8/31 Bye, bye Buhndaih's!! (native's)

Summer Missionaries

MTC teachers

Sad to see our Summer Missionaries go home today. They were great and I hope to serve in their home wards some day. Elder Chan and Ho. Been SUPER busy. Taught three different English classes this week which took a chunk out of our proselyting time, but has been so fun! M (our English investigator from Yemen) brought a friend and we had several other investigators and recent converts to surrounding areas come. We have a baptismal date! Y is 8 years old and turn's 9 next week. She'll be baptized in two weeks!! She is awesome and comes to church with our 1st counselors wife and their kids every week. As well, we have really kicked our Less-Active Investigator finding into gear and have been calling and spending a lot of time in that. It is a slow process, but we have faith that perseverance will show them we love them and they will begin to again come to church. It is so hard for many to come to church, because most don't have cars and our ward building is in the boonies and it's super hot outside. We walk 20 minutes to get there and we live close. Many have to sacrifice so much to come to church and it is hard for others to do so. As well with this work, we have seen an increase in Investigators! We are now teaching J W (not James Bond, I made that mistake), K J, and have several other promising potentials. To answer some stuff I didn't mention last time, eating! We eat breakfast and lunch (usually) inside and cook  lunch. Elder G is a stellar cook and does a good job at teaching me (lots of rice, noodles, dumplings and other such stuff). Oh by the way, I have never liked Fanta, but Chinese Fanta is fantastic. So good. As for dinner, most of the time we eat out and about where we are. The Ward loves to give us food because they think we are starving to death... Not necessarily true.. but we love it. I have never been one to really try new things or eat spicy stuff, but here I don't know what's happened, but all fears have gone out the window! Not completely a good thing, but the food is great! I have eaten at 1 members home, food was awesome! Had some chicken that the members (the Ngh gahting) or in english the "grunt" family (you don't actually say anything) said most phillipinos and buhndaihs stay away from. SOOO HOT. wow. numbed me up. As well there are now 4 Elders is our apartment. Elder G and I cover southern Yuen Long (or the Yuen Yih area) and the other Elders along with two Sisters cover the north. A ton of people and they ALL need to hear the gospel! We are up to 11, and we do most traveling by foot, but a lot out to the stake center that is by Light Rail, and a little on the MTR which is the subway system here. I have never seen this many bikes in my life. There are so many bikes here it's crazy. As well I am the new apartment leader, and I am teaching our district training tomorrow! haha I've been here a week and everyone is way better at this than me, but come what may and love it. We have been teaching a general mix of English and Cantonese, more on the Cantonese side, which is unusual, but its going back to mostly Chinese speaking. I'm learning, but it's like drinking out of a fire hose! So much EVERY day! I love it. My dear companion Elder J G of Monticello, Utah, has been helping me along and teaching me a ton. Fun note, his trainer was Elder B, who was my MTC teacher! 

My thoughts revolve a lot around change these past couple days as I have really come to learn more about these people and how they are just like any other people. They fear change. They see change as a problem, a scary thought that they try at all costs to avoid. We have so many potentials and past investigators who dropped us because they feared the change. They knew it was true, they had testimonies, but it was a hard change. So they didn't keep up. Why do we fear change and how do we combat these thoughts? Why does the human conscience always avoid this? It is so sad to see this happen in people, and I don't understand why. Then I think about myself and how much I fear change. When this fear has prohibited me from doing good, maybe GREAT things that could have benefited me greatly. Embrace change. Not always, it is not always the way, but when the opportunity presents itself, I cannot fear the unseen. I have grown immensely in my faith towards the Lord and how he buoys me up in MY faith. My willingness to change as well as to help others do the same. I can't be a hypocrite, inviting others to change, when I myself am stuck in the mire of my own problems and shortcomings. It doesn't work that way. We must dwell on the merit's of Christ. Come what may and love it.

Love and miss everyone!

Elder Sargent