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| Sitiawan Sunset ... |
I'll start out with the boring yet necessary part to tell this week...WE MOVED!!! I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing yet. We expected to do it all on our own, but when the lorry pulled up for us to load all of our furniture, most of the branch was there. Tender mercies. We were able to move all the furniture and whatnot out of our house and into the new one within two hours. Tender mercy. After everybody left and we had a snack, we then spent the next few hours trying to get our wardrobes up the smallest, steepest stairs in the world to our bedroom. After about an hour of sitting halfway up the stairs, trying every angle possible, we finally got mine up there. Miracle!
At about 11:30 pm, we decided to call it quits and finish the next day. I don't think I've ever smelled so bad in my life. I happily went to the bathroom only to find that our water had been shut off....then the power went out. haha I am laughing right now thinking back on everything that happened. It's crazy how sometimes things just seem to pile up on top of each other, but the amazing thing is that once we get through it and can have a broader perspective, our mistakes or frustration seems so silly and unimportant. We can focus on what we learned and what we should've improved on. We moved, we made it, and I hope that I only have to move a few more times the rest of my life!!!
A miracle this week happened when we were contacting. We had been outside for a couple hours trying to talk to people who were already outside in their yards or on the street, but nobody was receiving us and the sun was absolutely blazing. We finished talking to a lady who had 16 dogs and who told us about one of her friends who has had this life-changing experience and came to know Christ. We immediately went to contact her referral, but couldn't find the right house (probably because of a Chinese misunderstanding).
We knocked on the gate of a house that we thought might be correct and met a 20 year old boy who had met missionaries before in Melacca. We talked with him for a bit and were able to explain a lot about the Book of Mormon. We bore our testimonies to him and before we finished, he asked for the book. He confessed that he'd never looked at it before and left it in Melacca, but now he wanted another one and asked, "What do I do with it?" We were able to answer his question and set him up with more missionaries back in KL (where he left to yesterday). I am so grateful that we were able to talk with him at just the right place and time in order to help him understand more about why the Book of Mormon is so important. I know that the Book of Mormon is more powerful than any other book on Earth. Through those words hearts can be changed and we can come to know our Savior.
Something that I focused on in a talk I gave in Sacrament meeting yesterday was the importance of a living prophet. During the MTC, I realized that I could generally describe what the prophet directs us to do, but I was unable to tell anybody what the most recent thing taught was. This month, in the Liahona, we are taught by the First Presidency about how families can be together forever. In D and C 128 we learn a lot about the importance of temple work and how our salvation depends on work for the dead.
As I pondered more about how the prophet continues to remind us to strengthen our families, I reflected back on when I was 3 years old and had the chance to go to the temple with my family and be sealed forever. I don't remember much, but I do remember the peace that came as my 1 year old little brother stopped crying, we kneeled together, and felt Heavenly Father's love for us. This is the peace that the gospel brings. I know that my family is sealed together forever because of the decisions and efforts my parents made, and that I as their child, with them, continue to make.
If there is one thing I miss almost as much as my family it's the temple. Please continue to go and do baptisms, initiatories, endowment sessions, and any other service you can for your family members. It will bring you closer to them and closer to God.
I love this gospel so much and I am grateful for the privilege I have been blessed with to have it in this life. I know this is true and I know that it is the only way to lasting happiness. I know that as we heed the words of the prophet, strengthen our families, and attend the temple often, we will strengthen our relationship with our family on Earth and in heaven.
I love you all!! Elder Lloyd
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