AREA 5- Malta

Malta:  Where many are cold, but few are frozen.

     When I first went to Malta, I didn't like it, at all.  I considered it "Cold Exile." I was less than excited when my companion and I were driving along the high-line of Montana from Great Falls to Havre to malta.  Not to mention we had to spend an extra day in Havre because we didn't have the car keys.
I made a joke that the Lord had an extra can of "ugly" He needed to use when He was creating the high-line.  And though the environment was hostile, when I got to Malta I was glad to see that people DID live there.  But I was even more glad to discover how great those people are.
     Malta is a bitter-sweet area for me.  While I was there, the Adversary was hitting, hard.  So much happened there that gave hard memories to me.
But because of that, I was taught some things by the Lord.
     No matter how rough our circumstances are, the Lord blesses us with relief.  In my case, He blessed me to get to know some great people, one family in particular,  who helped me keep smiling. 
In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 24: 14, the Lord lets us know a very important lesson.
"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."
      Notice how it does not mention anywhere in there that the Lord will take our burdens away.  Instead, he gives us strength to overcome.
That strength can come from a variety of different sources; in my case that source is people.
In Malta, I was blessed with amazing people that were right next to me during all of those unpleasant times the adversary hit.  One occasion in particular, right when I needed help and was praying to the Lord for some, the phone rang and one of the members of the branch was right around the corner heading my way.
      I have always had a concept of God visiting His people in their trials, but there are times when all of us forget.  And the Lord was patient with me and decided to remind me.  I remember on especially cold day walking through Malta and thinking of the challenges that I had seen there.  I remember my mind being so caught up in all the stress which had been and still does affect my sleep on occasion.  At this time, I couldn't stop a few tears from coming to my eye.
And then the tears froze in the sub-zero weather and my eyes were glued closed.  Oh crap!
My companion was walking right behind me but I didn't let him see me do that.
After I peeled my eyes open again and tried to slow my brain down (didn't work) our telephone just happened to ring and our branch mission-leader brightened the day right up.
     That was my sign that no matter where you are, the Lord will always answer prayers.  Even in the middle of nowhere, Malta.  I am grateful that the Lord sent me there!  I am so grateful for the Malta lesson, for the experiences I had there (even some that were not pleasant, but I learned a lot from them) and for the amazing people that I met in Malta.
My time up there was pretty short, but maybe the Lord will send me back for a 2nd tour of duty.  Stranger things have happened!