We were asked to give a talk on the topic of "Change begins with me" in the Tai Wai ward last Sunday, December 11. We were so worried! You should see our notes - they are combination of both Chinese characters and English! This is Ted's first talk in Chinese for he last 50 years!! I did okay, I don't know how my Chinese grammar was correct or not, I am sure I am speaking Englinese!!
Well, our fear is over and let's hope we don't have to give one for a long time!
This week has been very productive, We take Monday fine tuning our presentation to the AP, then Tuesday morning I was not feeling well so I stayed home. Ted presented to the AP by himself. He was not feeding very supportive from Elder Evans at the presentation last week. With our new improved presentation, he got thru it great even with computer difficulty. The power point did not work as we intended but he got the report presented. Elder Funk commented that he wishes this FSY program can be replicated in a few other countries and thought that is one of the reason why we are needed in Hong Kong at this time. The Area Presidency was surprised that we were able to get the venue for Hong Kong so quickly. Back in March this year, they thought they were not very hopeful that we could pull this off but now it is a reality! Elder Funk wants us to provide support to Taiwan as often as we are needed. Our first trip will be around February 4, 2017.
Wednesday we stayed late to finish making a spread sheet so we know what room/s we need to rent during the fsy conference. Things are a little bit different in Hong Kong, when you rent a venue, you are renting the room and board and then if we are to use the facility, ie rooms, auditorium, sound systems, classrooms etc, we have to rent by the hour. It took us a little while to get it all worked out so we know which rooms we could use for devotional, large group activity, dance, auditions, games. The FSY committee with the local in session couple, represented by Brother Ryan Lee and the two YSA coordinators, Sa Cheung and Edwin Lee came. We were there for about 2 hours and got of the rooms figured out. We were advised by Elder Wong to rent the whole camp if we could so at the end of our visit, we found out there is one more building of 10 beds we could rent, we did!!! I am so thankful we have good leaders to help with this event, I feel it is going to be great for the youth in Hong Kong and Taiwan!
We had another good lunch with Edward Lai on Friday. This is kind of for business because we want Elder Beckstead to be able to get a golf appointment with Edward for him to introduce him to some of his friends who might have good influence in Hong Kong. Caroline Kwok (Neuro - physican) also came out from China. She had a charity program that we might be able to support so we could get the Church name out there as far as doing some humanitarian services to the people in Hong Kong. Then in the evening Elder and Sister Wong invited us to dinner of Pig's lung soup. It was okay, not as bad as I thought it to be. This place is famous for no MSG! Then we went to listen to Esther Tam (Chow)'s Songs of the Heart performed Handel's Messiah. They did a wonderful job practicing for over two years. This is their first and last time performing Messiah and it was done very professionally and as good as anyone I have gone to in the States.
Today, we went to Yuen Long for Sunday meeting. I was able to see two of my former companions in Yuen Long 2 ward. Sister Chan even texted me a copy of my testimony I left with her when I served back in the 80s.
This is the first week since we have been here that I feel I am doing what I thought I would be doing as a missionary, being productive and busy! We are having couple more assignment to work with President and Sister Lam - one to set up a Mandarin group in the New Territory and checking the contract of the young missionaries apartments. Sister Lam needed someone who could read the contract and talk with the landlord so we will be visiting with the Lams on Monday!
I realize this is the week before Christmas, we are so thankful for the birth of our Savior so long ago, that he took on mortality so show us the way, worked out his own salvation and performed the atonement so all of us can thru our work, gain salvation to return to live with our Father in Heaven again. I was able to teach from John 17-19 on the Sister's Institute, these are my favorite quotes from the lesson.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained:
“Jesus ‘was like unto God’ before the world was; he had glory and dominion then; and he then became, under the direction of the Father, the Creator of this earth and of worlds without number. At the appointed time he came to this particular earth to
work out both his own salvation and
the atonement which would make salvation available to all men.
Elder Morrison used this statement to describe the purpose
of Jesus Christ’s mortal existence:
“‘For this cause came
I into the world.’ What was that cause? Why did Jesus, the Lord God Omnipotent
who sits at the right hand of the Father, creator of worlds without number,
lawgiver and judge, condescend to come to earth to be born in a manger, live
out most of His mortal existence in obscurity, trudge the dusty roads of Judea
proclaiming a message which was violently opposed by many, and finally,
betrayed by one of His closest associates, die between two malefactors on
Golgotha’s somber hill? … It was love for all of God’s children that led Jesus,
unique in His sinless perfection, to offer Himself as ransom for the sins of
others. This, then, was the consummate cause which brought Jesus to earth to
‘suffer, bleed, and die for man.’ He came as ‘a lamb without blemish and
without spot’ (1 Pet. 1:19) to atone for our sins, that He, being raised on the
cross, might draw all men unto Him (see 3 Ne. 27:14)” (“For This Cause Came I
into the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 25–26).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles explained that just as the Savior came into the world for a
specific cause, we too have a cause in our mortal lives:
“As He began to feel the awful weight of the approaching
Atonement, Jesus acknowledged, ‘For this cause came I into the world’ (John
18:37). We too, brothers and sisters, came ‘into the world’ to pass through our
particularized portions of the mortal experience. Even though our experiences
do not even begin to approach our Master’s, nevertheless, to undergo this
mortal experience is why we too are here! Purposefully pursuing this ‘cause’
brings ultimate meaning to our mortal lives” (“Apply the Atoning Blood of
Christ,” Ensign, Nov. 1997, 22).
Let us remember as we celebrate His birth this Christmas season, our own cause, coming into the world!
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| Run into Anita, Wing and baby Ethan while walking on the Promenade on Tuesday. |
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| Lunch and photo shot at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Aberdeen. |
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| Pig lung soup. |
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| Brother and Sister Chick singing the "Messiah". |
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| Sister Esther Tam (Chow), a talented musician! |
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| My testimony from 30 years ago. |
