Week 31 - Evacuation, Self Quarantine at Home, San Jose Reassignment, Attempting Mandarin again

Well if you didn't hear, I got evacuated from Hong Kong, spent two weeks at home in self-isolation, and by a weird series of events ended up in San Jose California. Darn Coronavirus. It is almost like an "out of the frying pan in into the fire" situation because at least in Hong Kong, they knew where all the cases came from. This week alone, there have been like 5 unlinked cases here in San Jose, meaning it is probably spreading throughout the community. Fun. Everyone is freaking out here as much as in Hong Kong. The idea is that once things cool down, I'll get sent back to Hong Kong eventually.

I'm in Cupertino meaning that I get to see Apple Headquarters and Netflix headquarters at least once a day. It's a nice area here. I'm assigned Mandarin speaking so that's a blast. I'm with Elder Chen, an Elder from mainland China. This week, we have been teaching a ton of lessons and referrals. This is something that never happened in Hong Kong, we actually had full days of teaching appointments. It is great besides the fact that I have literally no clue what is going on. So I have been studying my brains out with Mandarin too this week. Fun Fact: I'm serving in the home ward of Elder Siu, one of my MTC companions. I got to meet his family at church yesterday.

One interesting experience this week was teaching a lesson with our mission president, President Hunt. He is the previous CEO of NuSkin and if there is one thing Chinese people love, it's NuSkin. So the Chinese elders in our area held kind of a meet and greet event at a member's house. 

Anyways, that's been my last 3 weeks. Not what I expected to say the least. It has definitely taken a lot of prayer but I'm still alive and kicking.

-Elder Murray

Week 27 - Stuck Inside Apartment since Wednesday - Wuhan Coronavirus; Naps, Study and Settlers of Catan; Escapes for food, exercise and transfers; Sad to say goodbye to MTC buddy Elder Mumford

Weeellllll,

It has been quite the week, let me tell you. Most of you probably already know but because of the virus, we have been chilling in our apartment all day everyday since Wednesday. Aaaannnndddd we just got a text saying that this week is going to be the same. Great. It actually isn't too bad. I like the extra study time for language and gospel stuff. But there is only so many times you can go through your area book calling everybody. So we fill the time usually with naps, more studying, and plenty of rounds of Settlers of Catan.

Tuesday was our only day of freedom. We did a few hours of finding and then had district council for the last time with our district as it is.

Wednesday, we were doing our daily planning, looking at an empty day with a lot of time out on the streets when we got the text to stay inside. We were pretty excited to be part of not only historic protests, but a historic virus.

Thursday, we had transfers and had to go out to pick up four elders moving into our apartment building. It was sad to say goodbye to my MTC buddy, Elder Mumford. We had some good times together but now he is in another part of Hong Kong. The new guys are cool though too. One of them is brand new and spending his first days in Hong Kong locked up. We were also encouraged to go out on a walk that day so we showed the new elders their area at the pier. 

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. Staying inside, doing what we can, trying to fight the boredom. 

Today we will go buy food (we'll see how that goes because everyone has been stocking up lately because they think Hong Kong will close itself off and food will be scarce.) Seriously, I have never seen so many empty instant noodle and rice shelves. It is truly a party. I hope I dont have to fight off an old auntie for some bananas or something.

Anyways, that's all for me this week. Wish me luck next week. If you have any ideas or things that could help keep myself engaged, send em my way. 

-Elder Murray

Week 26 - Wuhan Coronavirus, District Council, Basketball, Japanese Ramen, LDS tunes at restaurant, Elder Kwok family, ,Chinese New Year Cleaning and McDonalds, Staying with Finklea!!

Well this week has certainly been a week and that's for certain. 

First of all, my mom is probably wondering about the Wuhan Coronavirus and stuff here in Hong Kong so I'll talk about that. Last we heard, there were 5 confirmed cases here and hundreds more suspected. We got several send outs from President Philips. Everyday they were like " Don't worry it's not that bad, there are no confirmed cases". "Okay so it is a little worse than we thought but only 1 person has it." "Ok so actually, the area presidency is cancelling everything but sacrament meeting and you should probably be wearing a mask, but don't freak out." So it has been a bit of a progression of sketchiness. The Hong Kong government has declared it the highest level of emergency possible. So fetching sick. We are being safe though. We deep cleaned our apartment, we are wearing masks, we are washing our hands constantly, and no one will even stop and talk with us with this going on AND chinese new year, so there is no real close contact. Everyone is terrified because in 2003 SARS hit Hong Kong real hard and members are telling us that this new SARI virus is like 10 times more virulent or something. We are just chilling though.

So Tuesday was a pretty good day. We had district council which was pretty great. We talked about bearing testimony frequently when teaching and finding.

Wednesday, I had an exchange with Elder Kwok. It turned out to be a blast. We had a group basketball activity. If you know me, you know that I am not really a basketball person too much, but neither were the people we played with. I realized, I had never played basketball with people other than those that have played for years. So it was really fun and we had a really good message about diligently seeking answers from heaven. Then we went to a Japanese ramen place for lunch. It blew anything from American ramen places out of the water. So good. We met a really nice woman who sat next to us and chatted with her super naturally about the gospel. Some finding and studies later, it turned into a really good day.

Thursday, we had a district find at the pier. It was okay, Elder Kwok and I went together again. He got into a bash for 20 minutes with a guy who at first very politely rejected us but then Elder Kwok asked him why and the guy lost it. Oh well. There was a mobile softee truck there so we all treated ourselves to a nice soft serve cone.

Friday, we didn't have much besides two meal appointments. We went for lunch with an older  member couple and the sisters to a really fancy place. While we ate, we were crazy surprised to hear instrumental versions of multiple children's christmas hymns being played from the speakers. They played Samuel Tells of Jesus and Mary's Lullaby and others, all original LDS tunes. Funny to hear. Then that evening, we got approval to go with Elder Kwok to his family's house for New Year's Eve Dinner. All the Hong Kong natives got to go home this year. It was super cool to meet his parents and little sister. They were super kind and fed us a lot. It was fun to see Elder Kwok so happy to see his family. I was only kind of jealous because I got to see Dexter last week. 

Saturday was Chinese New Year so we were asked to spend the first half of the day deep cleaning and then just go out and experience the culture for the rest of the day. All 4 of us cleaned the place down to bones and then went out. Nobody was out. It was practically a ghost town by Hong Kong standards. The only place open to eat was McDonalds so that's what we had. We tried walking around the mall, since it was raining outside, and tried talking to people. Eventually we decided that we better just go study in the church. Then the rain got really bad and chinese people are terrified of the rain, so we stayed in and watched 17 Miracles. Not a bad Chinese New Year albeit a bit boring. Transfer calls were also that night. I'm staying here with Elder Finklea (YES!) But Elder Mumford and Elder Kwok are both leaving to be replaced by a trainer and a new trainee. It's a bummer to lose the other two but it should be fun with the two new ones.

Sunday, because of the "epidemic" we only had a combined sacrament meeting for both wards. We forgot to wear our masks so members kept coming up to us telling us how dangerous it is outside. They scared us into never forgetting. Seriously, some people acted like we were already goners. Pretty funny but we will still try to be safer.

Today, we are eating Korean BBQ with members and then doing a hike.

So it has been a really fun week. I've gotten to experience a whole lot of new things, some good and some not so good. But one thing I've learned so far on the mission is that it is just fun to enjoy the ride, rattles shakes and all. Here's to staying healthy!

- Elder Murray

Week 25 - English Class Cancelled; Mr Wong; Surprise from Dexter; Old Artist in the Park; Chinese New Year; 10,000 Buddhas

Hello! This week has been a pretty fun week. 

Tuesday, we had district council where we got trained on a new english class program that President made a big deal of in Zone Conference and was promptly canceled later this week by church legal council. So that was fun.

Wednesday, we taught our new friend Mr. Wong. He met missionaries 30 years ago but lost contact. Now he's got in contact with us again and has a lot of interest. He asks a lot of good questions and has a lot of good insights on life that line up with church doctrine. Sweet stuff.

Thursday, we had our usual Crossroads service. We loaded mattresses into a truck but some of them had major mold and rot problems. Once we got back, I got a notification from Google maps that my brother Dexter was 50 feet away from me! I went downstairs and there he and his wife Amanda were. I saw him before he saw me so I ran up behind him and gave him a good scare.

It was crazy to see him and chat for a few minutes. He invited us to dinner later than night and we went to taam jai (noodles) later in the evening (with proper approval). It was so cool to meet and chat with them and share a bit of Hong Kong with them as they make their way around Asia. So cool. 

Friday, we had a dim sum appointment with the "empty nesters" in the ward. More street contacting and more studying. We also met again an old man that sits in the park and draws some really interesting portraits with ball point pens of all colors. They pretty cool. The previous day, he told us to come back and pick up some pictures of Jesus he drew. They are pretty money and the guy is super nice.

Saturday, Elder Mumford (the other greenie in the apartment) and I were on an exchange for the whole day. It was stressful but also pretty fun. We got a number during our contacting and taught a lesson to Tim. Tim was kind and pretended to understand as we rambled on in broken Cantonese about the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. It was a good experience over all. We still managed to bring the Spirit to some degree.

Sunday, we had our normal church meetings. It is the week before Chinese New Year so there was practically nobody there as this is a HUGE holiday. All the folks that were there just kept giving us bags and bags of food and treats. We are really blessed here to have such a good relationship with the members. We went that night to a young member family's house for dinner. They had two little girls who were super cute when they wanted to play piano for us. We shared about the Restoration and related it to the upcoming special general conference. It got me excited for whatever exciting things will happen. 

Today, we went to a place called 10,000 Buddhas. It is a temple with a ton of golden Buddha statues. It was fun and a good chance to use my new camera. We ate IKEA hot dogs for lunch.

So that was my week. The work still goes on albeit pretty slowly during this busy holiday. I'm still just hanging in here, having a good time and trying to preach the gospel. Transfer calls will be this Saturday so who knows what will happen. Thanks for all the prayers!

- Elder Murray

Week 24 - Sunset Peak, Christ-like attributes, Ding Ding Sing, Tim Confirmation and post baptism lessons

Things just keep moving along and here we are again on another P day. This week hasn't been too bad. Things are still pretty much the same for me here. We do a lot of street contacting everyday, we do all of our studies, we aren't currently teaching anybody. So it has been kind of less exciting in that respect, but it is still a bunch of fun.

Monday, we went on a hike to Sunset Peak. It was super steep, stairs straight up the mountain to the top. It was smoggy, but the view was pretty amazing. Then, we stopped by this little pizza shop which had a really good deal on pizza. Cheese is expensive here so cheap and good pizza is hard to come by. 

The middle of the week was full of more finding. We continued our post-baptism lessons with Tim. Wednesday, I gave a training on Christlike attributes in District Council. It went ok. Thursday, we did our service at Crossroads again hauling desks and school chairs into the back of a truck. We also had our regular interviews with President that evening. Friday, we did a district find in an area that was an hour away. Another Elder and I were actually able to place a Book of Mormon so that stoked us out pretty good. 

Saturday was a special day. On Hong Kong island, they have these street trams that have been around for over a hundred years. They call it the Ding Ding. For Light the World this year, the church paid for one to get decked out with Light the World advertisements. On Saturday, I went with the mission choir, donned a red tie, and helped sing hymns out the window of the top floor of the church Ding Ding as it drove across the entire island. They had a church film crew film us for an upcoming video and also livestream it on facebook. It was a ton of fun watching people's heads turn and then smile when they see a Ding Ding full of singing white kids. We sang pretty much straight for 3 hours so my voice was pretty hoarse by the end of it. It felt really cool to not just go out and ask a few people on the street if they want to listen to a message, but to actually sing that message to everybody on the street. 

Sunday, Tim finally got confirmed. It was super cool, he seemed pretty excited out about it. It is a really special opportunity to see the gospel change people like that. I know it's corny, but he really did seem brighter and happier afterwards. 

Well that was my week. There were some boring things but some really good things too. I just keep plugging along. See ya!

-Elder Murray

Week 23 - New Year 2020, Blackout year, Hotpot, Korean BBQ

Well it is a new year. I guess this starts my 2020 blackout year letters. That's pretty nuts. This week was a pretty decent week.

On Monday, our hike turned out to be too long and too far away, so we just had hot pot. It was still way fun. 

Tuesday, New Year's Eve, we had our usual day of studies and finding, nothing special to report. Then a member took us out for Korean BBQ. Sooo tasty, but I ate too much meat and kimchee.

Wednesday we had Zone Opening Exercises and a district find in our area. No new friends yet, but we found a new place that looks promising. Then, we went to a dinner appointment at the home of a member family's friend. It was really cool because the family really enjoyed our message and the food was fantastic. All around a good experience.

Friday, we had Zone Conference. We got a lot of good training and I met a lot of people in the mission I hadn't seen in a while. 

The rest of the weekend was pretty normal, pretty boring but that is good. For Pday today, we went on a big hike and now we are getting pizza. That's all for 

Week 22 - Christmas, Tim's Baptism, Victoria Peak

Another one down. This week was a pretty exceptional week what with Christmas and all. Our friend Tim also got baptized this weekend which was the cherry on top.

For P day, we went up to Victoria Peak on a tram and took some cool pictures of the view. It was amazing to see a view I've seen a million times in pictures for myself. Unfortunately, it was a pretty cloudy day but I still could see all the famous tall buildings on Hong Kong Island. I'll make my way out there again sometime soon on a clearer day. 

Christmas Eve was full of meetings with members. We had a caroling activity planned in the evening but couldn't stay long before we had to go visit another member. The only thing that made it feel like Christmas was the bus ride home when the bus driver played Christmas music.

Christmas was fun because I got to call home in the morning, but other than that, it was a pretty normal day. It's kind of nice around here that it doesn't feel too Christmassy because then I don't feel like I'm missing anything. Besides just doing normal missionary work, we had members feed us dim sum for breakfast and then hot pot for dinner. Can't complain about that. 

Thursday was the real fun Christmas celebration. In the afternoon, the whole mission got together for games and a devotional. We had a minute to win it competition between the zones (which we failed sorely at) and had a lot of fun. We had a super nice dinner of pasta, salad, breadsticks, and chicken parmesan, then a Christmas themed devotional with the Philips and a member of the Seventy, Elder Homer and his wife. It was really cool, they all gave really powerful testimonies of the Savior and their gratitude for his birth. 

Friday, we taught Tim his last lesson and had a District white elephant party. I came home with a cool bag with a cat on the front. Tim's lesson went really well and he seemed just as committed as ever to get baptized.

Saturday, we had Tim's baptism. It was stressful for a minute because I was chosen to perform the baptism and I had to memorize the blessing in Cantonese, but then I put it into perspective that it isn't about me at all. It isn't about my fears concerns, it was all about Tim. Once I remembered that, I was a lot less stressed about memorizing the blessing and it went on without a hitch. Tim bore a really simple but powerful testimony that this church was true and that he knew God was directing it today. It was very cool to see how much the Spirit had helped him grow and learn. 

We ended the week off with a normal Sunday full of church, studies, a bit of finding and then a dinner appointment with members. It's a blessing how much the members help us out around here by giving us meals and advice.

That's my first Christmas down! Only one more to go!

-Elder Murray