Hello
This week has been pretty darn good :) The recent flood of referrals last week has turned into solid inverstigators and more referrals. It has been really good to get back into the swing of teaching instead of finding. This week we will be going to Miri for zone conference and it will take up all of wednesday thursday and friday as far as proselyting goes. But i am excited to see other elders haha. Of course I love e tadius but Its nice to see other people who speak english.
We finally got a new piano for the church, fropm the church that can play itself. Since Tawau has nobody that can play piano, and with a half broken piano, we have been using cds to sing hymns. it really has not been great. So we got a digital piano that can play itself and has almost all the hymns already programmed into it. It has a couple play modes, and one of them you just press any key to the rhythm of the song, and it will play. so i fooled a lot of people into thinking I was suddenly able to play the piano haha. its pretty fun, and i sometimes convince myself that i can play... So i think itll be a really nice change for the members here and
Monday, August 20, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Poisoned!
Helllllllo
whats funny about Malay/Malaysia in general is that the language and the country has a lot of things adopted either from America or English. so greeting people really isnt any different. Usually we just say hello, but i could say hey, hi, just as much. technically the word is halo (pronounced hallow) but they dont say that haha.
As i'm sure you know dad this past month has been Ramadan, and while it doesnt really affect our work at all, it does limit our choice of eating places during the day haha. For those of you who do not know about Ramadan, it is about a month i think when Muslim people fast each day from approx sun up to sun down. so during the day only chinese owned places and the KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds are open. some places even just close down completely throughout the fast. But it ends this weekend and things are gettin a little crazy around here. Because it is such a big deal, I think that literally everyone is not allowed to work either on Sunday and Monday, or just Sunday, when they end the fast. I think its like an everyone type deal, but maybe non-Muslims will still work, I'm not sure.
In other news. Pres. Mains has revealed his first big change, and it is a big one. P-Days will now be on Mondays, like in the US. He said that he feels like the momentum of missionary work gets broken up too much when P-Day is on Wednesday. So i think that is Sunday for you guys right? Needless to say many of us are not exactly pleased with it. I even am not happy about it. While yes the momentum of the week is broken up, I dont feel like the momentum of missionary work is broken. I like having it in the middle of the week because time goes faster. So of course I will be willing to follow this new rule and I wont let it affect me. Anyways I hope this doesnt sound like a set a bad mark against Pres president. I dont have any less respect or love for him, and I know he is called of God.
This week, now that i think of it has been quite eventful. Oh ya and i didnt get transfered. There wasnt even transfers this week, it was pretty much a made up rumor from our Zone Leaders haha. I think with the new Pres there have just been some seemingly random transfers and I think the ZLs felt there might be another one. SO ya i'm still in Tawau. As far as transfers go I dont think there will be one until the new group comes in, which i think is the end of September. But its gonna be a major transfer as 27 new missionaries are coming in. hahaha this is like an unprecedented number! so i have heard anyways...
ok, so it finally happened. I got food poisoning! The funny part is that it came from one of the local chain restraunts. Anyways we ate their about 4pm on wednesday, and then later that night at an appt with our most recent convert, I had #2 and then ten mins later threw up. I didnt really feel any better after that, and despite a little embarrassment, we finished our lesson and then hurried home. in fact i barely made it home to the bathroom before i was experiencing "The Double Dragon" #2-ing and throwing up, AT THE SAME TIME. needless to say the rest of the night followed the normal course of food poisoning and was a sleepless night of constant trips to the bathroom. The next day i didnt feel sick anymore, but felt kind of feverish. I think my body just sick and sore from no sleep and nothing inside me. So we stayed in that day and the next day (Friday) we continued proselyting about 6pm. The funny thing is that E Tadius was totally fine...
The food adventure was not over though. On Saturday Sis Myla, from whom I have received some less than palatable meals, wanted to serve us stingray... E Tadius said not to worry because it was really good, not like fish. but alas this stingray was maybe a day or two overdue to be eaten. She fried it up and while it was still ok to eat, it was harder and tougher than rubber haha. I wouldve gotten a picture but E Tadius forgot his camera (later news on my own camera) I didnt end up finishing the meal because the stingray was not sitting well in my stomach, and apparently that fact was evident in the pained expressions of my face hahaha. I heard the miracle words from Sis. Myla: "dont force it elder if you cant eat it" hahahaah maybe the best things she ever said to me. My stomach was actually starting to feel funky and i graciously accepted this once-in-a-lifetime offer from a philippina lady.
So thats another entry for the food diaries.
On a missionary note, the work here has finally taken a turn towards success, or at least measurable progress. So last Friday we met a guy while meeting E Tadius' cousin, who works at the Hospital here in Tawau. The guy's name is Jerdey and had only arrived in Tawau a week ago I had a pretty long conversation with him while Tadius talked to his cousin (cousin is going back home and Tadius wanted to give him some stuff to give to his family) Then later that night we went to teach one of our few investigators at our "headquarters" (a house with about 12 members) and then another member came with a distantly related family member who has expressed interest in learning. then on Saturday an appointment we had with a youth to meet her friend happened. Monday showed two more good referrals and last night we met a new investigator's mother. So in short period of time we have met some really potentially good investigators, and are excited to be able to start planning our days around teaching people, rather than finding people.
Next week we have Zone Conference with Miri zone in Miri, Sarawak. with the new change to P-days this will essentially take out our whole week next week. but i get to see Elder Trotter again and also be around other missionaries again haha
Also next week i will finally get my camera back. I will track its adventures from the beginning:
Bought in Singapore in April
Used and loved in Tawau until May
Sent from Tawau to KK and then sent back to Tawau after not being under warranty in Malaysia (because purchased in Singapore)
Brought to Singapore to the Canon care Center.
Fixed (free of charge) and sent to Mission home in Singapore
Picked up by Zone Leaders in Singapore while on a visa run
Brought to KK by Zone Leaders
--Yet to Come--
Brought to Miri, Sarawak by Zine Leaders
Given to me(Elder Giblette) in Miri
Brought back to be used and loved once again in Tawau
What a journey.
I absolutely loved the pictures. seriously the best thing from America. Even better than the freezie-pops
PS why was hayden crying in the picture? hahahah oh hayden
Well this has turned out to be quite the letter huh
Love you all!
Elder Giblette
whats funny about Malay/Malaysia in general is that the language and the country has a lot of things adopted either from America or English. so greeting people really isnt any different. Usually we just say hello, but i could say hey, hi, just as much. technically the word is halo (pronounced hallow) but they dont say that haha.
As i'm sure you know dad this past month has been Ramadan, and while it doesnt really affect our work at all, it does limit our choice of eating places during the day haha. For those of you who do not know about Ramadan, it is about a month i think when Muslim people fast each day from approx sun up to sun down. so during the day only chinese owned places and the KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds are open. some places even just close down completely throughout the fast. But it ends this weekend and things are gettin a little crazy around here. Because it is such a big deal, I think that literally everyone is not allowed to work either on Sunday and Monday, or just Sunday, when they end the fast. I think its like an everyone type deal, but maybe non-Muslims will still work, I'm not sure.
In other news. Pres. Mains has revealed his first big change, and it is a big one. P-Days will now be on Mondays, like in the US. He said that he feels like the momentum of missionary work gets broken up too much when P-Day is on Wednesday. So i think that is Sunday for you guys right? Needless to say many of us are not exactly pleased with it. I even am not happy about it. While yes the momentum of the week is broken up, I dont feel like the momentum of missionary work is broken. I like having it in the middle of the week because time goes faster. So of course I will be willing to follow this new rule and I wont let it affect me. Anyways I hope this doesnt sound like a set a bad mark against Pres president. I dont have any less respect or love for him, and I know he is called of God.
This week, now that i think of it has been quite eventful. Oh ya and i didnt get transfered. There wasnt even transfers this week, it was pretty much a made up rumor from our Zone Leaders haha. I think with the new Pres there have just been some seemingly random transfers and I think the ZLs felt there might be another one. SO ya i'm still in Tawau. As far as transfers go I dont think there will be one until the new group comes in, which i think is the end of September. But its gonna be a major transfer as 27 new missionaries are coming in. hahaha this is like an unprecedented number! so i have heard anyways...
ok, so it finally happened. I got food poisoning! The funny part is that it came from one of the local chain restraunts. Anyways we ate their about 4pm on wednesday, and then later that night at an appt with our most recent convert, I had #2 and then ten mins later threw up. I didnt really feel any better after that, and despite a little embarrassment, we finished our lesson and then hurried home. in fact i barely made it home to the bathroom before i was experiencing "The Double Dragon" #2-ing and throwing up, AT THE SAME TIME. needless to say the rest of the night followed the normal course of food poisoning and was a sleepless night of constant trips to the bathroom. The next day i didnt feel sick anymore, but felt kind of feverish. I think my body just sick and sore from no sleep and nothing inside me. So we stayed in that day and the next day (Friday) we continued proselyting about 6pm. The funny thing is that E Tadius was totally fine...
The food adventure was not over though. On Saturday Sis Myla, from whom I have received some less than palatable meals, wanted to serve us stingray... E Tadius said not to worry because it was really good, not like fish. but alas this stingray was maybe a day or two overdue to be eaten. She fried it up and while it was still ok to eat, it was harder and tougher than rubber haha. I wouldve gotten a picture but E Tadius forgot his camera (later news on my own camera) I didnt end up finishing the meal because the stingray was not sitting well in my stomach, and apparently that fact was evident in the pained expressions of my face hahaha. I heard the miracle words from Sis. Myla: "dont force it elder if you cant eat it" hahahaah maybe the best things she ever said to me. My stomach was actually starting to feel funky and i graciously accepted this once-in-a-lifetime offer from a philippina lady.
So thats another entry for the food diaries.
On a missionary note, the work here has finally taken a turn towards success, or at least measurable progress. So last Friday we met a guy while meeting E Tadius' cousin, who works at the Hospital here in Tawau. The guy's name is Jerdey and had only arrived in Tawau a week ago I had a pretty long conversation with him while Tadius talked to his cousin (cousin is going back home and Tadius wanted to give him some stuff to give to his family) Then later that night we went to teach one of our few investigators at our "headquarters" (a house with about 12 members) and then another member came with a distantly related family member who has expressed interest in learning. then on Saturday an appointment we had with a youth to meet her friend happened. Monday showed two more good referrals and last night we met a new investigator's mother. So in short period of time we have met some really potentially good investigators, and are excited to be able to start planning our days around teaching people, rather than finding people.
Next week we have Zone Conference with Miri zone in Miri, Sarawak. with the new change to P-days this will essentially take out our whole week next week. but i get to see Elder Trotter again and also be around other missionaries again haha
Also next week i will finally get my camera back. I will track its adventures from the beginning:
Bought in Singapore in April
Used and loved in Tawau until May
Sent from Tawau to KK and then sent back to Tawau after not being under warranty in Malaysia (because purchased in Singapore)
Brought to Singapore to the Canon care Center.
Fixed (free of charge) and sent to Mission home in Singapore
Picked up by Zone Leaders in Singapore while on a visa run
Brought to KK by Zone Leaders
--Yet to Come--
Brought to Miri, Sarawak by Zine Leaders
Given to me(Elder Giblette) in Miri
Brought back to be used and loved once again in Tawau
What a journey.
I absolutely loved the pictures. seriously the best thing from America. Even better than the freezie-pops
PS why was hayden crying in the picture? hahahah oh hayden
Well this has turned out to be quite the letter huh
Love you all!
Elder Giblette
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
August 8, 2012
August 8th, 2012
Hi everyone :)
This week has been good so far, and I have a cool story to share too! (i'll save it for the end; best for last of course)
In other news the weather here is the same, as it always has and will be haha. We have heard rumors of there being transfers this week but i'm not sure. E Tadius has got me all excited and nervous about it. I really dont feel ready to leave yet cuz i dont want to leave Tawau in such a state of investigator "dryness" so to speak. But I'll "go where He wants me to go" That hymn has had special relevance this week as I know I have gone where He wants me to go, and have said what He wants me to have said.
our area is pretty huge actually. as far as using bikes it really just depends on where we go on any given day. there are days where we dont use bikes, and days we dont use buses. but I think that technically our area goes all the way out to Semporna. We have less-active members who live about an hour bus ride from downtown...
One of our long time investigators, Lot-Lot has been meeting with us for over three months now, and we wouldve dropped her a while ago if her younger sister Ling-Ling hadnt been baptized. but since we go to teach the Recent convert lessons to Ling2, we also visit with Lot2. She really struggles with coming to church for a number of reason, usually pretty legitimate, so we lately havent been pushing for her to come. Anyways last week she FINISHED reading the Book of Mormon, and we asked why she was so diligent in reading. She had said that whenever she would just be sitting around, "something would pull her" to read the book. I got excited and explained that was the Holy Ghost pulling you. I expected her to already have realized this, but she seemed surprised when i told her that. So that lesson went really well and we again challenged her to pray about it and told that while she said she thought the book was true, she needed to get an answer from the HG. she agreed to. Then she came to church after not coming for over two months, and we had a really powerful testimony meeting. On Monday we visited her and asked her if she had prayed. she said yes and explained that right after she asked in her prayer, a distinct answer came into her mind "kebenaran dapan mata" which translated essentially means "the truth is in front of your eyes" I had to contain my excitement and right at that moment she had to attend to one of her kids. We then read the last two paragraphs from the intro about asking and receiving, and then what it means if you receive an answer. she started to get a little emotional (usually when we get more serious in lessons she just makes a joke and "laughs the spirit away")and I knew the Spirit was working hard. She was again distracted by her kids, so i took the chance to find a scripture about not denying the HG in the index. I came up with Alma 34:38 which says "that ye will contend no more against the Holy Ghost, and that ye will receive it..." When she read it she REALLY almost started to cry, and she said, "yes elder, correct, just now you were correct. and now you are correct again!" referring to the passages we had read. I told her to stop fighting the HG and accept Him. she knew what she had to do, but she told me she has a lot of "secrets" she does not want to share; referring to things in her life that she knows she has to overcome to be baptized. I told her I didnt even want to know them, and I said that just because you are baptized, doesnt mean your problems go away. and i continued, but if you keep the Lord's commandments He can bless and help and strengthen you. You can feel that peace that comes from the Spirit and learn to rely on Him with your "secrets".
The Sprit was so strong and I knew we could all feel it. I challenged her to write down all of her "secrets" and pick just one thing to work on this week. She agreed to do so and that is the story thus far. among other things I told her the most important thing for her to do now is to keep coming to church. I am so grateful that we are able to bring the Spirit with us and have HIM do the teaching and the changing because I know that I could not do it with any combination of words or actions done solely by me. It is like you quoted mom, we cannot learn, teach...do anything of value unless the Spirit attends us. I am so grateful for all the tender mercies the Lord shows us. truly I can see the value now as we struggle to teach people and have less opportunities to bring the Spirit to others. I think part of what I need to learn now as we struggle is to recognize each and every time the Spirit works with me, for i truly cannot take Him for granted.
Not much else for this week. a new game plan suggested to us by our ZLs is to visit as many members, active or less, as we can. simply to visit with them and not even to necessarily ask for referrals.
Hi everyone :)
This week has been good so far, and I have a cool story to share too! (i'll save it for the end; best for last of course)
In other news the weather here is the same, as it always has and will be haha. We have heard rumors of there being transfers this week but i'm not sure. E Tadius has got me all excited and nervous about it. I really dont feel ready to leave yet cuz i dont want to leave Tawau in such a state of investigator "dryness" so to speak. But I'll "go where He wants me to go" That hymn has had special relevance this week as I know I have gone where He wants me to go, and have said what He wants me to have said.
our area is pretty huge actually. as far as using bikes it really just depends on where we go on any given day. there are days where we dont use bikes, and days we dont use buses. but I think that technically our area goes all the way out to Semporna. We have less-active members who live about an hour bus ride from downtown...
One of our long time investigators, Lot-Lot has been meeting with us for over three months now, and we wouldve dropped her a while ago if her younger sister Ling-Ling hadnt been baptized. but since we go to teach the Recent convert lessons to Ling2, we also visit with Lot2. She really struggles with coming to church for a number of reason, usually pretty legitimate, so we lately havent been pushing for her to come. Anyways last week she FINISHED reading the Book of Mormon, and we asked why she was so diligent in reading. She had said that whenever she would just be sitting around, "something would pull her" to read the book. I got excited and explained that was the Holy Ghost pulling you. I expected her to already have realized this, but she seemed surprised when i told her that. So that lesson went really well and we again challenged her to pray about it and told that while she said she thought the book was true, she needed to get an answer from the HG. she agreed to. Then she came to church after not coming for over two months, and we had a really powerful testimony meeting. On Monday we visited her and asked her if she had prayed. she said yes and explained that right after she asked in her prayer, a distinct answer came into her mind "kebenaran dapan mata" which translated essentially means "the truth is in front of your eyes" I had to contain my excitement and right at that moment she had to attend to one of her kids. We then read the last two paragraphs from the intro about asking and receiving, and then what it means if you receive an answer. she started to get a little emotional (usually when we get more serious in lessons she just makes a joke and "laughs the spirit away")and I knew the Spirit was working hard. She was again distracted by her kids, so i took the chance to find a scripture about not denying the HG in the index. I came up with Alma 34:38 which says "that ye will contend no more against the Holy Ghost, and that ye will receive it..." When she read it she REALLY almost started to cry, and she said, "yes elder, correct, just now you were correct. and now you are correct again!" referring to the passages we had read. I told her to stop fighting the HG and accept Him. she knew what she had to do, but she told me she has a lot of "secrets" she does not want to share; referring to things in her life that she knows she has to overcome to be baptized. I told her I didnt even want to know them, and I said that just because you are baptized, doesnt mean your problems go away. and i continued, but if you keep the Lord's commandments He can bless and help and strengthen you. You can feel that peace that comes from the Spirit and learn to rely on Him with your "secrets".
The Sprit was so strong and I knew we could all feel it. I challenged her to write down all of her "secrets" and pick just one thing to work on this week. She agreed to do so and that is the story thus far. among other things I told her the most important thing for her to do now is to keep coming to church. I am so grateful that we are able to bring the Spirit with us and have HIM do the teaching and the changing because I know that I could not do it with any combination of words or actions done solely by me. It is like you quoted mom, we cannot learn, teach...do anything of value unless the Spirit attends us. I am so grateful for all the tender mercies the Lord shows us. truly I can see the value now as we struggle to teach people and have less opportunities to bring the Spirit to others. I think part of what I need to learn now as we struggle is to recognize each and every time the Spirit works with me, for i truly cannot take Him for granted.
Not much else for this week. a new game plan suggested to us by our ZLs is to visit as many members, active or less, as we can. simply to visit with them and not even to necessarily ask for referrals.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Just a couple pics this week
one of me at "airport lama" which means the old airport haha. ya people live there now.
me at kuhara court, which is where we live.
yup
Elder Tinggi
me at kuhara court, which is where we live.
yup
Elder Tinggi
Hello Everybody
I had actually almost forgtten that Pres Mains had come this past week haha. its weird writing about the last half of last week and the beginning of this week... anyways Pres mains is pretty cool. really like laid back, but i think he's still adjusting to being in Malaysia. when he came for the house check it was really just to actually see our house and what it was like. at the end he was like, oh ya and its really clean too, nice job elders. hahaha sis mains is just like a mother also, just like sis clark was. sis mains is funny in how much like a mom she is. i guess its weird cuz the mom i have now is a malayasian haha. i miss you mommy! (also learned this wee that only rich kids say "mommy" haha) Ya so the night they came they did the house check, and then we had a fireside. Originally we were told it was a preisthood and auxiliary leader training mtg, but the morning of the APs called and asked how many of the members we were expecting to show up... haha but it actually turned out that a lot of people were able to come. Basically Pres and sis mains bore their testimonies and gave a short life story about themselves and their family. i would say their family has served the broadest missions. 7 kids; two to italy, one a brazil, one to taiwan, one to california Mong speaking, one to argentina i think, the other i dont remember. but 6 elders and one sister. pretty cool, and pres mains served as an elder in korea as a young man. now theyre in singapore/malaysia. pretty crazy. When he interviewed me it was only to get to know me a little bit. basically just wanted to know my hobbies, interests, studies in school. i also got to translate for sister mains while chatting with members, so that was fun.
well since we are struggling to teach people, i dont have much to write about :( we are still trying to meet with members and at least we are getting really good at teaching recent converts haha. a girl we have been teaching for about three months now just finished reading the Book of Mormon. her name is Lot-Lot (nickname) and yesterday as we emt we asked her why she read it so fast. she said that anytime she would just be sitting around the house, sh said the book would "pull" her to read it, and she would read. I told her that was the Holy Ghost pullig her, and she was kind of surprised. even though she has been asked amny times before, we asked if she would follow the counsel of Moroni and pray to know if it is true. she said she already knew it was true "because it is spcirpture" we told her that she still needed to pray about it because when the Holy ghost gives her an answer, she will not be able to deny it. she said she would and I think she will. In general she is a very curiouis person, simply liking the gaining of knowledge. Ling-Ling, who was baptuzed last month, is her sister, and they both read a lot and ask a lot of questions about the church. They've asked about polygamy, joseph smith's life in general, about garments haha, temples. Its cool to go and visit and teach and be asked questions that are more "in depth" about the church, and I've really learned alot by being forced to answer such questions.
this past week i also finished "Jesus the Christ" and it was AMAZING. my mind was opened so many times and i truly feel like i can answer the question, WHO is Jesus Christ? I highly suggest reading it if you have not already. I am now starting to read "Articles of Faith" another classic by James E. Talmage. and i'm excited to learn about the basics again.
I love you all and I know that this is the only true church and I cannot wait to start sharing about new and exciting investigators again haha! Love, Elder Giblette
well since we are struggling to teach people, i dont have much to write about :( we are still trying to meet with members and at least we are getting really good at teaching recent converts haha. a girl we have been teaching for about three months now just finished reading the Book of Mormon. her name is Lot-Lot (nickname) and yesterday as we emt we asked her why she read it so fast. she said that anytime she would just be sitting around the house, sh said the book would "pull" her to read it, and she would read. I told her that was the Holy Ghost pullig her, and she was kind of surprised. even though she has been asked amny times before, we asked if she would follow the counsel of Moroni and pray to know if it is true. she said she already knew it was true "because it is spcirpture" we told her that she still needed to pray about it because when the Holy ghost gives her an answer, she will not be able to deny it. she said she would and I think she will. In general she is a very curiouis person, simply liking the gaining of knowledge. Ling-Ling, who was baptuzed last month, is her sister, and they both read a lot and ask a lot of questions about the church. They've asked about polygamy, joseph smith's life in general, about garments haha, temples. Its cool to go and visit and teach and be asked questions that are more "in depth" about the church, and I've really learned alot by being forced to answer such questions.
this past week i also finished "Jesus the Christ" and it was AMAZING. my mind was opened so many times and i truly feel like i can answer the question, WHO is Jesus Christ? I highly suggest reading it if you have not already. I am now starting to read "Articles of Faith" another classic by James E. Talmage. and i'm excited to learn about the basics again.
I love you all and I know that this is the only true church and I cannot wait to start sharing about new and exciting investigators again haha! Love, Elder Giblette
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