This week has been full of miracles, both small and huge and it
has definitely helped me develop my faith and build my love for Heavenly Father
and His Son Jesus Christ.
They are amazing and I am so blessed to have the
opportunity to serve Them full time for two years. I am starting to realize
that an eighth of my mission is already over. Wow! That goes by fast! I am
always striving to make each day count as it is a day that I will never get
back. This week has had its strengths and it has had its challenges. Of course
each strength is a spiritual boost and each trial is a spiritual commitment to
work harder and to rely on the Lord at all times. Each day, my faith increases. Whether that be from talking to
people, teaching lesson, receiving emails. Each day my faith increases a little
bit at a time and I am so thankful that it does.
Quick story. Me and Elder L. had the opportunity to go on
exchanges. I went on an exchange with Elder H. who is assigned to speak
Malay as his language while I am assigned Chinese. So, as we are contacting, if
the person speaks Malay, I have no idea what he and them are talking about.
While I talk in Chinese, he just gives me that face of "you said
what?" We just laugh about it and do the best that we can. However, as we
talk to others, the one language that we all can understand is the language of
the spirit. As we testified of these things to be true we all felt the spirit.
I have a testimony that the spirit will break down language
barriers and allow the Gospel to be shared. It is incredible to see the faces
of those people change to a desire to know more. As me and Elder H. were
deciding where to go next to contact, we offered a prayer. We told Heavenly Father
that we wanted to go visit Brother J. and talk with him. In that moment, the
spirit changed, it was as if he said, "No. You need to go toward Park City
Mall, and you need to right now." So, we did. As we did so, we met a young
man. We sat down with him and asked him about life. He told us he did not have
a religion and was more of a free thinker. We testified of our Heavenly Father
and told him that He knows us by name and has a plan for us to help us in our
lives here on Earth. He looked toward us and said that he wanted to feel God
again and was willing to meet.
I know that as we listen to the spirit, no matter what situation
or circumstance we are dealing with, we will always know what to do. We will be
able to rely fully upon the Lord and can trust him with where He would have us
go.
I always love miracles, but this one is just awesome and a
powerful lesson.
"The Wheels on the Bike go Round and Round."
Me and Elder L. were out contacting and as we were leaving a
neighborhood, Elder L.'s back tire goes completely flat and we are about a 2
hour walk from the house and we have an appointment in 45 minutes. We were
thinking about what to do, and I remembered a story from the MTC that the choir
director had told. (He has some cool stories!) He told us about a young man
who had to deliver parts from one town to the next. Between each town was a
stretch of just desert with many miles between. His transport was a scooter
that would get him to and from each town. On his journey to one town, in the
middle of the desert, his scooter died and stopped. He had many more miles to
go and so he got down on his knees and prayed. He stood up, his scooter started
right up and he was on his way. A couple minutes later, his scooter died again.
He thought to himself that he couldn't make it on time if he had to pray every
time to go. He then remembered something in Seminary from the Doctrine and
Covenants Section 25:12 which is; “For my soul delighteth in the song of the
heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be
answered with a blessing upon their heads.
"He said, "well maybe if I
sing, it will be like saying a continuous prayer." He sang and his scooter
started up. He kept singing. As he stopped the scooter started to die, and so
he kept going for hours. He described the scooter working better than before.
As he neared the town his voice gave out and so did his scooter. His prayer had
been answered.
Now some may question whether this story was actually true, but
let me tell you...
Now me and Elder L. had to be somewhere in 40 minutes with a
flat tire and a two hour walk ahead of us. We got down on our knees, we asked
Heavenly Father that according to our faith and our songs of the heart, to
please allow us to swiftly travel home on our bikes. We stood up.
We pumped up
the tire, we started singing with all the energy of our heart, and that tire
did not go flat the entire ride home. We pulled up to the driveway. Got off our
bikes. We stopped singing, and that tire went completely flat. My testimony of
singing praises unto the Lord is now evident in that experience. As we exercise
faith, he will provide miracles to follow. I am so thankful that I can do all
things through Christ which strengthens me physically and spiritually.
On the mission you learn, grow and are able to experience things
that you wouldn't have been able to. I love the Lord; I am blessed to be here
in Malaysia to experience these things. I know that each of us are children of
God and I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Love, Elder Shirley
We pumped up
the tire, we started singing with all the energy of our heart, and that tire
did not go flat the entire ride home. We pulled up to the driveway. Got off our
bikes. We stopped singing, and that tire went completely flat. My testimony of
singing praises unto the Lord is now evident in that experience. As we exercise
faith, he will provide miracles to follow. I am so thankful that I can do all
things through Christ which strengthens me physically and spiritually.
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