So I just got done bringing my new companion to the office to get his ID card and stuff. Today has been quite interesting. I got my new missionary. His name is Elder Siebach. He seems like a really nice kid. He is actually originally from Alpine! Right now his family lives in Texas, but when I was in Timberline he was too! He looked super familiar when I first saw him. He knows a ton of people in our ward. He knows Russ, Jared, and most of the kids a year younger than me. I think his first name is Spencer? You can ask around to see if anyone knows him haha.
So anyways, after we got our trainees, President Hawks told everyone to go to the office to get their cards except for me and my companion because he wanted to talk to us about our area.
We will be staying in the Island Zone, but we will be on the far East side of the island. Chai Wan is the name of the area. It has the second highest population out of every area, but the smallest ward and also the smallest church attendance percentage at 13%! They havent had a baptism all year last time I checked, and the missionaries there have consistently had straight zeros. ( I would know because I have been their Zone Leader). The missionaries that have been there are fantastic missionaries, but the ward has been difficult.
Apparently last Sunday President Hawks went to church there, and during testimony meeting, the ward mission leader stood up and started apologizing to the ward saying that the reason there has been no success there is because the white missionaries dont understand the culture, and cant communicate very well, and just arent that great.
President Hawks didnt smile or say anything the whole time and after sacrament meeting met with the missionaries and told them they would be getting a new companionship in the ward.
Everyone was shocked at this because there are a lot of wards that are having tons of success and could use 2 companionships, but instead he decided to put us in the area that is "dead".
So anyways, when he met with us, he prayed and then just looked at us and told us he is not really sure what is going on. He said that God told him to put me there with a new missionary and he still isnt too sure why. The ward is pretty hard because it only has about 10 or something priesthood holders, and they are always in mainland or away, and the total number of people attending church is often under 40. But he told us that he has faith in us and that he does not care what our numbers are or how many baptisms we get, but that our job is just to help this ward become a baptizing area in the future.
He has a lot of really cool vision about the mission in the future. He shared about some of those with us, and told us he really doesnt know how to help the ward at all, but that he trusts us and so does the Lord.
For now, we will be living in Wan Chai right by the chapel, but he is planning on buying an apartment in our area to make things easier, and he also told us about some plans he is pushing to get some more things done, but they will need the Asia Area Presidency's permission first. Because he really has faith in Chai Wan.
I am so excited.
I am going into a new area that neither me nor my companion has ever been to. The ward doesnt have faith in missionaries. The missionaries dont have faith in the ward. We dont even know our boundaries or members. We dont even know which building in Wan Chai we live in. We dont have an Area Book or Member Book or anything. It is all just going to be brand new and an adventure everyday.
I am especially excited for Sunday.
I want to do all I can to help the ward trust and like us misisonaries, because when I was in Tai Po we faced the same problem but were able to change things there so I believe that with the Lord's help we can do it again.
I am going to miss Kwun Tong SO much. The members and everyone there were not very happy that I was leaving, and neither was I. But like I said last time, its not my choice where I go or how long or stay, I just need to do the best I can wherever the Lord puts me.
It's so interesting how a mission works. You dont go for personal gain, but in the end you come back having gained a lot. Every area you arent serving yourself, but the people there, but somehow you feel and see blessings in your own life and development. And every day you are working to help other people come unto Christ, but no matter how many people decided to listen to you or not, you are constantly growing closer to Christ yourself.
Well I know I have a lot of trials and interesting things to do ahead of me. But thank you all for your prayers and support.
I feel kind of like the feeling you get after your feet leave the ground right before you jump into a really cold pool. You feel some apprehension, and there is no way to stop it. But hopefully everything will go really well for us, or start going well for us pretty soon.
Thanks for everything!! Love you all so much!
Love, Jordan
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