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
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| Dinner at a Japanese place. We ordered this garlic chicken, and it came with scissors to cut the meat. It was delicious! |
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| 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. |
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| Wet market. Look at the huge knife under the fish??!! |
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| In the middle of cooking 30 pounds of ground beef in our tiny kitchen to prepare for a taco bar for the missionaries. |
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| 30 pounds of meat cooked, kitchen clean and 5 one gallon size bags full of meat. |
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