Thanksgiving.... A lot to be thankful for!

The last few weeks have been a bustle of activity! It's hard to believe that December is almost here! Zone conferences went well and all was very smooth. The temple is closed for three weeks and will open again December 4th so we have had a few weeks off with that assignment.

Thanksgiving was a very different experience being here and we had an enjoyable time. On the actual day, Joe and I went to Cheesecake Factory and had an awesome meal. The next day we were invited to one of the wards (congregation) "Thanksgiving" meal. We were not in-charge, and just showed up to enjoy the evening with them. The next thing I know, the sisters of the ward asked me to go in the kitchen because they had some "questions"...  How to carve a turkey? How to heat up pizza? How to make the gravy, etc... First of all, turkey in Hong Kong is VERY expensive. In the States you can get a 20 pound turkey for about $10US. In HK a 10 pound turkey is about $50US. So the next thing I know, they have laid all the food out and they want me to carve the turkey and I'm hearing my name in Cantonese with the whole ward watching me. I know enough of the language to at least laugh at the right times (ha).  What's really funny is I have never carved a turkey in my life but I pretended like I knew what I was doing and it all worked out fine. They had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pizza, and about 15 other Chinese dishes... That was their Thanksgiving meal.  We had a great evening!

Saturday night we had a huge traditional American Thanksgiving meal with all of the senior couple missionaries which was amazing! My assignment was yams, and I actually found yams/sweet potatoes from California so that I could make my recipe. Really fun evening with all the missionaries and the Asia Area Presidency. There were 37 of us in total.

We have been working heavily with the YSA'a (Young Single Adults) and the different wards leadership. Our focus is on creating ways to support that age group (19-30) as well as to find and reach out to those who are less active. We meet with the core committee every month and plan activities and also support and attend committee meetings for the regional Hong Kong wide YSA group. We have some fun things planned for 2019.

We are beginning to spend a lot more time working on FSY (For the Strength of Youth) 2019. It is a week long program for the youth ages 14-18, which mirrors EFY (Especially for Youth) at Brigham Young University. FSY happens outside of the United States in other countries. The purpose is to help everyone involved develop and build a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His atonement and desire to live lives that reflect those convictions. It is also for the YSA's to get leadership experience and further strengthen their testimonies. We have been assigned to be the "Advisory Couple", which entails us making sure that the program stays within the guidelines set forth by the FSY committee in Salt Lake. It is VERY involved and requires a lot of meetings and us being trained, training others, and empowering others to develop their leadership skills. FSY Hong Kong will be July 22-27th, 2019 and there will be about 10 trainings, countless firesides, trips to the venue, and readjustments between now and then.

On Sunday both Joe and I spoke in Sacrament meeting. I spoke in English with a translator which is really interesting because I have to say one or two sentences, and then the translator repeats what I said in Cantonese. I gave the quotes and scriptures to her before hand so she could look them up and read them after I read mine. I joked with Joe that I only had to prepare half of the amount he did because mine was said twice. He gave his talk in Cantonese and it is still a big struggle but he's improving every day. He is involved in a lot of different Cantonese leadership meetings and councils that I am not a part of so he is "in it" in a different way than I am. Plus, he's Asian, so they all expect him to be fluent, ha ha. Lets just say he uses a translation tool on his phone A LOT, and he slept much better Sunday night after it was over. :):)

There is so much to be grateful for! There will always be plenty of things to struggle with, or wish were different in our lives wether it's people or situations. What we put in our mind and allow to stay is what we think about and in turn controls how we feel, which often controls what we do and how we see the world. I have taken on President Nelsons challenge to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, marking every passage that references the Savior. I definitely feel homesick sometimes and of course have tough days but I can tell you it has made a huge difference in my days and in my thoughts! I'm grateful for the tools that help us heal and keep moving forward. Grateful for a supportive companion, family, and others who continue to pray for us and our welfare. Thank you and thank you for being a part of our lives as we continue on this part of our journey.

We love you all!
Sister Kwan

At the senior missionary couples Thanksgiving dinner.

Here is the group of senior missionary couples.

At the Chinese Thanksgiving Ward dinner.

Pretending like I knew what I was doing carving the turkey. 

I couldn't stop laughing.

Cars and tons of people at 6:00pm at night in
an area called Tsim She Tsui.

In the middle of the street during rush hour, they stopped traffic
to remove debris off the side of the road. The streets
were packed with people and cars.

Thanksgiving with the senior couples complete
with nut cups, ha ha...  The food was fantastic!

Dessert after the Zone Conference for the young missionaries.
Pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
complete with a little candy corn pumpkin on the top.

Roots... How deep are they really?

Cooking, cooking, and more cooking....It could seem that it wouldn't be very important to go across the world and do so much cooking under very different circumstances than what I'm used to back home. Of course, that isn't all that I do but what is interesting is that food is an amazing way to bring people together. It's comforting, bonding, and it bridges differences between people and can break down barriers emotionally. Many of these young missionaries are sent here from the USA, Australia, the UK, and Europe. The Asian culture is SO completely opposite from everything they are used to and lets not forget the fact that they have left all that is familiar back home including their families. When they come to Zone conference every six weeks, it can feel like a piece of home with comfort food that would be too expensive for them to buy on their own. (Something involving cheese, salsa, and chocolate, ha ha.) Basically, they have a five hour meeting as a group with the Mission President and his wife. They are instructed, hear testimonies, participate in music, have group activities, etc... All in English and then have a meal together. It supports them in getting recharged and strengthened to be able to go do what they do. The hope is during this process they will develop deep spiritual roots that will carry them through, not only to the end of their mission in Hong Kong, but will be a foundation for the rest of their lives.

We went back to California for 5 days for my Dad's memorial. It was good to be able to be there and be with the family. I'm grateful that I had an opportunity to speak at the memorial and honor my Dad. I was a bit worried and stressed knowing I had been asked to do this, but a week before we left for California I was awoke twice in the night and the words were just there. I literally got out of bed twice to write and write. I'm grateful for that experience knowing what God wanted me to say. I talked about the meaning of life and how the Savior fits into that plan and that everyone of us will be leaving this world at some point. What legacy will we leave with our loved ones? If we were to meet our maker today, are we at peace with God and our relationship with him? It was good to see family and especially to snuggle with the grandkids. At the same time, we also felt very pulled and anxious to get back to Hong Kong as our life is here for another year and wanted to get back to our assignments and responsibilities.

Upon our return to Hong Kong, we hit the ground running. The very next morning we were on a train at 7am to head up to the Kowloon Tong Building where the mission office is to prepare lunch for 50 young missionaries who were attending a leadership training. We had spaghetti, Caesar salad, rolls, and a cherry dump cake (Look it up online if you don't know what it is. Pretty amazing) with vanilla ice cream. Needless to say they were pretty happy and honestly, so was I!

Saturday night there was a Hong Kong wide dance for the singles ages 19-40. They had the equivalent of $1300 in US dollars they had to spend before the end of the year, and I said, "I can do that!" ha ... There is a member of the church here who owns this incredible Italian restaurant called, Amaroni's and he gave us this great deal. The story gets better because we were invited to the restaurant to try all the food before we placed the catering order. Joe laughed and said, "Now THIS is a mission". We had two kinds of pasta, two kinds of salad, and fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic. These Chinese young adults had never experienced food like this at a party... ever. They loved it! The theme was "Back to the 80's"... I didn't know if it was US 80's or HK 80's but most of the music was American and they had a great turn out and a good time! Very successful event.

This week is our Zone Conference so Wednesday and Thursday we are making tacos for 150, split up into two days. I have a friend here who helps me a lot and offered to make 192 pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! She invited us over for dinner and to try them. Yep! They were awesome. She's from Tahiti and her husband is from Texas. Very cool couple.

I've been thinking a lot about testimony and roots and how those two things relate to each other. It is really interesting because before the huge typhoon hit here in Hong Kong, you would see these big beautiful trees. They looked so strong, big, and healthy. After the typhoon, some were battered, but they maintained their stand in the ground. Some trees were completely ripped out of the ground. Some were sheltered by location but ALL were effected by the massive storm. What is interesting to note, is that although the big beautiful trees looked amazing on the outside, the ones that were ripped from the ground happened because they were basically grown in a pots under the ground so their roots never got that deep... Unless the roots of our testimony are deep enough, being firmly planted in the Savior and the atonement we will be swayed by the storms of life in all its forms. We see it every day. Let us examine our own roots and be firm in what we know is true and right and if we are currently struggling, doing what is necessary to get our roots deep enough to sustain further storms that are headed our way. Peace and safety will always be found in the Savior.

Love to you all!
Sister Kwan

Went to this place called "Ten thousand Buddas" which actually is about 13,000, but it was very cool.  It was a decent hike with 400 steps up a pretty steep incline. The main monastery houses thousands of miniature Buddha statues with glittering lights etc.

On the way up to the monastery both sides were lined with Buddhas all the way up to the top with every possible expression.

This is what a Relief Society (church women's meeting) lesson looks like in a Cantonese ward :) It was about ways that we can connect and help minister to others more effectively.

On the plane 15 hours back to Hong Kong. Eek!

This is the crew from Amaroni's who catered the meal at the Hong Kong YSA dance.  Joe was at the front desk pretending he could read Chinese, (ha) and checking people into the event.

This is carved out of a tusk... The detail is incredible. We saw this when visiting Macau several weeks ago.