My Boys are Grown Up

As I was wrapping up my time in Hong Kong I had an increased urgency to track down people I had taught and/or baptized on my mission. I tried calling them throughout my time there but had little success schedule many until my final week. In my last three days I tracked down three young men I taught the discussions to and had the pleasure of seeing be baptized. The only person I was not able to track down was Jasmine Lee and I think that is because she lives in mainland China now.
Chan Po Sing was the first person I ever taught who got baptized. He had a remarkable conversion in both outward appearance and inward feeling. Helping him come unto Christ was one of the true highlights of my mission. After I moved out of his area I hadn’t communicated with him in over six years but he agreed to meet with a few calls. It was funny how guys that I couldn’t get to schedule because they were too busy for three weeks urgently found time in their schedules when I told them I was leaving Hong Kong in three days. I took a bus out to Tin Shui Wai (over an hour) and met him at the bus terminal. We went to a McDonalds and chatted for over an hour. I wasn’t sure what to expect since we hadn’t talked in so long but he was very happy to see me. We caught up on each other’s lives and there was a real feeling of happiness there. He isn’t active now but he still has warm feelings for the Church and his time/associations there. He is very happy as he got his dream job as a cop and is doing really well in general. Since we met when he was 16 he has really grown up in maturity and is a man now who is planning his life and making wise decisions. We exchanged contact information (he’s already added me on IM so that was nice) and took some photos. After a hug and best wishes we said good bye for what I suspect will be another long time. It was so nice to see him again and see the happy smile on his face. The ride back to Wan Chai was so peaceful and happy as the visit had gone better than I ever expected.
Mui Jan Sing and I visited one more time before I left. He is the kid I watched Wimbledon with and regularly keep in contact with through IM and Facebook. Currently, he’s saving money and trying to visit the US so I told him to add Arizona to his itinerary and I’d show him around. Visits with him are always fun, I just wish he’d make some changes in his lifestyle and return to Church activity.
Shum Ga Git is the young man I taught while serving in Shau Kei Wan. Last year on my trip I arranged to meet him at the Library but we missed each other so that was bitterly disappointing. Thankfully this year we were able to see each other for about 15 minutes and catch up on life. He’s working as a courier now and all grown up. He even has a girlfriend which is kind of funny because at 16 he was more scared of girls than any guy I’ve ever seen. He stayed active for a few years after his baptism (and even met his girlfriend in the Church) but has gone inactive as he works lots of hours now and says he doesn’t have the time. It is disappointing because he had a really strong testimony and many spiritual experiences. He was really apologetic to me about not going to Church and I think kind of ashamed about it. Our visit finished about three hours before my flight and he had to get back to work so we said good bye after exchanging contact information and went our separate ways.
I care deeply about each of these young men and their welfare. The fact that they are all not active in the Church now is really disappointing but not surprising for Hong Kong. Each was active for months if not years and had real testimonies so I know there is a foundation still there. I will keep in touch with them better now than before and try to encourage them. This trip to Hong Kong at least let me know there is still a happy friendship between us and they were all happy to see me again.