WEEK #53 - Humbled by Heavenly Father

This week was one of the craziest weeks of my mission!!! There were a lot of miracles.




For starters, Monday night was insane. So, there was this one person learning about the Church named Ericson. He told us that his motorcycle broke down and had to stay at his work place until the time being (which is one hour away from the church). We tried waiting for his moto to get fixed, but after a couple of weeks nothing was happening. We were going to stop teaching him if nothing came of it by Sunday. Turns out on Sunday night we saw him at his house! He was borrowing the work place motorcycle. He just arrived Saturday night, and we set up an appointment for Monday night! We get there Monday and apparently he has a lot of family living with him. His uncle has a family of 7!! They all had just moved from East Malaysia to Masai. Brother Awie and Sister Rohzana (Ericson's uncle and aunt) were very welcoming. The first time we met Ericson, we picked him up from his house and went to the church. When we went to his house on Monday, Sister Rohzana said, "I've been waiting for you to come to my house and teach my family! I kept telling Ericson but he always forgets!" Hahaha. We began teaching them about the restored gospel, and during the middle of the lesson they said, "so how long will it take until we can be baptized?" Haha what a cool experience. They are a prepared family and are excited to receive the full blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Due to some changes from the First Presidency (our Prophet and his two counselors), District Meeting will now be referred to as "District Counsel." So District Counsel was great! The title was, "The Call to Urgency." God's work is urgent! We need to have a sense of urgency when doing missionary work. There is no greater cause! Elder Gould from the Johor Baru area gave his last testimony and training. He focused it on obtaining Christ-like attributes. Christ-like attributes are things like: patience, hope, charity, diligence, obedience, and humility. Our ultimate goal is to become like Jesus Christ. We do that by obtaining His attributes. I encourage you all to prayerfully consider which attribute you would like to focus on, and pray every day that God will give you specific opportunities to show forth that attribute.

We were encouraged by President Simmons to write a list of things to remember that we have learned from our mission. I made a "remember this" list from being out on a mission for 1 year. For those that have already served a mission, I hope this list can remind you of the precious lessons you've learned. For those who haven't served a mission, I hope this list will excite you to go on a mission! And for everyone else, I hope this list will help you remember what God has done for your life. :)

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ON MY MISSION:
1. Humility: God is helping you do His work. We are not helping Him do His work!
2. You cannot do wrong and feel right.
3. Treat your companion like you would your future wife!!
4. Be simple in all things
5. Qualify for the Gift of Charity
6. Act on revelation!
7. Don't be cheap :)
8. Accept that God works through the power of the Holy Ghost.
9. Miracles are wrought by faith
10. There are many different ways to do missionary work. Different is ok!
11. The Book of Mormon is our daily spiritual medicine.
12. Prayers really are a conversation with Heavenly Father.
13. You can and will receive revelation at church if you search for it.
14. Be motivated by faith and not fear.
15. The mission isn't about you. Seek not the praise of man, but the praise of God.
16. Christ-like attributes are only obtained through the refiners fire.
17. Sometimes you have to let others use their agency to experience something for themselves.
18. The gift of tongues is truly a gift!
19. Regret is not Godly.
20. Feelings of discouragement, fear, doubt, and stress show distrust in God.
21. You cannot measure the good you do as a missionary.
22. Expect nothing from God, but understand He expects everything from you!
23. Don't fake it till you make it, faith it till you make it!
24. I am practicing, not failing.
25. Good is the enemy of Great: A desire to be a better person is good. A desire to be converted to Christ is great.
26. We need visions, goals, and plans for every aspect of our lives!
27. Prioritize what matters most
28. Heavenly Father already knows all your needs, questions, concerns, etc.
29. EVERYTHING is centered on the pure love of Christ. Without it we will fail!
30. Jesus Christ is the head of this Church. The Book of Mormon is true. This is the work of salvation.

Guess what!? We met our old uncle Chinese man again!! He came up to us really close again and said, "If you get married, you can't be a super hero!!" He's so entertaining haha.

I gave a talk on Saturday and Sunday!! It was on obedience. God's entire purpose for our journey on this earth is to see whether or not we will be obedient to His commandments. That's it! All of us already have a perfect knowledge of God's plan. Throughout our lives, God gives us a reminder here and there according to our faithfulness! 

Here is a scripture that really comforts me:

Mosiah 2:41 "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."

Hold out faithful Brothers and Sisters, we will be blessed in all things :)

Have a great week!!