The story begins in the summer of 2008 when Corey came to the US for the first time. He is an employee of Icon and Taylor was asked to pick him up at the airport. He arrived on a Sunday afternoon so we had him to dinner at our home. As we were all visiting, Taylor showed him our Tawianese wall hanging depicting the Tree of Life from the Book of Mormon. Corey was very interested so Taylor asked him if he would like to see Temple Square. Corey said "yes" so Taylor took him to Temple Square and got him a Chinese copy of the Book of Mormon. Corey completely read the book in the week he was in the US. When he got back to China, he read it at least 4 more times. He and Taylor made arrangements to take a business trip to Taiwan. Once out of China, they could talk freely again so Taylor arranged for missionary discussions and baptism in Taiwan. Now as a member of the church, he could share his religion with his wife. She was later baptised in Singapore where they met. A couple of months ago, Corey was called to be the branch president of the Chinese Shanghai branch. 
Here we are with a few other friends from Icon who were privileged to witness the temple ceremony. We all feel that Corey and Vicky are pioneers of the church in China and that we are privileged to know them and support them.
The next day, Steve and I had the privilege of showing them some of the sights in Salt Lake. We took them up to Heritage State Park to see where Brigham Young said, "This is the right place." Vicky told us that when she was in middle school, they read about the crickets and seagulls in their lesson books. That is how she heard of Salt Lake City and Utah. It did not mention the religion but told how the seagulls came and ate the crickets.
We took them to the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg and they saw the movie of Joseph Smith's life and martyrdom. We were all moved to tears.
Here we are with a few other friends from Icon who were privileged to witness the temple ceremony. We all feel that Corey and Vicky are pioneers of the church in China and that we are privileged to know them and support them.
The next day, Steve and I had the privilege of showing them some of the sights in Salt Lake. We took them up to Heritage State Park to see where Brigham Young said, "This is the right place." Vicky told us that when she was in middle school, they read about the crickets and seagulls in their lesson books. That is how she heard of Salt Lake City and Utah. It did not mention the religion but told how the seagulls came and ate the crickets.
We took them to the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg and they saw the movie of Joseph Smith's life and martyrdom. We were all moved to tears.
We had lunch in the Garden Room overlooking the temple and then we arranged for a tour of Temple Square.
We requested a Mandarin speaking tour guide because even though both Corey and Vicky speak English, we didn't want them to miss any important information. It happened that the Mandarin speaking missionary was a sister from the same province of mainland China as Corey. She had left the country to work in Cambodia and had joined the church there. She was thrilled to meet the branch president from Shanghai. So many little miracles happen each day, but often we don't recognize them.
Corey and Vicky both have strong testimonies. They face many challenges ahead of them in China. Their phones and emails are monitored and Corey has to inform a government official of every activity and meeting that takes place in his branch, but the Lord's work continues to grow in China. This is the beginning.
Corey and Vicky both have strong testimonies. They face many challenges ahead of them in China. Their phones and emails are monitored and Corey has to inform a government official of every activity and meeting that takes place in his branch, but the Lord's work continues to grow in China. This is the beginning.
1 comment:
What a neat story. I am glad that you got to spend some time with them and show them around a little bit more.
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