Saturday, March 26, 2016

Arriang of Mount Paektu

Tonight was the Korean Dance Performance in Tsuen Wan at the Town Hall Auditorium.
I was pleasantly surprised to find this was not just a night of dance, but also of singing, and an introduction to the Gayageum, which is a traditional string instrument of the Korean.
The majority performances were group dances, but my favorite was titled, Destiny.  It was a dance of only two, telling the story of a romance between a woodsman and, of course, a beautiful young lady.
The costumes and set design were intriguing.  
Elder Bodily has been sick for the past week,
so Sister Nora Chan agreed to be my partner for the night.
Waiting for the doors to open before the show.
Sister Chan, Me, E/S Chan, E/S Nielson, E/S Macbeth
Entire cast at the final curtain.
Front row:  Me, Judy Chan, Nora Chan, Carma Brown
Second row:  Sis Nielson, Elder Chan, Sis Macbeth, Elder Brown
Back row:  Elder Nielson, Elder Macbeth, Brother Wang
After the show!
(Brother Wang was a missionary who E/S Brown knew on their previous mission in New Zealand,
 and he is here visiting them)

Elder Bodily isn't all that anxious to attend the performing arts.  He would rather watch a group of guys playing basketball in the park.  But, I think he would have opted for watching two hours of dance over getting the flu.
Hoping he is over it very soon.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Sister Liu

Young Sister Liu received her own endowment today in preparation to serve a mission for 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She was accompanied only by her mother.
She will be leaving soon for Salt Lake City, Utah where she will be serving in the 
Temple Square Mission.  She speaks fluent English, 
but as a missionary will be speaking in her native tongue of Mandarin.
Sister Liu and her mother, Sister Liu

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Brother Geddam and The Vipparthi Family

Elder Lee is still recuperating from pneumonia, 
so we filled in for him and Sister Lee at Patron Housing and gave an orientation for 
Brother Geddam and the Vipparthi Family.
 They are here this week from India.
 Sudhakar Geddam joined the church 3 1/2 years ago,
and has come to receive his own endowment.
He is a remarkable guy and has quite a story to tell. 
 He speaks 9 languages.  He is also a boxing champion.
Wish there had been more time to hear more of his life story.
He did tell us that Brother Prathi is now his Branch President, and he said to say, 'hello'.
We met the Prathis shortly after our mission began, when they came to be sealed.
Brother Satyanarayana Vipparthi,  his 3 yr. old son, Rishon Jasher Vipparthi, and Sudhakar Geddam
Sister Vipparthi wasn't ready to be photographed
 Elder Bodily got a High-five from Jasher with a little help from his dad.
Sirosha Goganamanda Vipparthi in her beautiful wedding dress.
The Vipparthi Family are now a sealed family for time and eternity.

The timing worked for me to attend their sealing. 
 Unfortunately, 
Elder Bodily was not able to because he was home feeling miserable with the flu.

Friday, March 18, 2016

I'm A Klutz!


I took a tumble in front of the temple today, all because I was in too big of a hurry and failed to use the crosswalk.
Grateful the cars had all passed by before I went flying.  Scraped my hands and face.  Time will tell if I have a black eye as a result.
Lesson learned - use the crosswalk, and pick up your feet.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Wishes Were Granted!

A conference for the Asia Area Mission Presidents was held this week in Hong Kong.
 We were informed they would be coming to the temple today to attend a special endowment session with their wives.  It is always a treat to have these faithful men and women at the temple and to see and feel of their countenances.
When I learned that Elder Brent H. Nielson would be among those attending, 
I was even more anxious.
Partly because he is from our great state of Idaho and there is a connection there.  But, mostly because my dad has always spoke highly of him as he was my parent's stake president at one time.  It was Elder Nielson who set my father apart as a full-time missionary when he and Joyce were called to serve in the Orlando Florida Mission.  Dad was so impressed with him that he even went as far as to say he expected Brother Nielson would be called as a General Authority someday.
  I guess he knew what he was talking about.

My wish today was that I would at least get to shake hands with Elder Nielson.
Elder and Sister Nielson 

Our day was even better than expected.  
I was assigned to be in the session with the mission presidents. 
After the session, low and behold, Elder Nielson came from the Celestial Room just as I was in the hall.  I was able to shake his hand, and
I told him my father would be tickled to know that I met him today because he holds him in such high regard.  He asked who my father was, and when I told him, Melvin Stanger, he said, "yes, I know Mel.  Tell him I said hello".
Just when I thought my happy moment was complete, 
Elder Nielson approached me again, this time near the office, and again shook my hand as he was preparing to leave.
Since we were leaving too, 
I got brave and asked if I could quickly get a photo with him before he left.  
He said sure.
This will really surprise my dad.
Elder Bodily had hoped to attend the special session as well, but was assigned to assist the Peddinti and Dumpala families as proxies for almost 100 baptisms.  Since he is unable to speak Telugu, he spoke the ordinance in Cantonese. 
 After 100 names, he got the practice he needed to speak that ordinance perfectly.
He truly enjoys working in the Baptistry.
So, his morning was extra special as well.
A bonus!
 Elder Bodily with Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong
 Member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Counselor in the Aisa Area Mission Presidency

We admire these good people who have consecrated their lives to serving the Lord and are helping to build His Kingdom.  It is a blessing to have served them today in the Hong Kong Temple.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

A Quick Introduction!

Met two nice women today.
Susan Andersen is from Ohio, and is soon to become the mother-in-law of Eriyana,
a beautiful young woman from Indonesia.
Would love to have had more time to hear their story.
Eriyana and Susan Andersen

The Peddinti And The Suphan Families

We filled in for Elder and Sister Lee with orienting those staying at Patron Housing this week.
The Peddinti and Dumpala families are from India and came to be sealed.
Sai Babu and Parvathi both received their own endowment, and then were sealed as a family with their son and daughter, Naga and Lavanya.
 Lavanya was also sealed today to her husband Rahul.  Naga and Lavanya have both served as full-time missionaries, and were a tremendous help in translating for their parents, 
who only speak Telagu.
Sister Parvathi was dressed in a beautiful Sari, which is traditional for Indian women,
 especially on special occasions.  
 Sister Bodily, Naga Reddy Peddinti, Sai Babu Peddinti, Parvathi Subulolu Peddinti,
 Lavanya Peddinti Dumpala, Rahul Dumpala, Elder Bodily
Piyanut and Thitaporn Suphan and their daughter, Mariya Sonti, and their little boy, Joseph
 (named after the Joseph with the coat of many colors in Egypt)
They are from Thailand
They have spent almost two weeks here attending the temple everyday.

We could see the joy in the faces of both these faithful families
 as they participated in the temple ordinances,
and the gratitude they felt just to be able to come to the temple.

Monday, March 14, 2016

The 2016 Hong Kong Flower Show

This P-day we first went to the podiatrist to have foot corns removed from my feet.
Happy to say that was painless.  
Then over to Causeway Bay to see
The 2016 Hong Kong Flower Show, which is being held in Victoria Park.
This was our first visit to this park.
There was no charge for Elder Bodily, but $14HK for me because I'm too young.

 The first thing we noticed was we didn't get here early enough.  
By 10:30 it was already a crowded place.
The next thing we noticed was how many were getting on the ground to get up close and personal with flowers.
It was incredible how many people were taking photos of individual flowers.
Look at the size of those lenses, and all for a flower
 Elder Bodily got these without a humongous lens.
 These Cherry Blossom Trees seemed to captivate every photographer
We picked the day to come when it seems every school in Hong Kong is having a field trip here,
but these children sure are cute.
One of the displays.
We think this is suppose to be Adam and Eve
This one represents the city of Hong Kong
Notice the skyscrapers?
Simply a Seahorse
This was a unique display of beautiful flowers planted among colorful bungie cords. 
This must be what a home can be outside of the city.
This one was made of wood chips.
This is my favorite display:
 Harp and cellos. 
Some covered in flowers, some not. 
Elder Bodily considers these two the best displays in the entire show.
WHERE'S GRANDPA?
DO YOU SEE THE MONKEYS?
Checked out the Concession Stands.
WHERE'S GRANDMA?
Sausage on a stick anyone?
Or maybe a saltine cracker on a stick.

Just when we thought we had seen everything and exited the show,
we discovered there is much more to Victoria Park.
Tennis Courts, a Swimming Pool, and a Boat Race Pond can be found here.
Lawn Bowling can also be enjoyed at this park.
It is not unusual to see Tai Chi anytime of the day and anywhere.
More cute children in their school uniforms headed to the playground.
Elder Bodily's random bird photo
How can anyone sleep like that?  It hurt my neck just looking at him.
Noticed this flower after we had left the flower show and strolled through the park.
It was beautiful and unusual, and unlike any flower displayed in the show.
We vote it Best of Show!

This is the first flower show we have ever attended, so we aren't sure what we should have expected.
I guess we expected to see something like the 
Pasadena Rose Parade with floats completely covered in flowers.
This wasn't exactly that.  There were some displays, as shown above, but most of the show was vendors selling flowers, gardening equipment, and food concessions.
Oh well.  It was still an enjoyable day,
 and with all that walking, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer to get to the foot doctor.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Family History Fireside!

We stayed after our church meetings to attend the Family History Fireside here in Wan Chai.
Brother Stephen Rockwood, who is CEO of Family Search was the first speaker and was excellent.  He spoke of the importance of families working on family history together.  We are promised protection from Satan if we do temple work, and family history as a family

Elder Allan F. Packer and Sister Packer also spoke, encouraging us, if we aren't already, to work on our family history.
They have been meeting with government officials, and are making progress in getting access to the genealogical records needed to further the work on Family Search.
Elder Packer is the Assistant Executive Director of the Family History Department.
He projected a photo of their large family on the screen, which included all of their children and their spouses and grandchildren. 
 Only one grandchild was not pictured because he is away on a mission.
With eight children, they have quite a large family.
It was fun to see Stephen and Amy and their children in the photo.
Pres. Packer was our Bishop before becoming a member of our Stake Presidency back home.

Elder Sam Wong gave closing remarks.  He first referred to the bowtie Elder Packer was wearing in a wedding photo shown tonight, and said he had once heard our District President Tai's father tell a joke about a name in his genealogy that was the reverse of Bowtie:  Tai Bo
Didn't quite catch what the joke was though.

 Elder Wong went on to say he remembers sitting in the Ho Man Tin Chapel in the early 80s when Brother Tai told this joke and then he preceded to speak about Family History. 
It was this talk that motivated Elder Wong to ask his relatives about his genealogy.  He received a book from a family member containing the records of 40 generations.
He has since done temple work for his ancestors as far back as approx. 2000 BC. 
Isn't that incredible?
All because he listened to someone give a talk on Family History.

We have listened tonight to talks on Family History.
Are we motivated to do more than we have?
 We certainly need to.
 
Elder and Sister Packer
were kind enough to stop for a photo or two with a few sisters.
Wan Phen Butera on the right, was among them.

We forwarded this on to President and Sister Packer in our home ward just for fun,
 and asked if anyone looked familiar.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

For Isla!

 Since our mission has taken us thousands of miles away,
We aren't able to be with Isla on her birthday.
So, today we turned on our computer
To sing our happy wishes to her.
She showed us her birthday cake
Which she helped her mom make.
It was decorated it in a creative way
And quite colorful, we might say.
Isla is six years old now and getting quite smart.
She is also a sweet sister and has a kind heart.

May we just say Happy Birthday to you, Isla Cassie.
If you were Scottish, you would be a wee lassie.
However, you are not.
But,
 You are one of our 17 precious grandchildren whom we treasure,
And love and miss far beyond measure.

With lots of love,
Grandpa and Grandma B

Thursday, March 10, 2016

42 Years Ago!

It never ceases to amaze me how we have days when 
someone we haven't seen for years shows up unexpectedly.
Today was one of those days.
Nina Hansen

As I sat at the front of the ordinance room waiting for the session to begin, in walked a woman who looked very familiar to me.  She reminded me of Nina Hansen, and my mind immediately went back 42 years to when she and I participated in Kimberly Second Ward's Mutual Talent Show.
We sang, One Tin Soldier together and she accompanied us with her guitar.
Then I thought, since I haven't seen her for over 40 years, it is amazing that I could even recall her name.  I also thought, the odds of two girls from the small town of Twin Falls, Idaho being in Hong Kong on the same day in the same place are not good.
But, I planned on introducing myself after the session anyways, which I did.
I asked her where she was from and she said Utah.  Yep!  I was mistaken.  But, for some reason I asked her if she would mind telling me her name.
  When she said Nina, I realized I was not mistaken after all.
I obviously have changed in appearance much more than she, because she didn't recognize me at all.
In the few minutes we had to spend,
I learned that she has lived in Utah since going off to college,
 and no longer thinks of Idaho as where she is from.
She has two children and has been living in Cedar City, Utah teaching at Southern Utah University.
She is now living in China teaching English along with other BYU alumni.
She had come to Hong Kong to attend the International Women's Conference.
She was even scheduled to play her cello for this conference.
She told me she loves playing the cello every opportunity she can.

She and I had both moved from Twin Falls before our senior year.  She moved to Kimberly and I  went to Hansen, but at that time, the two towns made one ward.

When I told Elder Bodily about recognizing an old classmate from high school that day, but someone he wouldn't know, he immediately said,
"I remember her.  She was that red-head who could play softball."
Wow!

I wish we had had more time to catch up, but it was fun to at least have a moment to see an old acquaintance, and right here in the Hong Kong Temple of all places.

 Nina is living in Asia while we are assigned to serve as missionaries in Asia.   She came to the Hong Kong Temple while we are serving here in the temple.   The only temple session she attended today was the one that my husband and I were assigned to, otherwise, I probably wouldn't have seen her.   These could all be considered coincidences.  But, our prophet has told us there is no such thing as coincidence, and I believe that.
I am grateful to the Lord for days like this.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Dermatology, Gardens, Nunnery, And Wooloomooloo

I had a minor concern with my skin, so our first stop on P-day was to the dermatologist.  Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing at all to be concerned about.
 
This is what hangs on the wall in Dr. Cheung's waiting room.
Not sure what it says, 
but we assume it is something positive and reassuring.
 Dr. Cheung was thorough and has a nice bedside manner.
Thank you, Brother and Sister Yu for recommending him.
      
Next stop was Diamond Hill MTR Station 
to explore Nan Lian Garden.
The main entrance requires walking under a few overpasses to get there.  
We were impressed with how clean and well-maintained that area was,
 especially for being under the overpass.
Front Entrance
 One of the first buildings we came to was filled with replicas of historical monasteries and temples.
These replicas were made from beautiful wood, and not one nail was used in the construction.
The intricate carvings were impressive.
Standing beside this one helps to show just how large they are in size.
Any guesses on how much time it must have taken to construct?
The Nan Lian Gardens were beautiful, well manicured, and immaculate.
Such a contrast between the trees that line this walkway.

A serene place completely surrounded by the city, but you don't even realize the city is near while walking through the gardens.
Elder Bodily being helpful, as he often is.
These birds blended so well in this small tree. 
How many birds do you see?
                                                       
Something caught my eye in front of the Rock Museum.
 It was this rain chain downspout made of copper flower shaped baskets.
Much more appealing than standard downspouts and just what we need back home.

 We entered the gift shop with no intention of buying a thing, 
unless we spotted something we absolutely needed.
Found some things tempting, but resisted most of them.
Passion Fruit and Raspberry Truffles

We walked out of there with a new fan, embroidered pouch, and these truffles.
This photo doesn't do them justice, but they were almost too pretty to eat. 
 The price was ridiculous, but couldn't resist trying something edible that looked like marbles.
The Chi Lin Nunnery is connected to the gardens.
No photography or speaking allowed while inside the courtyard of this nunnery.
This was a unique picnic area, and no one is going to be running off with these tables.
 Elder Bodily was so tuckered that 
 even this granite table couldn't keep him from getting a catnap.
All the exploring worked up an appetite.  Nothing looked good at the mall nearby, so we 
headed to Wooloomooloo Steakhouse in Tsim Sha Tsui.  One of our favorite places for steak, 
but it was their scrumptious pasta that won us over this time.
We had an enjoyable P-Day.
Much more fun than staying in the apartment doing cleaning and laundry.
That can wait for another day.