Waaaaa..... Hong Kong!!! To those on the other side of the world I am alive! I made the flight! 20 hours of traveling is killer, just let me tell you. It's a whole new world. I haven't stopped sweating since I got here, I have been cursed at heavily in English by an old suhksuhk (old man who I'm pretty sure was just quoting an American movie he had seen, haha which was pretty funny), experienced a rain storm like none I have ever seen, and am sleeping with 6 people in an apartment as big as my room back home. And I have never been happier. My only sad thought is that my mom is probably going to kill me when she finds out I forgot my camera so I have no pictures today. Shh.... please don't tell her. I am in the Yeun Long 2nd area with Elder George now! Our area is very close to the mainland (can see all the buildings from our apartment window) in the New Territories. So we have some crazy high rises, all the way to the rice paddies and to the shacks up against the mountain. President Lam knew exactly where I needed to be. Our area has roughly 500,000 people in it, and 2 missionaries. Our ward has 50 active members and a lot of in-actives, which means, there is a TON of work to do!!! Elder George has been in the area for 4 months now and knows it very well, his cantonese is also very good, which helps, because I don't hardly understand anything. It's not Heber I keep telling myself. haha I also bore my testimony on Sunday! It was awesome! So cool! I did ok and and I need to work on my tones and have more faith that the Lord will help me, but it will come. The people are busy. So busy. They are fast paced, and always on cell phones with ear plugs in, so it makes it so hard to find people because no one will talk. But there is someone the Lord has prepared, and we'll find them. I have definitely learned the importance of a smile. When its hard, no one will talk to us and I'm dead tired, it's raining and my head hurts from trying to speak, just smile. My mom always used to say that a smile could change a lot and I never really believed her until I came here. The smile changes my attitude as well as those around me. Not very many people smile, they just seem busy and sad sometimes, so when they do look up and see some big, weird, lerpy, white kid in a shirt and tie with a big old cheesy smile on his face, most the time they smile. I guess it's a blessing that I am funny looking. Seeing them smile makes me happy. They still won't listen, but they're happy and they have a good experience associated with the two white guys and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So Smile. Just do it. Don't fight it, just do it.
Wish I had more time to write, but I am out. Miss everyone!
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Love,
Elder Sargent
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