Well, I'm STAYING HERE!...week 54

So I got moves calls last night and...Elder Love and I are going into our third transfer together. This will be my 5 and 6 months here and Elder Love will be going on 10! Elder Love is probably going to stay forever.

So we have Sunny Yeung Who will be leaving on the 6th of September for his mission to Toronto Canada. We had a very touching experience exchanging ties with him. He's such a diligent kid already. He'll make an AMAZING missionary!

Note from Mom:  I asked Ian about the pin on his right lapel in this picture.  He said, "I told a bishop that I read the Book of Mormon (again) and he said "oh, then you need one of these. Tell the youth that they get it when they finish the Book of Mormon." He's the best.

Because we were expected by everyone in the ward to be moving out, we were fed by QUITE a few families these past couple weeks. One was with the Siu Family. The old man in the back right is coolest guy ever. He had a stroke when he was young and has a struggle walking. He made his wife's ring with his own two hands, and it is a FANCY ring! Their daughter sabrina is fifteen and, like the rest of hong kong, probably has a secret crush on Elder Love. That visit was fun. We told them we weren't sure if we were moving or not though.

Finally, last week we all had pizza and probably the only place in China that has FREE REFILLS! We had a party and Elder Stone (the one making a funny face) is new to the district, but he came here with me, so I know everyone in the mission pretty much because 25 of them came with me.

We have an investigator that we have met with EVERY SINGLE DAY and she is READY for baptism. She is in a homeless shelter right now, but she is almost ready to buy a home. She is divorced, and she is the happiest lady you have ever met. She described her homelessness as "the challenging path that led her to the missionaries and her Father in Heaven." You can't get more prepared that that here! I'll get a picture next week!

Zone Conference is coming up, and we also have moves this week with a few new missionaries coming in. Hopefully everyone finds their way in an orderly fashion (like that ever happens).

This is Elder Guinn. He is the other zone leader in the Tolo Harbour zone. He is also staying with us, and he will, at the end of this transfer, have been a year in his area. It's ridiculous. It's also funny how some members will tell him that they are praying for him to leave (they say they want him to have more experience, but we all know what they REALLY mean).

Additional notes from Mom:  Sister Poon (Annie Fong) continues to send pictures during the week.  She sent these this week so I will add them here!

Pictures and such...week 53

Lot's of stuff happened this week. 3NEW INVESTIGATORS as a miracle from heavenly father as a blessing for the intense focus that we put this week into our work. I'll just describe these pictures as quick as possible.

1. Brother Lee is still working on the quitting smoking. He have him down to 2 a week now! He's working so hard and we are so proud of his efforts despite the resistance from coworkers.

2. We are getting closer and closer to mainland China in our finding. We probably should stop that. It's just so pretty in this area though.

3. This kid is a super cool guy from the ward. 16 years old. His name is Samuel. He loves Music and Soccer. He's a fantastic singer, and Elder Love and I are prepping with him to perform for his parents who until this point have refused to meet with the missionaries!

We thought the Second Coming was happening. It actually just turned out to be 3 new investigators in the same 2 hours! Success and a good background!

Notes from Mom:  Ian got his suit finished and sent us a couple of pictures.  It's very blue!  He said told Ana that it fits better than anything he's ever owned.  I see more suits in our future.  

EEFY and Zone Training...week 52

This week was a party. The ward activity that we had this week for the youth of our ward was SO successful! We have SO many high potential investigators that will be coming out of it, and half of them are youth! It definitely took a lot of work and all the missionaries definitely had to come out of their box for it. Allow me to tell you just a few of the activities that we had:

A water fight re-enactment of the revolutionary war, a boat making competition, Jeopardy, blindfolded driving test competition (no cars, but it was fun to watch people crash as they tried to instruct each other to do driving maneuvers in a language they hardly knew. We got them all to sing the star spangled banner, we had a scavenger hunt, olympic relays and competitions, the list goes on...

You had to be there for most of it, but the pictures do an okay job of describing it.

The Zone Leaders also had an AMAZING Zone Training this week. We had the summer missionaries there, so we were able to use their language expertise to our advantage in demonstrations and roleplaying. It was very interactive, and up to this point in the month, the missionaries are keeping their commitments to the best of their abilities. The missionaries here are amazing!

This is all the missionaries that participated in the EEFY activity as well as our ward mission leader Sunny who will be leaving on the sixth of September for his mission to Canada!

Finally, the results of this weeks efforts (because we still had the same amount of lessons this week even though many hours were taken by EEFY and Zone Training) were DOUBLE the amount of investigators at church, almost double the Less Actives at church, and quite a few very excited missionaries! Blessings from heaven have never been more welcome than now!

Funny story: We are walking home after a long and successful night of finding. We think very little difference of the young man with his arm around two girls and smiling like a punk. We are just about to pass them when he says "Hey, I'm from Utah!" ...uh, okay, good job?..wait, you're here though, and you speak English. wait...what!? He describes how he (Ed), was studying in UVU recently and just got a job in Hong Kong. He's originally from Korea (which explains a lot about why he would have multiple girls with him at the same time because hong kong girls are ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH KOREAN BOYS! It's scary how bad it is), and he has no idea how to speak cantonese. He said that his parents are members, but he himself has not gone to church for quite a while. We invited him, he said no, and we have him our number just in case before heading out (we almost got home late because of it!).

Less on the Funny side: I was reading in Moses this week, when I felt a prompting to go back to the first chapter. I skimmed it over, but I felt like I needed to go deeper. I read the chapter and when I reached verse 35, I felt what was intended for me that day during personal study. "But all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them." The spirit was strong. I cannot describe it in writing, but suffice it to say that I was taken aback. I simply reveled in the peace and comfort for what seemed like hours, though it was only about 10 minutes. I just kept hearing it over and over in my heart: "you are mine, and I know you." I already knew it, but my Father was merciful to tell me over and over again, minute after minute, that I was HIS! Raw knowledge of divine nature just seemed to be pouring into me. Now I feel like I want to share that with EVERYONE! That feeling is more priceless than any worldly gift! This I testify, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Bonus post for week 51!

The email for Sister Poon (Annie Fong) ended up being a gold mine!  She sent me a link to the Sheung Shui ward's Facebook page where there was video and photos of the missionaries and various activities.  I have been so touched by the members where Ian is serving.  They are so kind and so generous.  I don't know how I will ever be able to repay these people for their thoughtfulness to my son.  Here are some of the photos she linked me to.  Some of these are from EEFY and some are from a ward talent show.  The first are from Father's Day back in June.

These next photos were posted on Facebook May 31 as an advertisement for free English classes.  

After church May 29, 2016.

  The remainder are from a couple of events.  On Facebook, the talent show entitled "A Midsummer Night's Music Gala" was held August 7.  Then there was a zone conference as well as an EEFY.  Perhaps those are one in the same, but here are several pictures.

This was taken at a member's home (maybe Sister Poon) on August 9, 2016.

The pictures keep coming.  Kim Love, Zac Love's mom, sent me some photos that were taken of Ian and her son.  "Here are some photos that our family friends sent to us. The Chans are serving at the Hong Kong Temple. They are a wonderful couple from Canada."  These were taken Monday, August 15, 2016.  Ian had this to say:  Here are some pictures from Elder Love's friends that we ate with last week. They are Canadian and therefore super nice. It was delicious and full of freshly cooked fish!