The Ballad of Butterworth Week Six
Hello everyone! Another week has gone by super slowly but also immensely quickly!
This morning, Elder Pack and I cleaned the house, and then we found out about transfers! I found out that...well let's just say the Ballad of Butterworth is going to continue! I will be in Butterworth for the next transfer, and Elder Pack will be too! I was really glad to hear that, I think that Butterworth is going to have an awesome transfer! One of my friends who came to Singapore the same time I did is going to be training this transfer, as well as becoming District Leader. I hope that he survives all of that in his second transfer!
This week was pretty normal. Moong Kau had his moto keys accidentally stolen and taken to KL by one of his friends, so we were not able to meet him this week, but we continued to meet with Emy, Deric, and Teh, all of whom will hopefully be baptized this week! We also tried to find new people that would be interested in learning, but it is still a struggle. So many people here are loosely Buddhist and believe that all religions teach good things, so it can be hard for them to see how the Gospel could help them. Oh well, it is a great opportunity for growth!
We also found out that we are going to be having Zone Conference in Singapore on the 11th of this month! I am really excited, but I am also a little scared...leaving Malaysia means that we have to come back into Malaysia, and going through customs is always a little scary. I have never been "questioned" before, but it sounds like a blast! I will let you guys know all about it in two weeks (I might be traveling next p-day, so my emailing time might be a little wacky or limited).
We also have been having lots of meetings to plan activities for the branch, including badminton (people here love badminton), New Years, the Lantern Festival, and some other events. The branch here is not super big, but the members that frequently come are so strong in the faith! It is amazing!
This week, Elder Pack and I saw six giant lizards! They like to hang out in the gross polluted rivers that abound in Malaysia, and we saw so many this week! They are so scary! Also, our house has a lot of wasps that somehow get in, so every night when we get home we turn off all of the lights in our apartment and turn on the porch light and guide them back outside. There was also a massive cockroach in our bedroom that we killed and then watched slowly die from the spray we use to get rid of cockroaches. Malaysia is quite the place...
Overall, this was a fantastic week! This week, I think I finally started getting adjusted to missionary life. I just felt a lot happier this week, and I didn't let little things bug me as much as they did before, which was really good! I have hope for the future that it will continue to get even better, and I am so grateful to be serving a mission!
I love you all so much! I still miss you like crazy every day, but it makes me so happy to read your emails and see that we are still the same old family that loves each other to death. Thank you so much for your prayers and love, I can feel it so strongly even halfway across the world. You guys mean so much to me, I can't even explain!
I love you all so much!
Best,
Elder Weatherford (there is an Elder Ford already in the mission so I think I am going to be Elder Weather now :P)
Spiritual Experiences
This week has been full of cool experiences and miracles!
First, since his last accident, Moong Kau had another motorcycle accident and then his moto keys were stolen, so we have not been able to see him for over a week! At first I felt really discouraged because of this, but when I step back, I can see that God is totally leading his life. He has been at home all week and has not been able to come into Butterworth (he lives about 5km from the church), which means that he has not been able to take any drugs. Because of this, he has made a lot of progress, and he has not taken anything in three weeks! We are so excited for him, and we think that he will be ready for baptism very soon! It is so cool to me to see that God is guiding his life so much to help him overcome his 50-year addiction.
This week, I also had a crazy experience. We were biking to a cafe to do some studies, and I saw a man standing outside of a mall. As I biked away from the mall, I felt a REALLY strong prompting to turn around and go talk to him. So, after a bit, I decided to turn around and go talk to him. But, right as we got back to the mall, he went inside and then disappeared. It was such a crazy prompting, and I thought a lot about why I would feel so prompted if he was just going to walk inside. I still don't completely understand, but it opened my eyes a lot to how the Lord understands where we need to be so much more than we do. At times, we may not have idea why we have to do the things we need to do, but God does. We can trust that He knows better what we need to be doing.
I love you all so much! I hope that you had a splendid week full of tender mercies and blessings! I am so grateful for all of you guys who bless my life so much by being a part of it. I hope that this week you will be able to see how the Lord is guiding you all, and see how much He loves you. We are all little seeds, but we can become big trees! The Lord is there to help us grow, and he wants us to grow, even though sometimes growth is scary and difficult. I love you all so much!
Best,
Elder Joshie Weather
Pictures
This week, I was really bad at taking pictures. Sorry about that! Here is what I was able to scrape together. None of them have me in it, so I guess you can't see how sweaty I always look!
1. We went to Starbucks to do our weekly planning session (because it is quiet), and we had to buy a drink to sit there, and the name for the order was "Elder." I just thought it was hilarious to see a Starbucks cup with "Elder" written on it.
2. A really pretty part of Butterworth. This area is mostly Malay (so we don't spent a lot of time here), but we went through to visit a member of the branch.
3. The infamous cockroach that invaded our home. He was about the length of my index finger...
4. A fun ice desert with crazy jello stuff on top and lots of fruit! Yum yum!
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