week 57 - Mission Conference

So this week was a great experience. To start it of last Monday night the entire mission got together in Wan Chai for Mission Conference with Elder Cook. It was probably the most spiritual experience I have ever had in my entire life. He shared his experiences as an apostle, and then after that we had a very good Q&A with him. It was only a hour long, which I wish it could have lasted longer, but at the end he bore the most powerful testimony I have ever heard. I'm not gonna share some of the things he said because he even said there are some spiritual experiences you can't just share with everybody. Let's just say I know he is an apostle of God, and I will never forget that experience last Monday night. 

So on Tuesday the week got a little more interesting. Ummm so the walls in our apartment are peeling pretty badly, and we have always thought it was because of the humidity here, but on Tuesday we found out the real reason why. So there's is a pipe in a wall in our bathroom, and a plumber believes it has been leaking for about 2-3 years which caused the the walls to peel, and this week it decided to finally make itself known. So water started flowing out of the walls in our bathroom and after we turned the water off it still flowed for a good 5-6 hours after. So there went our entire Tuesday, mopping up water and constantly drying all the towels in the apartment, but don't worry we got it under control. We just have to turn the water on and off every time we need to shower. So there were also several plumbers that came to inspect our apartment, and they have all said it's pretty bad,so we don't know whats gonna happen next, but we know for sure will have to move out for a week or 2 while they fix it. One guy said the project would need to be done by the top plumbers in Hong Kong haha. They only have to tear down like 4 walls that's not that bad right? yeah good stuff. (We never moved out they just patched the pipe and never fixed the wall lol! They eventually moved to the Kwun Tong apartment)

Saturday was also another crazy day in Hong Kong. They had an entire Hong Kong youth activity called mini MTC, where they all get assigned a language to learn for a day, go to some trainings, and go on splits with the missionaries. It was a lot of fun going on splits with the youth, and 2 of the 3 I was with were the only members in their families. So powerful and it was a lot of fun. I also got to see some of my buds  from Tuen Mun Lok Yuen and Jason, who I missed a lot!

And then there was Sunday, where we had a special conference with Elder Soarres of the Presidency of the 70 and for some reason they decided to have it in Ho Man Tin instead of our stake center in Kowloon which was a little interesting, but anyways that was a great way to end the week. Got to talk to Elder Soarres for a second, and Elder Wong who is going to be the Mission President in Vancouver, Canada, so this was his last time speaking in Hong Kong before he leaves, it was powerful. Sunday night we also ate dinner at the Woo family from our ward. they invited 10 missionaries to their home for dinner and it was  good. Also gotta see some missionaries who used to serve in the mission. a lot of fun.

This week should be pretty good as well. My buddy Jason has his baptismal interview tomorrow and should be baptized on Sunday, so it should be good! Also we were able to meet with Terrance who was the guy who walked into sacrament last week. The first time we met with him we taught the restoration and really accepted it. We invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon just like every first lesson. For the second lesson me and Elder stone planned to read a chapter with him and discuss what he liked, and when we asked him if he had read he was like "yeah I read all of 1 Nephi" me and Elder stones were like Really??? Yeah he's the most solid person I have ever met. He also went all the way to Ho Man Tin for Stake Conference. Man this guy is so ready, so super excited to keep meeting with him!!

Love you all and thanks for the support!!

Elder Eveson

彥長老

Tuen Mun Reunion! (Mission Conference)

1st time the entire squad has been together in a year! (MTC group)

gotta spend a couple hours with this stud brother Ng

Jason and Lok Yuen

Week 56

Another great week here in the HK. We have had alot of miracles happen the last couple of weeks especially yesterday! Yesterday our ward had a baptism!! and alot of people that have never came to church came too! There was also this random person who walked into sacrament who has a friend serving a mission now, and he wanted to learn a little more about our religion, and we were able to schedule him for this Tuesday, so we are hoping for good things to come. In total out of the 2 companionship we had 6 people at church and a baptism!! Super cool. I'm so blessed to live in such a missionary supportive ward! It may be a small ward, but the members are just great! (Terrance became a good friend of mine but sadly never got baptized. His friend was Elaine Wong from Kwun Tong)

As for the rest of the week, I thought my 1st district meeting went very well. I had planned to give a training on our purpose as missionaries and who we represent (zone is really emphasizing PMG-Preach My Gospel) and a discussion on the importance of the spirit in conversion. So I got up expecting to give a training, then I'm was like ehhhh let's just do a discussion instead, and it was super good!! The discussion flowed perfectly into our 2nd topic, and I didn't have to stop the discussion because it just perfectly flowed together! If that wasn't the spirit that led that discussion I don't know what did because it worked out perfectly!! Being a DL (District Leader) isn't as hard as I thought it would be!

Yeah that's about it. One of our investigators is on track to be baptized in 2 weeks, so hopefully more miracles to come!

And today we have the amazing opportunity to be visited by a member of the Quorum of the 12 Elder Cook, also Elder Soarres of the 70 and Bishop Waddell, so today should be awesome!!! Super excited!!

Love ya all,and hear from ya all next week!

Elder Eveson

                         Sandy got baptized!

Week 55 - Mother Day

Before I start of I would like to say Happy Mothers Day to my awesome Mom who never fails to email me every week. Well except only like once or twice but she had to work so I'll let her off the hook. It was super awesome being to talk to my family this morning and it was a lot of fun.

Not a lot of time today because well skype, So Tuesday we had zone conference and something the mission is really stressing right now is using PMG. It's something me personally have been slacking in, and I bet a lot of the mission. We had several good training on how to better use it, and we had a PMG jeopardy and lets just say the entire mission needs to start studying that book a little more haha.

We also had stake conference where Elder Meredith I think a newly called area 70 came and spoke to us. It was pretty funny when the translator didn't know what he said. Yeah that's been me a couple of times attempting to translate like a sacrament meeting to someone that doesn't know Chinese, and yes that has happened to me before. I really liked his Saturday night talk with the adults. It was 100% about member missionary work. He talked about whats needs to happen after baptism for retention which is 

1. a friend

2. a calling

3 be nourish by the good word of God

This is something Hong Kong really struggles with. I would put the activity rate at like 15%. There was also a member who shared his experience as a investigator. He said when he was 14 he went to church 1 time. No one welcomed him, or talked to him. He then went on to say he had to wait another 30 years for that chance again, and talked about all the things he missed out on during that time like serving a mission being married in the temple etc. So the message pretty much was we as members really need to step up their game in just welcoming new people to church and making them just feel welcomed.

Oh yeah I also totally saw my grandma and had a decently long conversation with her (we were early so no-one was there) funny story when Sister Lam (Mission President's wife) walked in she walked up to me and asked if I had seen my grandma yet, and before she could say grandma I held up my bag of snacks from my grandma haha.

Hey wish me luck got my 1st district meeting tomorrow!!

love ya all talk to next week!

Elder Dylan Eveson

 Is the name captain Hong Kong taken?

 It was a little windy at Lion Rock

My best buds Elder and Sister Pett who I met in the MTC, I wish they would have decided to do a 2 year mission instead of one. The office isn't gonna be the same.

Week 54

WOW another great week in the NTK. A lot great things are starting to happen in our area, and it's honestly too much for 2 Elders Companionships to handle, and before I forget to mention this again in a email Elder Cook of the Quorum of the 12 is coming to Hong Kong on the 22nd of this month and doing a missionary fireside with Elder Soaress not sure how to spell it of the presidency of the 70, So it'd gonna be a church leadership packed conference, and I'm super excited!!!

I haven't really done much yet as a district leader but its fun!

Anyways back to the week with Elder Egen moving we visited a lot of members to just say bye, then after transfers lets just say we have been super busy. So Elder Jensen is training, but as of right now I've trained him more than he has haha. I've honestly been with him more than Elder Jensen.

On Saturday I had a pretty cool experience. so Elder Jensen and Stone had meetings, and me and Elder Stone were supposed to meet with a former investigator from a couple of months ago, and then I get a text saying "hey you 2 gotta go teach him". so I had no idea how to get to the park we were meeting him at, and so I had to use a map for like the 1st time in my life. I get to the closest MTR station to the park and ask around where the park is, and they all pointed me to the same place, a massive hill with about 10 stories of stairs. then I'm like this can't be a park so I call the guy and ask if I have to walk up a lot of stairs and he said depends on which way you came. So yeah I had to walk up them all. I was pretty stressed out because I had to teach the majority of the lesson on my own, but it actually went really well. His record said he was pretty stubborn but from what I got from him was a guy that really wants to know it this church is true, but never has gotten an answer. He committed to read and pray that night!!! So cross hope everything goes well with Esme. He's pretty cool. He showed the better way to get there so I could avoid them stairs in the future! (Esme was always very polite, but never progressed. He agreed we didn't need to meet anymore.)

Then on Sunday our 10 years old buddy Jason who is a son of a LA came to church for the 1st time in like 3 years! The primary presidency before is like there's no way this kid can get baptized because his mom will never come to church and they both came!!! #miracles and they said he was super great and take back everything they said!

ummmmm then last night we went to a family in our ward who is filthy rich and invited a total of 10 missionaries to eat at their house and it was a lot of fun. There was a missionary who finished in NTK that is visiting HK right now staying at their place and it was good to talk to him a little bit, and seeing what is happening to other missionaries that have already gone home. 

SO...... yeah Hong Kong is doing good, a member has given us like 30 referrals and are trying to figure out who is going to teach who between the 2 companionship so the work is moving along!!!

It's starting to get extremely hot.

Love ya all and excited to Skype some next week!

Elder Eveson

10,000 Buddhas

visiting some members before Elder Egen left

Hey look I bought a sword last week

last day with the district

Week 53 - Staying Put

Well by this was by far the fastest transfer of my mission, I can't believe I've been out of Tuen Mun for  weeks, and so much has already changed. So yeah move calls came in last night, and me and Elder stone are staying together, but sadly my good old German friend Elder Egen is moving to Tolo Harbor to Tai Po, and Elder Jensen is getting another trainee, and so you know what that means???? I GET A BROTHER!!!! yeah and Elder Stone is now a ZL, so apparently I'm taking his spot as a District Leader now? yeah i don't know what President Lam was thinking there. Na just kidding I'm excited.

On Saturday we had a Stake Easter musical fireside headlined by the Elder Zac Love who apparently is famous. The missionaries in their zone sang I believe in Christ as the closing performance and it was super good, the 4th verse we sang with the crowd in Chinese and I got goosebumps run down my back because I've never heard that song sang by so many people at once.  and I had a lot of fun. I even got to see some members from Tuen Mun!

On Sunday one of the primary kids got baptized (Ho Lam), and I'm pretty sure the entire ward was there. NTK is super good at supporting all members of the ward, and it was a good baptism. It was combined with Kwun Tong who had a convert baptism, yeah it was super fun and a lot of non members were there too!

Other than that we taught the normal couple of lessons and visited some members and got to know them better. so yeah that's it love ya guys!!

Elder Eveson

I swear he did it

Last week at 10,000 buddhas

 Bruce Lee Statue

Lychee flavored Fanta and my new glasses

The entire primary at ho lam's baptism!