The Thai's are Coming...The Thai's are Coming

May 9 (Monday)

Today there was an outing planned to go visit a fishing village and go on a boat ride. However, at 2:00 a.m. I had to make a quick dash to the bathroom. And then again, and again, and again. Guess we'll have to cancel. I didn't think it would be a very good idea to be on a boat, and not have access to a bathroom when needed. We stayed home all day and by evening, all was well and we decided to venture out to Ladies Market to do more shopping for gifts to take back home.


May 10 (Tuesday)

With Elder and Sister Lee going home soon, their responsibility over patron housing has been handed over to us. Patron housing is the housing facility available to people coming to the Temple from out of town. They will have a bedroom, bathroom, and access to a common kitchen facility. It's right across the street from the Temple, so is convenient for them. The building also houses the Hong Kong Mission office and distribution centre and chapel. It will be our responsibility to give an orientation to those who use the housing. We look forward to this since we will get to meet with all the visitors from Mongolia, Thailand, India, Cambodia, and anywhere else in the world who come to the Temple. This week we had 2 from India and 36 from Thailand and 2 from North Carolina/Singapore.


Some of the members from Thailand - I love this sweet little poi poi in the wheelchair. She's so precious!

May 11 (Wednesday)

With the large group from Thailand, it was necessary to run 2 extra sessions today. There were also 15 new endowment patrons. These people are so dedicated. Two of the sisters were in wheelchairs. One was in an accident so the wheelchair is temporary. The other was an elderly sister, probably around 90 years old. She was such a sweet old lady. She had a "perma-grin" and was always smiling and with palms together, always bowing in gratitude. So sweet. Even at her age, she still managed to do 2 sessions each day.

After a very busy day, we got home and I went for a swim to cool off. Then off to get some groceries.


May 12 (Thursday)

Again, 2 extra sessions had to be run to accommodate all the patrons. I suspect that will be the case all week.

Today is also moving day for Jade and Mike. Finally, after much back and forth negotiating, things were finally finalized. They have a lovely new home in Saratoga Springs, Utah. We look forward to seeing it next month.


May 13 (Friday)

For some Friday the 13th is a bad luck day, but in our family, it is Good Luck. Happy birthday to my brother Byron, and to John's brother Steve.

I went for my morning swim, but my tachycardia kicked in and I cut my swim short. Good thing it didn't last long.

A former student of John's (Tonya Thomson) came to pick up their son (Elder James Holmes) from his mission in Singapore/Malaysia. They planned to travel a bit before heading back home to North Carolina where they now live. They stopped by Hong Kong to visit the Temple. After our shift, we took them out to dinner at a Korean BBQ Restaurant, then a quick tour of Ladies Market and Tsim Sha Tsui. It was a fun evening. I was so impressed with James...what a wonderful, outgoing, charming young man. I know he was an awesome missionary, and is still in missionary mode as he stopped people in the market and just struck up conversations with them so easily.

Korean BBQ with Tonya (Thomson) Holmes &  (Elder) James Holmes

Shrimp, Sausage, Steak, Pork, Bacon, Chops

Grillin' N' Chillin'

 

Of course, it is Friday the 13th, so it wouldn't be complete with a little bad luck...well, not bad luck, but sad news to hear that the Lee's will be heading home next Wednesday, 2 weeks sooner than anticipated. June's mother is not doing well. She's 92. We will certainly miss them, but they will return at the end of October as the new Temple President and Matron just in time to release us in November.


May 14 (Saturday)

It's been a great week. With the Thai people and the couple from India, they made it very special for us. They are such great examples of dedication. We really felt their spirit.

Every time we go up the escalator at the Central MTR station, we see this mouth watering ad with a picture of BBQ ribs. So tonight, we decided to treat ourselves to a rib dinner at the Spaghetti House. It was not disappointing. We had each ordered the rib dinner, but when they brought out our meal, they only brought out one platter. It was huge! John and I looked at each other and John inquired, "Is this just one order? We ordered two, one for each of us." Still looking at the platter in front of us, I said, "I think one is enough for both of us." The waitress was very good and figured it would be, enough for both of us so she put in the order for one. Yummeee!

Since we had just had a wonderful meal, we decided to make it a formal date night. We strolled down the street to the newly renovated theatre and watched "Captain America - Civil War". Lots of action, some comic relief thanks to Spiderman, and super graphics.

May 15 (Sunday)

Happy Birthday, Molly! Hope you have a wonderful relaxing day. You deserve it!

Today we attended the Regional Broadcast at Wan Chai from Salt Lake. It was for the Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan area. President Gong, Presidency of the Seventies, Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Robert Gay of the Seventies, and Sister Marriott of the YW presidency were the speakers. It feels just a little more personal now to hear President Gong speak, having met him a couple of times. It was mentioned that church membership in Hong Kong is now around 24,000, and in Taiwan it is around 57,000. A good start, but still a long ways to go.