Summer Missionary - 39th email from Hong Kong

Dear all,

In Hong Kong, they have a wonderful program where young men and young women become full time missionaries for a week or two, going around with the missionaries and doing everything they do. On Saturday, one of the Assistants to the President phoned to invite us to have one of these Summer Missionaries. On Monday morning, we picked up Brother M, who will be with us for two weeks. He is always full of energy and excitement (sometimes too much) and generally reminds me a lot of Tim. The past few days, as such, as well as being a lot of fun, have probably been the most stressful of my mission so far. Keeping him focused for planning and in teaching lessons can be a real challenge - he either can't sit still or is incredibly bored. But he is doing his best, which I can't fault him on, and he does do really well when he tries; he likes sharing scriptures with anyone - whether it's a lesson or we're just walking down the street. He's trying really hard, and it's good to have him with us.

加 油 means exactly what that article said - "Add oil". It just means, keep going, carry on, etc. That was a pretty accurate article; most of the time, Hong Kong people don't speak Chinese, they speak Chenglish. It makes things easy for Elder Sharp and I - if we don't know how to say a word, we'll just say it in English and then try and explain what it means, without it being too big of a deal.

K is now confirmed and has the Priesthood and a calling, which he will be sustained in on Sunday. He is still growing and still happy, but says that now that he's achieved his baptismal goal, he kind of feels like he's got nothing to work towards. So we want to help him get ready for the Temple; first to do baptisms for the dead, and then in a year to take out his endowments. He's such an amazing person, I'm so happy we've been able to teach him and watch him grow.

I've been pondering and praying about universities this week, and the July Ensign had an answer to my question, at least in part. There is an article about Henry B Eyring, where it talks about how he has been led by the Spirit throughout his life. The bit that caught me was talking about a conversation he'd had with his father when he was in university. Henry B was studying physics, as his father Henry Sr was a physics professor. They were discussing an equation when Henry Sr pointed out that they'd been working on a similar problem last week and wanted to know why Henry B was improving. He admitted that maths just wasn't something he thought about all the time. Then Henry Sr paused and said, "You should find something that when you don't have anything to think about, that's what you think about." This really spoke to me. While I might well enjoy teaching, and studying Mandarin would be very profitable, I can't do something that I don't really have a passion for. I've improved both in teaching skills and in speaking foreign languages while on my mission, but I've done so because I'm on the Lord's errand and they are skills I definitely need to improve in order to serve as best I can. So whatever I study and make my career, it has to be something I enjoy and think about. So I think I'm looking more down the road of computer animation, or writing. Two very vague subjects, I know, but drawing and writing are my two biggest passions, so I now feel I have to do something with my life that I will really enjoy. I'm more leaning towards computer animation, as it's the more practice of the two, and something I could only really do if I studied it at university (I can write without any additional formal training whatsoever). So while I'll probably change my mind again soon, for now that's what I'd like to look into.

It sounds great that Tim is going to strive for 100% reading - 加油! :P

I hope all continues to be so good for all of you. Now we're off to the Temple - it's the long awaited Temple Day! Yay! When I go home, I'm going to have to visit the Temple at least once a month - or as often as possible. So I guess I'll have to pass my driver's test!

很多很多的愛 (Lots and lots of love),

Elder Matthew Loffhagen

羅 耀 樂 長 老

PS still no package from Grandma.

PPS Brother M has helped us jazz up our emails with a little extra Chinese characters this week.