Healing Blessings

This week we flew to Miri in Sarawak for a training

A shark!! Pretty EPIC!!!

Catch of the Day at a Miri fishmonger's stall 

Hello all!! 

This week FLEW by. It just seems to do that out here - you go out to work, and soon enough it's Monday again and I'm here writing you all!

This week was pretty great. On Monday, we played some basketball for the entire rest of P-day! The four elders in Tawau (Elder Chong, Elder Sutherland [the Chinese Elders] Elder Yang, and I) have some great team unity, and we can play hard and take on mostly anyone. It's pretty fun. 

I kinda forgot to mention this two weeks ago, but I got tonsillitis! I was feeling pretty sketchy at the end of preparation day on 10 March and so I just went to bed early.  In the morning I had a 102.8 degree fever. We called Sister Mains like we are supposed to when we are sick, and then she told me to go to the sketchy Malaysian hospital! So that was interesting. Turns out I just had tonsillitis and I got a couple of antibiotics. The crazy part was that the next day I was basically able to do missionary work, and then  the day after I was completely fine! So I guess missionaries really are healed fast. I'm down with that!

This week, I found out that Elder LaFontaine and I were the tools in the hands of God in healing a man, Brother Adai. Pretty legit. We met him weeks ago - and gave him a blessing that said if he would show the faith to go back to church, he would be healed. He's been coming regularly and about a month later, we visited him again this week and found out that rather than being still sick and close to death, he's completely healed. It's remarkable and miraculous. I know the hand of God was with us that night.

Well, in that same spirit, Elder Yang and I received a call on Tuesday night from Brother Kenneth - a very strong member in our branch who returned in November from his mission in the Philippines. He gave us a call and began to cry. His dad has a pretty bad infection and is getting worse and worse - he hasn't been able to go to work in over a week. We knew there was an issue but not to that extent, so we promised to come over that night. When we got there, I saw perhaps the most heartwrenching thing I have EVER seen. This poor man's leg was just rotting. It's puffed up and swollen and a lot more that I don't care to remember. But it was horrible. Brother Sagario said that he can't sleep because of the pain. I have rarely felt so much pity in my whole life. He is not a member of the church, but has recently decided he wants to learn. This week, we are going to go over and teach him for the first time so he can join his family in the church. We really feel this will strengthen his family, too. In the blessing I gave him, Brother Sagario was promised as he demonstrates to the Lord that he desires to follow Him, the Lord will pour out his blessings and heal him. I know that to be true after seeing Brother Adai healed as well. 

Our week this week got a little bit kacau-ed, or messed up, because of New Missionary Training in Miri, Sarawak! It was incredible to see tons of Christian people around - in Sabah (where I'm serving), the vast majority is Muslim, but in Sarawak, Christian natives called Ibans are most populous. So it was cool to see all of them. We had a great training meeting, and Elder Yang and I found many ways we can improve as a companionship and help Tawau Branch to grow.

We got back late Saturday night, after following the Miri Elders and the Assistants all day Friday.  We got two referrals from a less-active that Sister Tina, the "missionary mom" in Tawau, helped us find. We didn't see any new investigators this week, and we only have a half week this week because of District Conference in Kota Kinabulu followed by Zone Conference next week in Singapore haha but we are hopeful the break will do us some good. Pray for us to find more people to bring unto Christ!!

Love you all! I really appreciate the verse Doctrine and Covenants 123:17: 

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we  stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

I especially like this verse because it was given to Joseph Smith while he was in Liberty Jail! He had been suffering so much while staying there, and though his faith began to dwindle a bit, the Lord comforted him and humbled him as well. I know that as we do all we can, we will see the Lord extending His arm and working alongside us. No matter where you are, or if you are member of our faith or not, pray that you can lift people around you up and serve them as Christ would - and I know you will find ways to do just that.

Love you all again!

Elder Clay Coleman

PS: Funny Malaysian find of the week: "Arabian Fried Chicken" instead of KFC. Hahahaha!

Something I sent Elder C to make him laugh. He replied, "I'm dying over here!"