I first met the missionaries through my classmate who was not a member of the church. My classmate, my brother, and I went to DeliFrance (cafe) every Sunday evening while we chatted with the missionaries in English, since it was more a one-on-one and effective way to learn English. Although we went through many pairs of elders, trust and friendship was established. A pair of Elders gave me a Book of Mormon during Christmas (1998). Upon walking home, when asked by my classmate, “Are you ever gonna read it?” I said, “No.” It was the first BOM I threw away before I arrived home that night.
Elder Bell first brought me to the senior missionaries’ English class,
which was my first time to go to an LDS church’s building. After about a year, since the public exam was done, we stopped contacting the missionaries.About a few months later, I wanted to learn English again and found Elder Bell, who was the AP at that time, serving in the mission office. (The Hong Kong Temple has a chapel and the mission home within the same building.) After visiting, Elder Bell and his comp taught me the “first discussion” at the visiting lobby of the HK Temple. The Spirit was strong and I felt it, although I didn’t know what the Spirit was at that time. I got the BOM again and sincerely read 3 Nephi 11. I called and left a message at the mission office. For some reason, I never heard back from them. The BOM was put on my book shelf. One day cleaning up our home, my mom asked, “Are you ever gonna read it?” “No,” I replied. It was the second time I threw the BOM away.
A few months later, I saw a pair of elders doing GQ on the street, (GQ=Golden Questions=street contacting). Among all the people passing by, brushing them off, I had the same feeling I felt in the temple. That feeling drove me to them, Elder Wong and his comp.
This time is different…. I have always been a “question boy,” who asks many deep questions in whatever I learn in class. Many questions like, “How can people be made out of dirt?” “Where is the exact physical location of heaven?” I mean, come on, how can those US missionaries explain all this in Cantonese? Elder Wong was a HK native. Within two weeks, the Lord sent another native to the area, Elder Lai. (Notice it was a miracle; because of the hard language, it was rare that two natives served together.) Without language barriers, many of my questions were answered.
I still remember the first time I knew the BOM was true. It was a quiet night; and I was alone at home. After reading it for 30 mins that night (I had been reading it daily for two months), I knelt and prayed, and prayed for a few mins. Suddenly a strong feeling came to my heart and mind. I knew it. I knew it was true.
I was baptized by Elder Wong and confirmed by Elder Lai on Feb 13 and Feb 20, 2000.
Now…, would you like to hear my mom’s conversion story…??? She was Buddhist all her life. Later..., I baptised her…. Well, before boring you, I will tell you next time.
