Week 19

Thanks David for the cool picture post cards. I have been showing them to youth members or to families that we visit. Everyone is so amazed by the big fish you are swimming next to. All the pictures are so cool and fun to show to people. Can someone send me the picture of me doing a scorpion in cheerleading (it is in my cheerleading photo folder on facebook). Thank you! I am so proud of Joseph (spelling bee champion for central FL?)! That is so cool, and if he was praying to do well in this competition (which I feel that he was), then I think he was blessed in his studies to go over that word "tchotchke". You are so cool, Joseph. I am excited.

I think what you grandpa said about stubborness is so great and true. As long as the extended Thompson family has stubbornness as a family trait, we might as well decide to be stubborn on the Lord's side. Funny.

Today (Feb 22) we will be going to Wan Chai and seeing the new apostle Elder Stevensen!! So excited. We will also get a group picture with him. Wan Chai is the skyscraper that looks like a chapel the whole way up, in the main city. (That is the stake center with the English branch you, grandma and Kim went to church in all those times when you were in Hong Kong).

I'm excited to be in Provo and Hawaii after the mission. I will be doing family history work and service!! If you have family stories/ memories (especially of people who have passed away) please write them down and save them all! I will be asking for them when I get back. Also, always to remember to look to your patriarchal blessing and develop those qualities that are mentioned :) Inspired.

I realize there are actually a lot of really good foods here. My stomach is starting to get used to the noodles and meats and I like them (sometimes). Abelone is strange, my companion was given it at a house the other day, but apparently it is very expensive. I love taro/ube flavor desserts!!! Especially mochi. So good. And the drinks of course are still my favorite thing. Some of them have pearl which are like squishy things (idk, I will send a picture). I gave some durian ice cream to some kids who we met on Saturday (visited the members home-- parents are great, went to BYU-H together, grew up in Tuen Mun). The kids were so funny they smelled it and got scared and ran away. I had never heard of durian... I didn't know it was a gross flavor. Oops. Btw, aloe works miracles for your skin!

Funny
At the mall a random guy came up to me and said "Hello, wife! I haven't seen you in so long. Can I cheng you both?" (Pay for a meal) We said we had to go and he tried to give me the key to his house. We ran away. Also, at church, an old man from another ward came up to shake my hand and got so surprised and said "hou chih gung jai!" I didnt know what it meant so he spent two minutes finding someone to translate it. He said I look just like a doll (barbie). Maybe the blonde hair? When I explain the story it just sounds really uncomfortable and funny.

I was thinking about a couple weeks ago when it was freezing and windy and we helped Sister Choi to church. We passed this tunnel at one point and the wind was so strong I thought she was going to fall over or blow away. That same week we were sitting in church and looking out the door/window and tumbleweed was rolling across the sidewalk. Last week we were sitting in the same spot looking out the window while making calls, and a lady walked past rolling a pink suitcase behind her. There was a child's head sticking out the top. My companion and I were just watching, so confused. No words. Had to be there kind of moment (very funny).

Also, I love that all the asian dads have baby straps to carry their baby on their stomach when they walk around. I think it is hilarious. Future husband: you will be wearing that everywhere you go. Lol. But really I'm buying one.

General
We were able to have the elders give Sister Choi a priesthood blessing. She has been so sick and her eyes/ foot/ other areas as well are all in pain. She has to go to a different hospital every day. Her baptism is postponed to next Sunday. The blessing was very meaningful to her. She is so sweet. Luckily her daughter is living with her now, so she is being taken care of.

The Young Women of our district made icecream the other day and gave us a tub to share in our apartment (banana flavor) yum! Every Sunday the members have a basket for the missionaries, and this week it was filled with chocolate, ramen noodle packets (their flavors here and different types of noodles are actually really good), different fruits, cans, drinks, and tons of the delicious hong kong bread from the bread store. A member also gave us a bag of kitkats. Last week I got a huge bag of musli and a fish lol. They are so generous.

This week I was really able to understand people more. I realize addiction is such a hard thing to overcome. We are so blessed to have the commandments which keep us safe from such a hardship. It really limits your free will and self control. It is important never to lose hope in people. They want to change. It is a hard thing (smoking, coffee, etc)... because you are trying to regain control and overcome those habits/ urges. All we can do is support them and encourage them (hopefully to replace the tendencies with healthier habits). So at this point we are trying to help two investigator's overcome their addictions. We will need to postpone their baptisms. They have such good hearts and all the right desires. We know they can do it; they just need time.

Sister Villasin and I were able to really get to know some of the members and gain their trust. I love the new tips for the member book; we need to write the things we have learned about them, not just what has been taught. It will make it easier for the next missionaries, because right now there is no information on any of our members. We have learned about their friends in the church, their future goals, the needs and lives of their families, the reasons for their joining the church, etc. We have been able to encourage them and show our appreciation for their service. Good things. We went to Yuen Long to the oldest/ first chapel in Hong Kong (they are in our zone). We met a random guy on the street in Yuen Long on the way home from a stake youth activity (missionary activity), and he is now a new investigator in Tin Shui Wai! He went to church on Sunday. We are so blessed to have finding made so easy (find at all times!!!... they come to you as you live the gospel).

We have another baptism date! We brought an investigator (Kylie) to a member FHE/ meal. We talked about prayer and then got the youngest one (7 years old) excited about baptism. We then said that Kylie would be getting baptized as well (had prayed beforehand and felt that we should prepare a date for the member meal)... and when they asked when, she told them in May (the date we had decided). Miracles. She gave herself the baptism date. Always follow the spirit's promptings :)

Yan's phone still isn't working, but she showed up at church again on Sunday (another miracle; I love her so much and have so much faith/confidence in her) and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was very special. She even bore her testimony afterwards (she was very nervous)! Two other investigators, Sister Wan and Sister Wong were present and were so touched. They talked to her afterwards. I think we were all edified by the experience.

Sister Wilcox

Remember that if you click on the picture, you can get a bigger close up view.

In our area

The bowl has a sweet pork bun (love buying them).

Mochi and mochi ice cream (ube flavor). Heaven on earth

I like sending pictures of my outfits... so here

Fun outfit. Sorry I'm not smiling.

Sister Allison in our apartment (Butterfly ward). Transfers are soon so I wanted to make sure I had a picture with both of them.

Sister Hoxer

Yuen Long First chapel in Hong Kong

Pic of it way back when

Walking in YL

Some areas are super rural out near Hung Shui Kiu (way back to Tuen Mun)

If you know what kind of dog this is, you get a prize (this will be my future dog).

Path that we walk every day on the way to the chapel (has bike path as well)

Lau family

Kylie and yummy asian drink with pearl.

People sitting watching their bird cages.

Week 18

Grandpa, I love your stories about living in the Philippines, especially how your example of a "privileged" American family walking a mile to get to transportation, crowding into jeepneys, balancing on the back of motorcycles with sidecars, walking through mud and rain and street construction to get to church every Sunday without fail rather than being chauffeured to church every Sunday was such an example to the members that they told you that they had decided they needed follow your family example to come to church every Sunday no matter the conditions whether they had an assignment or not. As a result the attendance doubled in a year and the branch was made into a ward.

I almost forgot it was Valentine's day. I don't think they celebrate it here. We had a baptism on valentine's day :) Tuen Mun Ward's first baptism in 4 years, Sister Yan. The whole ward was so excited. We had a Young Man who is about to serve a mission baptize her. He is always involved at church (bearing testimony, going to activities etc) and is a new convert. It was his first time baptizing someone. The youth were so excited and he and Yan were both so nervous. Everyone was excitedly taking pictures with Yan like it was a photoshoot (not super irreverent though). Yan was under the water for quite a long time because they couldnt push her head under. But it was great.

For Chinese New Years last week it was pretty much very quiet with no people in the streets and a lot of the shops closed in the morning. It is one of the only times they have off work and everyone is visiting family or indoors with their family. People eat together and enjoy each others company. During the day you see a lot of families walking together to go somewhere. I don't know if there is more celebration in other areas.

We have Sister Training Leaders who are like zone leaders but for sisters. We do zone 24s, exchanging companions for a day for fun, so that people can learn from other areas and companionships and ways of doing things. Because we have so many sisters, the main rule is that sisters teach sisters, elders teach brothers. That's why all the investigators I tell you about are sisters.

Here is how we find people to teach: English class gets us investigators. We also have a large pool of less actives and former/ potential investigators to choose from. Less active work is huge in hong kong, generally because people become busy with work at some point or have problems with the word of wisdom. It isn't really like work for us, because these are people. It is nice to get to know people. (That doesn't mean that we don't get tired or that it isn't hard at times, lol).

Funny: Sometimes when we are out teaching, it feels like we spent the day shopping. The other day we came home with two big bags of clothes and two big bags of food from the different people we had visited that day. Of course, we give a lot of it a way (able to use it as an opportunity to serve/ give to others). Finding is a funny experience. Usually we simply find during travels, because we have a lot scheduled during the day. The other day we had a bit of free time to sit in the park. We sat next to a nice old man, and while we were talking to him, another person came up and started asking us about the church. The whole time we were sitting in the park, people just came up and talked to us and sat next to us after we would smile and wave to them and ask a question. It was very neat. One of them even came back and gave us New Years money packets because he was so pleased to meet us. It reminds me of our experience this whole time with investigators. They always call and schedule us. They tell us they miss us. They enjoy talking with us on the phone and hearing our prayers for them (one of them didn't even answer the phone for missionaries before, but now she trusts us and also likes phone prayers). They give us so many things. I think that as we really live the gospel and strive to have that perfect love for them, missionary work is made easy. It can be applied to anyone's life. Live as an example. Love those you are in contact with. Apply the principles of the gospel.

Irene is so special to us. Her family refuses to talk to her or visit her because they say she is crazy. She is not even allowed to visit her child. We celebrated New Years with her (cooked a bunch of food and ate it like a picnic), and after played her karaoke CD's on our mini dvd player (she does not have a CD player). She has been sad for so long (sick/ only friends are smokers as well, so she has been lonely/ no job), but was so happy as we listened to her sing. It was really nice to see. We are supporting her to quit smoking. We also know that going to church will help her to feel better (peace, health) and to receive personal inspiration for finding work. She finally really was excited to come to church and make friends and support. She got lost on the way there though. I am so happy to see her begin to be happy again.

It is so true that the best way to gain your own testimony is to share it. When we listen to our friends who are interested in the gospel and ask them inspired questions, they begin to comprehend the gospel in their own way; as they share their feelings/ testimonies, they receive a confirmation of the truth of it. They grow in testimony. It is special to witness.

Sister Wan is so great. She really just wants to help and serve others. Despite how little she may have, she simply thinks of the needs of others, and in turn is so happy. She and Yan have supported each other throughout the whole process of learning of the Gospel. When Yan was unsure about baptism, Sister Wan just happened to show up randomly at the church that day (we hadn't been able to find her or get ahold of her for a week and had been praying to find her). God answers prayers in His own ways. It was funny because she barged in during the lesson and excitedly said that the Gospel finally clicked for her and that she wanted to be baptized (missionaries have been visiting her for a couple years now, and she had never had the desire before). Her excitement and testimony she shared during that lesson, allowed Yan to realize it wasn't scary or impossible. Since then, Yan's strong will to go to church and to keep commitments have been an example to Sister Wan as well. Sister Wan was able to attend Yan's baptism yesterday, and I could see the love that she had for Yan. She cannot stop asking about when her baptism date is now-- so excited. It has been amazing to witness the miracles involved in one individuals life. In one individual's conversion. We have seen each investigator really grow in the Gospel and in testimony, confidence, happiness. They feel the love that we have for them. They feel the light and example of Christ that we pray so fervently to be worthy of. This past week was Chinese New Years; Yan was with her family, and we hadn't been able to meet with her. We then lost contact with her on Thursday. We did not lose faith in her. The zone kept her in their prayers. I received the comforting witness in my prayers that she would show up to church on Sunday, despite not being able to get ahold of her. I knew that she would. Words cannot explain how happy I was when I saw her walk up to the chapel doors. I could not stop smiling and hugging her. She is now committed to follow Christ's path. It was such a special day.

The funny thing is, Yan has had this emoji face that she has been obsessed with since we first knew her. She loves to draw it and thinks it is so funny. Sister Wan just happened to bring the exact face in the form of a pillow to church the day of Yan's baptism and wanted to give it to us (didn't know about Yan liking it). The only difference is this face is smiling. I think it will be the perfect memory of her baptism, and kind of represents that now she is made clean and happy. Little inspired things.

Sister Choi will be getting baptized next week. She has been falling a lot, and keeps having to see the doctor. But despite everything, she still makes it a priority to come to church (this week, her grandson was leaving to study in Taiwan on Sunday, but she still came to church before having to go to the Hong Kong side). I think she is exhausted though, because she kept falling asleep.

My companion, Sister Villasin, is amazing. I am so glad she has been my trainer. She is so committed to the love of the investigator's. I think one of the most important things to remember is to Teach People, not Lessons. She has been such an example with that. I have confidence that our success is because of that. We really get to know and love each person that we meet, whether it be finding in the park or visiting a less active. Serving them allows us to really see their worth as God's children. They become such important individuals to us. And that allows us to understand their needs and apply the gospel to their lives; the principles are applicable to every challenge and need.

We are on this earth to be tested. Jesus Christ has walked the path before us, so that we can know the exact way to go. Success and exaltation has been made simple. We must simply follow Him. I am so thankful for my Savior. I love my Father in Heaven, and cannot wait to live with Him again with eternal light and glory and happiness. We can achieve anything we set our minds to; His kingdom can be reached, and it will be. :)

Sister Wilcox

Someone fixing a light/ where we were sitting in the park

People bring their caged birds and hang them in the trees for fresh air.

Shopping area near Leung King (apartment buildings in our area). We meet people at the McDonald's here a lot. The special ice cream cone flavor this month was purple sweet potato. Sasa is a popular store.

Ate with a less active and a member. This is a squishy dessert they like.

Sister Wan and Yan.

Sister Choi.

Our first baptism

Young Men/ elders.

Some clothes that people have given (semi duck face, no shame)

This was from a while ago. When Carman (member) and I got our hair permanently straightened.

Relief Society BBQ

My fork melted

Super cold! At RS BBQ

Week 17

Welcome to the Year of the Monkey. Things were closed for new years and we had zone conferences so this week's message is a bit delayed. So nice to hear all the updates. This week spiritual and general are mixed. We are planning on baking together with our investigators, so the Elders practiced making sugar cookies to see if you had to change the recipe for the elevation difference. It tasted so good; who knew elders could bake.

I am thankful. I am thankful to see that my investigator's have their own testimony and desire to go to church and participate in classes. I am thankful that it hasn't been unbearably cold this past week (nice weather!).

Yan will be getting baptized this Sunday. She has come so far. She really loves when I teach her how to play piano, and has a goal to be able to play in Sacrament meeting. She reads the scriptures a lot (so motivating!) and is growing her testimony little by little. Sister Choi will also be getting baptized on Sunday. She is such a sweet lady. She loves to buy us ice cream and pies at McDonald's. She always makes such an effort to go to church. This Sunday she went to church even though her family was in town (they are against the church) and she was on the Hong Kong side in the morning. So much effort put into it. It was funny, because she has been really busy lately... She had to leave her hair appointment early and so her hair was a big poof when she met with us the other day. She is funny. We love her so much!

Our other two friends with baptism dates (Irene and Sister Wan) are pretty humorous as well. They both tell me when I need to wear more makeup or when I've gotten a little fatter or skinnier (chinese culture... :) ). They both know the blessings of the Gospel. They are so touched by our friendship. I hope that they can grow closer with church members (their schedule is a bit complicated for many member lessons, and sometimes it is hard for them to come to church because they are often tired or sick). But they know it's important and want to be better.

Sister Ann is a dear lady who cannot get work off on Sunday. Yet, she has so much faith. She met with us this past week, and felt that we were God's way of sending angels to her (because of certain things that we've said, or certain times we've reached out to her). I'm thankful that we can be a tool in the Lord's hands, even when we don't necessarily know the exact reason for the ways we choose to serve (guidance).

We also have a friend named Kylie who is about our age. She is getting ready for final exams and a bit worried for English grammar. We had a fun time with her over Chinese New Years, and made some fish lanterns out of chinese money pockets (people have given us money, but missionaries give the received money as fast offering).

I know that people really feel the love that their Father in Heaven has for them when we are worthy and obedient in all ways. They always seem to want to give back. We get tins of cookies and treats, food, and even nice clothing to wear (skirts and jackets). It is really meaningful. I'm so glad to get to know my ward. They are like a small family. So sweet. I was able to bear my testimony this fast Sunday because there weren't many people there (Chinese New Years). I told them how much it meant to get to know all of them and that we could in fact strengthen our ward (and of course, bore my testimony). It has been really great genuinely getting to know them. The ward missionary is Less Active right now, so that is kind of ironic. But he seems like a really great person. And people who are less active are not any lesser than those who are. They still have such strong testimonies and strengthen ours as well. I think sometimes they just don't understand that going to church every Sunday is for their real benefit. That the sacrament will lift us for the week and help us to continue to become better, and that we need to get to know the fellow members to support them and so that they can support us. Maybe they forget the bigger picture.

I'm thankful that Heavenly Father answers prayers so specifically. I pray for the Gift of Tongues in the sense that as I study diligently and SYL (always speak the language), I will have the ability to communicate well enough to really grow a relationship with people and understand them/ their personalities. He has answered that prayer :) . People have asked me how I study/ how I have gotten my Cantonese so good, and I know it is only because of His answer to my prayers.

I'm thankful for service. My companion and I love cooking things for people (mashed potatoes and gravy, pasta, curry, etc) or giving flowers just to see the way their faces light up. There are so many good people all around us. We appreciate all the things they do and just want to give back. I also love the way a meaningful compliment about someone's personality/ being can lift their spirits. It is always my goal to strengthen and lift those I am in contact with, whether it be investigator's, members, my companion, other missionaries, or even leaders. That has always been something that I make an effort to do, is to lift others.

Zone 24s was awesome. Sister Shiffert (my companion) is so sweet. She really tries 100% to be diligent and obedient and makes such an effort to talk to everyone. It is great. Yuen Long has so much potential. I was able to meet two less actives, Sister Wan and Lam and their families. I already love them so much. They are so funny (one is a chinese Geisha; they both have teenage sons who don't like to listen and love to play technology). We also were able to meet so many lovely people randomly who were interested in the Gospel. I know that they will contact them again. It was a meaningful experience.

We helped a lady pack some things for moving who lives in Crossroads (works there... such an international place. So cool). She is not a member but still a devout christian and so uplifting. Such good faith. She is from Sri Lanka, so she made us some Sri Lankan food as a thank you. It was so good! She also had the Mozartkugeln that is so popular in Austria that she shared with us. That was so fun-- reminds me of my Summer abroad in Vienna :)

We also had zone conference. It was really good. Sister Villasin lost her Octopus card though (travel card... just paid 500 hk $ for the month of travel). The leaders are so sweet. Sister James and Sister Lam both helped us look through the trash (with sticky asian food) to see if she had left it on the table cloth when they threw it out. No luck. Their effort was so awesome though; if digging through the trash for someone isn't true service, I don't know what is. At zone conference, I got to see more MTC friends and we had orange chicken which I haven't had in so long (we surprisingly don't eat out a lot because our area is so small, We can make it back to the apartment pretty quickly). Taro and sesame are pretty popular flavors that I like. I have also tried a red pork bun and dumplings this week. So good! Also, I love asian desserts. Their red bean drinks are still to die for.

You might wonder how we read the Chinese when we sing or read the scriptures since they use characters instead of our writing system. We are given hymn books and scriptures in pinyin (our alphabet) so that we can follow along during church etc. We are also not allowed to learn characters until 9 months into the mission field and after being tested in our language. They want us working on our language skills first!

Love you all. Prayers to you all. Remember that I'm still normal, I am just growing a lot spiritually and so I like to share.

Sister Wilcox

Traditional plant with fruit that are not eaten. Literally only grown for Chinese New Year decoration and symbolizes fertility.

These and yellow flowers are everywhere. Everywhere. (For Chinese New Year obviously) Also has money packets on it.

View from other apartment during Zone 24s

Kylie and fish lanterns!

Taro, mushrooms, papaya soup, sweet sausage. A lot of traditional things (this sister often makes traditional food for us. Pretty interesting.)

Chinese New Year signs and plants:

Shopping selfie. All this walking is slimming me down. Yay

Week 16

General
The Chinese New Years celebration for the year of the Monkey is inabout a week. Already there are lots of flowers everywhere and fish lanterns. You asked if we eat at the noodle shops like they have in Kung Fu Panda. There are also noodle shops everywhere but we usually cook our own foods in the apartments. I love the drinks here. They have a lot of different sweet drinks you can get at the dessert shops and things. You noticed that there are two bunk beds in our apartment. There are 4 sisters in our apartment. I am on the top bunk. We do have heat for this unusual cold spell. We have two little plug in heaters for our apartment but they are sufficient. I have 4 blankets. The weather has been really nice this week, but I think it may get cold again next week.

It is so cool that David is learning guitar. He is a cool kid. Grandpa, you are also cool, I didn't know you lectured in Macau and Hong Kong. That is so neat that there now is a YSA branch in the stake.

Spiritual
This week I got to go to the Hong Kong temple for the first time. It was beautiful and so special. I was able to get inspiration on some things that I had been weighing out in my mind.

This week has been hard. I have felt completely spiritually, mentally, and physically exhausted. But Heavenly Father continues to answer prayers. He gives me strength. I have been able to witness so many miracles. I have been able to grow relationships with ward members and watch as the ward is unified and strengthened. I am blessed to be called to such a tight-knit, small, humble, welcoming (to all the people we bring) ward. It is like home.

I had been feeling pretty unwell for a bit of the week, and we really pushed ourselves to press forward. By Sunday, Sister Villasin and I were "struck by lightning." It was very difficult in our individual scenarios to make the calls and to go to the church. But we had prayer to rely on :) And my exact prayers were answered. The two investigator's we weren't able to get ahold of, were at church. One had been locked out of her house after work the night before and had no sleep, but knew she had to go to church (she will be getting baptized soon) and the other made it a priority to come all the way from the Hong Kong island to get to church (also getting baptized soon). Their faith and testimonies are so bright and touching. I have been able to build trust and relationships with people that required a lot of prayer and effort and sincerity. One lady who we have been visiting but doesn't like to talk much about church has been becoming brighter and happier and when we called to ask what we can do to help her, she told us to pray for her. People seem to reach out to me at the exact moments I need it as well. I like to think that in Heavenly Father's work, He is also trying to build and help and reach out to us. There were lots of little miracles so evident throughout the week. He does not stop the wind, He gives us strength to overcome. 2 Cor 12:9-10 Our infirmities allow Christ to strengthen us. And in that way, we are so blessed.

Sister Wilcox

Selfie with Sister Choi, the indestructible.

Our ceiling finally fell.

Luckily I wasn't home when it fell.

Aurelia at the Hong Kong temple.

Fancy houses near the temple.

Crossroads. We volunteer here every Wednesday.

We built a roof over the cashier. This is before we put hay on it.

Our beautiful area. New Territories, our zone, is the coldest part of Hong Kong.

We "heart attacked" some of the members/investigators doors. We used some of our food money to buy the candy.

She lives above a little barber shop.

Our investigator helps us serve other investigators and members. We brought flowers to a less active member after this.

First time eating duck. There was lamb as well. Don't worry, it wasn't just the elders there. I tried to take of a picture of the food only. There were also members there.

Super foggy and cold!

Family Home Evening games. Only one investigator came but we still had fun.

Ward Young Men cooking.