We just got back from our mission Christmas activity! It was so fun! We had a white elephant gift exchange, gingerbread house contest, lunch and a slide show of the year. I got both your packages! Thank you thank you!!!!! The housing elders also gave our apartment 4 comforters because we were FREEZING a few weeks ago, so when Elder N, the housing coordinator asked the apartment leaders if we needed more blankets I accepted! I didn't expect comforters!!!! Whooo!!!! I'll sleep well tonight! Denim blanket + comforter = :) It was kind of a joke to see 8 of us missionaries with our comforters and packages climbing onto the top deck of the bus and then walking around town.
Questions:
– How do people in Hong Kong celebrate Christmas? Do they decorate? Have Christmas trees? Do the children talk much about Santa Claus?
The decorations are more of a commercial thing, so there are lots of decorations but not in every home. Red and green are definitely American things. I was all stressed out about what I was going to wear to the Christmas musical activity and caroling and Saturday's Ward activity. But I realized at the Christmas Musical that accept for a few Santa hats, everyone looked normal! It's taken me a bit to realize that HK isn't going to go on Lock Down like the US does, since lots of people aren't Christian, it's just any other day for a lot of them. As for us, we have a baptism, 3 lessons (hopefully), a family home evening and hopefully we're doing some caroling with the Young Single Adults in our ward!
The baptism is for a young man the Elders have been teaching. We were hoping one of our girls, A, would be able to get baptized too, but her dad decided last minute to take her family to Mainland for the weekend, so next week she's getting baptized!!! I'm sooooo excited! She is 16, and every time we meet I am just blown away by her testimony especially when she tells us about the things she's studying in the Book of Mormon!!!
- How do the people of Hong Kong seem to be doing financially? Middle class? Below or above middle class?
I feel like lots of people dress nicer here because clothes are so cheap, but everything looks poor because land is so expensive and the apartments are old and tiny. Compared to apartments here, my Liberty Square apartment is a MANSION!! and I mean that, 2 families of 5 sometimes live in the same square footage here. Lots of apartments have three rooms, a front room with a bunk bed, or closet/desk/bed combo, a card table for meals, a stack of stools for company and stacks of storage bins; a Kitchen, stove, sink, small fridge, no oven; and a bathroom. That's usually for families of 2 maybe three, but the whole apartment probably fits in our family room. The nicer apartments usually have separate bedrooms and a center dining/family room, but it's still small. I'm just amazed at how much is fit into a small space here!! I feel like I'm in the Jetsons sometimes with all the tall buildings!
- Have you been to the temple yet?
Nope, but Saturday, we're taking a lady in our ward to walk around the grounds. I'm so excited because she's soooo excited to go! My next p-day which will be next Friday instead of Thursday (due to training meetings) we get to go to the temple!!!
On Tuesday we went Caroling in Time Square!! It was so fun! We had about 300 Mormon Tabernacle Choir CDs we were handing out. It was pretty funny though because the Elders kept starting the songs super high, and out of key, so we sisters had a hard time singing because we were either screeching on the high notes or grumbling like basses. . . needless to say, we sounded *cough* Amazing! I just hope no one thought the CDs were of us singing. Lots of people stopped to take pictures of us or with us and tons of people were taking videos! Honestly, I would check Youtube for "White People Caroling in Hong Kong," or "Mormon Missionaries Singing," or "Happiest Worst Singers I've ever seen." Who knows maybe it made it online!. I was worried I wouldn't have a voice on Wednesday, but I haven't had a problem! The Lord's blessings!
I feel like P-day was just yesterday, I'm trying to remember what else happened this week. . . Oh! Saturday was the Stake Musical activity. It was really neat! It's fun to see how much the church is the same where ever you go. Seriously, I don't care what language or culture, it's the same and it's so comforting. Not only is the gospel the same, but the people. I am reminded of people from our ward all the time.
Well, I think that's it!! I love you sooooo much!!
Merry Christmas!!!
Love,
Kasey
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