New Miracles and New Friends

Leihdeih hou!
Highlights from this week real quick:
Last week for p-day a group of us went to Disneyland (but not IN Disneyland, although we were all tempted to abandon our plans and go). Right outside the park they have Inspiration Lake, which is a gorgeous (manmade??) lake that you can rent bikes and bike around. Just so you all know, 6-person bikes are difficult to manage, but it was really fun. And exhausting, hahaha.
Anyways, that aside. I'm going to be real honest here. This week was rough. I don't know what it's been lately (actually it's ghost month, some Chinese tradition that makes people really hesitant to talk to foreigners), but it has been SO HARD to schedule people and do what feels like real missionary work. We've met a lot of brusque, not-so-friendly people this week, and it's easy to get discouraged. Sister Gaillard and I have been seeing almost daily miracles though, which reminds us that God is watching out for us, and also that we're doing something right, but for now we're just not seeing any miracles in the form of people interested in the gospel for now, so there's something for us to learn here. We did have a few really cool experiences this week where we talked to the right people at just the right time and made some pretty instant friends (I love that), and that's been just enough to keep us going.
Anyways, so this week I was reading in the Liahona, and I came across an article from this month called "Mountains and Sermons, Trails and Faith" and I'm pretty sure it was written just for me. The author was talking about how on her mission, she was having extra trials and she wasn't sure why it was happening to her when she was giving so much to serve, and then she remembered how right before Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount, he climbed a mountain, perhaps to weed out the merely curious bystanders and find the disciples who were willing to climb a mountain for Him. Although my trails are a little different than the ones the author was experiencing, I found that I related to her experiences a lot and it really helped me. God is looking for serious, dedicated disciples, who won't fall away when the road gets a little rough or starts climbing uphill a little bit, and I'm grateful that even though sometimes it's really really hard, I get this chance to prove my faith to Him.
I was also reading an article called "Priesthood, Agency, and Black Powder" from September 2007, and I stumbled across this quote that says, "At the press conference when she received the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa was reportedly asked, 'So how do you feel now that you have been working to feed the poor and ease their misery for decades, and things are still just as bad--or worse--in Calcutta as when you started?' Her profound response is an example to us all. She said that we have not been called to be successful but to be faithful."
Stay faithful, folks. It may not be easy, and it probably won't be, but the blessings will come. Maybe not the way you'd like or when you'd expect, but they will come and will be sweeter and better than we could have ever imagined.
Love you all. Gayauh :)
Sister Wasden
郭姊妹

Pics:
Biking. Can you see the exhaustion in our eyes?
Been real smoggy lately.
When life give you lemons, laugh at them.

No Big Typhoons Yet??

Leihdeih hou!
Ummm. Nothing too crazy to report on this week.
This is important though: FIVE GUYS IS COMING TO HONG KONG. Let me repeat that: FIVE GUYS. IS COMING. TO HONG. KONG. I can't even believe my luck. I think this is a direct miracle in my life, and oh am I grateful. Here's hoping it opens before I get transferred away from the Island, or I'll have to travel a lot farther to go on p-day!
This week we also had zone conference! It went really well and President and Sister Phillips are angels. The whole mission is also abuzz because President Phillips changed the music rules, so now we are allowed to listen to anything that is "spiritual, classical, or church released" instead of just green hymnbook and childrens' hymns, so we're all pretty psyched about that.
Umm, let me teach you all some Cantonese! So "fong ngohdeih feigei" (with correct tones, I don't know how to type them up, sorry) is a term that directly translates to "take the airplane" (sort of), and it basically means to stand someone up. Us missionaries Chinglish that to say that someone "fonged" us when they don't show up to something they said they would show up to. Here's how to use it in a sentence: Yesterday Sister Gaillard and I got fonged eight times! True story hahaha. Four of them were going to come to church, and the other four fongs were lessons (two potentials, one less active, and one member), so at least we had a good variety! It sounds pretty rough and it actually is kind of rough but that's just part of the fun here, hahaha. Eight is a high score for me, I'll let you know if I can beat that in the future. :)
This week I've been really learning about being happy despite your trials. I've always worked really hard to keep a positive attitude about things, but I'm really working on letting Christ (and also my companion and other friends) help me handle my trials instead of trying to shoulder them all by myself. Christ is there for us in the good times and in the bad. Don't forget that. :)
Love you all! Have a good week! Gayauh!
Sister Wasden
郭姊妹

Pics:
I may not have Five Guys yet but at least I have Subway.
Central area. Gorgeous as always.
We were with the Kowloon West and Kowloon East zones for zone conference this week and 4 out of my 7 companions were there! Look at these blessings.

More Subject Line Submissions Welcome

Leihdeih hou!
This week has been good!
We had transfers this past Thursday. I don't want to be overdramatic and say that saying goodbye to Sister Briggs was one of the hardest parts of my mission, but there it is. Sister Gaillard is so much fun though and we've already had so much fun together these past four days! We're really looking forward to this coming transfer. Lots and lots of good things ahead. :) Also being with Sister Gaillard again keeps tricking me into thinking I'm back in Tai Wai/Sha Tin, which has been a nice time warp for me. I've even been craving coconut water again lately.
We started out the transfer with a service project in Aberdeen. We took out some mentally disabled people (they're all seriously so sweet) to a museum! This museum was not one of the classy art museums, it was a weird art museum. Like, there was a full room dedicated to an exhibit where you walked in and turned on the lights and then there would be creepy laughing and a bunch of baby dolls would start moving around. I for one am a fan of classy art. It was a fun experience, I guess, but I'm happy to not go back, hahaha.
Miracle of the week: So I guess now we're French missionaries! Not really, but Sister Gaillard has certainly been attracting a lot of French people lately. One of these is a super super cute girl we met in Aberdeen! She's from Madagascar and is SO SWEET. We invited her to a stake activity that we had last night (which was all in Chinese but it was in the building where the international branches meet so we figured that was good enough) and as it turns out, she lives with members in the Aberdeen ward, so she already knew people there! And she also brought her super sweet Indonesian friend, and they both really loved it and it was so fun getting to know them. They kept saying that they felt so comfortable with us and that when they were at the church they felt that they could have positive thoughts, and isn't that exactly what the gospel does for us? We can think positive because we know who we are and Whose we are and we know that the One that knows everything has a plan just for us. Isn't that great?
Love you all! Thanks for the love. :)
Gayauh!
Sister Wasden
郭姊妹

Pics:
Sister Gaillard is so cute
One last pre-transfer zone picture
J Chillin
Cheng out with our deaf members :)
Saying goodbye to Sister Briggs
At that museum...
With our new pals and the West Point sisters :)

Sam once fished three mice from Lake Nahuel Huapi

Leihdeih hou!
I wasn't kidding when I said I was taking submissions for a better subject line, hahaha.
This week has been good!
We had MLC. Always a good experience. We talked a lot about what a gift and blessing repentance is. Make sure you're doing that every day, okay? A lot of people would give a lot to know that they've been given a second, third, and millionth chance.
I also went on exchanges in Chai Wan again, with Sister Ang (from New Zealand) this time! It's always fun to spend more time with the pals and see other gorgeous areas in Hong Kong. I learned a lot and I'm so grateful for these angels I serve with. :)
We also got transfer calls this week! Sister Briggs and I stress-baked banana bread while we waited for the call to come in. It was delicious. I'll be staying in Pok Fu Lam, and I couldn't be happier about that! This ward is seriously so special. The sad news is that Sister Briggs will be leaving mer. She's one of my dearest friends and we are devastated to be separated, but I think that's how missions go. You pour your whole heart and soul into an area, a ward, and into your companion, and then in the end you leave and get to find your heart and soul again in a new area. Just more people to love though, right? :) My new companion will be.. Sister Gaillard, from France! If her name sounds familiar to you, that's because it should! We were companions for two weeks back in Tai Wai/Sha Tin and it's so crazy that we're comps again! Excited for what should be a good transfer!
In other news, yesterday in primary we had to have the "when we sing songs in primary we sing them in Cantonese, not in Mandarin, okay?" talk again, and I realized yet again that all these kids are way smarter than me.
Life is good. Repentance is real. Missions are the best. Love you all.
Gayauh!
Sister Wasden
郭姊妹

Pics:
Jyu Wing and Ho Wing, our music student and BFFs
Are my eyes blue or brown, you tell me
Our primary cuties
Tim and Ann, angels in this world
Baking with the zone sisters for p-day today!
Hong Kong I LOVE YOU