Mammy's Pancakes June 22,2014

Well this week was a good week. It started off with us heading out to my old area of Hung Hom at the beginning of Preparation day. This sister that I had been with since the start of my mission was heading home and needed to get jade. Sister McKown was in my district so I let her know I had the hook-ups so we all headed out of the new territories to the city.  So heading back to Hung Hom was great. I felt so good because we headed over to this old man's shop Mr. Wong, I had written about him probably forever ago, and when we walked up he was like "my friend! my friend!" then he gave me a big old hug. I wasn't sure who was more happy to see each other, me or him. I had went to say goodbye to him before I left to Tuen Mun so he asked about that. Well he ended up selling a lot of jade to our group of 8 and was happy. He always tries to give me something for free because "friends don't talk money." but I gave him 20hk. I love him, hilarious, wise old man. 
Then we went to this place called "Mamm'y Pancakes" to go get some HK style waffles. Super good, best in hong kong. The lady had moved locations so we had to go find the place. She wasn't open so we waited and well since it was Sister McKown's last pday, things worked out. She showed up and opened up. We were stoked. I felt on top of the world because the lady also "cheng'd" me to a "gaai daan jai" It felt good to be back to see these people. 

Well this week we taught our investigator Anderson. I wrote about how we had called him after he went to the temple to pray and all last week. Well we met with him again and he is a special man. The Spirit felt so strong in his lesson. He is just such an amazing man. I don't even know how to describe. Since he has had a lot of hard things recently, we had been thinking a lot of what to share with him and how to let him see the Lord will strengthen him. I found myself reading President Uchtdorf's talk "Grateful in Any Circumstance" from this April's general conference and realized we needed to share with him about gratitude on how that will change everything for him. How giving a day of only pure gratitude prayers will make us feel God's love so much stronger. 

I have put this to the test many times and seen its power, so we were excited to have him do this. We taught on gratitude and shared out of 1 Nephi 18 just as president Uchtdorf had as well. We focused a lot on how in his trial that Nephi praised the Lord and then when he was released, he asked the Lord for peace in the waters. He really enjoyed it and saw on how it could benefit, that rather than to complain of the problems to see how much support there has been. He has incredible faith in prayers being answered and how God gives him support. As he shared about that, we were prompted to talk on the Light of Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost of how special it is to receive that gift after we are baptized. On how God will answer us. He already knew God does, he just needed to understand how. I am so grateful for the guidance and ability each day to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We bore testimony of the power of gratitude and the blessings of it. I know that gratitude changes us, because i feel it changing me everytime I focus on it. I love the Lord, He is so great. I wish I could always do right. But He strengthens me and gives me the courage to change and that I am thankful. The Holy Ghost truly benefits our lives for so much good. It is the gift that we should always maintain or desire. We will work with Anderson so he can receive one day! 

oh and we will be having preparation day next friday. We have a special temple day next week as a zone. the temple president has invited us missionaries to come.

Loves

Elder Townsend