GLADSTONE MIRACLE
This
whole experience has been so amazing and spiritual. Just after we
arrived in Gladstone, while working out at the Fun and Fitness course,
we met this wonderful man from Malaysia. Elder Fenton and I were both
impressed to speak to him and felt such a good spirit about him. We
quickly found our communication was by feelings and hugs. He spoke
Malaysian and Mandarin Chinese and we spoke only English. HE pointed
to my name tag and said "my friend, my friend". We saw him almost
every day and were praying for a miracle - an Elder or Sister sent to
Gladstone to teach our friend.
One miracle occurred when our
prayers were answered and a young member moved to our branch - Edward.
He was from Taiwan and spoke Mandarin Chinese! Edward had been a member
8 months and attended the discussions to help translate. He also had
limited ability to speak English but could understand it well. We began
seeing small steps in our communication and huge steps in feeling the
spirit. We also enlisted the help of some Mandarin speaking elders in
the Brisbane area. We were directed to Elder Bellingham with his
wonderful teaching abilities and his mastery of the Chinese language.
Weekly phone calls were made and lessons taught, Sis Pangue and Sis
Kyaw also joined us at the church and even though we didn't understand
what was being said we truly felt the spirit of the Holy Ghost testify
and touch our hearts. If you can, picture this - we have an
investigator from Malaysia, a member from Taiwan, an Elder from
Singapore, a Sister from Philippians, a Sister from Myanmar and Elder
and Sister Fenton from America. It was so amazing to feel the spirit as
we taught. After each lesson we spent about 30 minutes teaching this
wonderful investigator and Edward English. Our sisters used the Primary
songs as a resource to teach them English. We began to be able to
communicate with brief statements. Edward was only here about 4 weeks
and we were not about to lose our investigator - we kept praying for
another miracle. Elder Fenton felt inspired to get a web cam and
speakers set up in the Gladstone building and Eight Mile Plains where
Elder Low, who had replaced Elder Bellingham, was serving. Brother
Nelson helped with the setup in Brisbane. We began teaching again with
Elder Low, Elder Allan and Elder Hilyard. It was such a blessing to
see and be able to communicate via Skype. He was challenged to baptism
but felt he just didn't know enough yet. The lessons continued.
Transfers came and Sis Pangue was replaced by Sis Schaelling.
He
has attend Sacrament meeting almost every Sunday since we began
teaching him. He can only attend for 50 minutes due to his work
schedule. He told Elder Low that he didn't understand much at church
but he really feels good and is happy when he is there. He has also
shared that for months he had a hard time sleeping due to worries and
pressures. After we taught him to pray, he prayed for peace so that he
could sleep. He testified to us that the Lord had answered his prayers
and he has received a peace he has never felt before. He expressed a
great desire to change after that experience. He also shared that he
has always had a runny nose with lots of congestion, as soon as he
started living the word of wisdom the congestion and runny nose were
healed. He contacted his mother and sister and shared with them the
experiences and feelings he was having. They were happy for his changes
and committed to support him.
The Elders again challenged our
investigator for baptism, he committed to pray about it. By this time
Elder Low had invited Katrina, a member from the Brisbane area to help
teach the discussions. She also was Chinese and could teach in Mandarin
Chinese. When he came to the next discussion he said that although he
didn't understand everything, he had a strong feeling that this is
right and he needed to commit and accept the gospel. Yet another
miracle from our loving Heavenly Father.
On Monday, 11
November, 2013, this wonderful man was baptized a member of the Church
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In order to make
sure he understood the baptismal service it was also held via Skype.
Prayers were offered in the Gladstone chapel in English by the Sister
missionaries. Music was also performed in English. Katrina gave the
Baptismal talk in Mandarin Chinese from Brisbane, and Elder Low gave a
talk about the Holy Ghost , also from the Brisbane area. Everyone
present felt the spirit as they participated in the Baptismal service.
Elder Fenton then baptized him. Words can not describe the feelings and
love that was felt between those two men. The Sisters then sang, "I
Know Heavenly Father Loves Me" - a song they had taught to him and he
had sung with them many times. It was very touching.
On Sunday,
17 November, 2013, he was confirmed in Sacrament Meeting by Elder
Fenton. He was promised great blessings that await him as he grows in
the gospel. Many miracles were witnessed over the 8 months we taught
him. Heavenly Father is preparing him to bless his family as well as
the people of Malaysia.
This new member continues to grow and
learn. He is preparing the receive the Aaronic Priesthood. We have
felt the great love Heavenly Father has for him. We love him as well
and are so grateful to have been a part of such a great miracle. Elder
& Sister Fenton
It is MANGO SEASON in Australia and we are enjoying the abundance of this delicious fruit. We love fresh mango with lime, creamy mango yogurt, smooth mango puree on Pavlova, mango salsa, frozen mango in our smoothies, and mango just poked fresh on a fork. The secret to cutting mangoes took me a few tries, but now we can cut it, score it and eat it straight from the skin. 
