Mother's Day Call - 10 May 2008

We were excited to speak with Elder Muffler this evening (Sunday morning his time). We were able to speak for one hour. He is doing great.

This coming week, he has a zone conference that he has to fly to in Kota Kinabulu (KK). From there, he has to fly back to Singapore for his Visa run (yes, it has almost been 90 days that he has been in Malaysia).

He told us that the church is not recognized as a church in Malaysia. Instead, it is the Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, he is on a business Visa, and it has to be renewed every 90 days.

He seems to be adjusting well to the culture, and is slowly but surely picking up the language. Right now, he says that he understands the language pretty fully, but is still not sure of himself when speaking. His native West Malaysian companion, Elder Dhillon is very helpful to him with the language. As for the culture, he sees the stark differences from home and serving in a third world country, and the great poverty that is all around him.

He has air conditioning in his apartment bedroom, and is actually kind of cold at night (even though it is often 80 degrees plus outside during the night time). But, he uses 2 blankets, and that keeps him warm enough.

He mentioned that he falls asleep on buses and in taxis that he rides in fairly often. But, his companion wakes him as they arrive at their stop. That is the Adam that we know and love.

The branch he is serving in has about 60 people coming each week, about 20-30 of those are youth, most of whose parents do not attend at this point. There are enough young men to bless and pass the sacrament in their meetings. Most of the people have to take a bus to get to church. That makes it difficult for church activities during the week, because bus service stops at 7PM, so they would have no way to get home.

The drinking water is quite safe in his area. They have a water filter in their apartment to filter out the metals, and he drinks that water. For a shower, they have a hose with a pump and water heater on it stuck to the wall in the bathroom, with a drain in the floor of the bathroom. Not really a separate shower facility.

He said he has gained weight on the mission, as he is fed by everyone they visit, and it is considered rude to refuse something. Then, when they are served a meal, the host/hostess will come around and fill up the plates again while they are still eating before they have a chance to refuse. He does eat most meals in restaurants, however. His favorite restaurant is a Chinese restaurant that has duck and pork. On Sundays, since the Beczuks left the area, he cooks his own meal, some pasta with Ragu. His companion usually buys a meal on Saturday night and has it for leftovers on Sunday.

He said he owns the sarong that he was wearing in the pictures that he sent. It is common for men in Malaysia to wear them. His companion owns one and wears it instead of shorts.

He said that transfers are rare in his mission, and he will serve in this area for a long time. It seems that because of the visa restrictions, etc, and the cultural sensitivities, they like to keep them in one area for a long time. And, that is good, because he seems to work well with his companion.

It was great to be able to speak with him, he is in good spirits and seems to be growing from the experience.