Enter quarantine stage left

大家好！你們好不好嗎？

This week has taken me halfway across the world!

It all started on Wednesday. Sister Johnson and I were just chilling at Sister Afoa's apartment with her new companion, playing Apples to Apples, when Brother and Sister Larson (the mission travel coordinators) came to pick us up. They drove us and all of our things to the airport and took us in so they could get our bags all checked for us. It was $100 per person for our bags so rip. They were able to check them all the way to Hong Kong though so that was awesome. We did run into a little trouble when dropping off our bags though. The lady had to read through this whole thing and make sure we had all the paperwork for Hong Kong and she was concerned because her computer said that Hong Kong isn't letting anyone from America in and there are no exceptions. She said that we had all the paperwork that we needed in order to get in though. She read things over and pondered for a good 10 minutes before being like "I'll let you guys go ahead because it looks like you have everything, but I can't guarantee you'll get through". A little worrying but it was okay.

We made it through security and on our plane to LAX no problem and it was a nice, smooth flight. Then, if you didn't know already from all of my mom's posting, since we had a 5 hour layover in LAX, my family came to see me for a bit! They brought Cafe Rio for Sister Johnson and I as well as some goodies for us to take on the plane to Hong Kong which was awesome. It was really fun to see them and although I was bombarded with talking and questions from my siblings, it was still a good time. After that I said goodbye to them all and Sister Johnson and I went through security again but this time in the international terminal. I forgot I had pepper spray in my bag and they ended up throwing that away and going through all of my scriptures and things for good measure, but other than that we were good. After that, we went and found our gate and got to meet up with all the other misisonaries going to Hong Kong! Most of them were the missionares who just finished home MTC and there were about 12 of them, but a few others were missionaries like Sister Johnson and I who had been in reassignments for the past transfer or two and were now finally going. Everyone was super nice and it was a great time!

We had to hang around in the gate for a good while but then the people for the airline showed up and they started having us check in. We got in line for the desk and a flight attendant lady named Lorraine came down the line giving us papers to fill out and checking that we have all of the other things we need. Sister Johnson and I had quite a scare because our covid test results didn't have government accredidation shown on them. Lorraine helped us though by looking up the lab we got tested at and finding it on the CDC website. I was just praying that that would be enough. Then Lorraine told us she found something but would explain later and went to talk with her manager at the desk. We don't know what she had found or done exactly, but when we got to the desk and gave them our paperwork, they had printed out papers that had the accredidation on them and stapled them to the back of our test results and said we were all good. You don't know how relieved we were. After that, we were able to just relax and talk with the other missionaries more until it was time to board the plane.

This plane was the biggest I've ever been on and it was so cool. We were just sitting in economy so it was nothing special but it was still a really fun experience. The flight was a long 15 hours but Sister Johnson and I slept during a lot of it as well as played angry birds and solitaire on the screens they had. We were also served dinner and breakfast on the plane which was really neat for me because I've never had more than the complimentary soda and pretzels that most flights give. They even gave us Hagen Daas ice cream bars for dessert :D. When they came around and served breakfast, they had options for drinks and I encouraged Sister Johnson to tell the flight attendant in Cantonese what she wanted and when we both did, he told us our Cantonese was very good. It made me so happy because even if it was a little thing, I love being able to use the language I've been studying and have other people actually understand and recognize it. There wasn't much to see out the window during the flight because it was pitch black and we were flying over the ocean, but we did get to see some cool lights when we finally were arriving in Hong Kong. Arriving was just another step in the journey though.

Once we were in the airport, they had us go through this whole process where they gave us these lanyards with bar codes, tested us again for covid, gave us our cumpulsory quarantine orders, and then had us wait at these spread apart desks for our results to come in. It was a long few hours of doing all of this but we eventually got our results back and then were able to continue on with getting our visas stamped and getting our bags from baggage claim. Once we had done all that and had shown our quarantine orders to at least 5 more staff members along the way, we took these elevators up to the ground outside and then were loaded into some buses and driven to our hotel. My favorite part of that day was definitely the drive. Hong Kong is just so pretty. It wasn't a very far drive, but I loved seeing all the trees, the huge mountains, the skyscrapers, and all of the people. I am just so eager to get out and be able to experience it for myself.

We got to the hotel soon after that, checked in at the desk, said goodbye to all the missionaries, and then went up to our room. We're staying on the 11th floor in a fairly small room but it still has it's perks. We have a very nice view of the ocean and some buildings so that's a plus. The hardest thing so far has definitely been the hotel food. It is not bougie. It's the opposite of bougie. We get breakfast, lunch, and dinner delivered to us every day and they always give us one Western meal and one Chinese meal. We've found that both meals usually have a few things that are good and a few things that are bad so we just share and eat the good stuff together. Let's just say that there's a lot of food in the trash :D

Jong jímuih and I have had a great time together so far though! There's a google drive we've received with movies that are approved to watch while we're quarantine and that's been a lot of fun. We've also been playing some Five Crowns and Sushi Go or just taking naps. It was pretty weird adjusting to a 14 hour time difference but we're getting better! We started doing missionary work again yesterday and it's definitely weird to not be outside doing things but I'm glad to still have opportunities to serve. Over the course of these next three weeks we will be able to do zoom calls with local members so they can help us with our Cantonese and I'm so happy for it. Yesterday we met with a lady named Sister Wong and she was awesome. She taught Cantonese in the MTC some years ago so she was very good at keeping a good pace with us and making sure we're understanding. I just want to soak up as much as possible! I know that the listening portion of the language is going to be the toughest over the course of my time here, but I want to do my best to improve every day and I know that with God on my side, I can accomplish anything!

That's pretty much it for now! I hope you've all been doing well! Pdays here are on Mondays but it'll be more like Sunday nights for most of you haha so you can look forward to my future emails around this same time!

I love you all and I hope you know that God loves you too!

加油

丁姊妹

3 Nephi 9:22

22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

In this verse, Jesus Christ is speaking and I love it so much because of how he urges us to be as a little child. Children are so full of love and open to learning and growing and I think that sometimes we start to drift away from being like that. I know that as we humble ourselves and work each day to follow Christ and His teachings, we will see greater happiness in this life and the next than we have ever previously known ❤