Week 12 - Branching Out

Apa Khabar!

I forgot my journal, so I actually have no idea what happened this week. So, this email might be a bit shorter.

This week was Branch Conference! It would be called Stake Conference if we had a stake. But we love our branches! There are three branches in Miri, and then three branches in Bintulu. Bintulu is about a three hour drive from Miri, but they rented a really big bus, and bused most the members to Miri. Some people did drive themselves. But the fact that three branches could fit onto one bus says a lot about the size of the branches.

I heard that my home stake had Stake Conference this weekend too. It's crazy to think how connected the church is across the world. We have Stake/Branch Conference the same weekend. The theme of our Branch Conference was the same as my home stakes, ministering and the importance of. We had a member of the 70 there. AND, did you know that the wifi password for the church in Miri is Pioneer47? It really is all the Lords church, no matter where in the world it is. The prophet is doing a good job.

It was fun to have everyone there. It was like a big family reunion even though not everyone spoke the same language. The conference was in Malay, so the Chinese branches had a translator for them. And the member of the 70, Wisit Khanakam from Thailand, spoke in English and had to have a translator to translate what he said to Malay.

Wisit Khanakam has an amazing story, you should all look him up on lds.org and read about him. He shared a little of his story in the conference and it is so powerful. He has such a strong testimony, and you can feel it when he walks into the room. At one point after Branch Conference, Sister Ray and I walked into a room to give the mission president some baptismal records. They were waiting for a meeting to start, and the only other people in the room was Elder Khanakam and I. So while my companion spoke to the mission president, I had a casual conversation with a member of the Quorum of the Seventy.

What an amazing experience! He is a soft spoken man, and was so worried if I understood his English. He asked me how I was doing in the mission, how long I had been out, how my language was coming. He even gave me some tips on missionary work, and thanked me for choosing to serve. I was having a rough day trying to stay positive. But I felt like it was such a tender mercy. God literally sent one of his servants to thank me for what I was doing, and to be patient with myself.

Have I told you once or twice that God loves you, is aware of you, and will reach out to you?

One of the things I have been thinking about this week is temples. We have all heard that we should be grateful for how close we live to a temple, when others don't have a temple in their country, and save up their whole life to go. And yes, I understand that but...

Recently, I have sat down with families, that barely have a roof over their head, and told them that they need to go the the temple to be with their family forever.

I have looked little girls in the eyes, and told them they need to get married in the temple to go to the celestial kingdom and have eternal families.

The nearest temple is in the Philippines.

I wish I had gone to the temple more when it was a twenty minute drive from my house. I remember the feelings of peace, the complete joy that comes from going to the Lords house and feeling him encircle you in the arms of his love. Those divine feelings that I had the opportunity to have on any casual afternoon, is a once in a life time experience for others.

Go to the temple this week. Not because others in the world will spend their whole life saving up for the opportunity. But because you want to be closer to your God, who has blessed you beyond what you know. 

Kind of a different email than what I usually send. I hope you didn't get bored and skip to the end. I love you all. Have a really good week!

Sister Skinner