Sunday, December 2, 2007

Letter from Salt Lake City, Utah

Saturday, 8 March 2008

The letter! Today, I felt like copying the letter dated 4 September 2007, calling Lian to serve, here. She had faxed to me on the 17 September.....

Dear Sister Liew:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the California Riverside Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah on Tuesday, 27 November 2007. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your mission president may modify your specific assignment according to the needs of the mission.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happinesss than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.

You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your branch president.

Sincerely,
(Signed Gordon B. Hinckley)
President


Saturday, 8 September 2007

There was a message to be read on my cellphone!. It was already past 7 am when I noticed it. I heard a message alert tone in the middle of the night, but didn't bother to check. I had just returned home to Yuma at 9:30 Friday night and I was too tired. I told Mike that if it was urgent, the person would call.

I was hoping that Lian would get her call while I was in Malaysia in August so that I could see her off. I would really want to but I couldn't stay as the time passes. There was no indication when.

Lian said she got a letter from Salt Lake City, which she believed was her mission call. Initially she wanted to open the letter with her close friends Saturday night but decided that she would open the letter with the Kuala Lumpur Branch President. I told her to phone me when she returned home from the church, regardless of what time it would be here in Yuma.

It was about 9 pm when Lian texted to say she has been called to the California Riverside Mission. She has texted from the church. It was about 12:00 noon Sunday morning in Kuala Lumpur then.

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