Week 55: Big Buddha is just a big Buddha

 大家好！


Elder Smith and I did this week on hard mode because last P-Day we hiked Lantau peak, which is the second highest peak in Hong Kong, and we didn't wear sunscreen. So we got mega sunburned and our legs were pretty sore the next day. Totally worth it though, that was my favorite hike I've done in Hong Kong, it was so cool!

Highlights
- Our friend Rai came to church at the everyday branch on Tuesday, and we met with him before church. Our mission just released these Road to Baptism pamphlets that help friends visualize the process to baptism. Rai was already progressing towards baptism, but we gave him one and seeing the look of happiness on his face when we gave it to him was so awesome! He was just so excited about it, it was awesome
- I went on exchanges with Elder Chin this week and it was so fun. He serves the Mandarin branch and they had a lesson in the morning up in Sha Tin, and it was so fun just sitting there having no idea what was happening and then both of them just pausing and then staring at me haha. Good times
- Also on exchanges we went all the way up to Sheung Sui to find cause that's where Elder Smith decided we needed to be that day to find. So we went and it was so fun being back in Sheung Shui, I miss that place. I also got to sit down with Elder Chin and help him make a vision for his district to help him figure out how to help his district
- We had MLC this week too, and it was so good! Lots of revelation and lots of amazing insights shared by the other ZLs and STLs in our mission. It was so fun

Spiritual Thought
Something I've learned this week is how important love is. The two greatest commandments that Jesus gave us were to love God and love others; so the things that He wants us to do most are both about love. So the past few days I've been studying about love, peacemaking, and the two great commandments. And what I've learned is best summed up by Elder Wirthlin in his talk "The Great Commandment" - "The measure of our love is the measure of the greatness of our souls." Love truly is the most important thing in the world, because it drives everything else. Love is the reason that we follow God, love is the reason that we serve others, follow the commandments, and love is also the way to find the most joy in life. Elder Stevenson teaches that caring for others as much as or more than ourselves is our joy. I testify that the more we try to love the happier we will be, the greater our desire to follow Jesus Christ, and the better our lives will be. Charity never faileth 

Love you all!
Elder Blankenbiller


Google Photos

Pictures
1. Halfway up Lantau Peak
2. Straight outta Kung Fu Panda
3. Big Buddha
4. The temple at Big Buddha
5. Exchanges with Elder Chin







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