Diamonds

Our investigator was baptized yesterday!!!! It was the most amazing day
ever. She was baptized after church (we have RS, Sunday School, then
Sacrament Mtg here) and so many members attended and even gave her little
gifts. I am so thankful for how welcoming the ward has been. We even had
another investigator attend church and her baptism! I am so proud of her
testimony and faith. Before she met the missionaries, she heard voices and
didn't like being around people. Now she doesn't hear voices, and she
understands charity so well. Her gospel knowledge and faith is truly
admirable. She is such a strong spirit. I am eternally grateful Heavenly
Father let me meet her and teach and learn from here. My trainer met her
with a sister who is now in a different area, so I am so grateful they
found her in that Hong Kong park a few months ago. It is humbling and
amazing to think about how a simple encounter has changed her life. She is
a different person. The Atonement is real. Baptism is the first step and is
a way we can follow our Savior. I cried when she got baptized and fought
tears as we sang "Nearer My God to Thee, I Need Thee Every Hour, Come
Follow Me and Testimony." And as I said the closing prayer.
One of the most spiritual moments of this week was on Tuesday when we were
walking the familiar path to the bus stop that goes to our church. It
passes this big retaining wall/stone hill with water and greenery flowing
down it. The stone steps had little shards of glass and the sunlight
streamed through the leafs of the trees on the side opposite the wall. All
the sudden the quote from Dieter F. Uchtdorf from this past conference
entered my mind, "We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can
scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles." That quote was just so
incredibly perfect for the moment, and I'm so thankful the Spirit brought
to my memory that beautiful line from an apostle's message to the world. I
looked at the glittering path, and the glowing sunlight and felt so much
hope, joy, and gratitude. It was one of those moments that you feel like
your happiness is like a bubble of joy that can hardly fit in your heart. I
knew that our mortal journey really is a path covered in diamonds,
especially when we have the knowledge of our Heavenly Father's plan of
happiness. I knew that my mission still had a long path before me and that
I had diamonds yet to discover. How lucky are all of us to be children of
such a loving Heavenly Father!?
An older man who works as kind of an assistant to President Lam shared his
testimony with us this past week at Trainer/Trainee meeting this past week.
He has severe tremors that cause even his jaw to tremble, but he is the
most humble, grateful, happy man I have ever met. I loved everything he
said. He served in Hong Kong years ago, before the MTC, before the many
resources missionaries now have. Whenever he speaks of challenges and
trials, he does so reminding us that they are signs of love from Heavenly
Father, and are for our good. I am grateful to see how real that is in his
life-he is an amazing example. Something I really liked that I wrote down
was that he referred to them as "remarkable challenges." Our challenges are
remarkable! They are to mold us into something better. Something more like
our Savior. And in the midst of them, we turn to our Savior with more
purpose and humility and dependence. We need Jesus Christ every hour,
especially in moments of remarkable challenges, surrounded on all sides
with diamonds perhaps now masked as ordinary pebbles. See the diamonds this
week.

--
*Sister Dopp*

It Is About The One

What a week! I have been in Hong Kong for almost 6 weeks and I've finished 3 months of my mission!!! Time is flying!

On Thursday we did Tai Chi with the old women in the park by our apartment. They are so cute and nice! I forgot the keys to the apartment, so five minutes later we ran back. They were all continuing with the dancing and when they saw me they literally all starting pointing and waving and ran to the keys which they had brought up to the front. They were so concerned we forgot them and so kind! One handed me them and patted me on the head. hahahahaha I love these people!

General Conference was definitely the high light of the week! 2 investigators came, and the messages were so inspiring, perfect, and beautiful. I absolutely loved hearing the words of God's apostles, disciples, and Prophet. My testimony of their divine callings has increased so much on my mission. The prophets did so much to prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ. In the scriptures it says so often that He "fulfilled the words of the prophets" and "in Him is the law fulfilled." How amazing that Christ allowed mortals to prepare the way for His atoning life and that today we have a living Prophet that allows us to belong to HIS church. It is truly led by Him.

Jeung Ji Muih is being baptized next week and I could not be more excited!! She came to Conference, bright and early, dressed in a nice dress and blazer, smiling. My heart soared!! She has come SO far! We also had another investigator attend and the members were so welcoming of her!

Some of my favorite talks were Dieter F. Uchtdorf's in Women's Conference. He shared about how missionaries that taught his wife found her on the very last door of the fourth floor. He shared the scripture "Knock and it shall be opened unto you." And how sometimes the doors that are opened are not the direct answers to prayers, or that the last door, fourth floor may have our answers. We need to have faith and keep knocking. He also quoted Little Prince!! "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to physical eyes."

Bonnie L. Oscarson said "Sometimes we just need a greater view of what's possible." I love that! It also reminded me of Kazuhiko Yamashita's talk about "being ambitious for Christ." We really are capable of so much! Because we are children of God, we have the Savior of the world on our side. We can do all things through Christ, who WILL strengthen us.

I also liked Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk in the Sat morning about not taking gospel truths/plan of salvation for granted. "We tract a path covered in diamonds, but sometimes we cannot distinguish them from regular pebbles." That is so true! Pray to Heavenlt Father to notice the diamonds-the things of eternal weight, the tender mercies, the opportunities to serve, the reality of the Atonement. "We are of the royal house of Elohim, the most High God." This statement gave me chills!

And lastly this quote by K. Brett Nattress that made me cry...

The gospel truly is about the one. It is about one lost sheep (see Luke 15:3–7); it is about one Samaritan woman at a well (see John 4:5–30); it is about one prodigal son (see Luke 15:11–32).

And it is about one little boy who might claim he is not listening.

It is about each one of us—as imperfect as we may be—becoming one with the Savior as He is one with His Father (see John 17:21).

I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. For trials and hardships. For my family and friends. Hong Kong is where I am supposed to be.

-Sister Dopp

 Yesterday at General Conference I was overwhelmed with love. I had my
journal out and writing all my notes, and the picture of the family that I
keep inside it. I thought of my investigators, especially Jeung Ji Muih who
loves me and is getting baptized next week, and the missionaries
surrounding me, united in sharing the most important message of the
eternities with others, and of you guys, my eternal family who mean
literally everything to me. It was overwhelming. Like I literally didn't
feel like I could hold so much love in my being. I now understand Nephi
when he said "hath filled me with His love, even unto the consuming of my
flesh." A little graphic if you read it at first, haha but there is no
other way to describe how completely Heavenly Father's love envelops us! I
also understand how Heavenly Father needs to teach us "line upon line",
because there are things we simply couldn't process, understand,
appreciate, or have the capacity to experience.
I love HK and I am starting to love trials.

I Love Living in Hong Kong!

I love living in Hong Kong! This week was amazing!!! We taught our

progressing investigator Jeung Ji Muih, and she is committed to the new

baptismal date for October 16th. She is in Mainland right now, which we are

praying will not slow her progression. Mainland has a reputation for making

investigators lose contact or stop meeting with missionaries. However, my

MTC friend is teaching someone from Mainland this week so they can receive

baptism! They've been taught in Mainland, but will receive all the lessons

on the day of their baptism. What a neat experience and so amazing that the

gospel truly is being preached to EVERY ONE of Heavenly Father's children.

We had a meeting with the bishop this week and he is amazing. He wants to

have a new building house in ten years. This is quite ambitious as property

is expensive here, but he is really confident in the growth in the ward.

The ward is amazing and so faithful. Currently, we meet in an "ABBA

Commercial Building" with lots of random companies and even a Baptist

church on the other floors. It is a huge blessing and fine for now, but I

agree that the ward deserves a larger space with more exposure for the

church and convenience for our deaf members and older members. The bishop

is so kind and motivating. He said "I know you are here for only a short

time, but imagine bringing your children to the new church building, and

saying 'I helped them get here. I was a pioneer in this ward's progress'".

That really made me reflect on what kind of influence I want to have in my

area. Missions are forever, and just thinking about telling my future

children about my service here is exciting, as well as a little

intimidating. We have a big responsibility. I am thankful I have this call,

because God will qualify me for it. Everything I can accomplish is because

of Him, and I know that we have the opportunity to bless the lives of the

people here in Pok Fu Lam!

Our ward is in Aberdeen, and I encourage everyone to look it up! It has a

really cool history and is such an amazing place! I truly love the ward

here. I am looking forward to helping families join the church and

strengthen the ward, and to help the YW here. There are only 3 Young Women

and a couple Young Men. I am so grateful to have had the Crestwood Ward

Young Women, which was blessed with so many wonderful girls and leaders.

But I am also so grateful for the YW here who have so much faith and who

are so willing to go on missions and stand up for their beliefs. I can't

imagine not having the strong support group of LDS friends.

Si Mahng, our newest investigator is so kind and humble. I love sharing my

testimony with her and explaining for the first time to her, who Jesus

Christ is, what Heavenly Father's plan is, and how we can make it back to

His presence. I KNOW our message is true.

We had dinner with President Lam and Sister Lam. We were passing out fliers

at the Welcome Center (We serve there 2 hours a week) and they came and

took all the sisters there to dinner. I got this BBQ pork (called cha siu

faahn) that is very popular here, and it was amazing!!! So yummy! I also

tried "Fairwood" for the first time this week and my life will never be the

same. It is so yummy! Like Panda, but way better. It also has really good

cha siu.

Today we did personal study and bought groceries. Then we're going to

Mongkok to shop. I will try to restrain myself from buying every Oriental

good that catches my eye. hahaha

This week I my testimony of the Plan of Salvation was strengthened. I know

it is true. His plan is perfect. It is a plan of happiness. I shared my

testimony that even though right now I am separated from my earthly father,

who is in Utah, I still know he loves me, and we can communicate through

email. Our Heavenly Father is the same. We were with Him at one time, and

even though we can't see Him, He is there and He loves us. But we can

communicate with Him anytime, through prayer.

Just try to imagine never having heard "Plan of Salvation" or "The gospel

of Jesus Christ" and hearing these lessons for the first time. It is

miraculous! It makes sense. It is amazing. I feel like I am hearing the

gospel for the first time, though the eyes of my investigators.

I know this mortal journey was necessary for our progression. I have never

loved my family more than I do now, because the teachings they taught me

are in practice, I realize how much I desire to make it back to their

presence, and their love is not manifest in seeing them, but just in that

we are an eternal family and we are centered on Christ-on charity.

Christ is the Savior.

I met a stranger in the night, whose lamp had ceased to shine;

I paused and let him light his lamp from mine.

A tempest sprang up later on, and shook the world about,

And when the wind was gone, my lamp was out.

But back came to me the stranger—his lamp was glowing fine;

He held the precious flame and lighted mine."

- Quoted from President Monson

"Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" James 1:22

Be a missionary, an example, a friend, a listener, a disciple this week!

 I think this is the food Golda described last week.

 Lunch with President and Sister Lam

Lam Lam 

Refugees and Children of God

I wish I had more time! This week was amazing. We had 5 more meals with

members! Everyone who welcomed us into their home was so gracious,

wonderful, kind, and made super yummy food!! Last night we went to the

Bishop's house for FHE. We prepared a message on seeking Christ through

studying the words of the prophets and apostles. We are beyond excited to

hear conference, which is broadcast one week later here in China. The

bishop then showed us a video of a 6 year old boy who wrote a letter to

President Obama about a child from Syria. Maybe you've all seen it?? It was

SO touching. I started crying, thinking about all the refugees without

homes.

 I already saw a tiny peek of their lives when I went to the Refugee

Center with my mom to teach preschool. But now I understand first hand the

frustrations of not understanding a foreign language or being able to

explain yourself in your native tongue to others. I understand our identity

as children of God more. It hurts my heart to think of the trials and

hardship they are going through. I am also so grateful that I have the

gospel in my life. That I understand that life really is as simple as the 6-year-old believed it to be. 

God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us so He gave

us a way to return to His presence; Jesus Christ. We can love others and

help them by following our Savior's example. It is beautifully, eternally

simple. Then we watched the Mormon Message about refugees with the voice of

the last Conference talk on refugees. Wow.

Heavenly Father is teaching me such profound, plain gospel truths here.

They are truths that must become part of who we are. Not part of who we

were in His presence, but in a new way. In a way that we intertwine our

inherited divine nature, with this unique mortal experience. We can come to

know our Savior and Father through the veil. We can come to understand them

in a way that we very personally, very painstakingly, and very joyously

experience. Here. On this Earth. In physical bodies, and amidst confusion

and temptation. But we have a personal exemplar and friend to help us grow,

become better. We were sent to a world separated from God's presence, in

order to become more worthy to LIVE in his presence forever. It is amazing

and something I still don't fully comprehend. No matter we rejoiced when we

heard the Plan of happiness!

"Serving God and others persistently with full heart and soul turns

testimony of truth into unbreakable spiritual strength." ~President Erying.

I will write my family the details of this week later today, which should

arrive within two weeks. I sent one a few days ago. We receive letters in

the mission home and then about once a month personally collect them, or

our district leader gets them to us.

I am so happy. I love my family more than I ever have in my life. Heavenly

Father is sculpting my testimony into something so precious and something I

hope I can share with His children. I know this church is true. We have a

living prophet.

Love you all!

-- 

*Sister Dopp*

Also...
​We had 6 meals with members this week!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! We had
yam cha with Ryan and his mom. He was baptized about a year ago and is my
age, his mom is Buddhist and supportive, but not receptive to gospel. But
she took us to a brunch and then to her house after where she gave us a
fan, showed us how to do Chinese caligraphy and let us share a short
message! It was so fun! I tried caviar, and it was not the yummiest thing.
Ew. It was on top of a "fish ball." Also not very good. It's basically
random fish meat all put together and cooked like a meatball. It's very
pink, very slimy, and not cooked all the way. But everything else I really
liked! These mocha type balls filled with black sesame paste and covered in
sesame seeds was probably my favorite. Sweet and so yummy!!

God's Love is Tangible

Our investigator, Jeung Ji Muih) is on track to be baptized October 2!!! I
am so excited and grateful to have been part of her conversion and journey
toward sacred covenants. I am definitely reaping the rewards of past
missionaries, as the first 5 lessons were taught to her long before I got
here. I just get to help her prepare and receive baptism! She is amazing
and I love her so much. I had my first dinner with members last night and
it was DELICIOUS!! The family is so incredibly kind. They have 4 kids (2
boys 2 girls) and one has her call to temple square! Because of Visa
complications, she will serve in HK for up to 3 months though. Look for a
Sister Teng everyone!! They made egg drop soup, beef, pork with carrots and
potatoes, tofu, meatballs, rice, and broccoli and some sort of Chinese
vegetable. And dessert was some sort of magical tried ice cream ball that I
will forever crave. And they gave us mooncakes! Moon cakes are especially
popular right now, as this past week was Mid-Autumn Festival. There were
some lanterns in parks and everyone eats together with family, so it was a
good way to start talking to people! I love when I have an easy
conversation starter :)
I honestly have never been so happy, and I LOVE being a missionary.
We have 2 more dinner appointments, a breakfast appointment, and a ward
dinner this week!!! yay! I'm so thankful, especially since I have spent
almost all my money on buses and will not be buying groceries until
October. I love riding the buses! We see all the boats and ocean daily and
it is so magnificent. We also get to talk to people, practice our
Cantonese, and share our testimonies. A few days ago I started talking to
an older man and handed him a flier. And the next day HE called US and
scheduled a tour of the church!! It's pretty seldom that happens, and I am
so thankful Heavenly Father gave me the courage to talk to him! Even though
a lot of what he said I did not understand haha. Most people hear are
mhdaakhaan or "unavailable" or too busy, no time, etc. But there are people
who are prepared and so many that are looking for the gospel! I'm grateful
to be here where there are SO many people to talk to and introduce to the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My testimony has never been
stronger and I know in my heart and soul that this is right. This is God's
work, we are His children, His love is more tangible and real than we can
ever comprehend. I just can't articulate how amazing or true it is, but the
words in the Book of Mormon can. Read the Book of Mormon every day. I
PROMISE you will find power, strength, and answers in it. Help the ward
missionaries in any way you can! They need it and are incredibly thankful
for it! Everyone needs the gospel and it is only something the Holy Ghost
can confirm and Christ can extend. Just like judgment is not ours to give,
neither is charity. We are commanded to love everyone, and we can if we ask
for His help. "If there is someone to be served or helped, Christ will
prepare the way before you." Trust God and strive to develop charity toward
everyone around you. We don't understand how blessed we are to have the
gospel. It is precious. Share it! Love you all!!!

--
*Sister Dopp*

So Happy!

Sister Gomez and Sister Dopp

I LOVE HONG KONG!
This week has been absolutely amazing! So much better than last week, and
basically just the best.
Hong Kong is beautiful and I love riding the bus every day and talking to
people and looking out over HK. The people are the most interesting people
I've ever met, and I love them. We had 3 investigators at church
yesterday!!! One has a baptismal date for October 2 so pray she keeps
attending church so she can be baptized then! I'm so excited for General
Conference! I think it will help our investigators and all the missionaries
so much! I practiced teaching the Restoration this week and I can now do it
all in Cantonese! My trainer is an amazing teacher and I'm so grateful for
all the help and patience she's given me. 

We also had 20 people at English
class!!! Sister Gomez and I taught and the theme was "A Night at the
Museum." haha. We had a bunch of museum vocabulary and had groups design
their dream museum. People's view of museum is a lot more broad than I was
expecting hahaha. The last group's spokesmen was a teenage girl and she
stands up and says "Our museum is a gun museum. It would have rifles....."
She then proceeds to list a dozen or so different guns. "Also, it would
have knifes." I was dying from laughing to myself. It was so unexpected.
Then another grown man was talking, and his friend said something I
couldn't hear, and he was like "You looked so funny! Like what the H. E.
*double hockey sticks* are we doing here?" Of all the little English he
knew, he knew that phrase! hahaha oh goodness
 
Anyway, this week has been awesome. Even though I have so much to improve,
especially in my language skills, I have already seen how much Heavenly
Father has blessed, comforted, and helped me. The gospel is amazing and
having 3 hours to study it every day is such an amazing privilege. I am
learning so much, and I know the church is true. It is a sure knowledge. I
know that Christ understands and loves ALL of us.

We taught a lesson yesterday to an older couple. We sang "I Believe in
Christ" in Chinese and I got all teary-eyed. We are teaching such simple,
glorious truths to souls who have not heard or accepted them. Lost,
troubled, tired souls who need their Savior. And I get to be the way they
come to believe in Christ. Even if they don't accept it in my time here, I
know that introducing and testifying of the gospel is something they will
always remember, because the gospel is eternal, and they once knew these
plain and precious truths. So in the lesson with the older couple, the old man was willing to say the closing prayer and he began "Tinfu! Tinfu!" Which means "Heavenly Father! Heavenly Father!" It was so simple and humble and child-like and I started crying.  We are so lucky to have a Father in Heaven we can talk to whenever we want to.

I'm sorry this email is so short and unorganized and poorly written. just
know I can feel the prayers and I pray for my family in every single prayer
I say throughout the day. The gospel is true. Come unto Christ. Do your
best. Allow Christ to make your best, better. Be grateful.
*Sister Dopp*

Hello from the Other Side!

I am in HONG KONG! The flight was smooth, and I am in an area called Pok Fu
Lam. It is on Hong Kong island and our apartment is outside our actual
area. We take a lot of buses and the MTR. The busses are so nice because
you can see Hong Kong, and they're air conditioned! I am most surprised at
how much AC there is here-all stores and buildings usually blast it. Our
apartment is tiny and has an AC unit. We can use 2 hours of our unit AC a
week, and then use it all night. So sometimes it gets hot, but it's not
bad!
So my first few days were spent in a trio. Basically a big
miscommunication. But it was fun to see an experienced companionship in
practice. Sister Perry (Sister Gomez' old companion) has really good
Chinese, so it was motivating to be with someone who has worked so hard at
the language. Sister Gomez is my companion and she's awesome!! She went to
a year at Princeton and was on the rowing team. She's from Florida and has
been out for 6 months. President and sister Lam are super nice. They are
pretty relaxed and a little reserved. Very easy to talk to and believers of
common sense, hard work, and exact obedience. I don't think I'll see them a
ton. We had zone conference right when I got there, so that was fun. We had
really good food and the Assistants to the President prepared really good
training sessions on teaching repentance, humility, and sacrifice.
Cantonese is really hard, but I have already talked a bit in lessons, and I
have faith that heavenly Father will help me learn exponentially. The ward
is awesome! Some of the youth helped us with Chinese yesterday after church
and they're really nice. One has a call to the Temple Square mission!!
We have 3 progressing investigators and 2 with baptismal dates. But here
they have to attend 5 out of 6 sacrament meetings in a row, so one of them
keeps moving the date back because she can't wake up for 9 am church. I
really think it will happen though!
I taught a woman named Lowina this week. They've been meeting with here for
a few weeks, and she is Buddhist. She loves learning about Jesus, but
doesn't believe she can change because she is Buddhist. It is really
confusing and sad. It's like there is a literal barrier in her mind against
changing. I almost started crying teaching her because she is older and we
were teaching gospel dispensations. We had simple laminated pictures to
explain the gospel truths, and I just felt so grateful, humbled, and felt
so much love for her. Here was a child of God, who knew this all before,
but has not had it in her life. She has experienced so much confusion and
sadness, and if she could just accept our message, her life would change! I
could just see her in heaven, accepting Christ as her Savior, and hoping
she would find him again in mortality. And she has! We just need to help
her see that she CAN change. Pray for a miracle!
Missions are definitely not for sissies. This is the hardest thing I have
ever done. And sometimes 16 months seems like a REALLY long time. But I
just take it one day at a time and rely on Heavenly Father. Elder Holland
said "Man's extremities are God's opportunity." I know this is true! It's a
leap of faith leaving everything I've ever known, living in a tiny
apartment in an area I hardly know, speaking a language I've studied for 2
months, being rejected hourly, and not always understanding much. But it's
so worth it to be a representative of Christ, to be humbled, to be taught,
and to take this amazing message to people that need it so much. Love you
all!! The church is true. So many have sacrificed for it! Study, live, and
love it. CHARITY NEVER FAILETH

--
*Sister Dopp*

 Also, group continued...
We went to a ward/stake music concert and it was hilarious. A bunch of the
songs were in English and I felt like I was in 8th grade choir again. Like
a bunch of young women and leaders were singing and doing these dance moves
that can only be described as junior high glory. And then this Chinese guy
walks up and starts singing "I Had a Dream" from Mama Mia! I don't know if
that's what it's called, but it's sung by the mom and I could not even
contain myself. I had to try so hard not to laugh at loud hahaha! Then they
did the prophet primary song and had the kids dressed as prophets and it
was the funniest thing I've ever seen! hahahaha. Sister Perry before the
concert was like "I am so excited. And a little nervous. I don't know what
it is about Chinese people.....but they are just not created to sing."
hahahahaha she is right

I also met a couple from Britain in the church building before the concert.
His parents are Irish, and he lived in Hong Kong, South Africa, and
Britain. His wife was British and her accent was the heaviest English
accent I'd ever heard! It was beautiful!! His dad was like "I think we've
met!" and I was like "I arrived here yesterday, so I don't think so" and he
was like "Oh, well all white people look the same anyway!" lol! We didn't
even know them, but they welcomed us to the reception and gave us some
food. They were honeymooning and meeting the ward members here that he grew
up with.

Sorry this is all so random and I don't have time to reread and edit!
Love you all! I need your prayers!

--
*Sister Dopp*