to have people every week for the next couple weeks, which is great.  I confirmed the two members from last week’s baptisms in Church on Sunday in front of everyone in Sacrament meeting.  I did one in Chinese and one in English.  Only about 15 people in the congregation understood my Chinese though (not because it's that terrible though!).  It was a great feeling when I said, "receive the Holy Ghost" - felt like electricity pulsating through me.  

I'm sad to leave this area because it's been so fruitful.  There's so much work to be done! Hopefully I can continue that energy in my next area - that will have a lot more Chinese people!  

We got to visit the Temple in Redlands this past week as well.  It's always a great experience to sit in the Temple dressed in all white and just ponder - very peaceful, very calming.

As I've said many MANY times, one of the perks of teaching Chinese people is being able to eat at their houses.  I had a very delicious, very filling dinner at some of our investigators from Qinghai.  Too bad I'll miss their homemade noodles next time they feed the missionaries!

Si Li, one of the recent converts from last week, took the SAT on Saturday.  I had been working with him a ton to help him improve his score.  I now know what my mom felt like during the lead up to and on the day of my SAT.  I was more stressed than he was!  Thanks mom!

I got transferred, so my new address is:

Elder Jacob Calvin Dyer

5615 Daybreak Dr. Apt G

Mira Loma, CA 91752 

There’re tons of horses in this area... not a fan.  I'm a district leader now too - so more responsibility - It'll be fun though!

Big group at church

Elders Dyer and Schoonmaker at Redlands temple

Elder Dyer at Redlands temple

Temple perspective

With family from Qinghai

January 20, 2015

It was a stressful but rewarding week.  We had two baptisms, L. and M.  We were so tired after such a long week full of so many lessons, that after church on Sunday, we decided to take a quick nap.  When we woke up, it was 4:40 pm.  The baptism was supposed to start at 5 pm!  We didn't have a ride, and had to pick up L. 

Luckily, one of the members going there was close by so we were able to make it, a little flustered and a little late.  Our mission president was there too, because he had helped teach L. before.  Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience. 

I baptized M., while we had a recent convert baptize L.  I said the baptismal prayer in Chinese and forgot to tell M. to hold her nose as she went in the water.  When we got out and out of the baptismal font, she started screaming at me.  It was interesting.  But the most important part was she got baptized!

I've noticed that service unlocks a lot as a missionary, and just as a person.  When we show compassion and love for investigators, they're more likely to "come and see" the benefits of religion (they're mostly atheist) and realize that this gospel can help them in their lives.

When we were in a lesson, and were teaching an investigator how to pray.  We said, we say “amen” at the end to say we agree.  Later on in the lesson, she said "amen" to something we said.  It was very funny, because she was seriously saying she agreed and thought the best way was to say "amen."

I find my sentence patterns changing as I speak Chinese more.  I'm putting the subject at the start more frequently when I speak English now.  It's still grammatically correct, but it just sounds very Chinese.

One of our investigators brought up an interesting idea about "hearing" versus "listening."  He wanted to know the difference between the two.  I told him to hear is to have it register in your ears, you "hear" the sounds, but to listen is to hear and think about what you heard.  It's more of an active hearing where you more than just hear sounds, you understand what the person is saying.  After this brief explanation, the investigator said, "so God listens."  I said yes he listens because He can respond to our prayers and our communication with Him.

Sometimes it's hard seeing investigators sacrificing so much to be baptized.  One of our investigators has moved out and stopped drinking to be baptized.  He is getting a ton of flack from his friends for not drinking with them, and to put it simply, they're just being mean.  I'm so thankful for all my wonderful friends who didn't judge me for my decisions and never pressured me! Love all of you so much!

I will most likely be transferred this upcoming week, so all letters and packages should go to:

Elder Jacob Dyer

5900 Grand Avenue

Riverside, CA 92504

Until I know where my new address is.

Preparing for the baptism of several investigators

At the baptismal meeting

Teaching Chinese kids the names of colors in English using pool balls

Elder Dyer with baptized investigator

January 12, 2015

I got my first baptism this week! It was from my last ward, but it was so cool to see someone I taught dressed in white getting baptized! Exciting preparation for the next two weeks.  We have three people getting baptized this upcoming Sunday, and two people the week after.  I'm excited.  All the time teaching and stressing over their progression is ending in baptisms! 

We still spend a lot of time finding new people though!  Last week, we had an older couple come to English class.  They're from Shanghai and have lived in the US for around five years, but don't really speak any English.  I had to work hard and exercise a lot of patience to improve their conversational Chinese.  At the end, when we shared our spiritual thought, they asked, why did they kill Jesus even though he was such a good person?  Very good question!  Jesus Christ taught it how it is, not how we want to hear it.  Sometimes people don't like loving their neighbor, but that's still the right thing to do.

Last week, we got stressed because one of our investigators didn't want to meet with us.  She was on date for [baptism on] the 18th of January and said she didn't have time.  I told her she had to work to prepare for the date, and she said she had already decided she wanted to be baptized, she just had tons of work.  That was a relief! I thought she was "dropping" us!  She passed her baptismal interview though! Can't wait for next week! 

One of our investigators, who's getting baptized on the 18^th, is preparing for the SAT.  I've been working with him just about every day, helping him prepare.  It's like deja vu! Brings me back to high school.  He's going to get a high score though, God's going to bless him for making this decision to be baptized.  

Every week, we try to get as many people as possible to come to church.  Yesterday on Sunday, two of our people didn't come because their ride never showed up.  As frustrating as it was, I left sacrament meeting to go pick them up.  We do all we can in our power to help these people come closer to God.  It's hard work, but it's beautiful to see the fruits of your labors.

Elder Dyer steams Xiaolongbao dumplings

Xiaolongbao dumplings in process

Elder Dyer and his new Christmas gift ukulele

January 5, 2015

Happy New Year!  May this next year be full of fun memories and amazing experiences! 

This past week was hard work.  Elder Schoonmaker and I taught a record amount of lessons for us while finding a ton of new people to teach!  I was physically pretty beat.  Missionary work is tiring, but fulfilling at the same time!

One of the highlights of the week was an impromptu dumpling making party among us missionaries and the Chinese investigators/members in the area.  By impromptu I mean we organized it on the 31st and had it on the 1st. 

It was so fun!  I got to practice making "jiao zi" with my hands.  It's pretty hard to make them look really pretty.  At least I got a "hen bu cuo" ("not bad") from the lady teaching us.  Got to thank the Aunties for that!

One of the interesting things a recent convert said about God, is that God is a speaking God, not a closed mouth God (literal translation).  It's true though!  He talks to us, through feelings, through scripture, through a Prophet.  But you can talk to him too!  Just pray and ask a question, try it!

We brought this 11 year old member from a Spanish ward out with us to teach some lessons.  He really wants to learn Chinese so he likes to work with us.  It was funny, after explaining some principle to our investigator.  He said, "you understand it's true right?" It's amazing the faith of young people.

Today for our Zone's p-day activity, we hiked Mt. Rubidoux to watch the sunrise.  Had to get out of bed early, but it was really fun.  We got to enjoy the sun rising under a huge cross and a very large American flag.  Church and state – yay.  Got some very patriotic pictures though!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, have a great 2015.  My "black-out" year has started! (that means the year you don't see your family at all)

Holiday dumpling party group

Dumpling assembly line

It takes concentration to make nice dumplings

Finished product samples (thanks Aunties for training me well)

Mixing the dumpling meat filling

With some church member friends on their moving day

Holiday socks

Sunrise over Mt. Rubidoux

So patriotic

More sunrise over Mt. Rubidoux

Big cross on Mt. Rubidoux

December 27, 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It didn't really feel like Christmas here in Riverside, especially because of the 85 degree weather! But it was great because I got to Skype family!  To prep for Skyping, Elder Schoonmaker cut my hair.  It felt really weird getting my hair cut in a kitchen!  I don't think I've had that done since I was a kid and had an aversion to barbershops!

Skyping with the family on Christmas Day

It was a pretty slow week because of the holidays.  Most of our investigators and members were out of town.  A lot of them were in Vegas! Great place to spend Christmas thinking about Jesus! One of the funny parts was, the week before, at English class, we taught them how to play blackjack.  [One investigator] lost so many pennies that it scared him into not gambling.  His friend lost $300 though!

A lot of the people that come to English class have only been in America for a couple of weeks or so.  Some of them ask for names.  We write a number of them on the board and they decide.  One of them decided to choose “Nephi”!  I was laughing so hard, but that's his name now – Dr. Nephi! (Nephi is the name of a Book of Mormon prophet).

Love you,

Jake

Christmas morning breakfast

So cold we had to break out the coats

Very Zen

Even more Zen

December 22, 2014

Christmas on a mission is a little different.  It hasn't really hit me that Santa's coming in 3 more days.  That might have something to do with the lack of snow in Southern California though!

Elder Heaton had really really good Chinese.  Teaching without him was a larger challenge for me this past week.  It's funny, I've adopted a lot of his teaching styles though, and my Chinese is improving a lot.  

Two of our best investigators returned to China this past week, J. and E.  I told them to stay strong, keep reading the Book of Mormon and praying.  E. said she'll be baptized in two years after my mission and J. will too, I'm pretty sure.  He said we planted a really good seed!

On Sunday, there was a special program at church for Christmas.  One of our investigators started filming the program which apparently you're not allowed to do at church.  It's just interesting to see their reactions to many of the normal stuff we do at church, like singing.  It's fun how they join in and sing hymns with us!

Asides from that, [it has been a] pretty regular week.  My new companion is Elder Schoonmaker from Portland, Oregon.  He's been out for 18 months, so I'm still really “young” compared to him! 

Merry Christmas to everyone! Just remember the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

New companion (who has already adopted the Asian way of posing for photos)

Transferring to University of California Riverside?

What a coincidence!

With investigator friends before they left to return to China

Yay California!