International missionaries have the best job ever...week 73

I will try to describe the system of the international Hong Kong District. First, the situation:

There are approximately 400 active Filipino and Indonesian active members that attend in the Wan Chai chapel (FYI, there are actually four chapels in this building). These workers have very difficult schedules and only one day per week off (usually not on Aunday). If I am not mistaken, they are the only members in the world that are allowed by the first presidency to change the Sabbath to a different day other than Sunday.

Therefore, we have almost daily worship services (except on Mondays). Because there are almost no priesthood brethren except for the full time branch presidency for this branch (called Victoria 2nd branch), Elder Aldridge and I are assigned to administer the sacrament every Sunday. We do not attend the other meetings that they have. There are then the Victoria 1st and Island 1st and 2nd branches that meet on Sundays. Island 1 and 2 meet at 1:30 on Sundays, so we can only make it to one every other week to administer the sacrament to these two sacrament meetings. We rotate with members of other wards and branches, whichever priesthood brethren are available at the time. The Victoria 1st ward is all of the people that speak fluent English and are able to come on Sunday. Because this branch meets at 9 am, there are not too many Filipino members here. It's mainly other races: American, English, Russian, French, etc...Mainly white people or American born Chinese people. We have a couple of African American families as well. I hope this is clear enough. I am literally super-ultra-active in attending my church meetings. Don't worry though, I will still attend all of my meetings when I'm done too.

I will probably be finishing here. I didn't know this before, but I will also be learning Indonesian in addition to Tagalog and RE learning fluent English. My adaptor is somewhere in the depths of my suitcase (too busy to unpack fully so far...) so no pictures today. I will only be with Elder Aldridge for five weeks and then he finishes his mission. I will probably be finishing my mission in this area. That's what has happened to the last ten or so elders that have been sent here.

Have a great week! GO TO CHURCH! You should feel privileged to have it so available. These sisters have sacrificed everything. They have been abandoned by their families, husbands have been unfaithful, and so much wrong has been done. They come faithfully to church though because the gospel is literally the only thing that they have working for them!

Notes from Mom:  Last week after we heard from Ian I asked more quesitons so he could clarify this week what his assignment is. I was impressed by his faith/hope that he expressed at the end of the last letter.  "This is going to be fun!" Considering he added Indonesian to his repertoire, I am impressed and humbled and recognize that I can personally put more effort into what Heavenly Father asks of me.  His reply:  "I have Tagalog and Indonesian to learn. The details about the system for the branches will be described in the mass email. I'm not clear on the date, but probably around late July or early August. Remember that around this time President Lam will be releasing approximately 33 missionaries. That's about a quarter of the mission. He doesn't want to do that in one single flight's worth of missionaries.

The languages are hard. You're right though, I'm not worried about it. These people's English is actually quite excellent. I will still do as much as possible to learn these languages though because I have learned in my experience of Chinese that a communication of love is infinitely more effective when two things are done. First is always to be done by the power of the spirit. The other is to actually speak their mother language."  

I also asked to clarify where he lives because it was rumored that they live IN the Wan Chai chapel building.  His answer is no.  "The missionaries DEFINITELY don't live in the church building. Those are high-level general authorities that live there. I live about 15 minutes walk away from the chapel. The Mission President lives in the temple. I lived across the hall from him for four-ish months." Our friends, the Burns, attend church in that building.  Ian said, "I saw her husband at church, but not her. Brother Burns is SUPER nice though! The entire branch is."

Ian spoke briefly about his new companion, Elder Aldridge.  "Elder Aldridge is awesome. Random fact, he can solve a seven by seven by seven rubix cube...it's pretty legit."

English, Tagalog, and Cantonese...but not Mandarin...week 72

So I will be moving out of 上水支會 after serving here for 8 months. I wouldn't even be able to start a list of names that I would miss from the ward. They have all sacrificed so much and gone through so many tough times, breaking out into what we are now. We started here with a lot of investigators not progressing a long time ago. I'm proud to say that there are now more baptisms planned in the next two months than we had all last year. I hope that I can be a help to the members in the Victoria 1st ward. I will be assigned to start learning Tagalog in addition to having English and Cantonese investigators. I won't be teaching in Mandarin though.

Now that I look back at it, I have "taught" a lot of Mandarin lessons here in Sheung Shui (meaning I really just said a few words every five minutes and turned it back over to Elder Darrington when we were on exchanges). This is going to be fun!

I'm going to miss these guys. I am getting moved to the Victoria 1st branch in Wan Chai to be a zone leader over there. My new companion is named Elder Aldridge. I'm not sure what language I'm speaking, but I am actually pretty sure that, as part of the "International" zone I am assigned to speak English, Cantonese, and possibly Tagalog. For those who are not aware, Tagalog is the main Filipino language. I have to be careful here or I'm going to get SO FAT from all the food that the Filipinas make here.

Ian is sitting next to Elder Harding. Elder Lee is sitting next to Elder Harding's trainee, Elder Rylee. 

Is Sister Plater's sister in the Victoria 1 branch? That's where I got moved to.

Look what Graciela sent me! I'll have to ask Elder Garcia to help me write a response email to her. It's nice having a Mexican friend in China.  Bryan's aunt Graciela in Argentina sent an email to Ian from herself and Bisabuela.  Dice tu bisabuela Fina (y Graciela);Querido Ian:  me Siento orgullosa por tu  importante Mision. y deseo que tengas los logros que tu dedicación merecen.Para el año 2017 deseo exito y felicidad con todo mi amor,te mando beso y abrazos.

Notes from Mom:  I translated for Ian, although Elder Garcia's version probably sounds so much better.  "I am proud of your important mission, and I wish you have the achievements that your dedication deserves.  For the year 2017 I wish success and happiness with all my love, I send you kiss and hugs."  This is a sweet message from 2 very important women in Ian's life.

Baptism is a Law of Heaven! week 71

So we are getting ready as a mission to enter into the world of 2017. As we anticipate the miracles that will be coming our way, I thought I would share something to let everyone know that this work is REAL: The number of lessons taught with a member present has DOUBLED. The number of investigators that have a baptismal date has TRIPLED! Our goal for family lessons in this zone, which we thought would be difficult, was destroyed with a number almost FOUR TIMES as large as the goal!

Upon invitation from a member of the Seventy, I have been getting up five minutes earlier (with my companion, of course) in order to make it so that the first things I do in the morning are pray AND read the Book of Mormon. I cannot describe how effective this invitation has been in increasing my scriptural knowledge, as well as my appreciation for them. It wakes me up in the morning. At the beginning it was rough because I couldn't even see the words because my eyes were so blurry. Now it's better though. It even helps my morning exercise to be more full and filling. I highly recommend it.

We are also working really hard with our ward's less active members. The craziest thing happened this morning: Brother Chan, who has been struggling with smoking for decades now, texted us asking us for some scriptures that we could recommend to read on the way to work.

We also have a less active who made the decision recently to break up with his girlfriend because of the lack of morality that was present in their relationship. Another less active brought his non-member to the christmas party AND sacrament meeting just yesterday.

I'm almost more inspired by these less actives versus investigators (though it's not necessarily the most comparable of situations) because I have seen a glimpse of how hard Satan has worked to wrap them in his chains. Be it through addiction, immorality, or simply strangling their faith, I've seen it all. It's a scary image to see someone who is screaming inside to be set free from this prison. They came into the church for varying reasons, some not necessarily being the most doctrinally correct. They established the covenant nonetheless. As they progressed in the Gospel, they realized that the missionaries that loved them and treated them like Christ Himself would have, were gone in a few months or even weeks. The members that they were previously inspired by seemed to become more and more alienated as their attendance at sacrament meeting to renew their recently established covenants decreased. They didn't know what was happening, and so they tried to find something to blame. Members, their family, God, even themselves. As a missionary, we can act as the good shepherd, but our actions are so limited by the language, nametags, lack of social media, and other protections given to us by the Church for our safety and benefit. This is where the wards and the members come in. Remember that, while every member is a missionary, we should also remember that every missionary is a MEMBER! We have the same covenants, the same struggles, the same questions. That's why we can't just look at missionaries as this bulletproof shield to go charging into a war zone. We are actually just another tool that God has in his hand. A powerful one, but effective only in certain cases. If God were to do everything through a group of thousands of tagged adolescents with a slightly distorted sense of personal space, this work would burn and crash than you could say Thomas S. Monson. God needs ALL of us, man, woman and child, to put our shoulders to the wheel. He needs good home teachers, Sunday School instructors, Primary presidents, and overall good members. Baptism is the Law that we promised on the stakes of our salvation that we would keep. How can we resolve now to keep this law more fully, just as Christ Himself did it to Fulfill ALL Righteousness.

I witness His divinity and power. I also witness His mission as the Savior of the world. His Grace can fill us all with a hope for a better tomorrow where we can know that the Sunday School lesson will touch someone's heart, or where the Primary song will be the future source of comfort for a future missionary in the middle of a big city surrounded by darkness and sadness. I know that these things have become an endless source of power for me. I leave my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Notes from Mom:  This email actually took me by surprise!  We were able to Skype with Ian on Sunday evening at 6:30pm.  We were originally going to chat with him on Saturday evening, but got a last minute Facebook message from Sister Fong/Poon letting us know the update.  The calls go so quickly, but it was great to see him.  He looks so good.  He sounds so happy.  It is such a blessing to have a missionary.  I heard it a thousand times, but I know for myself that it is true.  

[He also sent some photos, as did Sister Fong during the week.  She is my Hong Kong angel.  She also posted some video of Ian singing with the choir, as well as some of the Primary children singing.  Bishop Choi also sent a picture of himself with the missionaries.  The thoughtfulness astounds me.]

Had some fun with the members at the christmas party last night.

This is the other suit from Eric's. It's a dark gray (if the picture didn't turn out well...)

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This was the best I could do with Christmas pictures. I never have time during these things to get pictures, so I use my companion's camera and just forward the email to everyone. The party was a TON of fun and very touching. We had messages about participants in the Christmas miracle like the Nephites, Gabriel, Shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and had a couple of people bear testimony of Christ. All of the food was made from SCRATCH! THAT'S HOW GOOD WE ARE!

The other one is a head sized muffin that we made the mistake of eating in one sitting..

Some other baked goods...

Phone call pictures from the Tai Po stake center.  I didn't realize he was talking to us on someone's phone!  This photo is courtesy of Elder Walker.  Ana took the pictures of me (Mom) while we were at Carrie's house.  Our Christmas dinner was there on Sunday afternoon, Christmas day.  We stayed up there for the Skype call.

Christmas call is coming...week 70

Notes from Mom:  I sent Ian a couple of pictures and told him about the comings and goings around home lately.  I sent his Christmas packages on Tuesday and they arrived at the mission office on Saturday morning.  I wanted to make sure he got the packages and asked about the Skyping details. He didn't write much, but he did give us the information I was looking for! I also told him about his Christmas message that I shared this week while visiting teaching.  One of my favorite sisters was really touched by what he wrote.  I know that he doesn't have a lot of time to write, but I mentioned that we aren't hearing as much about his investigators.  Missionary work is definitely work.  

I got both packages. We get to tow all the zone mail back to Sheung Shui! It's a LOT!

About skype, there is going to be a little bit of strain in the situation. I should be able to do it at 11:30 am here though. Is that 8:30 pm for you? I can't remember anymore... If I can't Skype, then I will just call at the same time(ish).

I definitely felt the spirit when I wrote the message. I'm glad that it touched somebody. I'm sorry that I don't talk about my investigators very much. I actually get a little bit down on myself sometimes when I write about them. They are doing well and we have a lot. I also find it difficult at this point to see the line of confidentiality, so I just avoid it entirely. I promise you will hear ALL about them someday. I have so many stories. So many experiences. I barely have enough time to write it down. It's tough because we don't see many baptisms here either, so sometimes we just try not to get our expectations out of control. It's a good reminder about hope though. I definitely have faith that they can all make the choice to be baptized. Can I teach them well enough though (or rather can I invite the spirit into their lives so that they can be taught by the master)? Are my expectations unrealistic? Am I being impatient? This is my struggle as of late. I know that if I do my best though, that GRACE will be there. I'm excited to see you all soon!

One of the pictures was the announcement by Ian's friend Daniel Peacock, who he knew well when they lived in the temple a year ago. He has subsequently married a return sister missionary who served in Hong Kong and now they are expecting a baby.  Such exciting news.  

The other picture was from Joy school back in 2000 when Ian was just 3.  The kids were reenacting the navity.  Ian asked about John Leavy, his friend growing up who is serving a mission in Iowa. Elder Chen, who is serving in Hong Kong with Ian, also knows John.  "He was never much good at telling stories. He likes being in the moment or keeping memories. Sharing was tougher for him as kids though. I'll have plenty of time later with Elder Chen to interrogate him though:)"

Bonus post for week 69!

A few days ago we received the China Hong Kong Mission Christmas letter.  It was so fun to see the zones and find Ian and his companion.  I think this is from before his transfer with Elder Lee, so he would have been with Elder Love.  We are really grateful for the simplicity of the message and to see our sweet boy who has turned into a man with a strong testimony of the Savior and His mission.

Ian is in the middle left picture standing on the back row in the middle.  

I love Christmas! week 69

I think I would like to start off by stating that there is no better way to spread Christmas cheer than singing loud for all to hear. It only gets better and more filled with the spirit when you have 20 missionaries singing "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," each heart filled with love for each other, their investigators, their families and friends, and most of all for the Savior of the World.

"No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,

where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in."

In the work of the Lord, we are often stumped in our efforts to pick out those "meek souls" in a crowd of millions. I don't think that is the meaning of the song though...

We cannot push our beliefs on anyone. I would find this especially true around this Christmas time, where we celebrate not only the gift of a Savior, but also the reason that He came. Humankind has been given the beautiful gift of agency, being able to act according to their desires. I am a living witness of the fact that, even though we may use our agency at times to do wrong, even if it wasn't our intention, because of the gift of a Savior, we no longer are bound to our mistakes. No longer must we be crushed by regret or ensnared in anger. Instead, a peace settles over the earth as we all in humble awe think of the image of a star shining in the east, or a virgin in a stable, or shepherds abiding in a field, or wise men travailing through the long journey to find a child born to be a king. Not a king of earth. No throne of iron or sword of steel. No chains that bind. Just light. A light that peirced the darkest of doubts forever. It definitely peirced my own doubts.

Blessed be the God who saved us all. May we all take just a minute in our understandably busy lives to wonder what we would bring to him if we were the wise men. What lullaby would we sing to this babe who may not even have known the sacrifice that he would make for men?

He knows us now. He will know us forever. He rejoices when we are happy and weeps when we stray from the path that He has forged with his own hands. I add my witness to the millions of others from all ages: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I leave my humble testimony in this email that I hope you can feel what I feel when I say these things in the Holy and Sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Merry Christmas

Notes from Mom:  So I did the usual by sending pictures and then wrote to him.  This week was Adam's 14th birthday.  He and his friend Landon Boyer both became Teachers and earned their Duty to God for Deacons. Landon is a good friend to Adam so it was nice that they could advance together. I told Ian about it and then told him I am readying the box to send.  What would he like included? "Toothpaste would be convenient. The cheap kind that they have here works, but it's not very cheap, and I always feel like I am not actually brushing my teeth because it tastes more like rootbeer than mint (I'm not sure how they mix those up in production, but oh well). Also, the SKYPE thing will be happening (I'm pretty sure at least). I have to organize everyone's time scheduling before tomorrow because we only have one place and we don't want it to be a hassle. I will tell you next week what time I will be doing it with you. It's 1:00 pm that I'm sending this. Don't worry about time. My main focus is supposed to be direct family anyways. I trust that you will know what to get me for christmas. Chocolate covered almonds and cinnamon bears would be nice around this season. More hot chocolate (I'm trying to be sparing with it, but it is almost gone...)Whatever fits really. Did I ever send you a picture of the new suits?  Colgate anything really works. I just realized I forgot my camera, so I will send you a picture of them next week. I'm actually wearing one right now...Regarding Landon Boyer:  His whole family is awesome. That actually reminds me, do they still have any contact with Felis these days (the chinese foreign exchange student from a LONG time ago). I still regret not trying to be better friends with her."

Ian still hasn't forgotten the families he home taught.  "Mom, could you also tell the Lundbecks and the Andersons that I love them and pray for them. I know it's been a while since I sent anything like a home teaching message, but I hope that they have a safe and happy christmas season and that they can remember that the happiest part of our life will always be when we choose to act as the savior did (no wonder the church is doing this "Light the World" initiative)."

Our neighbors, the Andersons, moved earlier this year.  I wasn't sure if I had told Ian!  The Andersons moved to St. George at the end of the school year. I keep up with them on Facebook. I sent them a quick message and they really appreciated it.  

Ian added:  "Yes I am aware. Bishop Ashcraft specifically stated to me in my last interview that I had with him that a home teacher is never released from the families he is assigned to. The Andersons and the Lundbecks are the families that I had last. However, now that I think about it, could you also send it to the Jensens (Kylee's family) and, if at all possible, the daughter of the Esplins that Dad and I home taught a while ago that lived in the Trapnell's basement. Sorry to load this on you, but I think that it's really important."  

I informed Ian that the Wallace's had recently had their first baby.  "WHAT!!! I didn't know. That's what I get for slacking off. Tell them that I send a belated congratulations! She is adorable! I love the name."

We look forward to the Skype with Ian.  One more regular week and then a Christmas phone call!

Ban family update for Ian...week 68

Notes from Mom:  On Sundays I send Ian pictures if I haven't through the week and then I write him as much letter as I have time.  We had the Noll family over for dinner.  They are so great and have 2 return missionaries.  We have known them since we moved to Springville.  I was talking to their son Ryan about ancient church folklore in Asia, about which he was familiar.  Ian said he'd heard a story and related it:  "Yup. A more famous one here is about Gunyam (I don't know if that's correct spelling). They now think that it is a woman, but in the original legend, there is no specified gender. A pale, brown haired individual came down from heaven, taught the people, and then left...3 Nephew 11-27 anyone?"

Today he didn't write his traditional letter again.  I still appreciate the comments and pictures.  His great grandmother Fina lives in Azul, Argentina and she turned 95!  We love her dearly and I sent him some pictures as well.  

"AAAH! THEY ALL LOOK SO GREAT! HAPPY TIMES IN BUENOS AIRES!"

I told him about the Ban family from Guandong that he interviewed for baptism.  They moved to Salt Lake and are attending the Mandarin ward.  Elder Darrington's mom has their contact information. What languages did you have to do their baptismal interviews in?  This was amazing:  "Actually, they each had a different language. I did the Cantonese for the husband and the English for Vivian. Sister Ban was actually interviewed by President Lam, so I don't know what language, but she speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English all pretty much fluently..That was a stressful day...that's how you know it was good though right?!"

Elder Darrington's mom posted some pictures on Facebook and I sent them to Ian and to Sister Hugo. She is one of the sisters serving in Sheung Shui and is hilarious. He wrote that "Sister hugo will be emailing you momentarily to get the pictures (I'm not allowed to send them to her...)"  I sent them to her and now she sends me her weekly emails.  Yes!  Speaking of Sister Hugo, Annie Fong posted pictures of a talent show, which included Sister Hugo and Sister Hoxer, who was in the MTC with Ian.  

Us at the apple store (right now). 

The other is from last night. We had a family home evening visit and we brought our investigator Ken with us. This is the Chiu family. You have Sister Chin, her oldest daughter Cathy, her daughter that just had a baby Shelly (the baby's name is Hannah and her husband's name is Steven. These past mentioned people have all served missions ALL IN HONG KONG!). We have sister Chiu's daughter Ariel with the short hair. She has another daughter at BYU Hawaii and a son on a mission in Oregon right now. Her husband was busy that night and couldn't come, but we had a BLAST!

I sent Ian a picture of him, Bryan, and Simon taken at Carrie's wedding back in December of 1999. 

Simon was a few days shy of turning one.  I hadn't seen it for a while and thought he'd enjoy it.  

"I love that picture...and Dad's hair...and my hair...and Simon's lack of it...:)"