The Ballad of Butterworth Week Two
Hello everyone! First off, I may not be able to email a ton today. We are going to Monkey Beach in Penang, and doing a two hour hike through jungles full of spiders and snakes and...you guessed it, monkeys!
This week was really good! On Tuesday, we had a district council over on Penang Island. It was really good, but it takes a solid 4 hours to bike and ferry to Penang, so it took up a good chunk of our day. On Wednesday, he had a dinner appointment with a really sweet Sister Catharine. She has a really strong testimony, but she has no way to get to church, so we like to visit her. She made this really good but really spicy curry with Nasi lemak...it was so delicious, but I did have some "stomach problems" in the middle of the night. Worth it! On Thursday, we taught Moong Kau about the Law of Chastity, and then we gave him a blessing because withdrawals have made his body really hurt. On Friday, we had a coordination meeting with a really sweet 80 year old man named Brother Titus, and we taught our English class about how to use the word "until" and then we shared a video about Jesus Christ. On Saturday, we mostly just went out talking to people and calling and setting up appointments. Sunday was really great! Sacrament meeting was really powerful, and numbers were up from 11 people total to about 20! And then, we originally had 6 lessons planned, and 5 people coming to church, but 4 of the 5 people got sick and then 4 of our appointments fell through! So, we went to visit some members of the branch, which was very spiritual. The rest of the time in the days was spent talking to people, studying Chinese, and eating bowls and bowls of rice and roti and curry and Nasi lemak and Chao mein and so much good food!
Elder Pack is continuing to do really well. He is such a great person, and he is a great example to me!
We have zone conference on the 18th, so Elder Pack and I are going to head down to KL (Kuala Lumpur) for a few days, and then transfers are on the 27th. I really want to stay in Butterworth, but I'll be happy to go wherever.
Malaysia is same old same old. It is absolutely the best place ever but also absolutely crazy. One day, we were biking on a bridge and then all of a sudden there were 50 monkeys on the side of the road watching us. And then, one day, Elder Pack and I were doing a phone audit and then a massive cockroach started to fly around our apartment. He killed it with some spray, and I let out a scream and said a prayer in my heart. Also, lots of older Chinese men stare at us because we are so white, and young Malay kids always say hello, it is so cute! I also already have a tan line from my shirt. I wonder what it'll be like after 2 years...
I hope that you all had a fantastic week! I love you all so much, and I really can feel your love and prayers for me, and I hope that you feel my love and prayers for you guys. I miss you guys a lot, but I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here in Malaysia. I really love the experiences, people, and culture here, and I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get home. Mwa (blowing a kiss)!
Best,
Elder Weatherford
P. S. I am sorry for the bad title of the email...I am trying to come up with cool names (like "The Melody of Malaysia" and "The Song of Singapore"), and Ballad was the only thing I could think of for Butterworth.
Spiritual Experiences
As usual, this week was full of tender mercies and miracles.
First, Elder Pack and I had the opportunity to give Moong Kau a blessing because he had a lot of pain in his arm (probably because of his withdrawals). The next day, he called us and told us that his arm didn't have any pain! The pain has since returned a bit, but it was absolutely a miracle. I think that Heavenly Father wanted to give him hope that he would be able to get clean, and be able to have that pain be taken away forever. It was such a cool opportunity.
I have also really been blessed in learning Mandarin. I am able to talk to people for the most part, but it definitely has been an adjustment to get used to all the Malaysian vocabulary, and there is still so much to learn. But, I have noticed that I learn the language so much faster here than I ever did back in the states. So many little basic things have really solidified, and I think it is God helping me out.
I love you all so much! I have really been able to see the tender mercies in my life as I journal every night; I try to write one tender mercy from the day every night, and that has helped me to look for them throughout the day. God really does give us little mercies throughout the day to help us get along, we just need to be looking for them.
I love you all so much!
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