Blog Post #43:the Dying Dragon

Dear People,

This may be my last Blog Post for a while. The Year of the Dragon is on it's way out, and with the Year of the Snake slithering towards us the northbound trains are filling up, shops are advertising whether they'll be closed for one week or for two, and the library in Fanling where we do email won't be open Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday isn't looking super promising either.

Chinese New Year is like Christmas X 1 1/2. We are, after all, in China, the country in which some stuff shuts down for the first full Lunar Month. Here in the south things are a bit more "realistic", we're a money-minded people, the gluttony of our wallets cannot justify no business transactions for even 7 days, much less 28. All the big stores will reopen on Tuesday, and the Golden Arches are always open, even though Chinese New Year isn't their biggest day for business.

Missionary work, however, never stops! We went street contacting for 2 hours yesterday, and even though most the people we talked to are busy for the next 2 weeks, we've got some potentials lined up to keep us busy once everyone gets back from their ancestral home villages.

The best thing about this time of year is the weather. It is a balmy 20 degrees Celsius, which should be something like mid to high sixties on the American scale. There are occasional little rain storms, but nothing that scares the Chinese off the sidewalks for more than a few minutes.

Here's a culture note for you: Chinese people are terrified of the rain. They say that is makes your clothes stink, which is true. Anything that falls from skies as polluted as these has got to be bad for your personal hygiene. If that's not enough; the added dampness to an already humid environment breeds mold and mildew at record rates.

Another thing about this time of year is that tests are coming up. All the students are cramming for 6 hours every evening for the next month or so to prepare for the ACT status tests that are coming up. Education is a lot more competitive here, so how you do on your test really does determine the rest of your life. Tests naturally bring projects, and one of these projects has come to my attention.

IVY, a Voc.-Tech. School of sorts, had a group of students that decided to make a mini documentary about the LDS Church in Hong Kong. I only watched like 10 seconds of it, but I'll let you all decide for yourselves if it's good or not.

[PLEASE GO TO YOUR YAHOO MAIL AND ATTACH THAT YOUTUBE VIDEO THAT'S ALL IN CHINESE TO THIS SPOT. THANKS]   (editor's note - said email failed to reach me)

The work of God is going forth nobly, boldly and independently. People may have ridiculous misconceptions of us, prominent members of our Church may not be the best examples, and we may be attacked by those who hate everything that we stand for, but this work will never cease.

We are sharing our glad message to everyone in every clime on every continent. The countries that are locked against our Missionaries have faithful members inside that are planting the seeds of acceptance and tolerance towards our faith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not only exists in Mainland China, but it is growing! We have people there who are sharing it with their family, and many of them are serving Missions.

These Missionaries from places where the Church is small will be the stepping stones to greatness. The efforts of my many friends I have met who are Missionaries from China will bless that country immensely. They will share the blessings of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ once they go home, and hundreds of millions will be blessed for it.

Pray for the Missionaries. We are far from home, but we have hope. We know that this work is true, we know that the Lord will bless us for our work, and we know that He will bless those we preach this glad message to. Join hands with the Missionaries in your area to advance this work; it has been appointed to us in this time because we are not only capable of doing it, we are capable of doing it according to God's will.

I know this is true, and that's why I am here. I'm serving in Hong Kong so that the people here can come to know God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and accept the blessings of this Gospel into their lives, homes, and families.

I write these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Jonathan Enoch O'Gara