Final Witness

The Flags of Hong Kong and Macau

Dear friends and family,

I'm pleased to report that the Lord does continue to perform miracles! But only after we show forth our faith. Last Monday I went into the Immigration office and spent about 2 hours applying for and meeting with officials to get the oh so coveted extension of the visa. It was a nail-biter for me as officials met with me and explained the procedure. It wasn't too incredibly hard actually, but they needed a few days to process the application and get back to me. They told me to come back Wednesday afternoon between 2:30 and 3:30. Upon my return I was pleased to find that I didn't have to wait very long at all. Just a few moments and then they called me up to the counter. The lady told me that I was permitted to stay the additional 3 days that I had requested! That was a big sigh of relief because quite frankly I want to work here in Taipa right up until the end and I wasn't very keen on sitting in the mission home for 3 days waiting on my flight.

This past week has been another whirlwind. Tuesday we had our district meeting and I was happy to finally learn about and apply good door-knocking techniques--haha! One of the Sisters in our district, Sister Li, showed us all the ropes and taught us how to be personable and get into people's homes. Obviously the Spirit is the most important single factor; however, there was some good advice too about being enthusiastic, speaking slowly, smiling etc... Though we learned these things it was hard to really apply them when we were knocking. I can't help but feel that an endearing native HK Sister Missionary probably is a little more welcoming than the towering broad-shouldered English and American Elders. I could be wrong though. Regardless we will keep trying and pray for the Lord to soften the hearts of those we interact with each day.

Monday evening after P-Day ended we had about 1.5 hours to find. So we went down to the harbor and easy-as-pie taught 3 lessons. They were GOOD lessons too! Each one of the men we contacted really listened and was involved in the conversation. One of them, Mr. Wong, is actually a former investigator from a few months back! We had no idea. He's going through a bit of a work/family crisis right now and so it was just a great experience to remind him of eternal truths that he had temporarily forgotten. Namely; 1 God is our loving Heavenly Father, 2 He listens to and answers prayers, and 3 The Atonement is the remedy to all that is unfair in life. We scheduled him for Friday where we were able to then meet once more and share about Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

This past week we were also blessed with many lessons which is something we struggled with last week. Many of the college students are on summer break right now and are therefore more available. One of our best investigators, Rex, we were able to meet with twice this past week and help him learn more in depth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well as Sabbath Day. He is struggling with church attendance but has committed to talk to his boss and see if he can re-arrange his schedule so that he can attend Sunday Meetings with us. He is reading and praying daily and the best part is that he knows that it is helping him and he is developing his relationship with Heavenly Father!

We picked up another college student this past week to investigate. His name is Jones. He's 20 and really interested to meet and learn about this message. His biggest struggle is coming to church as well! We also met with him twice this past week and spent one lesson teaching the Restoration and the 2nd lesson reading from and explaining the importance of the Book of Mormon. He's making good progress.

Remember that miracle-Book-of-Mormon guy I told you about? Yeah, well he's been too busy this past week to meet with us... Pretty sad but he answers our calls and seems like we could have an opportunity to see him this next week.

Wednesday evening Elder M and I spent some time looking for and knocking on doors of less active members. During our study earlier that morning we had been impressed to select 3 members from the roster and search them out. One of them hadn't been contacted in about 10 years and her address had changed. We weren't sure if her phone was still correct so we decided to go searching first. We ended up knocking on 4 different doors trying to get any information that we could on her. It was all to no avail. When we got home later that night we called. She picked up and was really quite interested in scheduling something! We were just kinda floored! We saw her about 2 days later, shared a message, gave her a Book of Mormon and GOT HER NEW ADDRESS! That was the biggest miracle. Hong Kong has a lot of people who are 'lost sheep'. These are basically members that people have lost trace of because they have moved, passed away, or changed numbers and are therefore harder to contact. We don't like to have lost sheep. So any speck of information we can get is really a blessing from the Lord. I'm confident that the Lord saw our labors that evening and blessed us by toughing her heart so that we could meet with her and start the process of bringing her back into the fold!

Just yesterday we had another similar experience. Elder M and I finished our studies and went out to a gov't housing estate to go finding. We met and talked to everyone we could for a couple hours with some success. As we were turning a corner to go down a street, we greeted a couple that was walking along. As we spoke to them we found out that he was a member (hasn't been active for awhile) and his wife is not. We bore our testimonies to them of the importance of family and I talked about my family and how I was going home to them soon. I expressed that I wanted to take a picture with them. They were touched by this gesture and actually brought us into their home where we then met their 8 year old daughter and their 6 year old son. The little boy has Down's Syndrome, and as we sat there I was so touched by the way the parents were so loving and patient with their children, and I became full of love for this family and just wanted them to come back to the fold and feel the love and unity that comes from the gospel. I hope that in the coming weeks and months we can help them come back.

My time in Hong Kong and in Macau has truly been a wonderful experience. I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about the people we've taught and how we can help them come unto Christ, and I have rejoiced with the few souls that have "heard and come unto Christ." I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for His Son Jesus Christ. This is their mission and I am simply one of their Cantonese mouthpieces. I forget which Prophet or Apostle said this, but he said something along the lines of, "God really loves his Asian sons and daughters; just look how many He created." They are a remarkable, strong, and spiritually sensitive people. When I started my mission there were many things that I BELIEVED were true. As I end my mission there are many more things that I now KNOW are true. This is His church. These are His children. He allows us to participate in His work of Salvation and for this I am eternally grateful.

I pray that we will not 'sleep through the Restoration' as Elder Uchtdorf so cleverly stated. In everything we do and say, in every way, we should reflect the image of Christ. I testify that Christ lives. He watches over each of us. The most powerful experiences of my mission have been pulling people from the waters of baptism and seeing the light of Christ in their eyes. I have seen Christ's reflection in my investigators and recent converts. I have felt His love for his sons and daughters as I have been privileged to confirm new members and ordain men to the priesthood.

I want you all to know that I know the Book of Mormon is true. I've read its 531 pages 7 times in my mission and each page 'denote[s] that there is a God'. I am proud to say that I have read all 4 standard works in my mission as well as the missionary library and they too are true books. I leave my testimony as did Joseph Smith that I know the Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book and that a man or woman will get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book.

I say these things humbly as a Representative of Him whose name I've worn on my chest 757 days, even the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.