September 16

Hello Again!

This week was so fun! We had quite a few appointments, and S is getting ready to be baptized in a week and a half! It is really exciting because I met her when she had no interest in the church, and seeing her change and start reading the book of mormon and praying and seeing that little bit of change is really cool. She is so much fun too, like HILARIOUS. But sometimes it's not so great because we get really distracted when we have lessons.

This past week went by so fast I can't really remember all that we've done, but we've had a couple of doctor's appointments for my companions, and a lot of work. Yesterday we went to Crossroads to do service again and were working on making this dirt pathway that tomorrow microsoft is coming in to finish or something. But we were essentialy moving dirt and packing it down to make this path. I wore bug spray, but my two-calf grand-total count is 89 bug bites. 89. EIGHTY-NINE. I didn't really even notice them that badly until I woke up in the middle of the night scratching my leg and as I felt it, the whole thing was pretty much swollen. I was up for an hour or so icing my leg and trying to get it so I could sleep, but it really took a lot out of me to lose that sleep. The interesting thing is, the right leg has about 20, and the left leg has the rest.

Then this morning we had to get up early to go play soccer against the Kowloon Zone of missionaries. New Territories was totally dominating (we have 2 college soccer players in our zone), and then the school where we were playing had recess or something, and so the high school boys challenged the missionaries to play them instead of kicking us off their court (which was so nice). I played terribly (which I would like to blame on 1. little sleep, 2. poisoned legs, or 3. not eating breakfast this morning, but any excuse no matter how valid, weakens the character... so scratch that) but had a lot of fun. It was nice to see other missionaries who we haven't seen in a while. Sister C came back from Macau and Elder d, d, k, and wwere also there. I really like seeing other missionaries because in the New Territories there aren't very many and we don't see each other a whole bunch.

The word on the street is that there are still no philippina sisters coming in, and all the philippina sisters that are here are going home within the next 6 months, so there is still the hope that I will get to do international work. And sister c told me there is a brazilian woman in macau who saw pictures of me and heard i know a little bit of portuguese and is now praying that I'll come to macau! hahaha! I hope I get to serve there!

The weather has been a little hotter and a little less humid lately I think. It's been nice, but I am really looking forward to some typhoons which they say come in september usually, but we'll see.

Today I had a really nice moment of thinking "hey i really do like it here!" and that was nice. I've been okay with living here and stuff, mostly like, loving the missionary work and the people but not appreciating the place so much. So when it felt like, comfortable when we were walking up to the soccer field (court? its concrete i donno what to call it) it was so nice. The language is still a beast and I still think I'm ok never speaking it again after my mission (they don't use cantonese in a lot of schools anymore, just mandarin and english I've heard from some Hong Kong people, i dont know if i mentioned that before) but I like it in some ways, I guess. It is really direct and you can just say what you need to say without worrying SO much about talking around subjects like you do in english. YEah but cantonese= definitely not easy.

Soo now we're sitting in a library in Kowloon and are planning on going to lunch with sister e's mtc district because they are hitting their 1 year in HK mark! I am really excited because well.. mostly because im super hungry right now. but also sister c and sister L from my mtc group will be there.

OH! another thing I loved about hk.. yesterday after crossroads we went to mcdonalds for dinner. It was delicious by the way.. haha! the mcdonalds is right on the water by this really nice hotel and a harbor with a bunch of yachts and stuff. And it was just really peaceful and quiet and the sun was starting to go down, and you could see lantau island across the way, and just sitting there was just so peaceful. Living in a city is fun but its just ALWAYS going. And I am one that likes to get away and just have peace and quiet! And i also thought of the mexico trip my mtc district plans to take the summer after the elders get home, which will be really nice. And I have now lived in hong kong for over 2 months, and am still going going going. I plan to push through till the end, even though it is pretty tough sometimes. But the work I am doing is really the most important thing I could be doing now, and even when i think about oh after my mission i'll do this and this and this and i'll be able to do this and th is and this, I still wouldn't change what I am doing now for anything. Every day brings with it so many blessings and so much happiness! Every day I meet people who don't want to talk to me, and then some people who do. Every day is tough, Every day I'm tired, but every day is a blessing... which is something I don't think i understood before. Every day we are given we need to use to make us better, to help others become better, and to make people happy! yeah! because that's what jesus did! he brought people happiness that lasted, not just momentarily, not just a facade of happiness, but real deep lasting happiness! that's what i want, that's what I'm working towards, and that's why I'm a missionary, to help other people have that too :)

ok so i think that is all for this week, I can't really think of anything else. The food is still good, the river on the way to the church still reeks, my apartment is still hot, my bed still hard, but my smile is still here and I'm so happy to have this chance to serve!
Thank you for the letters and support! I'm trying to write back but since time is so short, it may take a few weeks.

Sister Black ... Baahk Jimuih

September 9

Hello Again!

This week was CRAZY! wow. Okay so last week so many things happened, i actually made a list to make sure I wrote it all, but unfortunately I left that list at home when we headed to the library. For starters, last friday we went all the way across hong kong to the tolo harbor area for sister l to have a doctor's appt. And while we were there I had the fun time of using my first squatter toilet. OH DEAR. it was an interesting experience. Peeing in the woods is hard enough and there it is quite sanitary haha! Ohh geesh! We also have been seeing this girl S, I dont know if i mentioned her last week, but she went to cornell and her fiance is a member and she wants to know for herself if it is true or not and just not join for her fiance. Anyways she is amazing and always has so many good questions and it is so cool to see her work out both the logic and the truth behind what we are teaching. I mean, we can feel truth and we can also reason truth, and the combination of the two is just dynamite. Oh and that night i had the most delicious meal ive had in hk so far. this noodle soup with pork on top ahhh so good. So then saturday I went on splits to teach a less active member in the ward and basically taught the whole thing by myself and this member. It was so tough as far as cantonese goes, but really good for me to be able to learn. We also had a surprise cheng-out (like when someone treats you to or invites you over for a meal) with a less-active member sister T. She invited 4 of her friends over and now we are teaching her friend AH and her two kids. This message is really life-changing, and it is such a blessing to see the gospel start to work in the lives of those you teach. On Monday night we started 24's where we go on splits for a day, and I stayed in Tuen Mun with sister l and sister m. It was an interesting day to say the least. We are teaching this woman WWJ and she talks SO fast and says SO much. it is only sister m's and sister l's 3rd move. and my 2nd. So... . . . yeah. that was a tough lesson, but really fun because everything we planned to share worked into what she was talking about and what her concerns are. Lets see... I also saw this philippina lady I met a month or so ago again in a park with her employer, which was cool but I couldn't talk to her since she was working.

Ok that gets you caught up to yesterday.

Then last night happened.. DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN.

So today we went to the temple, so last night we needed to go to sleep early so we could get up early and leave. But around 10:30 I was out at my desk, post shower and in my towel and a Tshirt, when I was about to go to sleep (I had actually just finished writing in my journal, a very short entry, with "We're going to the temple tomorrow so im going to bed now") and I hear someone rattling the door handle to get into our room. Sister C always locks the door when she changes in the room, and somehow hadn't shut the door all the way when she locked it, so she left, and shut it behind her. Locking the door, and locking us all out of our bedroom which, with the AC on and at 82 degrees, felt really, really, nice. First, we tried all the keys both companionships had but to no avail. My companion sister e has had experience picking locks before (don't ask me how...) and she worked on it but the type of lock it was you couldn't get, couldn't card it, couldn't pick it, but then we thought of a new idea. We tried the envelope string thing that has worked, or so I hear, in the past, but again no success. We called the office elders in charge of housing, and they told us we had 2 options- 1. break the door down, or 2. wait for them to come and try the keys they have, and if it doesn't work, they'd break the door down. we decided to wait, and the elders started the hour and a half journey to tuen mun from kowloon tong.

Anyways, a few minutes after that phone call, we continued to work at getting the door open. Sister c was freaking out because it was her who got us into the mess. So we finally got her to go sit on the couch out of the way, sister l and I busied ourselves making a chocolate cake. Don't ask me why, we're girls. Then the biggest storm I have seen since Ive been here came in. I have never seen so much lightning in my life. It was like a ground shaking strobe light! Finally the elders came, and they had the key, but we didn't get to sleep until like 1:30 and they ended up sleeping at the Tuen Mun elders' apartment. All because of a silly locked door. And even at 1:30 I couldn't sleep because when I closed my eyes I could see the light from the lightning every 1/2 second or so.

So this morning we got up at 6:30 and headed to the temple. I am so tired right now, and tonight we are playing basketball again with a member and these two kids at a part across the street. Hope I can make it till then!

Oh also, to make today even better-- we had to haul 2 boxes of book of mormons back to tuen mun through all the MTR stations etc. And then when we got to Siu Hong (one of the stations in tuen mun, right before the tuen mun station where we usually get off) we decided to get off and take the hingtit (the lightrail type one) because it would take us RIGHT to our building and we wouldnt have to walk back from Tuenmun station. But just as we got down to the hingtit, there were electrical problems and it stopped working, so we ended up walking from Siu Hong all the way back to our apartment, carrying huge boxes of book of mormons. In actuality it was pretty funny because here are these white girls just carrying huge boxes on their heads/shoulders etc walking along the side of the hingtit.

Just for a quick note: I just wanted to say how grateful I am for being able to have the ability to choose. I can choose to be happy or to be sad. I can choose to focus on others, or on myself, I can choose to smile at someone or to keep to myself, I can choose to run an extra lap in the morning or stop, I can choose what to eat, to wear, to learn, to say, etc etc etc. Life is all about choice and what you do with the choices you are given. so choose good stuff! choose the right! It's so simple, but sometimes seems so hard!! haha! good luck everyone hope things are going well.

Also, thanks for the love, prayers, and letters! :)

-Baahk jimuih

September 2, 2010

Hello Everyone!

This week has been interesting- it was my new companionship's first full week without summer missionaries, and it was awesome! Sister E has a date to come home from her mission in November, and sister L is still a ball of fire. We had some interesting things happen this week too. We went to visit a less active member of the church who invited us over for dinner. When dinner came around,and I didn't know what to expect... out comes these chicken wings that were hardly cooked (no joke, half raw), and all these other dishes that I am preettty sure were incredibly unsanitary and undercooked as well. I was praying the entire meal that we would not get incredibly sick from eating this food. But, luckily we made it out alive.

What else... we had zone conference and learned a bunch about how to be better missionaries. It was really good. I've also had a lot of experiences where I've really been shown that the Lord is directing His work. Hong Kong has millions of people, and you rarely see the same people twice. So we were on this bus and sister e sat next to this man, all the way to wanchai (on Hong Kong Island, about 45 min driving away) and then a couple of hours later, we were going back, and a couple stops into our trip the SAME man gets on and comes up and sits by her again. To me, this is a miracle. Now some could say it is by chance, but really the chances are SO slim and things like that happen all of the time.

Ok so the guy over at the next computer keeps on glaring at me. and at first it really bugged me, but oh well, that is the nice thing about knowing you are a representative of Jesus Christ. As long as I am doing my best to follow His example and just be kind even when people around you arent, things like that are like.. so unimportant to allow to bug you.

hmm other stories. I don't know really, this week has just flown by. Today we climbed the highest mountain in this area in the rain. The pictures from it aren't fantastic but I'll try to get some developed and send them home, since the librarians always send us the the area with no access to the usb port. or whatever that thing is called. I really started to get dizzy as we got to the top of the mountain though, because it was SO steep and just kind of like, if i step wrong I could fall to my death. um.. but luckily I am alive, and no harm done. We also stopped by at this buddhist monestary on the way up which was SO cool. Those kinds of things, old buildings and the natural aspect of the area, are what I really like about Hong Kong. The city is cool because of how busy it is, but the edges of Hong Kong are what I've really come to love as I've lived here.

yeah, other than that i dont know what else to say. so bye! thanks for all the prayers!

Sis Black