This week was so great. This week, Martha and her family fed us! She made some great curry, and babi (pig). The pork was a little chewy and had a lot of holes in it. I asked Martha what part of the pig the meat came from (big mistake), and she said it was PIG LUNG! Maybe that's why it was a little chewy with some air holes in it! Hey mom, wanna cook that for the fam? It would really be a sign of your appreciation for the Malaysian culture ;)
On Wednesday, we taught Brother Bert the Restoration. We taught that we are children of God, and He is our loving Heavenly Father. As we shared Joseph's Smith experience, the Spirit was so strong. It was the strongest, warmest, most heavenly feeling I have ever felt in my heart. I know the Spirit bore strong testimony of that remarkable event.
We headed over to Sister Sena's house, the Relief Society President for our Branch. We asked if she had read the Book of Mormon that day, and she said she had not. One of my favorite quotes popped into my head: "If we are too busy to read and pray everyday, then God made our lives busier then He ever intended them to be." We know Heavenly Father is perfect, so He has given us all the time in the world to read and pray, but do we give God time to change our lives? She had been having some heart problems, so we had the opportunity of giving her a blessing. I only know a little bit of malay, but I know Heavenly Father spoke to her directly!
Thursday was quite interesting. We got a call from someone the missionaries had contacted a long time ago. She and her mother are crazy ladies. She was legitimately crazy. She called to tell us that her mother was trying to kill their cat! We tried calming her down and reassuring her that everything was going to be ok, but we could hear the mother screaming in the background. The daughter gave the phone to her crazy mom. We told her to stop trying to kill the cat! She said, "I'm going to kill the cat because it is trying to turn me yellow!" The call dropped after that. It was very amusing yet alarming too haha.
We met Brother Michael on Friday. He was the person that approached us because he wanted to learn more. We shared with him the message of the Restoration. He lives in a shack that he built himself. It is really humbling to see what great faith people have in such poor circumstances. It makes me wonder how often I complain about the room being too hot, or the shower being too cold, when people live in shacks with smiles on their faces. During the middle of the lesson, it began to rain really hard. He has a metal roof, so we were practically shouting so that he could hear us. We asked him to pray to know if the church was true, and during the prayer the rain stopped. We could hear his sincere pleading to know. After the prayer, the rain picked back up again and we got soaked on the way home :)
On Saturday we taught Brother Bert and his brother about the Plan of Salvation. Knowing about the Plan of Salvation has given me greater hope of the love of God than anything else. We helped them realize how simple the Plan is! We lived with God before this life. During this life we should do all we can to live the gospel. Because of Jesus Christ, we can live with God again. So simple! Afterwards we taught mission prep class for the youth in the TJK and Sungai Plan Branches. Look at this beautiful sight!
On Sunday, Elder and Sister Magelby, the Senior Couples for West Malaysia visited our Branch. You don't have to be young to serve a mission! If an elderly couple wants to serve a mission, they can be senior couples, and be called to serve another mission! My Grandparents have served over 7 missions, to which I am eternally grateful. The last mission they served was in Boston! They helped out with Uploading old documents for Family History! If anyone is interested in learning more about their family and ancestors, go to www.familysearch.org, and it will take you through a world of documents and stories about your ancestors! Ask me or any Mormon fellow around you if you have any questions!
I would like to share two thoughts from studies this week:
2 Nephi 3:13 says that: "And out of weaknesses he shall be made strong." I know love weaknesses! Weaknesses are just ways to know what you can do to be more Christ-like! For example, if you are really impatient, that is a weakness of yours. But because of that weakness, you know exactly what to work on, so that you can become more like Christ!
2 Nephi 2: 8 shares a message about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It says, "no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah." What is the difference between the merits, mercy, and the grace of Jesus Christ? After some fervent prayer and cross referencing, here is the conclusion for me at least: We are worthy for salvation through His merits, salvation is achievable through His mercy, and by his grace salvation is possible.
I am so grateful for the trust that Heavenly Father has given me to serve a mission! Thanks for all the support and love everyone in my life has given me. I love you all, and have a wonderful week. Tell me about things going on in your life too. I can't be the only one talking :)
Love Elder McKayd LaRose
***ADDITIONS FROM THE MOM***
This week we were sent the following pix and email from someone in Malaysia talking about McKayd. It said -
"Hyee I'm from Malaysia, Saya bergambar dengan anak sister, elder larose, dia sangat hebat, dan sangat nakal, dan dia sangat hebat bila mengajar orang, elder larose kirim salam kepada keluarga kamu, dia rindu kamu, dia sayang kamu... Ahahah.
TRANSLATED.... "Heyyy I'm from Malaysia, I took a picture with your child, Elder LaRose, He is really cool, and very mischievous, and he is really awesome when he teaches other people, Elder LaRose wanted to say hi to his family, he misses you, and he loves you... ahahah. 😀"
The following is a conversation that took place between 2am
and 3 am EST with McKayd and his mom via text/email.
12:24am (12:24pm on monday for McKayd) – JENNA – “I’m trying really really hard to stay
awake…. It’s not working!!! Are you at the internet café yet?? I love you! My
ringer is all the way UP so maybe I will hear you when you email/txt me.”
2:04am – MCKAYD – “DON’T WAKE UP FROM THIS. JUST KNOW I’M
OK!”
2:07am – JENNA – “Yayayayyyyyy!!! Ok hub cNw in 15 min ago
to cuddle cuz oh bad dreams. Why do u wear a kind sleeve????”
2:15am – MCKAYD – “Mother you are making no
sense right now haha. Read what you said to me haha”Apprently this time difference is going to be humorous.
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