black out

Yesterday we were sitting in the apartment doing our language study and the fan went off. We tried the lights and they wouldn't turn on. Everything out. We don't have a fax machine to send our energy bill to the mission office right when we get it; we have to wait till we meet with the elders and they can send it for us, so our bill was a little late last month and that was the first thing that ran through my head. We freaked out for a few seconds thinking about trying to get everything done and get ready for bed that night when we'd get home to a pitch-black and HOT apartment, but then it came back on. Prayers work.

So transfers came and I'm still here in Penang! I think I'll still be here for a while. Maybe it will be my last area. But I'm happier knowing that than waiting to find out if I'm staying or going. So that news came with a strengthened resolve to pick up the pace and finish strong. Obviously something isn't masuk-ing my akal here. So I need to figure it out, more to learn. More work to be done. I'm happy though. I love the branch here, I love Sister Song, and I love our investigators. So it's not bad lah.

Speaking of investigators...MS brought two friends to church on Sunday! He's awesome. The least flaky person I've ever taught. He reads what we ask him to read, he keeps all of his commitments, he comes to church, he tells us when he needs to reschedule appointments (ohhh how many hours would be saved if everyone did the same...), and I'm pretty sure it's all because he sincerely wants what we're teaching him about. It's awesome to see that motivation.

N is still so sweet but not as reliable. Didn't come to church on Sunday, but her friend did. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation last week and the spirit was so strong, I know she felt it too.

J is still doing awesome! Her little one wasn't so bad on Sunday. She even made it to Sunday School for about 10 minutes and then tried Relief Society for about 5 before he had a meltdown and had to leave. Sikit sikit lama lama....

We finally met with A&K again! They're the Indian brother and sister who we were teaching a while ago who were on date to be baptized but we fell out of contact with them. They're doing good, reading the Book of Mormon, and back on date.

D is the golden new of the week. She's incredible. She's about 18 years old and was baptized as a Christian about 6 months ago. She has a mixed background with culture and religion, her dad is Chinese and her mom Indian, but she speaks Mandarin better than anything else, so we teach her in Mandarin/Malay. The first lesson with her was so awesome, hearing about all the miracles in her life that have led her to believe in Jesus Christ. She's a very independent girl. Like she intimidates me a lot. She doesn't take anything from anyone. It was so refreshing to hear her response when we invited her to be baptized by someone holding the priesthood power from God. She said, "Yes, I'll do whatever to follow Him the right way." When we warned her that she might hear different things about The Church of Jesus Christ, she said, "I only trust God, not other people. Even my friends ask me if I love them and I tell them, 'I only love the Lord.'" So we're pretty excited for her.

A member of the church from California comes to Penang on business trips every 4-6 months and always takes the missionaries out to eat at this fancy sushi place. I was here last time he came so he was surprised to see me again also. The food was sooooooooooo good! So much fun to spend some time with him and the elders. Sister Song had a little bit of a stark realization though. We left the restaurant and she looked bothered by something so I asked her what was the matter and she said, "I just realized back there that you're white." We both started laughing so hard. Apparently I don't act too "white" until I'm around other white people. I don't know. It took her a month to realize this...

We have some new goals coming up for the month of April and May that I'm so excited about. During April, we're doing mission fasts and studying Christ-like attributes to help us develop a better relationship with our Saviour. This is one thing I've actually been thinking about lately. I feel like I have such great access to my Heavenly Father because I pray to Him, but how do I draw closer to the Saviour? It made me think about how often He beckons us to follow Him. I love this quote by Elder Oaks:

“The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—'what we have become'. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions.“ Christ has told us what we need to become, even as He is. I think that is how we draw closer to our Saviour, become like Him. Study about Him and follow His ways so that we will recognize Him when we see Him again, and He will recognize us because we will be like Him.

Second, we have a challenge to read the Book of Mormon between next Monday and 31 May. He gave us the option to read it on our own or as a companionship, so Sister Song and I chose to read it together. I am so excited for this opportunity to grow closer to the people that need to be the most important in my daily life right now, my Heavenly Father and Saviour, and my companion. I love Sister Song and the faith that she brings to our companionship. Just yesterday she was writing a letter to our Elder's Quorum President for his birthday and needed a nice pen to write with. I was using the only nice one I had, but had another one that had stop working because it didn't have ink left. She took it and started writing and I warned her it might stop at any point. I thought it was so little and cheesy, but she stopped right then and prayed about it silently, then I watched her write the whole letter without any problem. Her every action shows faith. It's such a small thing to pray about, but it made me question how often I involve the Lord in my every action like that. I need to, even the small things. Even if that pen would have worked without the prayer, she still showed faith and an eye single to the glory of God. I'm grateful that I get her example for this part of my mission, however short or long it's going to be.

I hope you all loved conference. I can't wait to see it this weekend! And Happy Easter to you all! Thanks for letting me know it is this Sunday, Dad. I would have had no idea otherwise. I don't think the members of the church here know either. Shoot, they were Buddhist four years ago, can't blame them. I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Sister Norton

HFI