Week 22: Butterworth, Malaysia

The Ballad of Butterworth

GOOD MORNING! It is super crazy to me that it is Monday already. The weeks are going by faster and faster, and I guess I have technically been a missionary for 5 months. Wow, that is crazy. 

This week was really good! On Monday, after we emailed we went and got lunch with a member in Penang who LOVES Elders, so we got some McDonald's with him. Then, we went shopping and then Elder Anglin and I were going to go to a bird park, but we ran out of time (and money :P). 

On Tuesday, we went to Penang and had our District Council, and then we had a "Thanksgiving lunch" with the Sisters in Penang and some members. It was really fun! Elder Anglin and I bought a chicken and a half from a chicken rice shop, but it actually tasted like turkey! Then, the Sisters made little pumpkin pies (I don't know how they found pumpkin in Malaysia), and we got mashed potatoes from KFC, and we also had rolls. Then we went around the table and said one thing we were grateful for. It was not quite the same as being with family and having actual turkey, but it was a fun little Malaysian Thanksgiving lah! 

On Wednesday, we needed to ship a bike from Butterworth to Kuching (because an Elder who used to serve in Butterworth was transferred to Kuching and needed his bicycle), and so we spent a lot of time packing his bicycle into Grab cars and trying to get around. It was pretty fun!

On Saturday, we spent a lot of time visiting some less active members of our branch, which was really fun. It really made me realize how little I know of Butterworth; most of the places Elder Anglin and I stay are the Chinese parts of town, but a lot of our members are Tamil, so it was fun to explore some other parts of the city. And then, on Saturday night, our branch had a Thanksgiving activity...we shared stories about Thanksgiving, and then we had some food! It was a really good time.

On Sunday, Elder Anglin and I were pretty sad when none of the people we were hoping to see at church showed up. A lot of people got sick, and it was raining really hard, and so everyone just texted us saying "We are going to stay inside." It was disappointing, but the rest of the day went really well!

This week, I really tried to focus a lot on being grateful for what we have. We all have hard times (that is something we cannot choose), but what we can choose is how we react to them. I am trying to not focus on waiting for the rainbow, but focus on thanking God for the rain. 

I love you all so so much! I am so grateful for all of your emails and encouraging words and prayers for me. You mean the absolute world to me, each and every one of you! Have a great week, and I can't wait to talk to you later. Next Monday, we may be flying to Singapore, but I still should be able to send out some emails. I love y'all!

Answers to questions -- Actually, for transfer news they release a picture of something called the "Transfer Board" that just has where everyone is serving. So you get that picture and then look for your name...it is actually really scary haha.

Yeah, Elder Duzett is the one I really like. He came to Singapore when I did, but he did an extra  6 weeks in the MTC. And yeah, he is Zone Leader by himself, and then his companion is DL now. 

I am trying to do pushups as well, actually. We get 30 minutes a day to work out, which is really nice, but it is also more than I have worked out in a long time. I try to set little goals for myself, like raising my max number of pushups that I can do by 5 by the end of the transfer. It is pretty fun, but my arms always hurt after working out too haha.

Spiritual Experiences

On Saturday, we went to visit a less active family in Butterworth, but when we got to their address, we found out that their kampong (little village) had been destroyed and they all moved. We were pretty sad, but then this nice Indian man named Soupy came out, looked at the address, and said "Follow me" and jumped on his moto, and we followed him on his bicycle. We went through these little side streets and finally reached this apartment complex. He asked around 20 people if they knew the family we were looking for, and finally we found them. It was such a cool miracle, and we really felt like Soupy was put in our path so that we could find that sweet family. 

Also, this week I have read the talk "Come What May, and Love It" by Elder Wirthlin a lot. It talks about being happy and being grateful in whatever circumstances we are in, which is an idea I really like and an idea that I want to improve on. I would invite all of you to read the talk, it is really good!

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Pictures

1. Numb and Spicy Hot Pot Flavor Chinese Lay's (I thought that was funny)

2. Our friend Soupy who showed us the way1

3. A cute Malay house we came across while visiting members (I have a feeling we're not in Laramie anymore, Todo)

4. The family had a tradition of taking a picture of the Elders holding the father's moustache, and we followed suit. He looks like he is in a lot of pain, but I promise you he is not :P

5. Our Malaysian Thanksgiving feast!

6. The family we visited!

& other pics of Aka Tham and the District (Sisters and Elders)