Wake Me Up When September Ends

Dear Friends and Family,

I can't believe it's September already. I feel like I blink and a week is gone. Things these past 10 days or so have been really good. I was happy to be able to unwind and go to the temple this morning. What a great blessing to have a temple in my mission. I can seriously be out my apartment door one hour before a session starts and take the MTR, walk, change clothes and still have about 15 minutes before the session starts. As I was sitting in the Celestial room this morning it

Hong Kong celestial room

occurred to me that the floor to ceiling sliver-like windows in the Hong Kong temple have been etched with waterfalls. I contrasted that to the heavy rains that were falling outside and it fulfilled for me the scripture 3 Ne 24:10 which talks about how the Lord will "pour out a blessing that their shall not be room enough to recieve it." I don't think that promise is made just only for tithe payers. I think it has relevance to our covenant keeping regardless of what it is. I feel like I've been blessed for the get-go having been raised on the gospel principles and that has only been enhanced after my baptism and many other covenants. Just sitting here it occured to me that the water could represent oil that we need in our lamps, or have a physical and spiritual cleansing that comes in the temple. Anyway, I'm rambling a bit. Needless to say, the symbols in the temple can have many unique and different interpretations. 

This past week back home was a big one! Sterling started school, my parents' 22nd Anniversary, and Grace's birthday this coming Sunday! Congratulations to all! In case y'all are wondering today marks 13-months in Hong Kong for me and 6 months since I came to this KwaiChung area. I'm blown away by everything that has happened in the last year. Time speeds up on the mission I guess and I hope growth does too. I feel like I've changed significantly since I've been here.

A few months ago (3 to be exact) Elder B and I participated in a district find in bustling TST. We were assigned to find for a few hours right next to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It was a hot day I remember and the first hour or so we did pretty well talking to people. With about half an hour to go I felt impressed to pick a particular lady out of the crowd that was going by and somehow managed to stop her even though she was a few yards away. I taught her the first lesson and got her number to give to the TST sister missionaries. I think I may have also scheduled her for church with them. Well I didn't contact her after that but I saw her about a month ago and she said she was still investigating and making leaps and bounds. Well, as I was doing Call-In Reports this past Sunday I saw that the TST sisters had a baptism. Curious, I asked the Zone Leaders who were sitting nearby who it was. Sure enough, it was Esther, the lady I had contacted! So there you go! I'm really excited for her!

In other news, last Saturday TsingYi ward had a musical festival in the church and they invited some of the nearby missionaries to participate in one of their musical numbers. After 2 half hour music rehearsals we were pretty much solid on our parts and go to perform it just last Saturday. It was a medley of D&C 6 done by W.W. Phelps. I didn't get any pictures but the Lewis'--a senior missionary couple--did. They informed me that they sent them on to Grandpa Siebach already. (They know Grandpa because they served in the Palmyra temple with him). I haven't seen the pics, hope they're good! 

This week all the school students went back to school. That means that we have fewer fellow-shippers and fewer lessons for right now, but it makes afternoon finding, something we do a fair amount of, very effective! They pour out onto the streets and it's just a missionary frenzy! It's pretty fun and we blend in pretty well with them considering all the schools have uniforms and so the schoolboys have slacks, white shirts and ties on. Most of them also have the crest of their school ironed onto the pocket of their shirts. Kinda like 20,000 missionaries on the street of KwaiChung instead of just 2!

I'm not really sure why, but recently Elder B and I have been getting called by random phone numbers. Some of them are pranks but some of them are legitimate. For instance, this past week we went up to the hospital to visit with a lady who called us. She has pretty good interest in learning this message and so we will probably try to head up their again before she gets released from the hospital. On the other hand, the KwaiChung Sisters companionship got a phone number and address from a man last week that they didn't feel comfortable contacting and so they gave it to us. We went up two days ago and had the most evil feeling as we met with him and as he talked to us. We kept trying to find a good opportunity to leave and eventually left once he started trying to give the laying on of hands to HIS husband... We did't realize that the man we were talking to had undergone 'surgery' and was really a woman. He/She followed us out the apartment complex doors and then we booked it. We won't be going back again. Ever.

Previously I mentioned that J would get baptized this upcoming week. But I regret to say that after reviewing the baptismal questions we feel best with delaying a few weeks more. Mr. L is still doing fantastic, and really wants to be baptized. He has his court hearing next Friday so that will be the real indicator as to whether he can be baptized. Mr. W is hard to get ahold of... He canceled a lesson on us last week and every time we call up to reschedule his wife answers and says he is out and then hangs up on us. We finally went up to his home yesterday but no one was home. Hopefully we can reach him this week.

I started the Old Testament this past week and am on a reading schedule of about 4-5 pages a day and I should have it finished by the time I end my mission. I'm also back in the Book Of Mormon. I've been reading in 2 Nephi lately and am impressed by Jacob's testimony. He has strong faith and explains the resurrection and atonement very well. I hope that I can teach it as simply and as powerfully as he does. The prophets are awesome! 

We will be working and praying for another good week here in KwaiChung! I hope we can get a lot of new investigators and people at church!

Things are going well! 

Love,
Elder Siebach