Good Day to Die. Week 104 from Hong Kong

Hello all,

   Well if I am honest I don't know how to feel. On the one hand I am excited beyond measure, yet also terrified. My Life is about to take a huge turn. The time has come I guess to close the book on this chapter and move onto the next one. 

   As far as weeks go this was a great last full one. Now I only work until Wednesday. Last p-day we went to a bowling alley in Tuen Mun and played snooker. There was a member who wanted to go and so we did. I had never played snooker before. Turns out it is a lot of fun! It is also much more difficult than American pool. So I will need to find a place where I can do that back home haha. 

   We had a good last Zone Conference. haha I just realized that the word "last" is going to be in here a lot of times. That was good. I have seen a lot of zone conferences in my day and to be honest a lot of them are the same. This was a good one though.

   Then the rest of the week was pretty normal. We did some finding and found a person or two with some real good potential. 

   Sunday was a crazy day!!! We got move calls! I forgot to mention that! Elder Fakatou will be training!!! Also Elder Taylor (My British trainee) will be training and zone leader!!!! That is crazy. He is now 9 weeks younger than I was when I met him for the first time. I wish I could stay and watch everyone keep growing and watch people's success. 

   Sunday was also crazy because we went to 2 baptisms! It was my last Church in Chinese but we skipped third hour, which was Elders Quorum, to go to a baptism in the Castle Peak ward. She was someone that Elder Fakatou taught back when he was in that area. So that was a lot of fun. Then we ran back to our church in HSK and went to ward council meeting. Which will be my last one until I have a calling in a ward in the USA. Then later that night we had a Baptism for a young lady named Karmen (Yes spelled with a "K") She is super funny! That was just a great meeting. There was 18 missionaries there too! 

   There are pictures attached of all these things.

   I am extremely grateful for everyone who has supported me on this epic adventure. I have worked harder and for longer than I ever thought possible. My testimony is stronger than ever. I now can comfortably say that I know Jesus is The Christ, That our Heavenly Father lives, and that they love us more that we know and that their hand is in everything that we do. I have learned a great many things through the experiences and the bitter trials that I have been blessed with. 

Paul says it best:

 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

 For the last time

Love you all,

Elder Gordon Walker 

伍家盛長老

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

This is my last full week. Week 103 from Hong Kong

Hello all,

   Well this is a very strange feeling indeed. Today is the start of my last full week. I don't know how I feel about that. I am super conflicted about coming home. I just cant believe that I got to this point. We will have more of that touchy feely stuff next week haha.

   This was a great week. Last P-day we went and rode bikes from Tai Wai to Tai Po. So I got to see my old areas for the last time. That was fun. It was so hot! I always forget how nice riding a bike is. We brought elder Chapman (My first trainee/son) a long with us. That was fun. He is super funny and I also got to meet his trainee which is my grandson. haha I now have 2 three generation pictures. Which is a very rare thing indeed.  That was also a fun day because I got to see (Elder) Ethan Griffiths! He was one of the first people I lived with. haha he was super funny. It was grate seeing him again. 

   Also Last week I was assigned to have my exit interview on this Monday morning at 9:30 am. Now that is super early and also p-day so I thought I would just call the office and see if I couldn't change the day, and I could! It was super good! I got it moved to Friday. That was fun because I was able to see some of the people from my group that I have not seen for a very long time. The interview was great!!!! It was less spiritual than it normally is, this time it was a lot of life advice. So that was good. haha I am glad that I recorded it. 

   This Saturday we had a ward water fight activity. That was a lot of fun! We had 1,000 water balloons! 500 of which elder Fakatou and I filled up. That took about 2 hours. It was an awesome activity. Everyone who came loved it and like all good water activities it evolved into a huge all out war. It was so much FUN!!!! We had a couple activities and stuff. I will send a few pictures home. 

   Other than that it was a normal fantastic week here in Hong Kong. I have my last Zone Conference tomorrow. and this week the lasts are real. 

Love,

Elder Walker

伍長老

Smog. Week 102 from Hong Kong

Hello all,

   I'm going to be honest I can't remember if the word I put as the subject is the one that means pollution or the Dragon from Lord of the Rings. I meant the pollution one. English is hard guys. I think English is much harder for a person to learn than 中文. Anyway that is enough excuses.

   Last week I think I mentioned that we had a Level 8 Typhoon warning and so church was cancelled which was unfortunate. This week the weather was strange. There has been very little wind and so the smog has just stayed in Hong Kong and it is gross! I will attach a video I took this week to show you.

   This week at Crossroads (The place that helps refugees and where we do service) Elder Fakatou and I ended up having to carry refrigerators up and down to the 4th floor! In total we moved 2 up to the 4th floor and 2 down from the fourth floor. I should also mention that there was no lift, and the weather was like 34 deg. (C) and 80% humidity. So there was some serious sweating going on. haha

   We also met with our less Active friend who plays baseball. He has been teaching me how to throw different pitches. This week he taught me how to throw a curve ball. That was fun. That is one of those things that I learned on my mission that I didn't think I would. 

   The rest of the week was pretty normal. Elder Stober had his member friends from TST come and bring us food. They bought us Ice cream!!!!! That was soooo good!!!!

   Other than that it was a pretty normal week. I have enjoyed the lack of meetings. I get to actually go out and work more so that is great. 

   We also said goodbye to the Summer missionary that was working with the Yuen Long Elders. That was sad. He was funny!

Love you all!!!!

Love,

Elder Walker

伍長老

Very Strange Week. Week 101 from Hong Kong

Hello all, 

   Well as the title line suggests we had a really strange week. Sunday was the strangest part by far! We woke up early for our pre church meeting and right when I got out of the shower we got a text that said "Due to the level 8 Typhoon all church meetings are canceled and all missionaries are to stay indoors until further notice". So we were like sweet! We took our time getting ready and then did our studies and did a bit of weekly planning. After that we had a long lunch and played a game called "Bang!" it is pretty fun. then at 2:00 we got the ok to go outside. So we ended up having to go finding for a few hours. That was ok though. I haven't been finding very much lately so It is good go get back on the street. 

  Then in the evening I got moves calls!!!! I will be staying in Tin Shui Wai!!! I was so afraid of moving! But now Elder Fakatou is Senior companion. Which means that I am no longer a zone leader so I get to be retired for my last 3 weeks! I am pretty excited about that. I am pretty sure that Elder Fakatou is going to train in the next 3 weeks! So that is great. 

   We had a pretty busy week this week. I think aside from Sunday we were so busy that we did not have time to do all our studies this week. So that is great! Being busy is way better than having lots of free time. 

   We had 3 families have us over for dinner so that was great because one of them was a part member family so we hope to teach the dad here soon. It is also great because that means that we cook less which means that we have to buy less groceries today haha! 

   Yeah this was a strange week. I don't know how to feel. 

   

   We also got to go to the Temple this week! That was amazing! I need to go much more when I get back! 

   One of the families that had us over for dinner was the Fife family. The dad is our ward mission leader and the mom is a really, really good cook! So that was great. That is the video I took. 

   I got a little sick this week too. When you get near the end of your mission your body starts to give up on you. Like I had a cold/allergies and threw up one day. I should be ok though. haha my body is destroyed. 

  Love,

Elder Walker 

伍長老

Some of the pictures are from the refugee day at Cross Roads a few weeks ago

The other pictures are our district at the temple. Yes it was that humid.

Once again the videos are at the end!

Video of Gordon and roommates leaving their apartment and going outside to the street

Short video at the Fife's house looking at a "jelly"

Rain Rain. Week 100 from Hong Kong!!!

Hello all,

  We had a really great week this week. Today is not our P-day which is weird because we are going to the temple on Tuesday!!! So that is awesome! I think this will be the second to last time that I get to go to the temple here, that will be strange. It is such a beautiful temple. 

   I am just going to do things in random order as they come to my memory. The Yuen Long Elders are getting a summer missionary today. Last year they got to live with us and there was two of them. This year they don't live with us and I think that they only get one. That is good for them because that means that they get a walking dictionary. I am glad they don't have to live with us. Most of our houses are too small to add 2 more bodies and last year they stank super bad! So I am glad to be avoiding that this year.

   We also get move calls next Sunday. I really, really don't want to move for my last three weeks. I don't know what I would do. I would probably just pack up to go home and then barely unpack in my new place... Let's not think about that. haha.

   So yesterday we had ward correlation meeting before church and we looked out the window before we left our apartment and we could see mainland just fine so we figured that it was no problem to not bring an umbrella. However as we were going from the Light rail stop to the church we got drenched!!!! I have not been that wet from the rain since I got caught in the typhoon last year. The bishop told us like three times to be careful not to get a cold. We were dry by the end of the correlation meeting. 

   We also had our Kung Fu activity this week. We were worried that Brother Wong was not going to show up but he did! It was a great activity and I am still a little sore. I will send my dad the videos and stuff. 

   Last Monday we went and did KBQ with my MTC companion and Elder Turner who are both leaving next week for school. That will be very strange to have them gone. I will attach a picture. 

   Love you all! I think I email like 4 more times after this!

Love,
Elder Walker

Me and my MTC companion. 

me and a member from Sha Tin (MY Old Area)

Elder Fakatou got a hair cut. 

Kung Foo Ward Activity

The Plague!!!! Week 99 from Hong Kong

Hello all,

   This was an interesting week for sure. On Tuesday we had MLC on the 4th of July. So, I wore my American flag tie and Elder Allred had an American flag pined to his tie. I stuck an American flag in my scriptures on my table and had a little flag waving. We had a good discussion about how to find new investigators. We also decided on a new way of evaluating the new missionaries language. That was pretty interesting. Then right before lunch we sang the American National Anthem. It was great. All of the Chinese and foreigners were having to use the hymn book. It was a good meeting. After that we went home and met up with a few of the missionaries in the Zone and went out and got good old American style burgers. That was a lot of fun. I miss doing those kinds of things. 

   Sorry this is going to be all over the place. Last Monday we went to the beach in Tuen Mun and played beach volleyball again. This time it was raining slightly so the sand did not burn our feet. That was a lot of fun! 

   SO the title of this weeks letter is The Plague!!!! This is because on Tuesday Elder Stober (our roommate) got sick. So he stayed in bed for a bit. The problem came when his companion got the flu on Wednesday evening! So Elder Stober hardly went out of the house for 5 days. This is making Elder Fakatou and I very nervous and we are taking Airborne and any other kind of preventative medicine we can find. We also make the Elder with the flu wear a mask in the house. I really really don't want to get sick. 

   Long story short, Elder Stober had some serious cabin fever so I took him out to do some things in his area. They got a request for a Book of Mormon from a person who lives on Palm Springs which is a very very rich part of the Yuen Long area. I will attach some pictures. So we went there thinking it was going to be some crazy old man. Turns out it was an 18 year old girl who goes to international school, so her English was perfect. We taught her a lesson in English which was super hard! haha 

   Then that night Elder Stober had some members from Shum Shui Po come up and take him and me to dinner. I got a HK$200 steak and it was amazing! The three ladies were super funny and they took us grocery shopping afterwards. It was great!

   That is all for this week! 

Love,
Elder Walker

the pictures of the cars are from inside the Palm Spring place... yeah it was that rich! 

7日 and JULY!!! Week 98 from Hong Kong

Hello all,

   This was a great week. I had much less administrative meetings so that was good. That just means that next week I will have a lot. I think this next MLC (Mission Leader Council) will be a good one. We are going to be re-doing the language pass offs or evaluations or whatever they are called now. I am just glad that I am in the clear and that I don't have to deal with the side effects if there are any. I will probably talk more about this next week.

   This week is also the 4th of July!!! So that will be fun. We are going to have pancakes for breakfast and steak for dinner. It should be a good day. haha I am going to wear my American tie again. Much to the displeasure of my British companion I am sure. I wore it to church yesterday and no one said anything so I was surprised by that. Usually someone will say something.

   The first of this month was a holiday in Mainland China and a dismal day here in HK. The holiday if I understand it is "founders day" and celebrates the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. It also celebrated the 20th year of Hong Kong being no longer a part of the British commonwealth and functioning as a colony and its becoming a Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. So the Hong Kong people don't really like it and it makes them sad. 

   On another note we met with our Shaolin Monk and he taught us some more stuff. I attached the videos. The stick one is what he taught me before and the hand form is what he taught us that day. He is also holding a martial arts class on the 14th so that should be fun. 

   It is very strange that it is July already!!!! The time is going by so fast!!!! I still feel like a new missionary. Sometimes I feel really old though. Life is weird haha. 

Love,

Elder Walker

Videos

Top Gear and the Haka Week 97 from Hong Kong

Hello all,  

   This was a great week! We were super busy and had a lot of great things happen in our area. Which is really good because our area has been kind of dead for a while now. We played badminton with one of our investigators and he absolutely destroyed us!!! That was a lot of fun. After that we taught him a lesson and he committed to baptism but not to a date yet. Hopefully that means I will get to see him baptized before I leave. 

   We had Zone Conference This week. That was pretty good. That meant that I had a lot of meetings this week to get ready for that. I gave a short training on Companion unity, because there are a lot of new companionships in the two zones. So I thought that Rally Car would make a good metaphor. So I got approval to show and showed it in the chapel on the big projection screen the clip from top gear when James May is a co-driver in a Bentley doing rally driving. That made me a legend among the Brits here. It also made them a bit homesick haha. It went really well. I forgot how good TV is haha. I also did not get a chance to review the clip before I showed it so while it was going in my head I was saying "please don't swear please don't swear" because sometimes they do and that would have been really bad haha. President Lam told us afterwards that it was a really good training. 

Here is the video he showed in the chapel

   The rest of the week was normal. I was just getting used to how often I have meetings again. 

   On Saturday We went to Elder Fakitoa's old area for a ward activity. It was good for him and free food so we went haha. He taught a few people the Haka it was super cool. He is super Tongan haha. 

   We had a lovely dinner appointment with the Bishop and his family last night. At the end they took a picture with everyone and sent it to our parents. That is cool because we used to do that with missionaries in my house. That was a lot of fun. We haven't gotten a picture yet. 

  Sorry this is a short letter this week! Love you all!!!

Love,

Elder Walker     

Zone Conference

Another Brit. Week 96 from Hong Kong

​Hello all,

   This was a week of many things happening. Fist off we had a massive level 8 Typhoon that kept us inside for most of the day. That was fun. Elder Fields and Elder Cox used the time to pack and Elder Stober and I went and played a puzzle game thing. It was a good relaxing evening. If I remember right it hit Monday and as p-day was winding down I felt like I did when I was banking on a snow day. We also used that time to make a video for the Missionaries that will be coming in soon, about what stuff they should and should not bother to bring. That was interesting. (I think they've been out long enough that they don't really remember everything from when they first got there)

   We had our last District meeting with elder Fields as our district leader. That was fun. For the closing song we had Sister Munday sing (she Is Amazing!!!!) and Sister Lee play the Piano (She is a concert pianist). They did "The Spirit of God". It was amazing! I think Elder Cox is going to ask Sister Munday's parents for some songs she sang. Yes, she is really that good. 

   Then Thursday rolled around and we took Elder Cox and Elder Fields to the mission office for the last time. That was weird for them I am sure. I think the next time I go to the mission office with my bags it will be my last time too. That is good. I hate packing and going to Kowloon with everything that I own.  In most places the missionaries are taken to their new area in a van but these guys have to take everything on busses and walk long distances with their luggage.

   I just realized that I forgot to take a picture with my new companion!!! He is a Huge guy from Tonga. Well he looks like he is from Tonga, he was raised in the UK. Which means that he says funny things. Which means that I laugh a lot more. We were talking in our English class meeting about what kind of stuff we are going to be teaching this move. Someone suggested that we work on pronunciation. I looked around the room and counted 3 Brits all with different accents, 1 Australian with his own accent and 2 Filipinos with their own accent. So I pointed that out and the fact that we all say the same words differently. So we decided that might not be the best thing to focus on. haha  

  That was this week. It has been raining non stop for about a week. It is so nice! I prefer the rain to 36 degrees every day of the week. 

Love,

Elder Walker

The Video...

Last picture of the 4 roomies

Windows prepared for the Level 8 typhoon

Move Calls Week 95 from Hong Kong

​Hello all,

   Well we got move calls last night... Elder Cox is going to die (going home) and I will be with Elder Fekitoa... To be honest I have no idea how to spell his name. (We googled it so the spelling is correct now)  His dad is a famous rugby player. He is in the same group as Elder Taylor was, and he is from Bermingham. Which means that I have another British Companion!!!! I am so excited I love British people! I will also be the new Zone leader so that means I am off of my 6 week vacation. I really enjoyed it haha. Now it is back to the grind! 

   This was a pretty normal week. Elder Cox had a lot of lasts. That is a cool glimpse in to the future of what will happen to me in just a few weeks!

  Other than that I really don't have that much to report. We met with Wong Pan Pan two times this week. He taught me the rest of the Shaolin form. I will atatch the videos. I forgot the last few moves so that is why I just kind of stop in that one part. 

   Yeah.... I really don't know what else to talk about. Elder Cox had his exit interview so that is cool. We had a good chat with Sister Lam. She is super funny. 

   Sorry guys, that is all for this week. 

Love,

Elder Walker

The pictures are self explanatory. 

Videos are at the end

Gordon earned his black belt at 13 years old (he was already 6 feet tall)  so I'm sure he's loving learning the Shaolin form.

B-day cake and Temple recommend Week 94 from Hong Kong

Hello all,

  I had a lovely week this week. Last Monday we were able to go to the beach for some beach volleyball! That was a lot of fun. Problem was that the sand was HOT! I don't think that I have ever felt sand that hot. We could not walk on it with bare feet! Most of the Elder's wore their shoes because they are going home in a week but I still have a while so I just wore my socks with the ankle part warped around my foot. That was ok but if I stood still for too long it would start to burn. haha. I was also able to put my feet in the ocean! That felt supper good! I haven't done that in a very very long time. 

   The next day was Tuesday and we got to go on the ward biking activity. I think that is the first time I have ridden a proper bicycle since I learned how to ride a motorcycle. For the first 5 min. I thought I was going to die, but then it all came rushing back and it was a lot of fun. We started in Tai Wai and went north through Sha Tin to Tai Po. So I got to go back through two of my old areas! Which turned out to be useful because the people in charge were not too sure how to get where we needed to go. It was also a little annoying because anytime there was an up hill they would pedal until it got hard and then jump off and walk instead of changing gears. Which was frustrating but other than that it was good fun. 

   Then Wednesday was Elder Cox's birthday. He turned 21. So in district meeting we had some ice cream. Then we went over to the Fife family's house. That was awesome. We had fish tacos and a home made ice cream cake. It was soo good! I like going over to their house because we speak English and forget we are in HK for a bit haha. Then I bought a cake with our roommates and surprised Elder Cox in the normal way. Good Fun. 

   My temple recommend expires this month so I got an interview from President Lam. I had him do it in Chinese so it looks supper cool. There is not a single written English word on it aside from the typed stuff. 

   It was HOT this week. I think it is going to be hotter this week! :( We will see if I survive. 

Love,

Elder Walker

伍長老

Videos are at the end

some of these things are from last week and some are from this week. 

Walking through Fairview Park (the place he was "arrested" last week)

On the Bus after getting kicked out of Fairview Park

Stuck in the apartment because of Black Rain (very heavy rain)