February 28, 2016

Did you know that Hong Kong has a lot of Chinese people?!  Wow!  What a whirlwind of a week!  It was so wonderful!  So much to see and do that I didn't get the blog posted on time!  Now we are sitting in the airport in Singapore waiting for our flight back to Colombo!  But we still had some great things at home before we left!  We began our week early in the morning on Monday traveling to Kandy for a YSA activity!  We had 32 kids come!  It was wonderful!  The bus was really late and that made me crazy of course (yes, I got that from you DAD!!) Then we picked up some of the kids along the way to Negombo.  We picked up a crew there and again on the way to Kandy!  They have so much fun on the bus!  Lots of singing, visiting and laughing...and even dancing!  The Bedkes came with us too!  We drove to the Botanical gardens in Kandy.  It wasn't as pretty as it was when we were there.....as far as the flowers blooming.  It was still very nice....and extremely hot!  We had a nice rice packet inside the park under the big ficus trees!  They are my favorite!  So interesting how they grow in and out of each other and are so big!  Kasun wanted us all to go take a boat ride so we loaded the bus and headed to the center of town to do that!  But they wanted so much money so we didn't end up doing it.  We had ice cream...plus there were some crazy ladies reading every ones palms to tell them their futures!  The kids thought it was really funny!  They wanted 100 rupees for the reading!  We then loaded the buses to go home!  They had the radio blaring and they were singing and dancing all the way!  We decided that next time we have a YSA activity, all we need to do is hire a bus and go round and round the city!  They have so much fun!  They love being together!  Sure wish we could make some love connections!!  Nothing close....darn!  So we called the kids on Tuesday morning!  Darshini really wanted us to come and visit them that evening so we did that!  Love visiting and laughing with them!  We had district meeting on Wednesday with the elders.  We have 12 people scheduled for baptism right now in the next couple of months!  So exciting!  Steve went with the elders and I had piano classes!  I did a little shopping also!  We had a birthday dinner at the Cinnamon Grand for Brother Wijendran and his family!  It was really great spending the evening with them.  Brother & Sister Wijendran are the best people!  They do so much for everyone and are strong in the gospel!  They love having the 2 boys home from their missions!  They are planning to go to the temple in April!  So happy for them!  Thursday brought shopping with Zeeniya for our district activity decorations.  Emily came with us!  We bought flowers and ribbon, etc to make centerpieces.  Zeeniya is extremely talented and can do stuff like that so easily.  I taught piano classes and then we had our English class.  Getting a crowd coming back again!  Fun crowd!  We came home and packed and headed to the airport!  Hong Kong here we come!  Our visas have expired so we have  to leave the country.  Pres  Berrett thought that Hong Kong would  be good for us to go!   We took the red eye flight to Singapore first, then on to Hong Kong.  Wow....it is such an impressive city!  The buildings all rise high into the sky!  It is clean and  punctual!!!!  We took a bus to our hotel...Novotel  Century!   We were on the 18th floor!  We unpacked and then decided to find an authentic chinese  restaurant for dinner.   We found Din Tai Fong that was in walking distance!  The city at night is crazy and exciting!  Lots of lights and hustle and bustle!  We walked quite a ways through the streets until we found the restaurant!  It is famous for their dumplings!  So we had a variety of things....chicken dumplings, shrimp wontons, pork chop on fried rice and a vegetable!  It was yummy!  There was a band playing at one of the malls and lots of people  happy about that!  We went into a mall that had the longest escalator I have ever  seen!  It was crazy!  The mall had an entire floor for shoes, an entire floor for books, 3 floors for restaurants, etc!  It was crazy!  Of course I loved it!  We walked back home  and had a nice sleep!  Saturday we woke up and headed to the temple!  It was wonderful!  We were the witness couple.  There were 6 men and 14 women.  We wore  headphones to listen in English!   We got to meet Pres Wong...the temple President.  He is  Chinese but from Australia!  Such a nice guy!  He told us of some people from all over  China that were coming that afternoon...some for the very first time.  We were visiting with the Hathaways....a senior couple from California...but originally from West Valley  and knew the Condies!  And also another Chinese lady serving alone.  It was great visiting with them and learning about everything there!  This temple is actually open on Sunday once a month  for some of the people who work every day of the week.  Mostly domestic workers from the Philippines.  They also have church meetings  every day of the week for them.  Every day!  The church is so amazing!  We took pictures  around the temple and then across the street at the temple housing for patrons  and also a church building under renovation.   But a wonderful thing happened for me!  I mentioned that there were Chinese people coming that afternoon.  While we were  visiting with the missionaries,  all those Chinese people  came in.  About 130 people.  It was so touching to me because......almost 40 years ago, I was in the Forbidden  City in China with Elder James E Faust....where he rededicated the country for missionary  work.  When we were there, there were not many members.  And to see the leadership come in....so many of them...coming to the temple....made me very emotional.  It was very special.  We headed back to the hotel for lunch and a little rest.  We then went to Bernard Pangs ward in Aberdeen for a ward party!  He was not there but  told us about it so we went!  It was so fun to visit with the members and missionaries!  We had dinner, and a karaoke  time, talents, dancing!  It was really nice!  It was a celebration for Valentines!  We met Bernards daughter  who looked just like him! The church is in a high rise on several floors.  Very nice!  It was a wonderful day! Loved it very much!  Sunday began with church just down the street from the hotel.  There is a beautiful building where the Asia area offices are, apartments for the area presidency, and 3 chapels and primary rooms, etc.  The building has 12 floors!  The lobby is beautiful and modern.  Many paintings and also an ongoing movie that plays on the wall that you can see as you walk by...stories of Christ.  And even an interactive movie  that plays outside of different stories of mormon families and people.  Wonderful!  We even ran into a missionary companion of Jim Beckstrands  from Sweden!  Small world in the church.  The meetings were wonderful.  It was an English speaking branch.   Great sacrament meeting talks.  The Sunday School class had an exuberant lady teaching too!  And I really enjoyed Relief Society.  They have a lot of things going  on here...activities and conferences.  A lot like an American branch.  It was  really  great!  After church, we found a California Pizza Kitchen!  So we went there for lunch and it was fabulous....oh so so fabulous!!  Barbecued  chicken salad and salmon!  We loved it.  We then headed to the Peak!  It was at the top of Hong Kong and it was amazing!  You could look down and see all the buildings in Hong Kong!  We watched the sun go down and all the lights come on the buildings!  Magnificent!  It got a little chilly!  Which by the way, Steve was loving so much!  He loved the cool!  But here was another day that we just loved!  We really like Hong Kong!  Such a wonderful trip  to the big city!  Only 2 weeks until the kids get here!!  I can not wait!

Bus ride to Kandy for the YSA activity

YSA activity at the Botanical garden in Kandy

Goofing around with Nugara!

The best ysa's in the church!!

The massive ficus trees!

Palm reading!

Steves hands are peeling...from the Dengue

Elders/Steve visiting Gnana & Jayawardena

Brother Wijendrans birthday celebration at the buffet in the Cinnamon Grand

Flying into Singapore

Singapore airport

Driving throughout the streets of Hong Kong

Walking through the streets of Hong Kong

Authentic chinese food at Din Tai Fung

They make their own dumplings....yum

Band playing in the streets!

This shopping center had the longest escalators I have ever seen!

The Hong Kong Temple

Missionaries in Hong Kong

The leaders from China visiting the temple...some for the first time.

The small garden in front of the temple

Renovating the church across from the temple

The distribution center

Driving under the harbor!

Lunch at the hotel

The church in Aberdeen Hong Kong

The cute sisters serving in the area!

Valentines celebration

Bishop Lai and his wife

Karioke 

All the girls get corsages for Valentines

Now the dancing!

Darling kids dancing!

The elder sang

Brother Bernard Pangs daughter with the Bishops daughter

Fun party with the Aberdeen ward!

Outside our hotel window

Lobby at the church office building

We met Jim Beckstrands companion from his mission...!

More Hong Kong!

Hong Kong Ikea!

This was the best lunch ever!

Hong Kong market

oysters

sushi

The Peak!

Lookout at the Peak

The view from the Peak...and the sun going down....

Yes, all these pictures are similar but....watch the change as the sun goes down and the lights go on!

Bruce Lee wanted a picture of us!