M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Miracles in Malaysia
by Susan Seet

The year was 1994. My husband, Michael, and I were leading a worldly lifestyle. He was holding two jobs and I was teaching during the day and going to law school at night. Life was too hectic for us to enjoy anything.

My sister, Lillian had recently been widowed. Michael and I knew that she was hurting badly so we visited her often and even accompanied her to her church. It was the LDS Church. She had been baptized into it eight years before.

Soon after our visiting the church with Lillian, two elders were sent by the mission to our little historical town of Melaka in Malaysia. We were wearied by the elders at first and even hid from them, however, in no time, we became fast friends. We felt sorry for these two American young men who had nobody. There were no members and they were so far away from home.

Invitation to a Very Small Sacrament Meeting
They invited us to their sacrament meeting one day and we agreed. Sacrament meeting was held in their apartment. They did not even have chairs, so we sat on a bed. Week after week, there was just the four of us. We started asking them questions and they asked us to take the six discussions.

During one of the discussions, we were taught the principle of tithing and we both felt that it was right. We went home and discussed it and decided that if we felt a teaching to be correct, then the right thing to do was to act on it.

We decided to pay our first tithe even though we were not baptized yet. ---The only problem was that we had spent our income without planning for a 10% tithe and if we were to go ahead, we would not have enough money for food for the rest of the month. ----It was a tough decision but we decided to go by faith.

Miraculously, we survived the month because my father visited us often and brought us plenty of food. We then had our first testimony of tithing and this has never been a challenge to us ever since. We continued to act upon everything that we were taught and felt to be right.

Everything that the missionaries taught us was very acceptable to me, as I was hungry for something more in my life. That which was seriously lacking in my life, I now seemed to have found.

Disagreements
It was harder for Michael to completely accept that this was the only true church and we used to have huge disagreements, especially on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings which made it extremely difficult for us to get to church. However, we always seemed to make it there somehow. It was so amazing that the elders would invariably talk about something that we had been arguing about even though we had never told them about it. The spirit was so strong, always, and tears would flow freely. [During this time, there was a lot of communication between the elders and my sister Lillian, without our knowledge.]

I was sure that I had found that missing piece in my life and was ready to be baptized but it was not so with Michael. We had more arguments as a result. One day, however, he came home from work and ---to my surprise announced that he wanted to be baptized too! ---While driving home, he had a vision of us. In the vision we were members of the church and we were very happy!

Baptism
The elders set the date for November 5th. We had our biggest argument on November 4th, over nothing! Somehow, we decided to kneel down and pray together and as we were doing so, all the anger and negative feelings just left us and we could not figure out what we had been arguing about. Little did we know why the adversary had been working overtime on us.

We were baptized and at about the same time, a missionary couple was sent to our little town and a few months later another family moved in. With two families, a branch was formed and Michael was called as the branch president. It was quite overwhelming, as we were so new in the church. However, the missionaries continued to teach and train us. As a result of this, we developed such good relationships with them that whenever one of them was transferred, there would be so much pain and an overflowing of tears.

I recall a new couple who had just come to our branch telling me, "Susan, the previous couple told me that you said you're not gonna love the new couple because it's too painful for you. Is that true?" and I said, "Yes, but look at what you've done? You've totally spoiled my plans!" ---To this day, we keep in touch with most of them. We feel so happy every time one of them writes and announces a wedding or a baby or another mission and we share their sorrow when tragedy strikes.

Michael and I spent a lot of time reading from manuals and whatever church materials we could lay our hands on. We thought we were hungry, but we were practically starving. One couple described us as sponges trying to absorb everything.

Becoming Parents
One day, Michael read a quote by President Kimball stating that putting off parenting for the sake of studies or career was a form of idolatry. ---He thought about us and shared what he had read with me. I knew then that I had a big decision to make. I remember taking one whole day, praying and studying it out in my mind before I decided that I would give up law school to start a family. Michael agreed with me and almost a year later, our son Matthew (named after the first missionary who taught us) was born. His Chinese name is Jing Wei, meaning defender of the scriptures.

When Matthew was born, we decided that I would quit my teaching job to be a full time homemaker, just as the church teaches. This decision drew lots of criticism especially from Michael's side of the family and most of our friends. ---Since Michael's sole income would not be able to sustain us, Michael also had to quit his job to look for a better paying one. Most people thought we were either stupid or crazy or both. In the scriptures, the Lord promised us that if we would do the things that He wants us to, He would provide a way and He did. Michael was able to provide for us with his new job.

When Matthew turned one, we made plans to go to our nearest temple, the Manila Philippines Temple. Lillian went with us and it was such a wonderful experience especially when we were sealed together and when Matthew was brought in to be sealed to us.

As we continued to learn, progress and serve, my niece Claire, who was staying with us was observing us and learning as well. Claire wanted to be baptized, but she could not get her parents' consent. When she turned eighteen, however, she was baptized. Today, she is serving a mission in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She cycles about 15 kilometers a day. She is working so hard and touching so many lives. We are very proud of her.

After Claire was baptized, her boyfriend Kee Wee was also exposed to the gospel and got baptized. He served a mission in Taipei, Taiwan and just returned with honor a few weeks ago. His mission president commented that he was an outstanding missionary. Countless lives have been touched by this valiant young man. We were just so proud to have been able to play a small role in his life.

My father Samuel, who was also staying with us, got baptized after Kee Wee. He was 71 years old at that time. He does not speak or understand a word of English but he has faithfully attended church all this time. We do not have a Mandarin branch, all is in English, but he was able to say prayers, bless the sacrament, sing the church hymns and read his church manuals and other materials in Mandarin. He is now 75 and is planning on going to the Taipei Taiwan Temple to serve as an ordinance worker and then return home with his proud granddaughter, Claire. He is not able to serve a regular mission, as he is a widower.

Michael and I later had another son, Andrew (named after the second missionary who came to Melaka and taught us). His Chinese name is De Wei, which means defender of virtues. Just before Andrew was born, Michael was retrenched from work and it was four months of refining and living by faith. Michael later got a better job but we will never forget the things that we learned during that ordeal. We have become more compassionate, more generous, more understanding and more grateful.

An Amazing Miracle
Sometime after this, something really wonderful happened. My uncle (my father's younger brother) who had just returned from one of his trips to visit our relatives in China, brought us a book. It was all written in ancient Mandarin and my father could not really make out what it was so he showed it to me. At first, I too did not know what it was but as I slowly studied it, I realized it was a record of my father's ancestors! If I am not mistaken, we have information on eighteen generations! ---I often wondered when I was growing up, why my parents had sent me to a Mandarin-medium school when all my siblings were sent to English-medium schools. Well, now I know! What a tremendous blessing this was. Our hearts were filled with so much gratitude. We made copies of the book and sent it to be translated. When we went to the Hong Kong Temple with my father for his endowment, we had the opportunity to do work for some of our ancestors. We can feel the love for our ancestors even though we only have names and dates to look at.

Just before our third son Brian (named after the third missionary who came to Melaka and taught us) was born, Michael was offered a better job but this required us to move to the city of Kuala Lumpur. I have never been one who likes to live in the big city so I was very undecided about this. One day after praying about it, I was prompted to read the scriptures from where I had left off the day before. When I opened my Book of Mormon, I knew I had my answer because it was the chapter about Lehi moving his family from Jerusalem! The Lord has never failed to help Michael get a better job so that he can provide for us, as our family grows larger. We have a very strong testimony of this. By the way, Brian's Chinese name is Song Wei, which means defender of the mountain (as in mountain of the Lord).

There have been so many spiritual experiences in our lives that there is not the time or space to share with you. Of this, one of our church leaders who has known us since before we joined the church told us that he is so amazed at all the things that have happened in our lives. It is like the Lord is trying to teach us 30 years of lessons in 3 years. We are so grateful for all that we have learned and for all the blessings that have come into our lives because of the gospel. We love our three beautiful boys so much and we are working hard to bring them up the right way by changing ourselves to be the best that we can be. We pray that they will grow up to be valiant young men like their namesakes and follow in the footsteps of their cousins and grandfather --and serve. We want to make it to the celestial kingdom and we are trying our best to do it one day at a time --and we want to bring as many others as possible with us.

In fulfillment of the vision that Michael had, we are indeed happy.

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