From Small Beginnings - 6 Stakes & 2 Districts

November 2 (Monday)

Just another p-day. Shopping, eating, eating, shopping. Dim Sum with the Rancie's.

November 3 ( Tuesday)

Happy Birthday, Virginia! (my big sister) Hope you have a nice sunny day so you can go golfing!

We got flu shots yesterday, and today my arm is sore, red, and hot. Oh well, as long as I don't get sick I guess it's worth it.

We had another meeting as we continue to plan our big Christmas event. Things are falling into place. We're only one  month away. We met with the MC's tonight. Elder Lew and Sister Takahashi will MC on Friday night, and Elder Peacock and Sister Chan will MC on Saturday. They are all so exuberant. Cora Jue has been the work horse of the project. She is phenomenal in her planning and organization skills, besides being a music pro.  Sister Chamberlain has been working non stop coordinating the event. And of course, our own Wayne Burton is the guest artist for the 2 nights.

Group Selfie: Cora Jue, Elder Peacock, Elder Lew, John, Judy, Sis. Chamberlain, Sis. Takahashi, Sis. Chan

It's been quite a learning experience working on this project. I am so impresses with what all goes in the Church office headquarters in Hong Kong. There are so many different departments, departments that I didn't even know existed. Everything is so professionally done. The Church is so well organized, I shouldn't be surprised. Wished I was in on the inner circle to hear about all the exciting new developments. The Asia area is on the move...

November 4 (Wednesday)

In preparation meeting today, we were told that the summer closing of the Temple will be extended from 2 weeks to 6 weeks for some renovations. So we will be off from June 6 to July 18! The winter closing (next year) will also be extended to 6 weeks from Nov. 7 to Dec. 19. Since our release date was Dec. 15, 2016, we will likely be released in early November. Maybe we'll do some travelling.

 November 5 (Thursday)

John had an appointment with the herbalist. He gave him a prescription of herbs to see if this would help keep his blood sugar in check. We were warned that it might smell up the apartment a bit. Right. It did have a distinct aroma. Flashback...I recall the smell from way back in my childhood. I don't know what the ingredient is, but I know I've smelled it before. It reminds me of my grandma's house.

I am so TOTALLY FRUSTRATED!!! I've been working on this blog for hours trying to fix the alignment. It's set for left alignment, but every time I preview, it shifts to "center". Ahhhhh! If anyone knows how to fix this problem, please let me know. The November 2 post is how it should be - left alignment. After that, everything went center.

November 6 (Friday)

Winding up another week. Only 15 days till families start arriving. There are so many things to see and do, we'll have to be very selective in what we can squeeze into a limited timetable.

This week we had a large number of members from Thailand come to the Temple. There were marriage and family sealings, many baptisms, and other ordinances performed for the people of Thailand.

Just two of the many Thai's with Elder and Sister Lee

November 7 (Saturday)

This evening there was a general meeting for our District Conference. That's the equivalent to Stake Conference except a district is made up of branches, not wards. Branches are smaller than wards. We heard from President Benjamin Tai, District President. He told of a small church that was along a busy highway. Outside of the church was a sign that read, "Honk if you love Jesus. Text and Drive if you want to meet Him." chuckle, chuckle. His message was on change, and how sometimes we need to make change even though it may be uncomfortable. Good changes are how we grow and become better people.

November 8 (Sunday)

We heard from President Maurice Lam today. He is the new mission president for the Hong Kong China Mission. He said that by next April, Hong Kong will have 6 Stakes and 2 Districts. That's pretty good since 40 years ago Hong Kong only had a few members. There are now 151 missionaries serving in the HK Mission, not including the senior missionaries. The work is progressing and more missionaries are being sent to this area.

Theme: "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before Go at the last day." D&C 4:2

There was a special meeting Sunday evening with Sis. Cheryl Esplin, 1st Counselor, General Primary Presidency and Sis. Neill Marriott 2nd Counselor, General Young Women Presidency. Presiding was Elder Gerrit Gong, Asia Area President. The most powerful part of the meeting was hearing the young primary girls and young women's choir. It was truly a choir of angels and brought tears to my eyes. There's nothing like music to touch the soul! They sang a medley of "I Know Jesus Loves Me" and "He Sent His Son", then finished with "If the Savior Stood Beside Me". Powerful!

The Wan Chai Chapel was packed to overflowing. As we were making our way through the crowd at the end of the conference, we saw President Gong, Asia Area President, in the lobby, so Sis. Bodily approached him and asked if we could take a picture with him. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera, but will post the picture  once I get it from Sis. Bodily. 

Below is a picture of the Church Headquarters Office Building in Wan Chai. That this building exists here is another miracle, a story which I will share once I get the details.