A quickie...

Leih hou all!!

Hey real fast, I LOVED hearing about the family reunions. Family is the best. I wish I could have been there for both of them!!! WADDOUPS/WILCOX FAM.... I LOVE YA!!!!!!!!!!! SO MUCH!!

The work has been SO GOOD lately! This week was awesome! I have loved having summer missionaries because it's made me appreciate so much more the wonderful work we're doing. They get excited about the littlest things! I love it. It's like when I first got here :) This week i've been excited about little things like them and it's made me so much more grateful for what we have and what we're doing!!

So, this is gonna be a quick one today... so sorry la....

One of our less actives that's been consistently coming back gave us a great compliment. She said, "So many missionaries have visited our family for years and years. But it wasn't until you two came that we started coming back to church. Thank you so much. You'll never know how much I appreciate it." I know that isn't because of me or Sister Aguilar, but the many missionaries before that planted seeds and did so much to help her come back. It's pretty cool to be the one that gets to harvest, though :)

President Hawks came and did a "specialized training" for our zone the other day. It was fantastic. I love that man and his wife :) He talked a lot about unity and how to come together as zones, districts, and companionships. He said one thing I absolutely loved. In relationships, so often we think of them in terms of 50-50. I'll give my half, you give yours. But we measure that 50% all the time. "I did this and this and this, you only did this!" The other person always gives "less" than we do. So instead of thinking of them in terms of 50-50, we should think of them in terms of 100-0. We give 100% and expect nothing back. It's a lesson that we learn from the Savior. He accomplished the Atonement, and gave everything He had for us, but didn't expect anything back. He hoped that we would give back, and follow HIm, and follow His commandments, but He didn't expect anything. He gave 100%. I want to give 100% to everything I do -- in every companionship, in every relationship, in every aspect of my life -- and expect nothing back. That's how the Savior is :)

We're all DYING to find out the results of 65 in July. We'll find out this week at MLC!! I don't even know what to say or think about it except that I've learned TONS from this process. I've learned tons about faith. I've learned tons about persistence. I've learned tons about desire. I've learned tons about motivation. I've learned tons about being more accountable. I've learned tons about myself. I've learned tons about making and accomplishing goals. I've learned tons about obedience. I've learned tons about being grateful. I've learned tons about talking to the Lord. I've learned tons about this work and how we can get it to go forward. I can't even express how much I've loved the process of "65" and how much I've learned. It's truly changed me forever.

I LOVE MISSION LIFE AND HONG KONG. Could I say it enough?! I love what I'm doing. I'm giving all I have until the end! 100%!

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Gwok
xoxoxo

Our LA, Cathy, and her cutest son Enik (her husband is from Samoa so Enik is the cutest little half Chinese half Polynesian baby EVER!)
 

Our district -- every single one of us had summer missionaries! Mine is on the far left... no idea why I'm not sitting by her.... and the elders were making fun of my skirt over the chair because they said it looked like a "tumor" on my leg

Very hot weather warning?? THANKS. As if we didn't already know ;)

Onward, ever onward!!

FAMIRY! FLIENDS! All my roved ones!

Hello from the HK this week! This hot, humid, very hot, very humid, very slow week. There's no way I'm going to complain about our amazing investigators getting baptized, but.... that also means that we have a lot more finding to do. A LOT more.

Here's the big news from today. We just got summer missionaries!! So Hong Kong has this program where during the summer they have some youth go and be missionaries for 2 weeks! Sister Aguilar and I both got one. Mine is Sister Chan from Tsimshatsui ward. She's so cute! She actually goes to school in Lehi, UT, so her English is great and knows a lot about Utah :) she's my new companion for the next 2 weeks! We split the work in Tin Shui Wai and Sister Ag and her summer mish do half and we do half. It almost means that we have a lot more finding to do. A LOT more. But hey, if we didn't do finding, we wouldn't find new investigators, and people wouldn't get baptized, and we wouldn't have success. So we will go onward, ever onward!!!

This past week was a little bit rough. We got "fonged" six times. That hasn't happened to me yet in Tin Shui Wai. (Here's a Chinese lesson. "Fonged" is Chinglish. It means people didn't show up to their appointments. English is they stood us up. So in Chinese we say they "fong oh day fay gay" haha now you can say it! It literally means they threw us out of an airplane ha.) Anyway, we were feeling really discouraged but the miracles still came...

• This week we had another really special experience with Christine. She is such a great example to everyone around her :) She and her sister, Tina, were planning on coming to English class on Friday night. Right before, they got a call and said they had to go home really fast because of some problems. About five minutes later, they came back and asked us if they could talk to us in private. We went with them to another classroom and Tina just started bawling. They said their parents were arguing and their little brother had called them because he was really scared. Poor girls :( Christine said they were going to go home to take care of their little siblings but they wanted us to pray with them first. We said of course! We knelt down and Christine told Tina to say the prayer. It just about tore out my heartstrings... She sobbed and said the most humble, wonderful prayer and I couldn't help but get teary. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ does for families and for individuals. It heals broken hearts and broken homes. I felt like I could fly in that moment. Because of the gospel, Christine and Tina were able to have peace in a hard time for them. Heavenly Father loves us. Oh, He loves us. That's the best part of this work. It's not the baptisms -- as great as they were. It's seeing their lives change and seeing them take those steps down the path of eternal life. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!
• Christina gave the spiritual thought at a YSA activity last night and did a GREAT job! We were bursting with pride! :)
• We also visited a ward member because we felt prompted to go to her and ask for referrals. Turns out, she's been struggling lately but no one has known. It was really cool to go on such a specific and immediate errand for the Lord. He really does treat us as His angels to do this work. We read some BOM scriptures with her, and then she asked us to sing "How Firm a Foundation" for her. She was in tears the whole time. It was another very special and sacred experience.
• We did a special zone fast yesterday for 65 in July. There are so many wonderful things happening all over the mission! I just heard that two of my old investigators from Cheung Sha Wan, Sister Chan (the one that had cancer) and her daughter Ching Ching got baptized yesterday. I can't even handle the happiness of that news!!!! HONG KONG IS GROWING!! I love being a part of it! I love you all! This work is real! Heavenly Father is pouring the blessings down upon us! I can't even contain my excitement!

Have a wonderful week! Whit, I'll be thinking of you when you go to the temple. I'm so so so excited for you :) P-did, I'll be thinking of you too, you and the old red flip phone. How old is that thing anyway? J-dub, I'll be thinking of you too, watching Harry Potter and going on sweet allstar bike rides and stuff like that :) M&D, I always think of you :) I love you guys!

Love,
Shay
Gwokster
xoxoxxo

HELLO TYPHOON SEASON!!! hahaha

ANOTHER baptism! what?!!!

Dearest fam and friends,

I gotta follow up first. Whit, Park, and Jare. Did you read? Did you pray? Did you commit?!

OH MY GOODNESS WE HAD THE MOST AMAZING SUNDAY IN THE WORLD!!!! I have to tell you every detail about it!

This is Christine. With her FAMILY! They came to her baptism! Aren't they the cutest?! Oh my goodness you have to know her background to appreciate this. So Christine has been investigating for about 6 weeks. She's GOLDEN. Most golden person I've ever known. She's amazing and has taught me something in every single lesson I've taught her. She really has such a desire to come unto Christ. She's been wanting to get baptized ever since we mentioned baptism 6 weeks ago. But she said her family was VERY against it. She was a little nervous they wouldn't want her to be baptized, but she was determined to do it anyway. This past week, she said she was talking to her mom about her baptism and asked her to come see it. Her mom said "no absolutely not." So Christine -- with the AMAZING faith she has -- went into her room and said a prayer. She said her mom came into her room right after and said, "Okay, I'll come." IS THAT A MIRACLE OR WHAT?! She told us that and we were so happy we couldn't even handle it. I absolutely LOVE Christine. She's so selfless. She invited her family plus two friends to come to her baptism. It was the most special, perfect day in the entire world. Christine stood and bore her testimony after she got baptized and, in tears, said, "I'm so thankful to be baptized today. I'm especially thankful my family would come and support me. Even though they didn't want me to get baptized, they're here and I'm so happy. I know the Church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true. Anyone here who isn't baptized should start meeting with the missionaries and do it! It's amazing!" Then, after the baptism, she came up to Sister Aguilar and I and hugged us and cried really hard and said, "Thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't know this wonderful church." It was a missionary's dream come true right there. I can't even express the joy we had yesterday. What a special day!! Christine is AMAZING! And we have high hopes for her family! Her brother Paco said he wants to start coming. And Tina, her sister, said she wants to get baptized now!!! :) :) :)

Christine and Christina. Both baptized now :) I LOVE THEM MORE THAN WORDS CAN DESCRIBE :)

We have such a good ward :) I love them SO much. Just so you know all of their names and appreciate China, from left to right is Christina, me, A-Wing, Sis Aguilar, Christine, Delta, Ji Chin, Carol, Seung Yiu, Bobo, Man Sin, and Gung Yat. Hahaha they seem completely normal to me but I bet you guys think they're crazy weird names.

And GOSH that was just Sunday!! Life can't really get much better than right now! I love my companion, I love our zone, I love the people we work with, I love our ward, I love my mission president, miracles are happening left and right, we're in the middle of 65 in July, I'm a missionary, I'm in Hong Kong, I have an awesome family and amazing friends, I love the Lord, the church is true, the BOM changes lives, and everything is just perfect. I can't complain about anything :)

I woke up to this the other day and almost died. Asia has such beautiful clouds. Whit get STOKED!

Oh my GOODNESS hahahhahahaha I almost forgot the FUNNIEST thing. So the Chinese, they like to wear shirts with nonsense English on them, right? Most of the time they have no clue what they mean. We go to our Bishop's house for a cheng out last night. and his wife had a shirt on that said, "Sh** happens." (but it said the word). Oh man we were DYING of laughter. So hilarious!! I love China :)

I am LOVING every single second the Lord has given me in HK. I love this place with my whole heart. I love the work that we're doing here. I love my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am committing myself to lifelong service for them. This mission isn't just meant to change these 18 months. It's meant to change my eternity.

I love you I love you I love you!

Love always,
Sister Gwok
xoxoxo

this one's for the sibs. (letter from July 6, 2014)

Dear Whit, Park, Jare... I LOVE YOU AND I MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY. I wish I could be there in Canada with you this week! Say hi to all the Chinese peeps for meeee!!!! :) Tell them "lay hoe". They would love it. :) Anyway, I want to write to YOU specifically because I want you to know how much my mission means to me. And how much I hope yours means to you. And how much I WISH I would have better prepared for it.

I'm committing you to, while you're on vacation this week, try these things out. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Will you commit??

Pray. Learn how to talk to Heavenly Father. Not AT Him or TO Him, but WITH Him. He's real. Did you know that? He's given us the gospel to make us the MOST happy. Think about the funnest times we've had -- like that one time we went to Sand Hollow and jumped off the back of the wave runners, or the bazillion times in a row we would go on Indiana Jones at Disneyland, or family jumps on the trampoline in the backyard, or hide-n-seek in the dark -- you thought those were good?? We can't even imagine how good eternal life will be. We can't even imagine the good things Heavenly Father has in store for us. He wants to give us every good thing. All He asks is that we talk to him -- PRAYER -- and obey His commandments.

Read the Book of Mormon. This week we went to Mission Leadership Council and President Hawks talked all about the Book of Mormon. It truly is the book that will change our lives and our hearts. It'll bring us the best kind of happiness -- way better than all those family vacations, way better than friends, way better than anything you can even imagine. I wish I'd read the BOM more before the mish. It has answered every single question I've ever had. It's brought me comfort when I didn't have anything else (that, and prayer).

I've thought a lot about commitment this week because of something Sister Hawks told us. She said she has two daughters that are runners. One runs races to finish. She's okay with walking some of the time. If she doesn't do best, oh well, she's in it to finish only. The other one runs races to win. She gives it her ALL every step of the way. She doesn't stop to walk because she can't afford it. She wants to give it everything she's got. Sister Hawks related it to our missions. Are we here to finish, or are we here to win? We can apply it to life, too. Are we here to finish, or are we here to win? Are we okay with being mediocre, not reading the scriptures and not praying, because whatever, we'll finish anyway? Or are we here to give it everything we've got? I think that's what Heavenly Father expects of us. He wants us to win. He expects us to "run with patience the race that is set before us." I want to give this mission everything I have. I don't want to be a missionary just to finish the mission and say, "Cool, that was great. It was hard, but I let myself walk for part of it, and I'm just fine. I finished, didn't I?" I want to be the missionary that says, "Wow, that was the hardest thing I've ever done. Blood, sweat, and tears... but look at me now." Through the gospel, we CAN change. We can win any race that we want! IF we trust our Father in Heaven and do things the way He wants them to be done.

My week in a nutshell was this: praying so hard for something specific to happen -- Christina's baptism. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted there to be no flaws and for her to have a wonderful day and a perfect memory. It didn't happen exactly like that. We prayed so hard for her to get baptized -- and she DID!! :) -- but it wasn't perfect. There were some things that came up that made me think, "Heavenly Father, why would you do that? Why couldn't you just make today perfect for her? Baptism is right, isn't it??!" I was really frustrated. I was a little bit angry... I'm not proud of it, but I was. But then I read the words in the scriptures,

"The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?"

Nope, I'm not. Things don't go perfectly because we're not perfect. This life is meant to be a test. When we have trials, that doesn't mean it's time to give up and say, "Heavenly Father must not be there because He didn't give me exactly what I wanted." Of course not!! If He gave you exactly what you wanted, you'd NEVER grow.

I'm so thankful for the chance Heavenly Father has given me to grow. I'm SO thankful for my mission. I want you three to go through these powerful, spiritual, wonderful changes just like me.

Have a great week! COMMIT to do those two things and report back to me next week! hou mh hou?

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
Love,
Shay
xoxoxoxo

Happy 4th of July at an American restaurant!! :) woo hoo!

Cute Christina's baptism! :) I LOVE HER SOOOO MUCH I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU.