The New Territories is on fire, like usual.
We've heard through the grapevine that Mainland might be opening up soon. Another missionary told us that his friend got his mission call to Taiwan and to serve there until he is sent up to Mainland. If it's true, it seems pretty natural they would start with the Taiwanese missionaries who all speak Mandarin. There are a lot of whispered preparations happening all over the mission here as well. Word has it that certain missionaries in Hong Kong are going high-tech -- on the back of missionary tags they are stamping QR Codes for people to quickly scan with their Smart Phones. Apparently some missionaries will possibly be using Smart Phones. There is a missionary companionship currently cooped up in the upper (the kind you have to use scanner codes to get in) floors of the main 13-story Wan Chai building, doing what all the other missionaries call "top secret missionary work." We aren't really sure what's going on, but apparently the companionship is helping to develop some sort of website thing that is directly geared to investigators of the church, that can be easily accessed, is full of special messages, etc. With that and how big the New Territories Zone has gotten in the last move, the huge chapel in Hung Shui Kiu finally opening up after 10 years, the huge and rapid technological advancements, and whisperings of Mainland, we're given in speculation that huge things are going to start happening in Asia. That's all I know. Take it for prophecy or just for feeling, but I feel like whether in this mission or later in my life, God is preparing me for a great work on the other side of the border.
Soso, our best investigator, is currently experiencing a lot of changes in his life. We found him wandering about a mile down the road from the chapel lost in thought. He said that an old friend had offered him a job in office work, and he wasn't sure what to do. He currently works as a delivery boy in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant pretty close to the church. We even made him deliver to us a couple days ago. It's funny, because he's always so close, we see him on his bike almost every day, so "daily contact" is made pretty easy. He didn't come to church yesterday, so Elder Farnsworth and I, a little worried, decided to go visit his house. Turns out he had just gone to bed an hour before after being on a phone call nearly the whole night. Whatever had been bugging him seemed to be fixed, and he just needed to sleep. Looks like he's going to take the new job, too. We'll see him less, but I'm pretty sure he'll be baptized before he even starts it next month. He has a lot of faith, and I think God is preparing him for a lot of the joy that the gospel will bring him and his prospective family.
Our other investigators are doing well also. Sister Yip will have to get a special interview for baptism due to some past issues, but she is so prepared and humble and receptive. She is already an active member practically. Our friend Andrew is looking for a new job; when he finally gets accepted into a new work he'll be able to come to church. The only thing that is holding him back from baptism has been his inability to attend church. We're hoping for 3 baptisms in December.
I have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is the answer to questions. We met with a less active member on Saturday who had a lot of deep questions about the Plan of Salvation. We sat for a good while disputing certain issues back and forth, but he kept letting his confusion get the best of him. I told him right then that I thought continuing in conversation would do us no good, and that instead we should turn to the scriptures. Elder Farnsworth and I found wonderful passages in 2 Nephi 9 and Doctrine and Covenants that spoke to him and eased his mind.
God answers questions, we don't. The difference is clearly visible and noticable when you open the scriptures together instead of having some philosophical conversation. Faces soften from the furrowed questioning brow to the focused and peaceful countenance of self-introspection. It becomes a conversation with God, where He Himself instructs, guides, answers and uplifts you. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that we have an inspired prophet in these latter-days, and that God will never cease speaking to us.
Love,
Elder Hazen
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