Letter #20 - Week of 25 June 2008 - New companion next week

Hello,

I'm very tired today, so sorry if this is short and kind of boring.

Elder Dhillon and I just took Elder and Sister Morrey to the Orangutan sanctuary (we didn't go in, we just let the Morreys go while we waited outside). Then, we went to the Rainforest Discovery Center.

Elder Dhillon is getting transferred on monday to Bintulu. He's getting replaced by a missionary by the name of Elder Howes.

I think it's going to be a stressful week. I don't know as much as I ought to about the area. I don't pay that much attention.

Dragon fruit was excellent. Most delicious thing I have had for a while. I'm going to try and find some more today.

So Ben, how are you enjoying the golf course? I remember my first summer was very hard to learn everything, but also very fun.

Friday night, we had a great branch activity. It was a barbecue. One of the members was assigned to get a bunch of meat. He went to the market and got some and marinated it over night and brought it. They had a big barbecue pit, and at 7:15 or 7:30 (the activity was supposed to start at 7:00), the young men finally tried to start the fire. After about a half an hour, they had a few coals going. Then, our recent convert, Tiga, and our investigator, Maja Pang, stepped in, and before a few minutes had passed, they had the fire burning hot and they were cooking meat. It was really fun to see them step in and be involved like that. Misdi and a friend he brought also helped to cook.

Thanks for the addresses and news from home.

Sincerely,
Elder Muffler

Letter #19 - Week of 18 June 2008 - Gift of Tongues, Durian Ice Cream, and Dragon Fruit

Hello family,

I've had another great week in Sandakan.

Last Wednesday, we went to give Misdi one of the recent convert lessons, Priesthood and Auxiliaries. We took Elder Morrey with us (we didn't take Sister Morrey because she was feeling sick that day, and she is having a very hard time adjusting, so I don't think bringing her there would be the best thing). After we had talked with Misdi and said an opening prayer, Elder Dhillon turned to me and said "Why don't you teach about the Aaronic Priesthood?" Now, this had happened before. Usually, I'll struggle through a few simple sentences, while the people I am teaching stare at me, nod, and smile. I don't think I ever make much sense. But on this occasion, I was surprised when, as I opened my mouth, an understandable lesson came out. I could explain the purpose of the priesthood, and the duties of the offices of the Aaronic Priesthood in comprehensible malay. And Misdi understood me. The thing that amazed me even more than having the gift of tongues for a moment, was that I don't know that lesson in English very well. I certainly couldn't have explained it as simply as I did for Misdi (Since he is uneducated, Misdi needs very simple explanations). I could feel the power of God working through me that night.

Esperanza is in really a sticky situation right now. It's a long story. Jose and Esperanza are not married. They're both illegal immigrants from the Phillipines, so they cannot get married in Malaysia. Esperanza was married once before in the Phillipines, so due to the heavy Catholic influence, it's doubtful she would be able to remarry someone else. So, for now, we will have to stop teaching them because they cannot progress toward being baptized. We've encouraged them to come to church- which Esperanza did this Sunday. We plan on having Elder and Sister Morrey visit them occasionally, so maybe they would decide to seperate , or take the necessary measures to be married, so they could be baptized.

I don't think I ever told you- I ate durian flavored ice cream at a branch activity a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what you know about durian, but they call it the king of all fruits. You either absolutely hate it or absolutely love it, and right now, I'm leaning toward the former. I'm still not sure, though. I'll have to try the real thing. Elder Dhillon thought I would really like it, because you can usually tell whether you like the taste based on how you feel about the odor. Durian emits a strong odor that some people can smell a mile away. To some people, like me, the odor just smells fruity. Others think it smells like dung. For that reason, all the Singapore underground trains have signs "No smoking. No pets. No eating or drinking. No durians."

I've got some dragon fruits today. I had a little extra money from the last week, so I thought I would try some new fruits. Budgeting works well.

Elder and Sister Morrey have been having us over for lunch on Sunday, Tuesday (because of our District meetings), and Friday (because of language classes that we have). I've realized I can't handle as much food as I used to. Since I eat more than I should during those lunches, I've just been getting less and less hungry, and have put on a couple of pounds. It's all good, though. I just need to control myself better.

Those dragon fruits are looking really good right now. I'm excited.

I went on a quest to find some parmesean cheese today. No success. We went to a grocery store that specializes in imported stuff, but they didn't have any.

We were showing the Morreys where Sheila (the less active whose dog bit me) lives. I noticed something was missing. My beloved dog wasn't there. I'll admit, it worried me at first, because if the dog wasn't chained where I could see it, it could be doing a lot worse things than barking at me. No one was home, but as we went to leave, we saw one of Sheila's young sons. Elder Dhillon asked him where the dog was. "Dead" was his reply. Sad day. We didn't find out any of the details.

You know, I used to buy dragon fruit juice drinks. They were delicious. Ben thought they tasted like cough syrup, but I loved them.

Speaking of, good luck on your drivers test, Ben. Ben with a driver's license ... I'm glad I'm in Malaysia. haha.

Brandon sent me an email today telling me about all sorts of things. He said that Brady and Steven got in an accident, that they're okay but a bit shaken up. If you ever see them, tell them ... well, I'm not sure what I would want you to tell them. Just tell them hello, I guess.

Oh man, I'm having dragon fruit tonight!

Ooh, one more thing. You remember that phone bill from when I called after Grandpa died. Well, I tried hard to track that thing down. I finally got ahold of the bill from that month. The phone call didn't show up on that bill (or any other bill as far as we can tell). We asked the phone company about it, and they have no record that the phone call ever took place. So now, I can rest in peace.

Gotta go.
Love,
Elder Muffler

Editor's Note: I found these pictures posted on the internet of signs prohibiting Durian Fruit on the Singapore Subway System:

Letter #18 - Week of 11 June 2008 - Elder Dhillon flu and new Senior Couple

Hello family,

This last week was actually quite boring. Elder Dhillon caught the flu, and so we've spent a lot of time at home. We have gotten out a little, though.

On Thursday, we were doing a weekly planning session, when I mentioned that one of the members hadn't come to church on Sunday, which she had promised to do. She had been in a lumber camp deep in the jungle for a week or so, but she was supposed to be back. So, Elder Dhillon called her up. A different woman picked up the phone. It was Esperanza, who happens to be the cousin of the first woman who was baptized when we got here. Esperanza is good friends with Rolita, who we were trying to call. Esparanza told us that Rolita was very sick after she came back from the camp. She had been shivering and had a fever and was bedridden. We stopped what we were doing and took the 45 minute bus ride to her house. She looked terribly pale and thin. But, as always, she greeted us with a warm smile. We found out that the branch president had been by the day before to take her to the hospital, and the doctors couldn't figure out what it was after taking blood tests. No matter, though. After having some difficulty sitting up, she was given a blessing. We called this morning, and it seems she's all better now.

While we were there, we taught Esperanza and her husband, Jose Cabrera. We set a baptismal date for them in July.

The new senior couple in Sandakan, Elder and Sister Morrey, came on Friday. They're really good people. They're both very humble and nice, and I think they will do a lot of good while they are here.

And before I forget, Happy Father's Day!

All the missionaries are feeling strain on our budgets. All the gas prices in Malaysia are set by the government, so for a long time, we have been shielded from the fact that the price of oil is skyrocketing. Elder Morrey told me gas in the US is $4 a gallon. Is that true? That's craziness. Here, it increased from RM 1.90 to 2.70 per liter in 1 night. And obviously, when gas prices go up, everything goes up. So, we're feeling some pressure. Thankfully, bus prices are also controlled (and subsidized) by the government, so that hasn't gone up at all. But food has gone up 20%, so no more duck. If nothing else, I'll get skinnier, I'll learn to stick to a budget and be ready for those first few years of marriage. Really, it won't be too bad. Now that I made a budget for myself, it seems to be a lot easier to buy everything I need, and I still have a little left for cookies and what not.

The young man you saw is Elder John Chin, who got called to the Singapore mission.

Aaron's camp food always seems to fall short of what it ought to be. But Aaron's camp- good times, good times.

Everything's going pretty good.

Sincerely,
Elder Muffler

Pictures of Snake from April 16th Letter

Here are the pictures of the snake that Elder Muffler mentioned in his April 16th email:





Here is the quote from the April 16th Letter:

"Near the end of the lesson, the dog started barking, so a couple of the children went to the window to see who was coming. One of them ran downstairs (their living room was on the second floor), and came back up very excited. Elder Dhillon said "snake", then got the children settled down and finished the lesson. After the lesson, we all went downstairs to see the snake. Elder Dhillon had gone ahead of me while I tied my shoes, and when he could see around the corner where everyone was gathered, he told me "Hurry! Come see this now" I was thinking maybe a five foot snake. I took my time. I walked to the corner of the house. I looked up. The owners of the house had set up two poles with a crossbar. The poles were about the height of a basketball hoop. It took me a while to realize what I was seeing, because it seemed very unreal. Tied to the crossbar on top of the poles was the head of the snake. It still was opening and closing its mouth, and wriggling a little. The body of the python touched the ground with a few feet to spare. I figure it was 15 or 16 feet long. I watched three men working with the snake. One was dealing with the rope to raise and lower the snake. Another held a very bright light for the third, who was in the process of skinning the snake alive. Chinese people love snake meat. It was so cool to watch. After they had skinned the top half and chopped off the head, they seperated the bottom half, and started pulling stuff out of the stomach. They pulled a couple of chickens (I wonder if they'll eat the chickens too) and about thirty eggs out. It was gruesome."

Letter #17 - Week of 4 June 2008 - Golden Family and Orangutan Sanctuary

Hello,

This last week was another fantastic week.

We met the most golden investigators last week. I think it was Thursday when we had just visited Tiga Dawi and Rosemarie, and we had about an hour before our next appointment. So we went exploring, looking for houses off the road that had eluded us before. We found a little dirt path lined with palm trees, and there were a couple of houses at the end. One family invited us in, and we taught them about the Restoration. They seemed really excited. We brought some of them to church on Sunday (there are like 15 people there- we managed to get the father and a couple of the grown children in church), and they seemed to enjoy that a lot. On monday, we visited them unannounced and I saw about the most amazing scene I have yet seen on my mission: the 15 year old son was on the porch reading a Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith pamphlet, A 20-something year old son was reading the Book of Mormon and explaining it to his wife and 2 infants, and the father was inside, and came out with his reading glasses on and the Joseph Smith pamphlet in his hand. We found out that the 15 year old son had become good friends with Jonathon Tiga (they live very close together), and the whole family was excited about the church. We set another appointment with them for tonight, at Tiga Dawi's house. Tiga and Rosemarie are more than happy to help us out.

I thought all of that was pretty amazing, until what happened when we were about to leave. The father of the family, Maja Pang's, father had a stroke recently. He asked us if there was anything we could do for him, like maybe give him some sort of blessing. We were very happy to share James 5:14-15 with them, and explain how we could follow the pattern of the apostles and anoint his head with oil give him a blessing by the laying on of hands. We also taught about how the blessing would depend on his faith and the faith of the family. I anointed, and Elder Dhillon sealed the anointing. We are very happy with the family.

Elder Dhillon and I went to see the orangutans today. If you're wondering why I needed money last week- well, it was because I ran out of money for food, and I also sent some mail. Also, some time soon I will withdraw probably another $40 to pay for pictures, mail, maybe another shirt, and for visiting the orangutan preserve and rainforest park today. The orangutan preserve, well, was not worth the money. It cost $10, plus transportation, and we only got to see like 6 orangutans for 45 minutes or so. They didn't even do anything special. But after that, we were getting ready to go back to town. We had to walk a mile or so back to the main road. As we were going, we found another park, Sandakan Rainforest Discovery park. We decided to check it out. It only cost like 3 dollars, and it was so amazing. It was about 3 miles worth of trails, and all the trails had beautiful rainforest plants from borneo, as well as from other places. It also had signs that explained each plant. It was very fun to walk around and take pictures there. I'm exhausted now, though. We did a lot of walking.

It sounds like your week was a lot of fun. I'm curious: did you try seeing the Minerva Tichert exhibit at the art museum? I got to go see that one time, and it was pretty awesome. I'll admit, the creamery was way too close to my apartment last year. I myself am surprised I did not gain significant amounts of weight there. I guess the cost held me back. Speaking of weight ... I'm actually kind of staying the same. 85 kg.

Ben- thanks for the email. Sounds like a fun week. Brother Anderson- such a classic. 2 phone numbers. Impressive. That's 2 more than I ever got at efy; well, okay, that's 2 more than I ever got. No, that's a lie. I got one at BYU. I hope you had fun at Aaron's camp also.

I'm not sure I ever explained the naming customs here. Take Tiga Dawi, for example. His full name is Tiga bin Dawi. Tiga is his given name; Dawi is his father's name. Thus, his sons are named Jonathon bin Tiga, Joseph bin Tiga, and Jeffrey bin Tiga. That's with cultures without surnames. The Chinese have a different thing going on. For example, Wong Ket Vun. Wong is the family name. Ket is the given name. The 3rd name, depending on who it is, is either another given name or a smaller family name; i.e. brothers would have the same 3rd name, but cousins would not.

I haven't had any encounters with strange animals lately. No, that's a lie. Today, when we were at the rainforest park visitors center, there was a huge rhinocerous beetle. And when we were at the orangutan sanctuary, we were around a bunch of white people.

I was reading in Ecclesiastes today and found an amazing scripture:
"For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion" To me, that tells me it doesn't matter how weak we are( hence the dog/ lion), as long as we are trying hard, we're doing better than the strong. It also tells me that it doesn't matter how much good you have done in the past (dead lion), you need to go do good today (living dog).

This week, I happened to be reading in Isaiah at the same time I was reading the same chapters from the Book of Mormon, so I thought to myself, why not compare them? It says there are differences in over half of the verses quoted in the Book of Mormon, and I decided to figure out what those differences were. One of them in particular stood out to me. Isaiah 13: 10 says "Say unto the righteous, that it shall be well with him." 2 Nephi 13:10 reads "Say unto the righteous, that it is well with him." The difference? 2 Nephi emphasizes the fact that even in the midst of hardship, it is well with the righteous now. The righteous need not wait for the future to know that it is well with them.

Sincerely,
Elder Muffler