Hi Family!
It was so fun to talk to you all on
Christmas!! I was really looking forward to it, and I'm glad I was able to see
you again! I know the time was short, but thanks for letting me in on
your Christmas night!
This Christmas was very merry, for
the four of us in Johor Bahru (Me, Elder Mitchell, Elder Durrant, Elder
Lundahl-Wolford.) We opened the presents under our Christmas tree first
thing in the morning, and delighted in our spoils for a little while before personal
study. We ate too much chocolate - I found a really yummy fruit-chocolate
blend, in a classic Malaysian flavor: Jackfruit. Look it up - and then
ate too much good food at Elder and Sister Schollenberger's apartment, and then
at the home of our previous Elders Quorum President, where the members gathered
for a Christmas feast.
We had a white Christmas, after
all!! One simply amazing investigator, the girl who I taught a little
last January, code named Irene, and her mother were baptized on Christmas
Eve!!! Their baptism service was wonderful, and everything went
smoothly. They bore moving testimonies at the end of the service, and
seemed happier than I'd ever seen them. Irene's father came back from
Indonesia to see their baptism, and a couple of the family's friends came to
support them. On Sunday, I was surprised and honored when Irene asked me
to confirm her. It was a very spiritual experience, seeing her and her
mother become members of the Church and begin walking the covenant path!
I'm glad that I could be a small part of it. I feel more like an
observer, really, just cheering them on and supporting them.
Right now, I'm teaching two
promising investigators: Frank and Sally. They aren't related in any way, and
they've both been Christians for a long time. Frank was treated rather
poorly at his previous church. The pastor approached him and told him he
couldn't be bald because it might look like he was a monk, not a
Christian. Frank basically taught us the gospel of Jesus Christ this past
week, and he's looking forward to a baptismal date in January!
Sally is very timid, but faithful in
reading the scriptures. She always appears to have something bothering
her, and she looks a little sad, but she's beginning to laugh and open up a
little bit as she meets with us. We hope to help her choose a baptismal
date soon, as well. I'll keep you updated.
Well, time's almost up, but I want
you to know that I love you all so much, and I hope you have a fantastic new
year! Any resolutions? I'd love to hear about them. I feel
strongly that our resolutions, if set with a purpose, will really help us to
become better people, come closer to Jesus Christ, and find the things we are
truly searching for in our life. I encourage you to think about what
Elder Ballard says:
“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn
how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part
of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a
goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains
in this life.”
Love and 新年快樂!
Brennan
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