MELE KALIKIMAKA

...Certain elves are working overtime at Santa's workshop this year...

"The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
- 2 Corinthians 4:18 -

Blossoming Years...

4 October 2008

My love for thee is a quiet thing,

tis as calmly serene as winter's first twilight.

My love for thee is not a drifting thing,

like that of a leaf in Fall tumbling out of sight.

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My love for thee is a passionate thing

as heated as the warmest day summer brings.

My love for thee is a blossoming thing

with the pulse and breath of life in Spring.

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My love for thee is a timeless thing,

for endlessly, throughout eternity, it succeeds.

My love for thee is an immeasurable thing,

for infinite is this eternal growing seed.

My Love For Thee ~Author Unknown~

Matching Game or Match-making Game?

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Su's personal life again! As you can see, the growth chart has changed it's course from spiritual measurements of growth to...well...everything else outside missionary life =) Thank you for subscribing to my weekly letters! It has been a great 18 months! Now lets see how much supid cupid has changed shall we? Where does she stand now? Everyone have your measuring tapes out?

The following exercise is to determine the 'me' that exists in post-mission life:

~If a guy says “you’re crazy”

What kind of Crazy am I?
wild, passionate, fanatical, mad, extreme, foolish, unwise

~If he says I am the source of weird happenings in his life...(in a complimentary way)

I come across weird in what way?
strange, odd, bizarre, peculiar, uncanny, eerie, creepy, unusual

Feel free to cast your vote on the "where dummies speak" section


Note: All comments are subject to query and further investigation by Authorized personnel for validation purposes

回到爱

Way Back Into Love

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I’ve been living with a shadow overhead

I’ve been sleeping with a cloud above my bed

I’ve been lonely for so long

Trapped in the past, I just can’t seem to move on

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I’ve been hiding all my hopes and dreams away

Just in case I ever need em again someday

I’ve been setting aside time

To clear a little space in the corners of my mind

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All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

Oh oh oh

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I’ve been watching but the stars refuse to shine

I’ve been searching but I just don’t see the signs

I know that it’s out there

There’s got to be something for my soul somewhere

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I’ve been looking for someone to shed some light

Not somebody just to get me through the night

I could use some direction

And I’m open to your suggestions

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All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart again

I guess I’m hoping you’ll be there for me in the end

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There are moments when I don’t know if it’s real

Or if anybody feels the way I feel

I need inspiration Not just another negotiation

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All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart to you

I’m hoping you’ll show me what to do

And if you help me to start again

You know that I’ll be there for you in the end

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0rRJVSXZWc

WEEK 76

Here is the quote from "Preach My Gospel" that I promised to write you this week. It's found in Chapter 10 "Teaching Skills" on page 182 under the title Teach for Understanding" It's a quote by President John Taylor:
"It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it."

This last week on the mission has been filled with memorable events and experiences for me. On Friday we had our semi-annual Mission Conference. It started at 8:30am with a mission picture in front of the temple. Next we had a devotional meeting where the 13 sculpture exhibit of "The Healing Power of Jesus Christ," now available at our Visitors' Center, was introduced to the whole mission. Since we have 19 Sisters serving at the VC this transfer, 13 of them each shared about a sculpture and the remaining 6 of us did a musical number at the end.

Speaking of music, the highlight of this meeting for me, was really all the beautiful musical numbers. Each song sung that morning were ALL my favorites! I don't know how that happened, but the messages from the music really spoke to me that morning and I will always remember the feeling I had sitting in that chapel. The prelude musical number was a quintet by the Tongan Elders and they sung this song that I don't know the title of but it has these words"He Will Carry the Weight of the World Upon His shoulder." Then after the first speaker they sang again which is also my favorite song "Oh Lord, My Redeemer." Following the next speaker, an Elder sang "This is the Christ" and "He Sent His Son." Oh my goodness by this time I was totally in awe at how many songs were sung that morning and how ALL the songs were my favorite! There is a wise saying: There are no coincidences in life.
After the devotional meeting, we attended a temple session as a whole mission. 180 missionaries! The Celestial room was filled and yet it was just as quiet and peaceful. As I sat praying, after most of the missionaries had left to go eat up at the mission home, I opened up the scriptures to Doctrine and Covenants section 14 and 15. These sections were revelations given to David and John Whitmer who eventually became witnesses for the Book of Mormon. In section 15 are these precious verses that I read and loved:

3. And I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee alone—
4. For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you.
5. And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen.

Yesterday Sister Hui, Hsiao, and I had the opportunity to hear Wayne Wong speak at "Why I Believe" Fireside. Sister Hsiao and I are so blessed to know him and to have had the opportunity to teach him the gospel together and to see him get baptized and confirmed (Mar 1, 2008). He received the Aaronic priesthood soon after. About a month later, He entered the Temple to do baptism work.
There is no greater joy than this, to know such choice children of God while on the mission, and to rejoice with them as they join in this journey of learning and growing in the gospel of Jesus Christ, walking on the path that leads back to our Heavenly Father! I will miss Oakland and this mission SO much!

This morning we had "The Breakfast" at Elder and Pedersen's home. It is a breakfast we always have on the last Monday of the transfer to "celebrate" the departure of the VC sisters. This transfer there's 5 of us -Sister Daniels, Qiao, Leung, Greer and me.
Sister Leung, Qiao and I will be going to San Fransisco with the Pedersens on Wednesday to catch our 1:35pm flight. Sister Leung and I will be flying together on a 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. And from Hong Kong I will be on my own to fly to Singapore. Hehe..Sister Leung and I are determined to convert the whole airplane of people flying to Hong Kong with us...after all, it is a 14 hour flight! We've learned on a mission that we can get A LOT done in just 14 hours! ;-)

I am SO excited to see everyone when I get home! I love you and can't wait to be with you again!

I hope there are Chinese sister missionaries in the Singapore mission so I can go on team-ups with them...=)

WEEK 75

This week I've had several treats while serving at the Visitors' Center. Coming to the close of my mission, many people whom I've met in this past year and a half have been on my mind lately. Many of them have showed up at the Visitors' Center this past week, and I have had the opportuniy to thank them for touching my life. We've been able to exchange contact information and take pictures. Did I ever mention how awesome serving at the Oakland Temple Visitors' Center is? =)

Well, the best part is that this week we just received a very special exhibit of 13 sculptures by artist, Angela Johnson. She is a member of the church and is very talented in many ways. The sculptures are pieces that depict the life of Jesus Christ. The title of the exhibit is "The Healing Power of Jesus Christ." These sculptures were on exhibit at the St. George, Utah Temple Visitors' Center for several months, but they are now finally in Oakland! We are so excited to have these sculptures early, cuz we were expecting them to come after this transfer is over and the 5 VC sisters who are leaving (including myself) would not have had the chance to see them. We have been preparing for this special exhibit since the beginning of this year. We had studied the book "Jesus the Christ" by James E. Talmage together during our weekly Tuesday morning trainings, which was a very excellent resource in helping us prepare for these 13 sculpture exhibit. From studying "Jesus the Christ," my testimony of the Savior has been strengthened and my knowledge and understanding of the Saviors life and of the New testament has increased tremendously! Having had the opportunity to plan and prepare Tuesday morning trainnings with Elder and Sister Pedersen (our VC directors) has helped me gain a deeper appreciation for what they do here as directors. It has also given me an opportunity to increase and expand my knowledge as I've learned a lot from all the studying and preparation I've been involved in for training purposes...Sister Hsiao had made a comment once that is very true. She observed that one needs to study deeply in order to teach simply. The Savior is the best teacher because His knowlege of everything was so great, and He knew how to gather all the important points and teach it so that a little child could understand. And then to the hard hearted, He could teach in parables so that the learned person would be confounded, and only the humble and penitent could hear its profound message.
There is a very good quote found in the "Preach My Gospel" book that is related to teaching the gospel so that even a little child could understand it. But I don't have my book with me right now, so I will share it with you next week..

I love ya!

WEEK 74

Yay! I'm so glad all the packages I sent arrived safely to their destinations! This week I started to sort out some papers and stuff that I've accumulated from the mission. I read some of the old e-mails mom and dad wrote me these past months. I realized that all of you have been busier than I have been this past year and a half. Or at least it sounds like it in your letters. Thank you for being such good examples to me!

Yesterday Sister Hui and I attended the other Chinese group (not a branch yet) that meets in Dublin (close to where I used to serve in Danville during my full pros months). It is a small group but the members have a very close relationship with one another, and they are very strong members of the church. I had the opportunity to thank Sister Wang and her daughter (a young mother from Taiwan) for helping me take care of Sister Hsiao when she was very sick in Danville. During that transfer I learned a little bit about motherhood as I tried to nurture my companion back to health…but there were days when I was totally exhausted and Heavenly Father would always place people in our path to help carry the burden – My roommates, members of our ward, and especially Sister Wang and her daughter who brought Chinese food and called-in on us just at the right moments. They are like angels sent from heaven =)

Within this year and a half period, I have met so many people who have touched my life. It is a wonderful thing….I recently read the following phrase on a card:
"Too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL"
There are many good things that happen to us in life, and I think when a lot of good things happen to us all at one time…the feeling we get is just wonderful! I feel wonderful right now!

Have a wonderful week!

Ps. Did I tell you that we had a baptism two Saturdays ago, June 21?
Her name is Rita and we are so happy for her! She's about our age, so it is a treat to know another friend from serving this mission! =)

WEEK 73

This morning I was suddenly struck with a desire to accomplish a lot of things with my life ahead of me. I immediately found myself on my knees in my little bedroom, praying to Heavenly Father and pleading with Him that He will guide me (after my mission is over) to the right places and that I will be involved with the right programs that will help me accomplish what He wants me to accomplish in my life. I think being out on this mission has really helped me to know where our focus should really be and especially HOW to achieve these things. In this mission I have had the opportunity to see the examples of the many church leaders here who are SO successful in their secular lives, and how they have always put the Lord FIRST in their lives. Because of that, the Lord is able to give them success in the things they need to survive in the world, which allows them to therefore focus on things of more eternal consequence. With family, and through church callings, they find it is the main source of happiness in their lives.

I guess what I am trying to say is that no matter what profession we choose in life, if we keep faithful to the gospel, Heavenly Father will be able to bless us with the things we stand in need. In the mean time, we are also trying to build His kingdom on this earth -a world filled with peace and equality that everyone is trying to find. We know that it is only through the gospel of Jesus Christ that this peace and equality can be acheived to its PERFECT form, because it is not man's way, it is not based on thousands of years of research and philosophy, it is based on the teachings and principles taught by God, who has more than thousands of years of experiece!

There is a famous scripture in 3 Nephi 13:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

I know this scripture to be true and I have seen many great examples from the members of this church. I hope each one of us will always put the Lord first in our lives. The challenges of life will always be there, no matter what, but the difference in living the gospel through these challenges is found in the way we overcome them.

WEEK 72 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERNIE!!!!!!

On Fei's birthday, Saturday - June 14th, I got to celebrate by attending our Mission-wide Zone Conference (in other words, our Mission Conference) where we got to hear Elder Neil L. Andersen, Senior member of the Seventy, and newly called Seventy, Elder Carlos Godoy from Brazil, speak to our mission. It was a day packed with spiritual goodness. The morning started at 9am with excellent training from our leaders and testimonies from all 13 departing missionaries(I was one of them...bleh =P..) Then at 12:30pm, the general authorities arrived and we heard them speak till 1:30pm, shook hands with them, they left, and we had lunch and back to the VC to serve. Interestingly enough, to me, the highlight of the meeting was the excellent training we received from our mission leaders in the morning, and then the powerful words of Elder Godoy touched my heart the most. He is a convert to the Church. He was taught by two sister missionaries in Brazil and was baptized when he was 16 years old. He served a mission and married a return missionary. Just recently, Elder Godoy received a phone call from one of the sister missionaries who taught him years ago. She asked Elder Godoy if he could perform the marriage sealing of her son and his soon-to-be wife!
Elder Godoy expressed how during his investigation of the church, to those two sister missionaries, they were just teaching a 16 year old boy. To the church, it was just another baptism in the church records. It wasn't even a family getting baptized, it was a single boy 16 years of age. To that sister missionary, she wouldn't have known that she was teaching the man (then just a boy) who would seal her future son to his wife!
What an incredible thing to behold!
And many more really uplifting and strengthening moments were felt throughout this great conference...

It's so lame, but words can't describe the wonderful conference that we had...and I wished you all could have been there to feel the Spirit we felt. The gospel is so true, and I am SO grateful for missionary work and how it changes lives for good! Our family is living proof of it!
One, can make a difference. The worth of EVERY soul is great in the sight of God. And so we speak to EVERYONE we meet.

The prophet Alma describes it best in Alma 37:6-7
"Now ye suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and brigeth about the salvation of many souls."

The Lord is counting on each of us to hold true to the gospel. When we remain faithful and true to our covenants, we can be instruments in His hands in bringing about the salvation of many souls...not a few souls, MANY souls!

WEEK 71

It has been a great first week of the transfer with Sister Hui. We set some goals this transfer to keep us focused and to help us achieve our goals for this six weeks together.

One thing I've learned on my mission is to 1. Set goals, 2. Write them down, and 3. Put a date (or dateline) to it. Guess what? IT WORKS! Especially the putting a date to it part. It also helps when we read through our goals frequently/daily so that it is always on the top of our mind and all our actions and work will lead us to that destination we have already planned on.

I reallly enjoyed hearing from mom's e-mail this week about all the things she did while everyone was away at youth conferences, holidays etc. One phrase mom wrote rang a familiar bell to me. Quote: "Well I am glad I managed to fill every waking hour with meaningful activities last week..."
What mom said is actually found in the "Preach My Gospel" book in Chapter 8 "How to Use Time Wisely." There is a phrase in this chapter that I read this past week which motivated one of the goals Sister Hui and I set for our companionship this transfer. It said: "Plan meaningful activities for every hour of the day..." As missionaries we each have a daily planner. We use it to plan EVERYTHING, every detail of our missionary lives. We also plan by the hour or half hour, and especially serving at the Visitors' Center, we have different responsibilities every hour during our 6 hour shift time. (I call this daily planner "My Brain" because my planner contains everything I need to know and do eg.plans for the day, back-up plans for the day, to do lists,lesson plans for investigators,phone numbers,addresses,etc. without "My Brain," I can't function and I can't get a lot done)
Basically, I think mom is pretty much inspired, and what she mentioned about filling her every waking hour with meaningful activities last week is a witness to me that moms are just the best. So I had to come on a mission to master this principle that my parents have already taught me through their example ;-)

I also just received a letter in the mail from Bishop Gordon Foo. Sounds like the family is doing really well in the ward and Bishop also said that the skit you all put up at the "Red and White" talent show was so hilarious! =D Good job family!
Please thank Bishop Foo for sending me that letter. I will also make time to write him and the ward back...especially the single adults. They sent me an envelope of letters and pictures a few months ago but I didn't write them back to thank them yet!! In fact, those letters came at the right time. It was about the time when I was somewhat overwhelmed with feelings of inedequacy with the new responsibilities that I had been assigned to, and I felt I just didn't have anyone around me whom I could confide in. It is true that Heavenly Father sends us his little angels to lift us up when we seek His help. There have been many instances on my mission and even before my mission where I have felt Him send specifiec people in my life. I also know that in many ways it is true that when we are called to our missions, we are also called to our leaders in our missions. Right now we have the perfect mission president and the perfect VC Directors. I have learned so much from them! We also have the perfect Bishop and stake president back in Singapore and I know that the Lord's work in Singapore and Malaysia will continue to grow as we each actively labor in His vineyard. Of course we are not perfect people, but we are perfect for the task at hand!
Keep up the great work, family!

WEEK 70

I don't want to sound like I am counting down, but today marks the first day of my final transfer here on the mission. Six weeks from now it will be another chapter of my life. Time is working its way faster and faster and here in the California Oakland Mission, we like to use the word "sprint" as we are in a hurry to do everything the Lord would have us do in 18 months - 2 years. This final transfer, I have the opportunity to "run" with Sister Hui (Sister Leung, Hui, and I were companions for the past 6 weeks). Sister Leung will still be serving in our Chinese branch and she will be companions with Sister Hsiao and Sister Qiao (from mainland China) for her and Sister Qiao's final transfer as well!

This past Sunday was a memorable day in the history of our Chinese branch and in our Mission. We held the 1st ever Chinese "Why I Believe" fireside. The Chinese Branches from our neighboring missions (San Fransisco & San Jose) were invited to attend and speak at this fireside. There was a good turn out and many of our Oakland Mission Chinese investigators attended this fireside. This was an event dreamed by all the Chinese missionaries for many moons...The Chinese Elders in our mission made this event possible as they planned,organized,invited, and coordinated with the leaders and missionaries from the other missions. I also had the opportunity to do a musical number at this fireside. Elder Kaluhiokalani (from Hawaii) and I sang a duet. It was a really nice arrangement of the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" and we sang it in Mandarin. I have an electronic recording device but I don't have the input-output wires that would allow me to transfer the recording to the computer. Maybe we'll figure it out when I get home ;-)
Oh, before I forget to mention, also serving at the San Fransisco mission is Elder Lim, Kheng Saik! He was called Mandarin speaking to the San Fransisco Mission and is currently serving in the San Fransisco Chinese branch in Sunset Chapel. He and the other Chinese missionaries from his mission also attended the fireside =) It's wonderful to be able to see another fellow Malaysian serving a full-time mission. Did you know that Sister Jane Ragu also served in that mission about a year ago? I am excited to also meet Sister Low, Li Mei in Temple Square mission when I get back to BYU!

Yes, it has been a wonderful week and a great transfer! Thank you for your prayers and for your awesome letters! I enjoyed the last letter I got in the mail from The Boys. Ray always has cool drawings in his letters =) It looks like he is the next cartoonist in our family!

I love you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!

WEEK 69

This past Thursday we had interviews with our Misison Preseident. We get interviewed once every transfer (Once every six weeks). During interviews, I asked President Beck the golden question of how he met Sister Beck. It was a question I asked in behalf of Sister Atkins (whom I work with at the VC in assisting our VC directors Elder & Sister Pedersen). The day before my interviews, Sister Atkins was interviewed by President. This is Sister Atkins' last transfer...she finishes her mission a week from today! Preseident Beck was worried that he might not have time to interview Sister Atkins on her last day of the mission, so during this interview, he totally gave her the "find an eternal companion and marry in the temple" counsel. hahaha...it was unexpected of course, cuz he wouldn't usually talk about it until the last interview on our final day on the mission. So anyway, Sister Atkins came back from interviews and told me about what had just happened, and then she wondered how President Beck found his eternal companion and married in the temple =) ..hehe..We realized he never really shared that with any of us, so I offered to ask President Beck about it during my interviews the following day.
It was honestly the CUTEST thing EVER! You should have seen our mission president's countenance brighten as he reminisced the day he first met Sister Beck at...you ready for this?...at....A BYU DANCE! hahaha....I don't think Pres even attended BYU...lol...I think he went to U of U (University of Utah)...anyway, he said that he didn't want to go to this dance,Pres Beck was planning to stay home and study for his exams (That is DEFINITELY typical President Beck!), but his roommates kept bugging him about it. . Well, he finally agreed to. And... the rest is history...=D President Beck even described (with dreamy eyes) how he spotted Sister Beck in the crowd and he still remembers the pretty scarf Sister Beck had on that evening, which was probably an important element to catch his attention in such a crowd...hehe. You know what's unique, President Beck served his misison in Germany. And when he gathered the courage to talk to Sister Beck at the dance, guess where she's originally from? Germany! So they hit it right off from the beginning....isn't it cute?
Anyway, I thought I'd share that with you this week, cuz I thought it was REALLY cute...hehe...and I'll never forget the look on President Beck's face during the interview, how rare =P

I know, I know, this story has little to do with missionary work, but it's the best story I've shared so far right?

Love you all! Muak

WEEK 68

Some exciting things happened this past week. On Wednesday, all the sister missionaries at the VC and in the Oakland & San Leandro area did a "Sisters' Exchanges" where we swapped companions for a day and worked in each others' areas. So starting Tuesday night at 9 till Wednesday night at 9, I got to be companions with Sister Nai (from Australia -English called) and Sister Lambert (from Utah -Spanish called). We were a super-duper threesome because they put a Chinese spaeker, English/Samoan speaker and a Spanish speaker in one companionship! =) It was super fun and we worked in my area this time. In the morning, we served at the VC and did Companionship study and Language study there. For Language study, I taught them a few Mandarin sentances like "Hi!" "How are you?" "Free English class," "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," "Wait just a minute," "I don't speak Chinese" etc. In the evening we went to China town to street contact and they got to use their Chinese for an hour =) At night, we got to teach English class in China town and Sister Nai had fun helping the students pronounce words in a rich Australian/British accent =) They got confused for an evening, I am sure..hehehe..

This was the 4th time I got a chance to do sisters' exchanges and it is always filled with fun, miracles, and we learn SO much from each other!

This past Saturday I also got to see Joyce, Patrick (Joyce's brother) and Sharn at the VC. One of the treats of serving at the VC is that you get to meet all kinds of people there..including familiar faces! Just a few weeks ago I had met Paulo Bangerter and his family, and just before that, Christopher and Isaac magically appeared on our temple grounds ;-) By the way, thanks for sending those fun pictures, Chris & Fei, and by the way Chris, I didn't ever get that e-mail that you sent me...
Last night my companions and I were discussing about the Second Coming of Christ and about the Millenium. Our Sunday school lesson at Gospel Principles class that morning was about signs of the Second Coming. After dinner, I picked up a copy of the Gospel Principles manual and started reading the few chapters on this topic. I had never really studied from this book before, so I learned some details about the Second Coming and Millenium that I never really knew before...learn something new everyday...
I am grateful to be able to preach the gospel at this time of the world's history. We are really preparing the hearts of men to receive our Savior when He comes again. We are also preparing the way so that all of God's children, from the past, present and future, will have the opportunity to receive the blessings of exaltaion through sacred ordinances done on earth especially in the Holy Temples of the Lord.
Well, our VC director had a saying that really hit home to me. He said: "begin with the end in mind"
I thought to myself, I wish I knew that saying at the beginning of the mission so that I would have a clearer vision of this work, and I would have studied harder, worked harder, and done things with a greater vision of where we were headed. Well, it's been a great year, so no regrets, but I am grateful to start a new beginning everyday and think: "begin with the end in mind" and work towards greater goals set each day and each week to help me better focus and achieve what the Lord would have me do before the end is come!

Have a great week!

Love you much

WEEK 67

This past Thurdays was Zone Conference and the Topic was on "Member Work," meaning, how to do missionary work with our members.
One of my favorite part of this Zone Conference actually had little to do with our training on "Member Work." Our Visitors' Center director, Elder Pedersen, spoke at our Conference this transfer, and we got to watch "A Pioneer Miracle" movie again. Many of the missionaries at this Zone Coneference had not seen this short film before, so they were all very touched by this film. At the closing session of this conference, we had the opportunity to hear the testimonies of the departing missionaries. One of the Elders shared with us about how this film reminded him of a similar experience his mother had a few year after she had joined the church in her late teens. She was the only member of the church in her family. One day she got into a pretty bad argument with her parents, and she left the house feeling really upset and discouraged. As she sat in a secluded place, she was suddenly encircled by 12 beings, they each encouraged her and they told her to hang on to the gospel. Just hold on. After they prompted her to stay in the gospel, they departed and left her renewed and comforted.

I really love this scripture in D&C 84:88. When I was about 16 yrs old, there was a sister missionary in our branch that wrote me a cute letter/note and she wrote this scripture which was the first time I had ever read it and I immediatley loved this scripture. This scripture had been in the back of my mind throughout the years as I prepared to serve a mission since the day I received my Patriarchal Blessing. Having come on a mission now, I know even more this scripture to be true:

"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

There is much work involved on the other side of the veil in helping those on this earth to receive the restored gospel, as well as in helping those who are preaching this restored gospel.

Alma 13:24
"For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory."

I am grateful to have this privilege to be part of this great work. I know that the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is here on the earth. President Thomas S Monson is the prophet of God. It is a privilege and blessing to be able to wear the name tag bearing our Savior's name, to represent Him everyday in Oakland. Sharing the gospel is one of the happiest work we can be involved in!

WEEK 66

This transfer our Zone has the same goal of an "Aqua Zone" where each companionship in our Zone baptizes someone within this 6 week period. We decided to each give up something that we love as a "sacrifice" for the transfer. The word "sacrifice" can be defined as: Giving up something good for something better.
Let me give you an example of some of the things the missionaries have decided to sacrifice. Our Zone leaders chose to give up rice, beef, and 30 minutes of sleep by waking up 6am every morning to go running. My companion gave up candy and dessert, basically anything sweet =) My other companion gave up cup-noodles. So these are some fun examples....I thought to myself, everyone is giving up some form of food that they just can't live without. But as for me, I love food, but if I don't eat it for 6 weeks, I won't really miss it either...hehe.. so I decided that giving up food is not really a huge sacrifice for me. Well, guess what ended up on my sacrificial alter? My warm fleece blanket, my silver-blue watch, and a picture of the Oakland Temple that is usually hung above my dresser =) So far..I haven't experienced any withdrawels yet..so..hehe...we'll see how this transfer turns out ;-) Well, Sister Leung is definitely missing her sweet food, but she's doing great too =D Our Zone leaders are also loosing a tone of weight, so their "sacrifice" is bringing immediate obvious blessings. It's fun to do little things like this (as a Zone) that brings great meaning. Although it might sound ridiculous and irrelevant, this physical/temporal excercise really helps us physically relate things to other things that are of spiritual significance. I dunno if that sentence I just wrote made any sense at all, but you get what I mean...=P

We also had a Zone Fast on Thursday for our investigators. We did a Zone Fast towards the end of last transfer and many miracles happened in our Zone following that fast. So this transfer, our Zone leaders tried to do things a little smarter this time and held the Zone Fast at the beginning of this transfer so that these miracles can happen early in the transfer to help our investigators progress into the waters of baptism before the transfer ends =) Sounds funny, but it's so true!
One of the miracles that already started to happen was on Saturday following that fast, My companions and I had a pretty bad Saturday morning...some discouraging experices with our investigators that morning. We then served at the Visitors' Center in the afternoon. Within the first hour we served, 5 Chinese people walked in the Visitor's Center. 3 of them were sisters originally from Guang Dong, China. 2 of those sisters live in this bay area and are pretty active Christians - 3rd generation Christians to be exact. By the end of the tour, both sisters wanted to come to our Chinese branch to attend Church the next day (by the way, THAT is a miracle!) After that family left, we were still in a daze at what just happened in that hour with those amazing Chinese people. It is so rare to meet Chinese people at the VC who are willing to take a tour of the Temple grounds, let alone even commit to come to Church with us the next day! They are amazing and yesterday, the younger sister (in her 40's) stayed for all three hours of church and she absolutely loved our branch! So that is one of the miracles that happened over this weekend. I'm glad I get to write this much to you today. I hope you all enjoyed "The Pioneer Miracle" movie as much as I do.

I love you all so much and HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY to mom!!!!

WEEK 65

Wow, Ernie, congratulations on your new calling as the Deacon Quorum president! I know you will do a good job as you prayerfully fulfill this calling. Always pray for your fellow quorum brethren and friends. Remember what the Lord said in D&C 18:10 "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;" As you and your Young Men friends work together to serve the ward members and the people around you, you will come to recognize how much the Lord is involved in our lives and how Heavenly Father blesses His children through other people. Each child of God has great potential to do much good. Always remember that you and those whom you serve are great in the sight of God!

This week I have been catching up on my reading from the book "Jesus the Christ" by James E. Talmage. I have really enjoyed reading from this inspired book! I've gained a better understanding of the New Testament and I've learned so much about the Savior and His mission. In fact, I am reading the part where He is on his 3 year mission before the crucifixion and resurrection. I read yesterday about the famous Scripture Mastery from seminary found in Matt 15:15-19. Jesus Christ asked his apostles: "…whom say ye that I am?" And Peter, having the Spirit of revelation replied: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied: "Blessed art thou…for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven…and upon this rock I will build my church…"
Christ told the apostles that His church is built upon revelation from God.
I am grateful to know that we have a living prophet today who continues to receive revelation from God. How blessed we are to have the Prophet and Apostles today, who are inspired men who lead us in these last days. Our local church leaders are inspired men and women of God as well. I know for sure that our Oakland Mission President is a very inspired man of God. Each member of the church and each child of God are entitled to receive personal revelation to gain further light and truth in the knowledge of the gospel. We are entitled to receive personal revelation to know our Heavenly Father's will for us and also for those whom we have stewardship over.

Ernie, as you prayerfully fulfill your new calling, the Lord will let you know how you can better serve those that you have stewardship over. He will prompt you to do His will as you continue to keep yourself worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. There is a quote from one of our modern day prophet: "whom the Lord calls, He qualifies."
I know that this is the Lord's work. Jesus is the Christ and the greatest example for us to follow. He leads with love and with power.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." Moroni 7:48

WEEK 64

I am excited for mom and the Musical she is going to perform with the Relief Society this week! Be sure to send me pictures of it! =)

I also forgot to tell mom about the DVD I sent home. It was a recording of the Musical presentation the Visitors' Center Sisters gave at the VC during the Christmas season 2007. So, to answer your question last week, the sisters in the video were all those who served at the VC over Christmas. And the location was in the Center (big) theatre of our Oakland Temple Visitors' Center. The quartet I sang in was with Sister Daniels (Soprano), Sister Thorup (Bass), and Sister Heiner (Tenor).

We got transfer calls again this weekend. I am excited for this new transfer. I get to be companions with Sister Leung again, and she will also be training Sister Hui who is also from Hong Kong. In fact, Sister Leung and Hui were good friends before their missions, so it'll be so fun to be companions =D By the way, some of you might know Thomas (from Toa Payoh ward in Singapore) and Emi (Hong Kong) who just got married last year. I knew them from BYU. Well, Sister Hui is Emi's younger sister! =) Isn't it a small world?! Yeah, this past year on the mission has been filled with little weird connections like this one..haha..

Well, this is Sister Leung and my second to last transfer. We have so many things we want to do before our time is up. We've had a really good transfer this past 6 weeks and we are excited to work together again and with Sister Hui too! The Oakland Chinese 7th branch is growing and we are excited to be part of this great work!

Right now I've got to go work on the VC Sisters' Schedule for this new transfer…basically putting down shift assignments and all that fun stuff. It takes a lot of brain work…so it's good exercise for my head =D

I love you so much and thanks dad, for e-mailing me this week!

HugZ

WEEK 63

Dear Fei, Thank you for sending me your blog-page about your Hong Kong trip. It is truly one filled with little miracles. I was especially grateful that you got to be part of a missionary teaching moment in one of the Hong Kong chapels! Wow, how AMAZING that is to me. Since I've been on this mission, I've often asked Heavenly Father to place missionary experiences in each family member's life. I often thought of you and how there isn't direct missionary work in Beijing, but I knew Heavenly Father would bless you with such opportunities, I just didn't know how. The experience you just shared with me brought tears to my eyes as I see directly how Heavenly Father hears and answers each sincere prayer we offer up unto Him. He grants us the desires of our hearts as He sees it fit for our learning and benifit. I want you to know how grateful I am for your desire to serve the Lord and for being in the world but not of the world. I'm also glad you got to meet David at the visa place. I'm sure the seed of the gospel that you planted in his heart will grow into a tree that brings forth the fruit of eternal happiness. You were privileged to plant that first seed, as missionaries throughout the world labor and do daily on the mission field.

An exciting thing happened this past Saturday. In these past few months on the mission, I have often thought of all the friends I knew from Malaysia, Singapore, BYU-H and BYU-Provo. I have wondered about some friends who are now serving missions and I have also wondered about friends who were going on missions but we just never kept in touch so I am left clueless as how things turned out in their lives. Well, while I was serving at the VC Saturday morning, a group of Mandarin called Elders from the San Francisco Mission walked in. They were here to attend a Temple session as they get to come twice a year. Guess who walked in?! Elder Lim, Kheng Saik! I was wondering this whole time if he ever went on his mission! Well, he just came out to the mission field less than 3 months ago! I am SO happy for him and for his call to serve the Chinese people in San Francisco!
Exactly a year ago I met Sister Jane Ragu in the VC as well. They were on their temple trip a few months before she finished her mission in San Fransisco as well =) Wow, I love serving at the VC and having the opportunity to experience such blessings. Sometimes I feel like Alma and the sons of Mosiah in Alma Chapter 17 where their mission paths met and Alma rejoiced exceedingly to see his brethren "they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth..." Alma 17:2

The gospel is true, what more can I say?

Hope your week is filled with little tender mercies of the Lord.

WEEK 62

So the craziest thing happened yesterday. While I was serving at the Visitors' Center in the afternoon, we had the chance to watch the final session of General Conference in our center theatre. Sometime during the 2nd or 3rd speaker, Sister Leung and I were called out to take some people from Beijing on a presentation. When I stepped out of the theatre, there standing by the huge Christus statue, was Christopher Wyatt and Isaac, Fei's friend! Woah! I totally didn't see this one coming! Yah, Jie, I only just got your e-mail about Christopher coming to the states today..hehe

Anyway, it was fun taking them on tour..and to see how obsessed Christopher was with his camera hobby..haha...nah...hehe, but that kinda reminded me of Fei. Hey, Isaac's pretty good at taking random pictures too! We really did take some pretty random pictures though...and for some reason, Sister Leung was being SUPER camera shy...I don't know where this shyness came from, seriously, if you know Sister Leung, everyone knows she is NOT shy! lol...well I still made her take some pictures with me =P

So anyway, that was fun.

Um, some neat things that happened this past 2 weeks was that since we have no current investigators to teach, Sister Leung and I have been out tracting a lot and finding new people to teach. Everytime we go out, even from members' homes or contacting referrals that are not home, I can testify that Heavenly Father keeps putting people in our paths, not just random people, but people who are seeking, people who don't know they are seeking but stop to learn more when they find out we have more to offer, and just more opportunities for us to teach and testify. We must always have that faith that Heavenly Father will put these people in our paths. We must always be looking out for these opportunities. Our Zone (which consists of 11 sets of missionaries, Chinese,English and Spanish speaking) made a goal early this transfer to always talk to someone before entering back into the car when coming from an appointment that didn't show up or contacting a referral that wasn't home at the time. We've met many people during these unplanned occasions and several of them allowed us to have a return appointment. It's amazing!

Well, the work is great and I love my companion so much. I hope mom had a great birthday last Friday and I hope you liked the present I sent! ;-)

WEEK 61

I really enjoyed reading Ray's e-mail to me this week. He shared with me a talk he gave at someone's baptism on March 23. His talk was on the Holy Ghost and at the end he bore his testimony about the Holy Ghost. He mentioned this:
"the Holy Ghost will guide us when we are lost and we need help."

I thought that was a really good talk, Ray, and I'm sure you did a really good job! This reminded me about my testimony about the Holy Ghost.
When I was a teenager, I guess that was when I really started to gain my own testimony through studying the scriptures daily and praying each morning and night. I still had to learn how the Holy Ghost speaks to me, and for a long time, wasn't sure exactly how. I knew from reading in the scriptures and from learning from other people's experiences how the Holy Ghost works, but I started to seek my own experiences and hoped that I would recognize it when it came.

Over the years, I've seen how the Spirit works and can work in my own life. A few months ago, I was at a Chinese member's home in Danville. Sister Leung and I were companions at the time and after a yummy Chinese meal, we did an activity with this family about the Holy Ghost. At the end I shared with this family an experienced I had when I was about 5 years old.

Mom brought baby Han and I to go shopping. We were in the Ladies' Department and I still remember clearly, we were standing where clothes were hung up on racks neatly organized in rows, you know, like most clothes department stores are. Being small and short at that age, these tall racks of clothes make a nice maze and sometimes we even like to step in between the clothes and play hide and seek.
Well, on this particular day, mom had Han in a stroller and I would wander off a few steps to play with the clothes and came back to where mom and the stroller were. I remember I would wander off and come back, enjoying this little "playground" and we would move from section to section, pushing Han in the stroller, as mom looked at some clothes. Suddenly I found myself wandering off and coming back to the stroller, but this time, mom wasn't there by the stroller. I panicked and didn't know where to look; the clothes racks were taller than me, so I couldn't see past anything. I pushed the stroller out of that section of clothes and found my way to an open path. The view was definitely clearer on this path as no tall obstacles were blocking my vision. However I was still lost and afraid and I couldn't see mom anywhere. I became troubled as I had my baby brother with me, and I was lost in a big public place, not knowing where to go. I started on this path ahead of me and headed on the direction that leads to the escalators. I figured the escalators usually led us to the next department and perhaps mom went to look at more clothes somewhere else. As I started towards the escalators, an idea came to my mind to turn around and head the other direction. Without hesitation, I turned the stroller around and immediately saw ahead of me, a huge section of the department store where clothes were displayed on low tables/counters instead of hung on tall racks. Lo and behold, I saw mom in the distance, looking at some clothes by the tables. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and ran up to mom, pushing the stroller as fast as I could. I was upset that mom had left me, a 5 year old, with Han, a baby, all by myself, but I realized that I was the wanderer, and was just grateful that Han and I didn't became orphans and I would be the one to blame for this misfortune for the rest of my orphan life!

As I shared this experience with the Liu family and their young children, I related to them how even at such a young age, the Holy Ghost can bring us comfort, warn us of danger, and like what Ray mentioned in his talk, the Holy Ghost will guide us when we are lost and we need help.

Because this was an experience when I was at such a young age, I didn't realize that it was the Holy Ghost that told me to turn around and head the other direction from the escalators. Throughout my growing years, I always remembered this scary experience because every since then, I had a few nightmares of loosing mom or the family in public places. It was my childhood fear, and I guess it helped me remember that experience of being lost with my baby brother in the department store, and how I wandered around looking for mom and miraculously found her by just turning around.

I didn't know why the spirit prompted me to share this childhood experience with the Liu family that night. But as the words came out of my mouth, and as I related this story to them, I came to realize that it was the Spirit that led me out of the tall clothes-rack section so I could see, and then as I headed the wrong way, the Spirit prompted me once more to turn the other way and I was able to see far ahead of me, mom, standing in the distance!

I have a testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that without the Spirit, we can't do missionary work. I also know that it is the Spirit that bears witness to us of our loving Heavenly Father, and of how much He loves us and watches over us. When we feel lost in life, whether literally or spiritually or figuratively, I know that if we are worthy, Heavenly Father will send His Spirit to guide us, direct us, and comfort us in times of need.

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." ~ St John 14:26

WEEK 60

This past Saturday Sister Leung and I got to attend the baptism of Brother Dahlstrom in the Danville 2nd Ward. He had been a "dry Mormon" for 30 years. Many little miracles led up to this baptism day, and Sister Leung and I were privileged to know this wonderful couple while we served in that ward. Sister Dahlstrom is such a faithful member and serves in the Temple every week. She had tears in her eyes as she watched her husband come out of the water, new and reborn. It was a wonderful moment and we are excited for them to be sealed in the Temple a year from now!
This reminded me of Sister Jenny Han's family and Brother Han's baptism in Jan 2006 that I was able to be present at. What great examples these faithful sisters are, of patience and steadfastness in Christ!

This week we will be having Zone Conference & I am excited to be spiritually fed =)

I've gotta go now, so I'll write more next week.

I love you all!

WEEK 59

I apologize for the missing e-mail of Week 59. I had sent the e-mail last week, but apparently it never went through! Grrrr…sometimes MyLDSMail is a pain in the rear end that way…. =P It was a good e-mail too! Well, at this time I am going to attempt to rewrite what I wrote last week, and hope that the Spirit of it is still the same.

Last week mom had sent a really good e-mail and she shared about how humor brought comfort to her in needed times such as undergoing the fearful experiences of surgery. She ended her e-mail with the following phrase:
"I hope your coming week will be filled with experiences that will either make you laugh or make you marvel at Heavenly Father's love for you."
This caused me to reflect upon my week and I want to share with you an experience that caused me to marvel at Heavenly Father's love for me.

Recently I have really felt the weight of the new responsibilities I've been given, both at the VC and in the Chinese Free English class program.
About 3 Fridays ago, my companion & I were up at the Mission home to run some errands and we picked up the mail as well. My companion handed me 3 letters (which is an unusually large amount of letters for me to receive in one day…considering the amount of people I've written since I've been on the mission..heh..=P) Well, I was really excited and opened the letters right away.

The first was a letter from Sister Tiffany Lai (Serving at SLC Temple Square). In it contained 2 "expired" letters she had written last year but didn't get a chance to send it. One was written in March 2007 (at the beginning of our missions) and the second was a Birthday card she had made me back in Oct. I was greatly touched by this and was so delighted to receive these letters in March 2008, because I probably needed it now more than before.

The second letter was from Rendy. Attached was a carefully marked & highlighted copy of a General Conference talk given by Pres. Eyring back in Oct 2002 entitled "Rise to your Call." It is a very powerful talk & I learned so much from studying the wise words of Pres Eyring & his testimony!

The last letter was from Sister Keshia Lai (serving in Taiwan Taipei Mission). Inside the envelope was a tiny home-made card smaller than the size of my palm. Although only a simple short note was written, the first sentence I read immediately touched my heart and my eyes watered. It read: "Dear Sister Chong, I don't know why but I've been thinking of you lately, hope you and your family are doing just great…"
At that moment I realized how much my Heavenly Father loves me and that He just sent His love to me through 3 wonderful people. I knew that He specifically placed these special friends in my life while I was at BYU…and here I am in Oakland, feeling the weight of the work, but these simple kind acts lifted my spirit & reassured me that I was not alone in this. I am grateful for these inspired friends who followed the promptings to write me. It couldn't come in a timelier manner!

This truly was "an experience that caused me to marvel at Heavenly Father's love for me."
Thank you, mom, for always pointing out the good in our lives and for always helping us to each see the evidences of His great love for us, especially through the kind acts of those around us.

WEEK 59

In mommy's e-mail this past week she wrote about humor that brought comfort during the intense events happening in her life,such as surgery. She wrote this sentence at the end of her e-mail:
"I hope your coming week will be filled with experiences that will either make you laugh or make you marvel at Heavenly Father's love for you."

That reminded me to share with you a small experience about a week and a half ago that made me marvel at Heavenly Father's love for me.
You know that recently I have felt the weight of many many heavy responsibilities upon my shoulders. Two Fridays ago I happened to receive 3 letters in the mail. This is rather unusual to receive so many letters at once, especially since I'm not very consistent at writing very many people on my mission ;-P
I opened up all three letters and one was from Sister Tiffany Lai who sent me 2 letters that she had written last year - one in March and one in October for my birthday. I couldn't stop grinning as I thought of how much effort she made to write me,and even though she didn't get to send those letters right after she wrote them, I'm grateful she waited till Mar 2008 to send these letters cuz I needed it at this time!
Next was a letter from Rendy. Attached to this letter was a copy of a General Conference talk given by President Eyring in Oct 2002 titled "Rise to Your Call." Rendy had carefully highlighted and marked parts of the talk. As I read and studied this inspired talk, I learned so much from President Eyring's wisdom, knowledge, and testimony. I know this Conference talk was truly inspired! We are so blessed to have Elder Eyring as one of our leaders. He is a great example of a true disciple of the Lord!
The last letter was from Sister Keshia Lai (Serving in Taipei,Taiwan) Inside the big envolope was a small home-made card with a short powerful note/message. It simply said "Dear Sister Chong, I don't know why but I've been thinking of you lately and hope that you and your family are doing just great......" After I read this short note-card, I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of peace and gratitude for these wonderful friends that my Heavenly Father has placed in my path while I was at BYU.
I marveled this week at how I felt Heavenly Father's love for me through these special spirits. Even though I didn't know it at the time, but Heavenly Father knew that on this particular day, these simple letters could give me strength to press on & move forward with faith for the rest of the weeks ahead as I try to fulfill the responsibilities I've been given.
On the following Monday, I received a special package from the Single Adults of the Clementi Ward. They had each written notes to me & sent a CD with fun pictures of them. It was a special treat to receive this from the Clementi Ward! It sure made my week as well! =D
I know that our Heavenly Father lives, and that He loves us. He works through others to lift us & let us know that He cares, and that the people around us care as well!
I have to say that from this little event, "I Stand All Amazed" ~Hymn 193~

Hope your week is filled with such experiences as well! Love you all!

WEEK 58

I'd like to start by continuing where I left off from last week's e-mail. I mentioned about Wayne's baptism & the testimony building events that led up to his baptism day. However, I didn't have time to write any of those events/happenings.
One of the things that happened the weekend before Wayne's baptism was that he got sick. Saturday & Sunday caught him with a sore/itchy throat, and the next thing you know, He was down on Monday with a cold, fever & cough. He missed work for a few days & we couldn't meet with him on Wednesday because he was too sick. We still had several lesson topics to teach him before his Baptism interview on Friday night. Thursday found him still very sick and depressed. He was about to postpone his baptism date but changed his mind when he realized that this was a single event prepared for him. He initially thought that there would be a line of people to be baptized and you just joined the crowd so they wouldn't notice if he wasn't there. But after I explained to him over the phone that this was HIS baptism & that it is a special day prepared for him, we started to talk about how his baptism day was still possible and that this little trial of being sick was an opportunity for him to exercise his faith in the Lord. He confirmed that he knew before he was sick that Mar 1 was the right day for him to be baptized. he felt good about it. But when he got sick and depressed for the last few days, he started to doubt. We reminded him of his testimony, and pointed out to him a chance to exercise his faith. We talked about a priesthood blessing and how it works according to our faith. Wayne agreed to receive a blessing from the Elders that night, & the next day he was SO much better!
So Friday evening we taught him the remaining lesson topics before he did his baptism interview. All went well Friday night & on Saturday, Wayne was baptized. He described to the Elders after his baptism a feeling of great joy and in his own words: "I feel something in my chest, but I can't explain that feeling...it feels good!" After his baptism, Wayne shared his testimony at the end of the baptism service. He is usually VERY nervous about speaking in front of a lot of people, but he did wonderfully well! He shared about his journey in learning about the gospel. He even made us laugh =) Next month in April, Wayne will speak at the "Why I Believe" fireside. We are so excited for him!

Well, this week is transfers again....and my new companion is...*drum roll*.....................Sister Leung from Hong Kong! yay! Remember Sister Leung?! She was my companion back in Danville during Oct-Nov. She celebrated my birthday with me that transfer =D Well, we're back together again..hehe...but this time we are at the VC serving in the Chinese branch! It'll be cool cuz she speaks Cantonese, so we can communicate better with those Cantonese speakers all over this bay area ;-) I guess my Chinese accent will now be enhanced to a mix of Taiwan,TianJing,& Hong Kong! Aren't you excited to hear me speak Chinese when I return home? haha...nobody will understand what I'm saying unless they've been to Taiwan,TianJing and HongKong!

Ok, I'm glad I got to write a little more today. It's been great writing to you. I love you so much & pray for each of you everyday!

WEEK 57

This past week on Mar 1, Saturday, Wayne Wong got baptized and was confirmed on Sunday at sacrament meeting. The members of the Oakland 7th branch were very supportive of this baptism and many were involved with his baptism program, which is a great relief for Sister Hsiao and I. We have taught Wayne from the start to his baptism day and this is the first time I've experienced that, since I was always transefered out of the area when our investigator was about to be baptized. I have been fortunate enough to attend those baptism,so that's like enjoying a cake that I didn't have to bake =) So much care and careful planning have been put into making this baptism a memorable one for Wayne, and he truly was the happiest man after he was baptized. I've learned a lot from this experience too, and it's amazing to see the opposition that comes when someone decides to be baptized.
By the end of the week, Sister Hsiao and I were tired and worn out(many other things had happened too), but not without a smile on our faces and within our hearts.

"Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet." ~D&C 76:61

I've learned this great lesson during the last 7 days on this mission.

WEEK 56

Thank you family for sending me that awesome package! I love the letters that each of you wrote and my companion and roommates enjoyed the family picture of ya'll at the family Christmas gathering in Singapore =)
Thanks dad, for sending that CD!

I read a quote from the Feb ensign this week from the article "Life-changing Leadership"

There is a really good quote by Pres Faust "Instruments in His hands"

"A leader must cause things to happen and lives to be affected. Something should move and change. He must see that those under him do not fail. But it should be done in the Lord's way. He should be the instrument in the hands of the Almighty for changing lives. He needs to know where he is, where he is going, and how he is going to get there."

WEEK 55

A week ago, last Monday, Sister Hsiao woke up & discovered that she had completely lost her voice. The following day she was confined by me to whispering as her voice would crack if she tried to speak. It was the most quite 48 hours of my life! haha..especially since I'm a person that doesn't speak much either =D
Sister Hsiao felt bad because everytime there is a sickness going around, she cathes it, and everytime she's my companion (this being the 4th time) she gets sick. ...Well, I told Sister Hsiao that she's just a very trendy person, and that this week, she caught the "cold trend" =)
Well, it got from loosing her voice, to a stuffy nose on the 3rd or 4th day, and eventually a cough...but that didn't stop us from doing the work, just took more time to rest during the week. She's doing okay now, just a couple more days before the trend dies down ;-)

The good news for this week is that Wayne is gettting baptized on March 1st! We are so excited for him and we are going to get as many members possible to be involved with his baptism.

Yesterday at church we had Branch Conference where members of the stake auxilary leaders were present and spoke at our Church services & meetings. Our stake president announced that next week at Stake Conference, we will sustain a new Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese)speaking Patriarch! This is a very memorable time in the history of this bay area. The closest Chinese Patriarch to us is in Salt Lake City. Through the request of the leaders in our bay area, the General Authorities have allowed a Spanish speaking and Chinese speaking Patriarch to be called to serve our Chinese and Spanish members in this corner of the world. This is an exciting event, and I felt tears coming to my eyes as I heard the Stake President announce this at church yesterday. This Oakland Chinese Branch is only 7 years old, and the growth that it has seen is because of the love and effort put forth by leaders, missionaries and members alike. We can see already how some of our recent converts in this branch will grow even more as they prepare themselves as well as receive more & greater spiritual experiences & blessings in their lives. I can't wait for next Sunday-Stake Conference!

WEEK 54

Thursday Chinese New Year dinner was a success! All our dear senior couples came and ate with us. We had President and Sister Beck, our mission President, and Elder and Sister Pedersen, our Visitors' Center Directors, join us in this celebration. The food was so good and we even had some neat Chinese decorations with some help from Sister Pedersen.

Five of us Chinese sisters each got a Chinese traditional outfit(Qi2 Pao1),just the top instead of the full dress, and we wore it on that day.
It's been 4 years since I've really celebrated Chinese New Year, and it felt so good to be able to celebrate with my mission family this year in REAL Chinese style!

Yesterday Sister Hsiao and I were able to bring one of our investigators, Wayne, to the "Why I Believe" Fireside. It happened to be the night that Randy Hoffman was to speak - the 14 year old youngman from Danville who got baptized Nov 17,2007! I was thrilled to be able to hear him speak along with another awesome recent convert, Janet, whom I've been privilege to know and love as we met at the Visitors' Center a few weeks before she was baptized.
The spirit was so strong at this fireside (as usual) and we were uplifted by the testimonies of each new convert. We challenged Wayne to pray about a baptism date last night. He agreed to and we are so excited for him! We will be watching the Joseph Smith movie with him this Wednesday.

I just want to end with a scripture found in Moroni 7:38,40-41.

"For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.
And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise."

Moroni chapter 7 is an amazing chapter filled with hidden treasure. I encourage you to read this chapter this week and pray and ponder upon the things that you've read. I promise you will see how the Spirit can work in your own life as well as in the lives of those around you.

WEEK 53

I just got done from food shopping in China Town with my companion and roommates who also serve in the Chinese Branch. We are eating Steamboat/huo3guo1 this Thursday evening and the 4 of us took charge to buying the food and cooking. All the other Chinese and Chinese called missionaries are invited to this reunion aka "tuan2 yuan2 fan4" and we are excited to have a good Chinese meal and celebrate yet another new year =)

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to watch the live broadcast of President Hinckley's funeral. I am so glad we got to watch it and the speakers at the service each brought a special memory of the prophet into our hearts. I love the part where they talked about the black walnut tree President Hinckley planted 30 years ago and how they used it to make the pulpit now standing in the conference center.
One of Pres. Hinckley's favorite scripture was mentioned and I'd like to end this week's email with that scripture:

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."
~ D&C 50:24~

I am grateful for the light of the gospel and I know that as we each seek out the greater light of the gospel, we will find strength and guidance from the Lord as he provides it according to our faith and endurance on this path and journey of life. What a great example President Hinckley has set for us in the application of this scripture!