Dear all,
Yes, Brother S's baptism went without a hitch. It was a very different experience for me than K's. At K's, with the dozen or so friends he brought to church, I found myself trying desperately to keep everything from collapsing into chaos, and it was a rather stressful experience. With Brother S, we arrived to see him already dressed in white and ready to go; the Ward Mission Leader, Brother C, had already got everything sorted. I didn't have to wait for a companion to change, and everything else was sorted because two people were being baptized at once (Brother N of the Tai Wo ward, which also meets in our building, was baptized in the same service) so I didn't need to worry about giving a talk or anything. I was able to sit back and enjoy the service, which went without a hitch.
Brother S had requested an opportunity to bear his testimony, and so he shared about the trials of his life before he met us - a gambling addiction, his family problems and various other things. Then he shared about how Elder Sharp and I had found him and helped him to overcome his trials. Most of all, he shared about how through the peace in his life that he has now, he knows that God lives and loves him, and wants to bless him, and he knows that this truly is God's true church. While it's clear to me that he hasn't yet had a confirming, huge spiritual experience, it is clear that the Holy Ghost has subtly whispered to him the truth of the Book of Mormon and the message of the Restoration.
We met with him again on Tuesday and shared a little about Family History work, because I want to give him something really productive to do with all of his free time; and afterwards we asked him to stick around while we taught an investigator called A. A has a lot of family problems and wants to change his life, but I don't think he really wants to change himself. Plus, he's pretty certain, like most Hong Kong people, that money is the most important thing in life. Here Brother S performed brilliantly - he was clear and direct in explaining that before he started investigating the church, he also thought that money was most important, but now he understands that his family is the most important in his life. It was wonderful to hear his testimony again.
We're a little concerned about one thing with him, though - on Sunday he came to church in a white short sleeve shirt and tie, instead of the blue shirt without a tie he had been wearing. He wore exactly the same thing when we saw him on Tuesday. Elder Bagley and I are a little worried that because he's only ever seen members of the church in Sunday best, save a few instances when he's come to ward activities, and because he always meets with us - and of course, we always wear a shirt and tie, he may perhaps think that members of the church always have to wear a shirt and tie. We'll make sure to straighten this up when we see him on Sunday.
So Beth left without the Chinchillas? I'm sure Tim is thrilled, even if Jess isn't. The house does still sound awfully full, I'm not sure if there will be a place for me when I get back. I'm fine in a tent in the back garden if necessary. Let me tell you about the dream I had last night; it was rather strange. I dreamt that I was home from my mission, having finished (honourably, I might add - I don't have worthiness nightmares like Mum). I got home, and Mum said, "Well, you'd better get to work. Your room's still in a mess just like you left it two years ago." Sure enough, I was back in my old room, and it was a pigsty. I guess I shouldn't have worried; I don't have a bedroom. I have the space under the stairs, just like Harry Potter.
Give my love to Grandma and also to Auntie Katie. I'm sure everything will be fine for both of them. Also, whether or not you go to Uncle James' and Olivia's birthday party, please tell them happy birthday from me and send my love.
Isn't it amazing that we can send love via the internet these days? Back in olden times people had to use hugging or, if far away, letters on boats. Back when President Van Dam was a missionary, he's told me, the only way to get from Hong Kong island to the Mainland was by a big ferry called the Star Ferry. I mention this because yesterday, as we had some business back on the Island (in my old area, I might add) we took the ferry on the way home. It was Elder Bagley's first time, so I took a picture of him. The white guy in front of us asked if I could take his picture too, which I did. He told us he'd seen the missionaries before, back in his home town of... Reading! Isn't it a small world! He lives in Caversham, actually, right opposite the Monitoring Station where Dad works.
I think that John Willis would be an amazing missionary in Nauvoo. I had known that senior missionaries are allowed to choose where they serve to a degree, but it seems from all of the senior couples I've seen here that it was as much of a surprise for them as it was for us, the young missionaries. Mum and Dad, have you two ever thought about serving a mission once everyone's out of the house? Granted that's a long way away right now. One of the Elders in Elder Bagley's group was in the MTC at the same time as his parents - apparently their departure date was about 6 weeks before his, so they contacted the MTC and he came out earlier than he was planning, because otherwise there wouldn't have been anyone else in his house for the last few months at home!
Last Friday, Brother F, our summer missionary, was supposed to go home. Too bad for him that there was a level 9 typhoon; the worst since 1999. He had to stay in the apartment with us all day, and he was very bored. I was too; most of the time it didn't even look bad outside, so I got rather frustrated that we weren't allowed to leave. After having updated all of our records, we cleaned the entire apartment, and then played a board game that I had made up for a District Meeting a few weeks ago. You take your investigator to baptism, resolving concerns and sharing scriptures to help his situation as you go. Everybody seemed to like it in District Meeting, so we had it stored for an emergency in case of typhoon, and it turns out it came in handy after all.
Finally, on Saturday we took Brother F to the Mission Home. President Van Dam was there, and as we looked at the Missionary board he has in his office, he explained what various things on it meant. It's a big board of our pictures and names, and are printed on three colours of cardboard - yellow, blue and green. He explained that yellow is for the oldest missionaries, green is the missionaries in the middle and blue is the new missionaries. It worried me that there were so few yellow missionaries left, and mine was one of the first groups displayed in green. Perhaps reading my mind, President Van Dam, sitting next to me, clapped his hand on my shoulder and said, "You're getting to be an old missionary now!"
"That doesn't make me feel very good," I said in return.
Time's almost up, so I'll be going. Keep up the good work, and I'm hoping for university stuff to be finished before school starts again, because there's no way you'll have time once you're back at school.
Lots of love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
羅 長 老
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