Monday night we saw the first of many. We were finding in an area where it's been pretty successful but it didn't seem like anyone wanted to talk. We were walking down the pier and then my companion said hi to a lady sitting down, who proceeded to take out her headphones (miracle #1!) and said "oh, you want to practice your Cantonese?" (in English.) Of course we do. So we sat down with her and just talked about what we're doing here in Hong Kong. She was rather impressed that two 19-20 year old girls would give up their schooling, boyfriends, family, and whatever else we left behind to do volunteer work. She wants her daughter to do that. Even though we didn't reschedule her and don't have her number, I know that she's been brought closer to Christ. The miracle of the whole thing is that she was so willing to talk with us and so nice. We talked to her about the gospel and our purpose for nearly an hour.
Tuesday's miracle is that we contacted a referral given to us by a member. I trust these referrals, because one of the sisters he referred to us was baptized and has been active in our ward for several years now. We had a pretty uneventful shift at the Welcome Center. We also taught Grace about charity and love and how those two topics can help her overcome her shyness. She's pretty self centered (aren't we all?) and a little unwilling to change. This week has been a bit of a setback for her. I know she'll keep working hard though and maybe someday she'll be ready to fully accept the gospel.
Wednesday we had a really awesome day planned but all of our stuff cancelled. But- miracle is that because everyone cancelled, we had time to do our weekly planning, which we wouldn't have had time otherwise to do. We helped our ward set up their Christmas trees and get ready to start decorating for Christmas, which was fun. It gave us a good opportunity to build our relationships with the ward on a really casual level.
Thursday we met with our investigator, A-man. She was literally an hour late and her story about her life was entirely different than it was before. Our member said she probably has some mental disability that doesn't really show too much and so we dropped her baptismal date. We'll keep teaching her for now, because she still wants to learn about Jesus, which is fine. but if it becomes too much of a challenge or she continues to waste our time by being too late, we'll probably stop meeting with her. Thursday night we had a really good meeting with a member and I feel like our lesson went really well. It gave her a good chance to get to know my companion better, which is awesome because I feel like she needs a better personal relationship with the members.
Friday was busy busy busy. Our zone training meeting was amazing and inspirational as always and I'm excited to start a new month with new goals. afterwards, we taught a really good English class and finished our studies. it wasn't too exciting of a day, just very busy.
Saturday was a bit of a challenge. We had already planned some consecrated finding in the morning and were worried if we did it, because of lessons and other things, we wouldn't have time to finish our studies. But we went anyways. We didn't really teach any lessons- just talked with some nice people. Then we went back to help our ward continue decorating for Christmas and visit some elderly relatives of members with a Christmas gift. They were all so grateful! Then we went to Wan Chai for dinner while we waited for our less active who was scheduled to see us and then come with us to the Christmas activity. During dinner (already in Wan Chai by this point) Sister Chu called and cancelled. We were so sad we didn't get to go to the activity, so we decided to be obedient and just head home. The second we walked out the door, however, we ran right into someone who was there for the first time and wanted some help. After we helped her find the senior missionary the invited her, we were asked to stay with her and help her feel comfortable. It was fun and I am glad we could help out. The missionaries stood in the aisles of the chapel and sang silent night, and it was really, really powerful. I am really grateful that we were able to be available to serve that night!
Sunday was yet another miracle. After church we went finding with our ward- something I was a little less than excited about because I was feeling pretty sick. But we went out anyways and took our ward mission leader with us. He stopped an old woman who looked familiar to me and we invited her to our Christmas party. Then we realized that she lived in our building. She invited us into her home where we talked about eternal families and the temple- something she really, really wants. Then we took her to the chapel which still had some members lingering after choir practice and introduced her to the members. She is SO excited to come back to church next week. She used to go to another Christian church but because now she is 93 and walking is hard, she's grateful the chapel is so close! I think it'll be a challenge teaching her because she's old and doesn't really understand us, but it's fine. I know she's prepared to accept the restored gospel.
This week I've really been reflecting a lot on what I've accomplished as a missionary and I've definitely learned a lot. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve here. It's been such a wonderful experience. I am a completely different person from the person that was set apart to be a missionary almost 18 months ago. Missions are a wonderful opportunity to learn about yourself. They help you realize what is important in life and help you have the desire to change. I know that I am slowly becoming the young woman God wants me to become and am so grateful that these 18 months were a part of that. Thank you for your support!
I love you all! You're the best. Keep on going.
Kuk Jimuih
