CHANGE. the crazy life.

Dearest famiry and fliends,

Hiiii!!! I can't believe Whit is in the MTC now. SO WEIRD. Hang in there, twit! I hear you're in a threesome. mm.... that can be hard. But man time flies too fast not to just LOVE EVERY SECOND and be grateful that you can serve! i think you're going to be the most amazing missionary in Japan! I love you I love you I love you! I've been thinking about you SO much! so so much!

What an emotional roller coaster of a week. It has been crazy but also really, really good. It's taught me again to rely on the Lord when I have no one else. Truly can't believe my little sister just went into the MTC this last week. It made me a little bit more emotional to think I won't see her for 3 years.. but that's how missions are. And they're so worth it!! I love you whitttt!!! AND Sister Aguilar went home (that was really hard.... here's a pic to show you):

man i'm such a bawl baby. haha. i miss my gwai!

AND I'm training. I'm just going to leave it at this : it's been a hard week. But it's also given me a great opportunity to grow. I'm thankful for that :)

Sister Hansen is my new comp! She's from Bountiful, UT and is 19! Fresh from the MTC woot woot! Here she is:

excuse this picture, it's AWFUL. i look awful... i was crying a lot, okay?

Sister Hansen is great! She doesn't eat gluten or dairy which is going to take some getting used to, but hey maybe I'll lose weight! hahaha. Let's keep our fingers crossed! ;)

The work is going on!!! Awesomely! The first day we went straight out and did finding for a bit. We found a wonderfully prepared mom and 2 kids! It was awesome! I kept thinking, "Wow, we found her so quickly! First person we talked to as a companionship!" So good. Heavenly Father helped us have success so quickly! She came to English class and church with her kids and liked both. She actually doesn't live in our area we found out. Sad :( But the elders will teach her and she'll get baptized! It will be awesome!

Another miracle that happened was during weekly planning. We prayed about who to visit to ask for a referral. The Spirit told us to go visit the Chan family. I saw Sister Chan at church and she invited us over that night for dinner. After dinner, we asked them if they had any friends or family that needed to hear the gospel. Their 16-year-old daughter piped up and told us she had a friend who was interested! WOW! She gave us her number and said she'll call her this week to set up a time to meet with us. Miracle! SO thankful for the way the Spirit guides us to people.

I like working with a new missionary because they see everything with new eyes. They're so "innocent" and so excited to do this work. It's made me a lot more grateful for the things I usually take for granted, like getting people's phone numbers or getting referrals or being able to help someone feel the Spirit. It's a cool lesson to learn.

Heavenly Father is so smart. He knows EXACTLY what we need when we need it. I'm so thankful for the times I think, "Um, wait a sec, Heavenly Father, I don't see how that's going to benefit me AT ALL. Could you maybe give me another trial instead of this one?" and then He doesn't. He helps me see the reason behind it. Or sometimes, He doesn't. But He waits for me to come to Him and trust Him. I feel like that's happened SO many times on my mission... one of the biggest lessons I've learned, definitely.

I wish I had more time. I love you all so much I can't even stand it! Hope you have the best of the best weeks :) JAREN AND PARKER, WRITE ME!!!!!!!!!! xoxo love you.

Love love love,
Gwok
xoxoxxo

CHANGES for the Wilcox Girls (Letter from Aug 17, 2014)

Dearest family and friends,

First of all, Whitney Shalayne, I've never thought more about you on my mish than the last week! And especially yesterday and today! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I dreamed I trained you last night :) Heavenly Father knows what He's doing... He sends you to the MTC the exact same week I get the assignment to train a newbie. What a tender mercy! We'll both be going through the biggest changes ever at the exact same time. I'm so thrilled for you :) I also can't believe it... here it is, the start of 3 years of not seeing you. That will be so hard. I miss you already. I hope you have THE BEST WEEK. You're going to be amazing. I'm praying for you! Pray for me!

So yes, I'm training. I'm just a tad bit nervous. First time. Change. Sister Aguilar going home. I'm a little bit of an emotional wreck... but the Lord knows what He's doing. I just have to trust Him. Whit I love your missionary scripture. The Lord truly does labor WITH us. Thanks for reminding me :) We'll both be relying on Him a LOT this week, huh?

This past week was great. Great! I love Sister Aguilar. We've got such a rhythm down for doing the work. We were able to each 20 lessons this past week which was super good for us! What a way for her to end :) Ah, I'm gonna miss that girl. I'm so thankful for all the things she's taught me. I'm a different, better person because she was my companion!

A challenge? TINA. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts for her. We really, really wanted her to make it for Sunday but it looks like Heavenly Father has a different plan for her. She was ready to talk to her mom about baptism and have her mom sign the form, but the day she took it home her mom went to Mainland for 2 weeks. (Can I just say? NO OTHER MISSION HAS THIS PROBLEM. It's crazy. Mainland is a black hole. People go up there, and we CANNOT contact them, cannot get ahold of them, can't go up there with them, can't even give them BOMs to give to their neighbors up there...it's pretty nuts). So Tina's mom will be up there for about 2 weeks. We gave her a new date for the 31st. Praying with EVERYTHING we have that she makes it! Please pray for her mom's heart to be softened!

Mom, fun fact! Sister Ag and I taught English class on Friday. We decided the theme was going to be childhood. Sooo we taught them the song, "Say, say oh playmate." hahaha IT WAS SO FUNNY. We made up actions so they would remember the words and then we filmed it :) You'll love it. Sorry I can't send it over email but we'll watch it when I get home! I told them we had to film it for my momma :)

This week I've learned a lot about the doctrine of Christ. THIS is the gospel! Faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure the the end. It's the most important thing in the world! I was thinking about some of our investigators and why they aren't progressing.... it all goes back to faith. If we don't help people develop rock solid faith in Christ, they CAN'T progress. Without the Savior, nothing is possible -- progression, eternal life, change, or happiness. I am so thankful for my Savior. I am so thankful for the way He lifts me up when I am down, and the way He strengthens my weakness. I love this scripture (it's in 2 Corinthians 12):

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for mystrength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may restupon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Sometimes I want to beseech the Lord to take my trials away from me. But He teaches me the better way. Now, I take pleasure in hard things and "distresses for Christ's sake" because, like Paul says ,"For when I am weak, then am I strong." I'm SO thankful for my Savior. I am so thankful for the ways I've come closer to Him in the past 16 months. Two months left, it's my time to give everything I have.

I love this mission. I love Hong Kong. I love Tin Shui Wai. I love you all :) Mostly, I love my God and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love this gospel with all my heart.

Have a wonderful week! I'll be praying and thinking of you, twit! I LOVE YOU!!!

Looooooove,
Sister Gwok
xoxoxo

Pray for Tina!!! (letter from Aug 10, 2014)

MY FAM!!!!!!

Wow I cannot BELIEVE Whit's going into the MTC next week!!! Whaaaa??? Craziness! Too many crazy things are happening. The summer flew by! Maybe not for you guys, but I feel like I was just sitting here crying, watching Whit open her call! I'm stoked for you twit! :)

Jaren Cade... are you running xc? YOU SHOULD!!!!!!
P-diddles, good luck with all that's happening.. you're so busy. I'm so proud of you Pres! You're gonna do so good! :)

I can't believe time is flying so fast. I truly feel like it's still June... then I look at the calendar and remember that it's over, 65 in July is over, Mission Tour is over, and life is continuing to cruise. I can't keep up!! Oh yeah, by the way, we had Mission Tour this week! It was AMAZING! Amazing.
We had two Seventies there, Elder Funk and Elder Wong. I especially loved hearing from Elder Wong. (He just got put in April conf, so watch for him to speak in Oct conf!! He's SO GOOD!). Something about knowing that he's from Hong Kong and seeing how strong he is made me so happy and hopeful for the work here. We're really making a difference here! All of us! We're continuing to see Hong Kong progress and grow and individual lives and families change. It's the MOST WONDERFUL thing I've ever been a part of! Truly!

At Mission Tour I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and love for President and Sister Hawks. They are so incredible and I feel SO BLESSED to serve here with them! They've changed my life and my mission. I couldn't thank them enough.

We had a bit of a setback yesterday.... we've been working really hard with Tina (who is Christine, our recent convert, ge sister) to get her baptized this coming Sunday, the 17th. The 3 of us (me, Sister Aguilar, and Tina) have prayed about this date and feel really good about it! Tina came up to us yesterday and told us her mom and dad are against her getting baptized. She said she maybe wanted to wait until she was 18 to get baptized. We didn't really know what to say.... at that time, I couldn't think of anything to say. When we were alone, we discussed it and both had very strong feelings about keeping the date for this coming Sunday. We're going to meet with Tina today to help her have the faith and courage to ask her mom to sign the form. I just can't shake the feeling that she should be baptized on Sunday. She's so ready. She's changed so much in the past few months! She's humble and willing and has a huge desire. Please keep her in your prayers! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!!

The Lord has showed us that we can't do this work by ourselves. There's no way! At first we were both thinking, ah this week will be amazing, Tina will get baptized, no prob, everything will be wonderful. But then He showed us that without relying on Him, this work is impossible. We HAVE to choose His way in order to accomplish what needs to be done. We have to rely on Him. It's like the story from the Bible of Gideon and the 300. He's proving to us that HE will do His own work. We just have to do what He asks us to do. We're tools in His hands, is all.

I LOVE YOU ALL! So so so much! I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful support system of fam and friends behind me. I'm loving my mission. Pray for us this week! Pray for Tina! Pray for Tina's mom!!!!

Love, looove, looooove,
Sister Gwok
xoxoxo

I WISH I WAS GOING TO BE AT WHIT'S FAREWELL!!!

This cute little lady is our old security guard (from our old apartment). We had to go pick something up from the elders and she was there and freaked out at seeing us again! She gave us many huge hugs and chatted with us for like 10 minutes. Is she cute or what??

This is last P-day. That is Jane, one of our LA's :) she chenged us to dim sum! So fun! So yum! So cute Jane! :)

THEN, the next day, cutie little Jane gave us flower bouquets that SHE MADE that matched our personalities! HOW CUTE IS THAT?!!!! She said mine is calm and pretty because I'm calmer and pretty. And Sister Ag's is like that because she's more outgoing than me and also pretty :) haha THE CUTEST!! We love Jane!

A higher level

Dearest family and friends,

Oh my goodness.... what a week. What a week! This week has changed my mission and changed my life. I wish I could express every single emotion I've felt in the last 7 days but... well. I'll try.

So we got the results of 65 in July this past week. What an amazing week.... last Sunday (the last Sunday in July), a record breaking 32 people got baptized. ON ONE DAY. Crazy!!! The grand total for July was 48. Forty eight people brought closer to Christ in one month. It gives me the chills just to think about it. You wouldn't believe what was put into this goal. The whole mission fasting, praying, working, exercising faith, sweating, crying, laughing.... all resulted in 48. That's more baptisms in one month than our mission has had in years! AMAZING!

We went to MLC.. most amazing and spiritual meeting I've been to in SO long. President Hawks talked about how our "65 in July" experience was like Zion's Camp. Do you know the story of Zion's Camp? 200 Saints were called to march to Missouri to redeem Zion... they were prepared to fight. But when they got there, the Lord didn't want them to fight. They were to turn around and go home. In the meantime, they learned so many things. The end result wasn't to have them fight battles. The end result was to strengthen their faith and testimony. I feel the same way about 65 in July. The end result wasn't just to accomplish a grand goal of 65 baptisms in July. The end result was meant to change US. I feel like a completely different person than I was 5 months ago when this goal was first announced. This process has taught me so much. In worrying about these investigators and diving headfirst into the work of salvation, I've learned more about myself and the Lord than I ever would have before.

So we're sitting there at MLC and President Hawks opened it up for discussion. I have never felt the Spirit like that before.... it was amazing. We were talking about the things we learned from our "65 in July" experience and how we could further the work and keep it up in the future months. And then with the Spirit leading the discussion, we all brought it up: "Why don't we shoot for 65 again in December?!" So there you have it.... our new mission goal. 65 in December. AHHH I wish you guys knew what this means for HK. It's hUGE! It feels like we just took the mission and moved it to a higher level... we pushed up everything and miracles are flying left and right. The Lord IS hastening His work... man it's apparent in EVERYTHING here lately! It's so amazing!!!!

Something AWESOME that's happening in Macau (my first area!!! I'll always love it there!!) is that they're splitting the branch into two!!!!!! CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! I got the chills so hard when I heard that. Macau will have 3 branches now! 2 Chinese and 1 international! The work is exploding out there!!! :)

We (we as in the zone leaders and sister training leaders) were praying and worrying so much about how to present this new goal to our zone. We were praying like crazy that zone training meeting would go well. It went so well. The Spirit was there, people were inspired, I was inspired by our zone's faith and optimism, and things were just going perfectly :)

I want to tell you every single little miracle but there's just no time!!!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! There is so much good happening in Hong Kong! Our investigators are doing great! Tina (Christine's little sister) said she wants to get baptized sooner! We're finding new golden ones left and right! The less actives are coming back like crazy! Our recent converts -- Christine and Christina -- are so strong!! There could be NOTHING BETTER right now!

I love you guys SO MUCH. I love your support and every email and note from you. I have the best family in the entire world, hands down! Have a wonderful week! Whitney, 16 days!!!!

Love you love you love you all!
Sister Gwok :)
xoxoxoxoxo

Today we dropped off our summer missionaries. I was sad to see Sister Chan go but happy because I'll see her in Utah! She's going back to Lehi for school in a few weeks! Woo hoo!

 

So this is cool.... the lady in the orange shirt and her husband with the glasses are in our ward right now. And their son, the guy in the red and his wife and kids were in my old ward, Cheung Sha Wan. They were at the cheng out last night! It was fun to see them! :)