PRAY FOR AN ANSWER

Hello everyone!!! Wo ai ni!!! I love you guys!!! This week has been awesome! We did a bunch of really cool things...we even pulled off a Halloween Party here in Malaysia! Hooray! I'm so grateful for the emails and all of the prayers! Here are a few miracles and things I learned this week.

The first thing that I want to share comes from Alma 5:45-46.46 

45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

 46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

I think it's so amazing that Alma doesn't use his experience of seeing an angel as proof that he knows God exists. Some of the investigators and people I meet with don't care or don't understand why faith is important. They think that if something isn't right in front of their face, it doesn't deserve their time or energy. I love this scripture because Alma tells us that after MUCH prayer and fasting he knows. More often than not, we won't receive an answer instantly or even after a few hours. We have to have patience and continue acting in faith. 

A cool experience this week came while we were teaching a Chinese man. He is very kind and happy, but he's always busy and really hasn't been interested in the gospel until the last couple of weeks. We've officially taught him once, and it was incredible to feel the sincerity in his questions. Most people tend to ask us questions to prove us wrong or just to rationalize when we can't give them a perfect answer, but this man has a desire to learn. The last question he asked was "Why does God exist?" We told him to ponder and pray about this question and that we'd both share our thoughts next time. 

I am so grateful that I have a testimony and a knowledge about seemingly simple truths like why God exists. I'm constantly learning that I need to teach more simply. I have taken my knowledge of the gospel and Heavenly Father's plan for granted my whole life. I never realized how much direction and peace it has given me until now where I've been able to see what people are like who don't have the gospel.

One of the most important things that I've been trying to do in order to improve my teaching skills is to ask better questions. I'd like you all to write down one sincere question you have about anything this week, and search for an answer through prayer, scripture study, other people, church, and following the Spirit. I know that questions lead to a greater understanding of how the Holy Ghost speaks to us, and a stronger testimony of the gospel IF we are willing to put forth the effort in order to receive an answer.

Cycling with Bullet Bikes w/New Tires and Gears! 

One of the coolest moments of the week came after church yesterday. I was sitting at the piano with Elder Reynolds and we were just talking about music (he knows a ton of theory and awesome stuff!!!). While playing around and singing, I realized how much we don't know about things we trick ourselves into thinking we understand. Why do certain notes sound good together on the piano? Why do clashing things sound beautiful when surrounded by certain chords? Who decides what sounds good or not? I think these questions can be tweaked a little bit to apply to a lot of things in our lives. We all have heard music and know what we like, or we've all read certain scriptures/learned certain principles, but when we start asking ourselves why and come up with different questions or views to surround our original topic, we can receive revelation with completely new answers.

I know that we all have so much more to learn on this Earth and after we die, but if we can all make an effort to follow the commandments and read and pray every single day, we will be blessed in our lives and we will become more like Christ. We will understand more about who He is, and why He was the way He was. Sometimes all of the things we're supposed to do seem overwhelming, but small simple goals have helped me prioritize and be a more effective missionary. This week, write down a question and make a goal to find an answer to it! I love you guys!!!!

- Elder Lloyd

More Mud Facials!