By the time I am 10 months into my mission, I expect everyone in this email list to be fluent Malay speakers, so I can just type my email in Malay ;) What a great week! In my first email, I talked about our investigator Hema. Well, it turns out she is actually my teacher haha. I am teaching "Kristina" and "Isabelle" who are also my teachers (Sister Anderson and Sister Yuen). It is a great experience to teach them, and it gives us missionaries a good feel for what to expect in Malaysia! During the first of the week, I mainly read from my notes. But now, I am able to go into the lesson with NO NOTES. I can promise everyone reading this email, that teaching a 30 minute lesson, all in Malay, over the course of three weeks, is evidence of God's hand in my life. No worldly form of instruction can ever compensate from spiritual help from above. I invite you all to ponder how God's hand is in your everyday life!
Sunday was a wonderful day! For sacrament meeting (the hour of church where members are able to give a speech about a gospel principle), the topic is repentance. Simply put, God is perfect. We are not perfect, and God cannot live in an imperfect environment. So if we were to make one single sin (like saying something rude to your sibling, judging someone) during the course of our lives, we could never live with God again. Scary thought, right? That is why we need a Savior. Jesus Christ was chosen to be our Savior, and "atone" for our sins. To atone means to "pay for." Because we are human and sin, we can use Jesus Christ's atonement and be cleansed from our sin, if we try our best to follow Him. We follow Him by repenting. Repentance is praying directly to God, acknowledging what you've done, asking for His forgiveness, and trying your hardest to live more like Christ did.
On the right, is the Salt Lake City Temple in Utah!! It is the Temple that my parents were married in ;) On the left, is a picture of the Tree of Life! It is a story in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi chapter 8 (page 14). The Tree of Life represents God's love for us, and it may be hard to tell, but people are holding on to an "iron rod" that is leading them to the tree. The iron rod represents the word of God! So as we read the scriptures, we are getting closer to God! When we reach the tree, we want others to experience God's love too! That is the definition of missionary work. Your love for the gospel is measured by your desire to share it with others!!
This email might be all over the place, so listen to this last thought:
We are trying a new technique this week called "SYL," which stands for "Speak Your Language." You have to communicate only in Malay, unless you don't know how to say a word, then you can say that word in English. IT IS SO FUN AND HARD. I sound like a two year old, but it is such a thrill. Here is the picture my mom wanted me to do at the MTC! That is where Singapore is on the map!
The scriptures say that: "He who has repented of his sings, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more."
So this week, I challenge you all, including myself, to try a little harder, to be a little better!
The sunday night devotional was great too! The speaker stressed that proper music can invite the Spirit into whatever environment you may be! So Elder Bowler and I decided to sing a hymn (a church song) all in Malay! He is a really good singer, so the Spirit was definitely there!
Sister Yuen taught a powerful lesson in class! One thing that she said was: "Your family should not recognize you when you come back from your mission." Why do you think she said that? Because I will look more mature, or because I will grow 6 inches (I hope so), or because I will speak a different language? My family shouldn't recognize me because of the way that Christ has changed me. He knows who I can become, and it is His goal to get me there. So, hopefully I am not recognizable when I come back!
I had the opportunity to host this week! Hosting is where you help the new missionaries who are coming into the MTC. You show them to their dorm and classroom, etc. I was that new missionary just three weeks ago! I could totally relate to everything they were experiencing. But, the missionaries I hosted were super excited and are ready to serve the Lord! I put my sticker inside my journal for memories!
As missionaries, we are given planners. Most missionaries print out pictures of church stuff and make that the front and back cover of the planner! This is what I did for mine:
On the right, is the Salt Lake City Temple in Utah!! It is the Temple that my parents were married in ;) On the left, is a picture of the Tree of Life! It is a story in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi chapter 8 (page 14). The Tree of Life represents God's love for us, and it may be hard to tell, but people are holding on to an "iron rod" that is leading them to the tree. The iron rod represents the word of God! So as we read the scriptures, we are getting closer to God! When we reach the tree, we want others to experience God's love too! That is the definition of missionary work. Your love for the gospel is measured by your desire to share it with others!!
Look! Some Malaysian money!
This email might be all over the place, so listen to this last thought:
I was asked this question: Why did you serve a mission? To which I replied, "Because I have been given much, I too must give."
Saya mengasihi semua orang, ada bagus minggu! (Love you all, have a great week!)
P.S. give me ideas of what I should take pictures of to include in my next email!!
hati hati!!
Elder McKayd LaRose
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