Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011

    We are getting really good at maneuvering those MTR stations now, as it took only 50 minutes to get to church today.  :-)  It's always good to be at church.  Today, the little boy who was very rowdy when we first got here, came to shake my hand.  His name is Tien Shen and is about 6 years old.  He has made a big turn about.  Instead of running in and out of the church services at will, bumping into people, talking out loud, he sat there with his mother during most of the church service.  His little sister was a darling too.  What made the change?  Was I too harsh when I told the boy to be reverent at church?  I was afraid to ask.

    There were 3 speakers today and each talked about obeying the commandments.  They gave examples of how being obedient brought blessings to enrich their lives.  Also, a new convert from mainland China was welcomed into the branch.  I remember her from a few weeks ago when she talked about her interview with the mission president before her baptism.  She was asked if there were anything she did that she hasn't reconciled with the priesthood authority.  She thought she was a very nice person and didn't have anything to reconcile.  But, that night she had a hard time sleeping.  Then, she kept dreaming all night.  In her dreams, she kept on seeing babies crying which made her very sad.  She woke up feeling very strange, then she realized that she has had a couple of abortions.  Abortions are legal in China.  In fact, because of the 1-child per family policy, and most families wanted boys, a lot of abortions took place and still do today.  This lady called the mission president and discussed the issue with him.  It was such a relief for her.  Wow, we never know what people have to go through in different cultures, living under different governments.

    Before we left to come home, we visited a couple who we have been assigned to home teach.  We'll talk about them later.  But the Branch President called us aside and asked Elwin and me to teach a temple preparation class.  He said that many new members are ready to go to the temple, but they haven't had any instructors to teach this class.  He told us we were sent by God to his Branch to help these members.  We are humbled by this calling and look forward to helping these members to have the desire to go to the temple.

    We came home mid-afternoon and prepared a farewell dinner for the Bishops who would be leaving Monday.  The Bishops loved Chinese food, but I know the other couple would prefer American food, so I did a East meets West dinner.  We had the following:

• mango salsa over grilled fish
• breaded pork tenderloin 
• barbecued chicken
• green salad
• mashed potatoes w/gravy
• ma-po tofu
• brown rice
• whole wheat rolls
• blueberry cobbler

     We had a great time eating and chatting.  The Bishops both spoke Cantonese as they served in Hong Kong as young missionaries.  Their contributions have been tremendous and it will be very hard for another couple to fill their shoes.  Susan Bishop and I hiked and walked many mornings and I enjoyed being with her and learned from her.  I also inherited many things from her to enable me to give a dinner for 8 with enough dishes and utensils.  We'll all miss them a lot and wish them well as they settle back in the US.