This last week was amazing. This has been the best Christmas ever. The unity with the ward is continuing to grow as well as the love that I have for these people and the Savior.

 
We had 3 member visits this past week. The members are so strong and it is inspiring to me to see their desire to help push forward the Lord's work. One thing this past week that I was especially touched by was the member’s thoughtfulness. Not only did they want their own family to have a good Christmas, they also wanted to make sure the missionaries had a good Christmas as well. We went Christmas caroling with the ward on Christmas Eve. We visited an investigator and a recent convert’s house and with all of us crammed inside sang 4 songs. It was an awesome experience! The feelings of happiness, gratitude and love could be seen in the eyes of those we visited. Due to time we weren't able to visit some other recent converts we felt needed some extra "Christmas spirit." Therefore, Christmas morning we went with the recent convert we had visited the night before to share the Christmas spirit with another recent convert. After we sang, that recent convert wanted to come with us too and sing at other people's houses. We originally had planned to go visit 2 more people but neither of them were home. It so happened to be that one of Sister Chan's friends (non-member) was at home and said we could come over there. What a great opportunity to meet someone new! Our small group of people brought the Christmas spirit into this lady's home. Just as the night before, I could definitely see the appreciation and joy in this lady's eyes. Due to needing to meet with someone else, we couldn't stay long. However, the lady then invited us back! The Christmas season is a great time for people's hearts to be softened!

One of the biggest blessings that the gospel gives me is family. I know that wherever I am, I have family. I can't explain enough how much I love Castle Peak Bay Ward. I feel at home here. To me, I think that's a big part of God's plan for us. He wants us all too truly feel connected. But more than just connected, he wants us to feel like a family. A family in which everyone can lean on everyone else for support. It's the best environment for learning, teaching, growing, and loving. I feel that Castle Peak Bay is developing into that family. Our ward isn't perfect, but I strongly feel that we are headed in the right direction. As we truly Come Unto Christ, we will, through diligence and hard work, be perfected in Him. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be serving in this time in this place.

This past week went by fast!! I'm so thankful that I am staying here in Castle Peak Bay with Elder Black! We've been working really hard with the ward mission leader to plan and execute ways to involve everyone in missionary work in order to bring about the attitude of success!  Our ward mission leader is so awesome!! I think I talk about him every week, but that's because every week he just keeps stepping it up!! He understands his role and the wards role in missionary work and he understands our role as well. He has a lot of respect for the calling of a missionary and trusts in God's plan for missionary work. This past week two of the recent converts were able to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. We talked to them after, what an exciting experience! They both loved it! One had some questions about the temple and so we helped answer her questions. The temple truly is such a sacred place and it helps ignite the fire to want to serve others and continue to do missionary work! An investigator, A-Yung had a birthday last week and she invited us and a member to have dinner with her. Afterwards we shared about testimonies. It was an awesome experience to have us, the member, and A-Yung all share our testimonies. Later that week, A-Yung got sick. We called and texted to invite her to English class but she didn't answer.  The next day she called us back and said she was sick so she wasn't able to come. What a great opportunity to share about Priesthood Blessings!! I shared briefly about a Priesthood blessing and asked if she would like us to come give her a blessing.  She said yes! After calling and inviting several members in the area to come with us, everyone was either busy or didn't answer their phone. Then the name of a member that we hadn't thought of before came to our mind. She could come! It really was a miracle. She (the member) said that just an hour or so before we called her she was planning on going out but she said she all of a sudden got a feeling she needed to stay in the area.  Shortly thereafter, we called her! We went up and gave A-Yung a priesthood blessing! She started feeling better during the blessing! That experience strengthened my testimony that God truly does know His children's needs and wants to help. While visiting a recent convert, we brought Sister Lai and she brought her 8/9 year old son as well. We shared about the true meaning of Christmas and after sharing the story of the nativity, invited everyone to bear their testimonies. The last person to bear their testimony was Sister Lai's son. At just the tender age of 8 or 9 he bore a sincere, heartfelt testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and Savior. It was a very powerful experience. That example right there is why we all need to "become like little children." I'm thankful for this opportunity to be here. Christmas season is especially sweet. I can honestly say my love for the people has grown a lot since I first started my mission. They truly are my family. I'm thankful for this Christmas season to remind me even more about our Savior's mission. Til Next Week, Love, Elder Cederlof

 

 

This week has been awesome! We have continued to be seeing a lot of progress in the overall ward missionary work. Most recently was helping 3 recent converts be able to attend the temple (baptisms for the dead) for the first time this upcoming week. I didn't know it at first but organizing three people to go to the temple, including who will watch their kids, who is going to take them, etc. has taken a lot of phone calls and correlation but we finally got it down! We are super excited that those three will have that opportunity to go this upcoming week!

This week I have been focusing a lot of my studies on faith, the true meaning of faith. I really like how it says in Preach my Gospel that faith includes believing that Heavenly Father loves me. I think that sometimes I think of faith as a little too broad. Faith is a very specific thing. As we learn line upon line, precept upon precept; our faith is then built, line upon line, precept upon precept. Definitely a process.

Zone Exchanges this week were excellent as well. I went with Elder Coppley. He is an awesome missionary. Very bold and willing to talk to everyone. He knows his weaknesses and he is willing to push himself in order to overcome them. I served in his area so he had the reins and he did absolutely incredible! He lead in the lessons we had for the day and just did a really good job. I was very impressed!

We have been working more with our ward missionary leader, his assistant, and the ward missionaries to build a strong, effective ward. The ward is doing great, definitely headed in the right direction and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be many baptisms to come in the Castle Peak Bay ward.

This week we also had some faith in prayer testimony builder experiences. The first one is one day when we were in a rush to get to a lesson, and then after the lesson head back to the church; which means we had to have fairly good timing in catching the bus one the way to the first lesson, and then catching the bus back to the church afterwards. After walking fast, I felt that we should say a prayer to catch a bus, as we were saying amen, the bus was driving towards us. First one down, still one more to go. After the lesson we headed over to the bus stop again, having already prayed that another bus would come, and sure enough, another bus came! It doesn't matter how simple our requests are, if we humble ourselves and in all sincerity ask Heavenly Father, not only will he listen to our prayers, but he will answer them in His own way and in His timing. The second is more from an overall observation of our ward mission leader. God prepares the people he calls. Our ward mission Leader is always so pro-active and quick in helping us correlate with the ward. This makes me think back to the sacredness of my calling. God really has not only called me but has/is also preparing me to be the best missionary I can be.  I'm thankful for this opportunity to be in Castle Peak Bay Ward!

Til next week,

Love Elder Cederlof


Going hard at badminton!
 

Some cow tongue given to them by a member
 

  

The work here is definitely progressing! This past week we had a lot of miracles! I'll start with just a few miracles:

1. We have been visiting with a recent convert less active these last couple of weeks and she has said in the past that she would come to church but didn't come. However, this past Sunday she came to church and brought her daughter! She absolutely loved church! She was smiling and just so happy there!!

2. We found out that A-Yung, who missed her baptism in the past due to work, is going to quit her job. Since missing her original baptismal date she hasn't been able to meet with the missionaries much but now she will be having more time! We found out just yesterday and we have her scheduled for Tuesday!
 

3. A Less Active member that has been too busy to meet with us had a schedule change, and is now going to church, has a calling, and is scheduled to meet with us!

 

4. One of the less-active members that the Sisters were working with prior to the ward split didn't want to meet with us. But after some time and Heavenly Father softening her heart, she is now willing to meet!

5. We went less-active finding with a recent convert and it not only gave us the opportunity to go visit some less-actives that without someone there with us we couldn't have gone and visited, the recent convert texted us afterwards and thanked us for giving her the opportunity to do missionary work! Now she is more excited than ever before to continue to do missionary work!!

We have been seeing so many miracles! I can truly testify this is the Lord's work! I've been pondering a lot about how we can help bring Castle Peak Bay to the 'next level.' I've had a bunch of ideas but I wasn't quite sure how to put it all into words. Yesterday we had ward correlation meeting and after observing and listening to what was being said about missionary work, I've continued to ponder about how we can help to achieve that goal. Thoughts from talks President Hawks has given, as well as apostles and prophets have come to mind. The example using two pieces of wood together works perfectly for what we want to accomplish. (the analogy showed at stake conference a couple months ago) The missionaries and the ward have to share the responsibility for missionary work. Yes, we are full-time so we are going to have more time to be on the streets and doing other things, but I think that the ward members need to truly feel that they are missionaries as well. The overall missionary culture in the ward should be "how can we all help others Come unto Christ?" If every member truly felt responsible for the missionary success in the ward, missinoary work would progress even faster. I like how President Hawks said, a while ago, something to the effect of "if everyone truly is going to hear the gospel, we are going to have to start looking at missionary work a little bit differently". Missionaries purpose is to teach.  I'm so thankful for this ward. We have a very mission-oriented bishop and our ward mission leader is absolutely incredible! I'm very grateful I have the opportunity to work with them in developing this missionary attitude in the ward!

Til Next Week,
Love, Elder Cederlof

I absolutely love our ward! I think we are truly building a strong relationship with the ward leaders as well as the ward. Our Ward Missionary Leader is absolutely awesome! He is very pro-active and is just super willing to help in any way that he can! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a part of this new ward! Our ward is definitely a mission-centered ward! I see a lot of faith in all of our ward leaders. This past week we went and visited several members with the Relief Society President, who is a prime example of missionary-member work. As Relief Society President she wants to get to know the sisters in the ward, especially the recent converts and some of the sisters that haven't been at church for a while. She made up a list and gave it to us and asked if we could go with her to go visit. So pro-active!! This past week she came with us to visit several RCLAs and she helped a ton! We had an awesome experience as we went to visit a recent convert named Chan JM. Chan Jm has been having some really bad health problems this past little bit and Lai JM (Relief Society President) was there to show her support! As Chan Jm started talking about how hard the last little bit has been we decided we needed to (as Elder Bednar says) "drop the lesson at the door." We shared about the Savior's sacrifice and love for us. Then we talked about Priesthood Blessings, and gave her one. It was a powerful experience! Following that lesson we had scheduled another recent convert named Anna, however Lai Jm and some other things she had to do. Chan Jm was happy and willing to go with us! While teaching Anna, several questions were brought up. Chan Jm said that she recently had those same questions and had prayed and figured out how to overcome! I especially liked her answer to the question of "how do I help myself read the scriptures every day?" Chan Jm answered: think of the Book of Mormon as your friend!! She explained that she used to think it was very hard to "find" time to read the Book of Mormon, so she started regarding it as a friend! That way, when she was out and about and had some spare time she would think, wait, at home I have a "friend" waiting for me! Then she would go home and read. After using this method, she explained she sometimes read for several hours a day! It makes me think back to Gordon B. Hinckley when he talked about how we really do need to have that relationship with the Book of Mormon.

The faith in our ward is already bringing miracles. These past couple weeks we have been trying to get a hold of a less active whose mother wasn't very supportive of her going to church or meeting the missionaries. To our surprise they both showed up at church!! It was a great opportunity to actually meet her mom and get to know her. Due to that miracle we now have a time we can meet with them later this month!!

We have been working with more recent converts than I've ever worked with before on my mission and so at first I was a little bit nervous about the time that would take out of finding. However, I knew that the Lord needs us to help continue strengthen his converts and so I pushed the doubts out of my mind. To no surprise, as the Lord always does when he gives us counsel, he magnified the finding time we did have by leading us to very prepared people. I know this is God's work. I'm thankful to be a part of it!

 Til next week,
 Love, Elder Cederlof

Temple last week was awesome! I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity to once every 9 weeks go to the temple and feel the sacredness there.

We have really been working with a lot of less-active members and recent converts since being in Castle Peak Bay.  Among one of them is Au Hd. He is awesome! The Butterfly elders were working with him up until the time that the ward split and we had a turn over lesson two lessons ago.  Like I shared last week, we invited him to use the "Gospel Library" app on his phone and read the Book of Mormon. This past week when we went to visit him he had an extra amount of excitement. Everything about him just seemed happier. He wasn't a sad person by any means before, but he just had that extra 'bounce' in his step. We asked him how the past week had been and he said that it was busy as usual however, because of the convenience of the app on his phone, he had been able to start reading the Book of Mormon. He is awesome! He is working to develop the habit of sincerely reading everyday, as well as continuing to pray.

A-yung, an investigator the sisters turned over to us just over a week ago, is on the way to progression! A little background, she had a baptismal date a couple months ago, but because she couldn't get work off that day she couldn't be baptized. Shortly thereafter she got busy and was unable to meet with the missionaries for about a month. As we talked with her she said that the closer she got to baptism, the stronger she could feel the spirit, however, the closer she got to baptism, she said the more she felt "another spirit's" presence. Obviously that other presence was Satan. She said the other feeling made her feel like she wasn't ready or she couldn't do it. She said that that week before her baptism she felt like her brain was being pulled by two different forces. But after missing the baptismal date, she has felt both the Holy Ghost and the other presence less and less. She said that right now she feels that the Savior is far from her. We shared what that 'other force' was and asked if she wanted to feel the Holy Ghost again. Her desire to be baptized is still very much there. She already has faith in the principles she has already learned. We took it back to the basics and invited her to sincerely pray everyday and to read the scriptures with real intent. The desire she has to come closer to the Savior is remarkable. She is still facing challenges but with the Lord's help, she'll be ready. I know that the Lord will help her prepare to be baptized! I'm very grateful to be able to be a witness to her overcoming her challenges. It builds my testimony in all aspects of missionary work!
  

If only everyone could understand the importance of weekly Family Home Evening! We went with the Relief Society President to visit a recent convert (Chan Jm) this past week and shared about F.H.E.! Chan Jm's husband isn't a member and her two little kids are not yet 8. After thinking about what we could teach to help their family the most, family night was clearly the way to go. We shared with Chan Jm why we have family night and then we held one there! We haven't met the father yet because he has been busy the last 2 weeks, but the sisters told us that his interest is in families. Through their family holding family home evening, it will not only strengthen their family, but it will help them build their foundation on a sure rock! Family Home Evening is a simple thing but definitely critical!

 

Love, Elder Zach Cederlof

"Coolest house up on the mountain I've ever seen!"
 

 

Dear Mom, Definitely send traditional. Hong Kong people don't read simplified. Yes China is "over" Hong Kong but the Hong Kong people are still basically their own place. If you ever get stuff with characters for here always get traditional.         The new bishop is super sweet! He was the last ward mission leader and so we're super excited to be working with him and our ward mission leader is also super awesome! It's super cool to be seeing a ward start from the ground up! We’re just working right now to get everything in a good pattern, and to establish an attitude of missionary work in the ward from the get go!! Super exciting times!!     Prioritizing our things is definitely critical. One thing that could help is write down the main goals in life then how you decide what order to prioritize things is by looking at your list and seeing how many things it will help. We do that same thing with key indicators!   Love you mom! Love, Elder Zach Cederlof

 

Last Sunday at the church meeting with tuen mun and butterfly wards was when the split occurred  so we haven't gone to a meeting with just our ward but we got the books organized the week before so that we could start getting the names memorized.  We got to talk with and introduce ourselves to a lot of new members Sunday! Tam SS isn't in our ward.. but he wore a suit to church haha so that was awesome! We already turned him over to the Tuen Mun elders but we'll still be able to go to his baptism!  Melissa and Landon are soo different! Melissa's email about the hike was it was a cool hike type of an email. Landon's was, I was tired and cold. haha but that is good he is doing good in school.. outside of typing.. haha I remember when you were trying to get him to just type those little sentece strips last year haha.  Those big ward clean up projects are awesome!! I think those things really help a ward work hard together. I wish we could find some sort of opportunity to do that out here but the set up just isn't the same.  I'm actually gonna bring that up with the new bishop. I haven't thought about that before.. ward service projects. And ya it's starting to get colder and colder. The winters here are absolutely freezing!! Which is funny because all the rms from hk are like oh don't even worry about bring a coat.  It gets soo cold. I think because of the humidity cause the actual temperature is fine but it feels freezing! haha  I love you mom! The Lord's work really is moving forward! We gotta do all we can to help with it!

 Love, Elder Zach Cederlof

 

We have definitely been seeing a lot of good things happening in the area. One of the major miracles of the week was the lesson we had with Tam SS. He has continued to learn and grow in faith up to this point but he hadn't come to church yet. We decided to teach him about the Sabbath day and the importance of that commandment. Because he drives a car for his work, people will usually call and book him for Sundays, that's why he can't come to church. As we shared about this commandment and 1 Nephi 3:7 he definitely felt something. Before sharing about that, he had the reason of : I'm a special case, I need to work. After that scripture and a little bit of discussion he said something to the effect of: I believe in Christ, I need to follow his commandments, I will come to church. He showed up bright and early to church! It was definitely good to see him and the smile he had on his face as he came to church was priceless!!

The room under our apartment is under construction and it can get loud at times. This past Thursday, they started working and so we decided to go to the church to do weekly planning. Definitely a miracle!! While we were at the church planning, a lady rang the doorbell and asked for help. She said she really needs Jesus Christ's help. She is a single mom, with no job. At the time she only had 15 minutes to talk with us because she was in a rush to go pick up her child from school, so we just shared some scriptures and promised that through the healing power of the Atonement, our burdens can be lifted. Since I've been here, we've felt twice that we needed to go to the church for weekly planning. Both times, someone rang the doorbell while we were there!

The Tuen Mun and Butterfly ward is splitting this upcoming week! Elder Black and I will be going to the new ward! I'm so grateful that Elder Black and I get the opportunity to work in this area at this time! It is an exciting thing to be here when the new ward is being created. New Leaders, new callings, I'm excited to be able to meet with all of the new leaders. We don't who they are yet, so this week we will be preparing the records and be sorting out the investigators and less-actives. I'm so grateful to be here right now! The work is definitely moving forward!! Good things are happening, some many miracles. I know that when we purify ourselves and dig deep, God will amplify our efforts!

Til Next Week,
Love, Elder Cederlof

We have definitely continued to see a lot of miracles. We were able to meet with Tam SS twice this week along with him attending a ward party. He is doing well, but hasn't come to church yet. He drives a van for a living and so people will call him and hire him and I guess a group of people have been calling him most Sundays so that is why he hasn't been able to come to church. We were planning to teach him about the Sabbath Day this past Friday after English, but we felt we needed to change the lesson plan last minute! From the beginning we have been talking with Tam SS about bringing his family as well. This past week he did it! He brought his wife to English Class and then to the lesson with us! We didn't know he brought her until they walked in at English Class. We decided that it would be much better if we shared about families. His wife, Lisa, at this point doesn't really believe in God but she said that she is willing to learn more about the Church. Families are so important in this work and I'm praying that the Lord will soften her heart so that she will be receptive to the message of the Restoration!

Sam is doing great! We met last week with him. We are actually teaching several Sams but this is the one that came to church last week and also went to the baptism. He is 30 years old and has a belief in God, but isn't quite sure how that should direct his life. We met with him last week and shared about the Restoration. The Spirit definitely played a critical role in that, prompting us to ask certain questions that lead him to a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. After we explained how the Holy Ghost worked, then asked about church and the baptismal service. He said he had a really good experience and could feel a special feeling there. We asked him what he thought it was and he said that at first he thought it was just the good feelings of the people but that now he thought it was the Holy Ghost. He was right! We then asked if he believed that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, he did. We then asked if he believed the Book of Mormon was the word of God, again, he did. It was an awesome lesson and he came to church again yesterday as well as attending Jason's baptism! At church he also learned a little bit about commandments and I think that as he continues to learn about how we act on our faith, he will continue to progress at a very rapid pace. I love to see the differences in people's background and learn how the Lord has individually prepared them.

As we were walking towards the ward party we passed some Europeans sitting down at a table. As we passed, we heard one of them mutter "mormons." When we passed again they were both staring at us so we decided we would see what they knew about us and share about our church. When they saw us walking towards them, they pulled out two seats for us. One is from Ireland, the other is from England. They are both over here teaching English for a year. We talked about some of our basic beliefs and how our church is organized, but couldn't stay too long as we were on our way to the ward party. Before we left, we asked if we could meet them again and they both agreed. We grabbed two english copies of the Book of Mormon while in Kowloon Tong today to give to them this week.

I feel like we have really been seeing the Lord's hand in the field. We have been seeing countless blessings, including running into some less-active members on the street and being able to reshedule them, meeting very prepared people, and being able to share our testimonies to all that are willing to hear! I know this is cliche to say, but Hong Kong really is the best mission!!

Til Next Week,
 Love, Elder Cederlof

I'd say this week we've had a lot of miracles. We are able to get two more baptismal dates this week. One of them was from a person we met 2 weeks ago and rescheduled for this past week, taught and invited to be baptized then a baptismal date. The second one was from someone we met on the street this past week, rescheduled, and then met again. The first person's name is A-Sam. It was a very powerful lesson. We shared about the Restoration. Elder Black was losing his voice so he couldn't talk too much but we very much personalized the Restoration. I think that has been one of the most powerful times during the Message of the Restoration on my mission. The Spirit was so strong and led the entire thing, especially the Apostasy and the Restoration. I feel like that lesson strengthened my own testimony of the need of the Apostasy. Near the end of the lesson, I wasn't sure if she was ready for a baptismal invite, but of course, the Lord knows better and I had the feeling to invite her. At first I was a little bit hesitant but knew that I had to do it, so I invited her. After she accepted I was pretty happy and about to wrap up the lesson when another prompting came to invite her to a specific date. Recognizing that feeling even better the second time I invited her to a specific date. She accepted as well. I can promise that the Lord's ways are higher than our ways, and like 2 Nephi 9 teaches that if we hearken unto the counsels of God everything will be okay. I know that that promise is true.  Definitely a special experience.
Tam SS is still doing really good but due to work things coming up he couldn't come to church. He really likes our church and everything we teach but I'm a little worried he believes it just because it all makes sense and he saw a lot of people at the General Conference. I know he definitely believes in Jesus Christ but as far as getting his answer from the Spirit in order to know if the Book of Mormon is true, I'm not 100% sure. Fortunately he does have that willing heart and believes it with his mind, so next time we will help him know his answer comes from the Holy Ghost.

It's very sad to me to see all of the people in the world that believe that not being virtuous is ok. If only everyone understood their true identity they would never do those things. EVERYONE needs the knowledge of their true identity. People are not just an object to be acted on, but someone to act, and not only that, but a Child of God.  Along with that I have been praying a lot for charity. Charity to help truly see who these people can become. I need to strengthen my vision of them before I can help them. The Hong Kong people definitely are special, and I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to offer up my all in their behalf. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is also the only way I can be able to feel the love He feels for His children. It definitely is an amazing type of love. I'm thankful for the ability to repent and strive to come better everyday. Somedays I get down on myself and think I'm not good enough because of my weaknesses and mistakes, but then I remember that God has invited me, to come unto Him first, and THEN be perfected. If I'm doing all I can, He will make up for the rest. That's our message to the world!! I love this Gospel and the opportunity to serve our Lord and Master.
Til Next Week,
Love, Elder Cederlof

Conference weekend was awesome as ever! The only part I didn't like was how fast it flew by! I remember when I was little I thought that only watching 4 hours on Sunday was long, but now, I feel like the entire 10 hours is too short! It is interesting to me to look at what the overall message was for each individual session, day, and as a whole. Sunday morning with the first 3 or 4 talks on Prophets/revelation. All of those speakers were definitely inspired. I love hearing each speaker develop the concept or idea of their talk. All of the different teaching skills used by each individual person are awesome! My favorite theme of conference was the exhortation to act. Give the Gospel priority and don't let ANYTHING get in your way. Some examples listed were that of personal scripture study, family study, family home evening, and so on. It definitely helps give me that motivation to stick to my future goals of always having family home evening and other things in my life. It also strengthened my testimony towards those individual principles, which at first may seem like not a big deal, but truly make the difference in the long run. It's been promised again and again by church leaders that if we give the gospel priority, the rest will work out. Definitely an important lesson. I think that is a very important concept that investigators learn to understand and gain faith in. If they are truly willing to do whatever God asks, either through scriptures, modern prophets, or invitations through the missionaries, they won't have to worry about anything else. The principle also of course applies to me as well. If I am exactly obedient and do everything the Lord asks of me, I literally won't have to worry about anything else, the Lord will provide. Tam SS also had the opportunity to come out to General Conference for the Saturday morning session. He really liked it! Tam SS is progressing very well and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be learning with him. He has a strong desire to come unto the Savior even more in his life. He has already seen how much the Savior has blessed him and I truly think that he has the hope necessary in order to more fully come unto Him through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we meet with him he is always so happy to learn more about the Gospel and it just seems to make sense to him. He is definitely developing a closer relationship with Him as he is learning to recognize the promptings of the Spirit. With one of our Zone actions being to pass out 65 Book of Mormon's in each District, the Tuen Muen Elders and us decided to go on a Book of Mormon Give Out time. We set up the Book of Mormon banner and brought a box of Book of Mormons. As we were walking over holding a box with 21 Book of Mormons I was curious to see how long it would take to pass them all out. God works wonders and we handed them all out in no time and the other elders ran to their apartment to grab more. As we were there, there were people walking over to us and asking for a Book of Mormon! That experience taught me how many people there really are that want to read the Book of Mormon, but haven't had the opportunity to get a copy into their hands. This week during finding I turned a full day over to Elder Black. I want to push him in order for him to grow. He is an awesome missionary and was more than willing that day to take the lead in finding! His confidence towards himself was higher at the end of that day and I will continue to give him more opportunities to speak more and step more and more out of his comfort zone in the language. He also gave out a Book of Mormon to a lady that later when we called her, accepted the invitation to come to church and bring her daughter as well!! In preparation for this conference I have been reading through the last session's Liahona with all of the talks. I love being able to read and re-read all of those precious talks! The magazine form of conference is such a useful tool in not only reviewing, but learning new things! I am super excited to get next month's issue so that I can study from it and really get as much as I can out of the talks.  Til next week!  Love, Elder Cederlof

This week we have seen some great miracles happen! The biggest one would definitely have to have been on while on exchanges with my M.T.C. companion Elder Cordon!  As we were going to go to a drinking fountain we ran into a man named Kalok. He is mid 30's and said he has been really sad recently. He hasn't seen his mom for several months. We talked about prayer and how much God truly does want to bless us. He listened intently and at the end of the lesson he was willing to say a prayer and ask to see his mom again. We scheduled him for the next day. The next day came around and he was soo happy. We asked how his day had been and he said that his mom, out of nowhere, decided to come find him! They went to lunch together and he invited her to meet us as well and so we waited for her and talked with her as well. She is pretty into Buddhism and she doesn't have a lot of interest but I believe that as she sees the change the gospel brings to her son's life she will have interest. We were able to meet with Kaluk several times this week. His faith in Christ has been growing a lot! He has already started to pick up how the Holy Ghost feels. He said that when we talked with him, and when he came to church he could just feel a really warm feeling, he said he couldn't really describe it. I'm so grateful that we were able to run into him and help him progress and come unto Christ!

Another miracle was with Tam SS. We met him last week as we were walking by the park (where the drinking fountain is) We just started a friendly conversation and went from there. He has been a Christian for about 3 years. He is 65 and was going to do some exercise. As we talked about our message to the world he responded very well. We could definitely tell that he had more interest. After our discussion we scheduled him for this week. When we met with him the second time he started out by saying "Elder Cederlof, I talked to my preacher. I need to reject you." He continued to say things like that and apologize. I said don't worry about it but can we still sit down and talk. As we talked, we discussed the things that he believed. As we know, the things he said highlighted gospel principles of which we could then bear testimony and teach. We shared the Message of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. At the beginning of lesson he was saying he had to reject us, at the end of the lesson he was holding a Book of Mormon and asked us when we would meet again. It never ceases to amaze me how much the Spirit will work on people. All we have to do is to make sure we are worthy vessels of that Spirit.

I love seeing "The Work" move forward. It has, and will continue to change and bless so many people's lives. Throughout the week we also had opportunities to learn how to keep the work progressing forward. Through exchanges and Zone training I was able to learn and grow. The Gospel is true and as people follow that invitation to read the Book of Mormon, ponder upon its teachings and Come unto Christ, they too can know of its truthfulness.

Til Next Week,
Love, Elder Cederlof

Our Destination

Overlooking Tuen Muen
 

This week went by fast as usual. Lots of things to be learned and applied. At District meeting we watched the learning and teaching movie clip. I learned a lot from that, as expected. I like how much he really emphasizes "to act and not to be acted upon." I think that is not only a principle in teaching, but in learning as well. As learners we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone in order to act and not be acted upon. On the opposite side, as teachers we need to be inviting people to act and not acting upon them. I think as missionaries, or at least myself, want to be as efficient as possible. However, the "heavenly virtue" of patience is oh so needed. Sometimes I just want the people I teach, whether it be students, investigators, or trainee to get the answer "efficiently." Sometimes efficiency isn't the most important thing. It's the difference between a surface belief and a 4 levels down kind of belief. Learning to always be patient and allowing the person to act and not be acted upon is critical.

We went and visited a less-active member that we have never met before. I can't remember if I mentioned before, but at the Hong Kong Sports day a Tsuen Wan member, upon finding out I am serving in Tuen Muen, asked me to go find this particular person. We called and scheduled and she even invited us over for dinner. We invited a fantastic member, in fact, the Gospel Principles teacher. She actually remembered meeting Judy the 10 or so years ago when she was baptized and came to church. As we shared the lesson and discussed about the Gospel she opened up and started sharing about all of the things that have been bad in her life in the last 10 years. We shared about the Atonement and love God has for his children, especially her. She has some chingseui problems and so after the lesson we weren't really sure how we could help her. The member that came with us talked with the Relief Society to help organize some Sisters that would be willing to go visit her. She is 60's and lives by herself and she definitely would like some company.
Training has continued to be awesome! Elder Black, from my perspective is doing great! Of course, he sometime's gets discouraged with the language but that takes time. He is willing to learn and listen. This week I'm trying to give him even more opportunities to take charge of things to help him 1. Improve his language faster and 2. Help him realize that God, even with our weaknesses, will help us have success. I'm hoping that through giving him the "reins" in some of these situations will help him learn that lesson that is easily said, but very hard learned.
We met a man named Kenneth on the street last week. We talked on the street for a good amount of time and after rescheduling, closed with prayer. We originally scheduled him for 10 o'clock Tuesday morning. This morning we got a call shortly after 10 from him. He apologized for being late... I then asked him if we scheduled for today or Tuesday and he said, while checking the paper he wrote it on, "yih! haih ga le wo, well are you free today?" Having thought we were meeting today instead of tomorrow, he switched shifts in order to meet with us! It technically was a "gaau cho" but we learned a very important thing! He was willing to go out of his way, switch shifts, in order to meet with us again! We taught him this morning about the Plan of Salvation and he is already making connections on how these things will help him. He asked a lot of really good questions it was such a good lesson! His desire is strong, and is heart is meek.
I love this gospel and sharing it with others. It truly is such a privilege to represent the Lord in Hong Kong.
Til Next Week!
Love, Elder Cederlof

Every week is a good learning experience out here in Tuen Muen! This week I had several fantastic learning/confirming experiences. Training is still going great! Elder Black is picking up things really fast and is willing to learn even if he doesn't 100% understand why we need to do things the way we do. We can talk about it and discuss it and understand more about it. He has a lot of good insights and things and I’m grateful for the opportunity I have to be working with him!

This week we met again with Wong HD. We shared about missionary work and help set goals with him. He is a less-active that moved from Kwai Chung to Tuen Muen 6 months or so ago. He is really excited to meet with us and he still remembers quite a bit about the lessons and such. He is continuing to move forward at a good pace and committed last time that he would read the Book of Mormon every day, as well as pray. We will be following up with that this Tuesday.

We ran into a lady we met several weeks ago named Wam SJ. When we first met her she asked us what the difference between our church and other churches. We explained the difference and invited her to read the Book of Mormon. However, because she had just got her purse stolen a day or so before so she didn't have a phone. Upon hearing that we were a little disheartened but remained hopeful that if she is prepared we would run into her again. We ran into her again! But she said she was busy and just walked off. To our surprise, after a lesson fell through we went finding in the church area and ran into her a 3rd time! She said she had time and we gave her a tour of the church and shared about baptism! She definitely has been prepared by the Lord. When we were teaching about baptism and sacrament she said it just made her feel so warm and happy. It is amazing that she can already feel those promptings of the Spirit! She has said that due to her background, a part of her brain believes in Chinese gods, while the major part believes in Jesus Christ. Before we even invited her to be baptized she asked if we could give her a month to read and learn more so that she could fully commit herself to Jesus Christ! We will be meeting her again tonight!

As we all know, using all of our resources is very important. We learned that very well this week. One day Elder Black and I were finding and Elder Black had the prompting to go to a certain area. Almost immediately after his prompting, I had the feeling we should give out some English Class Fliers. A couple minutes later we ran into a group of moms and their kids who upon seeing us didn't look to happy. However, after telling them about English class they were all more than happy to talk. Not only did we have that group talk to us, but other moms (kids were just getting out of school) saw it and came over and asked what everyone was talking about and then we were able to invite them as well! The Lord has given us all of these resources to help others come unto Christ. In the right time and the right place they can be very effective in softening people's hearts and preparing them for the message of the Gospel.

Memorizing Moroni 10:3-5 in Cantonese definitely paid off this week! Normally on the street finding, we share the 2nd to last paragraph in the introduction of the Book of Mormon. When I ask people to read it they're usually fine reading. This past week however, we ran into an older lady and her 25ish year old son walking. Upon our meeting they ignored us but after a little persistence they were willing to stop and talk. We shared about the Restoration of the gospel and our invitation to the world. As I was opening to the introduction I had the distinct feeling to use Moroni 10:3-5 instead. I invited them to help me read it. (turns out the mom previously served a mission for another church) They both declined to help me read it and would only listen to me read it.  I was able to recite Moroni 10:3-5 and testify of its truthfulness. 

 ‘Til next week!
 Love, Elder Cederlof

Every week is a good learning experience out here in Tuen Muen! This week I had several fantastic learning/confirming experiences. Training is still going great! Elder Black is picking up things really fast and is willing to learn even if he doesn't 100% understand why we need to do things the way we do. We can talk about it and discuss it and understand more about it. He has a lot of good insights and things and I’m grateful for the opportunity I have to be working with him!

This week we met again with Wong HD. We shared about missionary work and help set goals with him. He is a less-active that moved from Kwai Chung to Tuen Muen 6 months or so ago. He is really excited to meet with us and he still remembers quite a bit about the lessons and such. He is continuing to move forward at a good pace and committed last time that he would read the Book of Mormon every day, as well as pray. We will be following up with that this Tuesday.

We ran into a lady we met several weeks ago named Wam SJ. When we first met her she asked us what the difference between our church and other churches. We explained the difference and invited her to read the Book of Mormon. However, because she had just got her purse stolen a day or so before so she didn't have a phone. Upon hearing that we were a little disheartened but remained hopeful that if she is prepared we would run into her again. We ran into her again! But she said she was busy and just walked off. To our surprise, after a lesson fell through we went finding in the church area and ran into her a 3rd time! She said she had time and we gave her a tour of the church and shared about baptism! She definitely has been prepared by the Lord. When we were teaching about baptism and sacrament she said it just made her feel so warm and happy. It is amazing that she can already feel those promptings of the Spirit! She has said that due to her background, a part of her brain believes in Chinese gods, while the major part believes in Jesus Christ. Before we even invited her to be baptized she asked if we could give her a month to read and learn more so that she could fully commit herself to Jesus Christ! We will be meeting her again tonight!

As we all know, using all of our resources is very important. We learned that very well this week. One day Elder Black and I were finding and Elder Black had the prompting to go to a certain area. Almost immediately after his prompting, I had the feeling we should give out some English Class Fliers. A couple minutes later we ran into a group of moms and their kids who upon seeing us didn't look to happy. However, after telling them about English class they were all more than happy to talk. Not only did we have that group talk to us, but other moms (kids were just getting out of school) saw it and came over and asked what everyone was talking about and then we were able to invite them as well! The Lord has given us all of these resources to help others come unto Christ. In the right time and the right place they can be very effective in softening people's hearts and preparing them for the message of the Gospel.

Memorizing Moroni 10:3-5 in Cantonese definitely paid off this week! Normally on the street finding, we share the 2nd to last paragraph in the introduction of the Book of Mormon. When I ask people to read it they're usually fine reading. This past week however, we ran into an older lady and her 25ish year old son walking. Upon our meeting they ignored us but after a little persistence they were willing to stop and talk. We shared about the Restoration of the gospel and our invitation to the world. As I was opening to the introduction I had the distinct feeling to use Moroni 10:3-5 instead. I invited them to help me read it. (turns out the mom previously served a mission for another church) They both declined to help me read it and would only listen to me read it.  I was able to recite Moroni 10:3-5 and testify of its truthfulness. 

 ‘til next week!
 Love, Elder Cederlof

Last week was quite an exciting week! With all of the activities going on I was feeling "thirsty" for finding. However, all of the activities definitely had their uses. The Hong Kong wide activity day was a fantastic way for members, less actives, investigators, and missionaries to bond. It was also a good opportunity to see past investigators and converts to see how they are doing and to continue to support them.

The Monday meeting in Wan Chai definitely was a special opportunity to go and "actively" listen. (As Sis. Wong would say) I love seeing, and meeting leaders of the church. (It’s best when you don't meet them in the bathroom) It was a good opportunity to strengthen my testimony and to ponder about things that they taught.

Thursday Temple Day was amazing as ever! It was Elder Black's first time going to the Hong Kong Temple and I’m glad I was there to experience it with him. Going to the temple always just gives me an extra-boost on life and helps me keep going. I'm so grateful we have the opportunity to go there every single transfer! Definitely a HUGE blessing!

We went and visited some less active members this week! What a special opportunity! The first lady we went and visited is an elderly lady with cancer. Her cancer limits her from coming to church; we also found out that our ward takes her the sacrament every week. (Our ward mission leader says she counts as less-active but I think we need to double check on that) Besides her, no one in her family is a member. When we visited we shared from 2 Nephi 4 and talked about how God is always there with us. She shared a powerful testimony as well. Her faith is really strong. Due to her cancer, she has to go to the hospital three times a week. Nonetheless she continues to try to read the Book of Mormon and pray. She is an amazing example of enduring to the end and trusting in the Lord. We also talked about visiting with her husband as well and sharing the blessing with him. We challenged her to share her experience with gospel, with him. It was a very spiritual experience being in her home.
The second person we visited was someone that the Kwai Chung Elders had called off of their list and he said he lived in Tuen Muen so they gave us the information and we called and scheduled him. He was pretty excited to meet with us and I see a bright future for him back in the church! We shared out of the Book of Mormon and then talked about Gospel Principles to try to see how much he remembers. He still remembers quite a bit. I'm very grateful for that opportunity to be able to meet with him!

Serving in Tuen Muen we ran into someone I think you've heard of before. John Atkinson. I remember Elder Townsend talking about him but I didn't know what he looked like and just before meeting up with someone we scheduled we passed him and he turned and started talking to us. Apparently in the past, he has had some more heated remarks but to everything he said we just shared our testimony with him about how we know it is true. The power in a testimony is powerful. Once he figured out we actually had a strong testimony in the things we teach he stopped trying to 'teach us.' 2 Nephi 9 teaches us that unless our knowledge doesn't do us any good if we don't listen to God and His teachings. I could see how much that is true and how important that principle is. If we don't hearken to Him, our wisdom is foolishness.

I love being in Tuen Muen and being able to work with the members and ward leaders; and I love training!

‘til Next Week,

Elder Zach Cederlof

Hong Kong Sports Day (with Addi - 1st baptism)
 

 

This past week has been busy! I feel like a lot has gone on since last p-day. We have been busy! Training has still been going really good! I love all of the new things about it. I'm soo thankful that the Lord trusts me enough with this responsibility. Elder Black's chinese is improving at a good pace. He is really willing to work hard and be diligent in learning the language and other missionary responsibilities. He is adjusting very well to the missionary lifestyle and is able to maintain a positive attitude as well. We have been working with the bishop and ward mission leader on helping prepare for the 40 day fast and card idea in order to bring more unity and a spirit of missionary work into the Ward. I really love our bishop. He is very humble and just a very personable person.

Allen is doing awesome! We met him three times last week including the time we bumped into him on the street. He didn't have much time when we ran into him but he was willing to reschedule. The first time we met him we got to know him a little bit better and shared about the restoration. He really connected with it. He himself doesn't have too much of a background in religious stuff but he has a strong desires. He really wants to know if its true. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon and then re-scheduled him for 2 days later. By the time the second "sit-down" lesson came, he had already read from the very beginning to 1 Nephi chapter 19. He said whenever he has some free time he will sit down and read it. He is awesome! For that lesson we decided to sit down and read with him to help us kind of know where he is at in comprehension and understanding of the Book of Mormon. It really is amazing to see how the Lord prepares his children for the Gospel. People come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but the Lord still can and will prepare them. 

 

This week I've continued to ponder about the true meaning of obedience. The power of obedience is unreal. The more I come to understand it the more I pursue the quest. That is a very important principle, just like if we want a stronger desire to share the gospel, we need to learn more about the Atonement of Christ. It is very interesting to think that no matter how much we've learned about the gospel, there is so much than we can even imagine. 

 

One thing I learned in Personal study that I thought was interesting was in end of Alma chapters to Helaman in which there are a bunch of wars and the wicked leader sends a letter back and says that he knows he is in the right. It made me think back to when it was said and happened that people would kill in the apostles and do it in Christ's name. It is interesting to me how people can be that blinded. I've met several people on my mission like that as well and it truly is sad to see that and do everything you can to help them, but they reject. However, the light seen when helping someone come closer to Christ is pricelesss. No matter how strong the opposition is in this world, no matter how much control satan has on people, the light of Christ is more powerful. Only through Him can we resolve our problems, trials. I'm so thankful for this gospel and all that it has done for me.

 

Til Next Week,

Love Elder Zach Cederlof

 

 

I am loving every minute out here in Tuen Mun training! Even after just a week I have learned a lot and have had a lot of great experiences. The beginning of the week started off a little bit slow but through diligence we were able to finish off strong! Thursday was quite the eventful day! We felt the need to go finding over by some chyun uk's. After finding there it was apparent that that was an inspired decision. We ran into several people that were willing and happy to talk to us about the message of the Restoration. On our way out of that area after saying a prayer, I had the prompting to talk to a man walking towards us on the right side. We talked to him; however, he brushed us aside quickly. Happy with the opportunity to have received a prompting and then to have followed it, we turned and started walking the other direction. Our path intersected with a mom of a 7 month old baby. We started talking about families and how the gospel can help. Immediately she showed a lot of interest. If we wouldn't have followed that first prompting and talked to the man in the red shirt we definitely wouldn't have run into mom. However, the Lord truly knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. We rescheduled the mom and met her the next day at church. The lesson went very well. We invited a recent convert to come teach with us and it ended up working out very well! In fact, she accepted a baptismal date for the 5th of October! The Lord always blesses us! It also showed me the importance of trust in the Lord. Being a trainer, sometimes it's kind of hard to know exactly how much to step in, such as while finding or doing phone calls. But I've decided to put the trust in the Lord and do it His way, doing all I can to help Elder Black become the best missionary he can be, and I have definitely seen the Lord's hand in it. I'm definitely very grateful I had an awesome trainer (Elder Tong) because I can use the same principles he taught me in teaching Elder Black. This is such an exciting time right now and I love just being able to share the insights, tips, skills about missionary work with Elder Black. But it isn't just a one way thing; Elder Black has also taught me a ton of things such as the true meaning of the "Gift of Tongues”.  It's really an amazing thing to witness someone diligently working, testify in a language they aren't too fluent in, and feeling the Holy Ghost.
   

We had a good sit-down with the other Tuen Mun elders and discussed some things about the ward such as how to do Less-Active and so on. We then talked about how we could strengthen the ward. We came up and discussed several very good ideas that we will be talking more about with the ward in ward council this upcoming Wednesday. The biggest thing we are going to talk about is the work of salvation that we did in Tolo Harbour and how we can apply it here.

The ward here is awesome! We got more time to meet with them this week and talk with them. Definitely a lot of very good people. The goal now is to take all of the awesome people, help each other step up even more in faithfulness, true desires, and unity. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here in Tuen Mun.

Til Next Week,
Elder Cederlof

PS. Almost forgot, Elder Beal put wash in this morning during breakfast, then, during studies all of a sudden I felt some wet on my feet. After looking down, I realized our washer flooded! However, it didn't get to our suitcases, or Book of Mormons. Luckily with our tile floor there wasn't any damage, so we mopped it all up and called housing elders, and then went back to studies.

Tuen Mun

This week has been AWESOME!! I'm soo grateful I have the opportunity to train Elder Black!! I'm also very grateful for the opportunity to be part of opening a companionship in Tuen Mun. This past week has been pretty busy in getting ready to move and train but it was awesome! Being a trainer puts a little new perspective on things. Before going to meet my trainee Elder Smith said Elder Black was coming in (he was originally in his group) and how excited he was that he was coming back! I am very blessed to have the opportunity to train Elder Black! He is an awesome Elder and is a great missionary! I like being able to show him things like gai meih baau and cha sui but I absolutely love showing him, encouraging him, and pushing him in finding, teaching, and phone calls. He has a great attitude. I definitely understand that at first, finding, teaching, and calling people on the phone are pretty scary but he was happy and willing to do it. We already have a very strong trust connection and are open with each other.   

   
Oh I forgot to answer your questions. My companion is from Texas!  Look up Tuen Mun on google maps! It’s out in new territories and it is pretty different than my other areas but I’m super excited!  I love being a trainer because every time he does something new it reminds me of my first time doing the same thing and then I can use that experience to try to help him more! It’s honestly a blast!  And our apartment is very white. We’re with Elder Beal and his trainee. If you want to see Elder Beal look back in the pictures of when I went to Big Buddha. He is the one with red hair. He is super funny. 

Love you mom!

Love, Elder Cederlof

 

 

Called to be a Trainer!

This week has definitely had some good surprises. Friday when I got the call to train I could definitely feel the spirit confirm that that is what I am supposed to be doing next move. I'm very grateful for that role of the Holy Ghost, to confirm to ourselves the truthfulness of our callings. I'm very excited to train and since receiving that call I have been pondering about how I was trained and thinking of ways I can apply certain principles. I'm thankful the Lord has that trust in me and knows that I can train effectively.  Along with the call to train was the call to move and open a new companionship. I'm also very grateful for that opportunity to learn and grow. To be honest, before I got that call I definitely felt that I might be moving or training. As with all changes in life, or opportunities to grow, we are going to have to leave some things behind. I will be leaving the Sha Tin ward. I will definitely miss them. I feel like I have a very very strong relationship with all of them. I've loved being able to meet with them, set goals, build each other's faith and come unto Christ. The Sha Tin ward is amazing! However, I know that the future is even brighter than the past. Like Christ mentions, no man with his hand to the plough looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God; I'm definitely looking forward to the upcoming things and put my trust in Christ. I feel like these 4 months in Sha Tin have really taught me about Charity. I feel like when I was in Tsuen Wan I had a really good relationship with the ward, but in Sha Tin, I feel like I have a SPECTACULAR relationship with the ward. Us Missionaries and the ward have really been putting our efforts together in order to bring more people to Christ; and I now get to take those things I learned here in Sha Tin, and apply them in my new area! I have put a lot of emphasis in my personal study on really "digging deep" into the scriptures. Reading through Jesus the Christ has definitely helped me understand Christ's teachings in the 4 gospels. Cross referencing/re-reading certain parts have also played a big role in being able to get a more in depth look at things. The teachings of the Book of Mormon are just incredible.  Alma, while talking to his son Helaman talks about after "tasting" of the gospel, the desire to share it. The Book of Mormon's usage of words is incredible. Every word, every sentence is there for a specific reason and purpose; and even more incredible, when put all together, we have the fullness of the Gospel. The Book of Mormon is true. It is a powerful witness of Jesus Christ, coupled with prayer it is single-handedly the most powerful tool in not only investigators conversion, but in ourselves. I absolutely LOVE the Book of Mormon. If everyone could just truly ponder and read it for themselves they could understand and feel the happiness that only the Book of Mormon, the fullness of the Gospel, can bring!     Love you all! Elder Zach Cederlof  Dinner with Dorothea Sha Tin church Far left is Sister Cheng (stake president's wife) she is one of my best friends here! The older lady is my Hong Kong Grandma! She is a less active we've been visiting for a  while and has started coming back to church the last month or so. Ward Mission Leader/Previous Mission President Bishop, David (one wearing glasses) and youth from mainland down here for school 70 dollar all you can eat dim sum?? In Tsuen Wan?? That's where it's at!