The Zhao Family

Also, this week we had zone conference, which is when the whole Hong Kong mission meets together! I met so many missionaries and it was so strengthening to see the everyone in one place. Brother and Sister Kirkpatrick, the senior missionaries who oversaw the HK mission, were actually leaving back to the US, and it was sad to see them go. However, along with other departing missionaries, there were so many amazing and powerful testimonies! One of my favorite testimonies was Sister Kirkpatrick's, who talked about the power of missions in stretching our weaknesses like a resistance band. It is truly when we face the hardest times that we grow the most.

Update on the volleyball group! We were able to meet with them on Wednesday :) Even though they can't really come to church, I am so grateful that they are willing to learn more and continue to have lessons. 

Another highlight: I got to borrow a violin for a transfer!! With it, I am planning to perform a musical number next Sunday with our ward sisters. I am also so blessed because during zone conference, I met Elder Chen, who also plays the violin. In a crazy coincidence he had music and a recording for just once piece: Czardas (Vittorio Monti), which is my single most favorite piece to play.

Sunday was a BLAST. We had three friends come to church, one who hasn't come in a long time, and the other two who came for the first time! Even cooler, we met the first one just the day before. Our members did an amazing job making them comfortable and it was blessing to have their first church experience be a sacrament one. We were able to reschedule all of them this week. 

Short story:

We also finally fixed our toilet, which was SERIOUSLY putting up some stench. This is a story in and of itself. Stay strapped because it's a long one. Initially the toilet would not stop flushing because the bobber in the tank couldn't rise high enough. We couldn't do anything ourselves because the part to fix it was just busted. It honestly wasn't a sanitary problem but I was just concerned for the water bill, so we reported it. 

Since we had to first contact the office, who contacts the land lady, who contacts a plumber, it took three weeks for a plumber to come. Eventually he fixed it up, and the flushing stopped. But for some reason, after it got fixed, water started pooling on the floor. 

Initially we thought Elder Chuy was just messing around with water so we left it for a couple of days... Bad, bad idea because it never dried, and worse, it started reeeeking. Like bad. Got Elder Chuy gagging bad. Problem was that the tube connecting water to the toilet was not properly connected, and puddles of still water in a bathroom between four Elders is not pleasant to say the least. We thought it was a leaky tube that had to be glued, so for a couple of days we literally used the shower head to fill up the toilet while the glue dried haha. Of course the fan was on 24/7. When the water still didn't stop we reinspected and realized it was just a loose plastic bolt connected to the tank. It took me a long 15 minutes just to tighten it because I had a big wrench in the tiny corner to work with. But tightening that one bolt worked like a charm. No more stinky toilet B)

This story took a lot of space. 

Lastly, this is the last full week of my first transfer! Many updates to come next week on who I may be with (this is when we potentially change companions/areas) but it is so crazy that the six weeks are coming to an end. 

As always thank you for your amazing emails!! I read every single one when I get them, even if I can't reply until Monday. Stay blessed and have a great day!! :) 

Join google photos!! Unfortunately didn't get to capture our bathroom predicament

Love you all, 

Elder Zhao!