Time With Members Is One of My Favorite Things

Raymond and Naomi were baptized about a month ago.  They are so happy and faithful.  He has received the Aaronic Priesthood so he blesses the Sacrament each Sunday. 

They invited the Elders to their home for Family Home Evening, so we tagged along.   The Elders purpose was to teach this family how to conduct weekly FHE and they did such a great job with the lesson from the Book of Mormon about the 10 Commandments and a fun game. They had invited some family members to join and everyone participated in the lesson  and the game.   Even though we didn't understand all they said, you could tell that everyone really enjoyed themselves. 

After FHE was over, Naomi served us a traditional Ebon dinner (Ebon is a tribe from Eastern Malaysia).  I really didn't recognize much except the rice & hard boiled eggs, but I tried several things and it was quite tasty.  Some of their food is a little too spicy for me, so I have to be careful what I pick. 

Elder Hadley gave the boys Pokémon cards

and the little one was showing his cards to Elder Lamb.

                                                       The older brother is studying with the missionaries

                                                       so he can be baptized soon.

Another Day Another Story

On Sunday we got a text from a young man who was baptized in the JB Branch about a month ago.  He wanted to know if he and his girlfriend could take us to lunch and then come back to our apartment to watch a movie.  We were surprised that these young people would want to hang out with us, but we were thrilled. She has had a lot of health problems, but he said she always smiles when she is with us.  That really made our day. We went to lunch at a Chinese buffet and then came back to our apartment to watch a movie.  The problem is, the girl, does not speak English, only Mandarin, and it is hard to find a church movie in Mandarin.  We found one that worked, so we watched a couple of short movies and then had fruit which they had brought, and chocolate chip cookies.  This was new to them, so  Elder Lamb taught them how to dunk the cookies in milk. 

What a special and rewarding afternoon we had and because our mission call is member-leader support, we feel we were fulfilling our purpose.

I am so thankful for the amazing people who have come into our life

in these short three months. 

We feel so blessed to know them and to feel their love. 

Sunday Was a Special Day

We started this week with church in Masai.  Even though we don't understand what they are saying, the Spirit is there and I can tell by their smiles that they love us being there.  I bore my testimony and Elder Oldham stood beside me and translated each sentence.  That is a hard way to keep your thoughts together, but I just looked at their smiles and I could feel their love.  Later in Relief Society a sister Dina, who I hadn't met before, translated for me. The teacher asked me several questions about the lesson, and after translating it to me and then back to the sisters, I am  not at all sure what I said. After church Dina wanted to have a picture taken with us. 

After finally finding an outdoor market that sells meat, we were able to have our traditional Sunday Dinner of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, and gravy.  We have tried to find beef in the grocery stores but it is very hard to find here.  Maybe we got water buffalo, I don't know, but it was good anyway.  Sometimes we just have to have some familiar food.

The market had booths filled with chicken & duck, fish, beef, shrimp, vegetables and fruits.  It was overwhelming.  I will definitely go back there.

 I fixed Lasagne, salad (with Italian  and Ranch dressing which I brought from home), French bread and lots of fruit for the Elders at District Meeting on Tuesday.  They always seem to enjoy what I fix for them.  For dessert we had Texas Sheetcake cookies.  They tasted just like Texas Sheetcake.

Discovering Another Beautiful Place in Malaysia

My idea of Malaysia changes a little each time we visit a new place.  I am sure there are many beautiful spots here waiting to be explored.  There is little time to explore, but when we do I enjoy it.  Sister Diane is a member of our Branch who is teaching at an English school this year in Malaysia.  She spends as many free days as possible exploring. 

She invited us to bring the Elders for dinner to this beautiful bay close to where she lives. 

The Elders take every opportunity they can to advertise their English class.  The classes are offered free of charge every Friday night at our church.  There are some very wonderful people who come regularly and then a few new students each week.  It has been a very enjoyable experience for Elder Lamb and I to teach English to adults.

Elder Lundahl-Wolford only has 9 days left on his mission. 

The face tells how he feels about that.

 A good hamburger and fries cheered him right up.

First Baptism in November

The Singapore Mission has been praying to have a "White Christmas".  This means white as in baptisms.  They had a special fast last month and again this coming Sunday, by all missionaries in the mission, that they will be led to find God's Elect,

who will hear his voice and be baptized. 

You really feel the strength when the entire mission fasts and prays together. 

Lee Jia Jing

Lee Jia Xin

Elder Lundahl-Wolford baptized the older brother two years ago when he was serving here and today he was able to baptize the two younger siblings.  This was a great blessing for all of them.

We love being part of these wonder experiences in Malaysia

District Meeting With Our New Elders

We have District Meeting every Tuesday.  We enjoy being with the Elders and learning from them.  They never cease to amaze me as they share ideas, role play and bear testimony.  When I think that they are only 18-20 years old, it continues to amaze me.  These wonderful Elders really do have their serious moments, even though you wouldn't know that from the pictures I post.  I only take pictures after the meetings are over and they are being crazy.

Elders Lundahl-Wolford & Davis

Elders Low and Howell

Elders Oldham & Hadley

Now you can see the crazy side- which most always happens when I get out the camera.

This is their favorite place to eat after the District Meetings in Masai.  It has many choices of food from, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, and others I'm sure.  The front area is for the Muslims where they serve only Halal food, and the  area where we eat is for everyone else.  Back here they actually can serve pork.

Another Great FHE With Elders/Members

We really enjoy when the members invite us into their homes to share in their Family Home Evenings.  This is the family of Res Tan, who is in the JB Branch Presidency.

Res and Jessie both served missions for the church after they were baptized.  They have 2 darling little kids and are always in church.  Their daughter can only come to church when it is a school holiday because school is on Sunday here.

Elders Low and Howell gave the lesson about the Tree of Life from the Book of Mormon.

Jessie had invited Louisa, the Branch Relief Society President and Eunice, the Branch Primary President.  It was Eunice's birthday, so they had a Birthday Cake for her.

We had a great evening with our faithful new friends.

Linger-Longer in the JB Branch

On the last Sunday of each month, the JB Branch enjoys Linger-Longer after church.  The members really enjoy being together and socializing and sharing the food that they bring.  We are so happy to share food and fellowship with them.  There are some very wonderful people here, who are all so welcoming to us.  They love the Chocolate Cake that I bring, so I guess that will have to be a tradition.  I think I will have to make a special dish each month, but always Chocolate Cake

This young couple have been taking the missionary lessons, and he was recently baptized.   Last week she was very ill and was receiving traditional Chinese treatments, which were very painful for her.  Elder Lamb asked her if she would like a blessing, so they came to the church and Elder Lamb and the Branch Mission Leader gave her a blessing.   He explained to her that she would need to have the faith that the blessing would help her, and she said that she did.  Very shortly after, they texted us and said that she was feeling better, that her pain was gone.  They were at church on Sunday and as you can see, she is smiling and no longer in pain.  I am so thankful for the power of the Priesthood that can bless us when we are in need.

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