This week was great for us! On Monday we did a deep clean of our house. I mean like a DEEP Randy-LaRose-style cleaning. We took about 6 hours to do it. Look at all the stuff we threw away from past Elders living here! It felt so relieving.
On Tuesday we met with Brother Sibat, one of the current people we are teaching. We shared with Him about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance. Right now, each of us are separated from the presence of God. God's goal for us is to live with Him again! He sent Jesus Christ to "atone" or pay for our sins, so that we can be worthy to live with God again. Through repentance, or sincere change, we can align our will with God's will. Brother Sibat said he feels something different every time he walks into the church or reads the Book of Mormon. We are excited he is beginning to recognize the feelings of the Holy Ghost.
We flew into Singapore for Zone Conference on Wednesday. This is the last zone conference I will have with the Simmons! It was really sad. They finish their mission next Friday, and then the Rowleys take over!
For Zone Conference, the focus was effective planning and preparing. As a missionary, we need to have every hour of ever day filled with a useful aktivity. If you remember that previous email I sent about my missionary schedule, it looks like that about every day! We do studies, teach people (members and people who are interested), and we go try and talk with a lot of people! We have to plan for our days in an effective way in order to do the Lord's work right😊
President Simmons shared with us what he learned from personal study that day. He was studying in Jacob 5, which describes the allegory of the olive tree. He focused on the part that touches on pruning a tree. When a tree needs to be pruned, normally it's because there are too many branches. There is a large amount of fruit, but the quality thereof is low. Pruning allows the cutting away of dead branches and some live ones to allow the tree to produce less, but more quality fruit!
This is very relatable to our lives. Prioritization is key in having a solid direction in life. Too many focus points and tasks will leave one frustrated and overwhelmed. It has happened to me! Find what matters most and what works most. The quality of your life, work, family, testimony, etc will improve when you prune, prune, and prune!
After Zone conference, we did a skit night. We were separated into different groups. We acted out a story in the old testament, but it had to be a modern version. We got Moses's story! Moses wanted to leave the presence of Pharaoh so that the children of Israel could live in peace.
In Malaysia and Singapore, immigration customs are very strict! A lot of foreigners
are denied entrance just cause! Sometimes missionaries have trouble entering Malaysia because it is hard to believe we are just volunteers, and not working or schooling.
So, we reinacted the immigration customs! Haha. I walked up to the immigration office and they told me to go to immigration detention (again this is just a skit). 3 other missionaries were there. We were allowed one phone call. We decided to call "President Moses!" (pretending he was our mission president at the time). He walked up to the immigration officer and said, "Let my people stay!" It's hard to explain, but it was fun haha. Malaysia and Singapore are the best! They do a good job at keeping the country safe!
We had a testimony meeting for all the departing missionaries. During a testimony meeting, people can go up to the mic and share their feelings and experiences from their mission. There were a lot of missionaries finishing their mission, so it was powerful.
I had an experience during that testimony meeting that was very sacred. I realized that I needed to love people more, especially myself. I gave myself and others unrealistic expectations, assuming all the time of what God wants me to do. Here is a quote from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "My dear friends and fellow priesthood holders, if Jesus Christ were to sit down with us and ask for an accounting of our stewardship, I am not sure He would focus much on programs and statistics. What the Savior would want to know is the condition of our heart. He would want to know how we show our love to our spouse and family, and how we lighten their daily load. And the Savior would want to know how you and I grow closer to Him and to our Heavenly Father."
The pure love of Christ cannot fail. Everything else will! Thank you to all of those who have shown me what charity really means. Your example has allowed me to see how I myself can be a better example. Just love. That's it.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned for next week!
Love,
Elder LaRose
