Every week brings new experiences and opportunities

The city is getting ready for Chinese New Year.  Sister Orton and I are on our way home from lunch.  

We got in line at 5:00 a.m. to get tickets for the Chinese New Year parade (January 28).  We were finally able to get our tickets at 9:00a.m.     Left to right:  Elder Pett,  Sister Yan,  Sister Lee,  me,  Sister Orton.   I'm not a fan of parades,  but we aren't going to miss this one!

We started this week meeting with Jerry Yu. Jerry is one of the members referred to us by Peter Chan and Caroline Gwok while we were still in Utah.  He is an investment banker in Hong Kong and knows many “persons of influence” here in Hong Kong.  He has served on the National Public Affairs Council, in Hong Kong, and understands the objectives of the Church’s Public Affairs Department.  He shared some of his ideas with us, specifically projects that he believes can help struggling neighborhoods. It was a productive meeting and we will be following up with him soon.

We also sat down this week with Patrick Cheuk and the Nielsen’s, to discuss how Public Affairs can most effectively work with the Humanitarian Group. We discussed better communication and follow up with all the various humanitarian initiatives in the twenty-plus countries here in the area. We then spent a second morning in a similar meeting with the Self-reliance Missionaries, Elder and Sister Chandler. It was our first glimpse into the number of individuals benefiting from a strong teaching focus regarding financial independence, and the hope that springs from institutional educational opportunities.

We also  received a call this week from the Temple Presidency and were invited to come in and interview for a Temple assignment. We were called as Ordinance Workers and will be working on Thursday nights. The Hong Kong Temple typically involves multiple languages in every session and sometimes will have temple workers and patrons speaking up to three different languages at the same time.

We ended the week with our Saturday Church Meetings and a fun Relief society dinner. The Sisters set up five or six folding tables end to end forming a single row stretching from one side of the cultural hall to the other. They then covered them with white plastic tablecloths and banana leaves lying flat on the center of the tables. Next, they scooped white rice probably eight inches wide and three inches high on the banana leaves from one end of the tables to the other end. Then they decorated the rice with chicken wings, vegetables, fish and assorted spiced pastes and sauces. It was quite a sight and very artful. We were then, (all fourty-plus) invited to line up on both sides of the tables shoulder to shoulder facing each other with the food between us. We stared at each other for a minute and then someone said something in Tagalog which must of meant go because everyone started eating the food. Keep in mind that there are no utensils allowed in this exercise and it was not a team sport.

Every week here brings us new experiences!  Hope you all have a great week.

Here with our Filipina Sisters,  they have prepared a "Boodle Fight"  This Philippine tradition is patterned after the Philippine Guerrilla fighters who would eat in the jungle by spreading out banana leaves on the ground,  spread  out their food on the banana leaves,  and of course without utensils would eat with their hands.    The Sisters in our branch love to put on these Boodle Fights.    They line up on both sides of the table,  and when everyone is ready they just start eating with their hands.  Rice,  dried fish (including the heads), and chicken,  I have no idea what the rest of it was.  

Lynn and Elder Pett wanting it to look like they were eating the fish,  but they weren't!  However,  Elder Kendell (our Branch President),  he was eating it!

I love the Filipina sisters in our branch.  Sister Pett and I were called and trained to teach a Self-Reliance Coarse in our branch.   We have a group of 19 sisters enrolled.  We meet every Saturday morning before  Sacrament Meeting from 10:00-12:00,  the coarse runs for 13 weeks.   I really enjoy this experience.  These classes are being taught all over Asia,  and as I understand it,  it's   becoming more widespread in the states now.