The Real Work Begins - Week 10

View from my 40th floor apartment

Busy street market

In my area - Kwun Tong

Family!!
Oh my goodness, I'm not sure how to start this. Hong Kong is AMAZING! I love it. I'm hot and wet and sticky and sweaty and I smell weird, but it's so great! I have a really sweet companion, Sister Simpson. This is her last transfer, and she's really great. She's been in this area for about 6 months now, so she really knows the ward well. I'm in Kwun Tong...so look it up on google or something ha. I haven't had much time to take pictures, so I'm really sorry mom. I'll send what I have though. I'm on the 40th floor of our building...it's so fun to look out the window! We ride the MTR a lot in my area (the metro, but they don't call it that) So I've been loving that. It's amazing how everything clashes here. There are these huge glass skyscrapers under construction with bamboo supports, or tons of these dirty smelly markets with cell phone booths in the middle of them. We were walking through one market, and this shirtless man was flinging a slaughtered pig that had been cut down the middle over his back.  I swear I felt something splatter on my face, but I just keep telling myself it was a rain drop ha. It's so beautiful here. It's a combination of green and mountains and the sea and city all together. I really love it so much. So that's the area. I'm learning way way around pretty well. It's smaller than I thought it was!

My mission president is incredible. Strict and down to business, but funny and kind and caring. I told him I was ready to work, and he said he could tell, and he could make that happen...maybe I spoke too soon? haha. Just kidding. His wife is an angel, I kid you not. She put together little food baskets for us on the first night because she knew we would wake up at 2 in the morning and be hungry for the rest of the morning. And she hugs the Sisters. Those hugs have been much appreciated lately. :)

Yesterday at church I was asked to come up and introduce myself and bear my testimony. There was a guy in front that just laughed at me the whole time haha. I'm understanding how horrible my sounds and tones are. I know a decent amount of vocabulary, but they're much more particular on the sounds than I thought, so I'm struggling to be understood. It's especially hard when we go finding because a lot of people don't want to listen to us anyway. They're nice and friendly, but as soon as they see the nametag, they would rather walk the opposite direction...and they have a few times! It's kind of funny. I'll start speaking to someone, and as soon as I bring up the Church or God or Jesus Christ or something, they say, "Ngoh mhsihkteng" or I cant hear/understand.  But I've placed a few Books of Mormon  and taught a few lessons on the street. We found 5 new investigators since I got to my area on Thursday, which I'm really proud of. We meet with them this coming week.

Yes, I feel overwhelmed a lot. This week has been very exciting and new, yes, but holy cow. Sometimes I just stare at people and have no idea what to say. I hardly understand anything that's going on, and everyone speaks so fast and loud in your face. So I'll look at my companion hoping she'll help me out, but she just stares at me too! Which is good. It's what she should do, but it's so hard. I've never prayed so much in my life. And in all honesty, the language is only a small part of that. I don't have what it takes to do this mission, but I decided I could either try to do this mission alone, and quite honestly fail, or I can really give everything up to the Savior and rely on Him. I need to do my best, and believe me, I'm really trying to do my very best...when you're drowning there's not much else to do but your very best haha. But then I need to just turn my confidence over to the Savior. That's lifted me up so many times this week. In my district, we all had to come up with a saying we can say to oursleves to keep us going. I have a lot of variations, but I guess it comes down to...This isn't my gospel. It's not my message. It's the Savior's. And that's why I can gain the confidence I need to go walk up to some stranger and in hardly understandable broken cantonese try to testify of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. 99 times out of 100 they'll give me the hand or yell and say they can't understand me and don't have the time, but this morning on the metro, one women listened and agreed to meet with us again, and it makes it all worthwhile. It really is so neat.

Alright, I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't seem like a negative email. I absolutely love it here and would rather do nothing else. This really is the most amazing opportunity to use my heart like this and see people and myself change.  Love you!

Hannah