I walked into a different mission

Hello everyone!

It's been a crazy few days, but I absolutely love it here in North St Paul. The Karen (pronounced KaREN) people are amazing. I have never felt such strong love for people so quick. The Karen people come from refugee camps in Thailand and have had a really hard life. Despite all of their challenges, they are the most kind, humble, and generous people. They are so willing to listen to us and they have so much faith. The work in this area is moving along so quick, it's like I've walked into a completely different mission. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be in this area. 

The language is coming along, I always pray for the Gift of Tongues and the Lord is definitely helping me out! Teaching people is interesting because the Book of Mormon hasn't been translated into Karen yet so that makes it super different than what I'm used to! We have a bunch of investigators who are progressing really well and should be getting baptized in the next few months! 

Throughout my mission up to this point I have felt good about the work I've been doing and I felt like I was helping people, but I kept wondering why the Lord called me to Minnesota. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but I wanted to know why I am needed here. It's something that I've been praying about off and on over the last few months, and since I have been in this area working with the Karen people I have truly felt like I needed to come here for them. I have had an overwhelming feeling of love from my Heavenly Father and I know that I'm supposed to be here. God works in mysterious ways and I've learned that we need to trust that He knows what He's doing. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows what's best for us. I love this gospel with all of my heart and I'm so thankful for the knowledge I have of the truth. 

Have a good week!

Enjoy this picture of a porcupine someone had just cooked.

(I asked her where they got the porcupine from and she said they told her they bought it at the store. You can see his little feet in front of the tail!)

I asked her what she thought about the language. She said it's going really well. She learned the alphabet and how to read it last Friday and is now working on the grammar and memorizing words. She told me that they don't teach Karen in the MTC. That's why they are called in the field and taught while on their missions. The Book of Mormon hasn't even been translated into that language yet. I asked her how they teach without the Book of Mormon in their language. She said "We teach them about it, read from it and translate it for them." I asked her if the Karen people had Christian beliefs. She said that most of them arrive in the USA as Baptists because Baptist missionaries preached at all the refugee camps. They do have a Baptist Bible in Karen that they can use, but they have to be very careful about teaching the correct doctrine with it. 

The picture below shows notes she made of the alphabet.

Brooklyn told me not to be alarmed if her bank account dips this week because she needs to buy some Karen clothes and things. It will be interesting to see what those purchases will be! She sent us the picture below of a couple of the Elders in her ward with a member wearing some of their Karen clothing. There are two sets of Karen Elders, one set of English Elders and Brooklyn and her companion in her ward. Sounds like a unique area. 

Brooklyn said her apartment is super cute and they had her study desk all set up with a welcome gift basket for her! Notice how low to the ground their desks are? The Karen people don't use chairs. They eat (without utensils) and teach on the floor. She said if you stretch your legs out that is considered rude. Needless to say her feet are always falling asleep and she's grateful most of her dresses are full and flowy!

Her ward is full of children and youth, which she loves! She said "The Karen people seriously love us so much. The ones I've met like once run up to me and just hug me! Everyone wants to take pictures with us too." 

She only had one picture of her and Sister Fine. I told her to take some more for us! They were both able to attend the Women's Session of Stake Conference last Saturday where Sister Fine translated it for the Karen sisters. Brooklyn said that her companion and her are total opposites but they get along really well and she likes her a lot. She is happy to be learning and working with her.