Today was so touching. We were able to visit a school with mentally and physically handicapped children. They were all so cute and smart. We taught them a bunch of songs including “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” We sang several songs for them as well but my favorite was singing “I Am A Child of God” in Cantonese. So many of us got teary eyed because we all know that all of those children are children of God and He loves them.
We went to the Hong Kong Temple later that day and were able to do temple sessions and baptisms for the dead. I feel so honored and blessed that not only are we able to spread the gospel here in Hong Kong thorough our singing, but also are able to do the Lord’s work for the ancestors of the people here.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Karenna Jones—Post Falls, Idaho, Vocal Performance, Soprano II
Dear Hong Kong,
Wow, you have already been so good to me! Yesterday we went to Disneyland and it was just so wonderful! I’ll tell you about that later. Right now I want to tell you about the angels I met this morning. Last night we got back from Disneyland and then we wandered for a little while, but upon returning I was informed that instead of the 9:45 devotional time I was to be at the bust at 7:30! Well, let’s just say after the long day I had and in the presence of an early morning, I was not in a happy-go-lucky mood.
I woke up after hanging up on both of my wake-up calls and got ready just in time to go to the bus. Like I sad … still not in a good mood. I couldn’t go to breakfast and I had a slight headache from lack of sleep … but one thing this trip has taught me is how to smile even when I don’t have the energy to breathe. All of this pity party completely disappeared the moment I was told the story of the first school we were going to visit.
Hong Kong does not have a very fair school system and this particular school was for minority international children. We were going to specifically promote higher education because there seems to be a lack of understanding as to the importance of bettering you situation through knowledge. The school was so humble and yet with nothing to give they found something to present. Their stage had completely rotted and collapsed so we performed for them right in front of their chairs. There were so sweet and eager to learn.
After that, we went to a school for the handicapped and learning impaired. Evidently it’s a rarity to find any sort of impaired children in the normal public school system because they are made to go to a separate school. Their schools also are very humble abodes but the people in them and who run them are purely angelic!
From the moment we entered the school you could tell the love the administrators have for their charges. With only 15 people we were able to very easily access the kids and really connect to them. I could have stayed there for ages and ages. I looked around secretly hoping to be caught in one of their attentions. I wanted to be special to them just like they were to me! But the instant I thought that, there was this one girl who was just staring at me and grinning ear to ear! Throughout the whole performance nothing but what seemed to be smiles of delight and encouragement came from her, like she was rooting me on.
When we got to the time where we taught the kids, she started the “Doe a Deer” song and sang with me … I had flashbacks of being Maria in “The Sound of Music” and instantly I felt a click in my brain and switched in to Maria mode. I loved every child in that room and wanted nothing more than to just sit and do whatever they wanted for hours on end. All too suddenly we had to leave … but the good news: off to another school.
This one was on the complete opposite spectrum of the scholastic food chain. This was a school for girls and one of the finest catholic schools in the country. Their facilities made my high school look like a dump! The moment we walked in the door the girls sang us a welcome song and patiently waited for us to assemble ourselves so we could share music. The girls were ranged from 5 to what looked like 12 or 13.
Looking out over them was just a sea of white uniforms and the same shade of ebony black hair. The little girls’ choir got up and sang several songs to welcome us, and then we sang for them. The look and squeals of delight were enough to send my joy meter through the roof!
Afterwards, we begged them to let us go and mingle with the little ones. The principal gave us five minutes. I couldn’t wait to go and hug one of those all too cute girls. I ran over to the middle of the mass and was met by 50 way-to-happy-to-see-me six to eight year olds. Their English was impeccable! We exchanged names they took over the conversation and wouldn’t stop telling me how beautiful and pretty I was. I bent down and they all had to touch my hat, my earring, and mostly my hair, blonde you know.
At one point I told them, “group hug!” Big mistake. They proceeded to push me over and tackle me! It had to have been the funniest looking thing to onlookers because one minute you see a red-clad blonde, next all you see is a pile of giggly squealing girls! Again, all too soon we had to leave and all the way I was bombarded with “you’re so beautiful!” I don’t think I’ve ever smiled wider.
We went to lunch at one point, which was divine by the way with course after course of tastiness topped off with a delightful red bean tapioca soup, mmm. I met the photographer who was hired to follow us while we were in Hong Kong. He and two others heaped compliment after compliment on me about how beautiful and “how much like flower” I am! Most of it was in Cantonese but I was blushing. The flower in question must have been a crimson gerber daisy! He told me he took many, many pictures of me and my face was made for the camera. … Let’s just say I am feeling pretty good right now!
And to top it all off we are currently at the temple and the coolest part is I was doing names that date back some time 1,000 years ago if not more! Now if that isn’t incredible I don’t know what is! I thought 200 was a lot! Next stop the world’s largest free-standing Buddha [statue].
Wow, you have already been so good to me! Yesterday we went to Disneyland and it was just so wonderful! I’ll tell you about that later. Right now I want to tell you about the angels I met this morning. Last night we got back from Disneyland and then we wandered for a little while, but upon returning I was informed that instead of the 9:45 devotional time I was to be at the bust at 7:30! Well, let’s just say after the long day I had and in the presence of an early morning, I was not in a happy-go-lucky mood.
I woke up after hanging up on both of my wake-up calls and got ready just in time to go to the bus. Like I sad … still not in a good mood. I couldn’t go to breakfast and I had a slight headache from lack of sleep … but one thing this trip has taught me is how to smile even when I don’t have the energy to breathe. All of this pity party completely disappeared the moment I was told the story of the first school we were going to visit.
Hong Kong does not have a very fair school system and this particular school was for minority international children. We were going to specifically promote higher education because there seems to be a lack of understanding as to the importance of bettering you situation through knowledge. The school was so humble and yet with nothing to give they found something to present. Their stage had completely rotted and collapsed so we performed for them right in front of their chairs. There were so sweet and eager to learn.
After that, we went to a school for the handicapped and learning impaired. Evidently it’s a rarity to find any sort of impaired children in the normal public school system because they are made to go to a separate school. Their schools also are very humble abodes but the people in them and who run them are purely angelic!
From the moment we entered the school you could tell the love the administrators have for their charges. With only 15 people we were able to very easily access the kids and really connect to them. I could have stayed there for ages and ages. I looked around secretly hoping to be caught in one of their attentions. I wanted to be special to them just like they were to me! But the instant I thought that, there was this one girl who was just staring at me and grinning ear to ear! Throughout the whole performance nothing but what seemed to be smiles of delight and encouragement came from her, like she was rooting me on.
When we got to the time where we taught the kids, she started the “Doe a Deer” song and sang with me … I had flashbacks of being Maria in “The Sound of Music” and instantly I felt a click in my brain and switched in to Maria mode. I loved every child in that room and wanted nothing more than to just sit and do whatever they wanted for hours on end. All too suddenly we had to leave … but the good news: off to another school.
This one was on the complete opposite spectrum of the scholastic food chain. This was a school for girls and one of the finest catholic schools in the country. Their facilities made my high school look like a dump! The moment we walked in the door the girls sang us a welcome song and patiently waited for us to assemble ourselves so we could share music. The girls were ranged from 5 to what looked like 12 or 13.
Looking out over them was just a sea of white uniforms and the same shade of ebony black hair. The little girls’ choir got up and sang several songs to welcome us, and then we sang for them. The look and squeals of delight were enough to send my joy meter through the roof!
Afterwards, we begged them to let us go and mingle with the little ones. The principal gave us five minutes. I couldn’t wait to go and hug one of those all too cute girls. I ran over to the middle of the mass and was met by 50 way-to-happy-to-see-me six to eight year olds. Their English was impeccable! We exchanged names they took over the conversation and wouldn’t stop telling me how beautiful and pretty I was. I bent down and they all had to touch my hat, my earring, and mostly my hair, blonde you know.
At one point I told them, “group hug!” Big mistake. They proceeded to push me over and tackle me! It had to have been the funniest looking thing to onlookers because one minute you see a red-clad blonde, next all you see is a pile of giggly squealing girls! Again, all too soon we had to leave and all the way I was bombarded with “you’re so beautiful!” I don’t think I’ve ever smiled wider.
We went to lunch at one point, which was divine by the way with course after course of tastiness topped off with a delightful red bean tapioca soup, mmm. I met the photographer who was hired to follow us while we were in Hong Kong. He and two others heaped compliment after compliment on me about how beautiful and “how much like flower” I am! Most of it was in Cantonese but I was blushing. The flower in question must have been a crimson gerber daisy! He told me he took many, many pictures of me and my face was made for the camera. … Let’s just say I am feeling pretty good right now!
And to top it all off we are currently at the temple and the coolest part is I was doing names that date back some time 1,000 years ago if not more! Now if that isn’t incredible I don’t know what is! I thought 200 was a lot! Next stop the world’s largest free-standing Buddha [statue].
Kaytlin Evans—Utah, Music/English, Soprano I
Wow is it the 19th already? It wasn’t until we were sitting in our first school visit for the day that I saw the date and realized I hadn’t thought about what day it was for a long time. They all just seem to blur together so that it seems like us leaving Laie before sunrise on May 8th was not 11 days ago, but really just a long LONG day ago. Nevertheless, May 19th it is.
It began with a visit to a school for disabled children. The children were so special and though they could not always express what they were feeling with words, their spirits and smiles said more than words ever could. We began by singing to them and then each went out and spent time with just a few of the kids, teaching them “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” I got to spend time with three of the most wonderful children. I was surprised when one of the girls immediately began singing the words in English with me. She was very smart and I soon found out that her most common response was, “No way!” After a few times of hearing it, I just started saying “Yes way!” back and soon enough she liked that a lot better and wanted to do everything. As I was teaching them “Do As I’m Doing,” I’d ask her to lead it or pick an action and this was always her response!
The other girl with me was shy and sweet as can be. She had the face of an angel and everything she was—all the goodness, happiness and love—I could see in her eyes and feel in her little hand in mine. The other child with me was a boy who had the best smile I’ve ever seen. He was so full of life and his happiness was contagious. The most precious moment with those three was when, after the games, we sang “I Am a Child of God” to them as we knelt or sat by their sides. After singing this song to audiences so many times from a distance, being down among those three dear spirits I came to love and singing directly to them was incredibly touching and extremely powerful. As I knelt before them and tried to sing in their own language that they are children of God, I felt the truth of it fill me. But even more I felt that they knew it too.
The dear boy sang along with me and though he could not get all the words out, he was singing the melody as clearly as any primary kid. He knew the song and I know he knew his Heavenly Father. I was humbled to have that experience.
The next school we went to was a catholic girls’ school and we were all amazed to see how disciplined they were. They filled an auditorium the size of the CAC gym floor—800 girls—and all were in strict lines. It was quite a sight, especially as they started to do the actions with us to “Pearly Shells.” The best thing to see was how they responded to Sone [Naunau’s] interaction with the audience. Their “tiger!” was by far the best one we’ve had. You could just see they had so much happiness and excitement to unleash but their teachers were always quick to shush them. Even when we went down to talk with them afterwards they weren’t breaking their lines, though you could see how much they wanted to. Oh, but as soon as we got out our cameras, any order or lines were history. They were like moths to the flame. I loved giving them high-fives (which they couldn’t get enough of), and they loved touching my blonde hair and giving me hugs. The difference between their attitudes as we go there and as we left was remarkable. Indeed, it was as if they had been freed and they (and me) absolutely loved it, it was so hard to leave them.
And last but not least, the temple! To say it was amazing as always would not be doing it justice at all. But one of my favorite things about being in the Hong Kong Temple was that I forgot I was in Hong Kong. I forgot that I was far away from home because I felt so safe, comfortable and full of joy that the temple became home. This is one of the greatest joys of the gospel to me, that I can feel loved and at home anywhere in the world as long as the spirit is there with me.
Following the temple work, we had probably the best meal of the trip—thanks to the kind local sisters and BYUH alumni (especially President and Sister Goo!). And if anything can make a near perfect day in Asia even better it’s food—good, home cooked, familiar food. And I can honestly say I thanked Heavenly Father sincerely for the meal. Hallelujah!
It began with a visit to a school for disabled children. The children were so special and though they could not always express what they were feeling with words, their spirits and smiles said more than words ever could. We began by singing to them and then each went out and spent time with just a few of the kids, teaching them “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” I got to spend time with three of the most wonderful children. I was surprised when one of the girls immediately began singing the words in English with me. She was very smart and I soon found out that her most common response was, “No way!” After a few times of hearing it, I just started saying “Yes way!” back and soon enough she liked that a lot better and wanted to do everything. As I was teaching them “Do As I’m Doing,” I’d ask her to lead it or pick an action and this was always her response!
The other girl with me was shy and sweet as can be. She had the face of an angel and everything she was—all the goodness, happiness and love—I could see in her eyes and feel in her little hand in mine. The other child with me was a boy who had the best smile I’ve ever seen. He was so full of life and his happiness was contagious. The most precious moment with those three was when, after the games, we sang “I Am a Child of God” to them as we knelt or sat by their sides. After singing this song to audiences so many times from a distance, being down among those three dear spirits I came to love and singing directly to them was incredibly touching and extremely powerful. As I knelt before them and tried to sing in their own language that they are children of God, I felt the truth of it fill me. But even more I felt that they knew it too.
The dear boy sang along with me and though he could not get all the words out, he was singing the melody as clearly as any primary kid. He knew the song and I know he knew his Heavenly Father. I was humbled to have that experience.
The next school we went to was a catholic girls’ school and we were all amazed to see how disciplined they were. They filled an auditorium the size of the CAC gym floor—800 girls—and all were in strict lines. It was quite a sight, especially as they started to do the actions with us to “Pearly Shells.” The best thing to see was how they responded to Sone [Naunau’s] interaction with the audience. Their “tiger!” was by far the best one we’ve had. You could just see they had so much happiness and excitement to unleash but their teachers were always quick to shush them. Even when we went down to talk with them afterwards they weren’t breaking their lines, though you could see how much they wanted to. Oh, but as soon as we got out our cameras, any order or lines were history. They were like moths to the flame. I loved giving them high-fives (which they couldn’t get enough of), and they loved touching my blonde hair and giving me hugs. The difference between their attitudes as we go there and as we left was remarkable. Indeed, it was as if they had been freed and they (and me) absolutely loved it, it was so hard to leave them.
And last but not least, the temple! To say it was amazing as always would not be doing it justice at all. But one of my favorite things about being in the Hong Kong Temple was that I forgot I was in Hong Kong. I forgot that I was far away from home because I felt so safe, comfortable and full of joy that the temple became home. This is one of the greatest joys of the gospel to me, that I can feel loved and at home anywhere in the world as long as the spirit is there with me.
Following the temple work, we had probably the best meal of the trip—thanks to the kind local sisters and BYUH alumni (especially President and Sister Goo!). And if anything can make a near perfect day in Asia even better it’s food—good, home cooked, familiar food. And I can honestly say I thanked Heavenly Father sincerely for the meal. Hallelujah!
Tialei Wesley—Laie, Accounting, Alto II
Today was amazing! We just got back to the hotel and everyone is exhausted and literally dragging themselves up to their rooms. The day started off with our expensive gourmet breakfast full of all kinds of meats, fruits, breakfast foods and even mini donuts. We loaded the buses at 9:45 but only half of us were there because the other half had left earlier with the Wheelwright’s.
Our first stop was an elementary school for special needs children. The children’s spirits were so sweet and they were so willing to learn “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” as we individually taught them. Their smiles and high fives touched our hearts and it was an experience that none of us will probably ever forget.
Next we went to an all-girls school. It was a catholic school called Good Hope. The little girls were so cute and there were probably over 1000 of them. We were able to sing to them and take pictures with them. They were very responsive and they laughed a bunch when we did “Barber of Seville.”
After, we went to the [China Hong Kong] Temple. It was absolutely beautiful, especially the baptismal font. The ordinances went well and after we met at the stake center/2nd floor of the temple to eat dinner. [Temple] President Goo’s wife and some other BYUH alumni prepared delicious food that included chicken curry, char-su and orange rolls! Yumm!
Finally, we drove up to The Peak, this amazing lookout place high on the mountain. It was super rainy so some people went shopping in the mall while other people ran though the rain to see the amazing view of all the city lights and skyscrapers. As we were driving home, the lightning danced upon the mountains through the smog that covered the valley, it was super cool!
Today was a great day!
Our first stop was an elementary school for special needs children. The children’s spirits were so sweet and they were so willing to learn “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” as we individually taught them. Their smiles and high fives touched our hearts and it was an experience that none of us will probably ever forget.
Next we went to an all-girls school. It was a catholic school called Good Hope. The little girls were so cute and there were probably over 1000 of them. We were able to sing to them and take pictures with them. They were very responsive and they laughed a bunch when we did “Barber of Seville.”
After, we went to the [China Hong Kong] Temple. It was absolutely beautiful, especially the baptismal font. The ordinances went well and after we met at the stake center/2nd floor of the temple to eat dinner. [Temple] President Goo’s wife and some other BYUH alumni prepared delicious food that included chicken curry, char-su and orange rolls! Yumm!
Finally, we drove up to The Peak, this amazing lookout place high on the mountain. It was super rainy so some people went shopping in the mall while other people ran though the rain to see the amazing view of all the city lights and skyscrapers. As we were driving home, the lightning danced upon the mountains through the smog that covered the valley, it was super cool!
Today was a great day!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Christian Evans—Colorado, University Studies, Baritone
Disneyland!!!!
Everything about today was magical.
It started with a magical breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that one must have included pixie dust or three wishes for how magically expensive it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I signed the receipt. I thought maybe I was doing the conversion from HK$ wrong.
Anyway, the real magic happened at Disneyland. We arrived and entered the park. I was surprised to see pretty much the same layout as what they have in Anaheim and Orlando, albeit a smaller version with more Asians. Before they let us run off and have fun we met in a backstage area with Simon. He instructed us about the proper Disneyland performer etiquette and gave us much needed water, as it was quite hot. When the time came we walked out to a staircase, not a stage. This made a couple things more difficult. Smiles and high fives everyone! It really wasn’t too big of a deal except for the 8 or 10 guys that slipped off their stair while dancing during “Tahiti.” Other than that, the performance went as good as could be expected and it was even played throughout the entire park. We returned backstage and collected our meal tickets and coupon for “a free Disney Capsule.” What kind of capsule, you may ask. A time capsule? A space capsule? I’m not sure, I didn’t redeem mine.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the park. Some of us rode Space Mountain multiple times and we tried to coordinate our faces for the picture every time. We also thoroughly enjoyed Mickey’s PhilharMAGIC and of course “It’s a Small World After All.” The clouds magically rolled in as the day heated up which turned it into a perfect day all around.
Everything about today was magical.
It started with a magical breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that one must have included pixie dust or three wishes for how magically expensive it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I signed the receipt. I thought maybe I was doing the conversion from HK$ wrong.
Anyway, the real magic happened at Disneyland. We arrived and entered the park. I was surprised to see pretty much the same layout as what they have in Anaheim and Orlando, albeit a smaller version with more Asians. Before they let us run off and have fun we met in a backstage area with Simon. He instructed us about the proper Disneyland performer etiquette and gave us much needed water, as it was quite hot. When the time came we walked out to a staircase, not a stage. This made a couple things more difficult. Smiles and high fives everyone! It really wasn’t too big of a deal except for the 8 or 10 guys that slipped off their stair while dancing during “Tahiti.” Other than that, the performance went as good as could be expected and it was even played throughout the entire park. We returned backstage and collected our meal tickets and coupon for “a free Disney Capsule.” What kind of capsule, you may ask. A time capsule? A space capsule? I’m not sure, I didn’t redeem mine.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the park. Some of us rode Space Mountain multiple times and we tried to coordinate our faces for the picture every time. We also thoroughly enjoyed Mickey’s PhilharMAGIC and of course “It’s a Small World After All.” The clouds magically rolled in as the day heated up which turned it into a perfect day all around.
Keli’i Wesley—Laie, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Tenor I
Today was awesome! It was such a cool way to spend my 22nd birthday. I started the day with an outstanding breakfast here at the Excelsior Hotel. All of that yummy food helped me prepare for a day full of fun at Disneyland Hong Kong. We performed in the morning near the front of the park and it was so hot. I remember having sweat dripping off my body. Even though we were all hot and sweaty, everyone said we did very well.
The first thing we did was dance with the High School Musical cast and that was way fun! We rode Space Mountain three times and did the Stich Encounter activity. Stich picked me and he was so funny; he bid everyone that he was more handsome than me, ha ha.
The Lion King show was phenomenal! The singers were fantastic! My favorite part was during “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” when they did a Cirque du Soleil sort of act that was incredible.
I ended my 22nd birthday by watching the fireworks show, which was way cool. I can’t think of a better way that I could’ve spent my birthday.
The first thing we did was dance with the High School Musical cast and that was way fun! We rode Space Mountain three times and did the Stich Encounter activity. Stich picked me and he was so funny; he bid everyone that he was more handsome than me, ha ha.
The Lion King show was phenomenal! The singers were fantastic! My favorite part was during “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” when they did a Cirque du Soleil sort of act that was incredible.
I ended my 22nd birthday by watching the fireworks show, which was way cool. I can’t think of a better way that I could’ve spent my birthday.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Elder Paul V. Johnson—Commissioner of Church Education and Leslie Johnson—Chaperone
This is the day we traveled from Taiwan to Hong Kong. The devotional this morning was a reminder of D&C 88:124 “…retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.” This would be a help with our health, moods and energy on the trip.
The luggage was counted and loaded on the buses and the morning was beautiful, sunny, warm and humid. We watched Taipei pass by us as the bus headed to the airport. Check-in went well and after the security process some members of the group fanned out across the airport looking for Burger King, McDonalds or any other eating experience that didn’t include fish and unknown meat products.
The short flight to Hong Kong went smoothly and the bus ride into the city was fascinating. Buildings—tall, tall, tall, and many, many, many. Some of the tops of the skyscrapers were in the clouds. There were beautiful bridges linking the islands and huge container ships stacked with containers. The dock areas had thousands of containers and the cranes to load and unload the ships. As we got closer to the hotel we could see the beautiful Kowloon and Hong Kong skylines.
As we drove we noticed how excited [Kit] Ming [Lau], Alice [Yiu] and Siu Hing [Chan] were as we got closer and closer to their homes.
The bus drivers were amazing as they weaved their way through the narrow streets and the crazy traffic to the Excelsior Hotel. We unloaded and went to our beautiful rooms (after the traffic jam at the elevators with all our luggage) in this very nice hotel. We then came to a meeting room and had PIZZA! It tasted so good.
In the evening many went out exploring the bustling streets with more lights than Las Vegas and a few more people than Laie.
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