Blog Post #50: A Proper Post

Dear People Whom I Love,

I've been neglecting my blog posts (which doesn't upset many more people than my mother, I'm sure), so I am going to endeavor to crank out a real update of my Mission for everyone else who is interested.

I am having the time of my life! We are teaching an amazing family, my companion and I get along great, and I love Tai Po!

The Wong Family is so good! They are the classic Chinese family; father, mother, son, and they are doing so well! They came to a musical fireside, and the last act was my Zone (14 Elders, 4 Sisters) singing the EFY Medley and then "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" in Chinese. After the fourth verse we all stayed up on stage while Elder Li stepped to the front and testified of the truth of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a Missionary looking at his last month of service, Elder Li is a powerful example of diligence, and the Holy Spirit could be easily felt as he spoke briefly on his last two years of spreading the Gospel. Mister Wong came up after the event and said "I want you to teach me that song!". I know he felt the power in it, too.

I am so glad I got to be the conductor for such an amazing choir! I'm not exactly sure why I was chosen, but I know that I was able to help others feel the love of God in their lives. There truly is NOTHING like Missionary Work! There is nothing better than being here! As hot, humid, and foreign as this part of the world is, I love being here because I am constantly supported by my Father's hand. I am lifted up by the mercy and grace of His Son, and I am driven by the desire to spread Jesus Christ's message to every soul in Hong Kong!

Jesus is the Christ!

He, through means we cannot understand, took upon Himself our pains, our sorrows, our grief, and all of our troubles, during the Atonement, and will do so today if we will just rely on Him! The simplicity of the Message should be the key indicator that it is true; a lie could not be so simple, yet so impossible to break. The fact that the statement "We believe that, through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved..." has stood, in one form or another, since the dawn of recorded history, shows how powerful it is! If it were a lie, it would have died long ago; and not be the driving force behind so much work for good in this world.

But none of that is the true heart of the message.

The core of our message is not the intellectual "good things come from good people", but the powerful witness that the Holy Spirit gives to those who hear the Word of God spoken in their ears, and then ponder the feelings they have in their hearts. What we really spread is the feeling of hope, love, and inspiration that comes from beyond this world and impels us to continue on, to teach and testify without ceasing.

I love this work! I know that it is truly the efforts of God to save His children! I write these things as an invitation for all of you to feel the Holy Spirit, to let the Atonement of Christ work in your lives, to heal you, and as an opportunity to come to know your Father in Heaven better than you ever could on your own.

I love you all, and I write this letter in the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Elder J.E. O'Gara