Week 7

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing amazing!
Sister Farr and I are doing well, it was an overwhelming start for both of us, me not quite all the way trained and her being just barely come out of her training the responsibilities have been quite the load but we have had many helping hands including first and foremost, the Lord.
Sister Farr came to the area with many great new ideas to excercise more faith! One of them are our Sacred Teaching Times. We each prayerfully pick 2 one hour long finding time during the week and prayerfully decide where to go as well, and we cannot replace or postpone the time even if it means re-scheduling our investigators for another time. Because we have prayerfully dedicated those times to find someone the Lord wants us to meet, it has become very sacred. Each of those times we have had special moments, one of them including finding our amazing new convert Mrs.Jau! We found her after almost an hour of searching and not finding anyone with interest, meaning right at the end of our find. And she is SO great, we were already able to teach her twice and she has so far kept all of her commitments and will be coming to church on Sunday with her daughters! We also have prayerfully decided on a baptismal date for her that we are looking forward to giving her, she already understands that baptism is her goal and that she needs to pray to find out the truth herself! I am very excited for her. Oh and she is a new investigator for the TaiPo ward!! Tai Po hasn't had a baptism for about two years, so we're really excited for the day she'll be baptized!
Last Saturday we also had another drawing class, this time the turn out was great and we were able to meet one of the formal investigators of Sister Mills and Sister Black (quite long ago), Kube, and help her with her English homework.
Our work is starting to really pick up and we are working our hardest, the new responsibilities are still a bit overwhelming but we feel the Lord's strength. We also have incredible wards that are so friendly and willing to help out.
I have also realized that October 22nd marked my 4th month into my 18 month mission. It's making me a bit nervous to realize how short this mission is, and looking out and seeing thousands and thousands of people that yet do not know the gospel and that are "perishing in unbelief" (Preach My Gospel) can be very overwhelming and desperate. But I do know that this is the Lord's work. And He has His perfect best Plan for all of us, and anything is possible to Him. I know that there are people ready everywhere, and the Lord has His plans, He invites us all to participate by inviting others to come unto Christ, but this is still His work, He is the Gardener. And I only need to put my trust in Him and do as He commands, excercising my faith. I know that since being on a mission I was able to learn more on how I personally can constantly receive revelation after revelation, I can better recognize the Lord's voice, and He really comforts me and strengthens me through His words. I love Him and miss Him very much.
The weather is starting to cool down more and it's feeling very nice, Utah must be close to the snow season. We are having a halloween party for kids this saturday where we missionaries need to make a pinata(?) for, we'll see how that turns out, members have promised to bring friends so it is something we are looking forward to. I hope that all of you back home really are doing well, I miss you, I pray for you. At tiimes I still can't believe that I am in Hong Kong right now, speaking awkward Cantonese, really, who would have thought? I love the people here, they really are my brothers and sisters,
and I want nothing less than the eternal happiness and exaltation for each and one of them all. I also know that through my mission, my family is being blessed very much, and also other precious friends back home. At Asian multi-stake conference last sunday (really great meeting, it was SO good) one of the talks was reviewing back to Elder Scott's recent conference talk, about scriptures being our best friend, and how we need to spend more time and attention to develope deeper friendship with our scriptures. I know that message is true, it was the scriptures that really pulled me through everything. They really are best friends. I hope that all of you back home are also striving to strengthen your relationships with your best friends :)
Love you lots and lots for ever
Leih Ji muih

Beginning of Transfer 2!

Or the 2nd Move, in Hong Kong, the Transfers are called Moves, I don't know why though,
So I hope many people have had wonderful birthdays these past few weeks, I know my "birthday" was wonderful a week or two ago, and now I am at a start of a new move, a feeling of starting things to improve on the past.
We had our first drawing class last week, in the sheung shui chapel, the turn out was pretty disappointing, but it went alright, considering how inconvenient the sheung shui chapel is located we have faith that this week in TaiPo ward there will be better turn out, it was a good practice. I had prepared 4 anime drawings for them to copy using some drawing principles I taught, Kelly Loosli of BYU Animation faculty would be so proud,,,I drew anime for it seemed to be what is popular here in Hong Kong, haha, it was a pretty weird preparation. But the drawings were 2 praying pictures (one girl, the other boy) that said "Speak, He is Listening", and 2 book of mormon reading pictures (girl, and boy) that said "Read, He is Spaeaking", they liked the drawings, and as for me, I am doing my best to know how I can utilize the talents and gifts Heavenly Father has given and invested in me to help build up His Kingdom, I am still in the effort to finding that out.
With permission, last night Sister Bingham and I were able to meet that miracle Korean lady to teach with her Elders! We taught Taeyoung about the Word of Wisdom and although it is challenging for her to start keeping those values despite pressure from her work and from her Korean senior colleges, we bore our testimony and she shared in her prayer how much she wants to please the Lord more than the people she associates with, and how much she hopes to strengthen her relationship with the Lord. It was SO wonderful. I regret now that I forgot to get a picture with her, but we will most likely see eachother again so that is exciting.
So I have a new companion who will continue to train me (Baby/Greenie Missionaries are trained for 12 weeks/2Moves) after Sister Bingham her name is Sister Farr from Ogden UT, She is a very hard worker and full of spirit! I am excited to get a different view and approach to the mission even though I am serving in the same area.
Something I really treasure in my mission is the Spirit. We are working with the spirit side by side. As we set goals and plans we follow the Spirit. Whenever we feel stuck, or lack in wisdom, I love that we can just kneel in the middle of our planning and goal setting to ask the Lord what we should do. And He answers. He has helped us to set goals, and stretch our views, He has helped us set baptismal date for an investigator, I first had to have faith, but as companions, as we each arrived on a same answer and shared them to eachother, our testimony of the Lord's guidance has increased. I know that when we do our part, the Lord will not deprive of us His wisdom. And when there is no specific answer, He gives both of us a calm assurance that we can just step forward with faith and know that it will all work out. Prayer, is so important to me. I cannot, every part of myself can't survive without prayer, but with prayer, by conversing with the Lord, I can go and do anything.
Out of time, everything is alright, hope to tell more next week
I love and miss you all very much,
Sister Burningham

Week 5 in Hong Kong!

Wow so much has happened today!

I went to the Hong Kong temple today!!! In Hong Kong mission we are privileged to attend the temple once every transfer (as long as we're not in Macau), so today was our zone's temple day! I am so grateful for temples, I felt like I was coming back home for a while, to my Heavenly Father's home, even when I am in such a different environment as Hong Kong. It was raining so the picture isn't the best, but I love the temple!

I also saw Elder Wyatt!!! haha, it was very exciting!! We went to WanChai to get our immunizations and I ran into him :) He seem to have become very skinny lol I took a picture of him to document ha

Anyways, things are going well, I taught my first Korean Class on friday and although it was my first time teaching anything (other than the gospel) it went pretty smoothly and people liked it, hopefully it continues to be great and that people bring more friends!

We also were finally able to see Elsa this week, she has finally got a job and we believed that Heavenly Father has answered her prayer, and the job is just perfect, great hours and sundays off!! We watched the restoration movie together and had a great lesson where she told us she wants to accept our invitation to find out for herself more about this gospel and when she finds it is true she wants to be baptized, she is going to come to church for the first time this sunday and we are SO excited!!! This sunday will be Sister Bingham's last sunday in Hong Kong, and we're aware of it as we plan and we are doing our best to make most out of this short time left.

Last P-day as a zone we went out for a Korean BBQ, it was a buffet and there were 2 other zones eating there it was really exciting and the food was as close to korean as it can get, the meat was fantastic just like korean style!! There the Elder that found that Korean lady told me that she is going to get baptized!! That really made my day!! And this sunday there is a "my conversion story" fireside for the missionaries that are going home, for their convert to speak, and we invited her and we might be able to meet this sunday and I am very excited!

People have told me that my language is improving fast and that gives me great hope because in my setting apart blessing the stake president told me to read the Book of Mormon in the language, because Cantonese is a spoken language and they use the traditional characters and not only is it hard that it's characters, it is hard because some words are completely different as a written form. I still cannot read any of the mission materials in Cantonese, but I have great hopes that I will before I am done with my mission that I can read the book of mormon to the pace I am going.

General Conference was a huge blessing, we got to watch it in English and I felt so at home. I also loved and was very excited to hear about the second temple we will be having in Provo!! And also in Starvalley Wyoming, haha, I wonder if it's any closer to Gillette? I encourage you if you can to take advantage of the temples so close by, it's not only the closest place to heaven, but it's also a huge missionary work. Anyways, I felt that the conference focused a lot on trusting in the Lord and focusing on His work and the Book of Mormon, I really really loved it, I know what they have spoken are true. I know that there is no other joy greater than the joy we find within the work of God, and I know there is no greater peace in this world than the peace we find in the Book of Mormon and trusting in God. He really is our Father and He knows it all, and wants what is best for us all.

Also, Friday was my month mark in Hong Kong, and Sister Darcey and Sister Cheung cutely surprised me with a birthday cake (4 pieces of beautiful cake) and really cute baby banana! haha I didn't know that month marks are worth celebrating on missions apparently, it was super sweet and nice of them, It actually meant a lot to me.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well, and that you are all also coming closer to the Lord, I love you, always, I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's eternal, perfect plan, that we can be together forever.

Sister Burningham

Week 4 in Hong Kong

Wow! It's been now a month since I came to Hong Kong!!

I hope everyone is doing well :)

Last Friday evening we were invited to watch the Relief Society General Meeting together with the sisters in the Stake, and I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH!! I also loved it that it was on my mother's birthday :) So I can't wait to see the whole General Conference this coming weekend, I feel like that was too early of an appetite for the remaining sessions haha

I am learning more and more how Heavenly Father really is speaking to me all the time if I listen I can hear Him. I am learning to plan with the Spirit, and just learning how the Spirit works with me personally and to distinguish Him from my own thoughts and ideas. I feel at peace with the Lord behind me in everything I do because I really do not know what is going on or what I am doing most of the time, but knowing that the Lord is behind me helps me to confidently step into the unknown and to completely rely on Him.

We also had the chance to visit Polly one of the less active member in TaiPo Ward, she hasn't gone to church in so long, she has forgotten everything, her belief in God is even inconsistant, but since we met her together in the ward FHE (she comes to those almost every tuesday nights at least), she woke up on sunday thinking that she needs to pay tithing, she hasn't in a really long time, and then she invited us to dinner at her home that night and she never let missionaries come visit her before because she said her home is ugly, and she cooked us dinner when she hates cooking! When Sister Bingham gave an opening prayer and blessed the food, I felt God's infinite love for Polly and how despite where she is in her life right now, she is still a very precious daughter of our Heavenly Father and that she also was made to become like Him, to become a Goddess someday with infinite potential. I felt an overwhelming love for her. And it was heart breaking to hear all she does everyday now is sleep, she doesn't work or anything, she's tired all the time, and this past tuesday she cancelled our meeting that night with her and didn't come to FHE because she was tired. In our correlation meeting we decided that since she IS a member she is entitled to have home teachers and that she is also entitled to recieve priestood blessings.

So, um, sad news, Heison hasn't been coming to church neither has he picked up his phone. We ran into him twice since that meeting with him where we took the picture together and he is so guilty that he wouldn't even look at us, it was a great struggle for both of us, it broke our hearts. We decided that we somehow need him to have more faith in himself and his ability to really change, the will power he needs, and we decided with the Lord that we are not to give up but keep sending him texts of scriptures to get him to at least turn to the book of mormon. I know that the book of mormon is all the power we need to conquer our weaknesses because no other books draws us nearer to God than by the Book of Mormon and its precepts. I know that I personally was able to grow and get to know my Savior the way I did and so constantly because I at least read from the book of mormon everyday. I know of its power, I know that it is the word of God, I know that it really speaks to us and gives us the strength we need. Scripture power, keeps me safe from sin,

So missionary work as far as strengthening investigators and less actives and finding investigators has been pretty hard still, but we need to have more faith in the Lord's perfect plan, the lack of faith and mis-use of agency breaks our hearts so often, but each time I think towards how Heavenly Father constantly feels, how He made us and gave us our knowledge and gave us agency, and told us to keep the commandments, and then watching us without affection and hating our own blood and being satan's children instead, I can't imagine the heartbreak He goes through, reading Moses 7:22-69 in Pearl of Great Price helps me a lot, how the Lord weeps over us, how the whole heaven weeps at our iniquities, yet in our Savior Jesus Christ we can find joy and infinite hope. God's plan is perfect because of the Atonement. I love love love it.

On Tuesday morning we were told to come meet a lady at the church, so we rushed over and I thought I saw my mom, this lady named Helen from mainland China just wanted to check the church building, she had been seeing the Mandarin Elders but dues to feeling too pressured for baptism she has been avoiding them, but being able to see her and to talk to her as Sisters blessed all three of us, I think she was able to understand our purpose as missionaries more and that she too was being understood by us sisters, it was really nice meeting. So, everyone here, including Helen, always thinks that I am Chinese or that I look Chinese. When I tell them I am Korean they are always surprised, and it turns out, as Helen told me, that I look more like northern chinese people, which finally made sense because I didn't feel I look like the chinese people around me here and it really confused me. It's just hard to talk to people because they expect I am fluent and then it turns out I'm not, but someday, someday :)

Yesterday was a big Ward BBQ activity at TaiWo Ward, there was this sweet widowed lady with very cute 2 daughters and one son, picture has the two daughters climbing over Sister Bingham, and then one of the two daughters are also in the other group picture, didn't get a hold of the son haha the mom is in black clothes in the far left front row.

Elder Poon one of the native elder serving in Sheung Shui was transfered and had pizza with him for good byes with the recently baptized member Vienna (she's in blue uniform next to Elder Poon in the picture) We'll miss him :)

Anyways Out of time again, but I love you all and as always, you are in my prayers, and I know I am in yours, thank you for that, I think I feel the strength :)

From Hong Kong,

Leih Jimuih