Miracles Week!

Hello,

So as the subject bar tells, this has been a week with many miracles! We were set back a little though because one of my toenails is getting ingrown again... dont worry though its all being taken care of. i visited a specialist clinic and he got some antibiotics goin. he said the infection needs to be reduced/taken care of before he can do the surgery of cutting away the nail. i have actually been quite pleased and surprised at the rate of recovery. on thurs my toe was wuite swollen but now it is barley swollen at all. So i will have to wait till after Singapore to go back to the clinic to get the procedure done. I assure you that I am taking care of it with all due diligence haha.

So the beginning of the week was wuite slow and nothing was really happening, then on thurs a man we knocked into about 3 weeks ago called us and invited us over to "come and pray" for his family. we were of course quite excited at the chance to meet with him again, and we had a really good lesson with them. We met his wife, and they also have three young children. they are probly the two nicest people I have ever met. Very strong in the Anglican beliefs, with family members and his father being priests. but we shared the Restoration and they are wiling to continue meeting with us. Family #1; Richard and Suzanna. While knocking on doors we saw a group of about 6 young guys (in their 20s, usually the hardest contacting situation ) we were both ready to just walk past them, but i felt that we should overcome our experience with contacting such a demographic..in the end one of them said we could come to his house on Sun, which we did. We met his sweet wife and they have SIX kids! we had an awesome lesson with them as well. Family #2; Culin and Lina. We have also been trying to get a return appointment with another couple who have several children. He kind of has a varying work schedule and it has been tough to keep appts. but on Sun after meeting Culin and Lina, we were checking some sweet 3D pictures a chinese man was selling, when John, our investigator walked up to us and said hello! we were by the market which is close to his house, and he just happened to be shopping at the time we were there, looking at 3D pictures hahaha! so we set another appt for this Tueseday which I think we will be able to keep. Family #3; John and Natalya. ALSO, we always see a small Nigerian boy kicking a soccer ball around the our apartment complex, so one day we decided to ask him where he lives and if we could meet his parents. WE did and they are an awesome Nigerian couple. Patrick, the father, is getting his PHD in computer science and also lecturing as part of his scholarship. We had our fist lesson with them last night and they are super smart and faithful and awesome with two kids! Family #4; Patrick and Joy.

So basically this week i have gone from never really teaching a family to having 4 pretty solid families to teach! It has been a super week and many time we feel that we dont really even have to do much. Just as long as we are out of our house haha, the Lord just puts people in front of us. Often times we joke because we will usually come home and not even have sweat on our brows hahaha.

A really funny story as well: we were walking out to lunch when a tenant of our aprt complex drove in, but he stopped as he passed us. He told us to follw him to his parking spot cuz he wanted to talk to us. I had met this guy before and I knew he was a Muslim, we'll call him Rob, so I kind of braced from another scolding haha. But it was the exact opposite! He said that before when he lived in Canada, two of his tenants were missionaries! He said he knew who we were and what we were doing, and he continued to insist on bringing us around to several Christian houses he knew of in the complex. one house was the Nigerian family, who we had JUST talked to, so that was funny and awkward. (keep in mind that Rob has the funniest accent i have ever heard; Canadian, Bangladeshian, and Scottish... I swear) one house nobody was home, and then another house he started knocking on the door, and then he just opened the door haha. there were about 7 Iban girls inside, who were of course very confused but then, knowing that Rob was a bit crazy, settled down haha. We contacted them and apologized for Rob's disturbance haha. They said they understood and a couple of them seemed mildly interested in our message. So we were ready to go eat when Rob came out of his house holding his 5 month old baby. He said that we wanted us to come in, but since his wife was busy, he could not entertain us. But he told us that his baby cries a lot at night and that he felt like there were bad spirit causing the crying. He said that he knew we were men of God and he wanted us to "pray for his baby." Loke said it was ok, even though Rob is Muslim, but he insisted I do it haha. So i gave a prayer for the baby and the family. He thanked us and also gave us each can of Sprite! So for the first time and probly the last time, we got some referrals from a Muslim man hahah! very funny and unique experience

E Loke and I are just having a blast, especially now that our investigator pool is really growing. Our sarcasm has gotten to the point where we cant really talk to each other seriously haha


So in response to your "concerns" dad, I guess I can take a chance to share what my mission has done to ME so far.. Despite all the good things I have done for people around me, I can honestly say that I have been the most affected. My desire and skills in studying the scriptures are at their peak. I look forward each day to having an hour to myself to study. I feel the Spirit more in my everyday life than I ever have before. I know with an absolute surety that this church is true and that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith, and is a true record of the people described therein. And by knowing this book is true, I know that Joseph Smith was called to be the Prophet of the Restoration. Reading the Doctrines of Salvation books has increased my knowledge about how to gain salvation, and more importantly the seriousness of what I need to do and keep doing until I leave this earth. The Plan of Salvation makes so much sense, intellectually and spiritually that anyone who understands it is crazy to not believe it! I really feel that whatever little I knew about the Gospel before has been multiplied many times over, and that I am really rooted in the Gospel now. I dont really see ANYthing that could shake my faith, and I am excited to later become "that awesome member the missionaries love" I guess more than anything I know my role as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that being such a member is NOT a small thing. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the time I have now to be His missionary.

In other news, E Loke and I are really looking forward to Zone Conf in Singapore. almost all the missionaries are going to the zoo for a zone activity. So i will get another chance to go there! hopefully it wont rain like last time! Its always fun to meet up with other elders. unfortunately I wont be seeing Tyler or Trotter or Tadius, as they are in the other Conf.

Cool to hear about the big addition to MN mission. we will be getting a big shipment at the end of March. I've heard about 20 are coming. so the mission will be packed until May when about 20 go home. Probly not a significant increase in sister cuz the sisters' areas are kind of limited. They have to stay in the bigger cities cuz its pretty dangerous to have to white girls walking arould Malaysia haha. Kuching zone has four sisters.

So the mini war in Sabah is a pretty big deal. of course we are only able to learn what people tell us. The center of the conflict is very close to Tawau, only about 2 hrs away. I imagine the elders in Tawau are being effected, cuz Tawau is the portal for the Malaysian troops to get into that area. WE are not really sure about all the details though. Pretty much what you told me we already knew. Philippino rebels or something like that. Loke in the meantime has been laughing at his country due to the slowness and ineffectiveness of the military/police forces. I think about 15 malaysians have been killed. its all over the news though. this is pretty much the first conflict that has ever been in malaysia though. Everyone always asks, "have you heard anything about the war?" (the funny part is that they call it a war....) Pres Mains hasnt told us anything, and it will only affect the elders in sabah, and there probly only the Tawau elders.

Also, last week we went bowling and i crushed my high scores, one after another; 173, 183, 193, then 224!!!! ya im pretty much a pro haha. we are gonna go again today :)

thats i think truly ALL the news i can write about haha. I love you all. take pictures of the snow for me before its all gone!!!

Elder Giblette