Dear Mum and Dad,
I just dropped Elder Marshall off at the Temple and picked up my new companion, Elder Fisher. He is a really good, hard working Elder who has been finding some excellent alternatives to street contacting which he's been telling me have seriously blessed his previous area. He said that in the last three Moves, he's never scheduled a block of finding time and instead finds while they travel from one appointment to another. It sounds like fun, and a lot more effective than street contacting, so I'm looking forward to trying another style of missionary work.
My old companion from Macau, Elder Liu, has been called to be the new Assistant to the President. I'm thrilled for him, but he seems a little nervous in the role for now. Last Sunday was the Why I Believe Fireside, where "dying" missionaries bear their testimonies before going home. I was asked to translate for the meeting, alongside Elder Liu. It felt like being back in Macau again, because we always had to translate Church for the International branch members who couldn't attend in the evening.
Last week I dropped my iPod off with Elder Matt Chan, the other British Elder in the mission, who was up until today serving as the distribution manager. I had asked him to put the mission's Cantonese Sounds and Tones tape on it, which he has recorded to MP3. When I got it back, I discovered that he's taken the liberty of filling it with tons of EFY music and speeches, which I'm looking forward to listening to. Earlier today he mentioned a YSA convention in Manchester that apparently is going on in August, and asked if I was going to be there. I told him I didn't know anything about it - maybe you could look into it for me?
It's good to hear that Chris is getting back into the swing of things. I love him and can imagine how hard it must be for him now. Today at the Temple a native RM who served with me in Macau dropped by just to say hi to all the missionaries, and told me how much he misses being on a mission. I pointed out that when I go home, I won't be seeing anyone for a while because I live so far away, and that he is lucky he can just drop by the Temple every once in a while.
As I am now in my final Move as a missionary, I have given myself a theme for the Move: Blaze of Glory. I want to go out in style, working as hard as I possibly can - not that I've not been doing so thus far, but I just don't want to slow down now that my time is running out, and I certainly don't want to get trunky. This being the case, I was wondering if you could go on the internet and find a quote for me. One time Winston Churchill said that if the British Empire were to last for a thousand years, people would still look back and say that winning World War II was our finest hour. I'd like the exact quote because it might be nice to share in Zone Conference next week. I want to look back on my mission and say that this Move was my finest hour, because it was the time I Endured to the End and fought to the very last minute.
I hope your hand feels better soon. I wonder if anyone has thought about giving Grandad a Priesthood blessing for his memory loss? Perhaps it might help.
Please congratulate Tim for me. I really am very proud of him and all that he's doing. Tell him to work hard and stay worthy.
This past few days have been very interesting. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Elder Marshall took care of his packing. I was bored out of my skull. But Tuesday evening, we had English Class and a lesson with an investigator from Indonesia who speaks fluent Chinese and whose husband in a Hong Kong local. Just as we were about to leave for it, a man walked in and asked for the times of the meetings. He said that before he'd been really busy, but now that he has more time, he wants to learn about God. So things got shuffled around a little bit. The Threesome of Elders that we had (up until today) in Kwai Fong split up, one going with Elder Marshall to his appointment and the other two going to an appointment that they had. I grabbed a recent convert called S and we exchanged to teach this man, J, about the Restoration. I asked J why he had come to this church, and he told me that it's the most convenient, because it's close to his home. Well, I don't care why people come in so long as they stay for the right reason. So S and I taught a very good Restoration lesson. It was particularly good because I could say things like, "S, how do prophets help us," and "what happened when Joseph Smith prayed in the grove of trees?" and he would answer as if reading from Preach My Gospel. Half way through, S's friend J (who refered S to the church) came in and shared his testimony of the Book of Mormon. J will come to church on Sunday, unless he can't wake up, which he's afraid of, in which case he'll come to our ward FHE.
Yesterday because of a falling through of an arrangement for Elder Bloomfield, one of the Elders in the threesome which split up this morning, I got the chance to accompany him to the Temple. He has a Recent Convert from over a year ago, who recieved his Endowment yesterday. Elder Bloomfield was given permission to go and support him, and I tagged along as his companion. It was a wonderful experience as I saw this man enjoy the simple beauty of the Temple for the first time.
So in summary, this has been a very busy week. What with packing, translating for the Why I Believe, teaching walk-ins, going to the Temple and doing everything else we've done, we've been very busy and VERY blessed. I'm really excited for this next move and am looking forward to seeing what Elder Fisher and I can do together. In our flat this Move is the two of us, plus Elder Bloomfield and Elder Bagley, who was my trainee about a year ago.
I love you all very, very much. You can trust me to do my best as I serve in my finest hour and go out in a blaze of glory.
Love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Thursday, 18 June 2009
A 3:00am Hike
Dear Mum and Dad,
It's been a very, very busy week, and I'm now very tired - not least because I woke up at 3:00am this morning.
This week has been pretty full of exchanges. Last Friday/Saturday I went to Sam Seui Po, which is the ward that meets in the Temple, with Elder Rose who is a District Leader there. It was a lot of fun, but pretty tough as we had a meal with a older couple in the ward there whose two children - both RMs - are in America at BYU right now. They had more than enough food for six Elders to eat, and with just the two of us we were completely out of our league. First there was Portuguese chicken with rice, then fruit, then mango pudding, then cheesecake - all made fresh. I was full half-way through the chicken, so by the time we left, both Elder Rose (who is over 6ft tall and about 3ft wide at the shoulders, muscular and gigantic like Superman) and I barely made it home on the bus okay.
Earlier this week Elder Marshall had a career workshop that all "dying" missionaries have to go through before going home, and it made him more than a little trunky. During this time, I was on exchanges with Elder Auduong, a new missionary whose companion is also going home this next week. We worked very hard - and had a lot of success. We scheduled a few new people and visited a less-active, who was very glad to see us and will probably be coming to church on Sunday - he's more less-active because of health problems than because of laziness - his leg is very swollen with some kind of long-term joint problem, and his two elderly parents aren't far from death and need constant attention. He asked us an interesting question; he'd heard of friends who'd joined Christian churches and had started earning more money at work or being blessed financially soon after - why when he'd joined a church did life get so much worse. I turned to Elder Auduong and asked him what he thought. He said that sometimes God gives us trials and sometimes he blesses us - but all things work together for our good. I shared from Joseph Smith's experience in Liberty Jail and we encouraged him to keep at it.
Last Sunday I got a very special chance to do something very few Cantonese missionaries get to do in Hong Kong - I attended the Mandarin branch in the huge Wan Chai chapel on Hong Kong Island. Elder Lee, who is the Senior Companion in the Mandarin companionship here in our zone, needed to go to Kwai Fong to church so that he could see an investigator, so he asked if we could go on exchanges for church time. I was thrilled to do so. It was a lot of fun - I love the Wan Chai building, which is 13 floors, houses church meetings in three languages and also has the Asia Area office on the top floors. I was a little nervous about how well I'd be able to communicate with the members in the branch, but most spoke pretty good Cantonese. I was also very thankful to walk in through the doors to the 6th floor chapel where Sacrament was being held and see Dick, one of the coolest members in Hong Kong. He was on the cover of the Ensign a while ago, and even though we'd only met once before, over a year ago, he welcomed me like an old friend and chatted with me like we'd known each other for years. He and two other native Hong Kong members were visiting the Mandarin branch for the day. Most of the official membership of the Mandarin branch is from Mainland China, and the Elders who serve here have always been struggling to build up their little branch so that they can learn the Gospel in their native tongue. Apparently it's a challenge because people always end up moving back to the Mainland very soon. Another large portion of the branch are white RMs who served in Taiwan and then married Chinese girls, becoming "Larry"s as we nickname them. Not sure why we call them that. There was one man there, a little older, whose Mandarin sounded absolutely fluent - he sounded like a native - I guess that's what happens when you live in China for as long as he has.
We all decided to do something really fun for Elder Marshall's last Preparation day, so we woke up at 3:00 this morning and took a taxi to a famous mountain called Lion Rock - so named because there's a big rock on the top that supposedly resembles a lion's head. I couldn't see it, though - I think it looked more like a monkey or a man with a big nose. We went up there in the dark and then watched the sunrise - the view was amazing, and you could see all the way across to Hong Kong Island, plus all of Kowloon in the middle. We took a moment to pick out the Temple among all of the buildings scattered below us - it was almost lost in a sea of lights, but the spire with the Angel Moroni was distinctly visible and instantly recognisable.
As far as my cooking goes, I wouldn't get any hopes up. I know how to cook Chinese food - in theory. In practice it's normally a lot easier and quicker to throw a can of chicken soup mixed with tuna fish over a bowl of rice, or to just go buy a meal somewhere else. Certainly I'd feel a lot more comfortable cooking Chinese food rather than western food, but that's just because Chinese food is just cooked in a big pot - you throw in all the ingredients, add whatever sauce you want on it and let it cook for a while. Not too challenging. Fried rice or real deal chau mien is pretty good though too.
Thank you for your prayers on my behalf. It's been taking my every effort to build up something in this area, but I am not discouraged. Last week, Elder Marshall found another family for us to teach, but as the wife is from Indonesia and the father, although Chinese, speaks fluent English, we'll probably turn them over to the International Elders who serve here. We also found a very prepared lady the other day who the Sisters are now teaching.
Anyway, Elder Marshall needs to go to the toilet and has asked me to cut this short. I love you lots and hope you will all be well and not catch Swine Flu (people here are so scared of it being the next SARS that they've closed the Primary schools for two weeks, but I personally think we're safer here than anywhere else because so many people are wearing face-masks and washing their hands so regularly).
Lots of love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
It's been a very, very busy week, and I'm now very tired - not least because I woke up at 3:00am this morning.
This week has been pretty full of exchanges. Last Friday/Saturday I went to Sam Seui Po, which is the ward that meets in the Temple, with Elder Rose who is a District Leader there. It was a lot of fun, but pretty tough as we had a meal with a older couple in the ward there whose two children - both RMs - are in America at BYU right now. They had more than enough food for six Elders to eat, and with just the two of us we were completely out of our league. First there was Portuguese chicken with rice, then fruit, then mango pudding, then cheesecake - all made fresh. I was full half-way through the chicken, so by the time we left, both Elder Rose (who is over 6ft tall and about 3ft wide at the shoulders, muscular and gigantic like Superman) and I barely made it home on the bus okay.
Earlier this week Elder Marshall had a career workshop that all "dying" missionaries have to go through before going home, and it made him more than a little trunky. During this time, I was on exchanges with Elder Auduong, a new missionary whose companion is also going home this next week. We worked very hard - and had a lot of success. We scheduled a few new people and visited a less-active, who was very glad to see us and will probably be coming to church on Sunday - he's more less-active because of health problems than because of laziness - his leg is very swollen with some kind of long-term joint problem, and his two elderly parents aren't far from death and need constant attention. He asked us an interesting question; he'd heard of friends who'd joined Christian churches and had started earning more money at work or being blessed financially soon after - why when he'd joined a church did life get so much worse. I turned to Elder Auduong and asked him what he thought. He said that sometimes God gives us trials and sometimes he blesses us - but all things work together for our good. I shared from Joseph Smith's experience in Liberty Jail and we encouraged him to keep at it.
Last Sunday I got a very special chance to do something very few Cantonese missionaries get to do in Hong Kong - I attended the Mandarin branch in the huge Wan Chai chapel on Hong Kong Island. Elder Lee, who is the Senior Companion in the Mandarin companionship here in our zone, needed to go to Kwai Fong to church so that he could see an investigator, so he asked if we could go on exchanges for church time. I was thrilled to do so. It was a lot of fun - I love the Wan Chai building, which is 13 floors, houses church meetings in three languages and also has the Asia Area office on the top floors. I was a little nervous about how well I'd be able to communicate with the members in the branch, but most spoke pretty good Cantonese. I was also very thankful to walk in through the doors to the 6th floor chapel where Sacrament was being held and see Dick, one of the coolest members in Hong Kong. He was on the cover of the Ensign a while ago, and even though we'd only met once before, over a year ago, he welcomed me like an old friend and chatted with me like we'd known each other for years. He and two other native Hong Kong members were visiting the Mandarin branch for the day. Most of the official membership of the Mandarin branch is from Mainland China, and the Elders who serve here have always been struggling to build up their little branch so that they can learn the Gospel in their native tongue. Apparently it's a challenge because people always end up moving back to the Mainland very soon. Another large portion of the branch are white RMs who served in Taiwan and then married Chinese girls, becoming "Larry"s as we nickname them. Not sure why we call them that. There was one man there, a little older, whose Mandarin sounded absolutely fluent - he sounded like a native - I guess that's what happens when you live in China for as long as he has.
We all decided to do something really fun for Elder Marshall's last Preparation day, so we woke up at 3:00 this morning and took a taxi to a famous mountain called Lion Rock - so named because there's a big rock on the top that supposedly resembles a lion's head. I couldn't see it, though - I think it looked more like a monkey or a man with a big nose. We went up there in the dark and then watched the sunrise - the view was amazing, and you could see all the way across to Hong Kong Island, plus all of Kowloon in the middle. We took a moment to pick out the Temple among all of the buildings scattered below us - it was almost lost in a sea of lights, but the spire with the Angel Moroni was distinctly visible and instantly recognisable.
As far as my cooking goes, I wouldn't get any hopes up. I know how to cook Chinese food - in theory. In practice it's normally a lot easier and quicker to throw a can of chicken soup mixed with tuna fish over a bowl of rice, or to just go buy a meal somewhere else. Certainly I'd feel a lot more comfortable cooking Chinese food rather than western food, but that's just because Chinese food is just cooked in a big pot - you throw in all the ingredients, add whatever sauce you want on it and let it cook for a while. Not too challenging. Fried rice or real deal chau mien is pretty good though too.
Thank you for your prayers on my behalf. It's been taking my every effort to build up something in this area, but I am not discouraged. Last week, Elder Marshall found another family for us to teach, but as the wife is from Indonesia and the father, although Chinese, speaks fluent English, we'll probably turn them over to the International Elders who serve here. We also found a very prepared lady the other day who the Sisters are now teaching.
Anyway, Elder Marshall needs to go to the toilet and has asked me to cut this short. I love you lots and hope you will all be well and not catch Swine Flu (people here are so scared of it being the next SARS that they've closed the Primary schools for two weeks, but I personally think we're safer here than anywhere else because so many people are wearing face-masks and washing their hands so regularly).
Lots of love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
Thursday, 11 June 2009
The Legend Dinner
Dear Mum and Dad,
First things first, about accomodation - go for it. It it's good enough for a Jest, it's good enough for me. Of course, I know that normally a tent is good enough for a Jest, but that's fine too. One thing I've learned here in Hong Kong is how to live in awkward places - I've had some certainly very "cosy" homes. Jamie and Harry sound like some fun people to room with (not least because I can glean some Mandarin off of Jamie) and as far as the kitchen goes, I've been living without an oven for the past two years, so if it has one it'll be a trade-up, if not - I've learnt to make some good meals in a pot and in the microwave - no doubt the same cooking style as most other missionaries, but probably with a lot more rice.
Which reminds me of something - for university, I want a rice cooker. A little pot that cooks rice to the perfect temperature automatically. I've figured I'll just live off home-made Chinese food for my stay at Uni, but to make it convenient, I need a rice cooker. Maybe you could look around at prices on your end? I can get one for around $300HK (£30) here.
Getting hold of a little Buddha statue will be no problem whatsoever. They are everywhere - in fact, I've visited one of the Buddhas whose picture you sent - it is the Big Buddha (well named - you can walk around inside it). I'll probably be able to find a statue without a problem. The only thing is it might be an authentic golden idol, ready to be worshipped - so be careful. I've heard some interesting first-hand stories from the kinds of spiritual company that follow these things.
So last Monday was my dinner with President and Sister Van Dam. It wasn't the steak I was hoping for, but it was a lot of fun. They took myself and the other four Legends to the R66 restaurant in Wan Chai - so named because it Rotates as you eat, taking 66 minutes to make one revolution. As you spin around, you get a birdseye 360 degree view of Hong Kong island, much like the Macau Tower which I went to when I first arrived there. It was a nice buffet dinner, and President Van Dam summed it up nicely by saying that "The kind of choices you have are, 'do I want the lobster or the prime rib first?'"
I sat next to President Van Dam, and when I found out that they'd just been in Macau the day before (As the Macau branches aren't within a stake, they're under the Mission and President Van Dam often goes out there for temple recommend interviews and callings) I was eager to know how everything was going over there. President and Sister Van Dam told me that as a result of a Temple Preparation class they've been running recently, there are several members of the International branch who are preparing for their endowments and to be sealed as families (President Van Dam interviewed six people for their own endowment). Also, in the Chinese branch, where I served, there were two Seminary graduates this year (a big feat for such a small branch) and three of the Young Men are planning on serving as Summer Missionaries this year. This thrilled me because most of the Macau Young Men were baptized while I was there! I asked President Van Dam if I could put in a request for a certain Summer Missionary to come work with me, and he asked which one I wanted before Sister Van Dam reminded us that it wasn't President Van Dam's choice to make - so I need to be especially nice to President Chan when he comes in next month.
Which reminds me - I don't think I'd mentioned that one of our investigators from Macau, A-F, was baptized a few weeks ago. He is really amazing - he's seventeen, and was fellowshipped wonderfully by the branch. He was the Seminary class President for a long time while he was an investigator before getting baptized!
Things are going well for Elder Marshall and I. Last week, I felt like we really got somewhere as we found a new family to teach, the N family, and began teaching a part-member family. The N family is wonderful - so far we've met the Dad, the Grandad and the four year old daughter. We saw them on Saturday for our little kids English class we teach and afterwards shared the Family Proclamation with them and taught them to pray. The father, without being asked, got his little girl to fold her arms and bow her head, and he said a prayer that God would bless their family. Afterwards, they bought us ice-cream from MacDonalds and we talked about their family. The Grandad had a big interest in why our church is different and what the Book of Mormon is about.
We also began teaching a member's father. Brother T has a big problem with his leg and so can't come to church, so we've started seeing him to give him some encouragement. Every time we went over, he said how his father, who is elderly and bed-ridden but joins in our conversations, really wants to learn about the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. Last week we decided that even though he's a little more aged than most investigators, and can't come to church, we should teach him anyway. So we started slowly with the First Vision and encouraged him to pray.
I'm happy here in Kwai Fong. The work is not always easy, but my back has been strengthened that my burdens feel light (Mosiah 24:15 - I shared this scripture with Brother T as it's one that's helped me through times of trial) and I am submitting cheerfully to the will of the Lord.
I love you all lots and pray for your happiness.
Love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
First things first, about accomodation - go for it. It it's good enough for a Jest, it's good enough for me. Of course, I know that normally a tent is good enough for a Jest, but that's fine too. One thing I've learned here in Hong Kong is how to live in awkward places - I've had some certainly very "cosy" homes. Jamie and Harry sound like some fun people to room with (not least because I can glean some Mandarin off of Jamie) and as far as the kitchen goes, I've been living without an oven for the past two years, so if it has one it'll be a trade-up, if not - I've learnt to make some good meals in a pot and in the microwave - no doubt the same cooking style as most other missionaries, but probably with a lot more rice.
Which reminds me of something - for university, I want a rice cooker. A little pot that cooks rice to the perfect temperature automatically. I've figured I'll just live off home-made Chinese food for my stay at Uni, but to make it convenient, I need a rice cooker. Maybe you could look around at prices on your end? I can get one for around $300HK (£30) here.
Getting hold of a little Buddha statue will be no problem whatsoever. They are everywhere - in fact, I've visited one of the Buddhas whose picture you sent - it is the Big Buddha (well named - you can walk around inside it). I'll probably be able to find a statue without a problem. The only thing is it might be an authentic golden idol, ready to be worshipped - so be careful. I've heard some interesting first-hand stories from the kinds of spiritual company that follow these things.
So last Monday was my dinner with President and Sister Van Dam. It wasn't the steak I was hoping for, but it was a lot of fun. They took myself and the other four Legends to the R66 restaurant in Wan Chai - so named because it Rotates as you eat, taking 66 minutes to make one revolution. As you spin around, you get a birdseye 360 degree view of Hong Kong island, much like the Macau Tower which I went to when I first arrived there. It was a nice buffet dinner, and President Van Dam summed it up nicely by saying that "The kind of choices you have are, 'do I want the lobster or the prime rib first?'"
I sat next to President Van Dam, and when I found out that they'd just been in Macau the day before (As the Macau branches aren't within a stake, they're under the Mission and President Van Dam often goes out there for temple recommend interviews and callings) I was eager to know how everything was going over there. President and Sister Van Dam told me that as a result of a Temple Preparation class they've been running recently, there are several members of the International branch who are preparing for their endowments and to be sealed as families (President Van Dam interviewed six people for their own endowment). Also, in the Chinese branch, where I served, there were two Seminary graduates this year (a big feat for such a small branch) and three of the Young Men are planning on serving as Summer Missionaries this year. This thrilled me because most of the Macau Young Men were baptized while I was there! I asked President Van Dam if I could put in a request for a certain Summer Missionary to come work with me, and he asked which one I wanted before Sister Van Dam reminded us that it wasn't President Van Dam's choice to make - so I need to be especially nice to President Chan when he comes in next month.
Which reminds me - I don't think I'd mentioned that one of our investigators from Macau, A-F, was baptized a few weeks ago. He is really amazing - he's seventeen, and was fellowshipped wonderfully by the branch. He was the Seminary class President for a long time while he was an investigator before getting baptized!
Things are going well for Elder Marshall and I. Last week, I felt like we really got somewhere as we found a new family to teach, the N family, and began teaching a part-member family. The N family is wonderful - so far we've met the Dad, the Grandad and the four year old daughter. We saw them on Saturday for our little kids English class we teach and afterwards shared the Family Proclamation with them and taught them to pray. The father, without being asked, got his little girl to fold her arms and bow her head, and he said a prayer that God would bless their family. Afterwards, they bought us ice-cream from MacDonalds and we talked about their family. The Grandad had a big interest in why our church is different and what the Book of Mormon is about.
We also began teaching a member's father. Brother T has a big problem with his leg and so can't come to church, so we've started seeing him to give him some encouragement. Every time we went over, he said how his father, who is elderly and bed-ridden but joins in our conversations, really wants to learn about the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. Last week we decided that even though he's a little more aged than most investigators, and can't come to church, we should teach him anyway. So we started slowly with the First Vision and encouraged him to pray.
I'm happy here in Kwai Fong. The work is not always easy, but my back has been strengthened that my burdens feel light (Mosiah 24:15 - I shared this scripture with Brother T as it's one that's helped me through times of trial) and I am submitting cheerfully to the will of the Lord.
I love you all lots and pray for your happiness.
Love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
The Van Dams' Last Mission Conference
Dear Mum and Dad,
MyLDSMail seems to be having some problems. It keeps coming in and out, so this will need to be short. It probably doesn't help that the computer I'm using is absolutely terrible. It keeps disconnecting from the internet, it's very slow, and at some point somebody broke the space bar on the keyboard and replaced it with a Start key. But then at least my space bar half-works. Elder Marshall's doesn't work at all and he's having to use full stops (.) instead of spaces.
I picked up the suit today. It is very nice. When the lady was fitting me, the suit jacket that was "my size" was far too tight, but I was convinced to get it anyway on the condition that the lady tailor it to leave me a little more room. Unexpectedly and possibly a first for Hong Kong, when I picked it up it was perfect - maybe even a little more space than is needed now, which is nice.
As far as Buddha statues go, if not a fat one, what kind? I assume you mean an old-fashioned Buddha - but what I'm thinking of might be completely different to what you're thinking of. Could you email me a picture of what you're looking for? To be honest, the most common Buddhas here are fat and jolly.
I wonder if it could be a huge problem if I didn't have a tuberculosis test when I get home. I've discovered that what the nurse said was true - Americans don't get immunized, they just get regular checkups. Because of this little concern (which doesn't even seem to be that prominent in Hong Kong), I've already had to be immunized and was X-Rayed when I entered the MTC. Perhaps we can just explain to Church Headquatres that there's no way I could possibly have TB.
Please congratulate Tim on passing Seminary this year. I'm really proud of him. Tell Jess I love her, and tell Beth the same when you next see her. Also please thank Grandma, Granny and both Grandads for the money for my birthday, and also for the cards, which meant more to me than the money anyway.
So yesterday was President and Sister Van Dam's final mission conference. They finish their mission on of the first of July, so I'll have a good month with President Chan. Everyone was a little tearful as they said goodbye. As one of the five Elders who achieved Language Legend this Moves, I was asked to hold up a banner during the closing hymn, Called to Serve, which stated the theme of President and Sister Van Dam's mission: A Sacred Time, A Sacred Place, A Sacred Message, A Sacred Messenger. As I was at the front of the room, my back was turned and I didn't see Sister Van Dam apparently crying a lot throughout the hymn. I think everyone was about to start crying. After the closing hymn, we all sat there for a minute, not wanting to leave, until President Van Dam encouraged us to stand up. I was one of the first to stand, which is a nice metaphor for what I've decided to do now as the Van Dams leave. President Chan has come big shoes to fill, and a lot of missionaries are probably going to make things worse by complaining about how much they'll miss President Van Dam. I've decided that whenever anyone complains, I'm going to say something about just how good President Chan will be. I want to support him in the first few weeks of his mission when a lot of people will be missing the Van Dam flair, by helping others to look forward to all the fun they'll have with him around. Considering that part of the reason I chose to stay to my late date was to support the new mission President, I think this is a simple way I can help him.
Elder Marshall bore his "dying" testimony yesterday too. It's a little weird for him. But Sister Van Dam gave every missionary who goes home this Move a little bell, which symbolizes a bell that is rung when a runner reaches his last lap so that he knows when to start sprinting. I'm hoping to ring it any time Elder Marshall might want to slow down as he reaches the end. You can be sure that I'll be going like a maniac this time next Move.
Anyway, sorry but time is up. The computer and myldsmail really isn't working too well, so I'm just going to send this now and hope it doesn't crash.
Love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
MyLDSMail seems to be having some problems. It keeps coming in and out, so this will need to be short. It probably doesn't help that the computer I'm using is absolutely terrible. It keeps disconnecting from the internet, it's very slow, and at some point somebody broke the space bar on the keyboard and replaced it with a Start key. But then at least my space bar half-works. Elder Marshall's doesn't work at all and he's having to use full stops (.) instead of spaces.
I picked up the suit today. It is very nice. When the lady was fitting me, the suit jacket that was "my size" was far too tight, but I was convinced to get it anyway on the condition that the lady tailor it to leave me a little more room. Unexpectedly and possibly a first for Hong Kong, when I picked it up it was perfect - maybe even a little more space than is needed now, which is nice.
As far as Buddha statues go, if not a fat one, what kind? I assume you mean an old-fashioned Buddha - but what I'm thinking of might be completely different to what you're thinking of. Could you email me a picture of what you're looking for? To be honest, the most common Buddhas here are fat and jolly.
I wonder if it could be a huge problem if I didn't have a tuberculosis test when I get home. I've discovered that what the nurse said was true - Americans don't get immunized, they just get regular checkups. Because of this little concern (which doesn't even seem to be that prominent in Hong Kong), I've already had to be immunized and was X-Rayed when I entered the MTC. Perhaps we can just explain to Church Headquatres that there's no way I could possibly have TB.
Please congratulate Tim on passing Seminary this year. I'm really proud of him. Tell Jess I love her, and tell Beth the same when you next see her. Also please thank Grandma, Granny and both Grandads for the money for my birthday, and also for the cards, which meant more to me than the money anyway.
So yesterday was President and Sister Van Dam's final mission conference. They finish their mission on of the first of July, so I'll have a good month with President Chan. Everyone was a little tearful as they said goodbye. As one of the five Elders who achieved Language Legend this Moves, I was asked to hold up a banner during the closing hymn, Called to Serve, which stated the theme of President and Sister Van Dam's mission: A Sacred Time, A Sacred Place, A Sacred Message, A Sacred Messenger. As I was at the front of the room, my back was turned and I didn't see Sister Van Dam apparently crying a lot throughout the hymn. I think everyone was about to start crying. After the closing hymn, we all sat there for a minute, not wanting to leave, until President Van Dam encouraged us to stand up. I was one of the first to stand, which is a nice metaphor for what I've decided to do now as the Van Dams leave. President Chan has come big shoes to fill, and a lot of missionaries are probably going to make things worse by complaining about how much they'll miss President Van Dam. I've decided that whenever anyone complains, I'm going to say something about just how good President Chan will be. I want to support him in the first few weeks of his mission when a lot of people will be missing the Van Dam flair, by helping others to look forward to all the fun they'll have with him around. Considering that part of the reason I chose to stay to my late date was to support the new mission President, I think this is a simple way I can help him.
Elder Marshall bore his "dying" testimony yesterday too. It's a little weird for him. But Sister Van Dam gave every missionary who goes home this Move a little bell, which symbolizes a bell that is rung when a runner reaches his last lap so that he knows when to start sprinting. I'm hoping to ring it any time Elder Marshall might want to slow down as he reaches the end. You can be sure that I'll be going like a maniac this time next Move.
Anyway, sorry but time is up. The computer and myldsmail really isn't working too well, so I'm just going to send this now and hope it doesn't crash.
Love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
Happy Dragonboat Festival!
Dear Mum and Dad,
Yes, a duen mh jit faai lohk to all. Today is one of the bigger annual celebrations for the Chinese people, where they race dragonboats all day, up and down the rivers, in respect for an ancient Chinese poet and political leader who drowned himself in defiance of the evil emperor of the time. Every year, on the anniversary of his death, people ride boats up and down the rivers, banging a big drum to scare the fish so that they don't eat his body, and throw rice balls wrapped in leaves into the water, so that the fish will eat the rice instead of the poet. At some point some bright spark combined this with traditional races, and the dragonboat races were born.
This past week has been pretty busy for us here - things keep coming up to distract us or suck up all of our good finding time. Yesterday, working with the charity Crossroads, we packed a huge container of hospital beds which is currently on its way to Afganistan. The beds were pretty heavy, and this little service project took most of the day in the hot sun, so we all got very tired out and more than a little sunburnt. This is the most burned I've ever been on my mission and for many years before it. Ironically, when we got back home, we discovered that it had been raining the entire day in Kwai Fong. We had been on the large island of Dung Chung all day, which I guess is sheltered from the stormclouds because of the huge mountains all around. The particular place we were working was called Sunny Bay, and considering that we got sunburnt when the rest of Hong Kong was getting rained on, it certainly lived up to its name!
I went and got measured for my tailored suit last Thursday. It came to $650HK which is a little less than £65. I ordered two pairs of trousers (otherwise it would have only been $500HK) which I thought would be a good idea to extend the life of the suit. I'll be going to pick it up next week.
Now while we're on the subject of buying things, are there any specific souveniers people want from Hong Kong? I have about $600hk left in my account, and don't really have anything else I specifically NEED to buy, but if there are presents anyone wants, let me know.
This week my work has continued on learning to write the articles of faith in Chinese. I'm getting pretty close now - I wrote them all out yesterday and there were only five or six that I couldn't remember or wrote wrong. My pass-off is tomorrow, and I'm hoping to succeed - especially after hearing that apparently, nobody else as of yet has got the Extra Credit assignment for the Legend. This next Wednesday being President Van Dam's last mission conference, everyone is trying desperately to get the award in time so that they can have a meal with him. There's one other Elder I know of who has succeeded, and two more who are going to try this week, including my old companion Elder Sharp, who is six months younger than me in the field and who was my companion when I passed off the first thousand characters.
Rain has been hitting pretty heavily recently - apart from in Sunny Bay. It's been raining non-stop for several days, everything from light drizzle to a full on monsoon downpour, which is a lot stronger than the rain back home. I'm happy with the rain, though, because it's cooled things down a lot. Right before it rained, it was getting very hot, with temperatures as high as 30 Celcius. The rain makes it much nicer, and I'd far prefer to be a little wet from the rain than a lot wetter from my own sweat, thanks to all the humidity here. So far it seems a lot cooler this year than it was this time last year, which is good - but it's also been drier, which probably means that it'll get a lot hotter once we get into June and July. Because I took my late date coming home, I'll get three Julys on the mission, which just so happens to be the hottest part of the summer here. But I'd rather be on a mission for an extra month in the sun than be moping around at home for that time.
Anyway, all is well here in Kwai Fong. I'm enjoying myself and working hard. Things are a little slow here right now, but I don't mind - I know we just need to find that one prepared soul that God has waiting for us, and I know I can't complain about a slow few weeks or months when European missionaries tend to get a slow few years.
Lots of love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
Yes, a duen mh jit faai lohk to all. Today is one of the bigger annual celebrations for the Chinese people, where they race dragonboats all day, up and down the rivers, in respect for an ancient Chinese poet and political leader who drowned himself in defiance of the evil emperor of the time. Every year, on the anniversary of his death, people ride boats up and down the rivers, banging a big drum to scare the fish so that they don't eat his body, and throw rice balls wrapped in leaves into the water, so that the fish will eat the rice instead of the poet. At some point some bright spark combined this with traditional races, and the dragonboat races were born.
This past week has been pretty busy for us here - things keep coming up to distract us or suck up all of our good finding time. Yesterday, working with the charity Crossroads, we packed a huge container of hospital beds which is currently on its way to Afganistan. The beds were pretty heavy, and this little service project took most of the day in the hot sun, so we all got very tired out and more than a little sunburnt. This is the most burned I've ever been on my mission and for many years before it. Ironically, when we got back home, we discovered that it had been raining the entire day in Kwai Fong. We had been on the large island of Dung Chung all day, which I guess is sheltered from the stormclouds because of the huge mountains all around. The particular place we were working was called Sunny Bay, and considering that we got sunburnt when the rest of Hong Kong was getting rained on, it certainly lived up to its name!
I went and got measured for my tailored suit last Thursday. It came to $650HK which is a little less than £65. I ordered two pairs of trousers (otherwise it would have only been $500HK) which I thought would be a good idea to extend the life of the suit. I'll be going to pick it up next week.
Now while we're on the subject of buying things, are there any specific souveniers people want from Hong Kong? I have about $600hk left in my account, and don't really have anything else I specifically NEED to buy, but if there are presents anyone wants, let me know.
This week my work has continued on learning to write the articles of faith in Chinese. I'm getting pretty close now - I wrote them all out yesterday and there were only five or six that I couldn't remember or wrote wrong. My pass-off is tomorrow, and I'm hoping to succeed - especially after hearing that apparently, nobody else as of yet has got the Extra Credit assignment for the Legend. This next Wednesday being President Van Dam's last mission conference, everyone is trying desperately to get the award in time so that they can have a meal with him. There's one other Elder I know of who has succeeded, and two more who are going to try this week, including my old companion Elder Sharp, who is six months younger than me in the field and who was my companion when I passed off the first thousand characters.
Rain has been hitting pretty heavily recently - apart from in Sunny Bay. It's been raining non-stop for several days, everything from light drizzle to a full on monsoon downpour, which is a lot stronger than the rain back home. I'm happy with the rain, though, because it's cooled things down a lot. Right before it rained, it was getting very hot, with temperatures as high as 30 Celcius. The rain makes it much nicer, and I'd far prefer to be a little wet from the rain than a lot wetter from my own sweat, thanks to all the humidity here. So far it seems a lot cooler this year than it was this time last year, which is good - but it's also been drier, which probably means that it'll get a lot hotter once we get into June and July. Because I took my late date coming home, I'll get three Julys on the mission, which just so happens to be the hottest part of the summer here. But I'd rather be on a mission for an extra month in the sun than be moping around at home for that time.
Anyway, all is well here in Kwai Fong. I'm enjoying myself and working hard. Things are a little slow here right now, but I don't mind - I know we just need to find that one prepared soul that God has waiting for us, and I know I can't complain about a slow few weeks or months when European missionaries tend to get a slow few years.
Lots of love,
Elder Matthew Loffhagen
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