Happy Birthday!

We start off this week on a very sad note. One of the members of the Victoria First Ward, Phillip Merrill, was killed while riding his bike on the street here a week ago. He and his wife were living here while he headed up the Asia Coca Cola division. Because they were the age of many of the missionaries and worked with many of us as a councilor in the Philippine Branch we all knew him. He loved to ride and would go out every morning on his road bike. While riding a week or ago Friday, he was hit by a mini-bus going at high speed. After many surgeries and after his kids were all flown in by Coca Cola he passed away early this week.

This is a picture taken of all the Senior Sisters at their scripture study this week. It was included with a card containing each of their messages for Sister Merrill.

Hornswoggled again, this is our choir director with the Golden Plate singers. We traveled out to the New Territories (outside the city) for our final choir  workshop. Here Lilian is teaching us how to sound out some of the words since this song was to be sung in Mandarin. Truth is, these workshops were a delightful way to hang out with members and to be introduced to some beautiful Chinese music and culture.

This very sweet girl spoke in our ward this morning. She recently returned from her mission in the UK. She was so excited to see a senior missionary couple that she ran up to us right after the meeting was over. Turns out she is going to BYU Hawaii at the end of the summer. Another good reason to get back to my old stomping grounds when we get home.

Right after church today we had a ward lunch and dessert to celebrate everyone's birthday over the last couple of months. We took pictures of this cake because it was going to go fast. It is the most delicious mango cake I've ever tasted. Light, not too sweet, filled with mango bits and cake. The woman who baked this knows I love mangos and that it was my birthday tomorrow so she took me to the front of the line to cut me a couple of pieces.

This is a brother and sister in our ward. He is in the bishopric and she is the RS President and mother of the two young women Mom teaches in YW. Two outstatanding people who have been so kind to us. 
The thing we loved about discovering that they were siblings was the realization that family compounds exist in China too!

This is the mother of the brother and sister in the prior photo. She loves Mom because she is teaching her two grand-daughters in Young Women. We see her in the temple (she is a temple worker) every Wednesday night. She speaks no english and Mom speaks no chinese. But they love to hug each other. The international language of love.

And this is the baker of the mango cakes. Her son helps me translate my SS lessons and we have become pretty good friends. He also works in our building and his mom baked us a vanilla chiffon cake with chocolate chunks in it and brought it to our office last Friday.

So tonight Char and I were sitting down after dinner and reading when I heard some noice outside our door and then the door-bell rang. I went to open the door and there stood Cindy, Michael (one of our ping pong buddies), and the Smiths. Unbeknownst to me, right after church,  Cindy got on a train that took her over the border into Mainland China into the city of Shenzen just to pick up a special cake she had ordered for me. It is covered with fresh fruit (dragon fruit, strawberries, grapes, and mangos). She ordered it yesterday and it was supposed to be delivered to her by a courier this afternoon. But the delivery got messed up so she jumped on the train herself, traveled for an hour out and over the border, got a taxi to this special bakery, and turned around and took the train back into HK. Needless to say, I was very surprised and the cake was so delicious.

It has been a remarkable week for the work I continue to do. I have been very involved in the acquisition of a property for a future temple. I've been able to work with some wonderful people and have  seen the hand of the Lord in this project over and over again. I was with 7-8 very faithful members on a zoom call the late Friday night working through the details on the necessary government registrations and permits. After I hung up from the call, I reflected on the blessing it is for me to be involved with these people from a country I don't know well, and to be a part of building the kingdom here with them. At the end of the call, I fell on my knees thanking my Heavenly Father for this sacred opportunity.

Well, Mom is already in bed so I should get going. We love and miss all of you so much. You are always in our prayers.

Love you, Dad/Grandpa and Mom/Grandma