Food, Fabric, Friends, Fun, Filipinos, and FAMILY

November 16 (Monday)

Brother and Sister Pun who are local temple workers took all the Temple missionaries out for dim sum lunch today at the Star of Canton Restaurant. I must say, this was the best dim sum we've had since we've been here. I wanted to bring the family here when they come, but found out that today is the last day the restaurant will be open. They did not renew their lease. They do have 2 other locations but I don't know if they are as good...depends on the cooks.

Went out exploring again after lunch before heading over to Wan Chai to cut material for our service project of making 1000 blankets to give away to various charities in Hong Kong. We have about half the needed fabric cut. That's a whole lot of blankets!

Though we all stuffed ourselves at lunch, by 8:00 when we finished cutting, it was time to eat again. Sister Chamberlain took us to a wonderful little Turkish Donair streetside eatery. Another winner...it was great food!

November 17 (Tuesday)

Looks like we'll be spending quite a bit of time at Wan Chai as the Christmas event gets closer. We had another meeting tonight. So many little details to work out. The gift bags are being printed with John's design. They look great. MC's, ushers, tech personnel, caterers, etc. etc. are being lined up.  So many people are needed to put together this event.

3000 gift bags are being made and stuffed with a sample CD of Wayne's music,
The Proclamation of the Family and The Living Christ

November 18 (Wednesday)

We met with Sis. Chamberlain and Sis. Orton today to buy ribbon for the 1000+ blankets we're making. What a fun day shopping for fabric at Shum Shui Po! It was fabric heaven...I can't believe the endless bolts of fabric, street after street! A sewers paradise! Not only did we find a smokin' deal on gold ribbon, but we also found fabric for costumes: angels, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and wisemen. Most of the fabric ranged from $1.70 - $3.40 per yard CAD!

I'm so glad that I've been able to be involved with this whole Christmas project. So much fun! The costumes are for an interactive nativity. Children as well as adults will be able to dress up and perform the nativity as part of our Christmas celebration. There will also be Christmas displays of nativities (creche), caroling and cookies, the live nativity and a Christmas Eve program. Wayne will start off the month long celebration with concerts on Dec. 4 and 5.

Blue for #1 Wiseman...

Measure and Cut...

Purple for #2 Wiseman...

Green for #3 WiseWoman...complete with a Gold Turban...N-i-i-i-c e......

November 19 (Thursday)

Edward Lee, John's distant cousin which we connected with through doing genealogy work, was in Hong Kong today. He's from Highland, Utah. We met him in the Temple, then went out to dinner. His life story and John's life story are both so similar as were many others during that era of the Communist Revolution. It was good to get to know him better. He had just come from a visit to his home village in Taisan, where he was trying to get more family history. He was able to find some gravestones of his ancestors.

Edward Lee and John Chan - cousins from 14 generations back 

It's all about the food, always eating.

November 20 (Friday)

Went for a haircut this morning. My hairdresser had moved.We spent half an hour trying to find out where the new shop was. The girl on the phone was very much lacking in directional  communication skills. After being hung up on several times, and instead of telling us go here, turn there, go up, go down, find such and such a street, etc, etc...all she needed to say was, "We're behind the Mercedes Benz dealership." Clear and simple. It would have taken us less than 5 minutes instead of half an hour!

Since it was our OAD, we decided to go back to Shum Shui Po. John had left our sample blanket at the "ribbon lady's" store. When we got there, she was all excited that we had returned. She said she tried to chase after us when she realized we had left the blanket behind, but couldn't catch us.

There were some interesting people at Shum Shui Po. When we first came out of the MTR exit we saw this old man sleeping with his blanket over his head. Later, we saw him awake and eating his lunch. The other guy was standing on his head. There's a timer beside his pouch telling you how long he had been there. I don't know how long he stayed like that.

We walked by a Chinese Buddhist Temple on our travels...there were alters of worship all throughout. Is this what they are referring to when they speak of worshipping false idols?

Later we met up with Edward and had dinner with him before he left for the airport to fly back to the U.S.


November 21 (Saturday) 

Happy Birthday, Wayne. We'll see you in a few days and then we'll celebrate. We went grocery shopping to load up on odds and ends for the influx of company coming. It seemed so far away, then suddenly, it's here! So looking forward to the next couple of weeks.


November 22 (Sunday)

Today is another special quarterly Sunday opening at the Temple for the Filipino domestic workers. It's so unique. The Hong Kong Temple is the only LDS Temple in the world that opens on Sunday. Because there are so many members of the church who are domestic workers and don't have any days off except Sunday, this gives them the opportunity to go to the Temple at least once each quarter. What a blessing for those who can attend. It was a very emotional day for many of the sisters. One sister said she had waited 19 years for this day to come. With eyes full of tears and hearts full of emotion, we all felt of the love our Heavenly Father has for all his children.

Quick, quick, hurry, hurry...gotta get home, the Goodman's will be soon arriving. Everything was running late at the Temple and I was getting anxious because I wanted to be home before they arrived, so we caught a taxi home. Around 7:15 someone was at my back...Jade! Where did you come from and where is everyone else? She had hopped off the bus as he pulled into the hotel, but the rest of the crew stayed on while he turned around to park and unload the bus.

Me and my JJ

So glad to see the grandkids!

  

Here at last after a 2 day journey.

So this is food storage?

First meal in HK - Spaghetti!!

Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite...oh don't even go there! Tomorrow the fun begins!

"9/11" "11/11" "The 11th Hour..." "The 11:11 Phenominum"

Catching up with photos as we rode home yesterday from Church Conference...

The famous Star Ferry from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui

HK Convention Centre and IFC Tower

Star Ferry Pier with ICC Sky 100 tower - 7th highest building in the world. 

Just a small sampling of the Hong Kong Skyline.

Ngai's, Lee's, Bodily's, Sister Concepcion, Chan's

November 9 (Monday)

Nothing like getting your exercise by walking, and that's just what we did today. I walked to the market to get groceries for FHE. Walked home pulling 50 pounds of groceries. Walked to the shuttle to catch it to Tsim Sha Tsui. Walked to the MTR. Transfered trains. Got off and walked to the exit (the wrong one). And that's where all the real walking began. We were looking for my "dishes" store, but because we came out at the wrong exit, we couldn't find it. Walked up and down the streets trying to find something that looked familiar. Walked in circles and circled around again.

We finally gave up on trying to find it, so decided to go to the Wan Chai street vendors market. Here we go again. Up and down the streets, round, and round, looking for where it was. I know it was just across the street from the MTR exit...but which exit?! Retrace our way back to the MTR, go back inside, find a map to locate the market and find the correct exit. Ta Da! Finally, after walking around for over an hour, we finally found the market.

Up and down the streets of vendors...fresh fruit, fresh fish (poor little fishies were just flaying out of water. I could just feel them suffocating.) clothes, shoes, handbags, socks, scarves, linens, underwear, kids clothing, trinkets, "hole in the wall" eating places, street food, pastries, and lots of other stuff. This is a real fun place to explore.

We hosted FHE tonight and showed the video "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" by Jonathan Cahn, one of my favorite documentaries relating to Bible prophecy and 9/11, an ancient mystery that foretells America's future. Is America following in the footsteps of ancient Israel with a spirit of defiance against God leading to increasingly severe judgments? Wow, this is powerful and thought provoking.

We showed it in the Clubhouse Theatre in our apartment complex. Then everyone came to our place for refreshments. I made a fruit salad with almond jelly, and had phylo style almond bars which we bought during our travels today. Both were a hit, the video and the refreshments.

November 10 (Tuesday)

Nothing too exciting to report so I'll share a quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

"The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear."

With the opening of the new "Star Wars" movie coming next month, I'm reminded of the conflict between good and evil, between the light side and the dark side. The battle between good and evil goes back long before our journey here on earth began. All of us here chose the white jersey team. However, somewhere along the line, some decided to go to the "dark side". We will pray for them, and like Luke Skywalker, never give up hope, that they will have enough of a spark of light within to return to the Light.

Never give up?

November 11 (Wednesday)

Today is Remembrance Day, 11/11. Let us pause, even if just for a moment, to pay tribute to all those who fought and sacrificed for our freedom. Each day we can count our many blessings and cherish the thing which is one of the greatest treasures of this life. Freedom--we fought for it in our premortal existence, we will fight for it here and now. In remembrance, thank you to all the freedom fighters
and their families.

We took the Rancie's shopping at the wet market and introduced them to our favorite meet vendors.

The Pork Lady

The Beef Guy

November 12 (Thursday)

Today's post is bought to you by numbers:

      6 - shifts left before the Temple break
      7 - days until cousin Edward Lee arrives
    10 - days until the Goodman family arrives
    12 - days until the Burton family and brother-in-law Victor arrive
    25 - days until the Temple re-opens
    42 - days until Christmas
    43 - weeks left of Temple work (not including the 6 week summer break and 6 week winter break)

So much to do, so little time. I just got a call from Sister Mendoza, a young sister missionary. She and her companion saw Phoenix tonight and had a brief visit with her. They reported to me that she looked really good (last time she was not feeling well), and was happy to see them. They will meet with her again tomorrow. Slow progress is better than no progress. Hope all goes well.

One couple from India - first time to the Temple with Sis. & Elder Lee

I met another sister from the US. She is serving in India on a photography mission. She came to escort another Indian sister who came to the Temple before leaving on her mission. She is documenting her travels from India to Hong Kong through photos. How cool is that!


November 13 (Friday)

After an unusually slow day at the Temple, we decided to grab some supper with the Rancie's. We went to MOKO, a nice mall connected to the MTR at Mong Kok. There's a food court there call the "Food Opera", lots and lots of choices. It's clean, bright, and fresh with plenty of seating space.

November 14 (Saturday)

I was really tired after work today, so I came home for a nap. John decided to go shopping. He saw an advertisement for "lup cheung" chinese sausage, buy 2 get 1 free. I don't know if it was such a great deal, as it came to $450.00 HKD for 3 packages, that's $25.00 CAD each! I can buy a package at home for less than $5.00. These better taste fantastic is all I can say!

Sad, sad day for the world as ISIS strikes again, this time in Paris. What's this world coming to? Another sign of the times, wars and rumors of war, as prophesied in the scriptures. How much more wickedness must we endure?

However, no matter how bad things get, we are admonished to "be of good cheer". There is still much in this world that is good and we must fight for that goodness. You can kill humans, but you cannot kill the human spirit. Hold fast to your faith. Have hope and charity. We have much to be thankful for.

We are in the 11th hour...the final countdown. Oh how I look forward the His second coming, when the Savior will come to rule and reign personally in righteousness; all wickedness will end; and peace will return as the earth is renewed and receives its paradisiacal glory!


November 15 (Sunday)

Another farewell. Elder and Sister Crocket are heading home. They were communications missionaries. I'm not sure what that all involved. Their home is in San Diego. It's a revolving door when it comes to missionaries, they come, they go. The one thing in common is that they all love serving their mission. Such a great experience.

Elder Tom and Sister Cori Crockett 

A farewell song for Elder and Sister Crockett

 
   
         

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.