Week #6 Lieh Hou Moyatgo Yahn! (Hellow Everyone)

This week was super cool! We had a  guest speaker.........Elder Quentin L. Cook!! Super cool to see him and hear his words. I took a pic of my notes on what he said so you all can hear what he has to say. Really good stuff!

There was a couple spiritual moments with some of my companions and roommates this week as well. We are being taught so much here, and when you start get into the swing of things its not like drinking from a fire hose anymore....just a really powerful fountain!

The choir is really cool here with all the things we learn from each Hymn and their true meaning. Our Investigators are doing really well with the lessons we are teaching them. One of them has a problem with The word of Wisdom and how it is a huge family tradition in China to do tea for dinner. That, I think is going to be a real challenge when I get there.

The Weeks are really starting to fly by here and it feels so good that when you really get into the work you start losing yourself in it. And, also the fact that you need to be obedient to the rules...they may seem weird at first, but they are there to protect you and to GIVE you blessings when you need them. Just like how the commandments are. The spirit is so strong here and I love it!!

The language is coming along very well. I am learning and memorizing more words and phrases every day. There are some road bumps, and I need to strengthen my testimony enough to bless others while I am there. The spirit will teach them, not me! The language will come I know that but I still need to put in work to get it down.

Sorry this Email is so short not much is really  happening here besides classes and Devotionals. When I get out into the field there will be more stories to tell and things to talk about.

So, I had the chance this week to really strengthen my testimony on how obedience will strengthen you when you follow the rules. I learn more and more things on that. I encourage and invite you all to follow the commandments and rules that have been placed before us from our loving Heavenly Father and Savior. Also follow, and keep your covenants you have made!!

Umm what else happened this week? I got my shirt from the MTC. I love it a lot. I got an XL. It was a freaking tent on me so I traded with another person in our district from New Zealand. I now have a L and am washing it right now. Lets hope it doesn't shrink to much. But I heard that the elders lose so much weight in Hong Kong. So it will fit me eventually. Also, the people in Hong Kong don't really like China, so wearing that around in public is a big NO! I don't know why the MTC doesn't have a Hong Kong flag shirt.

My companionship is doing so well, but get this - we are being split apart. It is now me and elder Madsen, and Elder Arnold is going to be with another companionship. The presidency told us that the reason behind this was so we could get a better grip on the language and experience a 2 person companionship. I do not know how to feel about this...but it was for a reason that it happened so I now that it was from Heavenly Father to strengthen every one.

That is pretty much it for this weeks episode of Elder Duersch!

If you have any questions or want to just talk please send me emails and I would love to help you all out!

Stay Weird and Awesome!!!!

Yours in Fellowship and Love,󾓭🐲🐼🍜

Dahng Jeunglouh

Elder Duersch

Stan Theman.

Week #5: Faith, Obedience and Sacrifice

Leih Hou Ngohdeih Pahngyauh! (Hello my friends!)

So good to hear from you all and I am very glad you all are doing very well! 

Let me tell you all about our class experience this week. We went to the top of the T3 building where there is a beautiful court yard of stone and flowers. We were told to read and go over 3 Nephi 17. I invite you all to go and read that for yourselves and see how it relates to you all personally! Since that day I have made a goal to write in pen on every page of my Scriptures because all I have been doing is highlighters. There is so much you can get from 3 Nephi and I love it so much. Heck-all the scriptures are fantastic - Read Them!

Oh Ya! One of our "INVESTIGATORS" is planning on being baptized on the 14 of October. I had the honor of asking her in Cantonese. It was so good to have that experience with a role play and feel exactly how it is going to be in the field in Hong Kong. Another investigator we have is Tyler. He is shy and is just curious about the church. He hadn't opened up to us yet so, I had an idea to invite him to a League of Legends Party the BYU Chinese wards are putting on. I made a little invitation and He smiled for the FIRST TIME. Of course it was all fake, but it felt good because since that happened he has been more open to talking with us. "Teach People, Not Lessons". That is one thing we are working on and I am grateful for it because you need to get to know the person before you start changing their life. You need to love them and serve them to the point where they will tell you about anything that has happened to them over their week.

Everything has been going great here. I am really starting to love it here and love the people. It is going to be actually sad when I leave here. I love the devotionals here and the language. It is getting easier, and there is still so much hard work I have to do since this is only my 5th week out in the field, but man it has felt like I have been out here for decades and also only just arrived. The MTC feels like I am in limbo, and also a Mormon "all-you-can-eat" Vegas Style Buffet. Good Night! All they do here is feed you so much food. They call the Chicken Cordon  Blue "Fried Hamster" hahahahaah. Its sad but funny.

I also got a new scripture bag here for only 13 dollars. It was hiding under all the other bags and I told my self "You look like you need someone to look after you, because all the other bags are popular and you were hiding". It is now one of my most valuable items now that my scriptures have a home where they aren't getting crushed by my big bag. I also keep what mom gave me in them so I have it with me always. This is the coolest bag ever and for a great price, I am glad to have it, and know that it is the only one of its kind here.

Let that be a lesson to us all on how Christ and Heavenly Father see us all!

I love all so much and am grateful to know you all and to call you my family. 

Stay Weird and Be yourselves!

Yours in Fellowship and Love,

Dahng Jeunglouh

Elder Duersch

Stan Theman

P.S I got called random to give my testimony in sacrament this Sunday on Repentance and Faith. Many people were moved by it. Remember the Atonement can make us better than we were 10 seconds ago. 

Week #4 - Guest Speakers and Faith

Lieh Hou!!!!


How are we all?

It feels so good to write to you all this week! There has been a lot of interesting stuff happening here.

Here we go! On Tuesday we had a really good experience in choir! When we arrived to sing for the night's devotional, Brother Eggit(Choir Teacher) told us to be in our best dress because someone very important is coming to speak to all the MTC's across the globe. And, drumroll please........................Elder Dallin H. Oaks came!!!!! It was one of the coolest talks I have ever heard! His wife spoke first and then he did. I took a whole 2 pages of notes on all he said. Ill take a picture and send it to ya. The spirit was so strong when he came and spoke to us. He had such a great talk on Preach My Gospel and the importance of how it is going to help us the most on our mission. He also said that we have all been called at a very special time in our life! Now where have I heard that before *cough*  MY Patriarchal Blessing!

I have started to pray more to Heavenly Father about how I have faith in him and Jesus Christ, and through them I can do anything I set my heart to. I have started to get more faith in myself that I can do the things I need to do. For example: the language. I am getting better at the language and I know its by my faith in Yehsou Geduk that I am doing this well. For if we have faith in Christ, We can Move mountains if we needed to!

Gwongdongwa(Cantonese) is going pretty well. There is still so much I need to learn before they send me out into the real deal. Maybe that's why I am in the UofG(University of God) for Nine Weeks!!! Some days here feel like they are super long and others feel like they just shoot by. My faith grows every day while I am here.

One of the elders who is in my branch gave a wonder full lesson on Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The gist of it all was that we are constantly using the Atonement in our lives. We are never the same person before... and that is what it is all about. We need to have faith that we can become greater than we were a year, month, week, day, and even 10 seconds ago! I can't emphasize enough how much we need to put our faith in Christ and how we need to thank him for the blessing we are receiving from that faith.

We had a guest speaker this week that was with the BYU football and the Eagles. His name was Chad Lewis. His wife and himself came and spoke to use yesterday on how all his life he was a high jumper and loved to jump over things. He did it all the time when he was married and told his wife one day he would jump over someone in a football game. One game right before the super bowl he caught a pass, and a small defensive player was coming right at him. He didn't even know what happened because he was already over the guy! His heart, mind, and body were trained so hard on jumping that it came so natural to him. That is what the MTC is doing to me at this moment. It is training my body, heart, and mind to the point when I need to act in the moment, I am ready to crack open those scriptures and give them the lesson of there life!

He also shared an experience when he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with a group of 4 Wounded Warriors. Some were not able to make it up the climb and how the burden was to much for their titanium legs and limbs. They asked the ones who could go on, to take their legs and make a piece of them get to the top of the mountain in Africa. On there way down the mountain, their guide came up to Chad and said I will take your bag. He said "its fine, I can do this!". The guide turned around took one step and turned right back around. He said "I have been doing this my whole life and I am here to lift your burden so you can make the decent easier.

What a powerful message! Christ will always be there to lift our burdens and never give us too much in our backpacks that we cant even move. My testimony is growing and I cant wait to share it to the people who have been waiting to hear it for a long time.

I hope you all have a fantastic week and always have faith in Christ with what ever you are doing. When you do that with what ever is in your way, you will accomplish what ever you want to!

Yours in Fellowship and Love,
Dahng Jeunglouh

Elder Connor Duersch

Week 3 - Elder Connor Duersch

Lieh Hou Ngoh ge Pengyou! (Hellow my Friends)

Hope you all are having a good Holiday! I want to thank you all for all your loving emails that you have been sending me. I love to hear what is going on in the outside world these days since ya know, I am kinda in Spiritual Prison.........Just kidding this place is super cool.

This week has been truly an interesting one to comprehend. So on Tuesday I started to feel a bit sick. The whole district was starting to spread this nasty crap all around. I went through the next day and then on Thursday I got really sick. I went to the doctor in the morning and they checked me out and said that a lot of missionaries are starting to get the same exact virus. I paid them and went on my way back to the room and got some rest. Fevers began to hit me and all sorts of bad body aches. But when I was sick, you will see in a video something I did that has now shown me what I need to do on this mission instead of focusing on my self. DON'T WORRY! I'm fine and healthy now, just a little sniffle here and there.

Since I was under the weather I had so much time to myself in bed to study and to ponder about things. I thought about home and what is needed for me to do here that could better make it so my conversion is stronger, so I can then Convert others. Elder Holland said that our first investigator is always ourselves. I love that so much. He has so many great words of wisdom and knowledge. But so do all the apostles for they have all been called of God. I thought real hard on what I needed to be doing here as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I absolutely love serving the people here as much as possible. I am so eager to get out into the field and even if I have 0 baptisms, as long as I am capable of serving others and getting them to feel the spirit.......that's what my purpose is here and I now fully realize that.

I'm letting you all know that I have been real good  boy and haven't done anything crazy while I have been here. Well maybe,  I had an investigator read the wrong scripture in Cantonese that said that "they were an evil child of the adversary and perdition that would burn". That was a sticky situation to get out of hahahahaahah. I had to show her which scripture was the correct one to read.

Besides that there was not very much else that is happening here. I am just ready to get out into the field and serve every one. My branch presidency is the coolest ever. They are so powerful in the spirit and President Newell has the most solid memory ever. He served as a mission president in 

One thing you all can do for me is please send me your favorite scriptures! I would love to use them at a moments notice when i need them and so i an mark them in my scriptures.

I love you all very much and would love to hear how you all are doing!

Be safe and healthy!

Yours in Fellowship and Love,

Elder Duersch

Stan Theman

Connor