Letter #24 - Week of 23 July 2008 - Zone Bowling Champion and Foot Race with Dogs

Hello,

This last week felt like a very, very long week.

Zone conference was fantastic. We got a lot of great counsel and instructions. Among that, we were challenged by President Skelton to have a baptsimal service every two weeks from now on. That's going to take a lot of work, but we think we'll be able to see that happen before long.

For our zone activity last week, we went bowling. That was a lot of fun. I was the Sabah Zone bowling champion!

We met with some great people last Saturday. I don't know how it happened, but there was some confusion, so we didn't show up for an appointment that we thought they had cancelled, but they were really expecting us the whole time. It's okay, though. We ran across them again on friday, and we set an appointment for saturday afternoon. We taught a couple of Filipino ladies and a few children. We brought the Morreys, because almost every Filipino here prefers to speak english over malay. The lesson was kind of scattered, because people kept walking in and out, and right in the middle, they decided to get some fried bananas (which are quite excellent) and drinks for us. But after an hour and a half, we finally began to conclude. I started to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon, "I know this is true." I wanted to continue and explain, but I was interrupted by Rose, who said "Yes. I know the Book of Mormon is a true book." We were surprised and didn't know what to say for a few seconds, but then I continued to bear my testimony. She promised to come to church, but she didn't come. We'll be visiting her again this afternoon (it seems that Wednesday afternoons are the only time she can meet with us. That is going to make P-days very difficult for us, since we have a lot to clean over the next few weeks, and usually only have an hour or two to do it anyway. But her needs are more important than ours.)

We've been meeting with Jamie a lot lately. She's one of the women that came to church the same week we met her that brought all their kids. She is continuing to progress and learn. We're hoping she'll be baptized on the 9th of August. She's been reading the Book of Mormon a lot- I think she's already in Jacob.

Jessryn, Misdi's friend, is also doing very well. We found out on Saturday that he has already quit smoking and drinking coffee. That excited us, because that meant if he came to church this last Sunday and this coming Sunday, he could be baptized the day before Misdi left for KL. Maybe Misdi could even baptize him. Unfortunately, though, he did not come. Last night, we gave Jessryn a long talk about the importance of coming to church and keeping God's commandments. Jessryn makes me laugh. There is absolutely no trace of hypocrisy in him. If there is something he believes in, he follows it. If there is something he wants to do, he does it. I remember when we taught him about the Word of Wisdom, he told us he wasn't sure if he believed in God, and only after several invitations he decided he would keep it. Well, last night, we read from the Book of Mormon the commandment to keep the sabbath day holy. We asked him how he felt the commandment. He responded "Tidak bagus." Not good. I wish other people were as honest as he is. We explained why it is important to keep all of God's commandments. And again, after inviting him several times, he said he would follow it. I fully expect to see him at church every Sunday from now on. I hope this is just like the word of wisdom with him. After the day we taught the word of wisdom, I was afraid we would never see him again, but then less than 2 weeks later he had already quit smoking, and he really enjoys having us come. I hope this is similar.

I think I forgot to tell you about my latest dog experience. 2 weeks ago, we were going to go teach a security guard in one of the richer neighborhoods near the church. The problem is, I didn't know exactly how to get there (and I later realized I was trying to go to the wrong place anyway). I checked out a map before we left, so I thought I knew where we were going, then we were off. Since it was P-day, the sun had already set by the time we got off the bus and started walking on the road I thought would take us where we wanted to be. After about 15 minutes of weaving through roads, we finally managed to find one that looked like it would go all the way through the neighborhood we were in and on into the neighborhood I thought we wanted to go to. We were on a dark road without a flashlight, but could faintly see because of the light from the moon and the surrounding houses. We turned a corner onto a dirt road. A dog started barking in the distance. I could see its shadow. It wasn't a wimpy street dog. It was a big, healthy dog that someone had fed and likely trained as a guard dog. I told Elder Howes I didn't feel comfortable going that direction. He was braver than I. What's the problem? The dog will run as we approach it. Well, while we were discussing this, I realized I didn't hear barking any more. I looked up and thought I saw a couple more shadows running towards us. I didn't know at the time whether it was reality or just my imagination, but I know I did not want to be standing in the dark anymore, so I took off running. Again, Elder Howes was braver than I. "Elder Muffler, why are you running? I've got rocks. Watch." It wasn't 10 seconds before Elder Howes, myself, and 3 of our little furry friends were having a footrace on a warm July evening. Luckily, we weren't too far from a street light. The dog that was chasing me caught me just as I got under the light. I aimed a kick at him (He was within kicking distance), but he turned away, as did the two that were chasing Elder Howes. That was quite a rush.

Elder Howes drew me a sweet picture on the plane ride home from zone conference last week. He made an Elder Muffler anime character. In the picture, I'm dressed in missionary attire, quite handsome, and I've got this giant sword of truth in one hand, with a Book of Mormon in the other.

The pocket dictionary is helping me a ton. I like it a lot.

The Hiews do still have us over for their family home evening and dinner every monday night. They're a wonderful family. I can tell they really like having the support of the missionaries. They're still new in the church, but they take on a lot of responsibilities. Brother Hiew is the young men's president. Sister Hiew is the young women's president. They've got a lot of family opposition, but they are doing very well. I am glad we can be there to help encourage them, as well as teach them.

I know I mentioned that the last week seemed very long, but time is really going by quickly as a whole. I've almost been in Sandakan for 5 months.

Things are going very well here.

Love,
Elder Muffler