Letter #65 - Week of 29 April 2009 - First week on a Bike

Hello,

Congratulations to Andrew for graduating. That's pretty awesome.

Coming to Ipoh has certainly been an experience. The bus here was deluxe. I didn't even get one of the nicer buses. Because the buses are relatively cheap, the mission doesn't mind sending us on nice buses. The buses they tried to get me on are double deckers, with seats on the top and a lounge on the bottom, with free hot chocolate and other stuff. The one I was on wasn't far behind. I had a very large seat with plenty of leg room. The seat had a full on leg rest and head rest and it reclined pretty far, so I just slept most of the 8 hours. It was air conditioned- far colder than I can handle anymore. It was a nice ride. I made the mistake of getting the seat in the back, where there are no windows. That's okay, though. I got plenty of rest.

Ipoh is very different than Sabah. Most of the people we work with here are Indians or Chinese. We've also been teaching a Korean family and a few young men from Myanmar. The Korean family is very close to baptism. Well, the father and daughter are. His name is Yi. His wife isn't really interested in listening. Yi actually attended Utah State University. Elder Shipp is from Logan. Crazy.

I got to meet Elder Dhillon's parents, Brother Harjid and Sister Mae. They are both very humble and nice. I really enjoyed talking with them.

It's been a real experience riding around on a bike. I'm glad I got to get on one in Kuching. I learned a lot from that day. It really hasn't been too bad. Malaysian drivers are very tolerant. They're used to people on motor scooters darting between cars all the time, so everyone is alert and always ready to yield. I'll be just fine.

Elder Shipp is a really awesome missionary. He is very likeable. For the best part of his mission, though, he has been sick with something that hasn't responded to any treatments. He consulted with President Skelton, and they agreed he would just have to live with it until he went home, so he has to take it a little slow. It's all good, though. I can tell he's really been working hard this last week since I've come.

The food is every bit as wonderful as I dreamed. And since we're on a bike, I'm always hungry, so it has been great. The thing that is known best is the Indian food: I've had my share of Chipathi and curry. I've also had a few Malay fried treats called kuih. I didn't know they could really be that good, but they are. And they're cheap. Everything is about 30 percent cheaper. Plus, there is a store called Cold Storage near our house. It is actually a Singapore based store. That's the store you can get all the American food (and other imported food; I have grown fond of South African apples and pears). I'll be eating well here.

I talked to Elder Compton on Sunday night. Jonon's whole family finally came to church. I'll be really excited to see them baptized.

We do most of our teaching in english here, although there are also times we teach in malay. The accent here, both on the english and malay, is tremendously different. I can't understand real malay. I mean, when Malay people speak their language here, it is very hard to understand, especially the children. People laugh at the way I speak, both my english and my malay. My malay is Sabah malay, and my english is Filipino english.

As for the Mother's Day call, I think it would work best to call me on (my time) Sunday morning at 7:30 or so. I think Elder Shipp wants to do his on Saturday morning our time, so I cad pretty much do it whenever I want. I figure that'll be best. Sunday morning.

My study of the Book of Mormon has helped me so much this week. I am terrible at adjusting to new things. I am a slow learner. That can make changes like being in a new city and teaching a totally different kind of people in a different language than I am used to. But consistent study of the Book of Mormon has brought peace and help in ways I did not expect. I hope you all make Book of Mormon study an important part of your life.

Love,
Elder Muffler

ps: Ben's sideburns have my approval. 100 percent. Also a nice choice of tux. But the sideburns take the cake.