well, this week sister kwok and i got to experience something that doesn't happen to a lot of missionaries. serving in hong kong is a very special experience with all the many languages and the people that come here from all over asia to come to the temple. As there are no missionaries in mainland china, many people come to hear the missionary lessons, be baptized and then return home. all of these people speak mandarin and so usually the mandarin missionaries (all elders) will teach these investigators. however, there are some people that come from areas where their dialect is cantonese, so other missionaries have a chance to teach them. again, the elders are usually the ones asked to teach them because they can teach AND baptize them and it's more special for the investigator. the process is a very quick one, in fact, it all takes place in one day! they come, they hear all the lessons and are baptized usually in the afternoon/evening...crazy!
sister Kwok and i were asked to teach a last minute investigator coming from mainland speaking cantonese because he wasn't planning on getting baptized. His girlfriend is a member of the church and asked him if he wanted to learn about the church. They have a small branch in mainland where he lives but he can't attend. In mainland, you can't go to church unless you have family that are members, so he had to come to hong kong. His name is Brother Peng and he is amazing. Sister Kwok and I were excited but also had no idea what we were doing as we'd never experienced anything like this, so we just went for it!
We taught him the first lesson and then went to lunch with them and a bunch of other mandarin missionaries and their mainland investigators who were there that day. we got to know them better and the second lesson after lunch was great because we actually knew their situation and who they were more. well, sister kwok felt inspired to ask him to pray about being baptized anyway, even though he hadn't planned on it when he came. when we first started teaching him, he literally was starting from ground zero. He'd never prayed before, didn't have any background in christianity, who Jesus Christ is or anything....but he decided he wanted to pray about it too. so, we left the room and let him pray about it all....so crazy! his girlfriend, sister leung, was so nervous, but just excited that he would even be willing to learn about the church. she said that a couple of her friends were fasting and praying for them that day back in mainland.
Well, he prayed for about 30 minutes, but it felt like an hour. at first, we didn't know if he was ok or if we should check on him, but we decided to just let him be. when he was done, he came out he looked like he had been crying and went straight to the restroom. we waited for him and when he came back he said that he had reviewed everything we had taught him, reading the booklets and the scriptures. then he prayed about all of it and whether or not he should be baptized and he said he felt very strongly that he needed to. it is hard to translate the chinese, but he said that he had "felt a strong feeling and had been touched." he wanted to be baptized! Sister leung of course burst into tears...:) it was pretty amazing. it was such an example to me of how simple and easy it is for those who are prepared to accept the gospel and follow christ. however, being from mainland is not as simple. he would have to wait til next week, because of certain preparations that have to take place first. so we went home that night amazed at his faith and planning on having him taught the rest of the lessons and being baptized January 9th when he returned. however, that night we got a call saying that his Hong Kong VISA had problems and wouldn't let him return on the 9th! So, he had to be baptized the next day! ahhh! welcome to mainland teaching! we left church early on sunday and traveled to the wan chai building to finish teaching him the lessons and prepare him for his interview. we prayed that his heart would be open and ready for everything. he had no problems because he had felt the spirit and knew it was true. crazy! he was baptized and confirmed after church and several members of the mandarin branch in Hong Kong were there to support him along with sister leung of course. they had spent the night at some of the members homes the night before and had made some good friends. it was all so fast and crazy and i've never experienced anything like it, but I know it was a gift from God that he let sister kwok and i teach them. Brother Peng said that him and sister leung are already planning on returning in a year to get married in the Hong Kong Temple...:) God is a God of miracles. that is all i have to say. Brother Peng will always be such an example to me of pure and simple faith. he said that as he was getting baptized he had so many things on his mind, but after he came out of the water it was all gone and he could think clearly and wasn't worried. amazing. I love missionary work and am so grateful i have been called to serve in Hong Kong.
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