Hello, everyone! Last full week of the transfer. Tomorrow transfer calls. Very very good week. Hopefully tomorrow I learn I get another miracle-filled six weeks here in Johor Bahru, Malaysia🇲🇾🐯
Monday night: Monday night was great. Had a lesson, but it was short. Only had like 40 total minutes of finding but had a lot of great contacts and then taught our On date. I didn't say much as it was mostly in Mandarin. This one 18-year-old we stopped and talked to in a big group actually stopped and looked interested in what we had to tell him. His friends were snickering and laughing at him. As he was leaving after we got his number, I shook his hand and looked him right in the eyes and said, "You made a very good decision my friend." The Spirit confirmed and sealed that fact between us. Unfortunately, we lost his number in our WhatsApp. The Spirit that night taught me that we are not meant to text him at this time. Me, Elder Huish, and Elder Gabbitas will not be the missionaries that will be teaching him. The Lord is preparing another missionary for him right now. But what a seed was planted.
Tuesday- Tuesday was so wild. Had a DCM (district council meeting with all the Johor District Elders. So, the 2 Malacca Elders, 2 Masai Elders and the three of us Johor Bahru Elders) was really really good. Talked about we will be primarily judged on who we became on this earth. If we lived up to God's expectations instead of a sum total of good works. Great training. Did so many contacts over our WhatsApp. Contacted so many people. Then literally right at 5:30 we got kicked out of our WhatsApp😭. Elder Huish is the only one with the Sim card, so he was the only one to be able to contact others on SMS. We only had 40 minutes of finding that day and it was alright. Went back to the church and we called our On date. He said he wanted me to baptize him! I was so scared when I heard him say my name ngl. Was nervous throughout the week. But felt immensely blessed and love for the Lord that I was the one that was supposed to baptize our amazing friend Perinbaraj.
Wednesday-Thursday: Exchanges with the Puchong Elders. Puchong is Southwestern Kuala Lumpur basically. It's a district outside Kuala Lumpur. The Zone Leader is serving in Puchong, so he wanted to do exchanges with us right before the transfer ended. It went great. Elder Bosh, the Zone Leader over all of West Malaysia, is great. He's super awesome. Really good at making friends with everyone. He asked a lot about me and Elder Gabbitas and why we decided to serve, and we learned a lot about each other. Had a lot of calls that night as well. On Thursday me and Elder Gabbitas went with Elder Francis. He came out the same time as Elder Gabbitas, so I trained them both that day and we had a great day for sure. Lot of finding and a lot of contacting as always.
Friday- Friday was alright. Didn't have the greatest P-study, got out the door late, felt like trash the whole day, sat for 2-and-a half hours straight for weekly planning and our comp council. They were playing Christmas songs, too, and also played "Last Christmas" by Wham in the Starbucks we were in. (No, we did not get coffee) Christmas songs, especially Last Christmas by Wham! had me feeling homesick like crazy. Missing the holiday season, Thanksgiving and everything. Knowing two years ago this time I was listening to "Last Christmas" driving around OPK, junior year high school, hitting late night lifts, watching NFL, not a care in the world, 17 years old. Man. I'm a big time reminiscer and that just did not help. Finding was underwhelming. Tried to hop a curb on my bike and absolutely destroyed my right big toe. Finished the night off with lessons. They were solid. Still just not a great day. Not every day is pretty. Knowing I had to baptize someone else in two days, too. Just put a lot of pressure on me. Felt inadequate and unprepared. This next week is gonna be so crazy, too. Last week of the transfer and we just have so many lessons and fly-bys. Elder Huish really pushes us and he's finishing really strong because this might be his last week here in JB after three transfers. Dude doesn't take a second off. He's super dedicated for sure. That's why he's DT. I respect it. Was also stressing if I was gonna leave JB after only one transfer. I guess we'll see tomorrow. Tough day. I'll always take the humbling though.
Saturday- Saturday was a lot better. Really focused on the little things. Elder Huish was pretty sick in the morning, so we slept in till like 9. We didn't leave the house that day until 2 o'clock. Elder Huish ripped a massive nap. Me and Elder Gabbitas really enjoyed that time to do some contacts at the apartment, study even more, talk with each other. Talk about our life before the mission. Showed each other pics of what we used to look like, what our hair used to look like😂😂 what we use to do all the time. Man, I needed that. The whole second half of the day was great, too. Taught some recent converts. Had a lot of video call lessons at night. We had two lessons going on at the same time. It was awesome.
Sunday- Man, what a day. First baptism in field. I baptized Perinbaraj Ganesan. He's awesome. 18-year-old Indian kid. He's super cool. Was pretty easy to get him into the waters. His entire family are members but him. Just happy the Lord put me in the right place at the right time. I'll never forget it. Also gave a talk during sacrament meeting too. Busy busy Sunday. Was there from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Church. Sunday is NOT a day of rest as a Missionary😂😂 great day. Finished the second half of the day with some finding and a lot of video lessons at the church. Great day
Every single day I listen to, "Let us all press on," the latter half of this last week and this upcoming week until Friday is and will be feeling like I just need to press on. Yes, the baptism was awesome. Don't get me wrong. Loved it. He was pretty easy to prepare for baptism. The three of us genuinely had zero problems along his covenant path and teaching him and getting him in the water. We didn't need a miracle I guess to baptize him but just grateful I got to baptize him. Anyways back to what I was saying.
I was reading in 1st Nephi about the Iron Rod. I was thinking a lot about what it says when the people holding onto the rod heeded what the wicked said and it says that they fell away. I know before my mission when I got into that stuff on social media, I definitely fell away for a time. It's never good. It never produces good fruit. You never feel the Spirit. It's always better to press on through the mist, the uncertainty, the 522 days ahead, the hard days, waking up at 7:00, can't even physically tape your eyes open. The stressful long days of, "Man, what are we gonna do this day/week" when you're having your 120th something comp study and it starts to feel REALLY repetitive. Knowing that if I am handed the reigns (become an SC) to the city (which I probably won't be but still) then I wonder if I'll be enough or know enough to take on such a big city in only my 4th transfer. Elder Gabbitas did mention Alma 40:5 though which I haven't been able to stop thinking about since he has said it on Friday.
"It mattereth not; for God knoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case."
This is one verse that trumps all doubts. Nephi himself also said something similar.
"And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."
"Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not."
Do I know why the Lord asks all worthy/able young highschoolers/young adults to travel thousands of miles away from their family at the peak of their adulthood to do his work when he could send way more prepared wiser people to do the work? (not to mention He just lowered it from 19 to 18 for woman, talk about trust)
This is the long-standing fact that really truly matters. Even when Nephi was shown miraculous things on an exceedingly high mountain in a vision, he still was not able to grasp the workings of God. God knows, like I said, he does and is doing. So why worry? Why should I worry, I might only get one transfer here. Why should I worry, I might not be enough to baptize the people here that are being prepared by the Lord. Throughout my mission I've seen the Lord provide every time. Companions, church members, strength to keep going. Answering my prayers. Giving me challenges and then helping me through said challenges. Through small and simple things. Once again, it's always a miracle. I'm excited for tomorrow. Transfer calls. It will be interesting but I'm ready for whatever is ahead. Because I know the Lord will provide a way. Ironically in the MTC we were asked by our branch president to memorize a scripture, and I chose 1 Nephi 3:7
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
Great scripture. So true. I'm coming up on my 1/4th point of my mission. On January 2nd, I will be 1/4th done with my mission. What a milestone. I like to mention how hard a mission is but man, I'm doing it! We're doing it. Kerja tidak habis. Let us all press on. Let's go. Love yall.
Shoutout the gig Lola and her team for the 4-Peat. NO. Love you miss you. Miss y'all. Still miss Baja blasts and the gym. Miss driving. Miss watching Dak throw dots every Sunday and Cooper Flagg slamming on people. Satu hari nanti lah. Okay I'm done love y'all fr. Keep the emails coming. Y'all are so awesome. Even if y'all are reading all this I'm so so grateful. Jangan lupa pembacaan kitab Mormon kamu🫡❤️🔥
Jaga diri kan?
Elder Barlow🇲🇾🐯🦁🇸🇬
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