Hello family,
Life continues to get better here in Sandakan.
On Saturday, we had the baptismal service for Johnathon and Joseph Tiga. It was very nice. Joseph asked me to baptize him. I actually said the baptism .. um... I don't think you would call it a prayer or a blessing. Whatever you call it, I said it in Malay. Really, in Indonesian, but Indonesian is just malay that has been changed. Anyway, earlier in the week I asked Elder Dhillon what language he usually did baptisms in, and he said they had always done both baptisms and confirmations (except for the blessing after the confirmation) in english. We decided to change that up. We just got a copy of the missionary handbook in Indonesian (I think it just got translated), so we looked up what to say (I don't know where to get a Doctrine and Covenants in Indonesian).
It seemed like Joseph was very scared to get baptized. I remember what that was like. Do you remember? Do you remember how we had to have the interview in our living room because I cried and didn't want to go to church, and had to practice at the swimming pool before I got baptized? So I knew what Joseph was going through. Joseph was also very scared to bear his testimony in front of people afterwards. He had figured out what he wanted to say, but when he went up, he absolutely froze. It was very touching to see his father, unprompted, go up behind him and start whispering things in his ear.
On Thursday or Friday night, we were in Bandar (the center of town), and we were passing by Tiga Dawi's house on the way to our next appointment, and we saw that Tiga and his wife were sitting on the porch reading the Book of Mormon together. Wow.
I had some adventures this week. On Saturday, we were walking along a paved road looking for some people to talk to, when we came to a little dirt path about 2 feet wide leading off into the jungle. My companion decided to take that, and we climbed down a valley and across a creek and swung on vines and jumped between trees and killed an 8 foot python (well, maybe not those last three- that's just what I was imagining as we were doing the other two).
I think I tasted the most strange thing I have ever tasted in my life. Rosemary (Tiga's wife) had a pitcher with a dark-red liquid in it. I thought it was some kind of fruit punch. I tasted it, and it was kind of sweet, but it also had about a thousand flavors I didn't recognize. It's what they call "rose water"- rose petal extract diluted and mixed with sugar and water.
I heard James Dobson's weekly program in the grocery store. Colorado Springs is the greatest.
I'm glad you got my pictures. I had some more for you, but I forgot my camera today. I bought a USB card reader for 8 ringgit today (about $2.50 USD). Actually, I was going to get one for 50 ringgit at the camera shop, but it wasn't the right kind, and then I saw a computer store on the way to our internet cafe, and they had the perfect one. So, starting next week, I will be able to send you pictures.
I'm still struggling with my malay. My sign language, on the other hand, is getting great. I've learned to say just about anything I want with hand gestures and pointing. No, really, I'm doing all right with my language.
Yesterday, on the bus, a muslim girl asked me in english who we were, and I was able to explain to her in malay who we are and what we do. I was proud of myself. She was shocked that I spoke malay.
My body is adjusting very well to the temperature. I enjoy the heat a lot more than my native companion. I think it feels kind of good to exercise in the morning and have sweat rain out of my pores. I actually feel kind of cold sometimes. We have air conditioners in our room, so I have to sleep with two blankets most nights. One thing that was completely unneccessary, though, was a bath towel. It doesn't matter how well you dry yourself off after your shower, you're going to be soaked again by the time you get dressed.
When we went to the Hiews again, Sister Hiew said the same thing to me "Elder Muffler, after your mission you should marry someone in Sandakan." But this time she capped it off. "Maybe my daughter." My companion told me afterwards that it is a very normal thing, that she tells that to all the American elders. But she's (the mother) still so funny. This week, she was obsessed with the fact that she thought I looked too skinny. "Elder Muffler, you are too thin." "You are losing weight." "You need to eat until you are as big as Elder Dhillon." Don't worry, I'll be careful around them.
In reality, I have been steadily gaining weight. Nearly everything we eat here is fried. Also, all the investigators who have money give us cookies to eat. The big problem is that they refuse to eat more than the elders do, so if they want to eat, they will make sure that we eat more.
Yesterday, we went to a water village. The houses were built on wooden pillars that were cemented to the ocean floor. That was fun. We actually went to a Muslim compound right next to a mosque. Those are always the easiest, because we just ask the Muslims, "are there any Christians around here?" And they'll tell you the exact house they're in. In 2 hours we taught 5 lessons and got 12 new investigators. It was a good day. Going to the water village was really fun, because the people were super friendly.
All the kids think it's the coolest thing when they speak english with the orang putih. They run up to me and say "Hello. What is your name? My name is... " Sometimes they'll tell their friends "Orang putih! Orang putih!" (white person) and I'll say "Mana?" (where?) or "Saya? Saya orang biru." (Me? I'm a blue person.)
If everything goes well, we will have a baptism for each of the next 5 Saturdays.
Can you do me a huge favor and get a few addresses for me? I forgot to bring the addresses of Brady Bearnson, and Caleb Frisby, and Brandon Caywood, and the Lebarons. The only two addresses I have (of people my age) are of James Allen (his mission home) and Tami, just because I remember that one. Also, could you get Spencer Van Wagenen's mission address?
D&C 28:16 described my week pretty well. "And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen." The sound of rejoicing. Amen.
With love,
Elder Muffler
No comments:
Post a Comment