Elder Ryan Woolley in Hong Kong!: Finding Zero

Hello Everybody!!

What an amazing week I had! Probably one of the most learning dense weeks of my mission! We had General Conference this weekend which was great, the hours in that meeting fly by so much faster than I remember it being as a kid, funny how things we used to dread can later mean so much to us. I loved too many talks to even begin to talk about it. Then we had a great zone training yesterday, and our district president, who just got called to be an area authority came and talked to us for awhile. Today we were supposed to go to the temple but it closed because the AC broke haha so next week we will! I feel like I received a ton of timely instruction from the Lord, the conference and meetings were really timed well for my efforts as a missionary. I felt like I needed a lot of new insights on how to continue to improve everyday and always have the desire, and this weekend certainly gave me more than enough.

Jason attended all the sessions of conference with us with his suit and tie and shirt that we gave him. It really touched me, he would ask us lots of questions just trying to understand. He is quite prepared, I am really excited for his baptism this Sunday!

Our other investigators have been harder to work with for some reason, it was a bit of a struggle week teaching everyone, but that's how it goes. It has again humbled me and sent me more earnestly seeking the Spirit in lessons and the guidance from the Lord because we can't do it alone and there are so many people that I just don't know how to help. It's humbling to have moments where I don't even know what to say. Because I find that if I begin to speak or testify in faith, the promise given to us in the scriptures is true, and my mouth is filled with what they need to hear.

One night last week we had a little bit of extra time and felt prompted to do some finding around Mong Kok. I had a really clear picture of a certain street enter in my mind and it didn't seem to go away, so we walked over to that street. It was poorly lit and no one was stopping, probably because we looked a little sketchy in the dark. But then this really young looking kid smoking a cigarette stopped and we started talking to him. His name was Zero (he had never seen the movie Holes though). We quickly learned of the hard life he lives. He left his home when he was young after his parents split and he didn't get along with who he lived with. He dropped out of school to work and was living with some people, and he had just gotten in a fight with one of them and damaged his hand when he punched and broke a window in the house. He told us that he used to believe in a God, but life got too hard, and he stopped believing in the possibility of something more, especially something that could care about him. I felt so moved, and new this young man desperately needed our help. So we walked with him to the hospital, continuing to listen to his story. When we arrived at the hospital we looked him in the eye and testified of the reality of God and His Son Jesus Christ, and more importantly, their love for him. At that moment I saw hope enter his eyes. We offered a small prayer together. He stood for a second with us, then said thank you. I later gave his number to the Cantonese Elders in our area. I don't know the outcome, but I know without a doubt that we were sent there to talk to Zero, and to be the conduit for our Heavenly Father to reach out to him and say, "Zero, I know you and love you."

This story really reminds me of Uchtdorf's talk about the 99 sheep and the lost 1. I'll quote him because he says it better than I ever could - "Over the centuries, this parable has traditionally been interpreted as a call to action for us to bring back the lost sheep and to reach out to those who are lost. While this is certainly appropriate and good, I wonder if there is more to it. Is it possible that Jesus’s purpose, first and foremost, was to teach about the work of the Good Shepherd? Is it possible that He was testifying of God’s love for His wayward children? Is it possible that the Savior’s message was that God is fully aware of those who are lost—and that He will find them, that He will reach out to them, and that He will rescue them? If that is so, what must the sheep do to qualify for this divine help? Does the sheep need to know how to use a complicated sextant to calculate its coordinates? Does it need to be able to use a GPS to define its position? Does it have to have the expertise to create an app that will call for help? Does the sheep need endorsements by a sponsor before the Good Shepherd will come to the rescue? No. Certainly not! The sheep is worthy of divine rescue simply because it is loved by the Good Shepherd. To me, the parable of the lost sheep is one of the most hopeful passages in all of scripture. Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you. He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears. It matters not how you became lost—whether because of your own poor choices or because of circumstances beyond your control. What matters is that you are His child. And He loves you. He loves His children."

Just as Zero is, we are all worthy of rescue simply because we are the Children of God. It is inspiring for me to always think of our divine identity as Children of God, and to always keep that in mind as I teach and preach the gospel of Christ to all the sheep on their various paths and pastures of Hong Kong.

Thank you everyone for all the support!

Love,

Elder Woolley