Jan 13 2011

So when I pictured Hong Kong a year ago when i got my mission call.. I never thought I would say this. . . I AM FREEZING. So lately its been the coldest weather of the season and my heavy jacket is a must-have. but its so humid that even with layers etc it never really feels warm. This morning when I got out of the shower i seriously wondered if i'll ever feel warm again.

but no worries, I'm in the library now and sister l let me borrow her white scarfy thing (its this big loop not quite a scarf) so i'm doing a little better. But the coldness of hong kong isnt the only thing chilling my insides right now. This morning my district attempted a "sunrise" hike to the top of lion's rock (the one where the monkey attacked me) and apparently they thought we needed to leave by 4am in order to see it. well.. i dont even know what time we reached the top, but it was foggy and dark and pointless. the elders were all huddled together like penguins for warmth singing songs or something while sis l and i were sitting on a rock because obviously we couldnt join them. After freezing in the dark with the wind blowing really hard for about 30 min all of us but 2 decided to head back home. So this morning I went up a mountain in the dark and then back down it. and then crashed for 2 hours before heading to email. and i still haven't warmed up.

so enough with the complaining, it was fantastic exercise which we never seem to get. and even though this time there were no gorgeous pictures to be had (like other missionaries in the past have had) it was so much fun! Plus elder m made bffs with our taxi driver, so no matter what it is a benefit to someone.

This week.. I seriously can hardly remember what we did. We've had a few lessons and have spent a lot of time contacting or making calls. Things are starting to pick up this weekend though and friday and saturday are pretty much booked solid!! :)

This last sunday we met with one of our investigators a, she's from mainland but came to hk to study recently and learned cantonese when she got here. She knows its all true, comes to church pretty much every week and wants to get baptized but is living with her aunt who is super opposed to her joining the church. And since respecting your family is everything here, this is a pretty huge obstacle for her especially since she's living under her aunt's roof now. But hopefully if we can meet the aunt and help her understand, then ashley can get baptized. She and one of our other investigators, j are probably my favorite/most solid. they're both in their twenties and suuuuper nice.

ohhhhhhh... i have a little story. Tuesday night I was making phone calls to some of the people who used to meet with missionaries, and was talking to mrs c. She just got baptized into another church a few months ago and we were talking about how she found out about her church etc. anyways she's super nice so she invites us to lunch for the next day. Then she calls us 45 min before the appointment and is like "where are you!? me and my church friends are waiting for you!!" soo.. naturally I was a little apprehensive because it seems to be the tendency of other christian denominations to try to pick fights with us missionaries. Anyways Sis L and I prayed and we just decided to go on with out plan to teach them the message of the restoration. The lesson, to say the least, was not the most productive because one of the friends was a preacher or something from the church and kept telling us that everyone is saved once they believe in jesus and nothing else is needed and quoting the bible at us in chinese really loudly. The thing is, for every single point she brought up (if i understood it... haha) I could have gone right back into the bible and pulled up a scripture that contradicts it. But as a missionary and a representative of Jesus Christ, there was no way I was going to bible-bash which drives the spirit away so quickly and really does no good. So we sat through a lunch of her trying to bait us and us trying to share what we believe and know to be true while understanding her point of view as well. Pretty stressful meal. But through it all I just kept thinking, this is why prophets are so important. Because 50 different churches can read the bible and interpret it in so many different ways. no wonder joseph smith was so confused when he was trying to figure out which church was true and which he should join. I kept thinking about how huge the book of mormon is in my testimony. My testimony that God still speaks to man today rests on that book. because if that book is from God, joseph smith was a prophet and this church is true. anyways, there was no point in arguing because only the small feelings of the spirit can convince of this kind of truth.. so essentially that was yesterday! The book of mormon and the bible go hand in hand in helping us understand more about God and his will for us. It's amazing, and I'm so grateful for it.

oh also president and sister c just dropped by yesterday while we were doing studies... at least it wasnt a member of the 70 which happened last move to some of the missionaries. Oh the joys of having the asia area presidency live in your mission. haha. but itw as fine our apartment was pretty clean and we were able to have interviews which are always good.

anyways my time is about up, I hope all of you are starting the new year off well! keep those resolutions!! :) I am super times a billion grateful for you all and the examples of my family members, my friends throughout the years, and everyone else who has influenced my life! Seriously! Thank you all for being there for me! (see you in 10 months! haha!) 我愛你! I love you!

sister Black