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