Elder Zach Blankenbiller

  大家好！ We got transfer news on Saturday and I found out that I'm staying in Sheung Shui and training a brand new missionary!! I'm super excited to train and have already started thinking about what kind of trainer I want to be and how I want to help my trainee. Super pumped!! Highlights - I had a lot of exchanges this week which was super fun! My first exchange was with Elder Chin and we had a blast. In the morning we were at the chapel to meet with a friend who ended up not coming, but while we were there this random dude came up to the chapel and said hi, so we chatted for a bit and come to find out his sister is a member of our church in Canada. So we invited him to church and he said he would maybe come. (On Sunday he pulled up to church and we scheduled him for this week!!) Then we headed out to the middle of nowhere in our area to do some finding, but after a while we weren't really feeling it, so we walked back cause the bus was full. And then we met two dudes whose ...

  心急吃不了熱豆腐！ Ever since I got back to Sheung Shui and saw Charles again my goal has been to help his family get sealed in the temple. His father passed away at the beginning of this year, which was really hard on him. And his Sister is now being taught by the Sisters, and so we've been talking a lot with him about helping his family to learn more about the church so they can all be sealed. This week we grabbed lunch with him again and chatted about how he could continue to help his family work towards that goal. But then the conversation took a bit of an unexpected turn because he started asking lots of questions about missionary work and missions and stuff... And then he dropped on me that HE'S BEEN THINKING ABOUT GOING ON A MISSION!!!!! He's still in the early stages of thinking about it, but he's seriously considering it which makes me so excited and so happy. I suggested that he look into getting his Patriarchal blessing so that he can receive guidance, and he said h...

  大家好！ Last Pday I got a clapped haircut from a haircut place. They made the front shorter than the back, so today I got a buzz cut. For all those who are disappointed in me I apologize, it was never in my plans and has been forced upon me by my circumstances. For those of you who are proud of me please let me know by private email Highlights - I got to go on AP exchanges this week, which was a nice break of going back to grinding missionary work with a seasoned missionary. It made it a little hard to come back to normal, but I've been working through it and keep pushing forward! - While I was on AP exchanges we were grabbing dinner at the Dragon Center, which is a giant mall in Kowloon. We were looking for a place to sit and came across this one girl that Elder Bement had seen outside, and she asked if we needed a place to sit, so we sat with her and started chatting. She mentioned her cousin is actually a member of our church and that she's been to one of our chapels before, ...

  大家好！ On Tuesday we were supposed to be getting a new AC installed to replace a broken one in our apartment, so we had to stay inside our apartment during the window when it was supposed to come, which was 9am-2pm. So we called the dude who was supposed to be bringing the new one to ask if he could bring it earlier so we could leave, but when we called him he was like "How did you get this number?? Never call again!" And then hung up. Then he never showed up so we were stuck inside almost the whole day and he didn't even come lols. I was pretty annoyed for a little but lowkey it's just really funny at this point haha Highlights - We had Elder Woo of the area presidency do a mission tour with us and so we got a ton of amazing training on giving people invitations, promising blessings, and sharing our testimonies. It was incredible and I got a bit of a wake up call that I could definitely improve in that area, so I've been practicing a lot of what I learned! His wi...

  大家好！ This week took a bit of an unexpected turn, in that there ended up being an emergency transfer and I'm now back in Sheung Shui, my very first area. I'm currently serving with Elder Lau, a missionary in his first transfer out of training. He's actually from Hong Kong. To be honest it's been a bit of a struggle, the whole thing caught me completely off guard, and I went from having a really diligent companion working in an area that had a lot happening, to an area that right now has almost nothing happening, and my companion is still learning how to give himself fully to the mission and realize that the mission isn't about him. So it's been a struggle the last few days, but I've been praying lots and really trying to push forward and love my companion even when he makes it difficult Highlights - Wow coming back to this ward was awesome. These members are the best people ever and so many of them remembered me and were so excited that I was back, which wa...

  大家好！ Adjusting to this new transfer has been nuts, just getting used to the new area, the new zone, the new ward. There's so much happening, which is awesome, but just a lot to process haha. And it's all back in Cantonese, so my brain has been a little cooked haha. But it's been such a fun couple days in Sha Tin, this area is the best!! So fun, so many people willing to talk, great food, the Ward is amazing, and my comp is super fun Highlights - Before I moved areas we were able to get our friend Rai baptized, and it was such an amazing day! The Spirit there was so strong, and Rai was nervous, but also so excited. So glad to be a part of his journey, such a blessing!  - Elder Shields and I got an opportunity to do some service for a guy named Glen who just moved to Hong Kong. He's Christian but not a member of our church. Super nice guy and has the BIGGEST collection of drinking glasses I've ever seen haha. He's like mega rich and the view from his apartment i...