Trying to find the right house number

Week #57: Blessings are everywhere: August 8, 2017 - August 14, 2017

This week was full of miracles! One day, we were trying to find a bunch of less active members that lived near the church. These members have already been searched for, but not found. We said a prayer that day, took our bikes, and went on our way. Within less than 5 minutes, we already found the first less active. Unfortunately, they had moved away overseas, but we were able to contact their sister-in-law. She was really nice and sweet. We found out during the rest of the day, that the members we were in search of had actually moved a while ago. We were able to contact so many great people: a lady who owned a cute cafe and she likes to sing and dance, a cute Chinese family with 3 kids, and a man from New Jersey but has lived all over the world (including Afghanistan). It was a very fun and eventful day. 

The next day was a miracle of a lifetime. It was very late at night and we were biking home in the rain. The place we were at was 40 minutes away from our home, on a good, sunny day. When we started, my bike seat was starting to move, and with each pedal, would move side-to-side. Then my handle bars started to come loose. At one point, it

Eating a BIG bowl of noodles

had tipped all the way to the side. I had to pull over a few times to move it to the center. After 10 minutes, my light started to indicate that it was going to die, unless I charged it. I started to pray really hard for my companion and I to be safe. After a few pull-overs and readjustments, I hear my companion yell, "It's Liew!" He is her recent convert from a year ago when she was first in Miri. He had a giant green truck, his wife in the front seat, and ropes for our bikes. He saved our lives! It was a miracle! They tied our bikes down, we got in the truck, and we were happily driven home. The power of prayer is truly amazing.

The next day, was what seemed a very unsuccessful day. Miri is known for it's dry, hot weather. It's still humid like crazy, but more dry, kind of reminds me of St. George, Utah. It's also notorious for never raining, and no wind, not even if you're biking fast enough you should catch wind. However, Miri has been bipolar, it's rained almost every day since I've gotten here, and there is lots of wind that fights back (but it's ok because it's natural air conditioning). On this particular day, there was no rain, but lots and lots of sun and wind. We were trying to visit more members we had felt needed our help that day. As we stopped by, no one was home. By the time it was 5 o'clock, we were drained. We were biking to our next home when we were chased by dogs (pretty common in East Malaysia). Then one of the dogs near the end of the street turned around and fought the other dogs off. It was a miracle! Blessings kept pouring after that. As we were riding, I got a picture of the beautiful sunset. It was as if God was smiling down and saying, "You're doing good.

The perks of being petite

Keep trying!" We had arrived to this home early (and had to wait for another member to arrive), and started to play futsol with the members' neighbor, the cutest 8 and 5 year olds! It was a great way to be in the right mood again (too bad they only spoke Malay). The lesson got a raincheck, but we were able to meet a long time less active and contact him. On the way back, our member was able to drive next to us as we left the neighborhood to protect us from the dogs. Blessings brighten when you count them, and there are many.

Lately, I have been studying families with my companion. We had one of our investigators ask from the Restoration pamphlet, "How does the gospel of Jesus Christ strengthen families? How is it done? What do you do?" Well that seemed like an easy question - every day hold family prayer, family scripture study, go to church as a family, hold FHE every Monday night, and other basic primary answers. Little did I know that this question would keep popping up everywhere. In District Meeting on Tuesday, a meeting held every week for missionaries to be trained and learn how to become better missionaries, we answered questions of the soul, such as, "Why are families so important?"

My companion shared a talk with me called, "Teach Them to Understand" by Elder David A. Bednar. This is a tremendous talk where Elder Bednar answers the question: "Why is the home so crucial for gospel instruction?" I will not give any spoilers here, but if you've ever had any thoughts or questions about your family now or in the future, I would highly recommend reading this talk. Find it, learn from it, and implement it :)

I hope you all take care and be safe!

Elder  Schwemmer's good-bye party