Week #19 – Field Week: November 15, 2016 – November 21, 2016

Sister Quan, Durham, and Vranes at the baptism

This week we finally had a baptism! It was awesome to see how one person could change so much in such a short time (2 months)! I was able to see the atonement of Jesus Christ change someone else's life--to heal, and to change their very nature. It was a very awesome, exciting, and humbling experience. Afterwards, our investigator bore hid testimony. He was so humble and had truly changed his life.  He explained his life beforehand, which led to a life of destruction, to his life now, which is full of hope and joy. It made me realize the power of the atonement to change not only my life, but other people's. It also made me realize the importance of what we are doing as missionaries to share the gospel.

Youth Park

As for a miracle this week, while Sister Quan was away, we were very down because of how few potential investigators we had. We were trying to contact, but no one was willing to listen. We tried going to the youth park in the morning while Sister Quan was here and that was very fruitful. It came to Sister Durham's mind to try the park again. When we arrived, so many people were either going too fast or too slow. I was thinking, "No one's going to want to talk to us." So I said a mini prayer to gain confidence to talk to someone. After that prayer, a man came up to us to talk. He said he wasn't going to come but felt the need to, then started talking to us of all people. After that, another lady came up and said the same thing! She became a potential investigator. Afterward, I talked to 3 other people, and each of those people became potential investigators. It was amazing because it showed me that God really does know each of His children and is mindful of them. There are also people that each one of us influences because of who we are. It also amazed me how Heavenly Father heard and answered my prayer. He led those people to find us and talk to us. He showed me that He hears my prayers. He helped me gain confidence to talk to more people.

Week #18 – Field Week: November 8, 2016 – November 14, 2016

This week has been an awesome week! There have been many miracles I have seen this week. Before Sister Quan left to Ipoh for exchanges, she gave us training about inspired questions. It has inspired me more to work on these. While Sister Quan was away, we had a first lesson with a new investigator, and the whole time she was more into her phone than what we had to say. We were constantly saying her name, but it didn't keep her attention for more than three seconds at a time. As we sat in silence for a minute, the inspired question came, and that question changed the whole lesson. She was surprised, then turned her phone off, turned it over, and pushed it away from her. That question was definitely inspired by the Spirit. It increased my faith so much in the power of the Spirit to lead us in lessons. I have been working the rest of the week to listen better to the person and the Spirit, to discern, and to ask those inspired questions in lessons and contacts. 

Another miracle that happened was to finally see some of the influence I have made to contribute to Penang. First, when we asked one of our investigators what their favorite verse was in the Book of Mormon, I realized it was a verse that came to my mind that I shared when they were in a slump. That was cool to see how the Spirit guided me to influence them in that way. The past couple of weeks I've been able to make such connections with some members, that they've been able to not only open up about some of their needs, but I've been able to give silent comfort as they talked and cried it out. It's just been cool for me to see how much of an influence one makes without even realizing it. It's grown my testimony of the Lord knowing what is best for me. I still may not see the good in everything in His plan for others, but I know He sees it. I'm really going to try harder to be the true me in Penang, to reach out and talk to His children, and to influence them in the way the Lord would want me to.

Week #17 - Field Week: November 1, 2016 - November 7, 2016

Pink Dragon Fruit

This week was so busy it went by as a blur. Literally, I can't remember anything! We traveled to the other side of the island to Bayan Lepas, away from the tourist section. The area is beautiful and looks like a jungle. We eat a lot of good fruit here. I've really enjoyed dragon fruit, which comes in pink, white, and black. There is so much variety that I haven't really eaten the same thing twice, unless it was for breakfast. We are currently in the rainy season and it just pours. We've been teaching and serving people along the way as usual. On Sunday, we were able to have one of our investigator's do missionary work with us. As we went about serving the ward members and meeting many others, they were able to understand and experience the work we do on the Sabbath Day. It's on the Sabbath that the Lord asks us to take time out of our week to attend His church, partake of His sacrament, and serve our neighbors who are in need. The members said, that it was the best day they had in a long time. I know that serving others is one of the ways we find happiness and meaning in our lives. Throughout this week, we've been able to show a few others the joys of serving and missionary work. Since we're in a

Bayan Leps, Malaysia

tripanionship, we're able to do splits with members of the same gender who are over 16 years old. We've been able to do this with some awesome members and especially those ward members who would like to serve a mission. It's been exciting to see how happy and excited these members get while serving their neighbors. I know that missionary work is one of the most rewarding things we can do. It takes courage, but I know that the things we say and testify to each other can change a person's life. 

Week #16 - The Three Midgeteers: October 25, 2016 - October 31, 2016

The three shorties

 This week was transfer week! I stayed in Penang with Sister Durham, but we also gained another companion, whom we are killing as well (meaning she finishes her mission and goes home at the end of this transfer). Sister Durham and I are companions in crime ;) Anyway, our new companion is Sister Quan. She is from Virgina (Washington D.C. area), and is very kind with awesome ideas! She's also an amazing violinist! She's been called Malay speaking, but she speaks fluent Mandarin, Cantonese, and understands many of the dialects here (including Hokkien)! She is actually American born Chinese because her grandparents were the ones who immigrated from China to the U.S. Previously, she had spent half of her life living in the U.S. and the other half in China! Plus, she's shorter than me (by like half a foot but it still counts)! That's very rare and amazing! So now our tallest companion is Sister Durham, who is still below 5 feet. We're officially the Three Midgeteers!

Vegetarian Spaghetti

Happy Deepavali!

This week was a regular week of missionary work and lots of rain. There were also a few flat tires here and there. The rain in Penang is kind of like the movies where it just pours. I didn't think it was a real thing, but it is! In a blink of an eye it seems to start pouring, stays for a good 30 minutes, and then leaves just as fast as it came. Once, our investigator told us about a day they purposely did not pray nor read the scriptures. The next day, they were not able to do their work at all. Everything was forgotten. After meeting with us, everything was all good again and as they continued to pray and read the scriptures. I know that the small things that build our faith and show our willingness to obey God are essential. It reminds us of whom we truly rely on and everything we have and can do are not truly ourselves, but are Heavenly Father's. It's not Heavenly Father who leaves us, it's us who leaves Him. Continue coming unto Heavenly Father by praying and reading the scriptures. These will truly draw us nearer to Him.

Last Day with Sister Larkin