God be With You Til We Meet Again..................In a few days!!!

Its so crazy weird to me that this is the last email I will be sending to you all from Hong Kong. This week has been really touching to see the people's Christ like care for little Sister HA. I wouldn't have guessed I would make such amazing friendships here all the way across the world. They are not just friendships though, they are made eternal through the goal and purpose that we each hold; to become like Christ. I am so so so blessed to have worked with them all and really could feel and see their love for me yesterday at church after I was able to get up and give my testimony. 

I don't really know what to write in this last email but maybe I can share some of the few simple things I have learned on my mission. First, I have been grateful to see that Heavenly Father's children that live all the way across the world from me are still Heavenly Father's children and they have the same hopes and needs and worries that I have. I have learned that we are happiest when we forget about ourselves; those that lose their lives in service of others and put others' happiness before theirs' in behalf of the Savior, will find their life and will more easily see the hand of God in their lives. I have learned that this gospel and this church is Christ's true church and His teachings brought back in its fullness and that Joseph Smith literally saw Christ and our Father in Heaven and was called by them to be a prophet and revelator to translate the Book of Mormon, a compass to guide our lives and answer our prayers. I know without a doubt that the Savior is real. I know He lives and the wonderful gospel He has given is a way for us to fully partake of the blessings from His Atonement that He performed while here on the Earth. Its almost as if it is still being performed because we can be active in receiving its strength every day. Basically, I'm just a really lucky missionary to have come to the beautiful land of Hong Kong to realize the beautiful blessings of the Gospel.:)

Thank you all for your emails and pictures. It has been a pretty good week. We gave our Zone Training Meeting last Friday and it wasn't as organized or as fulfilling as we had hoped for, but it was still good and I think helped the elders and sisters look forward to sharing the gospel during Christmas season.

 I've been really blessed this week to be able to give last testimonies. Last night all the departing missionaries spoke at a fireside and it was super fun and cool to see everybody and how they've changed. We were only supposed to give a two minute testimony but I think mine was five. haha oops. It was just really neat and fun to be up sharing experiences and I felt the gift of tongues so strongly like I could just be up for an hour speaking fluent Chinese. It was actually kind of weird in the moment just realizing that I was up on a stand in China speaking fluent Chinese and making an audience of Asians laugh at my jokes. I shared about how difficult it was to come out and how I told you two to come pick me up at the airport haha but how I was grateful you didn't and about meeting the handicapped girl and praying with her. It was really so fun and people came up to me afterwards to thank me for some of the things I said they needed to hear.

 

Our investigators are doing well. Sister _____ is so stinkin cute. She literally tells everyone she meets about how it was God's plan that one day that we found her in the park with her dog. and how I came back to Kwai Fong. She fasted with us yesterday for her first husband who died last year to meet the missionaries in the spirit world. Wow, I was pretty impressed with how she thought that through actually. And then in sacrament meeting almost all of the testimonies born were about the plan of salvation and we could tell she totally felt the spirit. My bishop told me to persuade her to get baptized before I leave, but I don't know.   However, tomorrow she set up a time that her and her husband will be out to lunch and we can accidentally swing by to eat with them.

 

Sister ______ is doing well. She has really changed and is becoming more humble. We can see the spirit working with her. She is also slowly starting to make more friendships in the ward with the sisters. ____ has started taking lessons from the elders so that should help. hopefully.

 

I'm trying to give me all the last time but its sometimes really hard like sometimes I don't even realize that I am thinking about coming home like its always in the back of my mind.

 

I can't even wait to see you guys. I think I might even be a little too excited. I will definitely tell my ward members how grateful you are for them and bear my testimony next week in sacrament meeting. I already bought the magnets and ornament haha and other souvenirs.

Did you guys know Jack is gettin' hitched?