Note to self: Bad idea to eat at a wet market

Our first Sunday in Hong Kong was quite amazing and filled with tender mercies. Since we have not been assigned a ward (congregation) yet, we went to church with another missionary couple to a cantonese speaking ward. The meetings felt just like ours back home, just in a different language. In all of the meetings, a sweet member sister would sit by me and translate quietly in my ear so I would know what was being taught. It's hard to express what I was feeling as they sang, "There is a Green Hill Far Away" in cantonese... They know what they are singing about and it was a powerful experience for me. Between meetings I saw a sister who I felt something was wrong and seemed like she was hiding in the back and not feeling very comfortable. Not knowing the language, I talked to the young missionaries and asked who she was and suggested they check in with her and let her know that she was noticed and not alone. They said she was a less active trying to come back to church and went to talk with her. At the same time, a young man started talking to me in English who is Chinese and had just moved back to Hong Kong from London. He's the only member in his family, and is 23 years old. I was able to connect him with another YSA (young single adult) and get his information to the people who run that program so he could get information on activities, etc.

So here is what is interesting... I was with a group of people I do not know and do not speak the language. I felt like God was trying to show me that He can use me if I listen to him. It was another powerful reminder that we are not in charge and how our Heavenly Father can work in our lives if we let Him.

We had a meeting with the Elder Meurs, who is the first counselor in the Asia Area Presidency.  We for sure will be assigned to a Cantonese speaking Stake, which is a group of congregations in a specific area. The rest of the specifics are yet to be determined and we are both super excited about what will unfold. There is a lot of work to be done in helping to strengthen the new and long time members here in Hong Kong. The church in Hong Kong has: six cantonese speaking Stakes (30-40 congregations) plus the International District which consists of a huge English speaking ward (feels like Utah :) as well as a Mandarin speaking branch. The District also has about 9-10 Pilipino congregations. They are the domestic workers who are all women. A lot of these ladies have university degrees but can make three times the money cleaning toilets in Hong Kong so they leave their parents, children and husbands to work here and send money home. It is a cultural thing that the oldest in the family go out and support the rest of the family. Hard to see, but our job as missionaries is to support them within their culture.

Funny story.  Friday night several missionary couples wanted to go to dinner together, so one of the couples picked this place and it was in one of the wet markets. Before we realized how much of a mistake this was (eek) we were in too deep and it got worse from there. So lets just say that it was an experience to remember and laugh about. Next time I'm picking and we are going Italian! ha ha.  Speaking of Italian restaurants, we went to this Italian place last week and had Mexican fajitas which were fantastic!! We will be going back again to try their Italian food :) lol . I'm sure it's great too.

We are doing well here. Got our new mattress delivered on Wednesday and that was life changing!  No, I have not used the Easy Bake oven yet, but will share when I do. :). Mostly using the stove top.  Our new mission president arrived Friday night so we will be meeting with him next week. Things are moving forward and I am still very much adjusting to the new way of life here.

Remember faith is about moving forward even when we don't have all the answers. Sometimes we need to be patient and allow things to unfold as we are doing everything in our power today. We are not promised and easy passage, but we are promised peace and safety as we look to our Savior and follow His way the best we can.

Love you all!
Sister Kwan

Dinner in the wet market with several of the missionary couples.

Elder Wright is holding up the napkins they gave us. We had plenty so that's good. :)

Back in our apartment.

This was in the wet market as we went to the restaurant.
Yes, that is a big fish head and yes, he was preparing the food to sell.

This is the Hong Kong version of Costco called "A and M".  They have a lot of the same stuff with the exception of the frozen/fresh food.  It was a beautiful sight!!

An Ice cream truck with music and everything.  If you zoom
 in on the picture you can see it better.

Dinner at home. Taco salad with corn chips, ground seasoned meat, black beans, lettuce, and mango salsa. There is definitely a learning curve cooking here. The culture is to shop for fresh stuff every other day. With a small space, there is no stocking up on anything and with the humidity, things don't last long so you have to plan accordingly. 

Arrived in Hong Kong!

Hard core Chinese noodle shop. 90% humidity and
TONS of people in there eating lunch.

Well, we arrived in Hong Kong after traveling for about 18 hours. It sounds weird, but on the plane I had this realization that I was going to my new "home" for the next 18 months.  The MTC is kind of like this spiritual bubble where you talk about it and prepare for it but there is still this sense of security and familiarity.

I had a mix of excitement and panic. :). So on the plane I got out my scriptures and started reading everything I could find about faith and "fearing not".  When we landed, we were both really tired and happy to get off the plane!

President and Sister Lam picked us up and took us to our apartment. The church has contracted with the HarborFront Suites and all the couple missionaries stay here. The hotel is beautiful and the pictures online are amazing! We were met by another couple (The Hydes) who took us to our room.

It was a little shocking and not like the pictures online. The apartment isn't bad but there is a thoroughfare outside our windows. The Hydes suggested we move rooms so we are not waving to hordes of people for the next 18 months. We said, great idea! We went to Ikea to get a foam mattress for the top of our brick bed, and our oven is in our LIVING ROOM and the size of an Easy Bake kids oven. I'm not kidding, see picture below! I had to laugh because I've always wanted an Easy Bake.  Didn't think it would be when I was 50, but hey dreams do come true! LOL We will move into a different apartment July 15th.

We were given an office in the main church building in an area called Wan Chi on Hong Kong Island. It houses three chapels and all the area offices which includes the Area Presidency, and missionaries doing a myriad of things (attorneys, mission doctor, mental health specialist, public affairs, facilities, an on and on). The Hong Kong mission of course is here, but the Asia Area Presidency (and group) covers 11 other missions and 22 countries. Lots of laws to comply with, service projects, and an unbelievable amount of money the church donates to help these countries.

It's pretty cool, because there are about 20 missionary couples and there is quite a camaraderie in the group. The women have an institute class once a week (hour long scripture study) that is fantastic and they really take care of each other! Our apartment was full of food and for the first 4 days we had different people taking us to and from the building, taking us to dinner, and others showing us where to go, how to shop, where to buy food, and getting us familiar with the lay of the land.

As for our assignments, the leadership is changing in the next two weeks and it looks like we are going to be doing different things than we were originally told.  It's common for assignments to change and it makes sense that they want to use Joe's language abilities to support those cantonese wards/branches (congregations). We will have a lot more information about the specifics in the next week or so. We will also be involved in several projects and large events with more details to come.

I've decided that the reason the MTC is such a spiritual experience is to prepare you for what you will find once you get to your mission. :). There is a true story about President Gordon B. Hinkley when he was a young man on a mission in England. He was struggling and feeling like he was wasting his time and fathers money. His dad wrote him a letter and said, "Forget yourself and get to work!" "Be not afraid, only believe".

So what all this means is, I am getting serious about my cantonese language study, being patient, and learning to use my Easy Bake oven!

Life is good, the church is true and God loves his children all over the world.

Love, Sister Kwan

Easy Bake oven in our living room.

With the Mission President and his wife, the Lams

Frogs at the "wet market" to be purchased and cooked.  EEK

Pigs at the "wet market" being taken to cut up and sell.  They LOVE pork here! So, truth be told, they have these wet markets all over but you don't ever have to shop there.   Everything you need including meat etc. can be purchased at indoor markets similar to those in the States where you don't have to see (or smell) animal parts :) Pictures are great though, right??

Provo Utah -- Missionary Training Center!

The famous MTC map!

We flew to Utah on Sunday night, June 10th after a very long few days of fun with family and friends. Saturday, June 9th we had an Open House at John and Marilyn Johnsons house and on Sunday June 10th we spoke at church, had lunch with family and then headed to the airport! Needless to say it was very emotional and we certainly felt the love from everyone. I think about the thousands of missionaries doing this every week and it sure takes on a new meaning now that we have.

We stayed with one of Joes friends in Provo, UT Sunday night and he took us to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) Monday morning. It was a surreal experience! We walked in the door, stood in line with couples MUCH older than us and then they put our missionary tags on us. "Sister Kwan" with the name of Jesus Christ's church under it. What an honor to wear His name over my heart.

We got settled into our room in a building where the couples stay which is very nice. There were only about 30 couples in our group. They set us up in "Districts" like they do with the young missionaries, which ours consisted of four couples. We were also assigned another couple who we would work with during the week. The Edelman's are from Utah and they are going to Japan to be the Mental Health Specialist and Nurse for that mission. GREAT people and was fun to spend a lot of time working with them.

The first day in the cafeteria was quite amazing. We just happened to be sitting by two Elders (male missionaries no matter their age) who are from mainland China, (Shanghai and Guangzhou) who were baptized as kids in China. This is pretty amazing! There are over 100 missionaries from mainland China serving missions in the United States right now. This is a country whose government is still communist and it is illegal to share the Gospel with anyone other than your family in that country. The church is growing there. Hong Kong is a totally different system, with different rules, but that was a cool thing. We have met missionaries from India, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Thailand, France, and on and on. Over 1100 missionaries at the MTC! It is an army of young people preparing to go out and share the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ literally to the whole world.  

Our teachers were impressive and the oldest one was 23 years old :). I can speak for both us us and say we both have been members of this church for decades and we learned a lot!  It was a five day course from the book "Preach My Gospel" with a lot of real life teaching and preparing lessons. More importantly, reminding us that this is not about us nor is it our work. It is the Lords and we are just instruments in helping others feel and or remember what they know. God plants the seeds in hearts and prepares. We just need to listen and be the conduit for Him.

Over the weekend we had an opportunity to see some family and make some special memories with them that I will treasure forever. (We spent Saturday at John and Michelles which was the last time I saw him. I had some alone time with him, as well as a very special dinner with Dave/Linda and David Kwan/Angie). During this week I have definitely had many different feelings and missing those I love. Yet the undercurrent of all of this is, as difficult as it is to be gone for a period of time I know that this is what we are to be doing at this time in our lives. We are both excited to get to work and serve. We leave Monday morning for the airport headed to Hong Kong!

We love you all and can feel your prayers, love and support!

Sister Kwan

Shell shocked at the door of the MTC ready to go in. All I could think was, Is this really happening?

First day, exhausted in every way but excited

This is one of the 12 life-size murals that are back lit in the huge new MTC building.  On the opposite side of the picture, is an explanation of the scripture story it goes with.  There is always a question at the end to think about.  This one is Martha from the New Testament.
The question at the end is:  Are my priorities aligned with the Lords?

Our exceptional MTC teachers!

We were able to see my Uncle David, Aunt Sue and cousins Karin and Sterling Brown.

Making memories with my brother John and his wife Michelle.

 John and Michelles house.  A chef came and made us an incredible Italian dinner. My other brother David and his wife Linda as well as Joe's son and girlfriend were there.

Our MCT companionship, the Edelman's.

Joe and his son David

Our weeks MTC agenda.