Joshua's Song of Singapore: Week 21: Butterworth, Malaysia

The Ballad of Butterworth

Good morning!! I am so so excited to be able to write to you all today on this glorious Monday (or Sunday night)! This has been a really good week, as usual it was fast and slow and fun and hard and just awesome!

On Monday, we had a fun day of going to some of the really expensive stores in the KL malls, since we were there for exchanges. Then, that night Elder DJ and I went to the Family Home Evening that the KL branch had, which was really fun. We shared scriptures, bore testimony, and then played a really fun game where you had to make an animal sound and then guess who it was that was making the sound.

Tuesday, we had exchanges, so I spent the day with Elder DJ. We had our District Council meeting, and then went around KL talking to people. Like I've said before, KL is such an amazing place...it feels like New York City to me! Then, around 5:00pm, Elder Anglin and I took a train back to Butterworth, the land of dreams!

The rest of the week was pretty normal. We Friday night taught our English Class, and a man named Benson that we have taught a couple times came to English class, and then after the class we met with him and invited him to baptize. In the middle of Elder Anglin inviting him, he interrupted and said "可以" (can)! It was a really cool experience, the Spirit was so strong. Then, on Saturday and Sunday we went biking around Butterworth visiting some of the members of our branch. It was really sweet to be able to meet so many great people, but by the end we were so sweaty and exhausted.

On Sunday, I had a weird experience. We met this cool guy from China, and his Chinese just sounded so weird to me. The Chinese in China has a lot of "r" sounds, whereas Malaysian Chinese is super soft and cute. When I heard him speak, it sounded weird to me, and I had the thought "Wow, I am actually used to Malaysian Chinese now", which was an encouraging thought haha! I guess that I actually am adjusting!

Honestly, I am loving my mission a whole ton! Some days are discouraging, and sometimes companionship unity could be higher (:P), but overall these have been five of the happiest months of my whole life. I wish I were better at explaining how I feel, I just feel so grateful for the opportunity I have to learn so much, grow in charity, and just have a fun time, and to see a lot of growth in myself and growth in others.

I love you all SO SO much! You guys are truly amazing...I couldn't ask for a better family. I hope that this week was great! I can't wait to see all of your smiling faces again, but for now I am grateful to be able to hear from you once in a while and to feel your love all the way across the world. Keep living the life!

Best,

Elder Weatherford

Answers to Dad's questions --

I really can't wait to take you to Singapore and Malaysia, it is going to be such an amazing time. I can't wait for you to meet so many cool people, see so many cool places, eat so much good food, and just see how awesome this part of the world is. I swear, Malaysia is the craziest mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian, and Thai culture that you really cannot find anywhere else!

1. The Branch President's daughter actually plays the piano (now that she is coming to church more regularly, now that her boyfriend is preparing for baptism :P), and so I do not play as often. She plays the right hand really well, but the left hand she just makes up as she goes, so the songs sound a little funny, but if it works it works. Typically, we sit with investigators the 1st block, generally teach General Principles class for 2nd block (that is the only class we have), and then just participate in Elders Quorum or help translate for our investigators.

2. President Rowley used to write me every week in my first transfer, but now he only writes from time to time. I think he mostly just writes to new/struggling missionaries, which is really good.

3. In Companionship study, we start by reading a little bit of the Missionary Handbook (white bible), then we recite Doctrine and Covenants 4, and then we study Preach My Gospel, prepare for any lessons we are teaching that day, and then roleplay (practice teaching) something. It is really fun...after 20 weeks, I feel like I know PMG like the back of my hand. Who knows how it will be by week 100.

4. There are currently no Tamil missionaries. Most of the Tamil people speak Malay, and so Malay speaking missionaries were the ones who taught the Tamil families. Currently, the branches in Malaysia have lots of members but need strong leaders, so they are focusing on finding either Chinese families or Iban (Malay but non-Muslim) families. I do not totally understand it, but that's what I've heard.

5. Our District Council meetings are 90 minutes, and then we go out to lunch together. We do the meetings in English, but I have started having us all teach each other something in Chinese for the first few minutes. We mostly cover PMG as well, and then we talk about a skill (teaching the Restoration, resolving concerns, etc.) and then practice roleplaying with each other.

Spiritual Experiences

This week, we had a lot of really cool experiences! By far, one of the coolest experiences was when Benson accepted to be baptized. He is a really cool guy, but the first time we met him, he talked to us for around 20 minutes about a new "One Coin" currency, and then he wasn't able to come to our return appointment because he ended up getting quite drunk. So, Elder Anglin and I were pretty discouraged, but when we started to meet with him we really see how much he was prepared by the Lord. It just made me think of how easy it is for us to see somebody and make a snap judgement about them, rather than see them in an eternal perspective. That is what I am trying to focus on, is seeing everyone as having the possibility of becoming a perfected being, because that is what everyone has. I am grateful that God has not given up on me (even though I am having countless mistakes), and so I want to be better at showing patience to other people in the same way.

I love you all so much!