Sis. Biz Warner in Hong Kong: WEEK 68

This past week was AMAZING!!!

It feels so good to be out in the work again. HK hospitals* take good care of you. Don't get me wrong-they are very hospitable, however, I learned a lot about patients while I was in there. ;) 5 days was a long time and I felt like I had to learn how to walk again. And I forgot that there are so many people here in HK! It was a tender mercy in disguise because it was like I got to experience my first day in HK all over again. I love this place and this work!! I want to share one quick experience I recorded while in the hospital:

The other night I taught a lesson to the lady in the bed next to me. she was pretty distraught and asked me to teach her how to pray. She said that when she walked in she saw my face and could tell something was different about me, it was the way I smiled. She said she doesn't normally talk to strangers but she saw my smile and knew she could trust me. She asked me who God and Jesus Christ are. She doesn't understand anything her preacher says in her Sunday meetings, but after what I taught her, she said she understood all I said. I gave her a picture of Christ and Heavenly Father and she was so grateful. Before she went to bed that night I could hear her mutter a prayer to herself, just the way I had taught her to. It was really sweet. :)

People are watching us wherever we are. Are you "standing as a witness at all times and in all things and all places?" You never know when or where the Lord is going to use you as a tool to help one of His children learn of him. I encourage you all to seek those opportunities!!

So last week:

It has been super rainy. We got to experience BLACK RAIN!!!! Thunder, Lightning, and buckets and buckets of water!! Thank goodness it's in style to wear crocs here in HK!!

Despite the heavy rain, our brave investigators still kept their appointments. We are so lucky! We got a headquarter referral this week! He found the missionaries in Macau and then referred himself online and lives in our area! Guess What? He knows about as much Cantonese as I did after my first day in the MTC. He is from Vietnam!! But luckily He is living with another Vietnamese family here and the mom can speak a little bit of Cantonese so she translates for us. We have already met with them 3 times!! He wants to learn more about Jesus Christ and how He can help him. The second time we met we gave him a Vietnamese BOM and he LOVED it. He read all the introduction, Moroni 10, and 3 Nephi 13 right there in our lesson. We tried just pointing to things we thought could help him in the Book of Mormon and showed him a video in English. The language barriers never really let up, do they? But the Spirit was there and he asked us to come back the next day. The next day they fed us dinner. The dad is a super good cook and well known over in Vietnam, it was so YUM! Lots of fancy fish and shells with chewy, i don't know whats, inside. We showed the Joseph Smith video in Vietnamese and he loved it so much! He pulled out his BOM and pointed to the pic in the front like, "Hey it's this guy!" Then we they brought out the dinner and they also brought out some beer. Eeeek. We were like no thanks! Then he asked if he could. We said no. But by the end of the meal I don't think he could resist and took some. It's fine, we will figure out a way to teach word of wisdom in Vietnamese so he understands! He is awesome!!

THEN, Sunday night we were walking on the ocean pier. Not too many people were out, but then a family on a bench caught my eye. They weren't Chinese, but I felt prompted to turn back and talk to them. They had the most ADORABLE children!! They came from Rwanda and have been here for 1 month! We asked to come to their house to teach about Jesus Christ and they said YES! The next day we entered their humble home and gave them a Book of Mormon and prayed with them. They are so humble and so happy! They said it was God's will that they met someone that could take them to church. The dad speaks a little English, so they are grateful they can attend meetings in English. 2 days later we took the ferry boat with them to the island. Their cute 1 year old, Chloe, with big brown eyes and a fro, was so excited when she saw the water and the big city. We took them to the Wan Chai church- which is ginormous- and they loved it. We turned them over to the international Elders and they will go to church with them on Sunday! AH! Families are the best!!

One thing I have really learned this past week. The Lord is closer than you think. He is more willing to help you than you can imagine. There wasn't much I could do in the hospital, besides read the Book of Mormon, PMG, and study Cantonese. It was a really precious time the Lord gave to me to really reflect and draw near unto Him. I read this quote a couple weeks ago:

"God will not just take away your pain because you ask, He gives you pain, because when we are hurting we draw closer to Him."

I felt this is so true this past few weeks. It was hard to be alone, a bit scary at times. One night the phrase came through my mind "Abide with Me", and He did.

I testify that the our Savior lives. He will not leave you comfortless. Every single one of us! That is my simple testimony. I know it is true!

Thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all!! have a great week.

-Sister Warner

*A couple of weeks ago, Sister Warner spent 5 days in the hospital for acute tonsillitis. She is all healthy now and back to doing missionary work. :)