Called to Serve

Leihdeih Hou!

     Well, since I am coming home this Friday, I guess this is my last email to all of you! These past 18 months have FLOWN BY! It honestly doesn't feel like that much time has gone by. I just started my mission a couple months ago right? Feels like it haha! I would serve a mission forever if I could, but now it's time to more on to another chapter of life. I tend to have delayed reactions to things so it hasn't really hit me that I am going home this week. I feel like I am just going to continue to carry on as normal with lessons and studies and trainings and what not for the next few months.

     Not much to report on with Cheung Sha Wan this week. Sister Percival has been an awesome companion and I am so glad that she is going to take over Cheung Sha Wan. She is going to be a great trainer, and her and her trainee are going to make some big miracles happen! They can have some fun adventures together trying to get familiar with the area! (I'm still learning myself haha!)

    People always says missions are hard, but you really don't fully understand what they mean by hard until you actually serve one. Missions are hard; they aren't meant to be easy. I love the MTC talk Elder Holland gave years ago where he said that if we are suppose to be like the Savior and serve the way He served, then we can't possibly think that we will get by without having a taste of what He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. I've had challenging days, trials of faith, and circumstances that just make me want to cry, but all of those little stumbling blocks are just experiences for the better. I look back on my mission and think about all the experiences I've had, but happy and sad, and I think the best times on my mission were the ones where I had huge trials. Yes, they were hard in the moment, but the growth I experienced because of those challenges was completely worth it. Every challenge we face may seem like it's holding us back, but in reality, it's just bringing us one step closer to Christ. I think that is one of the major lessons I have learned on my mission. 

   

     Serving this mission has meant the world to me and it has changed me forever! I was reluctant to come on a mission but the Lord knew what was best for me and what would bring me the most happiness. I've said it a lot but I'll say it again. choosing to serve this mission has been THE BEST decision I have ever made! I am so blessed to serve in such an amazing mission and I am so grateful for all the people I have met along the way. The main reason I came on a mission was to see the change this gospel can bring into people's lives. This gospel was brought me so many blessings and so much happiness/joy and I wanted others to experience it as well. I've seen miracles happen in both Yuen Long and Cheung Sha Wan and I know they are only going to continue come for the missionaries serving there. I did a lot of planting seeds so now it's time for other missionaries to reap the harvest :) It's sad to be leaving the China Hong Kong Mission, but I know I can continue to serve the Lord when I get home!

     I hope all of you have a good week and I will see you soon! I love all of you! I'm glad I was able to share all my experiences with you these past 18 months :) Hopefully you enjoyed reading them and was able to learn something from them as well. 我愛你地!

Scripture of the Week: Doctrine and Covenants 80:3 It doesn't matter where you serve because you can't go wrong when serving the Lord

Quote of the Week: A missionary is not called to a place; rather, he or she is called to serve. 

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

I went back to Yuen Long last week for P-Day and was able to see people like Jessie!

Yip Ji Muih!

AMay!

Apple!

Alice!

Our member Tong Fong :)

And dinner with Yeung Family

I am going to miss real Chinese food!

Yim Ji Muih is the best! (she made the food in the picture above) 
​

Adventures = Miracles

Leihdeih Hou!

     This week, especially the past couple of days, have been craziness! The beginning of the week was pretty normal with a lesson here and there but then the past couple of days have definitely not gone as planned. It's funny because Sister Percival is one to drop everything for a chance to help someone and I am one to think things through to make sure we don't mess up other people's schedules, so we balance out each other nicely :) She helps me remember my purpose is to serve and help those in need, whether it's physically or spiritually. There were so many blessings from all the miracles and craziness though and I am so grateful!

     The most exciting thing that happened this week was we had a baptism! :) We were able to teach a mainland visitor which was quite an adventure! So the background on that is there are little branches in mainland and members share the gospel with their friends who then come to Hong Kong to be baptized. They come in the morning, listen to all 5 lessons (you squeeze what usually takes at least a couple months into like 5 hours), get baptized later that day, and go back to mainland that evening. Props to the Mandarin missionaries because it's craziness haha!

     Well, this lady named Fung Ji Muih called on Friday morning to say she was coming to get baptized. Usually they give you a few days notice but not this time haha! She spoke Cantonese and we were the closest sisters that could teach her. We were actually on the way to Central when we got the call but we rescheduled all of our lessons for the day and booked it to Kowloon Tong. We didn't really have time to mentally prepare ourselves and we had never taught past the first two lessons as a companionship before so things were bound to be interesting. The lessons went really well though! It was a great test to see how well I have retained Cantonese the past 18 months haha! It was also a good test of Sister Percival's and my unity when teaching. I realized we have different ways of teaching some of the lessons, but it all worked out nicely.

     Fung Ji Muih was amazing and definitely prepared by the Lord! It is so amazing to see someone so prepared and humble and ready to follow Christ's example. I am so thankful I had the chance to see Fung Ji Muih get baptized! I realized this is probably the Lord's way of blessing us for our efforts and diligence. I think 95% of the time, you don't see direct results or blessings from your efforts, but the Lord blesses you in His own way and in His own time.

     Our investigator Icy is doing so well and I am so proud of her! She woke up late for church but still decided to come for the last 15 minutes of sacrament meeting. I thought she wasn't going to come because she just got back from mainland and was probably too tired to wake up, but she did! And there was a linger longer afterwards so she was able to stay for that as well. Her daugther Yuki may need a bigger push to get her motivated but I think she will start seeing her mom's example and follow her lead.

     Also, fun story of the week. So we got this call from a potential investigator Agnes we have been trying to get in contact with for a while. She wanted us to help her move some stuff for her. It was crazy trying to reorganize our schedule but we were able to do it and help Agnes. She needed to ship off these 5 giant moving boxes full of clothes and things to mainland because she's studying there. So we put them in a shipping cart and little trolly cart thing and walk across Sham Shui Po to the post office. Well it was closed but the one in Tsim Sha Tsui (about 40 min away) was open until 6. It was 5:20. So a stranger helped call a GoGo Van to come pick us up and take us over there to mail off the stuff. It was rush hour but by some miracle, we got to the post office with 7 minutes to spare. Agnes had one box that was 35kg which was overweight so she had to open it and take 5kg worth of clothes out and didn't have a bag so she put them in the shopping cart lol Then we had to take another GoGo Van to get back to Sham Shui Po because shopping carts aren't allowed on the trains haha! Those 2 hours were quite an adventure but it was worth it because Agnes has a lot of interest in the gospel and wants to learn more :) 

     Last week was crazy so I am excited to see what this week brings! The Lord just wants to keep things interesting for me these next couple weeks haha! I hope all of you have a great week! I love and miss you all!

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 7:7 Ask in faith and ye shall receive

Quote of the Week: The best technology cannot replace revelation from God (Henry B. Eyring)

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

Temple day!!!!!!!!

We couldn't get a district picture, but we got one of Cheung Sha Wan :)

Welcome to the Cheung Sha Wan district!

I love Sister Percival!

Fung Ji Muih!

All the people who attended her baptism!

Hello Agnes with your shopping cart of clothes!

​We ate dinner with Tsang Hing Daih! FYI seafood and durian together do not have a very good aftertaste lol

Easter Madness

Leihdieh Hou!

     This past week has been pretty good. Things are kind of going slower lately because everyone is gone for Easter, but we were able to meet with some new people. They all have really good potenial and you could see their desires change was we kept talking about the gospel with them. I think the area is starting to pick up again. That seems to happen a lot when a companion leaves haha! I won't be here much longer to teach them, but I'm glad Sister Percival will be busy teaching them. She is so awesome. I honestly don't know what I did to deserve such a patient and loving companion!

     One of the people we taught was our new investigator Martin! He actually met with missionaries a couple years ago and we found him on an old potentials list. He is looking for direction in his life because he's confused and wants to know if what he is doing is good or not. His friend went to jail and "found Jesus" and changed his life around so Martin wants to know if Christ can do the same thing for him. He doesn't really understand everything we say because it is all new to him, but he still wants to continue meeting with us and learn more. We are turning him over to the elders because he met with elders int he past but he is really good and has lots of potential!

     We have been working really well with our Relief Society and Young Women. Yeung Ji Muih our Relief Society president finally came back from Australia which made us so happy! She is so awesome! Yeung JM came with us to visit a less active and then afterwards said she was going to visit a couple more and wanted to know if we have time to join her. Of course la! :)

     We also had a Young Women activity where you dyed Easter eggs and it was a huge success! I didn't know it was more of a Western thing to dye Easter eggs so this was their first time doing it. Our only young woman Kooby brought two of her friends and our investigator Yuki and her mom Icy came as well. They loved it and so did I! They got really into it and I learned these teenagers are waaay more artistic than I am haha!

     Easter was lots of fun. Our member Yim Ji Muih gave us a big Easter eggs basket with dyed Easter eggs and made us cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. (The best things I have ever  had!) Then Sister Percival andI made herb chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggies for dinner. Yesterday was the closest I have come to true homemade Western food in a while haha! I hope all of you had a great Easter as well!

     I have watched the #PrinceOfPeace video multiple times every night leading up to Easter and it just helps me remember that even after the most stressful or depressing days, the Savior can give us peace. I am so grateful He was willing to sacrifice His life for us and was able to overcome death so that all of us can obtain eternal life. Heavenly Father created an amazing plan for us and that includes the Savior's Atonement. His resurrection was what completed the Atonement. I know that my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ lives and He is watching over all of us today. Reach out to Him. Rely on Him.

Scripture of the Week: Alma 37:6 By small and simple things great thigns are come to pass.

Quote of the Week: Do the small and simple things (prayer, scripture study, church, etc) to overcome the big and complicated things (L. Whitney Clayton)

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

Easter egg dying activity with our young women :) (Belvinee. Kooby, me, Nicole, Sister Percival, Yuki)

Dying Easter eggs is a must!

Happy 1 1/2 year mark to me and Sister Kessen!

A nice Welch Easter dinner! It tasted like home!

Our member Sister Yim loves us way too much!

HAPPY EASTER!
​

A Weekend of Wisdom and Revelation

Leihdeih Hou!

     Things are going pretty good in Cheung Sha Wan! We dropped two baptismal dates (Lucy and Heui Ji Muih) but we were able to replace them with two more from Icy and her daughter Yuki! Icy is doing really good! She came to church again this week but Yuki wanted to sleep. I think Icy wants to be baptized with Yuki so we set the new date for May 28th. I really think Icy could make this date, or even one sooner than that, but Yuki may need some more time. Right now I think she is just following her mom and not doing things out of her own desire yet. We will keep working with her though! We were also able to finally get in touch with Lucy! She said she has been really busy with work lately but we wil try and schedule her tonight. That's good that she didn't get anti-ed!

     I thought general conference this past week was AMAZING as usual. I was especially impressed with some of the talks by the Seventy this time. I think my favorites that really stuck out to me were S. Mark Palmer about love, Mark A. Bragg about light, and then Jeffrey R. Holland about faithfulness.
     I loved when Elder Palmer said, "Elder or Sister, if I didn't love you, I wouldn't care what happens on your mission. But I do love you, and because I love you, I care about who you become. So I invite you to change those things that are hard for you and become who the Lord wants you to be." That really stuck out to me because that is something I need to do more with the people I teach. I love them SO much and I could probably do a better job of expressing my love for them and the Savior's love for them. The way he phrased this sentence made me have the desire to change myself so I hope it will also help my investigators/less actives the desire to change themselves.
     I also loved when "You cannot speak of the light IN the world without speaking of the Light OF the World, Jesus Christ." There are a lot of doctrinal things I know, but sometimes it takes another person to put things together for me lol! Of course you can't talk about the light without talking about the Savior, but I just never thought of it that way. A little lightbulb went off in my head after I heard that haha.
     Elder Bednar is my favorite apotsle but I think Elder Holland's talk was my favorite. Singing and choir has been a huge part of my life so this talk made complete sense to me and I absolutely loved it! My favorite quote was "'Come as you are,' a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, 'Don't plan to stay as you are.'" That basically summarizes a missionary's life. The Lord doesn't care what strengths/weaknesses we have or what our circumstances are. He was all of us to join His choir of missionaries and help other come unto Christ. He will take us as we are, but like the quote says, He will help us become us something better. You can't possibly expect to go into a mission and come out the same person. I don't see how that is possible. This mission has changed my life more than I ever could have imagined! I may not have much longer to be a full-time missionary, but I can still stay in the choir when I come home and help the missionaries there.

     This weekend was seriously great and now I am full of spiritual knowledge and revelation that needs ot be digested and applied! I love our prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know every word I heard this past week from all of our church leaders was from Heavenly Father and that this is the guidance we need in life to overcome any challenges we may be facing. If you have a moment, so read/watch these talks at https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04?lang=eng They will seriously brighten your day if not your life. I know they have for me. :)

     I love all of you! Have a great Easter week! :)

Scripture of the Week: D&C 6:36 No doubts. No fear. Look unto Christ.

Quote of the Week: Don't look around [at others]. Look up [at Christ]. (Yoon Hwan Choi)

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

Sorry I haven't been adding lots of pictures of Sister Percival. We are bad at taking pics together lol

Look who came to English class! Jessie! :)

We also ate dinner with Sister Wong this past week

​And then visited with Sister Siu :)

#PrinceofPeace

Leihdieh Hou!

     The miracles are still coming in Cheung Sha Wan, but not in the ways we expect.Sister Percival is awesome and super patient with me. It has been crazy the past couple of days, but she's a hard worker and has a go-with-the-flow attitude that keeps my stress ball in check lol!

     Icy came to church again this week which was a miracle! She hasn't come to church 3 times in a row since she started investigating almost 3 years ago. She is really putting forth her effort so we are going to start teaching her again this week and see what's changed and what her desires are right now.

     Our other dropped investigator Ruby also came to church! She actually woke me up at 6am to tell me that she was coming haha! She realized she hasn't been in over a month and said she wants to repent and change for her mom and her daughters because she feels like she hasn't helped them and that she's not worthy to be a mom because of all the mistakes she's made. We aren't going to start teaching Ruby quite yet because I want to see if she will come to church a couple more times on her own, but Bishop wants us to focus on her daughters and see if they have any interest in the gospel. I was super excited to see both Icy and Ruby at church! They are starting to progress and repent on their own and it goes to show and act of faith can bring lots of miracles in your life but more importantly the lives of others.
      It's funny because the investigators we have dropped are the ones who came to church whereas the ones who have baptismal dates didn't. I wouldn't say either is solid right now and will probably be pushed back. I am really worried about Lucy. She didn't show up to her lesson with us and hasn't been ansering our calls or texts. I know she was trying to decided if she should be baptized on April 22nd and she was in the process of praying about it. A part of me is afraid that between her friend and her mom, she got anti-ed. I'm trying to stay positive and say that Lucy really wants to figure this out on her own without anyone's influence so she's waiting for her answer before she sees us again. At least that I what I hope is true!

     The new Easter video is out and it is SO AMAZING! Seriously worth 2 minutes of your life to watch it. Just go to mormon.org to see it :) The theme for this year is #PrinceofPeace. I know that through the Savior and His Atonement, all of us can have that peace that is promised to us. We don't have to worry about what trials we face because we can have the assurity that the Savior is right there ready to give us feelings of peace and comfort. I hope all of you had a great week and enjoyed general conference! I get to watch it this week so be prepared for some highlights in my email next week :) I love all of you! Have a great week!

Scripture of the Week: 1 Corinthians 14:33 The Lord is the author of peace, not confusion.

Quote of the Week: The Savior gives us peace, not in the world's way, but in His way (Henry B. Eyring)

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

We hiked Lion's Rock last Monday which was pretty hard but so worth it at the top!

Hello Honk Kong!

Sister Percival is the cutest :)

Still got it! (Sort of....) Props to Sister Percival for the awesome action shot!

Dramatic pictures are a must ;)​

My step-trainer Sister Dolben came back to Hong Kong!
​

If There's Sunshine in Your Heart

Leihdeih Hou!

     This week has been going pretty good! My new companion is Sister Percival and fun fact, she is from Wales :) She is super awesome and willing to step up and make the work seem like it is 50/50. She also has some good ideas that we are going to try. I have had so many companions on my mission, but I like it because with new people comes new ideas on how to do the work. I'm willing to try whatever to help these people progress and find the elect :)

     Our investigator Lucy is doing good. She said that she prayed about her baptismal date and thinks she got her answer but isn't sure. Her mom told her that she shouldn't be baptized because she doesn't have enough knowledge yet, but Lucy wasn't sure if this was God's answer to her prayer or not. She wants to pray again to make sure that is what God wants her to do. If there is a stupor of thought, I want to say that was not God's answer. I really feel like Lucy could be baptized on April 22nd, but she needs to come to that conclusion on her own. Between her mom's answer this week and her friend trying to bash the church last week, it's a little stressful for me to know how to help Lucy, but Lucy seems to be staying firm and is learning the process of prayer and how it works. There is always a silver lining in any challenges that come our way!
     We also had the miracle at church of both Icy and her daughter Yuki coming to church! I was so happy to see them come! Especially Yuki! She has only been to church a couple of times the whole time she's been investigating and this was my first time seeing her at church. They came for sacrament meeting and stayed for a linger-longer lunch and a baptism the elders were having. I am honestly super impressed with Icy. For her to come two Sundays in a row without us persuading her is a huge blessing and miracle! She said she will come next Sunday too, so I hope she does! She has been progressing so well on her own, so I hope she is realzing the blessings that are coming from her acts of faith and diligence.
     We were also able to teach a new investigator Winitha yesterday. She has been having family problems and asked God what she should do and then she got a call from us a couple days later. We brought up baptism with her at her first lesson and then yesterday she said that she wants to know more about about our church and the Book of Mormon before she says she'll be baptized. She loves to read so she was super interested in reading the introduction of the Book of Mormon. We told her to pray about it and we'll talk about baptism more next time we meet. I really hope she recognizes God's answer to her prayer that everything we have been telling her is true!

     The Lord is continuing to bless us with miracles in Cheung Sha Wan and I am so happy that I have another transfer to serve here! I love doing this work and helping these people understand the blessings and happiness that come from living this gospel! Sometimes it's hard because I am putting my whole heart and soul into bearing testimony of the truthfulness of what I am saying, but people still don't seem to fully understand. You just have to give them time. The Lord will help them realize things for themselves with their own personal experiences and that is when you know they are truly converted to Christ. I hope all of you have a great week and look for the numerous blessings the Lord is giving you. I promise they are there! :)

Scripture of the Week: Alma 5:26 If you change your heart, you can feel the song of redeeming love from our Heavnly Father.

Quote of the Week: For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude (Thomas S. Monson)

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

Sister Yost and I were able to go to the temple before she left!

And then we were in a trio with Sister Perciaval for a day so we went soap cycling :)

Sister Percival!

​Icy and Yuki came to chruch! :)

You Can Do It Now

Leihdieh Hou!

     Things are going good! The area is starting to pick back up which is exciting :) We are working on working better with our ward leaders and really building them up and supporting them. Finding is going okay. Most of our time right now is making former calls. That seems to be the most effective way of finding right now for this area. We are able to meet with a couple formers and hopefully they will be new investigators this week!

     Miracles are still coming! It never amazes me how much the Lord helps out with this work! We had Lucy at church and she still seems really solid for her baptism date on April 22nd. And then we had the surprise of Icy coming to church at 10am! If Icy comes to church, it is always at 11am because getting up is a big struggle for her. She didn't know we were in Sunday School at the time so she ended up attending the Sham Shui Po sacrament meeting. I was so excited to see her! We dropped her but she is starting to come back on her own. She told me that she is going to start coming to church at 10am every Sunday. For Icy, this is a huge step. I don't think we will start teaching her again quite yet, but she is starting to apply her faith and use her agency. We taught her how to fish and now she is starting to fish on her own.  

     Sister Yost goes home this week which is super sad! :( I love her so much and she helped me so much this transfer! I have learned so much from Sister Yost and I am so happy she served with me these past few weeks. She is such a solid missionary and has helped me come out of my shell a little and taught me what it means to really love people and know what their needs are. She is awesome! I love her! 

     We have had a few heart to hearts and it has made me really reflect back on my mission and how I've changed. Have I changed? I think I have. I hope I have! We gave a training this past week based on a talk by President Uchtdorf called "You Can Do It Now!" which was about going forward no matter how many times you stumble and fall. We cap ourselves so much by giving excuses for why we are not better or why we can't do something, but we can put those caps away! When you cap yourself, you cap God. He knows your potential. You can live up to that potential. You just have to have a positive attitude and tell yourself "I can do it now!" Or in Cantonese, we say "Jouh la!"  Haha! It all has to do with your mentality. We are always stumbling and falling, but when we stumble, we stumble forward. It's never too late to change! This mission has been the biggest blessing in my life and I want to make the most of it every second!

     I love all of you and hope you have a great day! Times flies so make the most of it!

Scripture of the Week: Romans 15:13 Joy, peace, and hope are possible through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Quote of the Week: I can promise you that the Spirit is a lot more anxious to help you than you are to be helped (S. Dillworth Young)

Sister Maggie Shiffert
施姊妹

​I love Sister Yost! :)

I got to go on exchanges with this cutie last week :) New T's all over again! But in Lion Rock haha!

Meet Heui Ji Muih and her son Walter with our member Luk Hing Daih :)

Make-up activity for the girls and their friends! 

These girls are so cute!


Breakfast with the sisters in our zone!