It's great to start our week with a p-day. For this p-day, we, the senior missionaries, went to Sai Kung Fishing Village. We met the Arnell's in Sha Tin and took Bus #299 for about 45 minutes to get there. It was a beautiful scenic route as we sat on the top of the double-decker bus.
There were many fishing boats along the side with buckets of live seafood for sale. We stood on the boardwalk watching the fishermen and women clean the seafood. One woman skillfully cleaned the squid that was about 12 inches in diameter, not one bit of the squid was wasted. There were all sorts of fish, clams, shrimp, crabs, and sea creatures that I've never seen. For lunch we went to the seafood restaurant where we negotiated a price for the dishes we'd like, with 4 main dishes of fresh seafood in the tanks, tubs, in front of the restaurant. We were brave to have shrimp, clams, abalone, and scampi, with a special request for sweet and sour pork and fried rice, and they gave us 2 bonus dishes of freshly cooked vegetables. All for HK$750, or US$100, for 6 people. Guess I haven't lost my bargaining power yet. :-)
We worked morning shift from 7:45 to 3:00 this week. There was a large group of members from Thailand visiting the Temple. It was a very humbling experience. A young couple were married in the temple and they were so happy. At the end of the week, the Thai members invited us to a fireside at the chapel across from the Temple. They dressed in their costumes and sang for us. Then, there was a testimony sharing time where a lot of the members got up and told us how grateful they were to be able to come to Hong Kong to attend the temple One of the older women who got up to speak was a deaf mute and she whispered words to us that was so touching. There were a lot of the young men and young women too. For most, this was their first trip out of their hometown, and most of them knew this was going to be the only time. After the fireside, they treated us a delicious Thai dinner. They were so gracious and kind to us. We can't help feeling their love of the gospel, the people and the world around them. It was a very special day and week.
There were also a few members from Beijing, Shanghai, Japan, and the US visiting the Temple. An older woman from Beijing came with her daughter-in-law and was so happy that she kept her smile on the whole time she was there. Also, many prayers were said on behalf of the people in Japan. It was very special, and I'm sure our Heavenly Father heard the prayers.
The Sunday services was a Branch Conference, so we had many leaders visiting us. Most of them were US business men working in Hong Kong and their spouses. The Branch President spoke and announced that a special date has been set for the sisters from our Sunday School class to go to the temple. We were so happy.
Still didn't get the pictures from our friends yet, so we'll update it later. Have a good day!
Still didn't get the pictures from our friends yet, so we'll update it later. Have a good day!
How wonderful! I'm so happy that you get to see such marvelous things.
ReplyDeleteYou'll see it too when you come. We are checking things out and there are plenty to see.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a great reminder to hear how happy people are to be able to go to the temple even when there's not much of a chance that they'll ever be able to go again. There was a talk about that in Conference. It reminds me to try not to take that blessing of being able to go often for granted.
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