February 23, 2015

Hey guys this week was great! It was actually Chinese New Year, and you would think that is a great time to meet people, but just like any other holiday nobody is home. We didn't get to meet a ton of people this week but there was a couple parties here and there from members that aren't Chinese (regardless of whether you are Chinese or not you still celebrate it no matter what).

So anyway we are still working with our investigators here S and St. They are so close to their baptism.  If we weren't going to Singapore this week then we might have them baptized this coming Saturday. They are way way cool. They have a very interesting history.  One of them being a caterer in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, you name it.

So anyway this week Elder Beliang and I have started the Beverly Hills Project. Essentially what Beverly Hill is (here in Sabah) is a set of 104 flats that have 84 doors each flat.  So there is more than 8000 doors to knock, and we have so far knocked on 250 doors and have gotten 7 potential investigators from it.  So we are just going to do our best in following up and just keep building up our teaching pool until it explodes. This is only a small portion of our work though.  Members obviously will always make the best work, as we work with them, make friendships with them and receive referrals from them.  9 times out of 10 referrals usually end up being the investigator that stays in the church far longer. But we see lots of promising stuff in just knocking too, so we will continue to do that every now and then.  I'm also going to categorize each door based on whether they are Chinese for the Chinese sisters to knock if they want because Chinese people do not like talking to us anyway unless its in Chinese.  Every door that has opened that has been Christian has accepted for us to come back.  That's a pretty stunning percentage so far.  Annndd yuup so this Wednesday I go to Singapore and hopefully coming back Friday. Each time I go to Singapore my passport gets jankier and jankier, So I never know for certain whether they'll let me come back. :P

So maybe next week, see you in KK or in Singapore. Still not sure yet. haha

Love

Elder Vincent

Ang Mo Kio - Just for kicks and giggles

Okay everyone. This week has been a crazy week.  So many things happened this week that I would like to list them off in a different email, but as of this Saturday, I was informed that another elder in another ward will be going home due to chronic migraines for the last 6 months.  So that means there has to be some sort of emergency transfer. ANDDD that happens to mean I am effected, being the only Malay elder in all of Singapore. So I am to be transferred later today to Kota Kinabalu (KK) with Elder Beliang in Branch 1.  I have been there before 3 or 4 times already, so I know the area. It is a great place to be, but I am very disappointed that I did not get to stay here in Singapore longer.   My assignment here for only 1-1/2 weeks was just way short.

As of this week, however. I enjoyed it very much. We got to do two service projects this week. Usually we do one a week, but this week we had an especially blessed week. The first one was with a less active member originally from Canada.  He needed our help to set up his trampoline park, in which he owns two and making his third one now. (He is the first one to ever do it in Singapore).

The second service project was with Sister Kei, a recent convert in our ward who has a friend that wanted to volunteer at the animal shelter. We got to clean up a bunch of dog's feces and what not, and play with them for a little while.

Other than that, we are making way good progress with our referrals and potentials. One named R is from Malaysia who is married to a less active member in our ward. She has never learned but is now interested in learning. Very intelligent, and even knew what baptism is. Even Christians I have taught in the past didn't know what baptism was. 

Our investigator, Junior, who has been to church the last 5 weeks but has been too busy to meet with us finally took the time to sit down with us. While we planned to teach him the plan of salvation, however he sat down and he asked "what does the church expect of me before I commit to be a member of your church?" So he basically demanded to know all of the commandments, and he wrote them all down, and committed to follow all of them. Pretty crazy lesson. Never in a million years did I think I would teach all the commandments in one sitting. 

We had to drop one of our old investigators though. He just showed no sign of progressing and no desire to go further... so yeah that's about it for him right now. 

And just lots of work with potentials and other referrals.  Nothing more to report other than I will be in a different area anyway today so here I come KK.

Love,

Elder Vincent

The Ang Mo Kio Ward

This week was incredible. I got into Singapore this Wednesday, but perhaps I can start at the beginning of the week.

So after I got transfer news we hurried to meet all of the members. Tuesday was ridiculous, because I had been up late trying to get myself and Elder Smith packed (cuz elder smith leaves on Tuesday to go home) so Tuesday I was dead tired already and I survived on maybe 5 or 6 cokes so I didn't go to sleep while meeting everyone. We took out one of our investigators for dinner that night. I was pretty sad to leave, because so many memories and so many friends I'm leaving behind. On Wednesday I woke up at 4 am to get my flight at 7 am...kind of early but I shared a taxi with Elder Jahali who had a flight at 6 am.

Anyway, got to Singapore just fine, except I got held up in immigration (surprise surprise) because I have the jankiest passport of all time. But I just gave them President Mains number and they called and let me get 90 days into Singapore with no problems. Get dressed, then look around until I find some other elders, who tell me that my companion is waiting for me in the other side of the airport. Get there, and meet the new missionaries from the MTC too.

During this last week, I have been able to teach a less active family with the stake president's counselor, President Kwan, in which he shared a powerful testimony. I have seen the Elders Quorum president do his utter best to persuade the importance of church to one of our investigators, I have seen another Member help her friend commit to a date of baptism, and I have had some wonderful food.

President Kwan shared something from his journal to this family about how HE 20 YEARS AGO had taught the husband and the brother (Elton and Fredric), and it was way cool to see how things have changed. After being baptized, going less active, but to see them be activated again in the last couple months has been incredible. This message that President Kwan shared not only touched Fredric and his wife Hazel, but Elton also, who has not allowed elders to visit him for quite some time. He is now excited to visit us this next Wednesday with his wife and has asked us to teach him about how he can have a happier marriage with his wife.  Isn't it a perfect introduction to teach the plan of salvation?

I love the Ang Mo Kio ward and it has changed me only in the last 5 days.

I am happy.