"The Trick"

Magandung Umaga! (Good morning in Tagalog)

Well, we had a pretty great week! On Wednesday evening, we were able to meet up with Lacey Nymeyer, an LDS swimmer who is participating in the Olympics. It was awesome to see that our Church members are doing so well all around the world, no matter where they are. The Lord truly blesses His people as they obey His commandmemts and heed His command.

On Thursday, we met up once again with Jun Ying at his girlfriend's home. We were able to show him the video of The Restoration. At the end of it, he said that it was "cool." I'm guessing that in teenage lingo, it means that it was great and that he liked it. The family invited us to stay for dinner, so that was really good, as we were able to talk to Jun Ying in a normal setting, instead of just always in missionary discussions. I have come to realize that with investigators, you can't just keep bombarding them with the gospel. Rather, you have to be their friends too, because they really aren't just another baptism statistic. The people who we teach, and the people all around us are all children of God! In the evening, we met up with Ming Lee, our referral from Salt Lake. Glen Lewis, the recently returned returned missionary, helped us to teach the lesson. We thought that it went really well. We also found out that one of his colleagues is a member of the Church. The member met up with us at Church on Sunday and offered to host us and Ming Lee the next time we taught him, so we'll be doing that tonight. We are going to the Woodlands, where my high school is, so it's going to be nostalgia hitting me from all over, especially if I end up bumping into some friends.

On Friday, we went over to Elder and Sister Shute's place for lunch. If I haven't mentioned it before, they are vegetarian, and the food that they make is absolutely delicious. If they cooked for us everyday, I really do think we could go vegetarian! As such, I've been trying to eat healthy. No more sweets, and definitely no sodas. I now give Elder Pace my dessert, and he gives me the Asian food that he doesn't like to eat. It's definitely a fair deal. Well, in my opinion at least. After that, we went over to the Church to teach my grade school friend, Alex, again. We showed him The Restoration video and discussed it for a short while. In the evening, we were able to meet with Alex Oon, one of our star investigators. We taught him about the steps needed to follow in Jesus Christ's footsteps, and challenged him to be baptized. He accepted the date for August 23rd! Unfortunately, he couldn't make it to Church on Sunday so we might have to push it back a week or two.

Saturday was the ward talent show! That was fun to watch and we had a great time with the members' performances. There was a whole range of those performances, from a Hokkien (Chinese dialect) to a hilarious skit by the Petersen boys. Brother Edward Cheo, the Ward Assistant Mission Leader, also invited an acapella group comprising of his ex-students to perform for us. They did a great job, and hopefully we will have time to teach them sometime. We also had a couple of investigators there, so that was great! After that, we grabbed a quick dinner, then met up with Bao, a Vietnamese man who is studying International Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS). It took a bit of work understanding and teaching him, but I believe that we got the point across, and we'll be teaching him again in Saturday.


We got off to a great start on Sunday! On the MRT (train) ride to Church, I struck up a conversation with a lady from Indonesia named Priscilla. She converted to Christianity a year ago and was heading to her Church. I talked to her about the Restoration, and asked her if she wanted to come to Church sometime. She said she was going to be baptized in the other Church in a month. Talked with her awhile more, then asked her if she just wanted to come to Church with us for the day instead. Surprisingly, she said Yes! And she did, she told us after that that she had had a great time. We are working on having her come to our Church from now on. In Priesthood meeting, we talked about perfection and the steps to attaining it. More often than not, we often think that we need to be perfect, instant perfection, much like instant gratification. What we learned was that the thing to realize is that we can't all instantly reach perfection. We learn bit by bit. We have to learn the scales before we can compose a symphony, we have have to know our colors before we can paint a work of art. In the same way, life is a journey where we learn through mistakes and experiences, and the gospel, to strive to reach perfection. President Hinckley loved to quote Jen Lloyd Jones, where he said that

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time
running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts
don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just
ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual
toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.... "Life is
like an old-time rail journey -- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and
jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts
of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

We went home to have our scripture study and rest, then we went over to Brother Cheo's home for dinner where we got to make our own popiah, a local "wrap." They also invited over the Low's, another family from the ward that I really like. We had a wonderful time over there. The Cheo's and Low's are going to Malaysia on Saturday since it's Singapore's National (Independence) Day and it's a three-day weekend. We joked about going and they asked us if we wanted to come! Unfortunately, we had to tell them we weren't allowed to. Both familes are really fun to be around and we always have a great time over there. After dinner, we went around in a circle and bore our testimonies, then we shared a quick message with them. I love how fun can be combined with spiritual things. They do no t have to be separate. Religion does not denounce fun and humor, rather it just calls for respect and reverence when required, and good humor when the occasion calls for it.

On Monday, we went Arcadia Road to contact a referral from Melanie Tidwell, one of the members who used to live in Singapore. She had talked to her neighbors about the gospel and desired that we share more with them. Unfortunately, they weren't home, so we left a note and a pamphlet. While we were walking there, there was a noise in the trees. Elder Pace freaked out and screamed, which shocked me also. We started booking it in the opposite direction from where we were going. It was hilarious, something you see in the movies but never think that it'll happen to you. After that, we were able to meet up with A lex, my grade school friend, once again. This time, we taught him about The Plan of Salvation. He is an intelligent kid, so intelligent in fact, that we covered topics such as the Millennium, which we normally never cover until they are much further in the lessons, or have already joined the Church. Once again, he said that he could see the structure and sense in it, but he still says that he isn't really into organized religion. He has been reading from The Book of Mormon though, and he has been praying about it. I guess that we can only hope and pray that the Spirit of the Lord will touch his heart. In the evening, we headed to the Petersen home home for dinner. They are an expatriate family that has been assigned to a local ward to build it up, but they might be moving back to the expat ward soon. We'll definitely miss them, both for the amazing food that they always make for us (they let us request what we want to eat!) and also their company and friendship.

On Tuesday, we had our last district meeting with our current district leader(DL), Elder Hatton. He is being transferred to Kuching in East Malaysia. He has done an amazing job as a district leader. His lessons were always inspirational and amazing, and I hope that our new DL will live up to his standard. In this week's lesson, we talked about being "among the prophets." In the Book of Samuel in the Bible, it was asked of King Saul, whether or not he was "among the prophets." The answer is yes. What Elder Hatton was leading up to was that in our own way, we are all "prophets" in our own right. As we live worthy of the priesthood authority that we hold, we can receive revelation for ourselves, and the people we have stewardship over. As missionaries, we hold stewardship over the areas that we serve him. Our duty is to be obedient in exactness, to be diligent in the work that we do. As we do so, we can be in our own way be numbered "among the prophets."

Headed to Subway for our last lunch with Elder Hatton (for awhile at least). I got a wrap for the first time instead of bread. It wasn't too bad, but I would recommend just staying with the bread instead of getting the wrap. We met up with Marleney, a recent convert, to review with her the things that she was taught before baptism. She had some questions that run into deep doctrine, about the concept of Heavenly Parents and so forth. While we tried to explain it to her, she just couldn't seem to accept it, and so we counseled her to do what always works if we do it in faith. We told her to pray, to ask God if what we taught her is true. In a very real sense, all that we learn in Church really can only be testified and confirmed to us by the gift and power of the Holy Spirit of the Lord.

Anyhow, in the evening, we headed back to the apartment at Arcadia Road, as I mentioned earlier. We bumped into a helper who used to live next to another LDS family, and she was very friendly. We were able to get her contact. When we got there, we knew that they were home, but it took them awhile to open the door for us. When we asked for the two people whose names we had, the lady who answered the door said that they had no idea who we were talking about, in a rude way, though their last name was tiled on the wall in their front porch area. We left disappointed and frustrated, especially since we had walked all the way down this long road to get to them. But, the Lord blesses his servants, I believe, if they do his work with faith and diligence. When we got into the elevator, there was a friendly Nicaraguan lady in there, who said that she had seen us before in Nicaragua, and had learned a little before. We asked if she wanted to learn again, but she said that she was a very staunch Catholic. After chatting for a couple more minutes, she agreed to meet. She was a great person to talk to, because she said she didn't mind learning about what we taught, and seemed pretty excited about it! We had am little more time, so we decided to walk a distance of three or four bus stops before we took the bus home, and to see if there was anyone to teach. There was a young man who ran past us, but after a few minutes started running back towards us again. So, as he passed us, I started my first running contact. As the three of us ran, I taught him the first lesson about the restoration of the gospel. It was really fun, and the best part about it was that he was actually listening and responsive to it. We were able to get his number, and hopefully we will be in contact with him soon. The best part of the day is that we ended up with fifteen other people/lessons taught!

As I said, we had a great week! I learned much and grew spiritually. I have been shrinking physically, having lost about 8-9 pounds since the start of my mission. Well, got to head off! Do send a letter or a blog comment if you have the time! Thanks for reading! Take care and Godspeed!

"But If Not"

Hi!

Well, I've had an awesome week. I've learned much and we've also have had great success with our investigators. We had our Zone Conference and that was wonderful. President Skelton gave the missionaries an expectation that we should have a baptism once every two weeks, and that we should be teaching at least 70 people a week. It's a relatively high expectation, but I know that we can do it. The training focused on being able to teach more effectively. We were taught that if we really wanted to teach, that there were a few steps/attributes that we needed to develop.

Attribute #1: A willingness to seek and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost
Without the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can't achieve what the Lord would have us do!
Attribute #2: Be an example in obedience and humility
Such essential Christlike attributes.
Attribute #3: To have an earnest desire to learn
Can be applied in school or work too.
Attribute #4: To seek the Lord's help whilst preparing to teach
It's the only way, the Lord expects us to trust Him.
Attribute #5: To be able to bear witness of the truth
Have no fear when the Lord is on your side!

At the end, he summed it up by saying that as we follow these steps, we will be able to Define our expectation, Refine our expectation, and finally, Expect our expectation. I would go into more detail but then it would get way too long. Anyhow, in another talk, an Elder mentioned a statement that I thought was inspiring. He said that we need to forget ourselves and make our purpose, our Master's purpose. We really do need to see and understand what our Master's purpose is so that we can really do what He would have us to, and help Him bring back His children into His arms. In the afternoon. the Assistants to the President trained us on using Principles of Power (POPs) found in Pg. 178-179 of the missionary manual, Preach My Gospel, to achieve CHOPS (Chains of Spiritual Experiences). We have tried it out these past few days and we have had amazing results with it.

Oh, random note: do not eat two and a half MacDonald's' burgers and an apple pie for lunch or you'll feel really unwell (we had that and pizza for lunch at the Zone Conference).

Anyhow, we've taught a few people that we are having great progress with. Elder Pace made contact with a Malaysian Chinese lady named Yook Kuan. We were able to teach her, with the help of a recently returned missionary named Glen Lewis. He has been helping us out with many of our appointments. When we taught her on Saturday, she was able to understand what we taught her but she still didn't seem too sure of what we had taught. We persuaded her to attend Church with us the next day, and I believe that it went well. Before I go on to the rest of Sunday, well, we had a wonderful experience Saturday evening. Elder Pace and I had had been given a referral from Brazil a few days ago, and we had decided to visit the family soon, but we weren't able to go day after day because our schedules got too full, so we put it off on Thursday, then Friday, then Friday day. We finally trudged our way into the family's neighborhood on Saturday. We got a little lost, but finally found our way there. When we got to the house and announced ourselves, we weren't sure what kind of reaction we were going to receive. We were extremely happy with the reception that we got. The family invited us in, sat us down, and talked to us, talked about them, and us, and the Church, and they fed us dinner. It turns out that the lady's boss was a former mission president in Brazil, and she had been attending Church all the times that she had gone back to Brazil for visits. It was a very uplifting experience, because the parents said that they wanted to make the commitment to start going to Church frequently, and their kids were excited about it too. They turned up at Church early on Sunday, and we were able to pass them on to the expatriate ward Elders.

As for Yook Kuan, the best thing that happened after Church on Sunday is that we were able to sit with her, and three returned missionaries (RMs), including Glen, who did a wonderful job answering her questions. I really felt the Spirit in the room as we answered her questions and taught her more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. That moment are the ones that I really want to have more in my mission, when you know that every person in the room has their eye single to the glory of God.

Right after that lesson, we taught a member's boyfriend. His name Jun Ying, and he's a 16 year old kid. Anyhow, we were able to share with him the message of the Restoration, and we explained to him why there are so many Churches on this Earth, and how we believe that God has sent a Prophet back to Earth to lead and guide his people. The lesson went wonderfully well, and the best part about that lesson was that he was willing to pray at the end of the lesson. To us, an investigator willing to pray in front of us is a big indicator in showing that he or she is progressing. Sunday really was just a great day. Later on in the afternoon, we met up with Ming Lee. We showed him the video The Restoration, which is a reenactment of Joseph Smith's story. He didn't seem too moved by the video, but at the end, he still gave a shot at praying so that was wonderful. After we were done with the lesson, we asked him if he had anything to do, and he didn't. So, we gave him a tour of the Church, and then persuaded him to go with us over to a member's home for dinner. The members fellow shipped him really well, and we are hoping that that has made an impact on him and that he will be comfortable attending Church with us now.

Monday wasn't the best day, first of all, because it was Monday, and on Monday, no one ever really wants to talk. On Tuesday, we taught my Aunt in the early afternoon, band she seemed really receptive and had a lot of questions, and hopefully we answered them well. We spent the next few hours walking around, trying to look up inactive members in Toa Payoh, which really wasn't successful and hot, and we didn't have time to have dinner before our next appointment, so we were pretty annoyed and tired. As missionaries, we are together 24/7, so it can get pretty crazy at times, because you're always with the same person! But, our last appointment turned the day around. It was a great way to end the day. Our investigator for the evening was a lady from China named Linda. She has been taught by many missionaries, but she never really understood them because they rushed through the lessons. We we able to go through a lesson with her at a slower place and spent much time explaining the principles to her. At the end of the lesson, she prayed, and... she accepted a baptism date! It's set for August 16th, so we're definitely hoping and praying that it will go through!

We had a great district meeting yesterday, where we learned that the Lord really does expect us to trust Him, to put our trust in His arm and not in the arm of flesh. Faith is both a belief and an action word. We need to believe then act on it! In the Book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego showed what kind of trust and faith that we have to have in the Lord . In Daniel 3:14-18, it reads:

Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

What faith!

Anyhow, that's all for the week! Take care! :)

Well, here are a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure! Finally! Have an awesome week! Do write letters or leave a comment on the blog if you have time!

National University of Singapore Cultural Center

Dinner at the Petersen home for an early birthday celebration (July 3rd)

"I Know That My Redeemer Lives"

Huzzah!

Had a pretty decent week! It rained quite a number of days so that hindered our work. When it rains, no one is ever out. Well, I guess that is common sense. Anyhow, we aren't allowed to contact in shopping malls either so we were pretty tied down. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction to something, and I broke out in hives right around my neck and my arms/hands, so we had to stay in for a couple of days. Never had an allergic reaction to anything before, and what with the whole episode last week, it's been a bit tougher. Well, I guess Satan's just trying his luck, or the Lord's letting me have some fun. Either way, I'm definitely far off from what Job had to go through. That reminds me, in district meeting last week, we talked about Job and the trials that he went through. The amazing thing is that Job never doubted the Lord, and I hope that I can come close to having that kind of faith someday. Even after losing all his property, and having his whole family killed, he said in Job 1:20-22, and I quote:

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

How often we blame the Lord for the misfortunes that fall upon us, when they really are for our own good, and how often we, well, I forget how much He has given me.

Well, spent a couple of hours this week, rehearsing for Zone Conference. I'm signing a beautiful arrangement of I Know That My Redeemer Lives by Michael R. Hicks. The music is so beautiful that I almost don't want to sing it, I might destroy the piece! Wish me luck!

We went over to the Bishop's home on Thursday. Bishop and his wife were and are still out of town, but his son and wife had us over. They also invited over a member and her boyfriend, Aravin. Aravin has been coming to Church for a few months now, but never had had the time to listen to a missionary discussion. We were able to teach him a lesson this time, and he was really receptive. His job is physically dangerous, as he works as an oil rig inspector. He talked of how he was still trying to find his place in this world, and what the purpose of life is. It was wonderful to be able to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful to know that we do indeed have a purpose in life on this Earth, that we are here because we followed Heavenly Father's Plan, and, if we live worthy of all that He teaches us, we can live with Him and our families forever. Eternal families! :D Life can be so hard and exhausting, especially when we have school and work. But, if we just give our lives to the Lord ands trust in Him, the blessings are endless! I love knowing that!

On Saturday, we had two child-of-record baptisms, which means they were baptized right at the age of accountability, at eight. It was great to see these two young girls put their faith and trust in the Lord. Both families had invited a bunch of non-member friends so we were able to teach a few of them. Also, Elder Pace and I were privileged to be invited to participate in their conformations, to confirm members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and give them the Holy Ghost. How wonderful it is to be able to hold the priesthood of God and exercise it. I hope that we soon get some convert baptisms as we work for them!

We went over to a part-member home for dinner. The wife, Sister Ai Lin, and her children are members, but Ronald, her husband is not. Her sister, Candy, also a member, came over with her husband and kids. Unfortunately, her husband also isn't a member. Anyhow, we still had a great time over there, and we were able to share a message on eternal families! Ah, I guess we keep teaching it, and I keep mentioning that concept because it is so amazing and true! They both have great conversion stories! It turns out that Candy's ex-colleague, who is a member of the Church, introduced her to it. She was converted, and after that, she too converted her sister. From one member's work, eight people came into the Church!

On Tuesday, we met again with Ming Lee, the referral from Salt Lake. We taught him a portion of the Plan of Savation. We'll review the resoration with him next time. I thought that we had a great lesson with him because I felt the Spirit so strongly. Sure, when we teach, it's great and all, but with the Hokt Spirit there, that is what really makes the difference. I think, and I sure hope that he felt that too. We, as missionaries, are only messengers from God. We share His message, but it is the Holy Spirit that testifies of the truthfulness of the gospel.

Bumped into one of my grade-school friends last week that I haven't seen in years. We are going to teach him, and hopefully something comes out of that. I have bumped into so many of my friends, so it can be pretty distracting at times, but I do my best to focus on the Lord's work. Sometimes, I definitely slack off on getting ready on time and all that, but I'm trying to do what the Lord would have me do, building dicipline, but most of all, developing and understanding what true obedience is.

Well, we had dinner another member's home last night. Brother and Sister Chiu are an awesome couple, with great kids. We had Elder and Sister Shute, our ward's senior couple with us too. Elder Shute left the spiritual message for the day, and he talked about an experience that he had when he was the mission president in Apia, Samoa, where Elder Packer, Elder Groberg and him had to ride very rough seas to get to the organization of a new stake of the Church. Elder Shute was called as a mission president at age 35! He is a wonderful man who has much experience and knoeledge. In short, he talked about how we need to follow the light of the gospel to guide us out of the rough seas of life so that we can return into the safe harbor of the Lord. You can read about it in his book, Under A Bright Samoan Sun. The just reminded me of how much we have to depend on the Lord and place our trust in Him.

Anyhow, we have our Zone Conference tomorrow! Had my interview with President Skelton today. He is an amazing man and a wonderful servant of the Lord. I have so much respectv and love for him. Today, we have an all-day preparation day! Going to take a nice nap soon! It's definitely a nice break, but we'll be contining on in the work of the Lord!

I just want to leave with you this week, my simple testimony that I do indeed know that my redeemer lives, that he died for our sins, that by Him, worlds without number were created. I know that he was resurected on the third day, and that we too can be resurrected because of his sacrifice. I know that he came down to this Earth, though He didn't have to, that as the Son of the Living Lord, he condecended Himself to be as man. I know that as we keep His commandments, and do as he would have us do, that we can "be encircled about eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15).

"The Nine Society"

Hello!

Well, this week was wonderful, mainly because I learnt much about myself and about the gospel.

On Thursday, Elder Pace went down to the gym to work out, so I sat outside the door waiting for him. A couple of the security guards there asked me to move, but I really didn't want to. Elder Pace came out of the gym and we were pretty rude to them, though they let me stay where I was. As I was sitting there reading about the life of Christ, I realized just how un-Christlike our actions had been, so I went up to them and apologized. As Elder Pace and I were going back up to our apartment, we talked about how we were natural men, which immediately got me thinking about how, as King Benjamin said in the Book of Mosiah, that we have to be as children, submissive, meek, and humble. If not, we will not be able to enter into the Kingdom of God.

I was sick the most of last week, so we weren't able to go out much. But, we were able to teach one of the security guards in our complex. It seems to me that the Lord gives us opportunities to teach no matter what situation we are in.

Over the past week, I have had some differences with my companion, and have had some hard times. On Sunday, while sitting in Sacrament, I was brooding over my problems. I said a short prayer, and was still thinking when, in my own mind, I heard a voice saying "Why aren't you more obedient?" Oh, that was a huge wake-up call for me. I started thinking about all the things that had been doing on my mission, and I have come to realise how important obedience is. Our mission motto is "Obedience in Exactness," and I never really paid attention to it. Over the years in Church, I have heard over and over again how we have to be obedient, but I guess it's always bounced off my head. Only now have I come to understand that obedience is indeed "the first law of Heaven." If we aren't obedient, we cannot have the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion because the Spirit isn't going to be with someone who doesn't listen. The Lord expects us to be obedient so that he can bless us, and, as we see that, continue in that wonderful cycle of obeying the Lord's commandments and feeling of His Spirit and love for us.

An incident with one of our investigators taught me much this week. The first thing that I came to understand is how important and blessed we are to have families. Our parents love us so much, but at times, or, much of the time, we fail to see just how much they love us, and how much the Lord has blessed us to have parents who care for us and want us to grow to be good people. I have seen just how much my parents have sacrificed for me, and I am so grateful for their love and care for me over the years. The other thing that came to mind was how different a life can be if a person does not have the gospel in his or her life. Without the gospel, life can seem so meaningless. I was able to see firsthand how tough life can be without the gospel. Our investigator talked about how life was so hard. He said that the world was confusing and chaotic, and how it seemed that he was alone in this world. He talked of the disasters and wars in the world, and how he couldn't understand why this was happening. As I pondered on it later on, I realised that with the gospel, we know our purpose in life. We know that we are Children o9f our Heavenly Father who loves us. We know that man has his agency to choose between right and wrong. We know that as we trust in the Lord that all will be well. We know that as we place our hand on the arm of the Lord, that we can be guided. We know that this life is but a small moment in eternity, that as we strive to obey the commandments of the Lord and keep His covenants, that we can live with our families forever. Most of all, we know that the Lord is always watching over us, that He knows us and loves us, that nothing in this world matters as long as we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Yesterday was wonderful. In district meeting, we talked of gratitude. We read through the story of the ten lepers, and our distract leader mentioned something that John Bytheway had said about how there are two societies that we can be in. One is "The Nine Society" while the other is "The One." Ten of the lepers were healed. Nine never returned to thank the Lord, but the one did. How important it us to be grateful, especially to our parents and to the Lord, who have given us all that we have. I hope to always be in "The One," to always remember to thank the Lord for our blessings and knowledge of the gospel. Throughout the rest of the day, we were able to get much contacting done, and we went over to a member's home and teach her family, who are non-members. Our last appointment was with a referral from Salt Lake. The referral's name is Ming Lee. It turns out that he had been in Utah for five months for training. Over the course of those months, many of his co-workers, who were members of the Church, fellow shipped him. They showed him love and care, they shared their beliefs and taught him the gospel. He was able to watch the movie on Joseph Smith in the Legacy Theater. He said that he felt "nice" when he watched it. Member missionary work is so important, and by our examples, we can bring others to Christ.

I hope this didn't sound like a sermon. I will definitely try to include more on our daily activities next week. Please write! I would love to receive letters!

"Open Thy Mouth Wide"

Hello!

We had two visa-runners over this week, Elders Parrot and Etable. They are both really cool. Elder Etable is a Filipino from Sabah and Elder Parrot is half Caucasian, half Polynesian from New Zealand. Having visa-runners over can be fun. This mission is unique in the sense that most of the Elders and Sisters have to go on a trip every three months so that they can return with a new visa stamp, so they have to leave their area for a few days.

Anyhow, it's been a good week. On Thursday, we were walking to Church when we passed a guy who was looking at us in a weird way, so I stopped and talked to him. It turned out that he was a naval diver stationed in Asia, a former member of the Church who was ex-communicated a year or so ago. My heart went out to him, he seemed to be in his early twenties, and he told us of his struggle of whether or not to return to the Church. I gave him a card with the Church address on it and invited him to return. Meeting him that day has made me all the more thankful for the atonement of the Savior. How wonderful and beautiful the sacrifice of Christ. If not for him, all of us would have no way to return to live with Him and our Father in Heaven. As a missionary, I have felt the love for people around me increase, and I love that increase of feeling and emotion in me, as I strive to be like the Savior. There really is no way that we can keep the gospel to ourselves when we see how much it has changed us, and how we can help others to change for the better and come to understand the great plan of happiness that each of us can come to understand and enjoy.

We had a great 4th of July! We had a couple of great lessons. First, we taught these two Filipinos who were referrals. Rosanna has met withe the missionaries before while Emma hasn't. They were both very receptive and seemed to understand the plan of salvation. After that, we met up with Cajan, a Sri Lankan who I met a couple weeks ago with Elder Grant, and whom Elder Pace and Elder Hatton, our district leader, taught while we were on exchanges. The main focus of our lesson was to show him The Restoration video, which we did. The difference was that we watched it in Tamil, not English. As we watched the video, I marveled at just how just and true and beautiful and unique The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is. We were sitting in a room in Singapore, with a Sri Lankan, an American and a Singaporean watching a video about a young boy who saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And, we were watching it in Tamil. How wonderful the gospel of Jesus Christ is. It transcends cultures and languages, and reaches out to reach out and touch the children of God, to tell them, to teach them that the Lord has called prophets and apostles once again, to lead and direct His church, and organized the same way as it was when Christ was on this Earth. I felt the Spirit as we sat in that room that day, because it really doesn't matter what language we speak or what our background is. We are all children "of our Heavenly Father who loves us, and we love Him." We ended the day with a wonderful 4th of July celebration by having a barbeque, and fun and games at the mission home. It was very fun and a nice break to have. We watched a LikenIt movie, David and Goliath, that's a musical movie. It was amazingly spiritual and I learnt much from it. In one of the songs, David is singing while he is picking pebbles from the brook to use against Goliath, and he sings about how we are all stones in the Lord's hands. The Lord calls many put few are chosen, and that we need to prepare ourselves, to smoothen and refine ourselves so that we can be used as the Lord would have us to be used, to stand on His side, and follow His command. The movie and the music was wonderful, and I would encourage all to get it! http://www.likenit.com/

Sunday was my birthday! I'm 20 now! Old! But, I did have a great few days. On Thursday, we went over to the Petersens for dinner, and they baked for me my favorite Banana Cream Pie! We had a good time at Church and we had three investigators come! That is the most we've had since I've been on my mission! We went over to the Iths for dinner, where we had great food and a cake! On Monday, we went over to yet another home, the Lims, where I had a light Japanese cheesecake! Ah, how time flies. The mission has been and will continue to be an amazing experience. I know that I will have fun times, but also days that are hard and long. But, I am in the service of Him who has felt all our pains and sorrows, and I know that he will lift me up and help me as I strive to do His work with all my heart, might, mind and strength.

Yesterday, I couldn't breathe properly and felt that I had some heart palpitations so I went to the doctor. Had to do a bunch of tests and I am on a twenty-four hour monitor. I'm sure that all will be well. We had a great district meeting where we talked about how we can overcome our fears to talk to people, about how we can open our mouths and spreqad the word of the gospel. In Psalms 81:10, it reads:

I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy
mouth wide, and I will fill it.

As we declare the word of God, we will build our testimonies, and the Lord will fill our mouths with His gospel.

I love the Lord for the marvelous blessings He has given me. I was reading the insert in the Ensign about President Hinckley yesterday. How I miss his words of kindness and cousel. I love and respect him. How I hope that as I strive to follow his example, I may draw closer and be more like Christ, increasing "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."