Out of Sight - Not out of Mind

27 May 2010

Those photos were adorable. I am here in Wan Chai back in mandarin work. Presently there are 13 elders with the mandarin call, only eight of them are in mandarin work. Only four companionships will certainly make the work more difficult. Hopefully we can get a baptism or so to make President Chan realize that there is a whole lot of work in the mandarin side of town. Elder Oaks came and told me stuff that I already knew and asked for comments about what we have learned about revelation. I really like the main point of his talk which was about improving ourselves and always repenting and learning and doing better. I really want to improve and hopefully I will with my new companion. His name is Elder Reber.

I am quite out of it, so thank goodness my new companion is so responsible and patient. Even though he is the "junior companion", he helps me remember keys and the cell phone and how to get places and basically all the common sense things that I am incapable of. I think I will love him. About the only thing I have on him would be mandarin, and a guy like him will certainly pick it up really fast.

We helped all the Filipina sisters move around and then replaced all of our stuff into their old apartment. We also escorted some to the ferry pier to get to Macau. Today we also taught a mainlander who wants us to get his art into America so that people would want to hire him as a cartoonist. His art skills are pretty crummy. Poor guy. When we taught, I taught a whole bunch and then basically turned the lesson to my companion to take over when it was time to talk about the book of Mormon and then the cartoonist very vigorously rejected it. Poor Elder Reber.

We sorely need more investigators, baptisms and all around more success. I really don't know how to write a lot. I will probably start again to write in my journal now that today is my hump day and because I want to improve myself.

Me and Elder Reber are going to be really patient and understanding with each other. Our theme is to "keep it real". This basically means to be humble and non-sarcastic and never to hide our feelings. I hope I don't have to stop being "fake" all at once. It is not meet for a man to run faster than he is able.

I do miss Macau totally and I will probably study Cantonese in an effort to qualify myself for a return transfer period. I love you all and hope that everybody will improve at least a little and will push themselves more.

I really am kinda bummed by James's performance, but I am so happy that I can be in Hong Kong and it can be out of sight and out of mind. I’m grateful its not me. But I know he will still have ample opportunity to correct this, I myself feel like I wasted a whole year of my life and I have a bright outlook at what this next year will have in store. This internet cafe is packed will tons of fourteen year olds who swear loudly while playing computer games together, please excuse me because I would really like to leave soon and don't really have much to say.

I truly am the happiest I have ever been in my life.

I love you all

Hua Zhanglao