你好 (Léih hóu!)
Thank you everyone for your birtday greetings and for your emails! And also for reading my weekly emails hehe.
Updates/Highlights from last week:
Oct 15 Monday -
Had a fun PDay today! We went to the beach, relaxed, played games, and ate unlimited snacks with Filipino 姊妹 傳教士 (jímuih chyùhngaausih or sister missionaries) hehe. 😊 So after emailing, me and my companion...met the sisters [t]hen we rode a bus going to [the] beach. It's actually a pretty place and it kinda looks like Hawaii's Turtle Bay (but nothing can beat Hawaii's beach lol). There's also a bridge that...resembles Golden Gate bridge. So yeah, great PDay with the Filipino sisters. I'm glad that my companion loves Filipinos and she said I'm actually her "dream come true" (lol so cheesy haha) cos she's been praying to have a Filipina companion ever since but too sad that she's leaving/going home in 10 days. I will surely miss her... At night, we continued writing notes/cards for our Returning Members (less-active members) and did some calls... Great day 😊
Videos and photos: Pday fun with the Sister Missionaries!
Oct 16 Tuesday -
Visited a less-active today named "A." (a Chinese-Filipino lady that lives nearby). She's been stressed recently with a lot of stuff that's going on in her life and so we were prompted to share Elder Andersen's talk last General Conference entitled "Wounded". In his talk, he said:
"We each understand that difficulties are part of life, but when they come to us personally, they can take our breath away. Without being alarmed, we need to be ready... Along with the bright colors of happiness and joy, the darker-colored threads of trial and tragedy are woven deeply into the fabric of our Father’s plan. These struggles, although difficult, often become our greatest teachers."
We testified that Heavenly Father has a plan for us and trials are part of it. I know that these trials we're facing right now will mold us into a better daughter/son of God... Today, we also had our Mission President's interview and it was nice talking to him again and to Sister Phillips too. 😄 President Phillips gave me a hint that I might train for next transfer (whaaat? huhu not yet ready to do that plus I am still learning this language so plsss not yet haha) cos a lot of sisters are going home on December... At night, did Less Active finding and we accidentally(?) knocked on a member's door. Turned out her husband is a Less Active. We scheduled an appointment with her for next week so we could also meet with her husband and share a message to them.
Oct 17 Wednesday -
No Crossroads service for us cos it's public holiday here in Hong Kong. The holiday is called Chùhngyeùhngjit or Double Ninth Festival (idk what it is though lol)... We had a Relief Society "BBQ" activity today...and the sisters sang Happy Birthday song to the October babies 😊 Fun day!
Videos and pictures: Relief Society BBQ Activity!
Oct 18 Thursday -
HBD to me! Haha... We had our District Council today and my district surprised me with brownies, ice cream, and root beer. Even though it's a simple celebration, I'm happy that I am here in my mission and doing the Lord's work on my birthday... In our council today, we had a discussion about Christ's Atonement and shared our testimonies and our reason why we went on a mission... 😊 I know and I testify that the more we understand the Atonement and Christ's sacrifice for us, the more we'll love the Savior, and the more we'll love the people around us. I know that as a missionary, "love" is a motivator that we have to preach the Gospel. I believe that going on a mission is not a sacrifice but an opportunity to serve others. I highly encourage my YSA and youth friends to go on a mission and I promise that the Lord will bless you and your family abundantly.
Video and pictures: Birthday celebration at District Council
Oct 19 Friday -
Did Zone finding today then English Class... Had post-bday celebration with my apartment-mates cos we were busy yesterday hehe. Also during my personal study today, I came across to this talk by Pres and Sister Nelson: Open the Heavens through Temple and Family History Work and I personally loved how they invited us to consider what kind of sacrifice can we do in order to do more temple work and family history work.
Pictures: Birthday celebration with the apartment-mates
Oct 20 Saturday -
"L." family chenged us for dinner and we definitely had a great time with them. So, Sister "L." was born in the Philippines and knows Tagalog too. She moved to Hong Kong when she was 21 and also served as a "stake missionary" back in 1990's. Sister "L." told us her missionary story of handing out 1,500+ Books of Mormon to foreigners (wow!). Great family! We challenged them to give one Book of Mormon to someone this coming week.
Pictures: With the "L." Family and chengout!
Oct 21 Sunday -
It's a beautiful Sunday today! A former investigator came to church! She said she used to meet with the missionaries 10 years ago but since she travels a lot and lived in different parts of Asia, she stopped meeting the missionaries... But she said that she permanently resides in Hong Kong now and would love to come and learn more about our church again 😊 We're very hopeful that she will progress 😊 One of my favorite quotes right now is [from Joy D. Jones' "For Him"]:
"If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God.. anyway."
I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a true church and I am grateful that I have the gospel in my life.
Pictures: Saw these cute "small" turtles during finding
and a pic with "MM."
Love y'all! Continue doing good and serving other people. Have a great week! 😊
Your Sister in Christ,
Aū Jímuih - Sister Apao
China Hong Kong Mission (Apr '18 - Nov '19)
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Email me:
wealthia.apao@myldsmail.net
Written Letters and Packages:
Sister Wealthia Apao
18 Dorset Crescent
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon City
Hong Kong