Zone conference

So zone conference and Singapore were a blast! they did a good job controlling our time, so we unfortunately didnt get to really walk around and "vacation" in Singapore like we normally do. i cant complain though because i doubt theres any other mission who gets to have zone conferences like we have. anyways, a great, uplifting conference in which we DID finally receive the Book of Mormon in Malay! it is a "proselyting" copy, so there are no footnotes and only a brief, 3 page index. its wayyyyy better than the indonesian version though, and I at least have a much easier time understanding it. I can more or less read it and understand everything, being able to catch the meaning of unknown words through context clues. but the best part is being able to study it, and having confidence that I am learning vocab and grammar in Malay, which differs from Indon more than most people say. So hopefully with Pres Mains initiative to hand out a BofM a day, this new tool will increase the work here in [East] Malaysia. 

in addition to being in Singapore, we were able to have some key lessons with our investigators, and now have again 5 people on date to be baptized. all but one of them came to church too, which is the best part. So the work is progressing again here after a couple slow weeks. 

Its exciting to hear about another school year starting, and even more exciting to know that i'll get to see the end of it! Im glad you found my testimony useful, and i hope that Kellen does better than me as Seminary President haha. dont let him slack off!

So the painting was done by the landlord, in an effort to improve the house as part of his contract. the elders have been in this house since about 2007, so its relatively very old. its nice and large, with only two of us using it. and is indeed a house. 

The package is AWESOME! so many baking supplies haha! and the syrup is just perfect. already baked some of the peanut butter cookies last night. speaking of the state fair and deep fried stuff, my Louisiana-ian companion is quite the fryer, and we arent afraid to deep fry oreos on the occasion. haha, seriously so good. ive certainly expanded my cooking abilities on my mission, and my current favorite is a simple, yet delicous pasta dish. involving mixed pasta and cream of chicken. nice. since coming to bintulu, there arent many place to eat around our house, but in former areas there stands that do waffles, and they put peanut butter and chocolate spread on them while still hot. so good. also wayy back in tawau they had these things that were somewhat like pancakes, but they would only cook one side, then out butter, sugar, and some kind of peanut mixture on there. so tasty.

So as good as this week has been, it has also been a very very heartbreaking week for the Singapore mission. Last Friday night, an Elder Wiberg, serving in my former area of Samarahan, met with a terrible cycling accident. he was operated on and stabilized over the weekend, but late last night passed away. We are all still in shock, and he will be dearly missed. His dad, upon being told, faithfully responded with "he has been transferred to a better area now" Before going to Samarahan, he served where i am now in Bandar Jaya, and the membership here is devastated. we will be holding a kind of service tonight in place of FHE. I guess just keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. I cant imagine such a thing happening, but it is truly comforting to have a sure knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We really dont know when we will be called back home, and we must always be ready. 

So i hope this doesnt damper your week too much, i cant think of a better to time to cross the veil, in the service of God, so in this i found great solace. Know that i sincerely do try to ride safe as we travel around, and that now i will be even more vigilant in being safe. 

I love you all

Elder Giblette