Rain and frizzy hair but the air-conditioning is amazing!

As I sit here writing, it is pouring rain. The humidity is about 98% and it's going to be 88 degrees today. It's hard to believe we have been here a year! Reflecting back on this process of being here and all of the things we have learned so far is amazing. For our loved ones back home, you think of your kids (or parents, or friends) going on a mission and being "alone".... meaning away from family and all that is familiar, which is true. However, what you might not think about is that we create relationships and a life while serving the people wherever we are in the world. The connections, support, and love we have felt is so amazing and I'm grateful.

Everyone is different, but for me personally it took about 6-8 weeks to kind of adjust to being away from home. Learning how to cook (with the tiny easy bake oven), how to shop, how to get places using trains and buses, learning how to get food and supplies home after you shop without a car, adjusting to walking 3-5 miles a day to get where you need to be and understanding the people in a culture totally different than your own. Going to church with 50-60 people (instead of 200) in Sacrament meeting because the wards (congregations) are small, and having your head hurt because of the language barrier. The smells, the open markets, the fish heads and half naked men with big knives cutting them apart was quite an adjustment. It was an intense version of "being out of my comfort zone" in more ways than I can describe but then something amazing happened... After the initial adjustment period and learning how to live here, I could start to serve. Getting to know people, to love them, to allow them to serve and love us too. Connections happen and a sense of belonging and purpose begins to happen. It begins to change you in ways that can not be put into words.

While it is true that the initial adjustment was pretty intense, it doesn't mean the rest is easy. Just like life. Whatever our situations are, there will always be things that are enjoyable and times that are not. Focusing on the gratitude and the lessons God is trying to teach us in those moments makes the journey much more peaceful for sure. The long days and nights, the planning, struggles, triumphs and tears of joy and sadness are all part of the process here. This is definitely a FULL experience of all of it.

These last few weeks have been full of preparations. It's that time again with missionary leadership meetings, and Zone conferences with the young missionaries which means, food, food and more food preparations. Beef Strogonoff, broccoli, watermelon, brownies and mint chip ice cream. For the leadership conference we had baked Ziti, rolls, and a salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette. Zone conference time is always fun to see and connect with all the missionaries. There are currently 118 missionaries serving in Hong Kong from all over the world. There are a few from India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, England, and of course the USA and several from Hong Kong. It's fun to see and talk to them.

Many of the missionaries from other Asian countries speak 2 sometimes 4 different languages which is amazing to me. There is one Elder from Indonesia whose English is perfect, with a perfect western accent and uses words like "cool"... I asked him how he learned to speak that way. In Indonesia, he had been sent to a private international school so he was with a lot of American kids. He didn't know any Cantonese before his mission and has only been in Hong Kong for 4 months and his language skills are unbelievable. This is unheard of. He had been accepted to several prestigious colleges including Oxford and opted out to serve a mission. This kid is seriously brilliant and he is only one example of many remarkable committed young people we meet here. You always have the new ones, who are pretty freaked out, but are trying to be "ok", and then you have the ones going home the next transfer, who are freaked out and trying to be "ok" and figure out what they are going to do the rest of their lives. We LOVE visiting and working with them.

This last weekend, Joe and I gave a fireside for the Young Single Adults about relationships and communication, which is something we have done quite a bit in the United States. With the culture here, I was a bit nervous but we wanted to shake things up and do something they had never experienced before. It was a risk, but it worked. Culturally they are used to a very formal "presentation" setting. It was a group of 100 and we created an informal environment with a white board and shared a few thoughts and concepts, stories about us, and then opened it up for questions. They opened right up and were asking tons of questions, which was quite amazing. We actually went over 30 minutes because they wanted to keep going. After the fireside, they asked if we could do a "part 2" and to be able to submit questions ahead that they may be embarrassed to ask in front of others. Generally speaking, having these kinds of very direct, frank discussions are not part of what happens here. We had a great time!

The Mongolia project is going strong and of course includes a multiplicity of issues and impossible challenges that continue to come up. It is three steps forward, and two steps back and I must say that Joe is a very patient disciplined guy that does not get rattled. At this point I would be having a heart attack, but I watch him just keep moving forward dealing with each issue and being ok with the uncertainty and trusting that as he does his part, the answers and solutions will be there. That pretty much describes who he is. Great news is that in a meeting with the government there in Mongolia, even in cities far away from Ulaanbaatar, the officials have heard of this "Ger project" and their hearts are softening and not giving the church as hard of time getting licensing for the church to be in that country. That was very encouraging.

For the last six months of our mission we will be attending a different ward (congregation) on Sundays in a place called Kwun Tong. There is a big group of YSA's in that area as well as many new members. We will spend time with them and support the growth in that ward along with all of our other assignments. Missions as an older person are very different than for the young missionaries. The young ones get assigned to an area and then are changed by the mission president often. We are assigned to a certain area within about 5 wards and depending on the needs and spiritual feelings we have, we decide where we need to put our time. We both had a feeling we needed to change things and when we had talked to the Bishop of the Kwun Tong ward about wanting to support the YSAs and attend there, his eyes got really big and he said, "I have been praying and praying to know what to do because I knew I needed some help with this group. I kept getting the feeling that I needed to just wait and this is totally an answer to prayer." He is an awesome Bishop, but these wards are so small and they work such long hours in their careers, it's difficult to support the members the way they would like to. It was a confirmation that, yes, this is where we need to be for these last few months.

We are heading into the HEAT and HUMIDITY of summer. With eternal bad hair days, I'm grateful for air conditioning which is fantastic here! Grateful for a dehumidifier in our apartment that takes 2 gallons of water A DAY out of the air of our apartment. Grateful for the relationships and wonderful people we love here and for how much we are learning about ourselves and each other. Grateful for our wonderful family and friends who are family who love us and are so supportive and encouraging. Leaving home was the hardest thing I've ever done but the "fruit" of that choice is beyond anything I can describe. AND Grateful for the one, who is the reason we do what we do in the first place, which is Jesus Christ. Grateful for His gospel and the atoning sacrifice he made so that we all can continue to grow and become better.

We love you all!
Sister Kwan

At the Hong Kong history museum.

This is an example of a traditional bridal processional
from many years ago. 

This is a view from the back and the person at the
end of the processional was always the machmaker.

Went to see Aladdin on my birthday. Yes, we can
do that as missionaries. :) Awesome movie.

Lunch after the movie.

Lunch was at this European bakery place and the gals said we
had to order three desserts. :) Raspberry crepe cake, Lemon
meringue, and some kind of Chocolate orange tart.

Birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris with the Wrights. Fun!

My birthday was June 3rd, Sister Wrights is June 5th
so we were both given birthday desserts.

Joe's trip to Mongolia. If you notice, no missionary tags. You can not wear them in Mongolia. Elder Meurs is in the middle. The other couple are the Dandoy's, who are the humanitarian missionaries in Mongolia and the other two are church employees that run the church service center in Mongolia.

More from Joe's Mongolian trip. I stayed in Hong Kong fulfilling
assignments here, but will go with him in August when he goes back.

So crazy.... This is an escalator. They are SO LONG (and steep)
 you can't even see the bottom.