This week in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong:

mooncakes

I ate Dim Sum on p-day. Dim Sum is like an all you can eat buffet Chinese styled meal. So..I ate chicken feet again....okay, i ate a tiny bite of the chicken's foot, but still had to spit out the little bony knuckle and everything, so it definitely counts! Very, very gross. It's so interesting. The food here.  I am not convinced when my trainer promises me my tastebuds will acquire a craving for this "food". Even the 800 calorie moon-cakes are not yummy. But, Elder Dale thinks they are. He shoves them down for breakfast haha. Moon cakes are lotus paste pastries with duck eggs in the middle. Yeah. not quite like a frosty or brownie.  (this might be a hint to send brownies?)

I'm proud to say this week I found Cherilyn W's  Doppelganger. The Chinese Cherilyn is in my ward. She is a great teacher and knows a lot about the gospel like (like Salt Lake Cherilyn). She is also very caring and surprisingly looks quite a bit like cher-bear.

This week, we gave two of our investigators baptismal dates in December. Our mission baptismal goal for December is 65! It was a  great experience when we invited them. The spirit was so strong! I've already seen a change in their countenances and cute little Sam is really, really enjoying church, primary, and activities. I'll never forget his face when he laughs and talks with a cup full of chewed up rice in his mouth. haha Its hilarious. Chinese is already hard enough to understand. ha.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change lives. Maybe slowly, but nonetheless, still changing. Sam's mom, sister J. has been Buddhist and ancestor worshipping for most of her life and all of a sudden she believes that Christ is her Savior! Wow!  It is the spirit that brings this realization
to others!

This week in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, China.  This week Tessa reports that chicken feet might be the death of her.

This week we've been privileged to have three miracle lessons.And they were all turnover lessons, as well. All reap, no sow ha.

 It amazes me how ready some of these people are for the gospel, but some not so much. Especially the popo's (Grandmas and grandpas). They tell us they are too old to change.. . . . Umm.. actually you guys are the ones knock knock knockin' on Heavens door, so y'all  need to hou faai di fuigoi (repent quick quick!).   They won't let us help them up the hill with their massive carts of cardboard and garbage.(A lot of people find garbage and sell it to make ends meet. Don't ask. I don't know how that works.) But they're pretty hou sail leih and we see a lot of them just workin as hard as their little bodies can.

This week we had a level 8 typhoon! Not as scary as it sounds. However, I never before have seen it rain harder than i saw this week. The rain would hit the ground and bounce way back up to heaven. We had to stay in a little bit. But, like i said, we had some pretty great lessons. We taught a 21 yr old girl named S., who looks as if she is 14. She is smaller than me and is soo pachau (shy) and cute. She is pretty sad and insecure. I had the privilege to testify to her that God is her Heavenly Father and wants her to be happy. I could really feel His love for her during our lesson.  We also taught L. J. M. and her daughter, C.. C. is supes sassy but her mom is very interested. She attended church and cried several times during the meetings. She was feelin' the spirit yo.

This week was my three month mark! My awesome companion, Sister Johnson made me french toast in the morning. She is the best. And her Wizard of Oz Lion impression is quite literally flawless to say the least.

 I love learning this language and am grateful that it is challenging, because that's how we grow in life. That is how we become like our Heavenly Father. We can all do hard things, and He knows that. He wants us to COMPLETELY rely on His Son in these times. To give it up because you can't carry it. It really is a special thing to pray to Heavenly Father and tell him that you can't do it without His help. He will come. He ALWAYS does. He is our Father, our creator, our comfort.

We sent Tessa a build a bear Panda that has our voices recorded.  Here is the thank you note we received.
Ya'll deserve this cute card and more, because I wanted to thank you so much for Panda.  I was soooo happy when I opened my package!  Last night, I was hugging it and holding its hand.  All of a sudden it started talking! haha.  Everyone was trying to sleep so I couldn't listen to it, but I listened to it today.  It made me cry but I just love it so much.  Remember whin I had that simba stuffed animal and made it a goal to hold it when I died so it could go to heaven with me? Well, now I want to hold Panda so she can go to heaven w/me! Then in Chinese I really love you all so much and everyday thank my Heavenly Father for giving me my precious family.  I know this gospel is true and through Jesus Christ we can live w/our families forever.

To find out more about me and why I want to serve a mission visit my profile on imamormon.org .http://www.mormon.org/me/ftdk

This Week in Kwai Chung Hong Kong - Sept 19, 2014

P-day Facials

This week in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong: Something that I really love to do is to find Asian dopplegangers of people that I know from Salt Lake(especially in our ward). Like for example, I've already found Asian Marianne McK.! She has the same mannerisms, style, sweet spirit, and strong testimony. I've also found Asian Johnny L. and Asian Grandma Shann who is always giggling, especially when she looks at my name tag and goes HAHAHA Ji Muih. She also braids my hair at church. I couldn't help but think of grandma trying to brush my hair with an ow-ey comb when i was little. haha. I will look for more.

 I got my full Chinese name today: Ha Leih Sa...So their last names go first...so Leih Sa is kind of like Tessa. I'm not exactly sure what it means except for the Ha part. I called a member the other day to see if we could come visit her and her family. I said: Ngoh haih Ha Ji Muih, Ji Muih ge Chyuhngaasih. I hear in the back her whole family go HAHAHAHA! together. (Here we should explain that Tessa's last name means Loud Laughter or Laughing Loudly; Which seems to be quite a source of amusement but also endearing)

A lot of people have commented on my language. They are impressed that I have only been here a month. One of our investigator's nieces(who is not a member) came to church and was talking to us. when she heard that I had only been here as long as I had, she looked at me and said in very good english: I think God has given you a gift."...I was like wow. thank you. haha. I love learning the language. We only get an hour to study each day. And sometimes only half an hour though.

I got to See Maa Jeung Louh this week! Elder Jeffe Martinez! Wow, you can really tell what an awesome missionary he has become! It was so fun to have that little piece of Salt Lake City in Hong Kong!

One thing that I have realized already on my mission is how dear to me my family is. How grateful I am that Christ has made eternal families a possibility. If I hadn't ever put my papers in or take this leap of faith, I would have never known how much they love me. Going through hard times as a family unit helps broaden our view on God's eternal family and His plan for us to return to Him again. Their support, sacrifice, and unconditional love has been such a resource of hope and light to me during this time of my life and I will NEVER forget that. I was able to bear my testimony to a less active man who had been contemplating whether or not to leave his wife and children. I told him that because families play such a significant role in our lives, they can be the greatest source of sorrow and pain, but because they are the center of God's plan, they can also be the brightest light in our life, and the source to which we can turn to when we are empty and low. Families are fovever through our Savior Jesus Christ

Please visit my profile on I'm a Mormon to find out more about me and why I want to serve a mission.  http://www.mormon.org/me/ftdk