Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Hong Kong Trip May 2014

We had the privilege of escorting 18 Mongolian members to the temple in Hong Kong. All but one were there for the first time. It was a marvelous experience and an amazing city. 
 A beautiful night shot of the temple with lights and Moroni on top.
It was very humid since May is in the middle of the rainy season.  It rained everyday. Thursday evening while all of us were out walking home from a shopping center at Lok Fu a torrential storm hit and we got soaked.  I had planned on my suit getting wet so I packed two suits so I could hang one up to dry while wearing the other one.  The suits never really dried out due to the humidity. I didn't think about bring two pairs of shoes so all week long my shoes squished when walking. My socks were always wet. Fun! 

Here we are at Lok Fu with ice cream cones from McDonalds. We didn't eat there!!  
On the right is the Purevkhuu family. The father lost both parents at the age of three. His wife died three years ago and they had lost a daughter some years ago at the age of three. He became a member of the Church two years ago and now he has brought his son and his young family, his 17 year old daughter and an 8 year old adopted daughter. He is such a humble and quiet man, but shared his testimony of his Savior, with such strength and conviction.
This is our tour guide from the travel agency, Urna. She served a mission on Temple Square and returned to Mongolia last August. She did a great job! What a wonderful translator! She runs a tight ship and was such a help making sure we all got through the airports, customs, buses, MTR (Hong Kong subway system), ferries, and the tour of the city with flying colors!!!

  These pictures were taken Saturday. Four couples were married for time and all eternity. It was so tender and sweet each time they brought the babies in to be sealed to their parents. There was not a dry eye to be seen. It was wonderful to be witnesses to such a wonderful event. The brides were beautiful! What joy each of them expressed.

This is a typical Chinese Junk heading down the river between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula.

Hong Kong was an English colony from the early 1800's until 1997 when it was turned over to the Chinese.  English is the predominant language spoken here. Of course, Cantonese is the main language for the southern part of China. So it was easy to get around.


  This picture was taken from famous Victoria Peak. Any movie with Hong Kong in it has a shot from this peak with the city below. When we arrived the fog was so heavy you could not see 100 yards ahead. We could not see the building next to us about 100 feet away. The guide said our time was up, but I said this group has worked so hard this week they deserve to see this famous view. I told them I had faith it would be clear in an hour. One hour later it opened up for about 30 minutes and then the fog rolled in again.  It was a beautiful sight with the 100 story building to the left of us, across the harbor, and an 88 story building above Debbie. 

While crossing Victoria Harbor on the ferry, we took this sunset picture. Hong Kong is an amazing city. It is so vibrant and alive. Very clean! The landscape is lush with flowers and greenery, due to the rain and humidity. I was surprised to see palm trees. With the heat and humidity we felt like we were melting.











Whenever in Hong Kong, the evening skyline is a must-see!!! It was just gorgeous! Each night they have a 15-minute laser light show to music.














Hong Kong has double-decker buses. Whenever we had the chance we always rode on top to have a better view. There are approximately 8 million people in Hong Kong alone. It didn't seem all that crowded to us. They have a great subway and bus system. It's incredible.