so that's malaysia...

I added another few stamps to my passport this weekend. We went up to Kuala Lumpur for a zone conference and meeting with Elder Bednar! It was incredible to sit so close to him, listen to his words, and just see that he's a normal man. He's hilarious. But when he bore his testimony that God is our Eternal Father and Jesus Christ His son and our redeemer, I knew he was called of God. We're so blessed to have living prophets and apostles. We were able to ask him questions so I asked him about our situation with Michelle. Her baptism is still scheduled for this Saturday, but it's coming down to the line. Her faith is there. She prays to God, she even makes promises with Him beyond what we've asked her to do, but she's not sure that she can answer the baptismal interview questions. There's a disconnect between talking to her casually and hearing her testimony when she doesn't even realize it's coming out and then asking her directly about it. But Sister Howard and I still feel like it's going to happen. She's ready, we just have a lot of work to do to help her realize that. Everyone involved in fellowshipping her agrees too. It's the most stressful baptism ever! We just all know that once she takes that leap of faith, she'll be blessed. She'll see where she's been this whole time. Talk about a fun first baptism, eh? I'll breathe on Saturday once it's over.

Malaysia is so crazy. We saw the KL Petronas Towers or whatever. They look fake. They're enormous. The people in Malaysia (for the day and a half that I saw) are the coolest people ever! I can't wait to spend some more time with them. Also, at zone conference, they announced a few trivia facts about the different districts. Apparently I am the first non-native Chinese-speaking sister in the mission. Ever. Good thing I don't even speak it haha. It's coming back little by little. People from China can understand me...people from Malaysia who speak Mandarin look at me like I'm speaking pig latin.

Now, to my dear best friend who is going into the MTC next week. Jillian!! I'm so excited for you. You need to check the third floor's "Dress and Grooming Standards" poster in 17M. I hope my surprise is still there for you. I have something to share with you (and anyone else who reads this as well obviously). You're going to put on a nametag next week that says your a representative of Christ. Don't ever be ashamed of it. I know you won't be, but I've had some cool experiences with that this past week. We have an investigator named Deborah. She's an incredible woman and she asked me a question that caught me off guard on Sunday. She pointed to my nametag and asked if it was ever embarrassing to wear it. The answer that I gave her was exactly what I needed to share with Michelle later that day as well. I kind of laughed because there have honestly been times where I let my hair "accidently" lay over my nametag so people don't look at me like I'm from a different planet. I'm tempted to be somewhat embarrassed sometimes. I love people and I love talking to people so it kills me when I'm talking to someone and they treat me differently than they would sans nametag. It's painful. But answering Deborah and Michelle reminded me of why it's worth it. I told Deborah that I know that my Savior has already paid for every soul in this world, it would be a shame if someone missed their opportunity to learn of that. We wear it so people know who we are and what we're here to share. It's a miniscule cross to bear. Later that day I was testifying to Michelle that this church is not just a "good" church. It's true. I love serving people, if that's all I wanted to do, I would have found a different way to do it, one that didn't involve the nametag. But I know this church is true. That's the reason I'm serving. It is the only way to return to our Father in Heaven and be saved through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ. Alma 17:1-2. See you out here, girl!

I love you all! You're always in my prayers. Till next week! Jaga diri baik baik!

Sister Norton

HFI