Blog Post #47: Flashback

Dear People,

In the Mission Field we have books of records. Records of everyone we've sat down to talk with, all the times we've met with people who live in our congregation, and (theoretically) records of all the good places to eat, and the bad places not to eat at.

In my last area, TST, the record for the Chan family had a picture of a new Missionary sitting on the couch, eating chocolate, looking a bit surprised at the camera. Now he's my Companion!

Elder Chan is from my Baby Area, and he's awesome! He has great English (better than my Chinese), is super patient, and likes to randomly attack people when we're at home. He's pretty much the perfect local companion for me to have. He takes the work seriously, and he also takes P-Day seriously; it's a day to relax for 6 hours, then fill the last 3 with street contacting or dinner appointments.

I'm super excited to be with him, and I'm sure that he'll be a regular character in my posts. He doesn't like spicy food, so I'm going to have to turn down the fire when I cook for everybody on Mondays, but I think it'll all work out fine. He's an awesome guy, and I know that we're going to be great friends. He even taught me how to play an awesome card game that's the Chinese equivelent of BANG!, which is my favorite thing in the world (right next to butterscotch).

The work here is still going strong, after a week and a half of working with another companionship my area was suffering a little bit, but we're slowly having more success and meeting more people, so I have lots of hope for this area. Moves calls is tomorrow, but I doubt that'll affect me much. I hope all of you are having a great time, I know that many of you who have been sending me letters are having a great time! Congrats, Heidi!

Keep on praying for me, even though I can feel the hand of the Lord lifting me up and keeping me afloat I sometimes feel like my head is barely above water. Better to swim in the deep than the shallow. I know that this work is not only an opportunity for me to serve the Lord, but also a blessing.

My two years here is going to be the deciding factor for my whole life. The effort I put in here in Hong Kong is going to determine who and what I am for the rest of my life. I'm determined to put in as much as I can, so that I can become the best person I can. I'm glad that I'm here, learning how to be selfless, caring, patient, humble, diligent, and obedient to my leaders.

I hope you are all having an amazing time, and I'm excited to share my experience here with you.

Love,
Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #46: Safe!

Dear People,

Well, I didn't get a call saying I'm training, so I have some time to keep improving myself before I get to go back to an extra hour of studies every day. Hopefully I'll get someone amazing in here to whip me into shape so that I can learn how to be better! I'm not a speculator, so I have no idea who it could be, but I'm sure it's gonna rock once I get my new companion! I really only have one more day to wait! I'm so excited!

To celebrate my 3rd favorite February Holiday (the first is my brother's birthday, the second is my "Party Day", the third is Mardi Gras, the fourth is St. Valentine's Day) I made a HUGE pot of Gumbo, a peach crisp, and an apple crisp. The Gumbo was chicken instead of shrimp, was nice and spicy, and everything in it was chopped into perfect bite size chunks. The crisps were more like cobblers, and had pecans on top, but nobody complained about them.

Anyways, beside wishing I could have been with Elder Roper for another 6 weeks, I've had a blast! Being in a Tripanionship is a little awkward in teaching and street contacting situations, but it's not impossible, and if you're stuck with two companions it might as well best be your two favorite people in the Mission! I was in the MTC with Elder Allen, and Elder Lee lived with me for the first part of my time in TST,  and then he was my District Leader for awhile.

Beyond working hard and having a great time, my life has been the usual, but amazing, Missionary work I'm used to. Every time I read the Old Testament I see another way that God shows mercy and love to His children, and it gives me a desire to spread the Restored Truth to this people! So many of them are perishing in unbelief, and it's my calling to help them know that there's more to life than working, smoking, and getting old and frail.

I love God's Plan of Happiness! It's so obvious to me that it's true! Why do we look to our parents and older siblings for help and guidance? Why are we upset when those around us aren't perfect? It's because, in the life before this one, we lived with perfect Heavenly Parents and had a perfect older brother, Jesus Christ, who could help us with any question or problem! We want to rely on our families because our spirits still remember the time when we lived with our Eternal family.

I know that there is a life after this one because of our instinct to remember those who have passed on. Here in Hong Kong there are many people who say that they don't believe in anything after death, yet they worship their ancestors and pay great respect to them. This is because their souls remember when we were taught that this life is not the end, and that even though we may be temporarily separated from our loved ones, we will be united with them again.

I know that God, the Eternal Father lives, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, Lord, and Redeemer lives. I know that they appeared to Joseph Smith, and that through him they restored the complete truth of the Plan of Happiness in this time when we can make the most of it; when we have the greatest resources to assist in spreading this Gospel to all the world!

I am proud to be a part of this work, so be a set-apart representative of Jesus Christ, to wear His name on my badge every day, and to be here in the China Hong Kong Mission. I know that so many of these people have been prepared for this message, and I wish I had more time to spread it! I love what I'm doing out here, and I love these people! I look forward to the next 14 months as a time to go all-out in the service of my God.

I know that what I have written is true, and I write it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Blog Post #45: Well . . .

This is awkward.

Elder Wu, Zone Leader in the International Zone, went home today. Not early, just at a funky time due to new Missionaries coming in.

My Companion, Elder Roper, took his spot. He's going to "die" in everyone's favorite part of the Mission. He just about did a backflip when we got the call when we were out street contacting after Church. I'm so happy for him, he's going to have the best time of his life.

But wait, what about Elder O'Gara? Missionaries can't be alone!

Don't worry, I'm not. I'm in a "Tripanionship", a three-some, with the other Elders who also serve the Tai Po Area until next Wednesday.

Why next Wednesday? Because that's when two new Elders get here, of course! I am still pretty young to train, and there are plenty of good Misisonaries who are older than me and still childless, so hopefully I'll have a few more moves before the Lord entrusts me with a new Elder.

Pray for me, pray hard. Even if I don't get a baby there's a pretty good chance that whoever gets him will give me his Junior Companion, and most of the Juniors who aren't in Leadership positions are younger than me.

The ideal circumstance is that I'll get an older Missionary in here for the next 6 weeks before he goes home, he'll be the District Leader, and after he leaves (and I get as much knowledge from him as possible) I'll have responsibilities come me way. Regardless of what happens, I'll be happy and willing to serve wherever the Lord wants me!

But still, pray for me.

Love,

Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #44: Ring It In!

Dear People,

We rang in the Year of the Dragon with an 8 1/2 hour game of Risk.

I kid you not.

It was the most epic game ever, even though I lost an hour in, and spent the next 7 1/2 using what was left of my troops to disrupt everyone else's plans. None of them were smart enough to kill me and take my cards, so I ended up being the 2nd one to die. Not too shabby for a 4 man game.

Today we went to Big Buddha, but because the travel was an hour longer each way than we anticipated, I don't have time to write more or put up the pictures of me next to the largest free-standing bronze Buddha in the world. I even managed to not get carsick in the 2 hours of driving!

I love you all, and I hope I have more time to write on Monday!

Love,
Elder O'Gara

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

Blog Post #42: Even More Changes

Dear People,

In this Church our congregations are assigned by geographical boundaries. Sometimes, to accommodate the needs of various congregations (more leaders, more young people, etc.) these lines are redrawn. This happened yesterday and it's a HUGE game changer! Let me give a quick rundown of what happened. (In semi-map form!)

Sheung Shui Ward

Northern Border: Mainland

They lost about the southern third of their area, a region called Fanling. Those of you who follow these letters a bit too religiously will remember that that's where I live. They were the strongest Ward in our area, so no one feels sorry for them losing Fanling.

Tai Wo Ward

They got Fanling from Sheung Shui, which is a bonus to their Young Women's program, stole a few housing complexes from us, but lost Tai Wo Estate, which is a massive hit to their Young Women's program.

Tai Po Ward (Where I serve!)

We got Tai Wo Estate! There are some extremely powerful people there that will be HUGE in helping us teach lessons. We also lost a bit of our northern area, but we'll survive. Another massive gain for us was that we got the Chinese university of Hong Kong from Shatin Ward! It's a famous area for being successful for finding people, and I'm excited to have it be a part of where I serve!

Shatin Ward

As far as I know they only lost CUHK to us, which is okay-ish because they have such a powerhouse area anyways.

So, the next 19 weeks that I'm guessing I'll be here will be super awesome, and all this new territory we have to work with is really going to help us find more people and keep them in the Church! Nevertheless, pray for me, I'm going to have a lot of work to do out here!

I love you all, and I'm so glad that I have this opportunity to serve the Lord! I am so blessed to be in this area with Elder Roper, he has a lot to teach me and I have a lot to learn from him! I love the hour I get for Personal Study every day. It helps me understand this Gospel that I'm preaching, and I hope that you are taking time to study the scriptures every day. Even if it's just a few minutes in the evening, anything you can do to invite the Spirit of God into your life will help you become happier and better people.

I love all the things that I am learning out here! I am excited to be able to share them with the people of Hong Kong and with all of you, and I hope that what I write is uplifting as well as entertaining. I hope that everything is going well in America, and that all of you are happy and healthy and well!

Love,

Elder O'Gara

Blog Post #41: Two Days Late...

And with only 2 dollars in my pocket!

Today is Wednesday in China, which may have some of you thinking, "Did Preparation Day change again?". No, well, only for this week. Our normal P-Day is on Mondays, but our Temples aren't open on Mondays because that day is set apart for families to be together. SO we changed our P-Day from Monday to today so that we could go to the Temple! Hooray!

We went at 9:00 and got out at about 11:15, and in the intervening 2 1/2 hours we went to Korean BBQ, because why not?

We paid $108 each, and 8 of us sat around a trio of 16 inch round grills and [feasted?] on [ate?] meat and veggies until we were stuffed. 

People tell me I don't include enough detail, so here's a blow-by-blow of the epic struggle.

Elder O' VS Food

Round 1

18 golf ball sized dough balls, covered in sesame seeds, deep fried, and then drowned in sweetened condensed milk

-Gone in an instant! I pounded them into oblivion until all that was left was a puddle of goop with sesame seeds floating in it.

Round 2

12 Baby Squid, soaked in chili sauce

-Although the hot chilies on the outside made me pace myself, a dozen calamari the size of my palm is hardly a challenge. I am, however, quite satisfied with how well I grilled them; I usually under cook fish and take one bite and have to throw it back onto the cooking surface.

Round 3

12 ounces of chopped mutton, soaked in Chinese BBQ sauce (soy sauce, sugar, more soy sauce)

-Didn't stand a chance! After tossing it around on the grill until it had gone from deep red to medium brown, I threw a little more soy sauce on top and ate it bite by bite, enjoying each mouthful of delicious fragrant sheep.

Round 4

4 coconut mochi balls, 6 sesame dough treats, some kind of fruit... gelatin?, a small order of fries, and a few deep fried wanton wrappers covered in honey

-I ended up eating on [one] coconut mochi and given [giving] the rest to Sister Clements (we went as a District), but everything else was amazing! Except for the fry sauce they had, it was just funky. But, at least they tried!

Round 5

A plate of watermelon and Dragonfruit

-No Comment Necessary

Round 6

A bowl (i.e. a pint) of French Vanilla and Chocolate Chunk ice cream. Not a pint each, but a pint total

-I had to slow down a bit, but overall I finished off the ice cream with little resistance. I did, however call it quits after this round, just to keep myself from gaining too many pounds.

There were also 2 glasses (a quart) of soymilk in there, but it was sickeningly sweet and I only drank that much because I thought it was the better, less sweet, less thick stuff they had last time. I was a bit disappointed in it.

Well, that was my Preparation Day!

 I have enough time to write an email to the President (Mission President), go home, do studies, and then hit the streets in a desperate attempt to burn off a few hundred of the few thousand calories I ate today.

I love you all, and I hope everybody is having a good time! 

If any of you have any suggestions for improving my Blog, by all means, share! I don't want to bore anyone!

Love,
Elder O'Gara

[Editorial notes are in brackets [  ] . He is losing his spelling/grammar more and more.  I have been correcting it but have decided that perhaps his readers deserve to read what I, his compulsive spell/grammar checking mother, read. That would be the untouched email I receive ~ with my 'improvements' in brackets.]     [kvk]