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Our Thoughts on Leaving Hong Kong

Shirley Jackson's Thoughts:

Who would have thought eighteen months ago that the time would pass by so quickly and it would be time to go home so soon? Who would have thought that we would love our Hong Kong experience as much as we did? Who would have thought we would hate to leave our 600 square feet apartment, our busy neighborhood, our beloved senior couples and our office friends? Who would have thought it would be so hard to leave? Who would have thought we would enjoy the Island 2nd Branch so much? Who would have thought we would miss all those new, scary experiences?


Leaving is just one of those bittersweet experience. On one hand we can’t wait to get home to our family, and on the other hand we hate to give up our Hong Kong families. But as with all things, change is inevitable and our time is up.

So we are off - heading homeward.

We packed our things and found that we could get everything in - Amazing! We cleaned the apartment, and it looked so good we considered staying! We were ready to leave. After a short week in China we were ready to head homeward.
We planned on just catching the E11 bus in front of our apartment and riding it to the airport. We just needed a couple of extra hands to get us aboard, and Elder and Sister Bench and Ashley Chan volunteered. And as we left the office, yes we made a quick trip back as well as I worked in a haircut, Ashley told us she was going with us. So there were 5 of us to hoist the bags aboard. We lugged them on and Sister Bench waited on the sidewalk. The bus driver felt we weren’t moving quickly enough, so he took off, with Elder Bench still aboard. You should have seen the look on Sister Bench’s face when we took off down the street with Elder Bench still on board.

Well Elder Bench got off at the next stop and Ashley told him not to worry, he didn’t have to pay! And we were off. Ashley stayed with us until we finally entered the area where only passengers can go. What a great friend!

Farewell Hong Kong. Farewell 12th floor view of Victoria Harbour. Farewell Ashley and Anna. Farewell Joyce and Joseph and our practical jokes. Farewell Security staff to greet us everyday. Farewell senior couples. Farewell wonderful office staff. Farewell Ben - my last good haircut and perm. Farewell Octopus card and bus rides and MTR and ferries. Farewell Island 2nd girls - Sundays will never be as much fun. Farewell strange smells, and fish! Farewell Saturday’s out getting lost. Farewell to the fun, the work, the crowded sidewalks, the wet market, the shopping and the junk stores. Farewell Stanley runs. Farewell to it all - Hello Utah, family, home!

And in only five hours we were home! We left at 3:30pm and got home at 8:30pm the same day - but actually almost 24 hours later. And there they were! The whole Utah bunch. What a beautiful sight! We passed out "treasures" and after they left found ourselves not the least bit tired, might as well unpack before the jet lag kicks in.

Home again, home again! And it’s strange. Good, but strange!


DeWayne Jackson's Thoughts:

This scripture best describes our mission, and is found in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 84 verse 88: "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."


Yes, we were received by the people in Hong Kong and immediately we felt welcome. Our Father in Heaven certainly prepared the way and He was on our right hand and our left hand, and his earthly angles did bear Shirley and I up.

What a great blessing it was for us to serve the Area Presidency. They are wonderful men and we were certainly touched by their acts of kindness and the many things they taught us.

We were certainly blessed by the office staff. From the day we arrived we were supported and welcomed by them. What an opportunity it was to work shoulder to shoulder with Ashley and Anna, we love them dearly.

What a blessing the senior couples are. They become your family away from home and became our very close and dear friends. They all share the same challenges that we did.

What a blessing it was to serve in the Island 2nd Branch. This was one of the highlights of our mission. We were certainly blessed by these unbelievable, dedicated sisters. Sister Bench shared a thought with us that reflects how these sisters really touch you. "Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same." These sisters did touch our lives and we will never be the same.

I really didn’t want to serve this mission, but it was one of the greatest experiences Shirley and I have every had. I can’t express my true feelings, there just isn’t enough space. Sister Woolsey summarized our feelings with this simple thought, "Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possible can, for you many never be able to experience it again." We will never be able to experience again what we did while serving in the Asia Area Office.

Last Day of our Mission

At noon the tenth floor lunch bunch had lunch for us. They brought all the fixins for good sandwiches, chips, fruit and cream puffs. The best lunch bunch lunch we've had bar none - but way tooo much!

Tonight we went to the Peak with Vivien, Ashley and Edward Ho. We planned on running home and doing a little packing and getting back by 4:30 in time to go. We never made it home so we just went as we were, suit, tie, skirt and all.
We took the Peak Tram up, we've never done that before. We have gone down, but never up. Then we walked out to show them the date carved on the rock, which none of them had ever seen. We just kept walking, all around the peak trail which took us almost two hours. By the time we got all the way around it was dark and we headed for Burger King for dinner. Dew jumped on the escalator too quickly and missed the floor where Burger King is located, so we had to wait for him to go up two floors before he could come back down to where we waited patiently.
We all ate way tooo much. In fact Ashley and Vivien both ordered Whoppers cut in half and ate half. Poor Edward ended up eating his Whopper, and 3/4 of theirs. He was to the brim by the time he finished. We then caught the bus back down, and it was nice to find out that riding the bus down made all of them slightly sick too. We walked Ashley home and then on to our house, which won't be our house much longer.

All evening they kept thinking of little pieces of advice to give us for our trip to China. And as we left they all told us to call if we needed help. They are soooo very good to us.

Lunch at Tony Romas

Some of the staff took us out for lunch, and guess where they chose? Tony Roma's - American all the way.

Those that attended where; Edward Ho (taking the picture), Samuelanna Woo, Lock, Kam, Anna Leung, Jennifer Chan, Jamie Wong, Nicole Hui, Ashley Chan and Vivien Poon. We had a wonderful lunch, and we are going to miss them, they are such great people.

Last Monday Devotional

When Elder and Sister Newell went home we decided not to have anymore farewell songs, because of the effort of those writing the music and lyrics.


Today was our final devotional with the staff. Elder Woolsey gave a great message about his wood carving. Following the devotional they asked if we would come up on the stand. I thought they wanted us to talk, but NO they sang a special song and it included the entire staff. When they finished singing Sister Bench had prepared a poem for us and then awarded us with a wonderful scrap book with pictures and comments from the staff and coupoes. And then they asked Shirl and I to talk. What a wonderful gift, we don’t know how to thank them.

Poem by Sister Bench
FAVORITE THINGS OF HONG KONG
(Words by Carol Bench to My Favorite Things)
Black rain on Hennessy,
8 typhoon warnings,
Smells of the wet market,
Teleconference mornings,
Chirping of traffic lights,
Screeching ding dings,
We know that these are your favorite things.

Jade market, junk market, Stanley and Soho,
For trinkets and porcelain - shopping you go.
Macau, Big Buddha and views from the Peak,
Sometimes you see all three things in one week.

Early morning hikes
Tsing Ma Bridge lights,
When you're feeling sad,
Just simply remember your favorite things,
And then you won't feel so bad.

Island 2nd Farewell

Today was our last Sunday with the branch. Dew left early and said he felt totally useless, no assignments, no tithing counting, no Home Teaching, just like a visitor. Then we had to speak in church, and luckily we took the whole time!

Group Picture of Branch Members

Tonight our HT group threw a going away party for us, and what a party it was. To begin they all had on grass skirts they had made out of the ever present plastic tying string that you see tied around everything here. Most were green, but there were a couple of white and even a blue. They made them this morning!!! They danced a hula and were they ever good. Then they sang two songs to us, and then made us dance. I am sure if they realized just how bad at dancing we were they would have skipped that part. Then they each told us something they had learned from Home Teaching. They are such wonderful women.

Home Teaching Group

And as a closing song they all sang “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. What a teary way to send us off. And then we took a kazillion photo’s, what fun! And Angel Santos even made sure that little Raphael came today because it was our last time. We will certainly miss them all!

Wonderful Entertainment

Biking from Tai Wai to Tai Po - Senior Couples

The countdown is down to Four days and counting.

Beautiful bridge at Sha Tin

Today we scheduled one last bike ride. And so at 9am we found that the Woolsey’s, Gibbon’s, Erikson’s and the Halversen’s were all willing to go with us.
A bus ride to Sha Tin, and a short MTR ride got us to Tai Wai where we rented bikes. We had several very nervous sisters who hadn’t been on bikes in a very long time, but it was "just like riding a bike" it all came back quickly.

Beautiful flowers along the trail

Left to right - Gibbons, Halversens, Elder Erikcson, Jacksons, Sister Erikson and Woolseys

Along the way we had beautiful spring flowers which off set the foggy skies. The river was full of sculling boats, and even a couple of dragon boats out practicing for the next Dragon Boat races. It was an absolutely wonderful temperature for biking and we loved it.

After a quick lunch in Tai Po Market, at...McDonalds where we saw "Crew" who remembered us, we took the bus towards the Brass Market. By the time we crossed over the mountain we found where the sun had been hiding, and the temperature was much higher. We shopped a bit, and then headed for Yuen Long and our favorite bus ride home, and back into the fog again.

Our Friend David (Crew)

What a great way to spend our last Saturday in Hong Kong!