On this earth, I can't always have things my way...

Dear Friends and Family,

This past week was pretty cool.  The weather is cooling down a bit so that will be nice. We have two main investigators right now and they are doing very well.  They are Eric and Grace.  Grace is deaf, Eric is not.  They are both very good!  I will send you some pictures of them later. 

This past week nothing too special has happened.  But I think I understood one thing a bit more clearer in my life, and that is the will of God.  On this Earth, I can't always have things my way.  My ability and power is so weak.  I've experienced true freedom in my mission as I've surrendered to God's will.  Surrendering sounds like an easy action, but for me it is not.  It requires a lot of faith in God, that he will carry me if I drop.  It requires humility enough to realize I cannot do it all on my own.  It takes a lot to truly give yourself to God, but it is the only way.  Relying only on myself has led me to self-disappointment and discouragement. It can lead others to lose faith in what we work so hard to do, when we try to go it alone.

I want to be a reliable person.  Although, I alone cannot satisfy the needs of others, I want people to be able to depend on me keeping my promises, and even to expect it.  I hope I can get to a point where God has that same feeling towards me.

Love,
Elder Phillips

...all will be alright under His guidance.

Dear Friends and Family,

It turns out I am not moving!  It was pleasant news.  I love the area we are in a lot.  I also love these investigators a ton.  I'm hoping I will get to see the baptisms of a few of these people before the next transfers.  The next move date is December 18th, so I'm hoping Pok Fu Lam will have a couple more baptisms. :)

By the end of this move I will have been in Pok Fu Lam for 10 months.  Elder Groberg and I will have been together for 8 months.  I think keeping a companionship together that long is a record for our mission!  They said the reason for keeping us here is because we are doing such good work, that they figured why move us?  Hopefully Pok Fu Lam area is not destroyed by the end of this move. hehe just kidding.  

Missionaries make mistakes just like the rest of the world, and I am no exception.  I believe that God allows us to make these mistakes so that He can help us learn and correct our paths for the future.  I don't think we need to feel that everything will fall apart because of our mistakes. But rather we should feel that God has already planned for the fact that we'd make mistakes, and all will be alright under His guidance.  Perfection will not come in this life for us.  We should not expect things that are unreasonable, but we should demand of ourselves improvement. I love you all.  

Love,
Elder Phillips

It has been a great week in Pok Fu Lam.

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a great week in Pok Fu Lam.  I think the greatest miracle this week was about a guy named Eric. 

We found him on the street a while ago and exchanged phone numbers, however, we did not hear from him afterwards.  But just last Monday he sent us a text telling us about some problems he is having in his life and how he wants to change his life.  For some reason, he knew that coming to this church would help him change.  We have met him twice so far and he has a baptismal date.  He is such an awesome guy. 

Bishop Chan's son came home from his mission last week.  He has helped us out a lot already.  Our ward is small, so it can be hard for members to come to our lessons at times.  But Bishop Chan's son is so willing to help. 

We met a new deaf guy who is a body builder.  He came to church yesterday with the Li Family.  The deaf work is still going well.  We are all pretty curious to see what will happen with move calls because no other missionaries know sign language right now.  But Elder Groberg or I could easily teach somebody. 

It's going well out here.  I'm excited for Halloween. hehe.

Love,

Elder Phillips

I've recognized the power to change comes entirely through love...

Elder Phillips and Elder Groberg serving in the Pok Fu Lam area.

Dear Friends and Family, 

I do not have a lot to write today.  I wanted to share some things I have learned from the past week (including General Conference).  I definitely cannot write out all the miracles that happen and all the great things I have experienced.  Even in my journal I don't think I could record everything.

I've recognized the power to change comes entirely through love.  I loved a talk given by Henry B. Eyering when he talked about helping correct others through love.  We must show love before we try to correct someone, and show an increase of someone after we do so.  I've also learned the most powerful corrections are not given from people, but from God.  When a person realizes for themselves that they need to change something, they will have far greater capability to carry out that change.  

I also loved the man who spoke Portuguese.  He mentioned how to make the best decisions.  We must consider our options with the end goal in mind.  I think many great decisions can be made if we have a vision of the end.  The same is with the mission.  I've had some goals my entire mission.  Even if they seem unachievable from the point I'm at now, I believe changing or lowering them would lead me to not being able to fulfill my full potential.  

I also loved that awesome Scandinavian man who said that a trial is not a punishment from God.  He said when a trial comes we should see it as an opportunity to prove ourselves to Him, and nothing else.  Evil rains upon the wicked and righteous of the world.  Is it not punishment enough for the wicked that they deny themselves the eternal support of a loving God?  They cannot overcome their troubles correctly or find true peace without relying on God.  If there is one thing I know now, it is that.  Any trial is sent from God to be a blessing to you, not a curse.  

The last thing I would share is to ask yourself: "Is it I?"  Elder Uchtdorf shared a great talk about that.  We cannot expect mercy from God if we are unjustly judging others.  I know this gospel is true.  I love you all.

Love,
Elder Phillip

It has been a stellar week...

Jason's  baptism pictures!

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a stellar week.  Jason Li got baptized yesterday.  It was an awesome event.  My companion Elder Groberg actually baptized him.  We met him about 6 weeks ago, he has made so much progress in that short amount of time.  I've seen him become happier, and that has been a great blessing. 

Here is a cool story.  Elder Groberg and I were teaching Chan Kam Yan, and at the end of a lesson a young man comes in the church and asks us for a Book of Mormon.  We had never seen him before, but we had him sit down with us as we finished up Chan Kam Yan's lesson.  After that, we started talking to him and found out he had met with missionaries a year before.  He had a Book of Mormon already, but he wanted another one to give to his friend. He knew that Book of Mormon could help his friend.  He himself also knows the Book of Mormon is true.  He agreed to baptism.  He does not live in our area, so we turned him over to the Aberdeen Elders.  His name is Aldous. 

I don't have much else to say, other than I know this work is true. There are times of joy and times of sadness in it, but at every time God is in it. 

Love,
Elder Phillips

...the love of Jesus Christ brings freedom.

pictures of Chan Kam Yan's Baptism.

Also Sister Chan's son (Sung Ho) was baptized.  

a picture at the Sport's Day event where I ran into a member from my old "Butterfly" ward.  

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a pretty good time in Pok Fu Lam lately.  This coming Sunday, we have a scheduled baptism, so next Monday I will let you know if it all works out!  His name is Jason and he is a very good kid.  He is 15.  

September has passed by too quickly.  A week back, Sister Chan's son got baptized.  His name is Sung Ho Wing.  He has always been a pretty loud and sometimes naughty kid, but he has changed a great deal.  I remember riding on the bus with him awhile back. We passed by a graveyard and he said: "We don't worship our graves, because we worship Jesus Christ."  I thought that was pretty awesome.  On another occasion, we were at a Sport's activity and he came up to me and said:  Jesus Came today!  I looked up at this cloud that had rays of light beaming out of it, and I knew what he meant.  I thought it was really sweet, to see such a strong belief. Even though he is only 8 years old, the gospel really has changed him for the better.

I think I've found one of my purposes in my mission and for the rest of my life.  That purpose is to be a voice of compassion to the poor in heart.  The world is full of harsh, cruel, and disturbing sounds and voices.  I think I was meant to be a voice of mildness and love, speaking things that are pleasing to God.  I know that it is not my love that will free these people, but it is the love of Jesus Christ that will free them.   "Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy."  

An awesome baptism and an inspiring visit from Elder Rasband!

Area update - Elder Phillips is still serving in the same area (Po Fu Lam Ward), I think I left everyone hanging for a couple weeks after he had mentioned that transfers were coming. They came and went and he remained in his area, sorry about the delay.

Sept. 1st
Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday our investigator Brother Yan got baptized.  It was so awesome.  He is deaf, so we had another deaf member baptize him.  The deaf member used Sign Language to baptize him, so it was so cool.  I will send you some pictures of the baptism in a moment.

For the baptismal service, Pok Fu Lam and Aberdeen Ward combined.  Between the six missionaries 3 people got baptized.  I never expected that I would teach a deaf person and help them get baptized.  Life is full of suprises. 

There is not much more I can add to what happened this week.  Just look at the pictures and see the result of everything we have been striving for. 

Sept. 8th
Dear Friends and Family

Again I am so sorry that I cannot give you the pictures of the baptism.  We had a last minute missionary meeting today and I forgot my camera!  Let me tell you about that meeting though.

Elder Rasband (Senior President of the Seventy) came to visit Hong Kong this past week.  He attended Stake Conference as well as this Missionary meeting we just had today.  It was a great experience.  I feel like there is real improvement happening in Hong Kong as well as the entire world.  I feel like the Church is starting to truly hasten the work of salvation.  Barriers are being broken down.  Maybe it is all in my mind, but I think the members of the church worldwide are coming together.  These were my thoughts this weekend as we heard from Elder Rasband and other speakers.  

Here is a cool story from this week.  So a while ago a missionary wanted to learn sign language, so he asked me to ask Sister Chan (the deaf sister) to buy some sign language books.  The other night, sister Chan bought them and gave them to us to give to that missionary.  I intended to give them to him at the "all missionary" meeting today.  However, I ran into an old friend named Elder Hafen.  He is familiar with deaf work in Pok Fu Lam and we taught him some sign language.  Afterwards he went to Macau and recently he contacted a deaf couple in Macau.  Then they introduced all their deaf friends, and now there are about 15 deaf potentials in Macau.  So as I talked with Elder Hafen, I realized we have these awesome sign language books that he could learn from because nobody (missionaries) in Macau knows sign language! They currently are looking for people who could potentially translate.  The deaf wave has spread to Macau!  I won't say anything too soon because we don't know what will happen there.  But we are all very excited.  

That is all I have to say today.  Love you all!

Love,
Elder Phillips