Novermber 4, 2013
Hey everybody,
It's such a blessing to work with Discovery Bay members. They are all about to explode with excitement to be finally working with full-time missionaries fully devoted to their Branch. I forgot to mention a couple weeks ago that President Hawks called us and cancelled our daily commute to Wan Chai to support the every-day Victoria II Branch. The Senior missionaries will take care of the Sacrament, and for the first time in years there are only filipena sisters supporting Victoria II. So for the past little while Elder Chang and I have been walking around Lantau Island looking for all the International people we can find.
Of course, we're still in Hong Kong, and most of the Internationals that aren't tourists are corporate businessmen or pilots that live in these grand utopia-like estates that seem like chilling in a 5-star resort 24/7. Not my choice of lifestyle, but working with these people is a blast. Last night I had mexican food for the first time in forever. So our strategy, (I suppose like it's always been), is to WORK WITH THE MEMBERS. If we really want to bring families into the gospel, let's face reality -- missionaries shouldn't be the ones finding them. And with the nature of finding up here, members are practically the only way to find them. And we're fasting and praying to harness the excitement and enthusiasm each member of this small branch has to make it happen. There is so much vision throughout the church on how missionary work is to be done. It will be a great day when the greater portion of church members remember that missionaries are called to teach, and that the great call of the prophets indicates that every single one of them is called to find. I'm grateful for all the miles that I've walked aimlessly on my mission and for the joy that I've felt from seeing even the smallest boost of enthusiasm from a Ward or Branch -- it is teaching me in large part the kind of member I want to be of God's restored church when I return home. Easier said than done, I know, but I testify that now is the time to allow God's work to hasten.
Example:
Perhaps you all remember the sweet Less-Active lady, Sister Jovelyn, that we met and brought to church last week. Turns out I heard wrong, she hasn't been to church in 6 years, not 16. Anyway, President Joslyn felt we needed to visit her with him during the week to show her that we cared. He hired a taxi for us on Wednesday, and we all went together to visit. Her employer also turns out to be from the Philippines, who is married to a British lawyer and lives in a large flat in a very wealthy community. She walked into our visit, and when she realized we were sharing about God she went to grab her other helper, and our short Less-Active visit turned into a full lesson on the restoration of the gospel. Joji and Ogie, the employer and the other helper, were both very touched by the message and believed that it wasn't a coincidence that we had come. Joji hasn't felt spiritually satisfied with her church lately and had been praying for a means to come closer to God. They commited to read the Book of Mormon, and that was that.
All that took was a member of Christ's restored church who cared enough to take a short time out of his day to show another friend some support. That's all it takes. Watch the first video: http://www.lds.org/search?q=I'
See how easy it is. We need you, and so do they.
Elder Hazen
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