Letter #104 - Week of Jan 27, 2010 - Never have to deal with Malaysian Immigration again

This week went by faster than any other week yet.

On Thursday, I went to the immigration office for my last visa. I won't have to ever deal with Malaysia immigration again. Wonderful.

On Friday and Saturday, Elder Shipp was sick, so we couldn't go out of the house. Sunday was a fun day at church. Brent is really coming along. He finally admitted the only thing holding him back from baptism is coffee and tea, which unfortunately will not be able to occur until after I go home. We have a 2 week rule before baptism: the person must be following the word of wisdom 2 weeks before they are baptized. So that can no longer happen. He'll get baptized before long, though.

During gospel principles class, Brent was complaining about how all the Elders had promised to email him when they arrived home, but he hasn't gotten a single one. Brother Yong, a member of about 2 years, said the same thing had happened to him. But then Betty, a pretty (albeit married) recent convert from Sabah said "Every one of the Elders has emailed me, even one that just met me on exchanges." I thought that was hilarious.

Maem is having more problems with the Soons. They got the authorities to close one of her restaurants on a technicality with the structure it was housed in, something the architect found. She will probably move back to Thailand to stay before long.

On Monday, I came down here to Sitiawan. We've had a good time. Elder Nightengale is a very hard worker, and he has big visions for what he wants to accomplish here. It's excellent to work with him and impart a bit of my experience to him.

I don't have much else to say.

Love,
Elder Muffler

Letter #103 - Week of 20 Jan 2010 - Exchanges to stay busy

Hello,

This last week was really fast and it didn't seem like much happened. We went to Sitiawan again on Friday for a baptism interview. Saturday night we had a meeting with President Chong and the other Elders. He wanted to talk about missionary work in the branch. I think the other Elders are really going to do awesome. They found a ton of new investigators last week and immediately clicked with the Chinese speaking members. Sunday night, we went to a Sabahan recent convert named Betty, who is finally healthy again from a surgery she had a month or two ago to remove the fetus that had lodged in her fallopian tube. It was really hard emotionally and physically for her, but she's doing well. Now, with the Mandarin Elders, her family will probably be a lot more interested in learning about the church, because her husband and everyone else they stay with speak chinese. She's super nice and humble. Talking with her made me nostalgic: she speaks malay with such a nice Sabah accent. I know it's a really cliche phrase: but it's like music to my ears. I really mean that. It's so crisp and pleasant to listen to.

Right now I'm on exchanges in Butterworth. I will be here until Friday, while Elder Shipp is in Penang Next week, I'll spend Monday through Thursday in Sitiawan, then the week after Elder Shipp will come here to Butterworth. We thought it would be best to keep us apart as much as is reasonable for these last few weeks. We were getting pretty lazy when we were together. It keeps my mind off of going home quite nicely to be on exchanges.

Speaking of nice malay, last night I got to listen to the malay transalation of general conference, and the familiar voice of Elder Niederhauser (who was my zone leader in Sabah for 8 months) came on. That was cool.

On Monday, we spent a few hours with Brent. It was his birthday. He taught me how to make curry. It was so surprisingly delicious. I really would love to see him baptized before I go home. He's the last person I think I will have a big influence over before I go home.

I have heard a little about the earthquake in Haiti. Is it true that the death toll is above 100,000?

I don't know if you've heard lately about the Christian churches that have been bombed recently. That's pretty crazy. It is really surprising: racial relations are usually pretty peaceful here.

Love,
Elder Muffler

Letter #102 - Week of 13 Jan 2010 - Nevertheless ye are blessed and your sins are forgiven you

Hello,
This last week has been wild. Of the last 6 days, I have been on a long distance bus on 5 of them. I'm back in Penang, but we'll have to go to Sitiawan again for a baptismal interview on Friday, then come back on Saturday.

Fishing was disappointing, actually. We went to a cool little spot on some rocks behind mansions on the beach front. I didn't catch anything. All that Elder Shipp caught was a crab. With a fishing pole. That was real nice.

On Thursday we took off for mission tour. That was a really great experience. It was very different from last year, but still very good. Elder Kent D. Watson of the Seventy came. He gave a training on the Book of Mormon. Elder Watson has been living among the Chinese for a good chunk of his life, and it shows. He is very laid back, as so many people are here in Asia. I think all the missionaries really loved him. The coolest part for me was at the end, when they invited the missionaries going home to give their testimonies. I was first up. I bore my testimony of the Savior, and shared a verse that kind of sums up everything I feel I have learned on my mission, D&C 97:8-10. After I finished, as I was walking off the stand, Elder Watson stood and stopped me. Placing his arm around my shoulder he ushered me back to the microphone, where he said he wanted me to read one more verse, which he mentioned earlier applies particularly to the three missionaries who would be giving their testimony at the close of their missions that day. It was D&C 62:3, "Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you."

Saturday, we returned to Penang, and settled in along with the 2 mandarin speaking elders now serving in Penang. We spent the rest of Saturday showing them around, getting their bikes fixed, and filling the font for Pei Lin's baptism.

Pei Lin was baptized Saturday morning. In her testimony following her baptism, she said that over the weeks previous to the time she came to church recently, she had had her faith in God rekindled by a friend. Together with that friend they had attended many churches over the course of several weeks. After soul searching and a lot of prayer, she came to the conclusion that she knew the church was true and was ready for baptism. Not even the harassment of her sister on Friday and Saturday turned her from her decision. She will make a wonderful contribution to the branch, and the church will continue to help her.

On Sunday, after church we headed down to Sitiawan. I went with Elder Nightengale, who is from Melbourne, Australia. Sitiawan is his first area in Malaysia, so I got to be with him as he experienced door knocking for the first time. We found one good, interested family right at the end, as well as a less active member. Elder Nightengale is really solid, though. Very mature and dedicated.

Tuesday, we were in Ipoh for a baptism interview. I also got to go to Cathreene's house for a lesson. We set baptism dates for both of her younger daughters for the last day Elder Hall will be in Malaysia. We should go to Ipoh for a farewell party for me, Elder Hall, and Elder Shipp on February 4. We really appreciate all the kindness they show us in Ipoh.

I finally had an accident on my bike yesterday. I was going through a puddle that was hiding a hole, and threw myself onto the concrete. Elder Blissett said the fall looked really bad. It sure didn't feel bad. Just a bloody elbow and a big bruise on my leg.

Love,
Elder Muffler

Letter #101 - Week of 6 Jan 2010 - Fun week

Hello,

This was a very fun week overall.

Last Thursday, we had the AP's over for exchanges. I really pity them. They spend at least half of their time travelling. They rolled into Penang at 2:00 AM on Thursday. We had a fun day after that. After reporting, we had lunch with Maem, who just loved seeing Elder Stone again. Then we went over to Butterworth to check out a site for a new chapel. They are considering buying the 7th floor of an office building. It is in a perfect location, right next to the bus terminal and ferry. That bus terminal will get you not only anywhere in Butterworth, but also anywhere in West Malaysia, or Thailand. The only drawback is that the ceilings are kind of low. But it is built for Asians, so it should be fine.

After that, Elder Stone and I went to teach Pei Lin. She was even happier to see Elder Stone than Maem was. After talking to her about the struggles she has had with choosing to believe in God, and finding something that will give her purpose in life, she decided definitely she wants to be baptized. So she will be baptized on the coming Sunday after church. She is really excited for it. She's been investigating for about 6 months and knows this is the only thing that will bring her happiness. It's been awesome to see her recognize that and make a final decision.

After that, we didn't have time for much else, because Elder Stone's tire exploded. I don't know how else to describe it. I heard a noise like a gunshot, and he couldn't go any further. That put us in a really bad spot, because we were probably a 30 minute bike ride from home, and there was a traffic jam all the way from there to the place we were (we were really close to the Penang bridge. Fortunately, the Japanese family who lives above us offered to help. We called to tell them we would be late, but they insisted that they could bring their car, throw the bikes in the back, and bring us home. Brother Imai found a nice way around the traffic and got us home quickly. And then they gave us cheesecake. That family is such an awesome example of what I want my family to be. They are just 100 % awesome. As I was sitting in their home on Sunday night, I was again really impressed. Brother Imai was sitting to my right, with eyelids drooping from a long day of going to church and being a clerk and coming home and being a father. The baby in his arms, 10 months old, was anything but tired. He was having the time of his life. In front of me was Tina, their Cambodian maid. Behind her are pictures and crafts the younger children made at school recently. As I have thought about it, I think anyone who regularly spent time in that home couldn't help but join the church. Anyone would want the feeling in the Imai home in their own. We found out last week that they have early morning scripture study and prayer with all 6 of those enthusiastic children. I don't think they had to tell us. Something about being around them: you know already.

Oh, and then for New Year's Eve: Elder Stone had forgot his bag on the bus, and the only way to get it back was to wait for it to come back to Penang at 2 in the morning. So, since they had to stay up anyway, they invited us to join us for a bit. I told Elder Troxel I would get ice cream and we could have big sundaes with all the candy from Christmas, but I didn't get the chance with the craziness with the tire. But we did have instant pudding. So I made pudding, and we stayed up until midnight talking about what'll be happening next New Years. Crazy. Really kind of sad. We thought about going down to a big New Years celebration they had in town. They were trying to break the world record in most people doing a line dance. You know I'd be all over that.

We'll be going fishing today.

Can you start asking around to see if anyone has a job for me for the few months I'll be at home? I looked on the internet. I'll start school the last week of April.

Elder Shipp's health still has not improved. Spending all that time at home cleaning and resting, it has given me the chance to think more about my mission and what will happen when it ends. Yesterday, I thought a lot about what I want to do for a career. I guess I'm not so set on being a doctor like I used to be. I'm definitely geared toward biology and the medical field. But I guess I might be just as happy as a research scientist or a college professor as a doctor. But the nice thing is, I can do any of those things with the same degree, and I will be able to learn what I really want to do as I take the classes for my degree.

Love,
Elder Muffler