Joshua's Song of Singapore: Week 32: Ipoh, Malaysia

The Illusion of Ipoh

Good morning everyone! My first week in Ipoh was super awesome and super exciting!

First things first, Ipoh is swell and Elder Bishop is so awesome! He has been out just for a little bit more than I have, and our personalities match really well and we get along superb! I have loved all of my companions, but my Australian mate holds a special place in my heart haha. He has served in Sibu, Miri, and then JB for 6 months, and now he has been in Ipoh for 4 weeks. He actually whitewashed Ipoh, so we are still learning together!

That being said, this week was really different than I was expecting. First, because of Chinese New Year, missionary work has been really flipped on its head! First, all Chinese people (so everyone we contact) are SOO busy right now that it is really hard to meet with anyone. Also, there are lots of people that from other places (KL, JB, Singapore) that have come back to Ipoh for Chinese New Year, so now Ipoh is full of foreigners. But we are hoping to visit lots of people this upcoming week since everyone will be home...plus, free food!!

Also, I have seen more white people this week than I have in my entire mission (excluding the MTC :P). I never thought I would say this, but I am actually a little scared of white people now, since I see them so few. Also, the few times I have seen white people in Malaysia, weird things have happened haha. But, it was fun to see them! A few families from Australia were in our Branch yesterday, and a cool guy who served in Hong Kong and spoke Cantonese came to our Branch as well. It was fun because I remember when we traveled to foreign countries and met the missionaries I looked up to them so much, and now I am the missionary I guess.

This week, we met a really nice man named Michael. He is somehow French, Spanish, German, English, Thai, and Malay (ancestors from all over) and very Catholic! He invited us over to share a message, and then later in the week we went over to his house to help him put away his Christmas decorations. He was not very interested in learning more about our church, but he has such a sweet man.

This week, I also finished the Book of Mormon in Chinese. Elder Bishop and I have been waking up early to get in extra language study, and it has been paying off! It was such a great feeling to hit that goal. Now I am going to start really focusing on Jesus the Christ (耶稣是基督)...wish me luck!

I love you all So SO much! I hope that you can feel my love and that you have a great week! This Tuesday and Wednesday are the first two days of Chinese New Year, and it is all about family, so I am sure to have all of you in my hearts! Mwa! Goodbye!

Spiritual Experiences

This week, I met this really cool guy named Chong (his Mandarin name is He). He has been baptized for around one year, and he is 19. He actually was contacted by Elder Pack when he was in Ipoh for 2 weeks while his companion got kicked out of the country.

What I think is so cool about the story is that I'm sure Elder Pack felt like it was weird that he was in Ipoh for just a little bit, and maybe didn't completely see his reasons for being there. But, now a year later, I can really see that God needed Elder Pack to be in Ipoh in that time!

It strengthened my faith that God always has reasons for where He sends us...we may not see them until years later, or we may never see them, but there is always a reason!

Love you!