Look for the Miracle

The last few weeks have been full of miracles and many different things. The weather is cooling off here in Hong Kong which is really nice.

We just got back from a week in Mongolia, which is always an adventure. Things are moving forward and we are almost done with phase two of this project. (150 retrofitted existing Gers, and 10 new build Ger like structures) Joe has people in Mongolia who are “on the ground” doing the work while he manages the project with a lot of conference calls, FaceTime, finding solutions to issues, and halting construction when he sees it’s not being done right, which is about every day. :) My role in this assignment is to serve as therapy for his frustrations, ha ha which are abundant. Dealing in a third world country with a serious language barrier and a different idea of quality workmanship is no small thing. (Eek) The BYU Capstone Engineering teams have started 4 new classes to support this Mongolia project that Joe also manages.

1) Improve the "do it yourself" retrofit kit for the existing Gers for mass production
2) Design a modular insulated Ger floor for mass production
3) Design a retrofit for a Bashin (A Bashin is a brick structure with no indoor sewage/water like a Ger and also uses a coal stove)
4) Improve the sensoring system of gathering PM2.5 information as well as charting heat retention and consistency with the electric heater verses a coal stove.

As frustrating and exhausting as all of it is at times, he is LOVING the engineering/creative processes and the impact it is having on the country of Mongolia! How cool is it that Heavenly Father knows him so well and what will bring him so much joy to be involved in something groundbreaking and life changing. I love being involved as well but my part is more on the logistics side. Who knows, some of you may have an opportunity to come with us back to Mongolia for a week next summer or the following summer to continue the forward movement of this project. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

Another complication is that our mission in Hong Kong is the “Asia Area” which included 22 countries, now only 21. Mongolia was part of our area, and now has been changed to the “Asia North Area” which includes Japan, South Korea, and the Micronesian islands. What that means is that we are working with a different Area Presidency for this project, and still working and living in Hong Kong for the rest of our assignments here. Elder Budge is the new General Authority we work with (who by the way is speaking in General Conference on Saturday afternoon) but Elder Meurs from our area is still involved because of his government relationships. Both of them have asked Joe to stay on this project for another two years. That means, that our mission is complete December 7th and we go home like planned, but he will be a technical specialist for the church to make sure this project succeeds. My joke with him is that at least his boss (God) is a whole lot better than the one he had while working for Corporate America. :)

A few weeks ago I went to Kowloon Tong, which is an area of Hong Kong where the mission office is. I was preparing for the upcoming leadership training lunch and needed to check and make sure everything I needed was there. If there is one thing I have learned is to ALWAYS check several days before because often times, deliveries of items may or may not be complete or correct so this was my errand that day. It was HOT and humid, I was tired and needing to get a hair cut, which is an interesting (and expensive) thing here as well as stop at the store. I was going to go to a different area but had a feeling that I should stay in Kowloon Tong and find someone who speaks English to get my hair cut (It will grow back right?) and then go to the store. By the time I got to the market, It was much later than expected so I shopped and was going to be on my way. 

While shopping, there was a lady that kept looking at me and then came up to me. She knew very little English, (three words) and I know very little Cantonese, (three words, ok maybe a little more, but I can’t carry on a conversation) and she pointed to my missionary name tag. I know enough Cantonese to understand what she was asking me which was, is the church in Wan Chai the same church as was stated on my name tag? I said yes, and that was about it.

I kept shopping, and she came up to me again! We could not communicate, so I got out my phone and started using google translate. She told me that she was not a member and asked if she could come to church and also if she could bring her daughter. I said yes, and had her type her name and phone number into my phone. I told her my husband speaks cantonese and would call her that night.

Joe called her and connected her with the young missionaries and we set it up to meet her an hour before church and then attend church with her. That Sunday, as we met she said that she went to a different church growing up with her parents but didn’t go anymore and she had been praying for direction. She felt like something was missing in her life and was searching. She was often told that our church was bad and a “devil” church but that when she saw me with the tag she felt that it could not be true and that is why she wanted to talk to me. The Cantonese language is all about the different tones, and the name of the church if not said correctly sounds like “devils church”. 

She loved the meeting, and the church experience and is now meeting with the young missionaries. We are having her and her daughter over with them on Saturday night which will be great!

What is really interesting is that I was not even “supposed” to be at that particular store at that time. What is MORE interesting, is that she has a part time job and does product promoting at this brand of stores which are all over Hong Kong and it was the first time she was ever assigned to that particular store. Heavenly Father is in the details! He knows us and what we need. He hears our prayers and will help us if we ask and sometimes helps us even when we don’t. :) His grace is enormous and it’s not about being perfect. He loves us exactly where we are at and helps us in ways we often don’t realize. Look for the miracles in your own life. They are there. If you look you will find them. He loves me and he loves you! This I know.

Love you all!

Sister Kwan

Traditional dress of Mongolia

Elder and Sister Budge of Asia North Area Presidency.
Notice, there are no missionary tags in Mongolia.

Mongolia at an Indian food restaurant with the Lui's.
He works for the church in the Asia Area and was there
 for the "hand over" to Asia North.

Mongolian man cleaning the coal stove pipe with Coca Cola.
Totally took all of the rust off of the pipe :)

Bathroom in the Hong Kong airport.
Very clean, very family friendly. :)

Because of the protest situation in Hong Kong, they have a security checkpoint before you can even go in the door to check in. You have to prove you have a ticket and then you can enter the airport building.

 Visit to the old "Walled City" in Hong Kong.
It was 92 degrees, with 89% humidity and seriously
felt like 110. When it is that humid it almost makes one sick
to be outside for a long time. This was a beautiful place.

More of the "Walled City"

Dinner with some YSA's at our
apartment.

September in Hong Kong :)

The weather is cooling down and Hong Kong is a buzz with the 14th straight weekend of protesting. The feeling here is a bit strained and people are very hesitant to plan things because they never know if an area will be shut down or if things need to be changed because of public transportation being rerouted. That has changed the dynamics a bit for what we do and how things are planned. As a matter of fact, even the church employees at the Wan Chai building here have been given a training on how to work from home and have been instructed to take pertinent work home including computers so that if public transportation is disrupted for any reason they can stay home and the "show will go on".

Never at any time have we felt unsafe or in danger. Culturally, they are a very planned society so there is actually a list of protests, when and where they are going to be and often make sure they clean up afterwords. Interesting, right? We just make sure we stay clear of those areas when stuff is going on. As the weeks have gone on, the peaceful protests have become not so peaceful... Areas have gotten pretty out of control and tensions are high. This weekend they have some big protests planned on Hong Kong Island so we will stay over where we live, which is on the Kowloon side and won't see anything. In this case, boring is good. We have been briefed by church leaders on several things and the church always over-prepares for any possibility. We are not worried or concerned at all. 

We had a service project last weekend that was pretty cool. It was for a company called "Food Link" which is an organization that gets leftover food from restaurants and hotels to package and give to the homeless or others who need a little help. They have special refrigerated vans to pick up food and safely deliver it to organizations who can feed these people. Our project last Saturday was a "rice repackaging" project where we took 30, 55 pound bags of rice and repackaged it into 2 pound bags of rice for Food Link to give to people. We had about 30 young single adults from the area and had a great time. Of course, we had to have lunch which was pizza, a huge salad with a citrus balsamic vinaigrette dressing I made, and some brownies and ice cream. They kept asking, what is this dressing?? Salad is not a big thing here, but they love it.

We have been involved in several different assignments in the last few weeks. Of course, the Mongolia project is still occupying a lot of Joe's time with a lot of video conference calls, and working with several others who are in Mongolia full time to keep things moving forward. He manages the project from Hong Kong, and we go there when necessary. We still have other assignments as well here in Hong Kong. He is on the high council for the East Kowloon Stake, which is a group of wards, or congregations here. We work with the young single adults and enjoy spending time with them. Currently, we are working on a document to systematize the way they plan activities to help support developing young leaders. That way when someone is in charge of creating a particular activity, they will know exactly what to do. 

I am also working on preparations for the Mission Tour, which is like a Zone Conference for the young missionaries that a member of the Area Presidency presides over. It is yearly, and I prepare the food for those three days of meetings. I have shared before that doing large meals here is quite involved without a car or a Costco, ha ha... It takes some significant planning and preparation. It is one of my favorite assignments though. I love working with the missionaries and being able to support them and give them a piece of home. 

So many of the young missionaries (ages 18-24) are new and struggling to adjust to everything. Some are homesick. Some are feeling inadequate and just want to feel successful with what they are doing. Some struggle with companions, and most struggle with the idea of going home when their mission is complete. Whatever they are feeling, it's pretty normal and they get to just be where they are at and know that it's ok and that they don't have to have their whole life figured out 15 minutes after they get home. Actually, do any of us have our whole life figured out? If you do, let me know because the way I see it, it's full of ups and downs, and many things we can not anticipate. 

There is great value in our struggles and we grow because of what we choose to do with them. It gives an opportunity to learn how to manage the struggle and difficulties and look at life from a different perspective. Did you know that each area in the church has a mental health advisor to support (especially the young) missionaries who need a little more help in working through these things? Pretty amazing that the church is so forward thinking to offer this kind of support. Gone are the days when they were told to just pray and read their scriptures. While those things are vitally important, sometimes we need talk through some things and use a few other tools as well.

We are grateful to be here at this time. I know that we both have personally grown through our own struggles here. We both process very differently and it has been an incredible blessing to see the world with a different lens. Sometimes only knowing one culture, or being gone from a culture for so many years and then going back helps you see people and situations in a much more compassionate and loving way. Everyone is in their own process and learning along the way. Even the protesters, and those in Hong Kong who are on polar opposite views politically are being given an opportunity. We each have that opportunity and choice about what we will do and what we will become. Choosing to use these things to become more of what the Savior would have us be and listening to his voice instead of the myriad of other voices in the world will bring us much more joy and fulfillment than anything else.

Love you all!
Sister Kwan

Dinner at a Japanese place. We ordered this garlic chicken, and
 it came with scissors to cut the meat. It was delicious!

One of my favorite places in Hong Kong.  Lee Tung Avenue.
It's full of European restaurants, lots of beautiful things.
 Right now, it's decorated for the Moon festival with all of the bright colored lanterns.

Wet market. Look at the huge knife under the fish??!!

In the middle of cooking 30 pounds of ground beef in our tiny
kitchen to prepare for a taco bar for the missionaries.

30 pounds of meat cooked, kitchen clean
and 5 one gallon size bags full of meat.