Hello Hong Kong!!!: Hello! July 6,2014

Well this week was a crazy one. Super tired. But feeling good.

It started off with us going to a scout dinner, meeting. award, event thing. It was good, we got to meet a lot of people and talk a little. It was really cool because a lady that we met there attended english class and church this week with her daughter! They attend the other ward, but still so awesome. Since I didn't ever do scouts, I avoided questions about them, but they don't rank in HK so no problem. All the people loved that I did Air Force ROTC though, ha! If only they knew I just worked out and went to a class..

Then we had Mission Leadership Council with President and Sister Hawks. It was great as always. President taught us and shared about the Book of Mormon. It was incredible the way he taught on it. He talked about that the Book of Mormon was not at all a history of the people. That it contained a timeline but what it contained was the full doctrine of Christ and that it expounded on how we must live our lives. One thing that President had shared that I realized that I could be doing better was helping others get more involved with reading the Book of Mormon. I always would talk and read about it with them. But it really stuck out to me that this book as Joseph Smith said "a man will get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." I thought about that a lot. I always share about how things will bring others closer to God and that baptism will be one of those things, but I have lacked to emphasize how powerful the Book of Mormon is.

In the gospel of Jesus Christ we share about enduring to the end. As I thought about that, what thing that really keeps us enduring is that reading in the Book of Mormon. I thought about my experiences with it and what has led me to know it was true. I wouldn't say I got an answer saying the book was true, but as I did what prophets wrote and as I tried to live by the teachings in it, that is when I felt closer to God. That is what allows me to know that it is the word of God because it has never failed. It always strengthens my testimony. So we have put a new emphasis on teaching the Book of Mormon and helping others understand the importance of it. Teaching it in a new way, making sure we bear strong testimony and looking at it from the perspective as those first missionaries in the past. I love when missionaries were first here, there was no chinese translation. They would do Book of Mormon classes, but there Chinese was bad. But the testimony of the Saints here say that when they heard the words of the book and saw it, the Spirit bore testimony of it. Now they are able to read it and love it. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

Well then we had our zone training. We are going to be focusing on being committed to win. Not to finish, but to win. The commitment it takes to desire to have success. Then we are focusing much more on unity. Also we are going to do as President and Sister Hawks encourages, evaluating with Gratitude. Sister Hawks is a great example of that. She has taught me so much more on gratitude since I have been out here and helped me notice all the other amazing examples I have had in my life that demonstrate gratitude. It is funny because after we set our zone plans and actions, we saw that each one was something Sister Hawks had taught us with us and in the past zone conferences.

Well then later this week we attended the temple. It was truly amazing. I felt the Spirit super strong and it just pumped me for July!

Then we finally got to find!! Yep Saturday we finally had 6 hours of straight finding in the nice, hot, humid sun. I love it. I love the heat and humidity. I don't know why, but i do. It makes it hard to talk to people though, no not because that I am covered in sweat, but because no one really likes the sun to much here. If they are out, they are using umbrellas and it makes it hard to contact them. But hey, there is always fellow summer lovers so they stop to talk.

Jason is doing well. He has a baptismal date for the 20th! we have a lot to teach him still and hopefully his parents wont be so opposed to the church.. He is such a great guy though. He came to church again and gets along super well with the other young man in our ward. So great. He seems much happier as he keeps coming as well. I love it!

Alright that is all i got.

loves

Elder Townsend

happy 4th! Elder Chan and I went to lunch(after the temple) at the most American place we could go. Dan Ryan's. Yeah, that is an American behind us in the picture.

We went to TST area and saw statues for the World Cup and went on the ferry.