happy thanksgiving that happened only in america this past week! haha and maybe in other places. i certainly missed out on Montana and everything else there. it was awesome for everyone to add a little to the email. i thin the best addition was Uncle Thad's hahahaah.
there probly is a big backup in Salt Lake, but like hailey said, soon there will be many Giblettes runnin around the world.
This week we have continued to tract out the remaining neighborhoods in town, and we're running out fast! but transfers are in two weeks and we are hoping for a change, not to say we dont like Sitiawan, but we'd just rather be somewhere else haha. the toughest part is that each week we meet people who seem to have a lot of potential, but then they just dont turn out. but what can ya do?
a funny and disappointing story form this week. in the course of "knocking" houses, we came to one that was Christian (which is always exciting) and when only a young boy came out saying that his dad was sleeping, we told him to give his dad a pamphlet about the restoration later. he said ok and that was the end of it. later that night, while we were back home and just chillin at home, we got a call from a man who had read our pamphlet. he said that he read through, and on the back there are prompting questions such as: "what should i do now?" answering itself: "read the Book Of Mormon" so he saw our number on the bottom and, mispronouncing my name, asked for "eldin girbett" hahah. but we had a good conversation and set up an appointment for the next day. of course we were as excited as could be cuz nobody EVER calls back after taking a pamphlet. we went there the next day and to our great surprise, his son came out and said he was in Kuala Lumpur... (city about 3 hrs drive away) we asked him if he was sure haha and he said ya. so we finally got ahold of this guy, Royes, and he didnt really explain the miscommunication, but agreed to meet next week when he came back in town. so its still a developing story and we hope that we will be able to meet him.
also this week we talked to a lady who was Christian, and had a decent conversation with her at her door. we kept trying to explain that our church is led by Jesus Christ through a living prophet (among other things) she was at first put off and thought we just wanted her to switch churches. She also kept saying that "i believe in Jesus Christ, and i dont need anything else" more or less to that effect. we eventually just ave her a pamphlet and invited her to read. she didnt really want to meet and said if she was interested, she would just come to our church. thats code for, go away i dont care about what you have to say haha. it reminded me about very important aspects of this Christ's church; we not only have the true FAITH in Jesus, but we have ALL the ORDINANCES that are required to return to Him. the classic "faith without works is dead" scenario for this woman. It's so hard to meet "christians" here because they really have no idea what christianity is, and therefore are completely shut off to anything their priest doesnt condone. anyways thats that lady's story.
unrelated to missionary work:
i have neglected to tell about all my experiences with DURIAN. aka that stinky fruit that you read so much about before i came out. it IS as stinky and weird as everything you read mom. haha and each time you eati it is a different experience. My MTC teacher, who was known in the mission as an expert durian chooser, told us that we had to try it 3 times before we never ate it again.
Attempt #1) and this attempt is recorded on video; hated it. the texture, the smell, the taste. all of it unbearable. all of it indescribable. the taste and texture simply revolting. almost could not swallow. durian flavored burps for the rest of the day...
Attempt#2) approx 1.5 months later; almost the same as #1, but much more bearable as to the texture. taste still quite unpleasant. we ate it right at the vendor and we asked him what is a good durian supposed to taste like, and how do you choose such a durian? he couldnt really describe it, but said that there are more or less two schools of flavor: sweeter and bitterer. we asked him if he could find a sweet one...
Attempt #3) to my great surprise, quite sweet and tasty. the odd and creamy texture added to the sensation of sweetness. i found myself sucking the "flesh" off the seed until it was clean.
I have since had other eatings and one with similar results to #2, and the other even better than #3. i am now starting to recognize which i like, but only once the durian is cut open.
General info about the durian. most are about the size of a like a small volleyball, but can be softball sized, or basketball sized. they are hard and covered in sharp, rigid spikes. a guaranteed kill shot if it falls on you. (but we've heard that this year few people have been killed by this fruit) the smell is really indescribable, except that it smells like durian. the smell is quite strong and spreads wide. there are not really a delicacy, but everyone loves them. they are only in season in like Oct-Dec, and ive also heard like June time. but now is like prime time and the chinese elders get them fairly often. the texture of the flesh is kind of like yogurt, but has like a filmy "skin" that you also eat. i think is the combination of these two things that makes it tough to stomach. it really is hard to describe and you just have to eat it to know.
um im running out of time but we also celebrated a member's daughter's second birthday. it was awesome. we got her a sock monkey. she loved it. while we were coming back, we passed by the scene of a guy that got hit by a car while likely running a red light on his moto. he died.
i love you all and we continue to work hard here enjoying our tough times
Elder Giblette
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