Hong Kong

 Dear Family, It's only been a few days since dad wrote, but I do have a Christmas blessing to share. About 6 weeks ago I  was given an assignment to coordinate the travel for missionaries from India to go to the temple. Most of the missionaries there have never been able to leave the country to receive their temple ordinances, and they are at risk of joining others in their country who served their whole missions without every going to the temple. There are so many reasons it's taken so long, but finally after weeks of work, false starts, a couple of rounds of hope and dashed hopes, I finally have a group of elders and sisters scheduled with the Bangkok Temple for the middle of January. Not only that, we were able to work it so a young couple who will be married that week in Bengaluru will be able to travel as the escorts for the missionaries and this will allow them to be sealed that same week, a sequence of marriage to sealing that's almost unheard of for that country. T...

Dear Family, Christmas is finally here. Last week, Mom/Grandma walked you through some of the customs here so I won't repeat that. Instead, I'm going to review what we've done these last three days. The Chinese people love holidays (don't we all?) so we actually had half of Friday off (Winter Solstice), together with Monday (Christmas day) and Tuesday (today) which is a traditional British holiday called Boxing Day. Of course, neither Christmas nor Boxing Day are Chinese at all, but this was once a British colony and Christmas is a big deal, although still not as big as Chinese New Year which takes place in early February. So, we will start with Saturday morning. Mom and I went for a walk in our neighborhood, Hung Hom, and discovered this great bakery that also sold a great hot chocolate. Here Mom is holding the hot chocolate to stay warm (it has been really cold the last week or so -- mid 40's in the morning, warming up to maybe the low 50's in the afternoon. T...

Dear Family! Merry Christmas from Hong Kong.  This view through the front doors of the church office building is possibly my favorite Christmas picture this year. In a world where Christ is conspicuously missing from the celebration, this is a quiet reminder of what we're really trying to focus on.  I love that this is what everyone walking by will see. There are so many of them in Utah, but this is the only nativity I've seen in the whole city. Monday night for the seniors FHE we actually did our own version of the nativity. We're really a bunch of lonely grandparents longing for our family traditions I think, but in the end it was a nice evening. The verses from Luke ring true in every environment.  The second part of the evening was singing Christmas carols, and Dad found a fellow belter! He and Elder Brown had a grand time!! Later in the week there was a building wide devotional and lunch. We were all asked to bring our favorite Christmas dessert. Can you find the cho...

 Hey Everyone, I'm going to open this letter with an apology. I'm laying in bed not feeling very good. Must have been something I ate this afternoon. But I wasn't able to get this out last night so I'm going to work through this evening so I can get something to you. On Saturday, Mom and I decided to just wander around the mid-levels on the Island and just explore the narrow little streets and shops and take pictures. This area is such an interested place -- so much to see. So here we go: We started at yet another temple. Lots of incense burning in this one. It actually started to sting my eyes after a little while. These temples are all so fascinating. None the same and yet so much in common. A little girl just outside the temple waiting for her parents. I think she'd had enough of the smoke too. Another fresh fruit and vegetable stand. I never grow tired of the noise and color of these places. This city is full of crazy angles,  narrow streets, bamboo and color. T...