More Special Moments in Masai Branch

Since Elder Lamb was made the Branch President of the Masai Branch, he has been working to find members who have ordinances that have not been completed. 

We visited this family when the new baby was born and Sister Madline expressed a desire that both of her boys be given a name and  blessing

so they will be on the records of the church. 

Her mother-in-law, who is also a member, wanted her baby to have a name and blessing  

The elders performed these ordinances for them. 

When Christiano was baptized in December,

his little brother Valentino was sad because he didn't get a blessing. 

The Elders were able to give him a name and blessing in church last week. 

He was so happy when we delivered his certificate to him.

A Very Special Family Making Eternal Plans

Since we arrived in the mission field, we have been aware of the beautiful Taha family.  They are a great strength to the Masai Branch, and each are strong in their own special way. 

For a past few months we have been helping them prepare to go to the temple to receive their temple blessings and be sealed together as a family for eternity.  They have a strong desire to do this and we are finally at the stage where definite plans are being made and they will be able to go in June. 

The plan is to go to the Manila Philippines Temple. 

We will be able to go with them which is definitely a blessing for us.

Everyone is excited! 

Vianni Taha expressed a desire to serve a mission,

so the missionaries have been helping her a lot to prepare,

and then we began the process of completing her  Mission Application. 

It has been submitted and she is now waiting for her call

which should come in about a month. 

There is a lot going on for this family and they are definitely being blessed. 

I feel so honored and blessed to know and support them and to watch their progress as they prepare for these wonderful experiences ahead of them.

Blessings definitely come to us

as we serve as Member/Leader Support missionaries here in Malaysia.

April Memories - An Eventful Month So Far in Masai Branch

This month of April started out with changes in the Branch Presidency of the Masai Branch.  Elder Lamb was called as the new Branch President with two counselors, Bro Taha and Bro Ngaranter.  He will be training these brothers so they will be able to take over the leadership of the branch in a few months. 
Our calling as Member/ Leader Support missionaries, has taken on  new meaning.

It is always a treat to have President & Sister Simmons join us. 

President John was released after serving faithfully for over 6 years. 

His beautiful family are so supportive of the branch.

Bro. Taha, Bro Ngaranter, Elder Lamb and Bro Tan, clerk

were all set apart for their callings by President Simmons.

Our Masai Branch building was vacated by us and we are now temporarily meeting in the Swan Garden Hotel meeting rooms.  We will be getting another building by summer. This used to be our church, but it is now in the process of being a restaurant. 

They use it even though it is not completed.

The Swan Garden Hotel

I have been helping the branch get Primary going again.  The children have not been able to come to church for about three years, unless it was a school holiday.  We changed the time of church in February to 3:30-6:30pm.  It is working well because we are getting Primary children now and some parents who were not coming before.  Hopefully the new Branch Presidency can encourage some of the members to start attending again.  One of the young women in the branch was called as a Primary teacher, so I have been training her.  Her mother is the Primary President, but she cannot come too often because of her work schedule. Last Sunday I was able to let her conduct and she helped out during Primary.  It was great.  This room is a little awkward for Primary, but we make it work.

The children love playing Book of Mormon Bingo. 

Last week we had them practice singing "Did Jesus Really Live Again?" 

They sang it in Sacrament Meeting and it was so cute.  Their parents were happy. 

We had an Easter Activity at the park close to where our new chapel will be. 

It is a great park and will provide a space for lots of fun Branch Activities. 

Elders are hiding the eggs before the kids get here.

The Easter Egg Hunt was a success

President John and our new Counselor Bro Taha

The Elders planned some fun games and relays.  Everyone had such a great time. 

You can see from all of the smiles that it was a successful activity.

They all had fun coloring Easter Eggs with markers. 

Quite original I say!!

Sister Alan, Sister Lamb, and Sister Sira

The First of many  Branch activities to come.  What fun everyone had. 

We will hope for more people each time we have an activity. 

Our Last Baptism in Masai Building

We met this young man  Anncia, when we first arrived in Malaysia.  He is a friend to Brain Taha, whose family was one of the first we visited.  They are members of the Masai Branch.  Anncia is a great young man, who is very quiet and doesn't say much but he has come a long way since we first met him.  He had taken missionary lessons two years earlier, but was not baptized at that time.  

We are so happy that he made the decision to be baptized at this time

and we pray that he will continue to learn and grow as a member of the church.

Anncia was baptized by Elder Read. 

This was his first baptism and he is very excited and happy for Anncia.

Elder Duckworth confirmed him on Sunday.

President John, our branch president, welcomed  him as the newest member of the Masai Branch.

                                                                        We are proud of Anncia, and are happy to know him.

The Taha family treat him like a son and were so happy for him to be baptized.