THE HAPPIEST AND HARDEST!

Thank you for the emails you share each week. They always give me a boost and help me see the miracles happening throughout the world! This past week was one of the happiest and hardest weeks of my mission. There were many miracles, but we also had many humbling experiences that started last Monday. 

Monday night, while biking home from an appointment, Elder S took a bad fall on his bike while coming down a hill and turning a corner. Miraculously, he didn't fall into the huge ditch on the side of the road, and only his elbow was a little scraped up. It is never good when a missionary crashes on their bike, but the fact that his pants, shirt, backpack or bike didn't get ruined or his head injured at all is absolute evidence of Heavenly Father protecting us. We will be more careful!!! We are so blessed!

One of the happiest points of my mission was Sunday afternoon during church. In our zone, we did a "mega-member weekend" aka only teach investigators if you have a member present. No member=no lesson. There were a few moments of frustration when members cancelled on us so we had to cancel with our investigators, but the lessons we did teach with members were POWERFUL.

The members here connect with the investigators in a way that I never could. I am not Malaysian, and no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to fully understand their culture and circumstances. Sunday afternoon, we had three times as many investigators come to church than last week. I know it was a direct result of us bringing members with us to the lessons. 

One investigator had given many excuses on why he couldn't come to church on Sundays. I didn't even try to call him because I assumed he would just ignore us. Right at 1:00 he showed up and said, "I chose God! I came!" I was so humbled. I am so grateful for the people here. I'm grateful for the investigators the Lord trusts us with. I am grateful for the members who are excited to do missionary work. I know that nothing good that happens can be considered my own "achievement." Every miracle truly is a result of the Lord's hand in the work and the Spirit helping people change their hearts. I am so grateful to be a part of this!

I am grateful to have the gospel in my life. It was very apparent to me, as we taught the Plan of Salvation to an investigator, that the gospel truly does bring great blessings and happiness when we choose to obey. 

One of our investigators who loves basketball and struggles to come to church on Sunday commented, "Steph Curry (an NBA player) has all the money and fame he could ever imagine, but he doesn't have the Spirit all the time, does he?" It was a comment that made me laugh out loud at first, but brought much reflection and pondering afterwards. We truly do have the opportunity to receive the greatest gift and blessing of all--eternal life. But first we need to study the gospel, remember our covenants, and make sacrifices in order to obey and receive all that Heavenly Father has planned for us. 

I love being a missionary. I love representing the Lord and working with Elder S! We are blessed with the Spirit, miracles, and JOY as we do all we can to serve the Lord and the people here in Malaysia. 

Love, Elder Lloyd