Highlight of the week; Karen getting older. Karen's birthday is not only the highlight of the week but the best day of the year.
This week also included an Asia Area Presidency Devotional, a hike in the New Territory's with the Chatterton's, good friends leaving, and a personal meeting with Elder Wong.
Elder David F. Evans shared with us the duties and responsibilities of the First and Second Quorums of the Seventies in our Devotional this week. The main take away for me from his presentation is that the men called to these Quorums are traveling Ministers. Those in this Area Presidency are continually on the road ministering to half the worlds population in twenty-two countries. Each country with multiple recognized internal national languages and cultures. For example, I believe that India alone recognizes more than twenty national languages. Making the work here very complex. The continual shift of national and regional politics also adds the problem of a continual moving target of those who favor or oppose opinions of Christian tolerance. Thus the Area Presidency may have spent last week in a Country working on what was a top priority for them last week, but this week, the same Country same issue doesn't crack the top ten in priorities so they are off to somewhere else working on their new top priority. Enough of that, let's move on.
We with the Chatterton's pushed the limits of our comfort zone on our off day this week through an adventure trip to the New Territories. We read about a Chinese ghost town that was built during the sixties and abandoned just after I came home from Hong Kong in the mid- seventies. After a thirty-minute train ride and a twenty-minute mini-bus ride we arrived at a trail/dirt road. We hiked a few hundred meters and found the Village of Luk Keng.
Not much of a ghost town, just a couple of abandoned duplexes. But like good missionaries instead of letting ourselves feel disappointed, we recognized we were out of the city and enjoyed being in the country. We found a small trail which we followed that eventually led to a small crypt that housed the remains of someone's grandma and grandpa. After paying our respect we returned to where we could board the mini-bus and headed home.
This week we experienced the completion of our friends, Elder and Sister Orton’s, mission. Telling them good bye and having them leave is probably the hardest thing we have done here since our arrival. But, we are happy for them and their family and know that we will see each other again.
This week I also had a wonderful meeting with Elder Wong. We talked about me teaching members of the Church in other countries how to make friends. He told me that I have been given a gift of making friends and that I should leave a legacy of The Elder Beckstead way of making friends here in Hong Kong when we leave.
We love sharing some of last week with you and hope that your week was as fulfilling as ours.
Here is the article Elder Beckstead wrote covering Sister Cordon's visit last week:
Children are anxious to minister and be ministered to. Let the children minister.”
Bonnie H. Cordon, Second Counselor of the General Primary Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with leaders and teachers from the Districts, Stakes, Wards, and Branches in the Primary Organization from Hong Kong and Macau.
In an interactive training meeting held at the Wan Chai Chapel in Hong Kong, Sister Cordon stated to those assembled, “We (here) have something in common, we are in the little people business.” She added “In the eyes of the Lord, Children are not secondary, in His eyes they are Primary.” Pointing out that the name of the organized program of religious instruction and activity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for children from eighteen months of age until their twelfth birthday is “Primary.”
She then invited from those attending to share concerns, challenges, and personal experiences in their different roles of service in the Primary. Questions concerning a child’s reverence, physical handicaps, ADHD, Autism and other issues were discussed by the participants. During the discussion, Sister Cordon often referred to the scriptures and emphasized the responsibility of the Primary to help children come unto Jesus Christ by teaching them His gospel.
Sister Cordon concluded with a story about a Ward Primary Leader inflicted with cancer. This good sister, a friend of Sister Cordon’s, and like most cancer victims, would experience both good and bad days as the cancer advanced. One particularly bad day the doorbell rang, when she answered the door no one was there, but as she looked around she found that someone had taped a crayon drawing of a heart and a simple note to the door. Sister Cordon held up the copies given to her of the drawing and note so everyone in the room could see them. She then continued by saying that her friend, the primary worker told her, “The drawing made me smile and the note made me weep.” She knew before reading it, that it was from one of her Primary children. In a child’s handwriting was scrawled these words; “Dear Sister Pearce, Believe that God can bless you. We are praying for you,” signed; Your old friend Cooper (Cooper is 9 years old).
Sister Cordon then shared her testimony of Jesus Christ, and His love for all children.
It was fun to wander around and find these ancient abandoned homes in the Luk Keng Village
As you can see there is a lot of poverty here in this little village
This is the view from Luk Keng to Hong Kong
As we walked farther along the path going up from the village we found this crypt.
This little restaurant at the village bus stop didn't look good at all, but it was an experience! It's fun to spend time with our friends Marilyn and John Chatterton. We are so glad they were called to come to Hong Kong to serve too.
No comments:
Post a Comment