Week 12 in Hong Kong, End of Move 2

Another move has come and gone, and sometimes as a sister missionary it makes me very nervous how time flows on our mission. I don't want to waste this the Lord's time, I don't want this mission to just pass by, I want to grab a hold of it and make the most of it, I want to act and not be acted upon.

But I realize that perhaps the reason time goes by so strangely on missions is because we are so focused on making the most out of the now. Each week we do weekly planning, where we set our goals for the week and plan all the things we will be doing to reach that goal for the week. Then during the week as days come by, since the week has already been planned we can just focus on the day. Also, each night we do daily planning for the next day, where we set goals for the day and plan out what we will do each hour to accomplish those goals, and I think, this has been one of the gratest lessons I have learned on my mission so far. Proper planning. Because I have plans, I don't have to worry about planning as time goes by, each hour of the day I can put forth all my attention and effort on the task that was scheduled and make the most out of the hour, and living each hour of the day like that I guess can distort our perception of time. I really cannot believe that, it is already another P-day, and that because today is the first of December (already!! I feel like I just got to Hong Kong a couple weeks ago and that was early September) in 21 days I would have been out on my mission for 6 months, Third way into my mission, and that is very nerve racking.

But I know that those prayerfully set goals are being fulfilled, and I know I am doing the work that the Lord had in mind.

It actually is very incredible how the Lord works in such mysterious ways, as I excercise my faith and do my best hour by hour His work is really moving forward almost on its own, people I haven't even been able to talk to for years are turning towards Christ, people of all sorts of backgrounds are being found everyday and are being invited to come unto Christ, and even within my investigator pool,

Elsa who has previously disappeared for some weeks has been coming to church, and came to our once a move My Conversion Story Fireside, and is now reading and praying daily to find her answer, and asking the Lord to help her be ready to be baptized by Christmas;

Mrs. Fung who has been coming to church for two Moves but would never schedule to see us missionaries has finally scheduled us and learned about why this church is different and how she can progress to baptism to really follow Christ;

When we went finding one day in Sheung Shui we happened to talk to a lady, Fung Siu Je, and her now-9-year-old son Peter, who has couple years ago have been taught by Elder Taylor Williams (I knew him in my BYU Stadium Terrace Single's Ward!!!) and sort of driffed off from progressing in the church ever since her missionaries left, it was a miracle that both of us unplanned happened to be there at that time to meet, and for us to remind her about the church and how now both her and her son could work towards baptism! She came to the Primary Thanks Giving Activity and is planning on coming to church on sunday.

Our former investigator Mrs. Tse (who was dropped by other missionaries about 3 times previously), who couldn't progress mainly because of her work on Sunday that prevented her from coming to church, last time we taught her, something special happened. Our fellowshipper Lai Mommy, Sister Farr, and I were all very unified in our teaching with the Spirit, and she herself unexpectedly asked us how she can recieve and know that she received her answer. She was very sincere and had a different look in her eyes, and we have great hopes that she now has a desire to act upon her belief and hopes.

Our less active member Sister Mahn, who Sister Bingham and I have visited my first week or so in Hong Kong, found time to see us again yesterday and told us her real concern why she does not want to attend church, and we comforted her with the Book of Mormon, words of the prophets, Joseph Smith's experience and our testimonies, and invited her again to come to church. She said she would and we're very excited!

So many hearts are turning to the Lord, I have not enough time to relate them all. At times, there's so much to be discouraged and saddened by, but in the world there's oppositions in everything. If there is bad, there's also good, and it is our challenge to look up and focus on the good. There will always be negative things to be unhappy about, this is definitely an imperfect world &imperfect people live in it, they are so easy to find with so little effort, but if we put our effort to find the good, they are also there too. In Christ we can have all the hopes we could ever hope for, and as one of my favorite quote says, "Everything is going to be alright in the end, if it isn't alright it isn't the end"

Add oil everyone, :)

Jesus Christ, He really really really loves you, learn of Him and all He has done for you because of His love for you :)

And to it I add my humble love,

Sister Burningham