Another Summer Missionary - 45th email from Hong Kong

Dear family,

Yes, the package from Grandma, complete with everything, has arrived safe and sound. And yes, I'm going to go glasses shopping later today. I've spent the past week with broken glasses, as both my pairs are well and truly worn out and in several pieces. One pair snapped in half (the nose bridge had been weakening for a long time) and the frame in the other pair is broken so that only one lense is in place. So it's been a fun week. Hopefully I should have a nice, new pair soon that'll last to the end of the mission.

Please tell Steve that I enjoyed his email he sent me, and that a reply is on the way via post, as I'm not allowed to email anyone else other that family members - if there's another instance of email misuse, President Van Dam is threatening to take away our email privileges.

Good job Dad on picking the cheaper option. There's no real need for an iPhone anyway; a very expensive piece of kit. After having spent a year away from any new electronic equiptment, I've realised just how unnessescary the latest gadget is. I'm going to do things a lot differently when I go home - one important rule I've set for myself is that I can only buy a new computer game when I finish an old one, to prevent me from just buying tonnes of games and never really playing them to the end. I've also seriously re-evaluated my plans for getting an expensive, shiny laptop for school when I get back - so long as it does what it needs to do, there's no point in spending extra.

The iPhone does look good, though. K's the webmaster for a group of kids who've made their own little company making applications for it. He's been test driving the iPod Touch this week, and showed us a little of the things you can do with it. Nice and all, but I think the little iPod Nano you sent me for Christmas does everything I need it to.

Well done on handling things well with Beth recently. I'm sure it's been an emotional experience for everyone. I guess the house is getting awfully empty, what with just you two, Tim, Jess, Biscuit, Robbie and the Ferrets there. Not to worry though - with house prices as they are, I'll be living at home until I'm 35! :P

Tell Beth Happy Birthday from me, and that I hope all goes well in her new flat.

I did happen to notice a chart of the best few countries for the Olympics in the newspaper of the man next to me on the train this morning. How fun for Britain to be doing so well. All of the Americans in the mission have been laughing about the success of their nation, and we've also been happy to see China doing very well. But right down the bottom of the chart I saw, it listed Hong Kong: 0 medals. Too bad Hong Kong, but it's kind of like having London vs the rest of the world in something; the odds are somewhat against this little Special Administrative Region.

So as I mentioned in the email subject, yes, we have another Summer Missionary. His name is A F, and he's from West Point, my old area. Hurray! It's been a really fun week. He works really hard, more so than any Summer Missionary I've seen so far, and he really knows his stuff. While a little shy, he puts it all aside and contacts people and teaches lessons very well. The other day we met a man who was terrified of Elder Bagley and I, so we stayed out of sight as Brother F ran after him and talked with him. He got his phone number and rescheduled him! But considering that he tried to run away from us "white ghosts", it wasn't all that surprising when he didn't turn up.

So Mr S's baptism is all set for this Sunday. He passed his interview with no problem, so he's ready. The best part is who we're getting to baptize him. We were talking with the Bishop last Thursday to organize it in Priesthood Executive Commitee, and he told us to ask him. If he wanted one of us missionaries to baptize him, fair enough, but if he didn't mind, the Bishop thought it'd be great if Kelvin could do it. So as Brother Sou didn't mind and Kelvin's willing, my recent convert is going to baptize me other recent convert. Yay!

Serving here in Tai Po really has been a wonderful experience for me. I've been able to see so many miracles, and helped people come unto Christ through baptism. The moves in over half way done, and as I've been here so long, there's a chance I may move - but because I'm training Elder Bagley, there's also a chance I'll stay here. I'm not really bothered either way; I'd kind of like to stay, I guess, but I'm also ready to move on if it's nessescary and what the Lord wants me to do. Tomorrow I'm heading back to West Point for a little while, though, because Elder Bagley has a doctor's appointment. Nothing to worry about, just something run of the mill, but it'll be a lot of fun to go back to my old area. We're going to take the famous Star Ferry, which is on a list that President and Sister Van Dam have given us of recommended things to do while on our missions here.

How's Tim doing? I haven't heard much about him in a while. Is he keeping up with his scripture reading? If so, tell him well done from me. If not, tell him give it another try. Same goes to Jess - tell her I say that reading the scriptures is essential to developing and maintaining a testimony. It's interesting how those so called "Primary answers" to questions asked in church (pray, read the scriptures, come to church) are so essential. As a missionary, I've seen that the only investigators who really progress are the ones who do these three things. The first time we met Mr S, we invited him back to the church right then and there (Elder Sharp and I both agreed afterwards that this was kind of strange as we were kind of far away from it, but it felt right as I said it) and when we got there, he wanted to know when the services are. It was decided the first time we met him that he was going to come to church, and honestly, it was also pretty much decided that he was going to get baptized. He'd made that choice before he even knew it was a choice. K was the same. He described it as an addiction to church; he just can't get enough. And both of them just loved the Book of Mormon. They soaked it up. When K was quitting tea, he said that the hardest times were when he'd just woken up in the morning, and so that was the time he'd read his scriptures. Brother Sou had nothing to do all day, and so out of boredom he'd turned to gambling. With the Book of Mormon, he had something to do every day. I remember the shock on the face of the first councillor in the Bishopric when we reported that Mr S had finished 2nd Nephi. "Woah - he made it through the Isaiah chapters," he said. And as for prayer, Mr Sou found it a struggle at first because it was not a way of praying he was used to - his only knowledge of prayer was the ancestor worship everyone does here, reciting the same wish for a healthy life. As first he'd just pray very simply for help to quit gambling and have a happy family, but after attending church, he heard the prayers of faithful members with strong testimonies, and began progressing and really started talking with Heavenly Father.

So pray, read the scriptures and come to church - the steps to a lasting testimony. It's amazing how simple the Gospel is; God doesn't ask for much, so it's not really all that hard to do it.

So Tim, Jess, read those scriptures. You too, Mum and Dad.

Lots of love,

Elder Matthew Loffhagen

羅 長 老