WEEK #54 - Less Worldly, More Heavenly

Hello Everyone!

Last Monday was fun. For reminders, every monday missionaries have what is called a "preparation day" or "p-day" for short. On this day, we can email our families, buy groceries, do laundry, and do recreational activities. On this past Monday, we went to an escape room. Now, I'm going to tell you a funny story. My mom is wonderful. She loves to be adventurous and try knew things. So one day, she decides to take us to an escape room! Fun, right? When we got there, all we could see was little kids. In the actual escape room, the workers were great actors: "Hurry hurry!! We have to find the key or else the room is going to collapse!" The teenagers in the fam rolled our eyes and played the escape room probably titled: "under the age of 10." It was a great effort mother, but the escape rooms in my life haven't been all that exciting.

This one was good though!! We did a  detective-style escape room where we were to steal a rubie and had to get past all these traps and codes and locks. We made it under the 1 hour mark.

That night we had an appointment with Susey! We met him at a night market (everyone sells fruit, vegetables, clothes, etc). He is from India but happens to be a 5th generation catholic!! Surprising! He asked a lot of good questions like: "Why are there so many bibles and churches?" "How can I receive an answer when I pray?" He really understood the restoration and was excited for the Book of Mormon. 

Brother Awie and his family are amazing! They are progressing really well and understanding the divine mission of Jesus Christ. They are excited to be baptized! 

We met with Sister Madeline Sa, a longtime member here in Masai. She has a cool story of how she joined the church. She has lived here her whole life. She had always wanted to go to church. A lot of religious people would always knock on houses around hers, but not a single time did they knock on her door. Finally, the Elders came :) They only spoke English at the time, so when they spoke to her she only understood one word: "Church." She was then able to come to church and to feel of the spirit there! 

During the night market, a man walked over to our booth. We offered him a free picture of Jesus Christ. He took it, looked at it for a while and then said, "Wow, Jesus is really handsome. What a handsome guy!" He then walked away. After that we were left puzzled and laughing haha. It's true though, Jesus is handsome! 

Normal travel in Malaysia

Our gang of bikers

Sunday was neat! It was Branch Conference, which means a leader of the church comes and gives a talk. President and Sister Rowley came!!! It was really good to see them. It has been a while since I was with them in Miri. The topic was on Temples. 

Many people have heard the phrase, " 'Till death do you part." Why does death have to be the end for a family that loves one another? 

In Temples, families and spouses can be sealed together forever. To be sealed means that God promises we can live with our families after this life if we faithfully keep His commandments until the end. I miss being able to go to the Temple often with my family. When I was a little kid, my mother would drive us to school. We would always drive past the Temple and sing the song, "I love to see the Temple." I am excited to go with my family again someday :) 

Remember, the more worldly you get the less Heavenly you become!!

Have a great week. 

Love,
Elder LaRose