HALFWAY TO HK: WEEK 2
LEI HO!!
It's Elder Zhao, and just like that I have finished 1.5/3 weeks at the MTC! Time is seriously flying by, and so so many things have happened this week! So sorry if I missed your email last week, I'm trying my best to get everyone :')
Overall, the MTC has been so fun, especially when you immerse yourself in the work. My role as a DL (District leader) could not be any easier as all of the missionaries in this district are such amazing examples of Christ! It is so cool to see how much we have improved by working and practicing with each other.
Photos here before another long email:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qkaoEe965etiYQuj7
This week was super special because it was actually the training week of newly assigned mission presidents! Because of this, many members of the general authority as well as the 12 Apostles are currently on campus. Although we as missionaries are not allowed to take pictures, I have been able to spot Jeffrey R. Holland and Ulysses Soares! Hopefully President Nelson is here too, but I haven't seen him. There is a Saturday devotional later tonight, so we will see who is there :)
On another note, although my schedule here is very busy, I feel like a new person being able to get everything done from 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Crazy stuff. Classes are sometimes long but rewarding, as I get more and more used to conveying my beliefs to what would be a complete stranger. Additionally, I am in awe of the missionaries in my district whose English is their second language! In total our district can speak FOURTEEN different languages (there's a photo of them). Even from so many international backgrounds, their ability to convey their beliefs inspires me to work harder in my own Cantonese, which is definitely in the works.
In terms of food/ all of these meals, its actually been pretty good. The menus are beating my expectations! I am confident that I am at LEAST 5 lbs heavier (hopefully!) as we are just non-stop eating and working.
Hopefully this is healthy .
Highlights of the week! (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday were peak)
Sunday 6/15: was filled with devotionals and district discussions! I was able to provide my first district report, which went better than I thought even though I was worried that I would forget something. During our personal study, I loved David A. Bednar's talk on "tender mercies," which talked about how God communicates his will to us through His timing! It is really when you count your blessings that you understand how much He has given.
Monday: started with a service assignment at the great hour of 6:45 AM, where our district and the Japanese district with Elder Ford and Elder Smith helped to maintain the T2 building. Elder Olson and I were in charge of sweeping the stairs, which were unfortunately already immaculate :(
Tuesday: was one of the best days of the week!! This was because over 550 missionaries were arriving as other missionaries were departing to their mission fields. For context, this is nearly a third of the missionaries here. Throughout the day, I saw so many familiar faces, and got to meet many new ones including... the Hong Kong district!! After a week of home MTC, the rest of the Hong Kong missionaries had finally arrived in person. Before this, I had been (from what I know) the only Hong Kong missionary at the Provo MTC. It was so cool to finally meet missionaries going to the same place as me.
Along with this, I had the opportunity to practice, audition, and eventually receive the invitation to perform "I Feel My Savior's Love" in a violin, viola, piano trio with Elder Neyman and Sister Ludlam! We will be providing this piece during tomorrow's farewell devotional for outgoing missionaries. Will update on how it goes!
Wednesday: Elder Balakrishnan and I had our first Helping Others Assignment or HOA! This is an appointment where you meet with a real person to be able to practice teaching them. The vibe of the lesson was pretty good... but in retrospect it was SHAMBLES. We didn't really plan a lesson and ended up bouncing around many many topics to try to give background information. Although we explained things well, it was hard to support the lesson with resources because we were moving around so much. Since I'm writing this on Saturday, I can confirm that we did better during our appointment on Friday, even though we literally forgot to give an opening and closing prayer.
Along with the HOA, Elder Balakrishnan had the awesome opportunity to meet with the missionary president of his mission in Wichita, Kansas! As many new mission leaders were coming to be taught about their roles, Elder Balakrishnan happened to have one of those few missions with new presidents. All in all it was super awesome to meet with them and see the rest of the people going to Wichita.
Thursday: was probably my favorite day since coming to the MTC. At around 12:30, we had the opportunity to go as a district to perform ordinances in the Payson Utah Temple. Even though it took around an hour to drive down to the temple in a hot, crowded bus, it was worth it. This temple was so beautiful, and it was such a unique and strengthening experience to go in as missionaries who all had dedicated two years of their lives to the work. Check out the pictures :) they turned out awesome.
Friday: after class we were literally approached by one of the general authorities, Benjamin Tai of the 70! He was interested in how diverse our district was and also recognized Elder Wong, whose father was his friend! (Featured below)
Saturday: came around and it is Pday! Elder Balakrishnan and I went to play volleyball in the morning with Elder Plumb's district, which was super fun but also got us toasted in the sun. Afterwards, we made the decision to sing for the missionary choir for the devotional with the rest of our Elders in our district.
The General Authority devotional was amazing. Elder Ulysses Soares of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the power of the Holy Ghost in understanding Heavenly Father, and 11 of the twelve apostles were there as well as President Dallin H. Oaks, who presided. It was soo cool to realize how everyone in the congregation was devoting their lives to spreading the gospel of joy in their different commitments, from two year periods to three, to even their whole lives as general authorities!! It really hit hardest when we sang "We'll bring the world his truth" at the end.
Next was calling family (plus cousins to celebrate Brennans birthday!! Everyone say Happy Birthday Brennan!!) which was so nice.
Later tonight something pretty cool happened and I helped the mission presidents of the Santa Cruz, Bolivia mission take a picture, and they then asked to take a picture with me!
At night, I had the opportunity to share some treats sent from our family friends, the Andersons, which made a sweet end to many missionaries' days!
Lastly, a quick spiritual thought! As I have been studying about how God is our Heavenly Father, I loved the scripture Alma 30:44, which reads,
"Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."
As I read this, I find it amazing that our faith can be strengthened by just looking around us. I am humbled by how we are surrounded constantly by indisputable evidence of not just creation but testimonies of joy; gifts of love from God who has given us so much!
From this, I would like to invite of you to take some time this week to consciously count some of the blessings in your life, and reach out to thank Him in prayer.
[If you're not sure how, it starts with "Dear Heavenly Father," and ends with "In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen" ;) ]
As you do so, I promise you will find joy through understanding God's love for you
[If you're not sure how, it starts with "Dear Heavenly Father," and ends with "In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen" ;) ]
As you do so, I promise you will find joy through understanding God's love for you
Overall this week has been filled with so many new and blessed experiences. Class has gotten challenging but fulfilling as we start to extend our lessons out to strangers on campus. I got my visa accepted and can't believe I'm halfway toward departing for Hong Kong!
Also finally got my Facebook account so I'll be setting it up later!
This email I believe has broken my last emails word count but I really didn't want to leave anything out. I'm so grateful for all of your supportive emails and wish you an awesome day whenever you are reading this!!
Anyways, tell me about how your prayer went!! Or any cool stories-- I'll try my best to respond :)
Smell ya later,
Elder Zhao
Sister Demers served in the Kentlands ward!!
First practice for our devotional performance!
One of my fav pics
Elder Nielson and Elder Shearer (middle 2) going to Koreaa
Plan of love!
Elder Boggess and Elder Blankenbiller! Elder Blankenbillers coming to HK with me
Elder Englis from BYU Heritage vb 🫶
JAPANESE DISTRICT ELDERSS (and Elder Lee (Korean) haha)
Sister Wirthlin from BYU!!
Sister Burdett served in my home branch in Maryland! DC North Mission 🫡
Our international district's mission calls :)
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations... "
Elder Roldan's drink collection
Elder Lencioni, my neighbor last year at BYU
Elder Thompson, who I met during intramural volleyball at BYU last year 😎
They put us to work sweeping clean stairs for a hour haha
Swipe left for the same picture
Starring Elder Boggess during home MTC
Thx FF 😭
