baahk gam gaau jaahp

Every time I try to describe how I feel these last couple days I just come back to a Chinese saying -- baahk gam gaau jaahp. 100 feelings wrapped in one. It's pretty accurate. I wish that I would have some sort of 80's music montage of my mission. It's weird, because every period of life has funny memories, and new friends, and trials, but a mission is special because it has a definite starting date, a definite ending date, and you know when both are before they even happen.

So yeah, I'm sad to leave Hong Kong, and Cantonese , and amazing street food, and the amazing people I've met. I'm sad that I have to take off this name tag.

But I'm so excited to go home. To watch Disney movies with my family, and eat pizza, and cheese, casseroles. And to be able to swim, and sleep in to 7:30, and to stay up past 11, to talk with my family all day every day, and to be able to give twice as many hugs as I give now, and to be able to Google any random questions I have, and to be able to go back to school, and talk with my family as much as I want. 

Honestly, I'm excited for the challenge. One of the MANY things I have learned is that challenges are how God blesses us to help him come closer to him. We can come close any time really, but challenges just make it so much easier. I think that's the thing that I'm most excited about. In the process of figuring out how the new me fits in the old world, if I let it happen, I'll get even stronger. And more faithful, humble, loving, patient, and even just cooler. 

So on Friday, my heart will be firmly planted in St. George Utah, but until then, I'm just gonna live it up in Hong Kong, and try to learn all I can in the few days I have left.

 

I got to see Siu Pohpo again!! She had a Doctors appointment in my area, so we met in the subway station for about 5 minutes.Totally worth it.

 

 

I discovered cooked cheap sushi! And I am actually starting to be okay with seaweed!! #WonderofWonderMiracleofMiracles

 

 

Had a lesson a retired Opera singer! She taught me that Foreign singers sing with their mouth at the back of the head, Chinese singers sing with the mouth at the forehead. Who knew? She is so sweet, I love her.

See you all soon!! Hold down the fort for me a couple more days, 'kay?

--

Love

Sister Hugo

Yiu Ji Muih

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Yan Ching got Baptized!!

Yan Ching got baptized!! She is so adorable!! It was the most spiritually powerful baptismal service that any of us had ever been to. During her testimony she explained that her mother and grandmother are members and brought her to church when she was born until she was 4, then they stopped coming. Then about a month ago she asked her mom if she could go to church. Her mom said "whatever sure, there is one down the street" and Yan Ching said "NO! That one we used to go to! I miss that feeling! It was peaceful and 'syufuhk' (which is the best way ever to explain the Holy Ghost,  but just translates as comfortable)"

So then the Cheung Sha Wan sisters stated teaching her, and then I picked up when I got moved here.

I think that the two reasons that the baptismal service was so powerful are

1) Yan Ching's own conversion

2) The love that the whole ward (and even the neighboring ward) have for her

It really is so amazing the power that love has in our lives. I have so much more that I want to say, but time is running short (how do i always run out of emailing time!?!?). But simply, one of the things that I am learning on my mission is how crucial love is. We can NEVER force someone into the gospel. EVERYONE needs to be loved in. The love of Christ, the members, us missionaries, everyone needs to feel love from all fronts. Something that I'm working is just making sure that EVERY person I talk to in a day can feel my love for them. It's been hard (I talk to soooo many people as a missionary!!) but seeing the power of love to be a catalyst of change in people's lives has been so inspiring :)

Love y'all

Add oil!!!

Talk with you again next week :)

Additional Pictures:

Yan Ching got baptized!!!!!

​Yan Ching with all her missionaries!

So yeah, life is perfect

:)

Went bike riding

Passed my old area so got my favorite shrimp wanton noodles (even Sister Lee says they are the best she has ever had)

Bike riding was so much fun!!! (as usual)

Editor Comments:  I think the next two are Joanna playing the traditional version of Mahjong.

Cheung Sha Wan!

SURPRISE!! You know how I said I was staying in West Point with Sister Peck and Sister Percival for my last 3 weeks, change of plans!! Got a call morning of transfers and I am in Cheung She Wan, step training Sister Lee for my last 3 weeks. Cheung Sha Wan is great!!  Our area is pretty big, which means that we are always running from lesson to lesson. Also, the mission office which has always been so far away that we go about once a month, is now in my chapel that I go to everyday. 

One day we were doing finding at the pier and it was so pretty I JUST COULD NOT HANDLE IT! So we took some pictures.

My last night in West Point we did face masks together. The funny thing is that I thought I looked cute when I made this face.

Me and Sister Lee emailing in the Apple Store! We have been so busy that this has been the ONLY time to pics

This week has been awesome. If I didn't know that the Lord wanted me HERE, in Cheung Sha Wan, then it might be a little hard. But I just have felt such a confirmation that this here right now is where I can do the most good. And since I can't be a profitable servant, I'm just trying my best to be a good and faithful one. 

Time's up, but I love you all!! Add oil!!

-- 

Love

Sister Hugo

Yiu Ji Muih

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Temple and Exchanges!!

We got to go to the temple this week! I can't believe how blessed we are to be able to go so often. This will be my last time going to the Hong Kong temple for a while. I am going to miss it so much. It covers so much of the world, that overtime I go I get to meet amazing people who worked and scraped for years to be able to come. The members here treasure this temple so much, most are temple workers and come twice a week. I have been able to see so clearly how the temple blesses everyone involved. Someone told me once that every time a temple ordinance is being done, it blesses 4 people. The person on the other side, the person doing the ordinance, the person who is receiving the ordinance for the deceased, and the person who did the genealogy.

​The pictures as a district don't fit in the email, but I forwarded them to my parents. Actually it's just half the district because the elders abandoned us. We discovered that one of my talents is being to open my mouth ridiculously wide. I know that if I hide my talents then they will be taken away from me. So here you go!! This is pretty much the face Sister Peck gives me half the time. "Let's go 'OUCH! Your umbrella poked me in the eye finding!!" *insert face here*

Got to go on exchanges with Sister Frandsen!! She speaks fluent Mandarin, and tried to teach me some, but it just kept coming out as Cantonese. Oh well. I am in love with street food and she had never had one of my favorites. "Gaak jai beng" which must be Cantonese for Diabetes. A waffle, with butter, sugar, peanut butter, and sweetened condensed milk. 

Delicious.

Got transfer calls for my last transfer here in Hong Kong. I am staying her in West Point with Sister Peck, but Sister Percival is joining us in a trio!! Sister Percival was my first companion when I came down here to West Point. It is going to be so good to be with her again!! Trio's are always either so much fun, or a terrible mess. But the three of us are so good!! It's going to be a party. My last 3 weeks are going to be so good!!

--

Love

Sister Hugo

Yiu Ji Muih

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Extra Pictures:

​The sisters in our district!! The elders abandoned us for some reason, so no full district pics

I love going to the temple!!!!

Time Warp

This week I did a really bad time managing email time. Oh no!!

Time for pictures!!

Last week we went to infamous "Monkey Mountain". We found this lady who was feeding them fruit from giant trash bags. By the end of feeding time, we counted 40+. We were afraid they would start fighting so we started the hike  to get away for a bit.

Our group, so much fun!!

It was so nice to get together with a bunch of my friends :)

(Sister Frandsen, Sister Thomson, Sister Grover, Me, Sister Woo, Sister Peck)

​

This week we also threw a birthday party for a less active family this week. It was so much fun!! There was food, a newspaper "snowball" fight, and then just getting to "chin wag".  Unfortunately, one of the kids stole my camera and so all the pictures I have are fuzzy and/or are pictures of the ground :P 

About every 2 months, or stake puts on a giant activity called "gas yauh jaahm", which means "gas station". It's just a pun to go along with the "add oil" saying. It's an activity to get all the members pumped (heeeheeehee) about missionary work. We're in charge of the August "gas station" activity, and we are SOO EXCITED! It's gonna be "day in the life of a missionary". "How fast can you button up a shirt?" "Can you selfie with a normal camera?" "How fast can you find out someone's name, job, and phone number on the subway?" "Can you teach repentance with 5 minutes prep?" It's gonna be so much fun. Yay for activities!!

I ran out of time, which just means that next week's spiritual thought will be extra good, okay? Sounds good. 

Love y'all

ADD OIL!!!

--

Love

Sister Hugo

Yiu Ji Muih

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Big Buddha

Last week for P-day we went to "Big Buddha"! It's the largest sitting Buddha in the world! Unfortunately it's also a giant tourist spot. Sometimes locals call it "McMonastery" 

 
^This^ picture was taken a little under a mile away.

These were the stairs up #legday

The gang. Sister Fransen, Me, Sister Thomson (who I was with in the MTC and am now serving with as a sister training leader!), and my baby Sister Peck!
​

Big Buddha was pretty cool. But I still think that it's not nearly, not even 1%, as beautiful and meaningful as the temple is to me. 

This week we had the Fourth of July!!! Which meant that we had to be the Red-White-Blue AMERICA Skittles!!! And brought out our english hymn books to sing all the Patriotic hymns for companionship study. We had mission leadership council on the Fourth of July which means that we sang The Star Spangled Banner together. I may or may nor have cried. Just kidding, I definitely cried.

At MLC we made some super exciting mission goals!! I love goals so much!! It starts with the vision, then goals, then action plans. I have goals and action plans for pretty much everything these days, Sister Peck teases me about it. 

This past week we have been really pushing to talk to EVERYONE!! We have been able to meet some REALLY cool people!! I met a man from the Philippines who went less active because he has to work on Sunday and didn't know we have church every day of the week! He's in contact with the Phillipina sisters now. Isn't that so exciting!!

I've been studying this week about the power of the gospel to change us. It really is so cool! The world works from the outside--in, but Christ works from the inside--out. But we've got to let him in. Which can be really hard sometimes!! Sometimes in means giving up something that we really like, or value; but in the end we find out that we never really needed it and that what we got in return was sooo much better. What is something that you could give up or take on to let Christ change you more? For me this week, it's been waking up 15 minutes early to read the Book of Mormon, and washing the dishes for my apartment mates more. It's crazy to me that such simple small changes can make such a big difference in my day and in me, but that's the power of Christ!! 

--

Love

Sister Hugo

Yiu Ji Muih

Your favorite

Bonus Picture of a Dork Fish 

Fixed Camera

I finally (re) fixed my camera!! Which means in an attempt to make up for the months without a working camera, I am taking a ton of pictures. Also, in the excitement of getting a working camera, I am taking a lot of ugly selfies :)

(I'll send a pic to my parents and they can post it hopefully :) )

​

This week was the celebration of the reunification of Hong Kong and China! It looked like so much fun! We can't go proselytizing too close to big festivals, which meant that most of our classic finding spots were off limits. Yay for exploring!! We found a tiny little park that is so pretty! It had these little "Hobbit arches" that were so cool! 

To motivate myself in language study, I let myself study characters if I finish vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation for the day. 

The mission gives us these cards, and they are numbered from most used to least used. But sometimes I just pick up characters from maps, or buildings, or from doing "what does this say" finding. One day I went through all of these characters because I had already picked up most of them. YAY! Characters are soooo cool but also soooooo annoying to learn!! One stroke can make it a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORD!!

This is me and Sister Yuen! We've been helping her and her family develop a habit of daily scripture study, which means daily short visits. So much fun! She is sooo sweet and is really loving learning more about Christ through reading the Book of Mormon :) The gospel is so cool

Love y'all!!

​This Book of Mormon Challenge has been so amazing! It feels like I am rediscovering the Book of Mormon for the first time. 

Love

Sister Hugo

Yiu Ji Muih

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