Love what you do :) July 12, 2012

Hi mom! :) Things have been great here. The more in the middle of the summer it is the more I realize that home weather cannot be duplicated. It gets so hot here and it's SO humid, BUT the message that we get to share with the people of Hong Kong is SO worth sharing! Studying about Christ and His church in the morning and teaching others about Christ in the day is such a blessing. I really feel blessed to be able to have this opportunity. The members in Yuen Long are AMAZING! They are so open and willing to help us if they are free. They're always yelling "MISSIONARIES!" and then giving us something or even just wanting to talk to us.  I love the members here! Right now we're trying to figure out how to really help them be involved in missionary work to help their friends come unto Christ. It's a bit difficult, but they are always so kind and we have a good relationship with them.  I really encourage anybody who is reading this to invite their friends that haven't heard the gospel yet over to dinner when you have missionaries over. It really will invite the Spirit into your home even more and it's a great way to share the gospel with your friends! :) The worst thing that could happen is your friend saying that they might not be interested, BUT they might be interested in hearing more. You'll never know, unless you ask/try!  The language is super hard, but it's coming along. We went on splits yesterday and the "summer missionary" that was my companion for a few hours really doesn't know any English. So it was so great to be put into a situation where I have to practice my hearing and speaking. It was great! There were times where I would say something and he would just laugh and laugh because I would say super dorky things without knowing that it was never said. It was so much fun. He still finds it hilarious that I would say "Hey everybody!"  Apparently that's not used too much...woops. hehe :) That's so great that you all made it safely on your trip! I LOVED the pictures of baby Jonas and family. Yay! Congratulations Reid and Susie!!!! :))) How is the Dino dig going?? I bet it's amazing. It's with Jeff and his professor, right? How is that going???   So today, we went to the temple. It's so great to be able to go to the temple once a transfer. I'm so blessed to be in a mission that has the opportunity to go that often! It's so beautiful inside and you can feel the Spirit so strong in there. I think both you and dad would love the interior so much.  Lately, I've been really thinking about how we all are God's children. It's interesting how the simple doctrines are sometimes skimmed over and not necessarily as internalized as they should be. Every person that you come in contact with share the same Heavenly Parents as you do. We are all literal descendants from God, the Father. Despite our different backgrounds we have, we all come from the same God. I feel that if we just really internalized this doctrine, anger, jealousy, or any other negative thought towards another would no longer exist. Charity, the pure love of Christ, would be filled within your heart and you would be motivated to lose yourself in your life's work- the work of bringing others unto Christ and helping them understand that they are loved, that they are known by name by our Father above. What great doctrine that is. We are never alone. I love you all!  -Elder Tim -Elder Johnson P.S. Mom, is there a way that you could find the addresses of the missionaries that taught you the gospel? I'd like to write letters to them. P.P.S. Happy Birthday Katie Lambert and Elder Danny North!!! :) P.P.P.S. I'm sorry if I missed someone else's birthday.  -- Elder Timothy Johnson China Hong Kong Mission 18 Dorscet Crescent Kowloon Tong Kowloon Hong Kong