Recent Happenings

Work has been good lately. I have been working on a binder project that is more clerical than legal but very interesting. I review all of our emails, documents, etc for a country and decide what is legal advice / important and then place in a categorized binder. The fun part is learning about the Church’s growth / legal problems throughout Asia over the last 5-10 years. So far I’ve done Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Cambodia (which also included Vietnam). Lets just say the work moves in mysterious ways.
On the social front I went to the beach with the YSAs on Saturday. Swimming in the ocean in HK still kind of feels like I’m breaking a rule a rule or something. Whether that’s due to the nastiness of the water or the lingering effects of the Missionary Handbook I’m not certain but its strange. We had a nice time but I had to bail early to go home and do laundry and another couple errands. I invited everyone over in the evening though to watch a movie so they let me depart in peace.
Friday night I took a trip down memory lane. I pulled out my Missionary Weekly Reports (letters to mission president) from my mission and read through all of them. I had never done this and it was a lot of fun. It brought back so many memories of places, investigators, companions, etc. After reading them I wonder if my mission president debated whether I was retarded at times, but I did get a few good jokes in. Even made myself laugh seven years after writing them. I don’t know how it was for other people on missions, but I usually struggled what to write in these.
All in all, life has been good lately and I’m excited for my mom’s arrival in just over 24 hours.
The two pictures are of the beach and a cemetery I passed on the drive back to town. It’s a good illustration of how real estate in at a premium in HK. You can’t even get a good-sized piece of land to be buried in. In fact, I’ve even heard that now it is mandatory that every gets cremated in Hong Kong.

Sheung Shui - My Second Area

After 18 weeks in Yeun Long and not teaching a discussion the last seven I was ready for a transfer. I was sent to the area Sheung Shui. It is located just to the east of Yeun Long but in the next stake/zone over. Also, it borders China for its entire northern boundary and was a continuation of the rural, less crazy part of Hong Kong. We lived in the next area over (Fanling) and would walk a half hour every day from our apartment to our area. Can’t think of much else to say for general description of the area.
Companion = Elder Tang, an American-born-Chinese (ABC). He was from Philadelphia and very American in some ways (English much better than Cantonese), but also Chinese in many ways. We had our struggles at times but I think we both learned a lot from each other. He went back to Utah post-mission and married a girl from Asia. We’ve kept in touch some and sounds like he’s doing well. I lived with two other Elders here that were lots of fun. Elder Wayne Ott from Tropic, UT and Elder Solan from Orem. Ott used to write “Mom,” his zip code, and USA on his letters home and it would work fine. His mom was the postmaster so that helped. Elder Solan won a bet with me he would still be single when I got home from mission (he left when I had 15 months left) and is still single to this day. I still owe him a steak dinner too.
Members/Ward = We served in the Sheung Shui Ward. It had a fair amount of young families and a solid core, but only numbered around 60. Our ward mission leader was a good guy but didn’t really have a good handle on things. One night he did have us over to his house for dinner and I left in a slightly worse off condition. His three year old son got really interested in something on the other side of the table and decided to logically take the shortest course to his destination. In his journey over the table he knocked a bowl of hot soup over and right into my lap. It got my shirt, tie, and pants all soaked. It was quite funny after the fact. Another cool member was an elderly lady named Lai Mommy. She was a doctor and had an office in town that didn’t get much business but served as a HQ for the missionaries teaching efforts. She’d have the whole district over for lunch once a week on top of letting us use her office to teach. A wonderful lady! I actually visited her last year on one of my layovers during my Asia trip. Lastly, the Church building was beautiful but in the middle of nowhere. If you walked from our apartment it was about 45 minutes out of town. Usually we’d take a minibus. The benefit of being out of town was that it was a free-standing chapel that looked more American than any in Hong Kong.
Missionary Work = We had some slow times here, but also some success at times (12 weeks in area). The definite highlight was teaching Chan Bo Sing. He was a 17 year old young man who we randomly met while waiting to catch a bus. He looked like a total ‘Feijai’ (punk) with spiked, colored hair, earrings, and an attitude. However, as we met with and taught him over 8 weeks he changed completely in appearance and attitude. As the junior companion it was my job to call him nightly and share a scripture and check up on him and I really grew close to him. Sadly I was transferred the week of his baptism so I missed the wonderful occasion. The last Sunday I was there I thanked him for letting me teach him the gospel and he replied that he should be thanking us. He then bore his testimony about how he didn’t know God before meeting us and now had a relationship with his Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. It still brings joy/happiness whenever I think about it. He will always hold a special place in my heart as he was the first person I taught who got baptized (a good seven months after arriving in Hong Kong and almost 10 months after leaving on my mission).
Memorable Experiences = First baptism, soup on lap, long doctrinal conversation with English dude, and a few others. We did ‘Sports Finds’ here with the members every Saturday morning which largely consisted of the entire zone’s Elders playing soccer against the local Chinese members and a few non-members they’d recruit to their team. It was lots of fun but not too effective for missionary work. That was especially the case because the Elders insisted on winning and running over the competition (Asians don’t play sports as rough as Americans). I would go home disillusioned every Saturday thinking, “I thought the point of missionary work is to get people to like/listen to us, not dislike/speak ill of us.” Seriously, what’s the deal with guys and sports?! One day Elder Tang and I took a hike out towards China and climbed this really big hill northwest of town. It was awesome as it had an abandoned observation post where the British troops used to monitor the border and offered a great view into Shenzhen (when it wasn’t too cloudy/foggy). We got some great pictures and talked/dreamed about going into China as missionaries.
Favorite Meal = This was another area where we ate a lot of McDonalds. The members took us out to a couple good YumCha (kind of Chinese buffet) places.
Favorite Song = I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, but “Her Garden” from EFY 2000. It just stuck with me and helped me to understand the importance of women and their divine role in God’s plan.

Running Descpription of Photos: Left Side 1) Chan Bo Sing and me. I've talked to him on the phone so far but he's proving difficult to schedule. 2) The entrance to the Restricted Area. Technically you had to have a special permit to go into this area. We felt a need to proclaim to the souls within. OK, maybe we actually just wanted to climb the mountain and get some good pictures of China. 3) The countryside and our town all in one. I loved the contrast between the two. On the same day we could tract people in 20-story public housing blocks and small shacks next to a field less than a mile away. 4) Spent my first Christmas in the area. The first 30 minutes of the call was spent on hellos, love yas, how's the work, etc., then I talked with my dad until the phone card ran out about sports, politics, world affairs, and everything I'd missed for the last seven months. 5) Fanling Church building. Right side 1 & 4) Visting Buddhist Temple in Shatin 2) The first of two pairs of shoes I walked through on my mission. Those were mighty comfy but weren't made for walking. 3) Mainland China is in the background. I like the mists of darkness, appropriate for a land that restricts the freedom of the gospel. 5) Public square in Sheung Shui where we would go contacting a lot.

Immovable Objection - And Rest of Week

Last Saturday after visiting with So Ying Ying I decided to walk all over two of my old areas. I went all over Shau Kei Wan and then made my way to Causeway Bay. As I was walking near the Sogos intersection in Causeway Bay I thought I’d look for the mother of an investigator we had, Derrick Tse. He heard about four discussions and really wanted to be baptized but his mother was completely opposed and wouldn’t let it happen. She didn’t like our Church or the fact that it would take time away from her son’s studies.
Fast forward six years and guess what, it is the same thing. She runs a newspaper stand (hard work that doesn’t pay great) and sits there all day selling stuff to passer-bys. I found where I thought her stand was (we’d visited a few times as missionaries and I thought I recognized her) and asked if she knew the guy I had taught. At first she denied knowing him but then when some nice lady stepped in to help translate she admitted it was her son. We chatted for a bit and I explained that I was back in town visiting and would love to see her son again. She was totally opposed and wouldn’t give me any contact information for him. I negotiated away any chance to share the gospel with him, saying all I want to do is grab a meal and catch up, and she still wouldn’t budge. Eventually she told me to come back on Monday morning and we’d go talk to someone.
So I showed up Monday and she didn’t have anyone for us to go visit so instead we sat/stood there together for 80 minutes as I begged/pleaded/befriended/did everything I could to get her to give me her son’s contact information. She again wouldn’t budge. She is literally scared to death of our Church. Thinks it is a total cult or something. I don’t know who brainwashed her but all my explaining didn’t do any good. I tried using every missionary skill I could still employ, all to no effect (It doesn’t help that the name of the Book of Mormon in Chinese sounds like Devil’s Door Scripture and our Church’s Chinese translation of Mormon Church sounds like Devil’s Door Church. The devil character is written different than the Moses character but sounds the same and the Church used the Moses one for the Church name and Book of Mormon. And our official Church name over here used to be ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of End of the World Saints.’ Thankfully ‘end of the world’ has been changed to ‘last generation.’ Sorry back to the discussion. Derrick’s mom even tried to buy me off. She gave me an envelope with 500HKD in it (like 65USD) and said thanks for visiting and caring about her son but I don’t want him to see you. I wouldn’t take the money (she was ticked) but seriously it was depressing. All I want to do is say hi to the kid, catch up on life (he’s awesome, in medical school now), get his email, and restart our friendship but his mom is adamantly opposed. She used the school excuse again that he has no time and said to come back in two years. I was like, I don’t know if I’ll be back in Hong Kong for 30 years, and I already waited six years because he was too busy with school. How much longer do I have to wait? So yeah, I got shot down. I’ll go visit again another time before I leave and leave my contact information if she won’t give me his. Such is missionary work in Hong Kong.

I took the rest of Monday off, walked a ton, bought a suit (65USD, but worried the color might be too light), visited the Temple, and hosted the YSAs for a game night. The rest of my week has gone well with the usual busy days at work. Today was very special. We had a nice Pioneer Day service and I got my new contact. Hurray!!!

Pictures are of: 1) Derrick's mom and I. We were pretty good friends by the time I left. I think I'd shared everything I knew how to say in Cantonese about myself and my family, all to no avail. 2) A three-story golf driving range I walked past. 3) The no-so-express express mail delivery of my contact. But its great to see again and be able to use my right eye.

Day of Miracles & A Never-ending Responsibility

Last Saturday I sat down at my computer and started calling people from my mission that I want to see while here in Hong Kong (thank you Skype). I’d tried to reach some before but didn’t have much success and didn’t have the highest hopes for some of the others. I was calling people I hadn’t talked to in five or six years who now have no contact with the Church, all the while speaking broken Cantonese. In the space of an hour I was able to get a hold of four people and even get one of them to meet with me that afternoon.
The one who I scheduled to meet is named SoYing Ying (Yanny) and I had the honor of baptizing her as the District Leader after the Sisters taught her. I called at 10:40am on a Saturday but still managed to wake her up (woops). She was totally sleepy when she picked up the phone and I’m sitting there trying to explain who I am. “Hello, this is Brother Lai, I was a missionary in Shau Kei Wan six years ago, I’m from America, I helped baptize you.” It all just sounds so weird. What would you do if somebody called saying such things and you hadn’t seen the real person in years?
Much to my surprise she said she was free that afternoon and we could meet to grab some food. We met up at the subway station and walked to a local restaurant. Our conversation was very relaxed and we caught up easily. She spent a year in England so that helped things whenever my Cantonese came up short. She’s working in Central now for a fashion design house, has a good job, boyfriend, her family is doing well, etc. She said she quit going to Church about a year after her baptism and hasn’t been back since. It wasn’t a surprise but it was disappointing. I invited her over for a get together I’m going to throw with all my Chinese friends and she said she’d come so that was nice. We exchanged contact information, walked over to the old Church building and took pictures.
It was great to see her again. She was one of the people I hadn’t communicated with at all since my mission and wasn’t too hopeful of tracking down. Thankfully her cell phone number hadn’t changed since she was baptized and she was amazingly willing to meet some foreign stranger. I’ll be sure to keep in contact with her from now on and encourage her in the gospel.
The other people I talked with are Sum Ka Kit, Ho Jing’s mother, and Chan Bo Sing. I have talked to Sum a few times since finishing my mission and seen him once (in 2004) so I had hope for tracking him down. He’s way busy now with work and other things in life and has slipped into inactivity but still had his happy voice and kind words. We just have to find some time in his busy schedule to meet. Ho Jing was an eight year old boy in a member family who the parents asked us to teach the discussions to and then baptize because the father was inactive. We hadn’t talked in over six years but they were nice and I should be seeing Ho Jing and his mom at Church this coming Sunday. Chan Bo Sing was another miraculous connection. I haven’t talked with him since 2004 and could have sworn his phone number had changed. I tried calling him last year while in town and the number didn’t work but this year I got a hold of him. He’s a cop now up in the New Territories so I’m going to have to make a long trip to see him but will gladly do it if he’ll give me the time.
President Hinckley shared a story from his life in the 1997 April Priesthood Session to help illustrate his teachings on retention. I love it and would commend it to any returned missionary or person leaving on a mission. It reads:
“To illustrate, I think I would like to share with you one of my failures. I suppose some people think I have never experienced failure. I have. Let me tell you of one such instance.
Sixty-three years ago, while serving as a missionary in the British Isles, my companion and I taught, and it was my pleasure to baptize, a young man. He was well educated. He was refined. He was studious. I was so proud of this gifted young man who had come into the Church. I felt he had all of the qualifications someday to become a leader among our people.
He was in the course of making the big adjustment from convert to member. For a short period before I was released, mine was the opportunity to be his friend. Then I was released to return home. He was given a small responsibility in the branch in London. He knew nothing of what was expected of him. He made a mistake. The head of the organization where he served was a man I can best describe as being short on love and strong on criticism. In a rather unmerciful way, he went after my friend who had made the simple mistake.
The young man left our rented hall that night smarting and hurt by his superior officer. He said to himself, "If that is the kind of people they are, then I am not going back."
He drifted into inactivity. The years passed. The war came on, and he served in the British forces. His first wife died. After the war he married a woman whose father was a Protestant minister. That did not help his belief.
When I was in England, I tried desperately to find him. His file contained no record of a current address. I came home and finally, after a long search, was able to track him down.
I wrote to him. He responded but with no mention of the gospel.
When next I was in London, I again searched for him. The day I was to leave, I found him. I called him, and we met in the underground station. He threw his arms around me as I did around him. I had very little time before I had to catch my plane, but we talked briefly and with what I think was a true regard for one another. He gave me another embrace before I left. I determined that I would never lose track of him again. Through the years I wrote to him, letters that I hoped would give encouragement and incentive to return to the Church. He wrote in reply without mentioning the Church.
The years passed. I grew older as did he. He retired from his work and moved to Switzerland. On one occasion when I was in Switzerland, I went out of my way to find the village where he lived. We spent the better part of a day together--he, his wife, my wife, and myself. We had a wonderful time, but it was evident that the fire of faith had long since died. I tried every way I knew, but I could not find a way to rekindle it. I continued my correspondence. I sent him books, magazines, recordings of the Tabernacle Choir, and other things for which he expressed appreciation.
He died a few months ago. His wife wrote me to inform me of this. She said, "You were the best friend he ever had."
Tears coursed my cheeks when I read that letter. I knew I had failed. Perhaps if I had been there to pick him up when he was first knocked down, he might have made a different thing of his life. I think I could have helped him then. I think I could have dressed the wound from which he suffered. I have only one comfort: I tried. I have only one sorrow: I failed.
The challenge now is greater than it has ever been because the number of converts is greater than we have ever before known. A program for retaining and strengthening the convert will soon go out to all the Church. I plead with you, brethren; I ask of you, each of you, to become a part of this great effort. Every convert is precious. Every convert is a son or daughter of God. Every convert is a great and serious responsibility.”

Interspersed are pictures of people I helped teach or baptize. Lately one of the Brethren spoke about how your responsibility to those you teach and baptize as a missionary doesn’t end when you leave your mission but extends throughout your life. I haven’t done the best job of this in the past but am trying now and will keep trying. Pictures going down the left side: 1) David Athukorala's baptism 2) David baptizing his wife Shewanthie a couple months later 3) Elder Krueger, myself, Janson (who we taught and baptized), and Janson's friend 4) So Ying Ying's baptism 5) Chan Bo Sing and I 6) Sum Ga Git, Elder David and myself On the right side: 1) Athukorala family 2) Elder Newman, Marcellos, and myself. Their son was already a member and they would join later. 3) So Ying Ying and I from last Saturday 4) Jasmine Lee's baptism 5) Jasmine and I at at Farewell Fireside.

Return to SKW / Chai Wan Ward

This past Sunday I went to the Chai Wan Ward and saw many familiar faces. It was a lot of fun. Priesthood opening exercises was quite funny as they playfully made fun of my coming back and that they hoped to not see me again since I’m going to be lawyer. Sum Ka Kit and So Ying Ying are both inactive now so that was disappointing but also not surprising. I took a cool picture with many of the Priesthood leaders I interacted with most. The far left is former Brother, now Bishop Mh. He's a great guy, just very humble and solid (I like that word). To my right is another Brother Mh, who was my correlator the last month or two I was in the area. He took

his calling seriously. We had to be on our toes and prepared because correlation meeting was fast and furious and he didn't take no junk from nobody. To my left is President Lam. He was the Branch President with 5 kids who run

s a translation firm. Being the consumate professional looking for business he hooked me up with his card explaining they translate contracts and other legal documents all the time. Just in case I come back to Hong Kong to practice. He's got seven mouths to feed so I can understand. The next picture is of Lam Hoi Tin and myself. We served together as missionaries and he is a genuinely cool Chinese person. Cool and Chinese don't seem to go together often to me but he pulled it off quite well. The next pic is of myself and Janet Chong. She was a new member when I moved into the area and helped the sister missionaries a lot. She's still going strong and still very nice/helpful. The last picture is of Elder Romney and myself. We walked into the Church building at the same time Sunday and he remembered me from our time together as missionaries in Hong Kong. Mitt's his uncle and he was finishing in internship or something in China.

Shau Kei Wan – My Fifth Area

After four plus months in the Causeway Bay Ward I was moved to the neighboring branch, Shau Kei Wan. It was in the same zone and still on Hong Kong Island just a little more east. It was also one of, if not the smallest area geographically in my mission. I think our area literally was something around 3 square miles I served here for the next six months, the longest time in any one area during my mission. The last month or so the branch was combined with the neighboring Chai Wan Ward so my area greatly expanded and most the local leadership changed.
Shau Kei Wan started out rough but by the time I left I had grown quite fond of the area. Here’s the rundown:
Companions = My first companion in SKW was Elder Colyer. He is from Orem, Utah and a large guy. In high school he played offensive line for the football team and I could see him being a ferocious blocker and yet a fun teammate to play with. He always had a smile on his face and a happy demeanor. We didn’t exactly talk about politics or deep gospel topics during our time together but we got along pretty well.
My second companion here was Elder David, my greenie. He’s from SLC (Holiday) and had worked as a bank teller and attended Salt Lake Community College before his mission. He had an interesting family story and had a great heart. A very powerful memory I have of him was during his Christmas call home encouraging his non-member father to read the Book of Mormon and Elder David bearing his testimony about it and the Church with tears running down his cheeks.
My third companion was Elder Cameron Smith. He was from Boulder, Colorado and a really cool guy. We worked hard and taught a lot. He’s one companion I’d really like to get in touch with again but haven’t been able to find. No picture from mission either.
Members/Ward: I loved the Shau Kei Wan Branch. Attendance was probably only about 40 most Sundays but the small numbers made it easier to establish strong relationships with each member. The Branch President had five kids (unheard of in Hong Kong) and was a really funny guy who spoke great English. Our Ward Mission Leader was a really fun guy who made every correlation meeting both enjoyable and productive. I still remember a story he told about going shopping with his wife and carrying all her bags and it brings smile to my face every time. There were a few other faithful members I got to know well and loved to see regularly.
Missionary Work: Shau Kei Wan was a tiny place but still probably had a couple hundred thousand people. We street contacted here hours every day. We swam through the Blue Ocean like it was a our private pool. But all the finding did pay off with regular discussions. I probably hit my groove while in this area. At times we had five plus investigators and taught 5-10 discussions a week (both pretty good for Chinese companionships). All the finding and teaching didn’t turn into too many baptisms but I loved my time here and felt really blessed. Elder David and I were able to baptize a young man named Sum Ka Kit (Keith) and I taught another young man for a while who wanted to get baptized but his dad wouldn’t let him. I also served as the District Leader here for a while and had the opportunity to conduct a few baptismal interviews. Very nerve wracking the first time but they turned into wonderful, enjoyable spiritual experiences once I turned it into a simple friendly conversation about the gospel.
Memorable Experiences: We went to a ward activity on Christmas Day or Eve out to Sai Kung (rural, jungle country park) and got to see some beautiful country. On the Thursday after the 2002 November elections I told my greenie this was the only time he was going to see me blatantly break the rules. I then proceeded to jump into 7-11 and take a quick look at the headline of the South China Morning Post to see who won the election back in the US. I walked out with a big smile on my face. My last Sunday in the combined ward I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting ½ paying attention when I thought I heard my name and the word stand. Everyone was looking at me so I popped up afraid of what I’d missed. Thinking I was supposed to bear my testimony or something I was about to start moving towards the aisle when Bro. Mh said, “Everyone who can show your appreciate for Elder Layton’s service in our ward, please show your hand.” I guess I was being released from a calling or something. It was bizarre, never seen it before or since but I learned again to pay attention in Sacrament Meeting, especially during ward business. Finally, twice the elevator went out in our complex and we had to hike 20-something flights of stairs any time we went home. Thankfully it was during the winter.
Favorite Meal: I think I ate a lot of PB&Js here. The other one that stands out was the Curry House. It was right downstairs at the bottom of our apartment complex and our zone would go eat there after every zone find in our area. It was strong too.
Favorite Song: “Bring Them In” from EFY 2002. I like the story of the song and it gave me a country music feel, which I did miss while on my mission.

Running Description of Photos: 1) Baptism of So Ying Ying (Yanni) I was the District Leader and conducted the baptismal interview so she chose me for baptism. She had to wait almost three years to be baptized because her parents wouldn't give her permission. Even when she did get baptized at 18 she had to lie about it and going to Church because her dad wouldn't let her out of the house if she was going to a Christian church. She'd leave in jeans and then change at the Church. 2) Baptism of Sum Ka Kit. Elder David and I found him while street contacting, taught him all six discussions, and had the pleasure of baptizing him as well. He was a really good, quiet kid. For our 3rd meeting we showed him the movie "On the Way Home" and he was crying at the end and wasn't really talkative so we finished up with a closing prayer and hoped he'd meet with us again not knowing what was going on. Turns out his dad has passed away a couple years before and the idea of eternal families really hit him hard. He loved it and after feeling the Spirit so strongly was golden from then on. Myself and roommates Elder David, Bethers, and Loutham. I've kept in touch with all since getting home and even played some golf with Elder/Sister Bethers (his favorite saying when someone leaves a putt short). 4) Group on a Preparation Day excursion to Sehk O Beach. We played rugby, football, and whatever else came to mind. Some guy made an amazing catch where he ran into a thigh high brick wall shortly after hauling the ball in. Even held onto it after impact. 5) Elders Miyazaki, Colyer, Chan, and some lazy guy lying on top. 6) Brother Chan and me. He was a member who kind of adopted all the missionaries in Hong Kong. He took almost every missionary to the local amusement park each year in December. Additionally he bought most missionaries an expensive watch before they went home and took 20 or so missionaries out to eat at HardRock, RubyTuesday, TGIFs, or some other great restaurant every preparation day. Guesstimates for his annual spending on missionaries ranged anywhere from 8-15K. One very generous man. And don't say there isn't any money in the toy business, he made his owning 3 stores. 7) Leighton Rd and I. Its actually in CWB area but I got the picture on a zone find while serving in SKW. 8) The Church building in SKW, since sold when the new massive one was built in Wan Chai. I spent a lot of time in that building over six months. We did most of our teaching there and played a lot of ping pong while getting stood up for multiple appointments every week. 9) A view of the main drag in town we walked up and down every day. I think I met Sum Ka Kit right about here. 10) My apartment for six months. If was a descent sized one but not the cleanest. However, our study room had an amazing view of the eastern edge of Victoria Harbor/Kowloon side and I got the massive, cushy chair. Morning study and meal breaks were very enjoyable here. 11) Bakery right below our building that hooked us up with free stuff a few times. 12) SKW bus stop, lots of street contacting here.

Prayer of and for the Children

This week my brother Spencer and his wife Lindsay were blessed with a new baby girl, Grace Day Layton. This has prompted me to think about children lately. Being back in Hong Kong it has also made me think of a child I first met here as a missionary and two brothers which came into her family later. Her name is Deshenie Athukorala and she is the daughter of a man I baptized. His wife later joined the Church and they returned to their homeland of Sri Lanka about the time I left Hong Kong. Later two sons joined the family and David and Shewanthie went about living the gospel and raising a family. These three children are probably the ones I care most about in the whole world outside of my two nieces and four nephews. Deshenie is a beautiful, kind girl who was baptized this past January. Her two brothers are very important to me, not least of all because they were each given one of my names. Last summer on my big trip to Asia I had the chance to visit the Athukoralas in Sri Lanka for over two weeks. It was a joyous time as I played with the kids, attended Church together, and was asked to offer Priesthood blessings. If you want to know more about the family or my time in Sri Lanka look at blog entries from last June.
The combination of being back in my mission and thinking about kids has made me think of a song I first heard while serving in Hong Kong as a missionary. It is called “Prayer of the Children” and was originally written and performed by Kurt Bestor. He served as a missionary in Yugoslavia in the 1970s and was inspired to write the song as a tribute to the children there when war broke out in the 1990s. The song offers a prayer of children in war-torn countries and hopes for a better day. You can listen to it by linking to this page: http://www.poofcat.com/childprayer.html. I loved the song from the first time I heard it and listened to it daily for the six weeks I served in Mui Wo with the companion who owned the CD. In the last year the song has taken on greater significance to me as Sri Lanka has resumed a very heated civil war. Thankfully, Deshenie, Deshaun Hughes, and Chamal Yale live in the capital Colombo and do not face gunfire or daily violence. But there lives are in danger as bombs are detonated in Colombo regularly. One even went off at a market the family shops at less than a mile from their home earlier this year. Whenever I hear this song I think the Athukorala children and countless others across the world who face death, suffering, and pain for no reason and at no fault of their own. I know God loves little children and watches over them. I pray for them and that they will remain safe in this time of difficulty for their country.
The other part of the blog title (Prayer for the Children) comes from a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that I think of occasionally (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-353-29,00.html). With Grace’s birth it gave me occasion to study the words again and reflect on the gospel, families, and the type of parent I hope to be. The gospel of Jesus Christ and His true Church on the earth mean everything to me. My Savior’s influence and the guidance of His Church have blessed my life in so many ways. I have learned from watching my siblings raise their families that the responsibilities of parenthood are not easy, especially in the crazy world in which we live. My nieces and nephews are wonderful children and their parents are doing a great job. I hope I can do my small part as an uncle to love and encourage, and share my testimony of where true happiness comes from.

I haven't got a picture of Grace yet and hope one will be coming soon (hint, hint). The last picture is the one I have with the greatest combination of nieces/nephews. The youngest two are very much on my mind and loved just as much.