The Sandakan Approach

I'm emailing on Tuesday because the power went out a few minutes after getting onto emailing yesterday. This week was very memorable for me and I will always remember it for the rest of my life. This week was so awesome in so many ways.

Elder Ormsby and Elder Lundquist came on splits with us for Wednesday and zone meeting that morning. It was awesome to catch up with him after a few months of not being in the same zone. I got a package from my parents and a letter from my Bishop's wife. Thank you Diane! :)

Then afterwards, they weren't really given time to do splits, because they immediately left to the airport after eating lunch.

We worked a lot with R, an investigator for the other elders. He and another 8-year old in his family, U were baptized this Saturday.

Saturday was probably the most stressful day ever. We were trying to make sure everything went to plan, but we got to the church at 1pm and we found out that the program wasn't made, and that we had to make it, so I had to make a new template for a program (which is super difficult on OpenOffice) just to find out that it doesn't work out, so I had another Elder get my hard drive from the house, which had the baptism programs I made in Bintulu.  Just like the Mormon Standard Time, the baptism started 30 minutes late, but by then we had more members there than a normal sacrament meeting.

Then after the baptism, we had a bunch of youth together like I'd never seen before. We had a night games activity with them, which included a twisted version of cops&robbers and dodge ball. However, the robbers were chasing the cops, so something was wrong there... Haha.

While playing dodge ball, my shoe finally gave way and it ripped apart. It was Saturday night and I didn't have any other pair of shoes, so that Sunday morning I was forced to tape my shoe together. Our branch mission leader laughed and said "If you were in my mission, the members would heckle the crap out of you, and then even though they are poor, they would buy you a new pair".

Fortunately, we don't have to wear shoes in Church, so I got away with my taped-shoes for the day, and then I just barely bought a cheap pair of shoes until I can take out my other pair in Singapore next month.

Anyway, we had 48 people at Church on Sunday!! 48!! That is a huge jump from what we were getting in the last 6 weeks.  I am really pumped and hopeful for this Branch. We are really trying to form this Branch not by teaching lessons and getting numbers, but by actually fixing problems and bringing people back to activity with a DESIRE to learn, not a forceful desire that we push on them.

Then finally Monday is the part I will always remember.

We went to catch crabs with Michael, but an hour away from home, he doesn't remember where to catch them. We are all hungry and tired, and don't know how to get home. We're super sun burnt, and I'm the only one with a phone or wallet. We finally have somebody stop and pull us out to their village, which happened to be only a mile away.  A Muslim family was very hospitable and gave us some food and drinks before we hit the road. We then got back to Michael's house to pick up our stuff and we were pretty miserable. We decided we would just go email and then take a nice cold shower afterwards.

10 minutes into emailing there is a blackout in Sandakan. So much for emailing... Then we go home, and then blast the air conds and the showers, and just relax for a little while. It was one of the worst and best and memorable days ever. :)

 

 

 

 

Building the Sandakan Empire

Hellooo everyone.

This week was fantastic. Elder Allen is now my new companion, and although we are starting on a rough start, many things happened this week that just brings my hopes up for this branch. 

First of all, we now have a member named Michael that is super down to follow us to lessons. Not only that, but he wants to show us all the former investigators that he went to teach that got forgotten about after our area got whitewashed a million times. So we brought him on our first day yesterday and he was an impeccable teacher! Very interested in making sure they understand the doctrines. I am super excited to have him. He is willing to help every single day of the week. So long as our schedules are available... Our zone leaders are coming tomorrow and that means Elder Ormsby one of my previous companions will be going on splits with me! Yes, super jacked out of my mind! :)

So Elder Allen and I are just going to try wrecking through the branch trying to visit them and get them back to church, and then also fix some of the problems in the branch. 

As most transfer weeks go, not a whole bunch of work was done, just a bunch of visiting, but I'm excited for this next week.. Very promising. :)

 

 

The Magic Conch Shell LU LU LU LU LU LU!!!

(Ethan, Brigham, you should read this part if you have time:)

Hail to the magic conch shell! I just got back from fishing at a member's house, and I wasn't having any luck with the banana leaf branch with a worm tied to a string, so I decided to pick up this conch shell and praise it like from Spongebob "The magic conch shell!!!" lulululululu!!!" and then I threw it into the water, and then immediately some bubbles were popping out of the water, and so I put my worm near where I threw the conch shell, and BAM I caught a fish. 

All hail the magic conch!!

Ok now for my week, and this also is my week for being a year out so... I did have an enjoyable time at Pizza Hut. Uhm, this week we really tried focusing on our investigators, but they kind of blew us off every time... Tuesday on our way to go to their house, they called and said Thursday.  Thursday they called and said Saturday. Saturday they called and said at church . AT church they called and said they were out of town until today... So we still weren't able to meet with them. Our plan was to get them on date for 3 weeks from now, so we'll see how it goes with them soon.

In other news just some less active work. I'm learning that a bunch of the less actives don't remember anything from the missionary lessons... So...That's awkward. Anyway, I'm reteaching them the lessons, because I feel it's necessary for all members to know the plan of salvation and the gospel of Jesus Christ. :)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfiltri, saudara dan saudari!

Happy Raya Day, brothers and sisters! (It doesn't really translate very well in English...)

Just imagine a bunch of of Muslims going off a month-long fast and then you understand how every single store is completely run out of food.

This week was pretty good. Our work was a little slow cuz we have to be back home by 6pm, but our investigators are doing super super great. They had their son over for the last time we taught them, and they invited him to learn with them. The daughter wants to learn too, but she is having difficulties getting over the Sabah border. (not that she is illegal or anything, but Sabah isn't too friendly to Philippines right now) The three of them came to church and the mother tried to pay tithing, even though we haven't taught her about it yet haha.

President and Sister Mains came on Friday, so throughout the week we made the house super super clean, and we meant to keep it that way after they left, but that's not what they had in mind. They had known beforehand the senior couple left a bunch of stuff at our house in boxes, and they took those boxes out and for 3 hours we went through it and sorted out what to throw away and what to give to members. Our house is in shambles right now, as we're trying to sort out the stuff we sorted through. President bought us Pizza Hut though, and threw down 100 ringgit. That was awesome. 

Hari Raya is today, and we went to some Muslim's houses and ate at their place for a while. Literally making us sick... But it was fun too. Never been in a Muslim's house for real. And...that is about it. :)

Love,

Elder Vincent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 21, 2014

Hey I meant to write this and now I'm running out of time. Sorry, this will be short.

This week was great as usual. slowing down a bit, which is kind of a bonus actually cuz I've been so tired in the last few weeks. So anyway, this week we've been still working with some less actives and investigators. One of our less actives was really awesome. After several months of not coming to church, he came and he conducted (yes there are such things as less active 1st counselors in malaysia) the sacrament meeting like a boss. Then after church he told me that he was thankful for me on not giving up on him and always inviting him to church.

Our investigators are still good, really interested in learning, just having some troubles getting them to church. Doesn't help they live in the outskirts of town, far from the church, but we also met with these investigators once, and a member we are working with happened to be there, so it was a free member present lesson without any work on our part. He was a huge help and shared his testimony with our investigator. Yay! :)

And.... That's about all that I can think of. Sabah is under a 6pm curfew, so most of our nightly work is cut. It's for 2 weeks, so that means 2 weeks for me to get penned in my house and go crazy. Not a huge fan of staying in the house... Scary stuff going on as far as wars and stuff. Everything will be okay though. :) After all, we all will be resurrected and be together forever, right? :)

hopefully that comment doesnt scare anyone, lol

Love
Elder Vincent

July 14, 2014

I honestly feel like I was emailing a couple days ago, but here we are back to Monday, already starting Week 3 in Sandakan. Oh well.

Another week down, and two weeks to go until my year mark. Pretty exciting stuff going on lately, but as I say a lot, I'm tired. Lots of walking and hiking up hills and my body definitely isn't used to it yet.

But the work here is good. We do actually have some investigators. Not just kids, thankfully. :) (I hear back in Bintulu they just got another 9 year old referral, lololol) Our main investigators right now are a couple that live actually pretty far away from the church, but for some how after meeting them and teaching them about the plan of salvation, they came 2 hours early.

However, they also heard about some sad news. The wife and a mother of a great family died this past Friday, and this morning we had the funeral for her. Super sad experience... :( But we know she is in a better place now. :)

The zone leaders flew in for splits and I had Elder Lundquist follow us, which is super awesome. He is from my group back in the MTC. That day was probably the hardest for me, because we were literally jumping from place to place all day long, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every corner and stone of Malaysia. </cheesy mormon saying>

Uhm... Also I met the one and only Iban member and had fun speaking Iban with her. :) I still speak it with Elder Jahali. It's actually one of our little secrets. Don't speak Malay to each other around other people. Iban only. Confuses the crap out of people.

Hmm.... And...that's about it for this week. We finally got our phone? But it's almost out of credit too haha. And yup that's it love you guys! :)

Elder Vincent

 

 

July 7, 2014 - Emotional Goodbyes to My Bintulu Family

Hey guys I am in Sabah now, a very beautiful country of it's own. And I say that not because Sabah is it's own country, but how different it is from everything else. Try thinking of a highly populated Muslim country, where you meet a bunch of Filipinos and the shops look like they're from Thailand. It's pretty foreign from anything I've been to, so I guess I'm taking a 3-4 month break from Malaysia and I'm in the Philippines for a while. :)

Anyway, this week has been a pretty intense week emotionally and physically. First of all the departure from Bintulu. I have never been so torn from someone before having to leave Bintulu. On Monday and Tuesday I was able to keep myself together, even though Evelyn my recent convert cried as I was saying my good byes with her.

 

Monday night, which was my bday, we had family home evening over at Martha's house.  Mazura made me a cake made out of potatoes, which I thought was fitting seeing I'm from Idaho, lol. That was a kind gesture though. :)

 

Tuesday I spent some time with Semia and Robecca and Mazura. They asked me to cook cookies with them one more time before I left. That was a lot of a fun, especially getting heckled for the last time before I went to Sabah.  They also asked me to come over for dinner that night, and so I went off to see Evelyn first and then went back. (that's the hard part for Tuesday, trying to explain how missionaries have to leave eventually.  She feels abandoned.  I called her today though and she is doing a little bit better) 

For dinner that night, they went pretty all out. They got the most expensive rice for me and some of the most expensive chicken from a restaurant similar to KFC. They're so awesome. :)

 

Then Wednesday I literally went everywhere. I could list everyone's names, but I realize that names don't really mean much to you guys, but needless to say I was all over the place.

My last two houses were Bujang's and Martha's. I stayed at Bujang's for maybe half an hour. They gave me ice cream on a bun (a popular thing in Malaysia)...So just to let you know, Bujang is the father-in-law of one of my recent converts. I saw this family go from less active to one of the strongest families in the branch. I was able to hold myself together until I said the closing prayer, in which I couldn't help myself from crying.. Then went to Martha's one last time, and they wanted to play games with me, so we played some games, and then as I was saying goodbye to Martha, I cried for probably half an hour. I sound like a baby, don't I?  But seriously this is my family in Bintulu. Something that happens when you stay in an area forever is you get super attached to the people... 

The worst part was they had a party for Stewart and Shorts (the other 2 elders moving), and so I came in the church trying to maintain myself, but then they started singing Allah Sertamu Selalu (God be with you) and I just couldn't maintain myself. It was a pretty rough departure. I've never met a people so loving and caring in my life. Ibans are truly the best...

So Martha helped me to the airport on Thursday morning. she gave me a book of remembrance with a bunch of notes to remember her by, and also a little beaded decoration that I can put in my car or just on the wall. (still looking for a place to hang it)...She's the best. Gonna miss her a lot.

The plane ride was nothing to mention, although I must say that the airport in Sandakan is the jankiest airport ever. It is so broken down, and I even saw a bat fly in the roof.

My new companion, Elder Jahali is awesome. Super funny too. When we're together, things get pretty interesting. He is also a super huge help in learning Malay and Iban cuz I have to figure out how to say things around the house that I've never had to think about saying when teaching people. So it's a good learning experience.

He says he'll help me get super good at Iban in the next 3 months. 

Speaking of which, I might just be here for 4 months, that's the average for most missionaries in Sandakan. Not very long.

So...we don't have a phone right now.  Elder Madsen accidentally took it to the airport with him, and he left it with the zone leaders in Kota Kinabalu (KK), so we gotta wait till Thursday for the zone leaders to come.

So many times we just had to walk to people's places with no set appointment, and usually they are busy, but sometimes they've let us in. It's been a very long, tiring week. I haven't walked this much in a very long time. 

The branch is good too. Maybe not as naughty as Bintulu though, but it's a lot easier to work with them. There are a few return missionaries too that are willing to help. One of them speaks broken Spanish with his family, so I've gotten to speak some Spanish too.  Time to dust off that Spanish in my brain.

The majority of the branch is Filipino and Chinese.  There are some other mixes in there of native people like Dusun and Kadazan, but its mostly Filipino, so we actually use a lot of English here. 

uhm.... yeah that's about it. Today for p-day we already played badminton and futsal. I got destroyed in badminton (playing against people that play every single day probably) but we won in futsal, which was super super fun. I'm getting better at it. :)

anyway that's it... it's getting pretty late. its almost 4pm already. see you guys later. :)