Blog Post #29: I'll Find You, My Friend

Dear People,

I love you! I have no time to type today, but suffice it to say I was asked to baptize Elaine, a young woman I have only met three times (she is a Mandarin Investigator, and was baptized in Cantonese), but we have some really close mutual friends. The youth of the ward sang "I'll Find You, My Friend" at her Baptismal Service, and it was super spiritual!

 Love,

Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #28: Scary Stuff

Dear People I Love,

This has been a really good week, and our plans for today include buying cheap ($75 American) suits and then going to a really nice buffet. Buffets in China are amazing, and Missionaries hound them because, well, we like to eat. A lot. Even the Sisters.

But that's not what's scary, the scary thing is that I am losing my English and my French, and my Spanish (as pitiful as it was) is molderin in the earth. Everything but my Chinese is taking a steep decline, and my Chinese is steadily improving! Beyond that, there's not much to talk about.

The Church is still true, the Book of Mormon is still true, and I still pray for all of you!

Love,
Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #27: "From the Conference Center..."

Dear People I Love,

On Saturday and Sunday we Asians watched General Conference, and I LOVED it! In my Mother's house Conference is a holiday that is rivaled by only Christmas and Thanksgiving in the attention we give it. Considering there are two Conferences each year, it's likely that the combined fuss over celebrating these occasions occludes that of Christmas and Thanksgiving combined. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to those 10 hours of broadcast for a long time.

Conference is also (very conveniently) a marker for how much of my Mission has flown by. I spent last April with my favorite non-family people in the whole wide world, and then a week later went to the MTC. That means that the next time I hear that familiar voice tell me that I'm watching the 183rd semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I'm going to be half-way done with my time here in HK. That's a thought that I'm really glad is so far away.

Another thing I feel is worth mentioning is the Lord's commandment that we ought to go forth proclaiming His Gospel two by two. Every Missionary has a Companion who they are with anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months (or more, but very very rarely). My first companion, Elder Marrott, was super funny, a little soft spoken, and very focused. I liked working with him because we both enjoyed sticking to a strict schedule. He also loved to do role-plays to practice teaching, which gave me a chance to really get into character and hone my acting skills. I love Elder Marrott!

Elder Herrick is a very different Missionary than Elder Marrott. He is also super funny, but "soft spoken" is his antithesis! He loves to spend time telling stories (which is what we normally do between calls and bedtime), and his favorite plan is "to wing it". He is teaching me how to go with the flow, and how to relax and enjoy my free time (which is 30 minutes a day). He is very straight forward, and tells it how it is; which is an amazingly effective way of doing things. Elder Herrick is a very good Missionary, and I love him as well.

The toughest part of living with three other young men is that we only have one washer and one dryer. We are all fairly clean people (I'm by far the messiest), and the dishes never stack up. Laundry, however, can get a bit of trouble if we don't coordinate our schedules. Life in our apartment is, on most days, a lot of fun and filled with laughter and lots and lots of jokes and riddles. I've finally figured out "Fanny Dooly" and "The Galactic Number", but "Umbrella Town" and "Good Soup" elude me.

I love you all, and I hope that everything back home is going great! I'm super grateful for the letters I got this week, and I'm looking forward to writing some replies! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #26: Recenterings

Dear Loved Ones,

This week the President of the China Hong Kong Mission gave us a set of changes that are to be made. These changes, or "re-centerings" are designed to help us focus more so that we can become better Missionaries. Here are the major ones.

1) Suits are no longer to be worn when it is under 25 degrees, but from November 1st to April Conference.
2) Athletic Shorts are only to be worn during morning exercises, not during our scheduled Games Nights or Sports Finding. This rule has effectively killed both of those activities, which makes me EXTREMELY happy!
3) Preparation day is on Monday, starting the 22nd of October.
4) There are a few new rules that facilitate Elders teaching women (not every area has Sister Missionaries). We still aren't allowed to teach 1 woman or even 2 women without a Ward Member present, which is good.

Even though I won't be watching General Conference for a few more days (Asia is a week behind so that everything can get translated), I of course heard the re-centerings that President Thomas S Monson gave us last week.

1) Sisters can now serve full-time missions at 19
2) Young Men can now serve full-time missions at 18

These re-centerings are also going to strengthen the Work of God, which I am very excited to see. It will be strange, though, to see women younger than me with name tags on in the next six months. A good kind of strange, a strange that I'm excited to see bolster our ranks and spirits!

The only thing that I don't like about Full-Time Missionary work is being 1/4 finished with mine. I'm not sure I've become a quarter of the man I wanted to become while I'm out here, but I hope I can finish my transformation in the next 18 months. I was almost done with High School 18 months ago, and I have hopes that if I change that much (or even more) in the next 18 months, I'll be a lot farther along than I would of had I skipped this wonderful Mission experience.

I love you all, please take this amazing opportunity to become Missionaries and learn what the Lord can do for you. I know every bit of this Gospel is true, and I know that you'll only know that for yourselves if you give everything to find it out. There is no research that can be done that is more informative than entering the Holy Temple and learning through Personal Revelation. The two best things to do are to become Missionaries and to get Sealed for time and all eternity. Now is the time to show; who's on the Lord's side?

Love, Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #25: Pak Muhn'ing

Dear Family and Friends,

To "Pak Muhn" (pronounced "Pock-Moohn") is to go door to door, knocking and spreading the Gospel. It is illegal in most of the buildings in Hong Kong, and the penalty can range from getting chased out to getting fined for trespassing. Elder Herrick and I, however, have take Alma and Amulek's example to heart and have sought to bring the Message of the Restoration to those who are "...poor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart." (Alma 32:3), and it is starting to gain momentum. In a building with some two dozen doors, half of them were opened, and we were were able to teach a Coptic Christian family that came here from Egypt a few years ago. If you aren't familiar with the Copts; suffice it to say few groups in today's world (i.e. the Jews being one of those few) are more humbled by their afflictions and persecutions. 

I hope that we are able to find more who have been prepared to accept and receive the Word of God, because it truly is the power of Salvation unto all men. It brings joy, peace, consolation, guidance, and order into EVERY life it touches, be it poor or rich, proud or humble, great or small. Because it is the true Gospel, it helps everyone with every problem. Not everyone can see it the first time they look into the Gospel, but quiet determination allows the honest seeker of truth to know it is true for him/herself.

Some people have the misconception that my job as a Missionary is to convince others that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church. If anyone is ever baptized because I convinced them; then I've failed. My purpose is to tell others what I know to be true, and for them to try their best to have an experience in which they receive the quiet confirmation of truth through the Holy Spirit. That comforting, peaceful, safe, happy, good, special feeling is what convinces people to join this Church. I have felt it, and I am far from the home I love to help others feel it. I'm excited to once again feel the Spirit very strongly at General Conference, when the Prophet of God will tell us what the Father wants us to hear.

I love you all, I know that what the Prophet will say is from God, and I write this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Ben Cheung and I


Tim Tam Slam


The Hawk who Lives Upstairs