Miracles
in Malaysia
by
Susan Seet
Susan
and Michael with the Elders who taught them the Gospel, Elder Andrew
Confer and Elder Mathew Wall.
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!
Susan
and Michael with Elder Brian Ashby who also helped teach them the
truths of the Gospel.Susan and Michael with Elder Brian Ashby who
also helped teach them the truths of the Gospel.
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.
The
Seets three boys, named for the missionaries who taught them, Andrew
Seet De Wei, Brian Seet Song Wei, and Mathew Seet Jing Wei.
"As a result of the gospel, my relationship with my husband
improved tremendously, when we centered our lives on Christ and
now we have three beautiful boys who we are training in the ways
of the Lord to follow their cousin and grandpa's footsteps to serve
missions. I love missionaries and wonderful work that they do."
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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