I Wanna Kno-o-ow, Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

To All Y'all:

What is up, my friends? I hope that this past week has been good to you. As for us here in Malaysia, we've been soaked to the bone MULTIPLE TIMES. :) It rains cats and dogs at least once every day :) It's pretty awesome. Rumors are that once Chinese New Year comes and goes, the rain will not be as fierce. Speaking of Chinese New Year: It's this week! I'm super stoked! There are going to be lots of fireworks and lots of food and it's gonna be one big party for the next two weeks :)

This past week we experienced a pretty kool miracle. We had THREE less active lessons in one day! For some missionaries and in some missions that number might not be significant, but for this mission and for this area it was a pretty big deal. I attribute it all to a decision that was made earlier that day and the night before: Me and my companion decided to turn things over to the Lord.

The Lord's been teaching me this lesson for some time now. The past few nights I've been praying specifically for the ability to love the Lord more than anything or anyone else; for the ability to have that pure love, even charity, fill and swell within my heart and pour out onto all other aspects of my life. He's answered my prayer! I have felt happier and more uplifted and stronger than I have in some time. I don't really know how to put this feeling into words: It's like being in a place that you've been before, nice and comfortable and warm and safe, after a long journey. Maybe it's like coming home after a gloomy, rainy day and sitting down in front of the fireplace to dry off. Maybe it's like a hug from an old friend. Or maybe it's like sitting in the sunshine on a Sunday afternoon, listening to Sounds of the Sabbath in the background. Perhaps it's like taking a hike through the rolling hills of the Sawtooth Mountains with your brother, seeing the grandeur and beauty of God's creations. Maybe it's like the feeling of coming home to be with family and friends again after a long week of studies at BYU.

Maybe it's a feeling that is so unique to every individual that my vain attempts to put it into words are just that: vain. The Lord works with each of us individually, His Atonement is a personal power, and His love for us is so unique that what I feel is certainly not what you might be feeling as He opens the windows of heaven and blesses your soul. However, no matter how God communicates with you the indescribable, unfathomable, and neverending love He truly does have for you, I know that He DOES and WILL communicate it to you. I know that as you ask Him, "with all the energy of soul" as we learn from Moroni 7:45-48, to fill you with this love, you will FEEL it :) You will see the difference in your lives. You will know the difference in your heart, in your mind, in your thoughts. For me, this has to be the greatest and most convincing evidence of the divinity of God, the divinity of this work, and the reality of the things we teach and talk about every day. It passes all my understanding :)

I love you all, and pray for you. I know that the Lord will watch over and protect you. I know that He is very aware of all of our circumstances and situations. I know that He wishes to bless us with peace and with love, and we can have that blessing if we will but ask for it and strive to be worthy of it. 

I know that He loves you, and that He is our Father in Heaven. :)
I love you all, and look forward to chatting again!

May God be with y'all,

Mai Zhanglao :)