Just Another Week

February 22 (Monday)

With the month of February drawing to a close, the end of the Chinese New Year celebration is also approaching. The Temple Presidency invited all the Senior Temple Missionaries and office staff to a Korean BBQ Feast. What a spread! All kinds of raw meats and vegetables. You pick out what you want, then in the middle of your table, there is a BBQ grill that your cook your food on. There were all kinds of sauces and seasonings to add to your meal. It was really a test of how good a cook you were, making sure you had the proper ingredients to make a fabulous dish...or not, if you didn't know what you were doing. That would be me. Mine was pretty bland, as I wasn't very adventuresome.

Besides the uncooked items, they also had prepared foods like deep fried chicken drum sticks, french fried wedges, chicken nuggests, spring rolls, and all sorts of Korean style noodle dishes, a circulating sushi bar, hot and cold soups, a variety of desserts and ice cream. Well fed, we all waddled out! Thank you Temple Presidency for such a wonderful treat!

So many choices...

Bro. & Sis. Choi and Bro. & Sis. Chan - Temple Recorders

Pres. & Sis. Hui (2nd Counselor), Nora Chan 

Pres. & Sis. Yuen (1st Counselor), Pres. & Sis. Wong (Temple President)

Sister Yu - Secretary, Deb and Gary Bodily

 After we left the restaurant, we came across a lion dance...colourful and noisy. Quite often during the month, you will hear the drums beating throughout the city as the lion dances are performed at various businesses to bring good luck and prosperity.

At Tsim Sha Tsui, they had a display of "The Monkey King" a famous Chinese folk lore. This is the Monkey King's famous pose. Today was the day of the Lantern Festival, but because of the rain, we didn't go.

February 23 (Tuesday) 

Back to work. In the evening we went over to the Hathaways to do inventory on the things in their apartment. Contacted Tony Chan for items that were missing, cushions and router.


February 24 (Wednesday)

OAD. It seems like since I've been in Hong Kong, my hair has gotten thinner. I noticed that so many of the Chinese ladies have really, really, bad thinning hair. I wondered if it had something to do with the water or something causing it to be so prevalent. I decided to make an appointment with Advanced Hair Studio for a free hair analysis and consultation. They examined my scalp and showed me on a magnified screen how sparse my follicles are. I was told that through their hair restoration program, a combination of nutrition, special shampoo and serum, along with laser stimulation, they could rebuild, regrown, my thinning hair. I thought I would give it a try. He said I should be able to see improvement within 2-3 months. What have I got to loose?...except hair!


February 25 (Thursday)

This evening we met with Constance for a discussion with Elders Phung and White. Constance has come such a long ways since we first met him. From barely saying 2 words, to now having deep discussions on gospel topics, it's amazing to see the growth in him. He is really an intelligent young man and I can see him being an elder's quorum president some day.


February 26 (Friday)

I had a terrible sleep last night and woke up around 3:00 then again around 5:00 with an excruciating cramp in my right leg. I could barely stay awake in the sessions today. After supper, I laid down for a nap and woke up at midnight. So here it is 2:50 am and I have finally caught up on my blog! Yeah! But I better go to bed now. Still have to work tomorrow. Can't believe how this week has just flown by.

February 27 (Saturday)

We had a group of about 124 people come to the Temple yesterday so we held some extra sessions. Most of them were here for leadership training. It's so rewarding to see the growth in the Church.

After a long day, we decided to go out for dinner with the Bodily's. Everyone else had other plans. Shirley had told us about a huge food court sort of place at the Dragon Centre, so we thought we would try it out. We walked in, walked around, and then walked out. Not the kind of place we wanted to eat at...crowded, stuffy, unclean, unappetizing. So we walked around a bit and found a lovely restaurant called Cafe Med. So much nicer. Clean, comfortable atmosphere, friendly staff and great food. I had a AAA Canadian sirloin streak...yummy, tender, tasty, and it came with real french fries! It was a winner. Rating: 8.5.

February 28 (Sunday)

Today Elder and Sister Coffey spoke as this was their second last Sunday before they return home. It's always a bitter sweet time for missionaries. Happy to be going home, but sad to leave the many friends they have made over their time here. They have been incredible teachers for many classes. John and I will be taking over the Self Reliance Class. It's a very interesting class and I'm actually looking forward to getting more involved with it.

A couple of weeks ago, I handed out a form to all the sisters in which I wanted to collect information about them so I could compile a sort of yearbook. I'm hoping to interview them all and get a little life history of each sister. I did my first interview today. It is so emotional to hear this sister's story of her life. I was thinking of titling the book, "Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs". I look forward to my next interview. Each sister has such amazing stories to tell.

Only 14 weeks until we come home for a 6 week summer break while the Temple is under renovations.

Life's a SCREAM!

February 15 (Monday)

Today's adventure takes us to Ocean Park. It's a blend of Disneyland and Sea World sort of. They have some great roller coasters which the Burdett's really enjoyed. Just a little too wild for John and me. We took in what we thought was a mild roller coaster, but actually turned out to be quite a thriller. Shane thought it rather funny that I was screaming my head off! Actually, screaming just adds to the thrill of the ride.Right? We also went of the wild rapids type ride, and I was targeted and got drenched from shooters above. We walked around a lot and looked at some animals. We only saw one panda sleeping, one koala bear, a wallaby, some seals, sharks, penguins...they were really cute! lots of different fishes and some creapy crawlies. I'm not a big animal fan, so that was plenty for me. It was a cool, rainy day.

"The Hair Raiser"

School of fish? Looks more like a university.

Look at me...I'm a jelly fish!

Muscles...I can do this!

My favorite fish - red crowns - weird.

The wannabe Kung Fu Panda

 

After a day at Ocean Park it was time for supper. We went to the Mongolian BBQ Grill buffet. We were all hungry. Jaxson, who doesn't eat much, made himself 2 pizzas and enjoyed every bite, along with a bowl of pasta. We all had our fill too, going back numerous times. M-m-m good!

His own pizza creation.

 February 16 (Tuesday)

Yikes! A call first thing this morning from Bishop Burdett. The plumbing in their apartment was backing up. Yuck! I immediately called maintenance, and fortunately they were able to fix the problem quickly.

John and I had to work today, So they went out on their own to Stanley Market. They got home in time to come to the Temple for the 4:00 session. After we went out to dinner in Sham Shui Po to the famous noodle place. The mushrooms were divine! We then crossed the street to our favorite Chinese style dessert place, hot sesame sweet soup, sago, almond dow foo, tapioca with taro and mango...and banana split! I'll have to find out the English names of these places.

February 17 (Wednesday)

Saving the best for the last...Disneyland! The Burdett's spent the day in Disneyland while we worked the early shift.  We had eaten out every night since they have been here, so I decided I'd make a home cooked meal. With my fancy cooking skills, I managed to throw together ... TACOS! It was a nice change from Chinese food.

After dinner, this being their last night in Hong Kong, there was still so much to see and do. We still wanted them to experience the Star Ferry, riding a Ding Ding, and see the Lazer show at Tsim Sha Tsui, which we managed to do all in one evening. Mission accomplished.

Hong Kong at night - Victoria Harbour

On the Star Ferry

Just off the Ding Ding

The Lazer Show beginning at the Clock Tower

February 18 (Thursday)

I'm kinda sad the Burdett's will be leaving today. We've had such a great time with them here. Our final activity took us across Hung Hom Bay on the North Point Ferry to Tai Koo for dim sum at Maxim's. We had called Auntie May Soo to join us, but there was no answer. We knew she ate there often, and sure enough, when we got there and looked around, there she was just sitting across the room from us. So we had her move to our table.

Finally, a dim sum meal before heading home.

Jaxson, Shane, John, Mike, Sharon, May Soo, Judy

Back to the apartment to pack up. Down to catch the taxi to the airport. 10 days in Hong Kong just flew by. So glad Bishop and his family were able to come. Thank you for the visit and thank you to our Park Meadows family for the beautiful dragon and phoenix tapestry, signed with all their well wishes. We love you all.

Homeward Bound

See you soon.

Phoenix on the left, Dragon on the right. Signed by members of our Park Meadows Ward. Thanks! Love you all!

February 19 (Friday)

Since John and I are in charge of preparing the apartments for new incoming temple missionaries, we had to get the unit cleaned and prepped for the Hathaway's arrival on Saturday. All the temple missionaries made a contribution to their food supply so they have something to get started with. The cleaning company was supposed to be in the clean on Friday morning, but when we checked on Friday evening, it still hadn't been cleaned!


February 20 (Saturday)

Because we had to work early, I couldn't get a hold of the cleaning company till after we got home. Again, we checked the apartment, and it still hadn't been cleaned. I'm was starting to get very annoyed. I called again and ended up on the phone for almost an hour trying to get some satisfactory answer as to why the place wasn't cleaned. The conversation went back and forth till finally I demanded that the supervisor come check the apartment, and I was not going to hang up the phone until she showed up at the door! This is out of character for me, but the Hathaway's were due to arrive in 2 hours, and I needed it be cleaned immediately! Besides that, the cleaning had been prepaid. Well, sometimes, you just have to be tough and hold your ground. The cleaning crew showed up with the supervisor, and the place was cleaned.

The Hathaway's flight was delayed, and they didn't arrive till about 11:00 pm. It was great to have them here, safe and sound. Being so late, we quickly made introductions, got them up to their apartment. They had served a temple mission here 2 years ago, so they were very familiar with most everything. That made things very easy.

Left to Right: Chans, Wongs, Hathaways, Rancie, Ngais, Bodilys, Nora, Lees

Elder and Sister Hathaway from California, USA

February 21 (Sunday)

We had to go to church early today to sit in on the Self Reliance Class that we will be taking over teaching when the Coffey's finish their mission in March. As I sat through this class, I received a testimony of this wonderful, inspired program that the church has created to help people become self reliant by starting their own business. The Filipino sisters in this class have been so dedicated to the program, it was so heartwarming to see. Being the 3rd Sunday of the month, we had a branch dinner. I love Pen. 3. It's such a great little branch. Funny how "great" and "little" can describe the same thing. The Jacinto family which moved into a family ward, have been back every week. They aren't enjoying their new ward. Maybe they'll just come back "home". I hope so, then we'll get our primary back.

John, Judy, Shannon, Rowena, Rommell, Gillian, Megan 

Fun With the Burdett's

February 8 (Monday)

This week's blog is a memory test. I had 4 days of blogging written out. Then my computer froze and crashed! AWWW!?*&#!

Today is New Year's Day and we went for Dim Sum with Auntie May Soo and family. We got there early and the place filled quickly and was soon packed. There were red envelopes floating all over the place. Auntie was very generous. She was passing them out left and right to all the waiters, waitresses and hostess, as well as family.

It wouldn't be Chinese New Year without the little Red Envelopes.

After lunch we decided to go shopping because Ernest, Agatha's husband, said they had a great sale on at Mark and Spencer's. Steven decided he would accompany us. He loves to shop too. It was very interesting shopping with him. He would examine each piece of clothing I was interested in and tell me whether it was good quality of not. Steven is in the textile business and knows a lot about quality and make of clothes. He says he's not a fashion consultant, but he does know what the fashion trends are. It was great to have this time with him to get to know him better. During our previous dinners, he didn't speak very much. I ended up buying 2 pairs of pants and 2 tops from the M&S spring collection.

Welcome to the Chinese New Year Parade by Cathay Pacific

After waiting in line for 5 hours for parade tickets, today is the day, we see if it was worth it. We headed out to the staging area around 6:00 pm to avoid the crowd. At first I was disappointed with our seats since they were at the end of the row, not in the middle. But as it turned out, it was great because there was a big screen right in front of us, and we had a perfect clear unobstructed view. Also, we could see each act as it came up to the starting gate.

The MC's were very good, but had a hard time getting the crowd to respond. I think it was the reserve side of the Chinese people, who unlike American's get into it and whoop it up. We tried to get a wave going. The people behind us tried to join in and thought it was fun, but beyond that, no one else really got it. Oh well...show time...

Everyone who had bought tickets for the special viewing gallery also received a bag of goodies from some of the sponsors. One fun thing in everyone's bag was a flashing  laser glow stick. It would change colours and flash on and off or just be still on one colour. At one point, I noticed that everyone's stick was green. How did that happen? Then they were all blue? Apparently, someone had control of the sticks and could change the colour of everyone's stick. Oooo ... very eerie ... that we were being controlled!

Lots of Colour. Lots of Music. Lots of Dancing. Great Floats. Great Friends. A Fun Night!


February 9 (Tuesday)

Bishop Burdett, Sharon, Shane and Jaxson arrived Monday evening. They were staying in the Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon. It's sort of out of the area that we are in, so we were able to get them into Harbourfront. It's much roomier, modern and convenient. I'm so excited to have them visiting us. It may take a few days to get their sleep pattern adjusted.

We gave them a quick orientation on how to catch the shuttle and where it goes to. Rode it down to TST, walked around for about 1/2 hour, then rode the shuttle back.

Shuttle cards in hand

Harbour City decorated in Peaches, symbol of longevity

President and Sister Funk, the Asia Area President, were hosting a pot luck dinner for all the senior missionary couples. They live in the Church Headquarters building in Wan Chai. The Burdetts were invited to join us. It was a wonderful meal. Afterwards, we all went up to the balcony to watch the New Years Fireworks. Got a great view, and didn't have to fight the crowds.

We had taken the bus through the cross harbour tunnel to get to Wan Chai, but decided to take the MTR back so the Burdetts could see how the Octopus Card and subway system works. They caught on real fast.


February 10 (Wednesday)

Today is the 3rd day of the New Year, and is considered a statutory holiday so the Temple is open 1/2 day. Attendance was sparse for the first 2 sessions, but the next 3 were almost full. The Burdett's went to The Peak while we were at the Temple. The lineup to ride the tram was 2-3 hours, so they decided to hike up. Had a great clear day to view the city from above. Then hiked down.

Cafe de Corel - great artificial shark fin soup!

We met up for dinner at Cafe de Corel at Ladies Market, then explored this famous marketplace. Shane was excited when he saw all the runners stores. He also picked up a backpack for his mission and some ties. Jaxson purchased a sword. It was getting late, and we still hadn't made it through the whole market, but they planned to return another day.

A Temple Day with the Burdett's

February 11 (Thursday)

Bishop, Sharon and Shane came to the Temple today. We got to do the session all together. Tonight's excursion took us to the Temple Street Market. It's similar to Ladies Market, but a little smaller. Jaxson bought a drone. Sharon and I bought a little wooden carved jewelry box. There were a ton of food vendors along the street, and they were packed to overflowing. Apparently, it's a great place to eat, but we couldn't find seating anywhere. So we decided to go back to Hung Hom to a nice little restaurant by out complex. Food was good and reasonable.and it wasn't packed. Kinda nice to eat in a nicer environment.

Temple Street Market entrance

Crowded eating area - no place to sit.

Dressed for New Years

February 12 (Friday)

The Burdetts went out exploring on their own since we were working the late shift. They went to see the 10,000 Buddah's and IKEA. Nice combination. They just happen to be in the same area. After we got home, we decided to go for dinner at Food Opera, the food court in the MOKO Mall. It's a great place with lots of variety, all Asian fare. No McDonald's or KFC here.

Kung Fu Pandas at the MOKO Mall 

Bishop came to our place after to print out some temple cards since they planned on coming to do baptisms in the morning. Then he had a look at my computer. Really, not anything seriously wrong with it, just the person operating it. Dah...

Dreaming...

February 13 (Saturday)
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All the Burdetts came to do baptisms. It was wonderful! Shane got to perform his first baptisms and Jaxson was the proxy. How memorable to be able to do it in the Hong Kong Temple!

The afternoon was taken up by getting groceries and resting before the "big" dinner. Bishop had received a huge credit from the Regal Oriental Hotel to eat in their restaurant when he cancelled their reservation there. So he treated us to an all you can eat seafood buffet at their restaurant. They had an amazing variety of foods. We really felt like VIP's there because the manager just kept checking on us to see if everything was OK. He wanted to give us complimentary wine during our  meal. When we turned down the offer, he made up a couple of gift bags of wine and tried to send it home with us. He couldn't believe we would turn it down. I think he was trying to win back their business. They even bought us a platter of lobsters!

L O B S T E R S ! ! !

I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

Just 2 more to go...I'm working on it!

All fed up. We lost our appetite (haha). We rode a double decker bus #15 there and back. It was nice to see the city from the top deck and had a much better view than riding the MTR.

 February 14 (Sunday)

Happy Valentine's Day! Church Day. It was great to have the Burdett's join us for Church. We are so short of priesthood holders. It was great to have Shane bless the sacrament and Jaxson pass the sacrament. We all went to the Gospel Principles class. There were 4 investigators. So exciting to share the gospel.

Of course, eating days at church are supposed to be the 1st and 3rd Sunday. But as usual, Janet Obuono, planned a special meal today. On the Chinese calendar, it is the 7th day of the new year and is the day that everyone's birthday is celebrated. That's a new one to me. Anyways, another super spread and it definitely beat the tacos that I was planning for supper.

Our 15 course meal.

It's not fancy dining, but it sure tastes great!

After we got home, Shane and Jaxson decided to just chill out. Bishop and Sharon came over for dessert (almond jelly and fruit). Then we watched the Isaiah Prophesy. End of another great week.