The One Where Everything is Soaked in Alcohol

Here is this week's email from the awesome Sister Mindy Mint! we didn't get an email last week, so hope you enjoy this one!


Alcoholic Peanuts and The Miracles of Member Missionary Work

Hello! 

I hope that your weeks have been as amazing as mine! 

To start out, I want to share a well-loved scripture of mine. Helamen 5:12 reads, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his might winds (and he most definitely WILL), yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have NO POWER over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build THEY CANNOT FALL." When we have Christ as our anchor, as our foundation, as our light, WE CANNOT FALL. We WILL have trials and difficulties but we will have happiness in our trials and we will be able to be strengthened in our trails more than we ever thought possible. Christ is the ONLY foundation that will give us that happiness and strength. He is the only way. 

Sister Takahashi and I had some incredible miracles this week and some incredibly funny moments! This week, in every single lesson that we taught, we were able to have a member present! It was incredible! I made a promise to myself that I would help this ward grow to love missionary work, to help light that desire to share the gospel in their souls and it's amazing how quickly God has already shown me the blessings of that. Through member missionary work,  our ward's relationship with one another is becoming stronger, my personal relationship and love for my ward has been strengthened and we've been able to find more investigators to bring to church. Member missionary work is really the only way that we have success as missionaries and I'm really excited to see how this will help the ward in the future. 

My advice that I have for all of you this week is to recognize that you CAN help the missionaries and we really truly need your help. I want to ask you all, after you do your personal scripture study, to pray for a name of someone that you can share the gospel with. I can truly promise you that God will give you a name. After you receive that name, I want you to realize that promptings from God are INCREDIBLY precious. If you receive a prompting from God and you don't act on it, how can God trust you with different promptings in the future? Follow these promptings, don't let Satan put fear in your heart or make you think that you are incapable of sharing the gospel. Something as small as giving someone a Book of Mormon, or sharing your testimony is enough. No effort is wasted effort. Even if that person doesn't accept it now, you've given them the tools and you've told them where they can find happiness. You've planted a seed and that's more than enough for God to work with. For those of you reading this that are preparing for missions, street finding is great, but member missionary work is amazing. Member missionary work is where we see the most miracles and where we see wards and stakes blessed. Focus your efforts on members and member missionary work and you'll understand what I mean. 

Funny story from this week, we were given some peanuts that had been soaked in alcohol as a gift. My companion and a few other missionaries ate some before a member told us that they had alcohol in them. Apparently it's not uncommon here in asia for things like chocolates and peanuts to have alcohol in them. We've been more careful since then and I've committed the character for alcohol to memory. 

I promise other fun, funny and incredible things happened this week but I'm very much out of time, so TALK TO YOU NEXT WEEK! 

Love you! 

Sister Adams

The One Where Mindy Celebrates The Chinese New Year!

SOOOooooooo i'm a complete dope and i forgot to post last week's email on her blog!!! gahhh worst person ever, i know!! please please enjoy! :) i've also a lot of pictures from last week too. so make sure to look at them! she's such a cutie! 

"Hong Kong is a ghost town" and "the Gospital"

Happy year of the Monkey! 

I'm sorry it's been so long since I emailed but I promise I'm alive an well. Beyond well to be honest with you! It was Chinese new year and there was nothing open so we're having our P-Day on Thursday. 

Chinese New Year is awesome. The first morning of Chinese New year, we woke up and went out to exercise like normal, except when we got outside there was nobody else outside. It literally looked like an Apocalypse had occurred and that the missionaries were the only ones that survived. It was kind of an erie feelings NOT seeing a bunch of people everywhere because here in Hong Kong that NEVER happens. The rest of Chinese New year we spent in a meeting and celebrating with our ward. Chinese New Year lasts at least 3 days then the rest of the week people are still partying and yelling well wishes at one another. One of my favorite things about Hong Kong is that when big holidays come around the chinese have specific phrases that they say (yell) at each other in a greeting. You can say these greetings for almost the entire month of the holiday. Sister Takahashi and I have been wishing people a happy new year since January. LOL! 

My ward had a barbecue yesterday in celebration of Chinese New Year and I can honestly say that I have now roasted almost every kind of meat on a roasting stick. We met up at 9 in the morning and didn't come back from the mountain until 5 that evening. The ward that I'm in is fantastic at bringing their nonmember friends and relatives to activities so we missionaries had a great time not only building friendships with ward members but making new contacts with some potential brothers and sisters we can help bring back to our Father and our Savior. I am so happy that I have this opportunity to be a tool in Heavenly Fathers work. I wish I could put into words how important this work is and the happiness that it brings but my words wouldn't do it justice. I ATE AN ENTIRE STEAK that I had cooked over the fire. A whole steak. Cooked over the fire. And it was REALLY good. I am a fan of chinese barbecues. 

There's a quote that I heard this past week that I want to share. It's from the BYU talk by F. Enzio Busche called "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit". "In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But YOU make the decision of which road you take." This life is hard. This life has SO many challenges but the purpose of this life was to prepare us to become like God. The purpose of this life was to have trials, to overcome those trials through our Savior and to achieve eternal life. God has blessed us to live in a time when we have the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the plan and the path that we need to take to be successful. God has made it incredibly clear how we will be able to fulfill our purpose for this life. He's made it clear and SIMPLE how to have incredible peace and joy. Our job is to get over our pride and follow the path that is better for us. When we look at our lives through God's eyes, we understand that we can become SO much more with Him than without Him. SO MUCH MORE. 

I want to testify that I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet. I've read the Book of Mormon and it's changed my life. I get to watch it change other people lives every single day. Christ's TRUE and full gospel is on the earth again. This gospel, Christ's gospel, can heal souls. It can heal families. It can heal illnesses (including mental illness). "Through Christ all things are possible" and I know that to be true. I'm grateful for everyday that I get to wear Christ's name on my chest and beam at people while sharing how amazing our Savior is. I still have things that I need to improve and I'm not always the best missionary sometimes I'm terrified to open my mouth, but my burning faith in Christ gives me courage and it gives me hope to keep sharing and to keep pushing along. 

God knows us each personally and He has a plan SPECIFICALLY for each of us. Embrace Him and strive to understand your Savior. I can promise you that you will see miracles in your life. You really truly will. I love you all and I hope that you have an incredible week! 

Sister Mindy Adams

Sister Mindy Mint being a cutie

some grub at the Chinese New Year BBQ

Sister Mindy Mint and her companion Sister Takahashi

The One Where Mindy Teaches Us To Search The Book Of Mormon

Hello Hello! Another week down in Mindy's mission! I love how she teaches us in her emails to us. She's such a good missionary. Sounds like she is doing AMAZING! Love this cute missionary sooo much! I hope you enjoy her email this week :)



The Power of the Book of Mormon

Hallo!

I hope that everyone has had a fantastic week! My week was once again filled with incredible study hours, teaching appointments, finding opportunities, and lots of faith.

So, this week, my investigator become a recent convert! She received the gift on the Holy Ghost and was confirmed as a member of The Church of Latter-Day Saints. The first thing that she said to Sister Takahashi and I after Sacrament meeting was that she could feel the power go from their hands into her spirit and she was just speechless trying to describe what that felt like. The blessing was (of course) given in Chinese and so I know that she didn't understand much about what was being said, but she felt that power and she understands the difference that having that gift will have in her life.

One of my favorite things about teaching people about the Holy Ghost is mentioning all the different roles that the Holy Ghost has in our lives. The Holy Ghost is a comforter, He helps us to feel God's love and to strengthen us in times of need. The Holy Ghost is a protector, He warns us when situations are not okay and with Him by our side daily, we have nothing to fear. The Holy Ghost is a guide, He guides us in the paths that will lead us to success and lead us back to Heavenly Father and true happiness. The Holy Ghost is a testifier, He testifies of Christ, of God and eternal truths (things that we learned in the pre-earth life that are still true today). The Holy Ghost is one of my favorite gifts that God has given us because the Holy Ghost is tangible proof that God lives and that He loves His children. If it is good it is from God and the Holy Ghost is an increbily good thing. It's a gift that EVERYONE needs and that EVERYONE can recieve.

I've been studying the Book of Mormon a lot this week because of I had to give my first training in district meeting. My topic was "How to use the Book of Mormon to teach families". My focus was on setting a pattern for finding answers. When we introduce someone to the Book of Mormon, we tell them that they can find answers to their questions in the Book of Mormon. That suggestion that we give to investigators is the same suggestion that I'm going to give to you. YOU can find the answers to your questions in the Book of Mormon. I tesify it's true because my district and I put it to the test (not that the Book of Mormon needed to be put on trial because it's God word and has changed my life). How do I manage my finances? There's an answer (look up riches in the Book of Mormon topical guide) How do I strengthen my family? How do I help my rebellious kids? (THERE ARE SO MANY ANSWERS FOR THAT ONE). The incredible thing about the Book of Mormon is that it's true. It's truly God's word and it truly is a map back to Him. The Book of Mormon is timeless, as you change, it changes to fit your needs. The words stay the same but the meanings change. You CAN find answers to your questions. Set that as a pattern in your life. When you have a question, bring it to the Book of Mormon and study it out. I can testify that you'll find answers and that you will truly become a better person because of it.

Hong Kong is the best mission in the world and I'm seriously one of Heavenly Fathers most spoiled children to be here. Keep praying. Keep serving. And Keep loving!

I love you all,

Sister Adams

The One Where Mindy Had Her First Baptism!

Hello fellow readers! Sorry this post is a little later in the week. She wrote a day later than usual! Don't worry, we were just as disappointed as i know you all are for not getting a blog post on time! :P
anyway, here is this week's email. sounds like she had a WONDERFUL time this week! We Love hearing from this cute missionary every week!
enjoy :)


Trains, baptisms and 3 degrees in Hong Kong
This week rocked! I seriously love Hong Kong with my whole heart and soul. 

This week I got to be a part of my investigators baptism! I've talked a little bit about her in emails passed and she has officially taken that first step on the path to her Heavenly Father. She was glowing, it was so beautiful to watch. The ward here was also REALLY supportive and loving toward her. She was almost speechless because of the love the ward showed her. I was so proud of them all. Never forget how much of a difference the members make in helping bring someone closer to Christ. The love that she felt that day and the support the ward gave her will be instrumental in helping her endure to the end and keep traveling closer toward our Savior and our Heavenly Father. 

This week has also been the coldest weather Hong Kong has had in over 50 years. The members have been so sweet with us. Every time we call them or talk to them their always asking if we're warm enough and lending us more coats. I'm very blessed to be so loved and taken care of. I had to break out the apartment heaters and the gloves though. When I'm at the apartment, we have the heater on full blast, we're wrapped up in blankets and we're drinking warm stuff. These Hong Kong apartments are not made for this weather, but we're blessed with lots of clothing! (Thanks for the extra blanket BTW India, it turned out to be a lifesaver to me these passed couple of weeks). 

Today I got to go to the temple for the first time since leaving the MTC. We have the opportunity of going to the temple once every transfer (I know, We're incredibly spoiled missionaries) and it was such a blessing to be able to go today. There's such a strong spirit that is felt in the temple and it's incredible how different and LIGHT you feel. We've been working with a couple of a less-actives and recent converts, trying to get them to make going to the temple their goal. I'm going to give you guys the same invitation that I give them. Start small, but make the temple your goal. God gave us temples and it's an incredible blessing to us, if we have one close to us we NEED to take advantage of that. I work really close to the mission office so almost everyday I get to see different people who have travelled from all over the world just to be able to come to the Hong Kong temple. Make the temple a priority and a goal. I cannot testify enough about the blessings and peace that comes from going to the temple. 

So, trains here are basically the best way to get around the city. Sister Takahashi and I spend a lot of time on the trains (because we don't live in the area that we proselyte in). Trains during "peak hour" are my least favorite trains to catch because you have to smushed up against other people but it's a great time to share the gospel with people because they literally can't move away from you. Sister Takahashi and I have had some really fun times talking to new people on the trains and sharing about why we're here in Hong Kong and what are purpose is. Usually we get really kind reception but sometimes we'll have people straight up turn around and wave us off, or change train cars. The rejection doesn't hurt that much (it's definitely not fun though) because we just remind ourselves that we are planting seeds and that their hearts are not prepared yet. Someday, their hearts will be prepared and they'll be ready for Christ to change their lives, and we'll be there waiting. 

Yesterday, I had a trainee meeting with the other people from the MTC group (SO fun to see them again) and during one the meetings Sister Fullmer shared a quote by Elder Holland that says; "If you want to make Heavenly Father laugh, tell Him your plans!" I feel like that is so true. The plans that we make for our day the night before are NEVER the same as the day that we evaluate later the next night. Letting Heavenly Father know what are goals and our plans are is incredibly important though. If we don't tell Him our plans, we can't receive revelation as to how to fulfill that plan the best or how we can might need to change that plan to help benefit us and others the best. Tell Him your plans, but be flexible and willing to make His plan your plan. Have the faith that He will never lead you into a negative situation. He will always lead you into something better and I can honestly and truly testify of that. 

I hope that you all have an incredible week and that you remember that "Yehsou Geiduk (Jesus Christ) is VERY cool'. (My 90 year old less active pohpo says the silliest things). But seriously, He can change your life and the happiness that comes from aligning your life is something that I will never be able to properly put into words. The work is hard but the benefits are incredible. 

LOVE YOU ALL! 

Sister Adams

This is Sister Mindy Mint's district in Kowloon, Hong Kong. the is in the front row towards the middle :) 

The One Where God Has A Plan For All Of Us

Hello fellow readers! Sister Mindy Mint has written us again! we absolutely LOVE that she is so good about writing. I think she knows that she would get SOOOOO much crap if she didn't write us every week! Hope you enjoy this week's email! i know we sure did :)

This week was definitely a good one, short but great. The Lord is moving His work along and I'm so incredibly blessed and grateful to be a part of it. This week I got a little sick and that makes things a little bit harder as a missionary but I'm blessed to be around some incredible people. Sister Takahashi has been great with making the food for us this week (mostly because she didn't want it to be contaminated by me) but it was a blessing to be able to have warm food, and to not have to worry about making it. She's awesome. I'm also blessed because I'm surrounded by worthy priesthood holders that were able to give me a blessing when I needed it. I'm doing much better now and I'm excited for another week of serving the Lord.

This week, our investigator passed her baptimal interview! I love seeing her progress and watching this gospel change her life. Lessons and prayers with her are always so incredible to watch because of the language barrier. It's hard to gauge how much she understands but when she gets it, you can feel it and you can see that it changed her. It's really incredible. My district leader is such a champ for doing the baptismal interview with her because I know that it couldn't have been easy for him.

This week I had numerous opportunities to teach about the Plan of Salvation. It's one of those lessons that I never get tired of studying and teaching. I love finding better ways to explain things and trying to help the people I teach to better understand it. I just marvel over how perfectly created and planned our whole existence is. I love the power that comes with knowing where you come from, who you are and where you're going. I think that one of the biggest reasons that people get so lost in this world is because they forget who they are and they forget where they are going. When we remember that we are children of God, we remember the divine potential that we have. It becomes easier to love ourselves and to love those around us. It's easier to remember what your purpose here is life is, when you remember who you are and where you're going. When we forget where we're going, we lose our eternal perspective. We forget that our actions have consequences and we forget that the worlds' opinion doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

It was a good week of striving to remind people of this incredible plan that God has for us and about our choice to be a part of that plan. One of the purposes in this life is to choose to follow Christ, just like we choose Him in the pre-earth life. Jeremiah 1:5 is one of the scriptures that we used in a lesson this week. This scripture talks about how God had a specific plan for us even before we were born. God knew us before we were born and He knows us now. He knows what we can handle and what our full potential is. He has a specific plan for each of us and when we let Him lead us through that plan, that's when we find the most happiness. I'm still striving to reach that potential and let Him lead me but I'm grateful that the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes up the difference that I lack everyday.

I think one thing that has changed the most for me on my mission (so far) is my understanding of the Atonement and the sacrament. The sacrament means so much more to me now than is ever has before. My challenge this week is for you all to study the sacrament. Figure out what is means and what it could mean to you when you repent everyday. Your love for Sunday and the Atonement will grow, I promise.

I also got to participate is language pass-offs again this week. I have to say, those are probably one of my least favorite things to do in the week but I am grateful for them. I don't enjoy how nerve-wrecking it is to sit there, knowing full well that these missionaries know how these lessons should be taught and how they have to listen to my awful my chinese is, but I enjoy the feedback on areas where I can improve and how I can do things better. The zone leaders and my companion are always very supportive and sweet. All these little things that we do every week (trainings, language pass offs, district meetings...) are really divinely done, because they really are geared toward helping us become the best missionaries that we can be.

I hope to be able to keep improving this week and to be able to find some new investigators that are prepared and ready to hear the gospel.

Have a great week,

Sister Adams

Also, if anyone could send me a definition of what the "meridian of time" means, that would be great. #lifewithoutgoogle

The One Where Mindy Doesn't Write Much This Week

Hello Everyone! This week's email is really short, our lovely missionary didn't have a lot of time to email this week! We sure are glad she took the little amount of time she had to email us anyway! enjoy :)


Short Emails because Mouh Sihgaan

Sorry it's going to be a short email today. I don't have very much time to write, too many adventures to go on and people to share the gospel with. ;)

Let's see... there is one thing that I particularly want to share about this week. It's about one of my investigators. She's from Fiji and her husband is from Hong Kong. I recently found out (as in yesterday recently) that she speaks over four languages and of those languages, the languages that we teach her in (english and cantonese) are the languages that are the hardest for her to understand and communicate in. BUT she is soo prepared and so fantastic. I'm humbled by the opportunity to help the spirit teach her. She's been a testimony builder to me of the fact that the Lord is preparing people LONG before we meet that and that the spirit is the one that does the teaching, not the missionaries. 

Sister Takahashi and I are just loving it here in Sham Shui Po. The only advice that I have for people coming to Hong Kong (to visit or to serve a mission) is to come during the winter. I've been blessed by fantastic weather. The other missionaries keep telling me how miserable the summers are here. So, their advice for people coming here in the summer is to bring thin DRESSES. Not shirts and tops. All the layers and the tucking isn't worth it. 

Anyway, have a great week everyone. Remember that the Lord is aware of you and knows what you need. Go to Him for everything. You'll be blessed. 

LOVE YOU. 

Sister Adams

The One Where We Can Help Out Missionaries Everywhere

Hello everyone! First post of the New Year! 2016 is going to be great for Sister Mindy, we just know it! here is this week's email from the best missionary out there. Enjoy! :)

Happy New Year!

 

Sorry for another week of no pictures! I'm still trying to get that figured out but something isn't compatible so... SORRY! Hong Kong is beautiful and busy but it's been humid this week because of the rain. I'm excited to see what my hair is going to look like in the summer if it's already the mess that it is now!

 

Sister Takahashi and I have still been working on getting in contact with less actives in our area. But I did finally go "finding" in a park the other day for the first time. Sister Ng (from my district in the MTC) and I go on splits every once in a while because our companions are Sister Training Leaders. One time we went to a park to go finding and we ended up teaching this family on a bench about the Restoration and we gave them a Book of Mormon. We forgot to reschedule them again, so that was a mess-up but it was still really fun to talk with them. The story of how we actually got them to sit down with us is a silly one. To put it in as little words as possible, I looked like a crazy person (I may or may not have literally ran after them yelling, "I think I need to give this to you" in Cantonese) and Sister Ng saved the day. Moral of the story, Satan doesn't want you to open your mouth and share the gospel. He wants us to be afraid of what people might think of us. he wants to try to bind our tongues. It's our job not to let him win, so we need to share the gospel often and boldly.

 

 That leads me to the real topic that I have been impressed to share this week. I don't usually think about what I'm going to say in these emails until I sit down to write them but this week I've been thinking about this topic for at least four days. So, GIVE YOUR LOCAL MISSIONARIES REFERRALS! There are entire sections in Preach My Gospel that talk specifially about how important members are in the work of missionaries. You guys are crucial for us! We can spend all day finding, tracting and contacting people on the bus or street but the people that actually end up getting baptized are usually the ones that are brought to us by members.

 

I was not very active in missionary work before I was a missionary. I really hate to say that but it's true. I did not have a clue how much the missionaries needed members help, or what a members duty is toward missionary work. A members duty is not actually to feed the missionaries (although that is also very apprieciated). Members have a duty to help fellowship the people the missionaries bring to activities and to church. Members have the responsibility to act in a Christ-like way so that the people we bring feel loved, welcome and like they aren't being judged. Members have a duty to share with others what they already know is blessing their lives. I didn't know, but now I do so I want to share it with you.

 

There's a scripture in the Doctorine and Covenants that talks about this DUTY that members have. It's D&C 88:81 "Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor."  We have this amazing knowlege of our Savior. We have this incredible message of strong families, forgiveness and eternal life. It's selfish of us not to share that with others. You may be thinking "But what if they don't take it well?", "What if they stop being my friend or think I'm weird?" That's Satan binding your tongue. If you are sharing this message of Christ out of love for your neighbor or family members than you are being Christs representative the way that you should be. Missionaries are trained on how to best help members share the gospel. We can help coach you on what to say. We can help you create a teaching enviroment/opportunity. Just ask and we will GLADLY supply our time to help you. We need you and your Heavenly Father needs you. Please don't be scared about what people might think of you. Fear is not from God and it never will be. Be courageous because you have something that is worth more than gold and every. single. person. on this earth needs to hear it.

 

I'm going to step off my soap box now but I want you to know that there are incredible blessings that come from sharing the gospel. Member referrals work better because they're given out of love and love can change lives. Those people you bring automatically have a support system through you and that's SO important with new investigators. There's a special spirit that comes into your life and your home when you are sharing the gospel. That spirit will help you and your family come closer together and will help you grow closer to Christ. So, I encourage you to find out what your duties are as a member toward missionary work and I challenge you to think of someone you know who would benefit from the gospel and give those names to the missionaries. Do this prayerfully and with faith. You'll see miracles happen, I can promise you that.

 

I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers and your love toward all missionaries, not just me. We need your love and your strength.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Sister Adams

This is the view of Sister Adams' apartment building from the ground! 

This is our cute Missionary on Christmas with the T-shirt and stocking her mama gave her :)