I'll Be Home for Christmas

We went to dinner with Tim and Ann at a fancy dim sum place and had the best goose I have ever had. Also, Tim and Ann are like my Hong Kong parents. They are so kind and love taking pictures of us and feeding us amazing food. I cannot wait for December 24th when Tim gets baptized!!!!

So our church is under renovation so we use the back door and we can't use the password anymore because the Elders' teenage investigator would always find it out and sneak in and play ping pong. So...we use keys now and only a handful of people have keys. So we unlock it for people sometimes. One morning we were doing personal study and hadn't gotten ready yet (Because we live with 6 sisters and can't all get ready at once) when a member called. So we threw on skirts, thinking we'd come right back. But then she invited us to breakfast! We just laughed sitting there eating our eggs, sweet bread, and honey chicken and Ovaltine drinks with our messy hair. 

THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Was perhaps one of the best days of my life. Sisters Magleby and Briggs were also in charge of stuffing, so we made it together. We were ripping pieces of bread and putting them in trash bags with spices to sit overnight. And....it was all worth it. Our stuffing was amazing. It was pretty funny bringing the food on the MTR. We had Thanksgiving lunch with our whole Zone and it was just picture perfect. So many friends, good food, ping pong, games, gratitude. I just felt like I was with "my people." Sister Johnson and I had not eaten that much food in....the whole time together. hahahha It's a good reintroduction to American portions and food. Anyway, we also went around a circle and said what we were most grateful for in Hong Kong. I said the temple. The Hong Kong temple is one of the few in Asia, and so it serves a vast majority of the world population. It's been neat to see the families that come here and the sacrifices they make. 

I also had my departure interview with President Lam. I will miss President Lam and Sister Lam SO much. President Lam is THE most Christ-like person I have ever met. His wisdom, devotion, and grasp of the gospel is so inspiring. He is always calm and happy and peaceful. Just his being is a good example of the blessings that come from living the gospel. 

So....we also had the Annual Thanksgiving Party for our ward. It's a big deal. And we were put in charge of making a piñata. (And mashed potatoes. I learned that Chinese people really don't know how to make mashed potatoes)  So after the initial turkey piñata activity to make it with the primary kids, we had to do another coat, and then we couldn't find paint ANYWHERE and had to buy brown paper and do another coat. And so it turned out pretty hard. In the end, a kid snapped a wooden broom stick on the piñata and it almost hit someone, and they had to unplug the hole and dump the candy on the floor. I actually didn't see any of this because we had 7 investigators, 3 nonmember families, and some friends of members. It was pretty chaotic. Oh, I forgot, we were also in charge of the 10 minute performance. So, I read a scripture from Alma, all the missionaries bore their testimonies, then we all sang For the Beauty of the Earth, then did the Virginia Reel. It was one of the funniest things teaching the Elders the Virginia Reel prior to that day. They did a good job! 

On Thanksgiving night we went to a YSA activity with our investigator Yui. We watched 17 Miracles, and I realized all the miracles that I have seen on my mission. There are many. 

Transfer calls! I will be transferred to Utah. And Sister Johnson's new companion is Sister Scott!!!! They were in the same MTC group, and I think they'll be a fabulous companionship. 

So...I am trying to be as normal as possible, but I am leaving this Friday. I still haven't come to terms with it, and it has been SO hard saying goodbyes here. Even harder than coming here, because I don't know if I will see some of the people again. I feel like I am leaving another family. 

But, I guess Heavenly Father wants the next chapter of my life to begin, and I have to continue to put my trust in Him. I will share more at my Homecoming, so for now, just a small thought, and then I will see everyone in Utah!

My 17 Miracles...

~1~Learning Cantonese. The Gift of Tongues is real, and it is hard to describe the experience of receiving it. 

~2~Being trained in the prettiest area: Pok Fu Lam. And my wonderful trainer Sister Gomez

~2~Meeting 2 girls from Mainland in waterfall park and teaching them who God and Jesus Christ are as the sun set on the ocean

~3~Teaching Tim and hearing about his Christmas Eve baptismal date

~4~Seeing Daphne testify of the Book of Mormon to a new friend a few weeks after she was baptized. 

~5~Learning who the Savior is and how much I need him

~6~Really understanding and knowing that we are ALL children of God

~7~Hearing Jeung Ji Muih say that she knows God lives

~8~Finding 12 investigators in one month

~9~Seeing Emma's brother and mom support her at her baptism

~10~Giving a Book of Mormon to an Atheist who was briefly traveling through Hong Kong and knowing the Holy Ghost testified of my testimony as we sat in that little bus

~11~Being companions with Sister Johnson. 

~12~Every single time I gave someone a Book of Mormon or shared my testimony

~13~My love for my family growing, across oceans and thousands of miles

~14~Hearing Yui tell me that she will never stop praying and that we helped her achieve her dreams and planning an American road trip with her

~15~Heavenly Father teaching me to notice the diamonds among the pebbles on every path

~16~All the butterflies that I saw and being reminded that I am surrounded by angels

~17~Experiencing conversion.

This has been the biggest blessing of my entire life. I can't say the smallest part of what I feel. I love this gospel. I love Hong Kong. I love the people here. I know God is a God of Miracles. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet, who restored Christ's original church. I know my family is eternal. I know Heavenly Father is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is merciful and kind and patient. I know Christ lives. 

Halloween in Hong Kong

The Halloween party was a success! Our investigator did our makeup and....she really, well, did our makeup. I don't think I have ever had so much makeup on my face. We supposed to be Ana and Elsa, but we looked more like their scary Zombie versions. At least it was Halloween :)

We made SO many cookies. We thought quadrupled the recipe would be enough, and it was more than enough. We just laughed as we placed pan after pan on the Hong Kong-sized platers. People liked them though!

We had Mission Tour with Elder Evans of the Asia Area Seventy! It was absolutely amazing!!!!! I don't have my notes, but one of the quotes that I loved is "I don't have a solution for you, but I have a principle." This is so so so important to life! I am thankful for that truth. Heavenly Father's perfect plan includes opposition for a reason. He gives us problems to solve and all the ways to do it. Just remember that the first principle of the gospel is Faith in Jesus Christ.

Also, this week I got sick! I jinxed myself because las week I was thinking how lucky I was that I have never gotten sick on my mission. Thursday I slept a lot and my amazing companion called people, studied, and read me a Christmas book during dinner. She is so so so kind. I am feeling much better.

During Sister Johnson's epic call session, she scheduled a lady named Kelly. We met her on Saturday, and she was so excited to see us again! She remembered the missionary from 3 years ago who contacted her, so we helped her find her Facebook, and took pictures to show the returned missionary. Anyway, Kelly has recently gotten really into this practice called Falun Gong, so we heard a lot about this complex, Buddhist philosophy and way of life. If you think Bible Bashing is rough, try Buddhist bashing in Cantonese. Except Buddhism is really accepting, and Kelly is especially accepting. So whatever we share, they believe! But they also believe in Buddha. She kept telling us "thank your God for arranging us to meet!" I can't really describe that meeting, but I am just thankful we believe in absolute truth and I just love Kelly. 

Saturday was a power day! We met with lots of people and Sister Johnson ate dove! I know I maybe should have, but I kept thinking about how he Holy Ghost descended in the form of a dove, and it was just weird, and ya....hahahahahhaha

Yesterday was my last fast Sunday here and it was sad. I bore my testimony and read Alma 29:9, my mission scripture, out of a character Book of Mormon. No ping yam! Granted, I had it mostly memorized, but still! I cried of course. I KNOW the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

We watched a Face2Face Devotional last night from our USB, and it was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland leading it. In his closing testimony, he shared his three favorite titles of the Savior.

1-Bright and Morning Star

2-The High Priest of Good Things to Come

3-Alpha and Omega

I know the Savior is everything he said he is. I know he fulfilled everything his Father asked of him. I know he lives, today. I am thankful for all the good things to come in the following four weeks here, and the rest of my life as a missionary of Jesus Christ. "He is the beginning and end for me." ~Jeffrey R. Holland

Kindness

This week was filled with....

~Realising Hong Kong lacks regular frosting, cookie mix, and basically anything necessary for a Halloween party that American teenage girls know how to throw

~Finding everything we needed anyway, in a sub-par, very creative sort of way. hahahha No really this is going to be a fantastic party! We have face paint, cookies, doughnuts, candy, games, and music. I personally cannot wait to see Hong Kong parents rocking out to Thriller. (Especially because they love singing and Ls and Rs are really hard to say)

~The Primary Program!!!!!! It was amazing. One family brought 3 other families who had never been to church before! I was so impressed with the kids' preparation and spirit. One song in particular made me feel the Spirit and brought tears to my eyes. They sang Love One Another and on one of the verses, they switched to English. I didn't even realise they switched languages until about half way through the chorus. And they signed it! Seeing sign language made me so happy and a bit emotional. In Pok Fu Lam ward, there are deaf members, many of whom were so willing to teach the missionaries. Even though I don't know a ton of sign language, I love love love HK sign language. It brings everything I love in one: Cantonese, dance, communication, and learning. When I danced in FHE the other week, using the sign for atonement made me so happy....feelings you can only describe in Cantonese and dance and sign language! Anyway, the primary program was amazing. And we got to take the sacrament for the first time in 3 weeks! Typhoon, General Conference, and Stake Conference happened all in a row!

~Last P day was sooooo hot! We went hiking with an investigator for about 3 hours. The view was breathtaking though. We could see Repulse Bay and the ocean reaching out, exceeding in its horizontal expanse the verticality of all the buildings. We then went to the beach after our hike and took about 170 pictures with Yui's tripod. hahahahaha Sister Johnson and I were laughing about how that day we were the people on the beach that we would have made fun of. Yui is a fan of all things 7th grade pinterest. It was actually really fun! #sisters4ever! 

~My adorable companion made me the most meaningful, kind planner cover. It's my last one. I cried when she gave it to me.

~We came up with themes for each of these last 6 weeks. This week's was Be Among the People. We tried to embrace and love the culture and people more than ever. We spent time in the park listening to a 79 year old man playing his homemade flute, cleaning the pier and handing out hundreds of fliers along the way, and talking to everyone about questions we felt would really resonate with the Hong Kong people. This morning on the MTR here, I met Philip and Eerie. Phillip grew up in Florida but spoke Cantonese fluently. I asked them if they were religious. If they believed there was any possibility God existed. And if He did, how He'd communicate with them. Philip said maybe through dreams. Eerie said maybe dreams, but probably through not normal ways. Then Philip asked me how God communicated with me. I can't really explain and retranslate what I said, but I know the Spirit brought to my mind and helped me explain prayer, faith that someone was listening, scripture, good feelings that I know come from God because He created us and the universe, and knowing that He exists because when I follow Jesus Christ, I see positive results in my life. They seemed interested and I sensed an almost tangible light spark in that cool MTR car. Even though I don't often have the privilege of seeing the MTR people again to teach them, Sister Johnson once told me that Elder Nelson promised the missionaries here that the "Questions [we] ask the people of Hong Kong will keep them up at night." When she shared that with me a few weeks ago, I got teary eyed. Sometimes it seems like a drop in the ocean, the meaningful conversations I try to have with people on public transportation. But if I can smile at someone, allow someone to see Christ's name, ask a question that prompts thought and soul-searching, I feel fulfilled. In a small way, I helped one of my brothers and sisters consider eternity. In a place that mortality can seem stifling and like a dead end.

I am grateful that because of the gospel there are not dead ends!

Speaking of which, repentance is why that is true. Sister Johnson and I learned a lot about repentance this week. We are both intense perfectionists. Which makes contentment and happiness something we have to seek, and somewhat of a rarity. We aren't even quite satisfied with our offering. But this week we learned and taught each other that mercy and patience is something Heavenly Father has. Perfectly. And He wants us to develop that as well. For everyone. Including ourselves. If we were perfect, that would be a dead end. We can always get better. And that is hope! Not condemnation. Not being not enough. Jesus Christ is the only perfect person, because he didn't even commit a sin of omission. He literally did everything for all of us. We CANNOT do that. So we can only be perfect in him. I am thankful for that! As Elder James (the previous older assistant to Pres. Lam) said "We are dependent beings. We are mere mortals." 

My word this week was Prince of Peace. I know Christ lives. I see everything around me as evidence of that. It brings everything to life. We can only truly live when we are in his service. He is the bread of life. The light and life of the WORLD! I hope you can imagine how much I am smiling right now standing in the Central Apple store. I believe this!!!!!!!!!!

As you read this, imagine adorable Chinese kids singing this and signing the lyrics...

Love one another

As Jesus loves you.

Try to show kindness

In all that you do.

Be gentle and loving

In deed and in thought,

For these are the things 

Jesus taught. 

Kindness is in the way you live. Heavenly Father sent His son to show us how to live, and to live forever in wholeness.

I love you all! Love one another!

Getting "Shot"

What a week! Here are some highlights.....

-We got shot. We couldn't come to the mission home when the nurse was there, so my mission president gave them to us. Don't worry, he's a doctor. Sister Johnson helped me not pass out by reading the letter from my dad we'd just picked up from the mail area. 

-TRANSFERS! We just finished our 9 week transfer! I can't believe all transfers used to be that long when I first came here. Sister Johnson made me my last planner, and it's adorable. I will send pictures next week. 

-SISTER BRIGGS lives with me!!!!!!!!! She is my MTC companion, and her companion, Sister Magleby, is also from our group. We three are so so so happy to be together. I love them.

-We have 2 babies in our zone! They are both from England and very nice.

-We taught a guy named Tom whom we met while moving last week

-We moveddddd! We swapped apartments with the elders, because we now have 6 people in ours, and they only have 3. So we have the biggest, nicest apartment in the mission! It is nice, except....

-Our washer is broken. With all the towels we use to clean trapped inside of it. As far as cleaning is concerned, we have been driving the struggle bus this week

-Stake conference! It was amazing! I wrote down every single word I didn't know in my word book and have like 9 pages. It makes language study so exciting to look them up and ask natives. 

-We took a big bus to stake conference because it was kind of far away (I don't really know why seeing as HK's public transport is amazing) and it was beautiful! The views were spectacular. On the way back we sat next to the bishop's little son, who loves us, and he held my finger the whole way home. 

-Family Home Evening last night! Yui our investigator came and had a great time. We are going hiking with her today. There was SO much good food, and I can't describe how fun it is. People of all ages in a small apartment, playing games and laughing and discussing the gospel...all in Cantonese. My favorite language.

-Last P day we went to Big Buddha. It was seriously the neatest thing ever! We took the cable cars, and admired the view of the airport, all of HK, and the lush green mountains. And of course, the Big Buddha himself. We met Jenny, a girl from Australia who lives in London and works for E-bay. And a couple from Israel, and a mom and son from India. The mom told me about the Portuguese influence of a part of India and how they brought Christianity, and so her family is 4 or 5 generations Christian! 

-This week my word was Our All, from the hymn Redeemer of Israel...

1. Redeemer of Israel,

Our only delight,

On whom for a blessing we call,

Our shadow by day

And our pillar by night,

Our King, our Deliv’rer, our all!

As a missionary, I have truly learned that Jesus Christ is my all. And through loving the people, I have learned that he is OUR all. He is the Savior of us all. In the MTC, I remember singing this hymn and thinking about how he becomes our pillar by night. I thought about how trials help us more fully have his help and rely on him. I don't think I noticed all the subtle shadows of him leading, guiding, and walking beside me before my mission. His hand was so apparent in my life. His hands are always extended in invitation, even though they are scarred. He always remembers me, and I am thankful I know how I can try to always remember him. There is so much meaning in the gospel, and I could go on and on about why he is our all, but the most important thing is that he is there. He knows all, can do all, and has given his all for all of us to be happy, and eventually, to receive all the blessings he and Heavenly Father have.

No Letter This Week

Golda spent all of her email time corresponding with me about her UVU registration, so she could register for classes. It's hard with such limited time. I'm not much help. It's all complicated and I've never done it before, but I think she has what she needs.

The Author and Finisher of My Faith

This week my word was "The author and finisher of my faith." I love that title of the Savior, and it helped me remember that everything is of and through and because of Jesus Christ. Including my faith and conversion and path of discipleship.

This week was Mid Autumn and we got so many moon cakes! It was such fun to see the lanterns everywhere, ask people how they were going to celebrate, and eat LOTS of good food. On Saturday we were invited to 2 dinners, so we had a really late lunch and a really early dinner, haha. The first meal was with members who invited us after General Conference. It was at a posh Vietnamese restaurant and the food was amazing! Seriously, maybe the best meal I have ever had. Then we went to another awesome restaurant with an investigator which was also delicious. 

We invited three people to baptism this week and they all accepted!! So exciting!!! 

Also, I cut my own hair this week. With scissors you should probably not cut your own hair with. Sister Johnson helped me at the end when she noticed it was a bit uneven. I am surprised it wasn't worse, I just pulled it over my shoulders and eyed it and was not very patient with the quality of snips. hahahah But I saved some money! 

We went to the temple this week which was so peaceful. I cannot describe the temple's feelings of wholeness and hope and eternal perspective, but I am grateful for it. 

I also danced this week at Family Home Evening! Last Monday night Sister Johnson convinced me to prepare a ballet/modern solo do go with our spiritual message. So I took our dinner time, chose a Mormon Message for music, and choreographed a few seconds. It was going to be one minute, but I ended up dancing for more than 2, because dancing full out in the church and dancing in our tiny apartment is a bit different. It was so good to dance like that again. I haven't danced in 15 months, and my legs were shaking after! I used a few HK Sign Language signs I learned in Pok Fu Lam for a motif. It was reaffirming to feel like I was using all my talents to do missionary work. I am thankful for my healthy body and my mom who made dance classes possible. 

General Conference was amazing! I loved that Dieter F Uchtdorf said "This is your great adventure."

This life is so exciting! It is our great adventure back home! We all have stories of worth, potential, and joy! And Jesus Christ can be the author if we let him. 

Yesterday we also had a baptism in the ward! The Elders' investigator A-Ben got baptized! About 100 people came to support, including a Seventy and the mission president and his wife. It was so lovely. A-Ben is a big singer, kind of famous in HK, and he sang with a big choir. The choir is what helped him learn about the church. They sang "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus," and Ben had a solo at the beginning. It was so spiritual, especially because what he was doing that day was following the Savior's example and being baptized! I of course cried. The baptism was so good, Ben was emotional as he stepped into the font, and you could see his sincerity and reverence. His friend from Aberdeen ward baptized him. Then Sister Johnson and I were able to share the message of the Restoration while A-Ben changed clothes. The Spirit was so strong, especially as I shared the First Vision. The Spirit confirmed to my heart that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God. I loved looking into people's eyes, sharing the experience that began a magnificent restoration of eternal truths and of Christ's original church. The Cantonese came and I felt so joyful testifying of things I have learned through personal experience are true. I love Cantonese and the people of Hong Kong.

The church is true!

Goals and Miracles

WE GOT OUR GOAL OF 12 NEW INVESTIGATORS!

It was truly a miracle.

A girl had seen our church building before and looked online and found what time it started and came by herself, and brought her little brother! That doesn't happen in Hong Kong! Then after, she was like, When can we meet? Do you need my number?

We had been working on our goal so hard, but we missing 4 people, so before church we walked around a park and invited everyone to church. No one came, but then that girl and her brother came, and a former investigator we had met with earlier came, and our member referral came! The member referral is our member's older sister, who attends another ward. We were so excited! And then we had a potluck after church that night, and the siblings came! A member from another ward even brought new nonmember friends because they were in the area. We got to take a picture together and I used the 4 words I know in Mandarin :) They were from Mainland.

I bore my testimony yesterday and felt the spirit so strongly. I know the church is true. My word this week was the Good Shepherd.

Gotta go! Great week!