Wednesday, April 29, 2015

This building is where we go to church. It is owned by the church and as you can see is a multilevel building, downtown Hong Kong. Not a cheap place to buy real estate. There are several branches that meet in this building, like 5 or 6, plus it is the district (like a stake) center and a bunch of offices for the 'area' missionaries, authorities etc. We have I think 138 sisters in our branch, plus assigned missionaries and others to help out. 

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

First Day at the Hong Kong Temple

  It is Tuesday, April 21st, and President Patrick Wong set us apart this morning as Temple Missionaries for the Hong Kong China Temple.  I don't recall all that he said, but I do know he gave us the following blessings:  to be respected, to understand the language of the temple ordinances, to find joy, to love the culture and customs of the Chinese people, to fulfill this mission.
  President and Sister Wong comes across as people of great faith and humility.  They have made us feel very welcomed and needed here, and we look forward to serving under their leadership and direction and fulfilling any assignments they give.

  The Balls have been assigned to be our trainers and I believe we are in good hands since they were ordinance workers for quite some time prior to coming to Hong Kong.

  The layout of this temple is unlike any we have been in before.  The ground level, 3rd, 4th, 5th levels and basement are part of the temple.  The 1st and 2nd floors are not.  The first floor is a chapel and locker and dressing rooms.  The second floor is housing for the temple and mission presidents and APs to the mission president.  There are three elevators and each are for certain areas of the temple.  It has been a bet confusing as to which we are to use depending upon whether we are helping in the Baptistry, Initiatory, Sealings, or having lunch.  I am sure with time, we will get it all straight in our heads.

   Sister Wong asked me to introduce myself to the other sisters in our Prayer Meeting.  One of the sisters translated for me, and I will not forget the reaction of the Chinese sisters when I mentioned I have seven children.  They all gasped and one sister's eyes looked the size of quarters because she opened them so wide.  They found it so hard to believe.

  I had the opportunity to assist Melissa M. Purity, a young woman from Africa receiving her own endowment.  This was a first for me.  I have not helped with New Endowments before because that is reserved for the Temple Matron and her assistants, or the coordinators.  But, because this woman speaks English, I was asked to help her in initiatory.  It was a special experience and joyful.

  Gary met a man from India who had come 9 hours to attend the temple.  He also learned of a man who saved seven years to come to the temple.
He assisted a man who did not speak English and somehow it worked out.

Even though we have been told not to be concerned about learning the language, it is obvious that we can be of greater service if we do.  So, we will continue to study and learn the temple ordinances in Cantonese.

By the end of the day, we were able to do all that was asked of us.  We love being here.

It has been a nice way to celebrate our Meagan's 30th birthday!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Various Photos of Our First Experiences!

Our first day at church with Elder & Sister Ball who live in Boise when not serving as Hong Kong Temple missionaries. And sister Julieta Roxas who is in our branch and we met on Facebook before we came.

This is the Hong Kong China Temple

Some vegetable shopping in Hong Kong

Some of the temple workers we work with

This seems to be the standard clothes dryer here

Our first meal with chopsticks

Bamboo for scaffolding. This is in the low rise area, but it is the same scaffolding used on the 161 skyscrapers being built here.

Chinese 'dancing water'

A couple of mystery cars that no one knows who's they are

Look at these bikes! Every day the people in this area ride these to and from the train station to get to and from work.

The mall is a little crowded. This is not a holiday, just a regular Saturday


Sunday in Wan Chai!

  Our first Sunday has been spent attending District Conference, which was held in the Wan Chai building on Hong Kong Island.  We learned that we have been assigned to the Island 1 Branch which also meets in this building, but on a different floor.  It is a very nice 10-story building in the center of Wan Chai completely surrounded by tall sky scrapers, and is also where the Asia Area Mission offices and a number of other offices are located.  It was strange entering a church building with  security personnel around, and what looked more like an office building.  But, once we walked off the elevator and stepped into the chapel, it felt more like a church.
   Elder Randy Funk from the Quorum of the Seventy and his wife spoke during the conference along with President Hawks, the Hong Kong Mission President and his wife.  I was impressed with President Benjamin Tai, who is the District President, as he spoke.  He is young and not very tall, but knowledgeable and giant in spirit.
  We met a few other missionary couples afterwards and visited for a little while, and even met Elder Funk who seemed to be aware of our coming to serve in Hong Kong.
  After we left the church, the Balls and the Solomons showed us how to get back to Kowloon by way of ferry.   We have the option of bus, ferry, or taxi to get to and from the island.  The Solomons are actually nearing the end of their mission and will be going home to Arizona.
  We had a nice dinner at the Ball's apartment, and discussed with them additional things we need to do get settled and to have a better understanding of what it means to live in Hong Kong.  They have been here for almost a year and seem to have learned well where the best places are to shop for food, for buying clothes, for eating out, and for sight-seeing.  I am sure they will be a tremendous help, and we appreciate their willingness to assist us with anything we need.
  I expect tomorrow will be another day of learning new things.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Learning The Ropes!


President Wong told us we would not be reporting to the temple until the morning of the 21st, and at that time he will set us apart as Temple Missionaries.  A special experience to be happening on Meagan's 30th birthday.  
 Elder and Sister Ball have been assigned to be our trainers and informed us that we had nothing on our itinerary until 1:00pm today.  We took advantage and 'slept in' on our first night in Hong Kong, which was much needed since we didn't get to sleep until 1:00am.  
We greatly appreciated getting to catch our breath before we jump into missionary work.

We feel a bit of a kinship with the Balls because they too, have come from the Treasure Valley.

They introduced us to the MTR (Mass Transit Railway), which was a little overwhelming.  They helped us get our 'Octopus Cards' that are needed to ride the trains, buses, and to make other purchases at times.  They took us to 'The Boat' in Wampoa (a small shopping area) where we could get our phones set up, and I could buy two ESSENTIAL TOOLS, a blow dryer and curling iron, as well as a few other needed items to help us get settled into our new home for the next year and a half.  
Our last stop was an early dinner at, none other than, OUTBACK STEAK HOUSE, which happened to be the restaurant we ate dinner our last night in Salt Lake.  Simply because it is our favorite place for steak, and thinking at the time we wouldn't  have an opportunity for an Outback Steak until we returned home.  Our dining experience was slightly different though.  In place of cold water, we were served hot water in mugs, because, as it was explained to us, the Chinese believe cold water is bad for the body.  Ice can be requested, but it costs extra, unless you are ordering a soda, then there is no charge for ice.   
Our very nice waitress didn't speak or understand English as well as we thought either.  
Elder Bodily and I ordered one steak and one baked potato to split between us, with an order of broccoli for each of us. Sister Ball ordered a baked potato to go with her entree.  Elder Ball ordered fries with his.
But, that isn't quite what we ended up with.
Sister Ball was served two baked potatoes and broccoli, and we each got our own potato and no broccoli. We just chuckled!  
We have kind of known that living here is going to be different than back home, but maybe even more than we realized.

We sure appreciate the Balls showing us the ropes, and hope they stick by our side for at least a month, or else we will probably get lost in this big city.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Departing For Hong Kong

We woke up bright and early on the morning of April 16th to prepare for our 11:00am departure from the Salt Lake Airport.

Elder Bodily pushing the cart carrying approximately 300 pounds of our possessions for the next 18 months, which included 4 large pieces of luggage, two carry-ons, a laptop, and my large tote bag.  He did a great job strategically maneuvering it down the hall of the Radisson Hotel.

Meagan and Josh met us at the airport to bid us farewell.

With smiles on our faces, we shed a few tears as we said goodbye to Meagan, Abigail, and Mailie, knowing it will be at least 18 months before we hug our children and grandchildren again.  But, we go forward to serve the Lord in one of His holy temples.

On our flight to Seattle, this is what we saw as we flew above our home in Meridian.  Lake Lowell is in the background.

This was the view shortly after we left Seattle, Washington.

This was the view for the majority of our flight.  It looked like we were flying over the Arctic.
During our almost 14-hour flight, we watched 3 movies, had two scrumptious compact meals, a few snacks, and a couple of naps.

We arrived shortly after 8:00pm on Friday, April 17th to a more crowded airport than where we had left 21 hours earlier, and still with smiles on our faces. 

The first thing we saw after going through customs were these monks among the crowd.

At the door of our new home away from home - still smiling!

We found our kitchen/laundry room clean and stocked with the basic essentials, as well as a few sweet surprises, thanks to the other temple missionaries.

This is our living and dining area moments after we arrived.

The master suite!

The beautiful view from our apartment on the 11th floor of the Harbour Front Hotel, which is actually  the 9th floor because there is no 3rd and 4th floors due to the fact that the Chinese believe the numbers 3 and 4 bring bad luck.
We are grateful to have arrived safely, been given a warm welcome,  and have found this apartment to be clean, comfortable, and compared to our travel trailer, quite spacious.

We must have been more tired than we realized because we didn't think to get one photo of President and Sister Wong, who met us at the airport and took us to our apartment.  Nor did we get photos of the wonderful missionaries who were waiting there to welcome us.  But, Elder and Sister Ball (on the left) and Elder and Sister Solomon (on the right) were two of the couples we met on our arrival.
Elder and Sister Wilson and Sister Chan were also there.  
You will see photos of them in posts to come.

Just got everything unpacked and put away, and it is now 1:00 in the morning.
We are off to bed, anxious to see what tomorrow will bring.


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Our Last Day of Training!

Our first day of training on Monday was like spring, and yet today, our final day, it is like winter.
No worries though!  Once we are inside the temple, we will be warmed by the feelings that come when being instructed by the Spirit.  Feelings that can be overwhelming at times.

What a tremendous day it has been!
Elder Pino of the Seventy spoke with us.  He spoke in his native language of Spanish, but his message was expressed very clearly, and with humility.  His message was simple, yet powerful.  TREAT PATRONS WITH LOVE!

Elder and Sister Walker shared more personal experiences from their temple service, and with such emotion that the tears could not be held back.

We have been taught the following:
1 - Always follow instructions from our temple president no matter how different from the temple we served in before.
2 - Don't get caught up in Temple Drift.  
3 - Show loving kindness always.
4 - "As you serve faithfully, you will know things you didn't even know you knew."
President Boyd K. Packer


We are grateful to the Walkers for their willingness to give of their time and knowledge to help train us to be better missionaries in the temple.  They have consecrated their lives to serving the Lord, and are shining examples of living a Christlike life.

So, now we are off first thing in the morning to begin what we expect to be quite the adventure for the next 18 months!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

2nd Day of Training

It is such a blessing to be sitting in the Salt Lake Temple with other couples preparing to serve in various temples around the world while being instructed by outstanding leaders in the Church.

We have participated in Temple Ordinances, been shown parts of the temple we had not seen before, and been well fed, both physically and spiritually.

During one of our breaks, Sister Walker shared a personal family memory with Elder Bodily and I.  She told us that just prior to President and Sister Hinckley's 50th Wedding Anniversary, her father asked her mother where she would like to be on their anniversary.  She said, "I want to be walking the streets of Hong Kong with all of our children".  Sister Hinckley had a love for the Hong Kong area and its people.  So, they made arrangements for each of her siblings and their spouses to celebrate their parent's anniversary in the very city we will begin serving in just a few days.  We appreciated her for sharing a family memory with us personally.  This only adds to our anxiousness to see for ourselves what makes Hong Kong so special and endearing.

Looking forward to tomorrow, our final day of training.


NAME TAGS ARE AMAZING!


At then end of our first day of training, we learned very quickly the power our name tags have.  In just a short walk across Temple Square, several stopped us to ask a question about the temple.  They assumed we were missionaries for Temple Square.  
This is Lam Ching from Hong Kong, and he immediately recognized we were going to the Hong Kong Temple because of our name tags.  A little side note: He thinks it is awesome that he is from Hong Kong going to Idaho for school in Rexburg, and we are from Idaho going to Hong Kong.  He is a fine young man. 
We feel like we are being watched more now that we are wearing our tags that indicate we are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This has been a reminder to us that we have a great responsibility as representatives of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  If we are going to be an influence for good, we must be at our best in what we say and do at all times!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Our First Day of Training

We have three days of training in the Salt Lake Temple before heading to Hong Kong, and our first day has been wonderful and uplifting.  It is marvelous being instructed by Elder Richard and Sister Kathleen H. Walker.  They have had a great deal of experience doing the Lord's work, and have much wisdom to share.
We are among 15 other missionary couples headed for various temples throughout the world, some of which have served missions before.  One of the couples are the parents of a good friend of our daughter's.  Another will be serving in the same mission as my cousin and her husband in Hawaii. 
It is amazing how we have some kind of connection with a few of the other temple missionaries.
President Gordon B. Hinckley's son and daughter-in-law were kind enough to take this photo of us just outside of the temple at the end of our first day.  

NAME TAGS


We were given our name tags on our first day of training.
Now we feel like official full-time missionaries.


Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Our Cousin Served In Hong Kong!

After spending the night in Burley, we got up early to pay my cousin, Marilyn Miller a visit before going the rest of the way to SLC.  When we received our mission call, she was one of the first to call and tell us how excited she was for us.
  That is partly because 50 years ago, she also served a mission in Hong Kong.
I have some memory of her returning from her mission.  I was only 8 years old at the time, but I remember her giving me Chinese coins that she had brought back from Asia.
I was tickled that she thought of me.  She made me feel special that day.
Now I am 58 years old and in all these years I have never dreamt I would also go to Hong Kong someday as a missionary.
We wanted to have a chance to talk with Marilyn and hear of her experiences as a young missionary in the same place that we are soon to be.
We visited in her art studio that is located behind her home.
She taught us a little history of China, and spoke of the food and culture in Hong Kong,
and shared her photo album with us.  
Marilyn showed us how to write a few Chinese characters.
There are thousands of characters.
Sister Miller
A street in Hong Kong 50 years ago.
Before tall skyscrapers began to appear.
Sister Miller with church members on Hong Kong Island

Our visit with her sure went quickly, but
we'll stop back by in another 18 months.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A Father's Blessing!

We stopped in Jerome to visit with Grandpa Stanger and Joyce for awhile before continuing on our way.  It was nice to listen to him talk of our time together, and to have him share his memories of when I was born and my childhood.
He mentioned some things that were new to me, which I appreciated.
 Before we left, Grandpa gave me a Father's Blessing.
He blessed me with safety as we traveled on.  He blessed me to draw people to me and to be a bright influence on others.  He mentioned that I am a choice daughter of our Heavenly Father.
To my knowledge this is the second blessing I have received at the hands of my father.
I am grateful that he is worthy to use the priesthood he holds to do so.
This Father's Blessing meant a lot to me.
We look forward to seeing him again in 18 months.
As we drove out the driveway headed for SLC for our mission training. 


Monday, April 6, 2015

Practicing Cantonese

It's almost time to leave for our mission.
Let's hope we can remember half of what we've been practicing these past three months, in order to communicate somewhat with the Chinese people of Hong Kong. Thanks so much to Brother Fong, Sister Dall, Eugenia, and Hong Li. We couldn't have gotten as far along as we did without their help.


Sunday, April 5, 2015

Our Setting Apart


On April 5th, 2015, President Joseph Kiehl set us apart as full-time missionaries to serve in the Hong Kong China Temple Mission.


This was a perfect way to spend our Easter Sunday, and we were grateful some of our children were able to be apart of this special day with us.