Merry Christmas Eve!

So I am too lazy to write a blog today!  I loved talking with all my family.  I am grateful for them and there love and support.  I sent a bunch of pictures (this week) in place of my blog post.

Merry CHRISTmas! :)

Love, Sister Loo

Random picture stuff: Pictures from our Christmas party!  Breakfast for dinner.

P.S. Mom that mapeline you sent me a long time ago came in clutch!

Home made syrup :) 

Sister Rodriguez opening Moms stocking!

Our Christmas table..

Someone snuck a picture of us in our natural habitat haha

I Love Zone Conference

This week I really loved zone conference! One of the senior missionaries gave a training called "sensing the Savior" it is an activity where you blindfold your eyes as different things that represent the Saviors life are placed in your hand and music plays.  I had done the activity before and I remember loving it the first time as it gave me the opportunity to think about Him in ways other than using my eyes.

At one particular moment a block of wood was placed in our hand as music played about the Savior as a Carpenter. The lyrics of the music talked about how the same wood that he carved ultimately would also be used in His crucifixion.  That brought tears to my eyes as I had the opportunity to reflect on the Savior and the drops of blood, the moments he spent in pain for me in the Garden. I am so grateful for Him and His selfless sacrifice!

An Elder also brought up a cool analogy to opening our mouths about a experiment done at Stanford.  A scientist caught a fly and put it in a cup, but everytime it would jump out (of course).  Well he stuck the fly in there but with a lid and the fly continued to jump, each time hitting the lid and falling down.  Slowly the time between his jumps to 'try again' became longer and longer until finally the fly didnt jump at all even when the lid was taken off.

I really loved this because I often come out of MLC, zone conference, district meetings super pumped and ready to convert the world and I am jumping, but slowly that starts to go away as people reject the message, ignore us or shrug us off. It really hit me that I dont want to miss the opportunity that once 'the lid comes off' and that person who is prepared is placed in my path that I dont jump and miss that opportunity.  I think this analogy can relate to all of us and be used differently, but we must remember to keep jumping! :)

On our way out of zone conference we also met a man who was from Tenessee and was lost (defintiely very Southern).  We helped get him to the MTR and find his way from there while of course talking about the gospel.  But, the interesting thing was he was completely uninterested in learning more, but often drives down a freeway in DC where our temple is in clear sight and often when he has a bad day he will drive down that freeway just so he can see the temple and it can "light" up his day!  This man who doesnt even know what the temple is or that it was even called a temple (he called it a tabernacle) finds peace, joy, and light from the temple, the house of the Lord, the source of our Light! I hope that we can all  let the light of Christ within us shine this christmas season and for the rest of our life even if others may not understand 'why'!

As we were meeting with one of our investigators who is Buddhist and talking about the different religions in the world she said, " We all have the same goal and that is to return to our Heavenly Father. You might take a train there, I might take a car, she might take a plane, but ultimately we all end up at the same place." So, that was fun trying to respect her views but re-explaining the restoration and that there is only one way.  It reminded me of the classic 2 Nephi 31 which says, And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen."  How lucky we are to have the Book of Mormon and to know of these truths through it!  Her analogies did remind me of my dad though haha!!!

Funny things that happened this week:

One of the YM in the ward when passing the sacrament forgot to give the water to my companion so instead of bringing the tray back to her (because that would be too much work) he picks up a single cup hands it to her and then puts his hand out to take it after she is finished. hahaha

During second hour we talked about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which was quite the topic for a lot of our recent converts and they were pretty confused.  I shared about how we will all be ressurected no matter if we are members or not and one of our RC's came up to me after and asked if that was my own opinion. haha

Love,Sister Loo

Caroling at Christmas!

The opportunity to #LighttheWorld is in each of our hands. 

Christmas love from home...

Obedience leads to faith...

This week in personal study as well as at MLC we talked a lot about obedience and the huge role that faith plays in that.  As I have just restarted the Book of Mormon I realized how much Nephi says (paraphrasing), I had faith that if I kept the commandments I would be blessed.

I have learned and seen with my investigators that if they dont have the faith to believe the Lord will bless them, then they will not do it!  But one of the best way to find out if the Lord will bless you is if we do test Him.  We must have the faith that he will keep His end of the promise and it is a deal that will always come out in our favor!

This week was our branch combined with Kowloon temple day!  On saturday they all went to the temple and some of which for the first time.  The kowloon branch had 4 people receive their endowments and we had 2 recent converts (Michael and his mom) do baptisms for the first time.

Michael did not want to show how much he enjoyed the temple, but when you saw his mom she was on cloud 9 getting to have this experience together.  She is already looking forward to when she can receive her endowments!

Zhao JM is such a great example to all of us.  The scripture in 1 Nephi 8 perfectly describes her, And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."  I love seeing the changes that have come about her as she really strives to live the gospel to its fullest and share with everyone she meets!

I hope everyone has had the opportunity to Light the World and share the light that is within each of us! #lighttheworld

Love,

Sister Loo

A quote from my fellow Tahitian companion she is so funny and reminds me of home.. we wont talk about who or what the background of this story is haha! ... "If I had something in my hand, he would receive it in his face!  I was so mad"

Did you know you can eat bread with chopsticks?

I love my filipinas!

Comp unity!

It's a dull dull week...

So when I say this week was a doozy it really was so I have nothing for my blog.. there was a lot of meetings as we have 2 new zone leaders and 2 new elders replacing the ones that were here before, but that is all that really happened!

We had the opportunity to go to everyday branch this week as different sisters were leaving to Macau and with sister Bolcolcol heading home so that was always nice to partake of the sacrament in the middle of the week!

We had the opportunity to see how the new RS and Elders quorum teaching is going to work and it is amazing!  So inspired and I am excited to see how it will be utilised in my branch!  It will be great for everyone to share their own thoughts!

Yup that is it.. I guess I can share some spiritual quotes that would probably be good.

"Life is unfair to you, life is unfair to me therefore life is FAIR" :)

As I have been studying about hope this week, a senior missionary talked on this topic as well.. she said, "Hope is a virtue for all seasons AND hope is the portal to peace!"

Love,Sister Loo

We love our senior missionaries haha!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today I spent a lot of time talking to my sister about shoes so I don't have much time to write...haha!  

This week we had our Thanksgiving party as a zone which was super fun!  We had some good fun and good food.  We had a testimony meeting so that we were also "spiritually feasting" as well and the spirit was so strong.

I realised the importance of having good friends and that you can still do fun things with them!  That is such a blessing to find those who have the same goals, standards, values as yourself and be around people who push you to be better to become someone better.  It is also important that we are doing that for others as well!  But I realised especially for me, I need to surround myself with good people and you can still have so much fun with them (something I didn't think was possible)!  So yes, Mormons are not all weird people :)

Also, me and a Filipna sister made the turkey, mashed potatoes, and home made rolls.  Something I probably never want to do again because it was disgusting, but I guess the mission really is preparing me in lots of different ways!  Joking dad don't worry ;)

This week the challenge for our zone to help us talk with everyone was to hand out a Book of Mormon everyday.  At the beginning of the week I was a little bit suspicious because I thought it would be super hard to do, but what I realised is that it is actually a lot easier than I thought.  Maybe that is because the Lord knew I was finally looking so He put people in my path, but it was a miracle!  We gave one out to someone everyday this week and a couple of them seem interested in continuing to meet!

Sunday was a little bit cham just because investigators did not attend church like we thought they would and then they were not keeping their commitments. Last night ended great though because we went out finding and after an hour of NO ONE wanting to talk or have interest or want to take our Book of Mormon and as we were walking home I heard people speaking Mandarin and decided to try and see so I did and they were super nice and friendly.  I hope they will progress into something.  I am also happy because we FINALLY got our Liahonas this month with the conference addresses so I can not wait to read it over and over again!

Well I think that is about it!

Love you all,
Sister Loo 

​​​​​​​​Photo's of Thanksgiving!

The Ups and Downs of Missionary Work...

Well the mission sure is full of ups and downs.  There were (of course) lots of miracles and there were (of course) lots of disappointments as well.

One small thing I learned that I don't know if I have shared, is just that I more fully understand why we love the people on our mission so much, why we so badly want them to keep their commitments and understand their relationship with their Saviour!  The reason is not only because we know they will be blessed for it, but because we are willing and everyday we are making sacrifices for them.  That is the reason why our Saviour loves us so much and that is also the reasons mothers love their kids.  They both sacrifice a ton because they care so much and want the best for these people.

So if you are struggling with someone, not getting along with a sibling.. the easy solution would be to sacrifice something in their behalf!  Serve them and then watch as your love for them grows :)  I hope that makes sense, my english structures are so bad now!

We also had another opportunity to teach visitors this week!  Every time I am taken back by their faith, it is such a great refresher for my own faith and to know that you don't have to have a perfect knowledge to believe.  Hang on to the things you do know!

It was a mom and her 16 year old daughter who came with their friend who has been a member for 10 years (she is also SO amazing and is such an amazing missionary!).  The mom was super unsure and felt nervous in the morning, but after she was baptised she completely changed!  She was so excited, so energetic and had a ton of energy!  I feel truly blessed to be able to participate in their special day, it really is an experience you can not describe!

We also love it because they come down and are willing to keep the commitments, are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to change and have the desire to follow their Saviour.  It is a good change up from what is usually experienced everyday :)

This past week, to get into the Thanksgiving Spirit among people who don't celebrate Thanksgiving we talked about things that we are grateful for in district meeting, starting with our missions!  It motivated me to try saying a prayer in which I only thanked my Heavenly Father.  It really was cool to think of the innumerable things I have been blessed with!  The greatest blessing this thanksgiving is the opportunity I have to represent my Saviour for 18 months and share His gospel with the people of Hong Kong.

Well that is it for the week!  I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving and takes time this week and everyday after that abut the many blessings the Lord has bestowed upon each one of us.  He truly is merciful!

Love,
Sister Loo

Visitors!!!  Sorry one of them is blurry.. don't let elders take pictures haha

Missions and Baptisms

黄姐妹 was baptised yesterday!  It was an awesome service and she was super happy especially once she came up out of the water and that was really cool for me to see!  Her daughter was there and had a fever and cold but was such a trooper through the whole thing.  Usually 黄姐妹 would leave if Julia was feeling sick so it was a miracle she stayed!  黄姐妹 is an amazing mom and I am excited and hopeful that this gospel will really bless them as they strive to be faithful!

It was interesting because we visited a family in our branch this week and they really testified how the gospel principles and applying them into their everyday lives, especially with parenting is the best parenting book they could ever have.  It is really true, we have been given the guidelines, the syllabus, the map, whatever you want to call it to succeed and have a happy life!

This week as a zone we had a bit of a challenge and it was simply to hand out a family proclamation everyday!  It was amazing to me how many people were so willing to accept it without hesitation, that is not exactly common when you try to give out fliers!  I realised how willing and open people are to talking about their families because that is what makes them happy.  And who wouldn't want to accept a pamphlet talking about how to have an even better relationship with your spouse and children or have a sure way to bring happiness and peace into the walls of your home!  I would challenge everyone to look at it and find something they can better apply into their own families.  

Well unfortunately that was all the excitement of the week!

爱你们
卢姐妹
The MTR train to Disneyland (no we went to a place next to disneyland because we can't afford it haah)
黄姐妹的洗礼会！
Sister Lorie was also baptised yesterday!
Sister Arago birthday!!!  And the cake I quickly made for her!

Administering to Others...

One thing I have struggled with since my call to be a Sister Training Leader is how much time is needed to do things like talk trees or zone leadership meetings.  I have learned that this is a different part of missionary work (administering to the sisters) but is very important.

I recently read Alma15:16&18 which says,"And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred; Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord."

It is amazing how much this scripture relates to me.  Alma shows the importance of the one and strengthening the one so that they can then go and strengthen others.  It is true that if our testimony as missionaries is not being strengthened how are we supposed to strengthen those around us?  And that is a huge part of my calling as STL :)

This week we had the amazing opportunity to have mission tour with Elder Evans.  There were a lot of miracles in the timing of when he came to talk with us.  As a mission we are striving to have 242 baptisms by the end of the year.. right now we are just over 150 and still have 88 to go.

Well we discussed that, 242 was just a goal and that there was no plans or actions! During the mission tour he helped us realise a better way of finding and that is talking with everyone and asking referrals 100%. Because this is a better way of finding and many people just in 5 hours saw miracles from following his advice we decided to set a new goal of 560 (that is 2 new investigators per companionship per week) new investigators for this month.

To put that in perspective, every month we roughly get 120 new investigators as a mission.  Our plan of action? Talk with EVERYONE and ask referrals 100% (With that being said does anyone have any body I can teach in Hong Kong haha ).  We are all pumped and know the Lord will bless us as we are willing and have the faith and desire to reach this goal!

As we have applied this into our own companionship there has been 2 big miracles!  On Friday, we were coming back from a teaching appointment and I heard a family speaking mandarin.  As we got on the MTR I kept telling myself I needed to open my mouth and talk to them.  When I got the courage to do and as we started talking about the gospel he mentioned multiple times that he had a lot of interest!

We also were able to meet a walk in who wants to go to BYU because they have a great accounting program so she wanted to know about the religion that is "tied" to the school!  Anyways, she came with her mom who originally said she was just accompanying her, but as we taught the restoration you could see her mothers eyes just open up and she was REALLY engaged, asking amazing questions and everything!

So once again, set your mind to something, do it wholeheartedly and the Lord will shower blessings upon you!

Sorry, my English is so bad now.  I hope you can understand me.

我希望你们会有很好的星期！

爱你们

卢姐妹

Matching for Halloween!  What are we?  Probably nuns..?

When the smoke detector goes off in your house

and President tells you to wait outside for 10 minutes just in case! 

10,000 Buddha!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What a GREAT week!!!

What a great week it has been with more blessings showered upon us!

Yesterday was fast Sunday for us and it was amazing.  I have learned to be pretty direct in what I ask Heavenly Father for so I was hoping that our investigator who just had her baby would come to church and run up to us and tell us she wants an eternal family and to be baptised (that was pushing it a little so I was kind of joking with Him haha) as well as some other things. Well, what I got was different from that, but still far better than what I asked for.

The Lord has an interesting way of doing that.. Not exactly giving us what we ask for, but giving us something greater and something that will help us way more!  So the miracles that I experienced yesterday are these:

1. I saw a sister who used to be in our branch, but moved to the english branch as her kids liked it better.  She was super happy to see me, said she missed talking to us (only elders serve in that branch haha) and wanted to have us over for dinner.  I was happy because I had no idea that she even remembered me and that she missed us!

2.  One of our investigators and her sons showed up to church.  She only spends 1 weekend here in HK the rest in China so I was surprised to see her.  But she was telling me different problems she had, but was so amazing was her faith.  She knew that she just had to keep reading her scriptures, go to church and pray, and that God would give her an answer and arrange things perfectly for her.

When I invited her/reminded her that she could also fast for these things she was ecstatic and told me that was a great idea!  She also knew about baptisms for the dead and the reaction it has to family history work and we have yet to teach her that lesson! 

3. Our investigator who just had a baby, her husband (who is a member) came to church and bore his testimony on being a father and how happy he was to have his baby girl, which I think means he will push harder to have his wife baptised :) 

4. A Seventy who was just "released" (idk the correct church terms) this past general conference has joined our branch and I am pumped because I think he will be able to help our branch grow and progress in ways that we as missionaries can't!

5. Last, but not least, another one of our investigators who is getting baptised on the 12 asked me to get her a fast offering slip so that she could pay her offerings.  When I forgot, she reminded me!  I was so amazed by her desire to keep this commandment and pay her tithing even though she has not been baptised yet!

So yes the Lord truly blessed me with many many miracles!

One last thing to share.. as we were talking about eternal marriage in sunday school a sister whose husband is not a member asked what she should be doing to prepare for this. sister Toronto made the comment that there are different things we are entitled to and different things that are a privilege.  In the family proclamation paragraph 7 it says that children are entitled to this.  I thought it was super cool and something I have never thought about!

The Lord has a perfect timeline and one thing He will not do is withhold blessings from us :)

What a wonderful Sunday it was!

Love you all,
Sister Loo