Sinjapo

So we went and returned from singapore. at the beginning of the week i was feeling a little more congested than usual, then Tuesday night i broke into cold sweats, and had trouble sleeping, but when i woke up i didnt have a temp or anything. and i wasnt about to let anything keep me from enjoying me last conference in singapore. the schedule went a little like this: wed morning we fly to kuching to catch a 1040 flight to singapore. arrive in singapore at `230, and then have the day to do whatever we want until 7pm. we went bowling and ate. nothing too exciting. 7-9pm was our zone activity, where we just had a training on family history. thurs 930am-5pm was zone conference. then we had time to go get dinner, and then had a zone meeting 7-9pm. then we went out and explored singapore a little for the new guys. friday at 140 fly to KL, then back to bintulu at 430. arrive home at about 7pm friday. pretty fun and a lot of traveling. 

so i thought i got over my sickness while in singapore, but i was wrong whensaturday morning i was a little worse, with the addition of coughing to a very stuffed nose and a slightly sore throat. now im pretty healthy, plenty of energy. im still just a bit coughy. so i may not go out tonight in order to avoid coughin all over my members haha. but nothing serious in the slightest. 

so not a whole lot of missionary work done this week, but this being my alst zone conference, i think i may have just stepped onto the time accelerator, and i feel like i'll be home in no time. all missionaries who will go home before the next zone conf gave departing testimonies. that was what really put it onto perspective for me and the other guys in my group. we all felt like it wasnt long ago when we were watching the departing missionaries give their testimonies at our FIRST zone conference! so ya thats how thats going.

FYI my official release date will be Jan 16th. i havent recieved my flight plans yet, but i imagine they will come within a couple weeks, both to you and me. 

the news from you guys about the massive typhoon was the first any of us had heard about it, so thats pretty surprising. basically the Philippines and Indonesia form a perfect shield around malaysia, so there havent really ever been any natural disasters in malysia.. but it would be so scary to be serving over there.. its good to hear that no missionaries were hurt or killed. they probly pulled them all to safe locations well ahead of time. even we have a pretty set emergency procedure, so im sure in a place like the philippines they have a good system. 

so awesome to hear about your friend Rachel. in our zone meeting, a member from singapore shared his conversion story with us, and it basically innvolves a lifetime of having associations with members throughout his whole life, and eventually he just decided that he was "running into" them too many times for it to be a coincidence. The Lord really does prepare His children, and sometimes it takes longer than others. I know that whether or not Rachel joins the church, she will always value the relationships she has/had with members. keep loving her and being that example of lvoe and happiness that you always are mom! 

i got my package and transported it home with no problem. i have to admit that i didnt have the patience to wait to open the wrapped presents haha, and opened everything basically right away hahahah. the key item, the gold bond powder, is perfect. everything else is jsut a fun bonus. the little toys will make perfect gifts to give to members!

i really dont need anything else, so dont worry about it. save all your pampering for when i get back! :D

welp. thats it.

love you all!

Elder Giblette

Another week, another few parties

So we have had an EXCELLENT week. a lot of work done. green fire emanating from E jensen. and parties. mostly focusing on less-actives, as we were unable to meet with our two guys who have a baptismal date. But also met a few new people, so hopefully this week we can follow up with them. E Jensen is just eating everything up here. he loves the people, the places, and his language is coming along. the only thing he is struggling with is the food haha. he's a pretty picky kid, and does not enjoy rice, so he will either force himself to get better, or he will starve haha. meanwhile i jsut love all the food they cook haha. you all will be amazed at how unpicky i am. after malaysia, i'll probly eat anything america has to offer haha. 

We were privy to a very unique experience. A member's sister was married on saturday, and it was held at their longhouse. the grooms family are not members, so unfortunately there was alot of alcohol involved, but other than that everyone was really nice, and it was a pretty interesting ceremony. basically the thing that sealed the deal was the bride and groom, their parents and grandparents (if present) and the "heads of the longhouse" (the "leader" of each longhouse for the respective families) standing in a circle. an exchanging of rings, and then everyone in the circle taking a shot of hard liquor... luckily they allowed like sparkling apple juice instead for those who did not wish to take a shot of alcohol haha. but ya no kissing or anything. Malaysia in general, it rare to see any public display of affection. so a kiss in front of everyone was out of the question ahaha. 

so that was saturday night. then last night, at our branch presidents house was held a farewell party for the senior couple, the vaughans, who leave at the end of november. a lot of food and more ngajak.  so much fun. no alcohol or bad stuff like that haha, just good ol wholesome fun. such na blast of a time. 

So ya we go to singapore on wed and come back friday evening. gonna try to go bowling on wed in singapore since we have most of the day to do with how we please. 

pretty cool with the new car and all. how do you guys fit all the cars there haha?? i guess you think youre pretty cool and stylish now huh mom? you are! all my members love your hair and say you are a "rocker" haha. i cant wait to have the van to drive around. im seriously grateful for any vehicle i can get haha. thatll make life in rexburg much easier for sure. and i'll popular cuz i'll be able to rive everyone around! 

ya so im pretty sure the singapore mission is the most expensive mission in the world. constantly flying around missionaries. the housing alone in singapore is outrageous. they dont tell us the prices of flights, but ya i guess you could say imma frequent flyer now haha. a lot of guys get frequent flyer cards, but there arent really any benefits. 

welp. thats about it. ive been told that pres has some exciting announcements this zone conference. so we'll see!

Elder Giblette

Pictures!

check out the weaving of these baskets! almost everyone here does these. pretty sweet. its like a pretty durable plastic material. cut into strips

Me doing the ngajak. the traditional Iban dance. they say im pretty good at it, so look forward to seeing the videos of me when i get back!

all the missionaries in our district along with a few members.

the sistas.

packin about 20 people plus kids into a 10' x 10' room for FHE!  bestnyaaaaa

me n jensen at Marina Bay in singapore

Greenie in Town

So I went to Singapore and picked up an one Elder Jensen. He's relatively small, thin guy, but athletic. from Cedar Hills, UT. 19 yrs old. loves cars/motorcycles/girls/swimming/guns. kind of a redneck but not at all at the same time. likes to tell stories and is really talkative. lot of energy and questions. anxious to work and learn the language. truly a perfect boost to finish my mission. I think we will have a lot of fun together and will accomplish a lot. I can already tell it's good to have split the area, just cuz of the added and intensified focus that will be given to the members. i would explain how we split it, but it wouldnt mean anything to you haha. but E Robbins and I agree its an even split, so there shouldnt be any disputes in that regard. with the split, i will still be teaching Joshua and Sylvester, and the other companionship will take Bro Ting

Puyang was baptized! it was a great little service, I performed the baptism, and the branch Pres confirmed her. Although she doesnt understand everything, we both strongly felt she was ready to be baptized, and she has wanted to for a long time. It can be a bit daunting to know that you and your comp are responsible for deciding if a child of God is ready to be baptized. Knowing the implications of someone who is not ready, but baptized; or someone who is ready, but has been waiting for the missionaries can be stressful. Nobody wants to baptize someone and then a month later find out they really werent ready and dont want to come to church anymore. But i feel that she is ready, has changed her life, and has a testimony, so the rest is up to her and the branch. 

i left thurs for singapore, and came back friday. we had a district youth activity called super saturday on saturday. pretty fun. always nice to interact with the youth. didnt have too many appointments, but a busy and change-for-the-good week. E Robbins new comp is a native from Kuching, Sarawak, my old zone. so it will be awesome to have him in the house. he's one of the very few Ibans who have served/are serving a mission. The members just love having a missionary who is their own race, and can perfectly speak their own language. It really makes a huge difference. in all aspects of the work. 

other than that, i dont have much to say. we will be going back to singapore on the 7th for zone conference. im glad you sent the package already. i think it will get there in time. dont worry about it not being the best package EVER. i know it will be awesome! 

They do NOT celebrate Halloween here haha. I will work on getting a picture of the church and the house and stuff. its all just nothing new to me haha. but luckily everything is new for elder Jensen, and hes been taking pics of stuff like that :) ya i will definitely need my big coat and a blanket at the airport haha! im gonna DIE! 

welp, I love you all! 

Elder Giblette

Gen Conf

So we were able to watch conference this weekend, and it was fantastic! We watched the Saturday sessions in English cuz nobody came. but we had members come to both sunday sessions. which i guess last conf, nobody came for the afternoon sesh. My favorite talks were form Eld Dube, and from Pres Uchtdorf. I definitely find myself at times looking back and saying how good it was, and how much i accomplished, so Eld Dube's talk was a good reminder to me that we must always focus on what we have yet to do, and that we can always improve. I could easily say, its been a good 20 months and i deserve to take it easy for these last few, but i know that it is not right. just like keeping our covenants and enduring to the end, I must continue to get better and get stuff done in these last few months. The many talks centered around faith were also very helpful. Overall an excellent conference. One really cool thing was to hear the voice of E Trotter, my trainer, translating a few of the talks! i hope someday i'll have that kind of chance. 

Meanwhile we have yet again met some great people through our working with Less-Actives. One family, who is all baptized, we visited, played a game of UNO and then shared a message about the Atonement. The father participated in the lesson, and afterward the mother, Sis Selina, told us that was the FIRST time he's sat down for a lesson from the elders! then later in a meeting with the senior couple, (sis selina is going to the temple next month) Bro Ting, her husband, said he wanted "enter the church" as in wants to be baptized. So we are very excited at the prospect of completing this family as a complete unit in the church. It seems the Lord is greatly blessing Sis Selina as she prepares to go to the temple. So cool! we also met a friend of Sis Clinet, a long time member who is less-active, and we were able to share about and give her a Book of Mormon. she seems pretty interested. it really makes a difference when the member is there to testify about what the Book of Mormon has done in their own life, whether she is going to church or not. I can tell she felt the Spirit as she bore her own testimony again. a great experience

Transfers are coming soon, next week in fact, and i am pretty anxious. i would really love to stay here for the rest of my mission, but i am thinking i will be transferred. nevertheless, i know that my last area, if not Bintulu, will be full of the same opportunities as i have had here. 

So the Asia Area broadcast we will have this upcoming Sunday. pretty exciting, and i nice break to have two weeks of not worrying about who will teach the sunday school class haha. 

i'll definitely miss the fall season! 

love you all!

Elder Giblette

ps time is running short for all you who dont write me! haha #3 months left

New pics!

a rare glimpse of a citizen of malaysia cleaning trash!

a rare smile from E Vaughan (hes a nice, happy man. just doesnt smile at the camera too often :) )

Baptism of Puyang!

Less active work WORKS

We have had a pretty good week. As told by the subject line, we are really starting to see some "buds" sprouting from all the less-active work we have been doing. We were able to meet with a family i have never met with before, and they were super nice and fun, and happy to have us over. I had never met the father, and he came home after we got there, and i was expecting a grumpy guss, but he is one of the nicest guys! I was able to put my math skills to use as well, as i helped the daughter study for her end of term exams. luckily it was only basic geometry, but nevertheless i have been proved wrong. I always say that math is never used in the real world, and although studying for a test isnt really "the real world" i still needed to have some skill in math to help this member  haha.   So Hayden and Kellen, take your schooling seriously, cuz you may go to a place on your mission where the educational system is very poor, and your high school education will be of great VALUE! especially math skills. haha

 

another great appointment we had was with a member who has been, in the past, one of the core members but has been sidetracked by work in the last couple years. anyways it was also my first time having an official appt with her, and it was also GREAT! we played a couple games of UNO (best game to play anytime haha) and then shared a short message about prayer and the Holy Ghost. the great part was when she shared her conversion story with us, which is quite remarkable, and then told us of a friend who lives nearby who is having a tough time with life right now, and who she feels will greatly benefit from having us teach her. So we are just waiting for this member, Sis Timah, to take us their, and i have a feeling she, Catherine, could be a great investigator. 

 

a big principle i have learned throughout my mission, but especially in Bintulu, is patience. I cant force people to be ready to receive us when its convenient for me. I cant force my members friends to be ready NOW. There is a time and place for everything, and when the members are ready to share a name of their dear friends with us, they will do so. I think thats the tough thing, elders in the past and now can sort "force" members to introduce friends by constantly asking and encouraging, but it can often turn out to be not the right timing. So ive learned and have been learning that I must be patient, and just continue working with the members and hope that eventually they will want to bring us to their friends/family. 

 

We are gettin real excited for conference this weekend. then, next week, Asia area is holding a conference which will be broadcast live to us and all other branches/wards in Asia Area. pretty exciting. the lil pinterest quotes were cool mom. did you do any yourself? also, great pic of the temple! 

 

thats all for this week, folks.

 

love you!

Elder Giblette