Hannah In Hong Kong: Merry Christmas!!!

Note from Dad - Don't miss the Star Wars Missionary Parable and Funniest Story of the Year down below!

We have had a wonderful Christmas week! There is nothing better than spending Christmas time spreading the news of the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We tried our best to make this Christmas a special time and I think it turned out really well.

Tuesday we had a Christmas themed FHE with a member family. Wednesday we had our zone Christmas party and then right after that our district went Christmas Caroling.

Thursday (Christmas Eve...which in Chinese is "ping an ye"..."peace night"), we went to the Christmas Eve activity with some investigators. It was so cute.

Friday we took like a million Christmas pass along cards and our hymnbooks out to do morning exercise with us. We caroled and gave Christmas cards to every single person, called home (sorry my voice sounds really high pitched), had a little Christmas party in our apartment, had dinner with a member family, and then spent the rest of our time telling people about the true meaning of Christmas. It was such a happy day!

Basically this week was just full of a million little Christmas miracles. Even though many of our investigators have left Hong Kong and are celebrating with family, we were still able to have some awesome lessons.

We were able to meet with our newer, but progressing really well investigator, Anna, twice this week. She wanted to meet as much as she could before she went to mainland for the next week. At first, she said that she would not be here for two Sundays in a row (Dec. 27 and Jan. 3). We told her that if that was the case then she would not be able to be baptized on January 10. Later that day she texted and told us that she had changed her plans and would be at church on January 3. I am really amazed by her faith. She is really diligent about praying and reading the scriptures. She also is willing and happy to keep the commandments. Her situation is a bit special. Her mom and brother are less active (though, hopefully they are starting to come back), but she has not had any interest in the church for the last few years. Now, she is really interested and wants to be baptized. The complication is that she will leave to study in Australia at the end of January. We told her that she can be baptized in Hong Kong too, but she insisted that she would rather be baptized here (which makes sense...she probably wants her family to be able to attend too).

We have another investigator, Ethel, who is also doing really well. After having met on and off with missionaries for a couple years she decided that she wants to be baptized. Unfortunately, a big stumbling block is her mother. Her mother does not know that Ethel meets with us (when her mother found out a few years ago she threw her Book of Mormon away). However, on Saturday Ethel decided that she really feels like her mother needs to know. I think that is so awesome! It shows that Ethel understands that this is important and it also shows that she has a desire to accept this gospel. She was even willing to practice with us (like we do in district meeting and companion study). We are praying so hard that it goes well and that her mom will allow her to be baptized.

This week we also met some nice new investigators and taught some really nice lessons. I think our ability to teach as a tri-companionship has improved a lot. I really love both of my companions and am so grateful to be working with them.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

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Star Wars Missionary Parable

Hannah forwarded to us this story (provided by her former companion, Sister Ellsworth):

They have a bunch of cool Star Wars things around Hong Kong that just pop up out of nowhere with life-like sized things and light sabers. Satan is officially using Star Wars to distract us! But it won't work, Darkside! You may have cookies, but we have the truth.

Queue Star Wars music and epic unsheathing of light sabers as missionaries run with them at the adversary.

"USE THE FORCE! HIT THEM WITH THE BOOK OF MORMON!"

"NO NOT THE TESTIMONY! ANYTHING BUT THE TESTIMONY!"

"AH MY WHITE HANDBOOK!! WHAT WILL I DO?!!!!"

"It's okay elder you can just buy a new one in the office."

"Oh, right."

"TOOOOO BATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Light saber crashing sounds as we take out Satan and punch him in the mouth!

Basically Star Wars is the overdramatized version of missionary work. Oh my goodness! I want to make this movie!!!! President Lam is Yoda. Sister Sharp is the really old Jedi master who gets killed by the red guy with horns. I am the one with an Irish accent. And that makes Sister Kino Anakin Skywalker. But a good version that doesn't go crazy, and doesn't lose an arm.

Hannah was a bit distraught that she got written out of the script (but at least she was the wise one!)

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Funniest Story of the Year

We got to talk to Hannah (yay!!!) She called us from her roof as the cell coverage is poor in their apartment. About in the middle of our call we heard lots of sirens in the background. We thought nothing of it - she IS in the middle of Hong Kong after all. A few minutes later we hear a commotion through the phone and Hannah starts speaking in Mandarin to someone, then she says suddenly "Bye, gotta go" and hangs up on us!!!

About 15 minutes later she calls back. She said that there were a swarm of police and firemen that had come up on the roof because somebody had called in to report a potential suicide jumper!!! Apparently Hannah had been sitting on a ledge that appeared to be on the edge of the roof and somebody called the police (although there was a lower ledge just a few feet below). She said that everyone was really nice. They had to go to her apartment so that she could show them her ID and so she tried to feed them pancakes, but they weren't hungry. Then she called President Lam (her mission president) and she said he laughed through the whole story! She finally called us back and explained everything - all is well!

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