Elder Ryan Woolley in Hong Kong!: Meeting Asia Area Mission Presidents

大家好!!

We had a week full of memorable moments! We are still catching up on the work after last weeks conferences, but we still managed to have a really good week!

On Wednesday we had a great MLC! And now we get to see how we in the mission can apply all that we have learned the past couple weeks of meetings. We have a really cool opportunity coming up in Hong Kong with the church, President Lam's childhood friend is the host of something called the Pearl Report on TvB, which is the most popular station in Hong Kong, and they decided to do a mini documentary on the church. It has been really cool talking with the journalist guy about it, being interviewed and having them come to church and meetings etc. I know President and Sister Lam have been handling all the interviews well, and we're excited for it to be released in November, it should be really good for helping change the public's view of the church, which is generally fairly negative, a lot of people just think we're a 邪教. Hopefully this will help move the work along!

Earlier in the week there was a Mission President's Conference held in Wan Chai, and we got to attend part of it and interact with a bunch of President's and their wives, I got to meet a bunch of my friends mission leaders which was awesome, but the best part was learning from them and feeling the power and spirituality of the different people. We did a role play with the Thailand mission president and he taught us from the scriptures, it was amazing how well he applied just the first chapter of scripture to my 'role's' life. It made me want to study the scriptures more. I was also being taught the principle of prayer, and my 'role's' question was how to know if God is real and what it means to myself. He invited me to pray everyday and ask the same two questions, ask if he is real, and ask if he is real, what he wants me to do. Good questions, and it got me thinking that I should be asking Heavenly Father every day what He wants me to do, and ask him to send me more promptings and 'personal commandments' to do to to further serve Him. It was a really cool experience and I learned a lot their examples. I also gained even more appreciation for my own mission President, President Lam. I know without a doubt that he guides this mission on revelation from God. It is an amazing thing to be a part of.

Unfortunately, Steven didn't have much progression this last week, but we had a good lesson helping him understand the scriptures and how to really read and apply them. I can't think of very many habits that are as life changing as reading the scriptures. I have really seen it change lives on my mission, including my own. The Book of Mormon means the world to me, and is part of the foundation of my own testimony. I am amazed by the power of it. All we have to do is read and ponder it a little every day, and it can fill us with inspiration and the Spirit, and bring about real change and miracles in our lives and in who we are, not just in our behavior. Personal study of the Book of Mormon every day has truly expanded my mind and taught me so much and really changed me. Most of the time I don't notice how much it has changed me, but I really felt it in the lesson with Steven, how much this habit has changed me, and how much it can change him, and how much it has changed and blessed every investigator that I have seen who actually studied and pondered it's pages. I love it!

I was happy to see some of our other investigators come to church on Sunday, one of them has a little 6 year old daughter who is like a little sister to me now haha she was super excited to see us because we haven't been able to meet for a few weeks. It was great to see her love church, and see it slowly changing her mother as well. The work is definitely starting to slowly pick up steam in Shum Shui Po, I am starting to feel good with the members and have the trust of our investigators which is good, and I can feel that it will start picking up lots of steam this month. I can't wait! We had a really fun FHE activity at a members house the other day, and played a game that is like charades but for Chinese idioms, so of course I didn't know like any of them because there are a million and they are all deep haha but I loved seeing the ward just having fun, and really welcoming the investigators. I started to feel a familiar love for them that reminds me of the love I get for every ward or branch or people that we serve, and reminds me again how blessed I am to be here serving and teaching such amazing people about Jesus Christ.

I had a quick thought that is also related to the thought I had last week about Christ and the Atonement. It was also brought up to us by one of the journalists for the documentary, and he asked why there are no crosses in our church. OF course the answer that immediately comes to mind is because we focus on the Living, resurrected Christ, and not on His death, or the signs of his death. Though we do talk about his Atoning sacrifice all the time, and say the phrase he died for us very often, sometimes I forget that He also lived on this earth for us, and lives for us today. Every single act of His life was for us to see how to live, love, and serve perfectly. He is the only person to have ever done so. He could have lived a sinless life without having gone out of his way to serve and teach as he did, but he knew that he had to live not only a sinless life, but one of perfect love and service, which entailed a lot of hard work and sacrifice. He lives today and "ever liveth to make an intercession for" us (Hebrews 7:25). He lives now for us, to plead for us above, to call us unto him, to forgive and cleanse us, to comfort and guide us. I am so grateful for a Savior who lived for us, atoned and died for us, and lives for us today. I know He lives. I know He did all that he did because he loves us.

Hong Kong is an amazing place, and I feel blessed every day to be here serving. Thank you for all the support and love!

我愛你們！

Elder Woolley

胡長老