It's not really that big of a deal, though. Just another day. Brother M's been throwing film references at me all week, and I realised a few days ago how very blessed I've been - God knows my passions, and blesses me in bridling them. For example, despite everyone around me knowing the ending to a certain book series about a teenage wizard, I've been mercifully protected from spoilers. The same goes for everything else. Brother M is reading a series of Star Wars books I was reading before I came out, and randomly spurted out the end of one of the books the other day - but it was the last one I read before I came out, so no harm done, even though another 3 have been released by this point. God is protecting me in my desire to avoid things I just want to put on hold for two years.
I'm sure that there are other uses for skills in a language that don't involve studying it at university. I do not think that I will enjoy that, and I saw too many of my friends at Herschel apply for university courses based on the prospect of a high paying job only to find they didn't like it and drop out. I want to enjoy what I do, even if it's not the most financially rewarding. Money's never been any of an incentive to me. I trust the Lord to be able to bless me in my endeavours to earn a living for my family, knowing that He can provide for me. And I'll find some way to keep my Chinese fresh without studying Mandarin. I've prayed long and hard about this, and feel that choosing a vocation I don't thoroughly enjoy is the wrong way to go.
It'd be great to perhaps recieve some "prospecti" for universities soon, so I can start narrowing down my options a little more.
Good news from our gambling addict, Mr S - he hasn't gambled at all since we met him, and he now has a baptismal date for mid-September. He has absolutely no issues with the Word of Wisdom, and has been reading avidly in the Book of Mormon every day. His daughter heard some bad things about our church from some friends and phoned him on Sunday, telling him she was worried he was going to an evil church, but he didn't seem too phased; he'd been to church, he'd seen that it was good, he recognized the fruits, so he had no problem. I'm not sure how solid his testimony is yet, but he certainly has faith and has changed even physically in the few weeks we've been meeting with him. So he figures the reports about our church are untrue, and is willing to keep learning and growing. This week he's going to come to a baptismal service for one of the Primary children, which should be good for him. It's unbelievably easy for him; he doesn't drink tea (which pretty much every HK person has a problem with), he works nights so he can come to church without a problem, and as his one day off a week is on Saturday night/Sunday Morning, having checked with President Van Dam, we have determined that he shouldn't have any problems with the Sabbath either. So basically, he just needs a strong testimony and a friend and he's ready to go.
He does need a friend, though. Last week at church, he sat in Investigator class with Brother M on one side, who just kept talking to Elder Sharp in English the whole time, even with encouragement to help Mr Sou, and with a 20 year old Ward Missionary on the other side, who wouldn't leave me alone even as I also encouraged him to help Mr S find scriptures and just be friendly with him.
I think the hardest times of a mission are spent trying to negotiate all of the investigators, recent converts and ward missionaries in our little group. Someone wants to go to the toilet, but someone else needs to go to class, and I'm trying desperately to get Brother M to stay still and not run off on us - plus trying to make sure the investigators are all comfortable and know what's going on.
At least the investigators are actually at church, though.
Well, everyone's waiting for me now. I'd better finish up. I love you all lots.
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
羅 長 老
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Thursday, 10 July 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Happy 4th of July - 38th email from Hong Kong
Yesterday was Mission Conference, and in the monthly newsletter that we all picked up, I read in the announcements for important dates over the next week: "July 4: 4th of July". I personally thought this was rather obvious, but I guess it didn't occur to whoever typed up the announcements to write "July 4: American Independence Day" or something more sensible.
My district at the moment, like many on my mission, features mostly Americans. So we just had a big district American breakfast. I was adamant about eating with brown sauce, baked beans, and that bacon and sausages were meant to be eaten separately from the pancakes, but such is life. I get a little stick from time to time for being "weird and different" because I'm English. Interesting when you consider that every single American missionary in Hong Kong is a foreigner in another country, they still find cultural differences between two English speaking nations peculiar.
To let you know: Grandma's package still hasn't arrived.
Mission Conference was a kind of casual goal of mine to pass off the level of Language Master - you have to be able to read a selected chapter in the Book of Mormon and learn 1,000 basic characters. The suggested learning goal for completing this is before your year mark in Hong Kong, but I was fairly certain I could learn it faster than that. Last week, I looked at what I had to do, how long I had, and decided that my goal was indeed within reach. So I studied hard and passed on Tuesday, the day before Mission Conference. This meant that in the Conference, I received my certificate from President Van Dam and a few cookies from Sister Van Dam. The names of all Elders and Sisters who achieve these goals are read out in conference, and then we go up in front of everyone and receive our awards. I'm certainly not normally a shy person when it comes to standing in front of a crowd - but I felt somewhat embarrassed as I went up, because I was achieving it before most of the rest of my group, and my older group.
At the close of Conference, we were all told to stay in our chairs after the prayer for a minute. We sat there for a second, and one of the APs slid a CD into the computer and it started playing some kind of fanfare. Then in strode one of the office Elders, dressed as some kind of Grecian herald, with a parade of "flags" behind him. Many of the senior missionaries were carrying these flags, which were actually bamboo poles with Converse shoes attached on the end in various colours. They paraded into the room, and the herald read from a scroll he was carrying, announcing that next Mission Conference will be the China Hong Kong Mission Olympic games - made to tie into the Beijing games, of course. We're all now very much looking forward to it.
But the absolute best moment of the Conference was at the end, when everyone was talking amongst themselves, and President Van Dam came up to me, put his arm around my shoulder and said, "I'm so proud of you for getting your Master." I felt very appreciated and vindicated, and certainly felt President Van Dam's love in such a simple gesture.
Please congratulate JJ and Becky for me. But don't worry - I'm expecting to be home longer than 9 months before I get married.
At the moment we're blessed with a great many people to teach. One man we found just last Monday - he has a bad gambling addiction (he's been to the hospital over it) and has been significantly humbled by the experience. We're meeting with him regularly to help him overcome this problem, and he wants to come to church with his whole family on Sunday. He's also been reading excitedly from the Book of Mormon, which is really good for him because it gives him something useful to do when he wants to gamble. When we phoned him yesterday, the day after giving him the Book of Mormon, he'd read several chapters already.
It's been a while since we saw our Mainland friend J Hi D - because he has no phone number, and has stopped turning up, we're not certain how to get hold of him. We tried phoning his Mainland phone number last week with no success (but it did cost a lot of money). But this week, we randomly bumped into him on a park bench. We talked a lot about prayer and the importance of seeking a testimony, two things that he struggles with. Hopefully now we can continue to meet with him again.
Anyway, time is precious this week. The breakfast took a long time, so we're somewhat behind schedule.
Love you lots, and I pray for you often,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
羅 長 老
My district at the moment, like many on my mission, features mostly Americans. So we just had a big district American breakfast. I was adamant about eating with brown sauce, baked beans, and that bacon and sausages were meant to be eaten separately from the pancakes, but such is life. I get a little stick from time to time for being "weird and different" because I'm English. Interesting when you consider that every single American missionary in Hong Kong is a foreigner in another country, they still find cultural differences between two English speaking nations peculiar.
To let you know: Grandma's package still hasn't arrived.
Mission Conference was a kind of casual goal of mine to pass off the level of Language Master - you have to be able to read a selected chapter in the Book of Mormon and learn 1,000 basic characters. The suggested learning goal for completing this is before your year mark in Hong Kong, but I was fairly certain I could learn it faster than that. Last week, I looked at what I had to do, how long I had, and decided that my goal was indeed within reach. So I studied hard and passed on Tuesday, the day before Mission Conference. This meant that in the Conference, I received my certificate from President Van Dam and a few cookies from Sister Van Dam. The names of all Elders and Sisters who achieve these goals are read out in conference, and then we go up in front of everyone and receive our awards. I'm certainly not normally a shy person when it comes to standing in front of a crowd - but I felt somewhat embarrassed as I went up, because I was achieving it before most of the rest of my group, and my older group.
At the close of Conference, we were all told to stay in our chairs after the prayer for a minute. We sat there for a second, and one of the APs slid a CD into the computer and it started playing some kind of fanfare. Then in strode one of the office Elders, dressed as some kind of Grecian herald, with a parade of "flags" behind him. Many of the senior missionaries were carrying these flags, which were actually bamboo poles with Converse shoes attached on the end in various colours. They paraded into the room, and the herald read from a scroll he was carrying, announcing that next Mission Conference will be the China Hong Kong Mission Olympic games - made to tie into the Beijing games, of course. We're all now very much looking forward to it.
But the absolute best moment of the Conference was at the end, when everyone was talking amongst themselves, and President Van Dam came up to me, put his arm around my shoulder and said, "I'm so proud of you for getting your Master." I felt very appreciated and vindicated, and certainly felt President Van Dam's love in such a simple gesture.
Please congratulate JJ and Becky for me. But don't worry - I'm expecting to be home longer than 9 months before I get married.
At the moment we're blessed with a great many people to teach. One man we found just last Monday - he has a bad gambling addiction (he's been to the hospital over it) and has been significantly humbled by the experience. We're meeting with him regularly to help him overcome this problem, and he wants to come to church with his whole family on Sunday. He's also been reading excitedly from the Book of Mormon, which is really good for him because it gives him something useful to do when he wants to gamble. When we phoned him yesterday, the day after giving him the Book of Mormon, he'd read several chapters already.
It's been a while since we saw our Mainland friend J Hi D - because he has no phone number, and has stopped turning up, we're not certain how to get hold of him. We tried phoning his Mainland phone number last week with no success (but it did cost a lot of money). But this week, we randomly bumped into him on a park bench. We talked a lot about prayer and the importance of seeking a testimony, two things that he struggles with. Hopefully now we can continue to meet with him again.
Anyway, time is precious this week. The breakfast took a long time, so we're somewhat behind schedule.
Love you lots, and I pray for you often,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
羅 長 老
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
