Satu lagi minggu yang baguslah🙏🏻 Let's jump right in, shall we?
One thing I want to add more about the bike lock incident (so hilarious looking back on it) that I learned from the Spirit throughout Zone Conference is the importance of help and assistance from the Elders around you. Elders coming together and using their different perspective and ideas for the better. I mean Elder Facer literally just met me the night previous and he just jumped up and told me to lift my arms up and lifted it off me. 10 minutes into the morning Btw he could've just slept in or left it up to other people to look and laugh with me instead of jumping to action. That's why he's gonna be AP next transfer. That's Christlike care and helping your brother. He said, "Elder, were getting this bike lock off you," with a serious tone. It caught me off guard honestly. and he did. What a guy. I think before the bike lock incident I really only focused on my skills and how I'm doing and how I can be a better disciple and missionary, but I think the Lord needed me to be locked up for a Lil bit (literally) to teach me a lesson. And surely "through small and simple means do great things come to pass." For a slight inconvenience for 17 hours and great laughs and a funny memory, I learned a very very memorable and important lesson for the importance of togetherness and oneness. Pujilah Tuhan🙏🏻
P-night and Tuesday: Very very good Zone Conference. So much fun in Kuala Lumpur. Driving home Tuesday night past the Petronas Twin Towers talking with the boys, feeling good and having that post Zone Conference and 2nd half of the transfer energy and hype just felt so different oh my. So awesome. Was cool to be around all the West Malaysia missionaries and Singapore missionaries who a lot I've met for the first time. The group after our group of 12 was 32 missionaries so first Zone Conference in West Malaysia from East Malaysia. I was able to meet a ton of new missionaries that just came in and have also been here a while. So awesome. Man, this mission is so great. Literally three missions in one (since Singapore, West Malaysia, and East Malaysia are just so different from one another. Malaysia is in a way similar to America. Both Malaysia and America have states. Malaysia has 13 so definitely not as many as America haha. Both have various geographic regions. Mountains in Sabah, countryside in Sarawak, big cities in Kuala Lumpur and here in Johor Bahru. Both very diverse countries as well. So many different races and ethnicities and languages and foods) Definitely has its downside at some points yes, but overall, very very interesting and fun.
Anyways Wednesday and Thursday were good. Bused back Wednesday and had a good half day here in Johor Bahru. Had a lot of calls at night and did a lot of contacting through our phones. Busy night.
Thursday was super light. Had only like 40 minutes of finding and all the contacts were in Chinese so Elder Gabbitas and Elder Huish handled all those. We also got kicked out of our WhatsApp so we couldn't do any contacts that night😂
Friday- very very good day. Felt super long. Didn't get our WhatsApp back until lunch time. Once we did, we had to catch up on a lot of contacts. Only did like 40-ish minutes of actually home to home contacting. A lot of on the way finding. Went to the church for the last part of the day and this member Brother Wong got us all Nasi lemak, and he was just throwing his rice onto my plate. Little does he know I'm such an unbelievably weak eater. (Before I came here, I heard the Nasi lemak was the best here in Johor Bahru throughout all of Malaysia and oh my, it is so good. Wasn't the greatest in Miri. Nasi lemak is a famous Malaysia dish, it's rice, of course, meat, peanuts, classic Malaysian curry and you can add in stuff. Man, it's so good y'all need to datang di sini dan cubalah) Taught English class and then afterwards taught a lesson and everyone stayed for a full lesson about the Restoration which was super awesome. We watched the first vision video on gospel library and man the Spirit was so strong. Everyone was locked in watching it. We all three bore testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. How true these two are.
Saturday morning at 6:00 AM we were at the church to bus up again to Kuala Lumpur for District Conference. Man, that was not fun waking up that early. Sleeping in the car with the Senior Missionaries was nice though haha. Eventually got to the KLDC in Putrajaya and eventually all the members from all across West Malaysia were there. Members and all missionaries came from Penang, Ipoh, all the Kuala Lumpur missionaries from Puchong, Putrajaya, members from Cheras, Malacca, and of course our beloved Johor Bahru and Masai members and Elders. We heard so many great talks and we met so many amazing church leaders and got to see President and Sister Ho too, of course. An Area Seventy from Taiwan came as well and presided. Not gonna lie, couldn't understand his English that well and I can't remember his name either. The Spirit was strong, and the energy was high. Had a very good conversation with one of the senior missionaries and just told him a lot about myself and my time in Miri. He listened very intently and I'm so happy he did. Being able to talk about it with someone was a blessing. We talked about me and Elder Randall's, my first trainer, friendship and how we grew together and truly how the Lord was in the works of us coming together. This email would be like seven pages long if I talked about it. Man, I could also sit here and type for hours about Miri and how hard it was and how I grew there. Man, Miri dude wow. Now being here in Johor Bahru in an area that is growing a lot more and with a lot more work to do is just so awesome. I loved Miri for its reasons, and I love Johor Bahru for many great reasons as well. Still really hoping to get three transfers here. Being around so many amazing members all across West Malaysia is so inspiring as well. Many of them are converts and they know how true this church is. Their stories show that this church is for everyone. I got to talk to some people from all over Africa as well. The Sunday session was very good, too. Sang in the choir with the JB branch. That was fun. Drove back with the senior missionaries and the drive from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru is 4 and a half hours and it took 8 hours😭 Took forever and we got back right at 9:30. Was nice to get a day off from missionary work but sitting packed in the car wasn't fun.
Man, what a week though. I'm so happy I never gave up. Never give up. There's no point in giving up. Jesus never gave up. He is eternal. He exists. There's no way he doesn't because if he didn't you wouldn't be reading this. I wouldn't be writing this. Everything denotes there's a god. He's out there. He is the God of this entire earth and all peoples. He knows your every move and thought. Nothing can ever be hidden from him. He desires you to exercise a particle of faith. Study the scriptures, go to church, pray every single night. It's always the little things. Man, when I heard that dang alarm at 6:59 AM in Miri every morning, there's nothing more I wanted to do than be back in Kansas doing who knows what, it doesn't matter because it's not important. Then I would get up. Me getting up out of the bed in the corner was a miracle EVERY SINGULAR MORNING. Once I got going and studied the scriptures that feeling went away. Held onto the rod for life. Where there is light and knowledge and the Spirit, Satan could not remain to convince me to go home. I see why he doesn't want me out here. Because it fills my soul with purpose and joy. Satan desires all men to be like him. Jadi janganlah jadi marah. Don't be afraid of moving slow, be afraid of standing still. When I couldn't speak a single sentence of Malay. Couldn't teach a single principle in Malay. Tahanlah saja. Majulah Saja. Praise the Lord. He lives. The fact that I've somehow worn the badge for five months now IS A MIRACLE AND HE IS A GOD OF MIRACLES BECAUSE HE LIVES.
Mormon 9: 9-10,
9. For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? 10. And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.
25 and whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.
26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.
27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things so ever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.
The morning has broken and the shadows have fled. The glory is continuing to burst from afar. Zion's light is continuing to burst forth.
Dalam nama Yesus Kristus amin, Elder Barlow🇲🇾
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