Yeun Long - My First Area

Shortly after arriving in Hong Kong as a missionary we went through orientation procedures for a day and a half and then were assigned our first areas and companions. All of us new missionaries were completely nervous/excited and when our names were called and assignments given we marched out of the mission home into the great unknown.
The Yeun Long First Ward was my first assignment and my trainer was Elder Lesan. We left the mission home, walked to a train station, the train for about 10 minutes, then boarded a bus for another 30 minute ride to our area. I really enjoyed my time in Yeun Long. The area still had tall buildings and the craziness of Hong Kong, but since it was in a more rural part (NW corner, bordering mainland China) with lots of open spaces and opportunities to get out of the built up areas. I spent 18 weeks in Yeun Long (July-November 2001) and enjoyed my time very much there.
Companions:
Elder Lesan was my first and probably favorite companion of my mission. He was from Ohio, had graduated from Ohio State, and started BYU Law School when he finished his mission. He was also a convert to the Church at 15 but couldn’t get baptized until 18 and had run a good-sized internet service provider business before his mission (like 100K customers). He is really an extraordinary individual. We had great conversations together and would talk about anything and everything for hours a day as we street contacted, door knocked, and did all the other missionary activities. He is really funny and I have kept in touch with him since his mission.
Elder Castle: Elder Castle was a good companion and easy to hang out with. He had spent his high school years in Parker Arizona and had family in the Phoenix area so we had lots to bond/talk over. He was attending the Air Force Academy and by now is probably off flying F-16s in Iraq or something. I haven’t been able to track him down since the mission. I’d like to though.
Members/Ward:
I really enjoyed the Yeun Long First Ward. There were lots of young families with kids running all over the place on Sundays and a general happy, chaotic environment. We didn’t really get any referrals from them but they were kind and fun to associate with. Additionally, we had a really good ward mission leader in this area and a great Gospel Essentials teacher who would take us out to eat occasionally. This was one of if not the most enjoyable ward I served in and it would have been even better if I served here at the end of my mission when I could actually interact with people and develop better relationships.
Missionary Work:
This one the one tough thing about Yeun Long. I had no success here. My first Sunday in town my companionship baptized but I didn’t contribute any to that and from then on it was a struggle. For my last seven weeks in town we didn’t even teach a full discussion. It was tough on the psyche and I was ready for a move when the time came.
Memorable Experiences: 9/11 happened while I was here and it was a pretty big deal. Our ward mission leader called us the night it happened (HK is 12 hours ahead of NYC) and then showed us a TV broadcast about it the next day at the Church. Other than that, nothing too remarkable happened.
Favorite/Memorable Meal: I would cook a big batch of ‘goolash’ (rice, chicken pieces, beans, taco seasoning) on Preparation Day and it would last about four meals during the week. A couple of the unusual things members provided included duck tongue and pizza with thousand island dressing rather than tomato sauce.
Song: Two from EFY 2000: “A Call I Hear” and “Memory Lane.” I listened to a lot of EFY on my mission and these songs were probably the ones most listened to in Yeun Long. Teaching people how to pray for the first time in my life, teaching people about their relationship with God, walking in a foreign land, so many things mentioned in the song are applicable to Yeun Long for me.
Running Photos Description: 1) Castle Peak Road - the main drag in Yeun Long. I spent a lot to time walking up and down this road. 2) YL Church Building. It was a little inconvenient since it was located out of town but a nice, large building by HK standards. In fact, it was the Church's first free-standing chapel in all of Asia and was dedicated by President Hugh B. Brown, then Counselor in the First Presidency in 1961 (I think). 3) My first apartment. We were on something like the 15 floor. 4) My trainer Elder Lesan and a much younger me. 4) First district. 5) Salt rings on my socks after a long hot summer day of street contacting. 5) Me in some field. It was right next to where we did service and I thought my dad would appreciate seeing me in a field in Hong Kong since he's a farmer. 6) Service with Elder Lesan. We helped to clean the grounds of a disabled folks home. It was the only regularly scheduled service in Hong Kong that wasn't teaching English so it was a nice change. 7) My 2nd apartment was in the 2nd building on the left. Its kind of hidden by the nearer, first building on the left. 8) YL Park. This was a very beautiful place that we loved to go contacting since it was very peaceful and you got to see/feel grass, a great luxury in HK. 9) Bro. Au Yeung, our Gospel Essentials teacher taking us out to eat at a Korean BBQ. It was all you can eat and good. 10) Bro. Sum, our ward mission leader extraordinare. He was a former AP here in Hong Kong and still had the testimony burning. 11) Elder Castle, my 2nd companion. 12) Basketball court in the middle of town. We did a few 'sports finds' here. Never much success but the exercise was nice. In the US I am a guard with a poor shot and subpar ball-handling skills. In HK I am a bruising power forward who dominates the boards and gets easy baskets under the hoop! Gotta love the size differential. 13) Bride over the main drag in YL we would go street contacting a lot on. One bridge was named Miracle Bridge and the other was named Stinky Bridge. I don't know which one this is but of the two Stinky lived up to its name much more than the other one did.