Ping Pong With My Heart
From my journal, Sunday morning, July 9:
I'm sitting in a regional conference right now listening to a Chinese choir sing "How Firm a foundation," and I feel like God is playing ping pong with my heart.
Thirty minutes ago I was watching my grandkids on Zoom while they performed their annual reunion dance program. I was overwhelmed with love and joy as I watched, and my heart was so pulled to Bear Lake it hurt. I wanted to be there so badly. I had to remind myself--again--that being on the other side of the world was the right and good thing, but in that moment I wondered if there was any greater joy than being with my family.
But now, an hour later I find myself in this special regional conference where the whole congregation knows that the church is going to be reorganized to adjust to the strong out migration due to COVID and the political unrest. This is a step backward in growth and is a sad day. And yet, as the choir began to sing my heart was over run with the spirit and with joy and I felt my heart swell with love, strength and testimony. These faithful saints don't look like me or my ward or family at home, their challenges are different and sometimes heartbreaking, but they are deliberately and spiritually trying to follow God. If I had stayed home my love for the gospel would stay wrapped in a Wasatch Front version of God's love, and would not know like I know now, that the gospel truly is for everyone of Gods children. We are all the same, there really is only one faith, one god, and one way. And most importantly Gods love is the same everywhere.
My heart is stretched here. I am so grateful this morning for technology that allowed me to be at the reunion for a few moments, but I am grateful for my mission that allows me to witness these real saints, making real sacrifices, and facing unique and very real challenges with real faith.
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So, another week has come and gone, the weeks seem to be piling up. So much so that we are nearly 1/3 of the way through our time here. We've been so busy, as always. And as we go to bed tonight Hong Kong is preparing for a potential typhoon. The weather is already rating it as a category 3 and they are expecting to raise it to a category 8 sometime tonight. We've already been given instructions on staying home from the office till the weather is stable.
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| They have taped up all the glass on the lower floor of our building |
| And they have barricades against large expanses of glass. It's all an effort to protect the windows from flying debris. As much as I love big weather events the predicted ones rarely turn into something amazing so I'm not expecting much! Stay tuned!  |
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| I keep meaning to include this picture in a letter. When we moved into this office this wall was covered with old calendar pictures of church things. When Kelsey did her lesson on Elder Oak's talk and shared with us her picture file, I printed all these up and hung them instead. Not only do Dad and I love them, but virtually everyone who walks in our office stops and studies the wall and loves it too. Everyone has their own favorite and we have lot's of fun conversations. So thank you Kelsey! |
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| Remember the music "workshop" we got hornswoggled into last week? Well, it's a 4 part event and we were there again this week. There were only 6 of us that went this time because the others didn't want to be hornswoggled again, but honestly, it's the most entertaining thing we could have done on a Friday night. We laughed and laughed sang our hearts out. |
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| The absurdity of it never ended, starting with this as our music. Only a music major would understand how this is actually music notes! You have to think of the Sound of Music song "Do Re Mi;" Do is #1, Re is #2, Mi is #3 and so on. This song is in E flat major so E Flat is #1 and you go from there. Se here we were, trying to read the music in numbers and the words in Chinese! It was ridiculously difficult! To be totally honest, we were not excited when we realized there was another "workshop" to go to, but we knew that the senior couples had been the whole show the week before and we didn't have the heart to have this group of singers show up to no one, so we went. And we haven't stopped laughing since. We will definitely go again. (Google "The Moon Represents My Heart" to hear the song we're learning. There is even a rendition by Bon Jovi!!) |
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| It's been a big week with Cindy this week. She played ping pong Tuesday and Thursday with us and then on Friday we had another dinner and missionary lesson with Michael and Coco. Because we're all ping pongers, we all go to these lessons. Cindy too, although she has been being taught on her own by the sister missionaries. The lesson was focused on Michael and Coco and their daughter Jenny, but at one point someone asked Cindy what she thought about this and she quietly said, "I think I know for sure I want to be baptized." She said it quietly and the lesson just moved on. After a minute I put my arm around her to give her a little squeeze and she grabbed my hand and leaned in to me and sat like that the rest of the lesson. Dad snapped this silly picture then. |
This afternoon as we were leaving church I received a text from the Sister missionaries who have been teaching Cindy saying that she was in her baptismal interview right then and that she was planning on being baptized next Sunday because her mother would be in town! We're so happy! She has come to this on her own. We've answered questions, attended lessons, read the Book of Mormon with her, but we've worked real hard to not pressure or push her. This is all her.
After getting this surprise text from the missionaries I invited Cindy over for some dessert tonight. She volunteered to cook for us and made us some delicious Chinese soup with prawns (which she bought live at the market and they were still wiggling when she dumped them in the boiling water!)
Soup making:
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| Washing the cauliflower |
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| Teaching me about the soup base she uses |
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| Prawns on their way to the pot of boiling water |
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| Dinner! And yes, that's another copy of the picture of the grandkids. When we received that picture we printed two copies on the biggest paper our office copier uses. We've posted on at the office and one here at home. This way they are never far away and we eat dinner with them every night!! |
The funniest moment of the night tonight was when Cindy realized Dad was really bald. She wanted to see pictures of us when we were younger and so I showed her the picture of Dad in the bronco wearing aviator glasses. Dad was bemoaning his lost hair and she looked so surprised. Few men go bald in China and she honestly thought Dad shaved his head on purpose. She thinks it's very stylish!!
Love
Grandma and Pampa / aka Mom and Dad
PS Did you know that the literal translation of prophet into Cantonese is "he who knows first"? I love that!!
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