He told us he's listening to us because he wants to come closer to God.

There's no way this was only a week. It felt like two years ago I was emailing you guys last.

Hello Family! Thank you so much for the overflowing love and support I've felt this week! You're the greatest!

The Beach Party was extremely fun. Pics coming. It was a great time, and it suprises me now that it wasn't the highlight of the week.

Remember the Kampung we found? Well we met with the people there. Sis. Raca got all her less-active friends and we all met in one house. They all expressed desires to go to church, but they haven't come for almost ten years. Apparently the bus that goes to the church stopped running, and the missionaries lost track of them somehow a long time ago. One of the women had a 14 year old daughter that we're going to start teaching for Baptism this week! So Awesome!

This Friday we had the great opportunity to go to Kutching for the Christmas Conference, where I got the BIGGEST PACKAGE OF ANYONE THERE! Thank you so much for the raw love I felt from that! We're going to be re-enacting How The Grinch Stole Christmas for the Christmas Party this weekend. I'll be the Narrator.

Better then that though was the 9 letters I received! Thank you so much! They really warmed my heart to hear your news. It seems what Dear Elder does is put all the letters from one entire week in one envelope and send it overseas all at once, because the latest date I got your letters from was Dec. 1st. Written Replies to those will be coming!

ALSO BE PREPARED FOR A MASSIVE BOX! LATE CHRISTMAS GIFT! PROBABLY A COUPLE MONTHS IN COMING!

After we got mail we had a wonderful conference. The Mains's are some of the greatest people. We all were very spiritually touched by everything. We got to create humanitarian kits, I was the Angel in the Nativity, and we watched the 1st Pres. Christmas Conference!

Sunday we got to meet with a Relative of Sis. Katrina, name of James. He was a very prepared man that Sis. Katrina gave a Book Of Mormon to, and he told us he's listening to us because he wants to come closer to God. He speaks English, but can't read it, so he uses the Malay B.O.M. He wants to come to church every Sunday and discuss the B.O.M. afterwards.

The Other exciting thing is that we have been getting home late every night we didn't have a previous engagement going carolling with the branch. We go to every members home. jam as many people as possible inside, sing 2 songs, Pres. Langgie or Bro. Saban (1st Councillor) share a Christmas Message, and we pray, then all caravan to the next one. They feed us a ton and it's so much fun, but tiring and late. Worth it though.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! ENJOY THE PICS!

LOVE YOU ALL MORE THEN I CAN EXPRESS!

-Elder Christensen

 Elder Sessions, MTC Companion

THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN HAVE BEEN OPENED THIS WEEK!

Mom Note:  He will be receiving his physical mail on the 20th.  The Dear Elder service will be printed at the mission home and will be waiting for him.  If anyone wants to email a note TO US, we will pay to get it to him by the 19th.  This will be his mail for Christmas and probably three weeks afterward. Thank you Thank you!  We can send 3 pages for $1.10 so we will combine the notes and get them out. He has specifically asked for an update of what is going on in your life and your spiritual experiences. We would be SO GRATEFUL!  Merry Christmas! Thank you for loving and praying for this boy and for all of the missionaries!  On to the Letter…

Internet's slow today, bear with me here.

Missionary Life:
1 Whole Missionary (perfect mental health not guaranteed)
3 cups Insanity, stir well
1 cup of Hard Work
2 Heaping Tablespoons of Joy
1 Daily Dose of Humor

Mix well in the Bowl of the Spirit, serve liberally. Serving Size: One Week.

Hello Family! This week has been one full of insight and miracles so lets get this train wreck a' rollin'!

Pictures this week: (We didn’t actually get the pictures, but this is a list of what they would have been J.
Elder W and the turtle we ate
Elder Santa Kong
Sting Ray for Dinner
Sister's Baptism
Me Arm Wrestling Christopher
Auxiliary Meeting (bet ya can't guess what we're planning for)
Chinese Christmas Party

Well, after emailing last week Christopher and Davidson asked us to come over for family night, so of course we did. They had a turtle they wanted to eat, and when we arrived they said they had no idea how to cook or kill it. They asked us to do both. It involved a plier, hammer, stove and lots of onions, but we made some pretty delicious Chicken-Turtle Soup. Christopher's daughter accidentally called me 'sister' (in English) since the sisters had taught them, and the rest of the night Christopher called Sisters Elders and Elders Sisters. Good Times.
Anyway, cool stuff this week. We didn't have as much going on this week compared to before (thank goodness), so we decided to try and find some more less actives and investigators. Elder W had found some old hand written records, which elaborated on some Less Actives addresses which only said 'Krokop' in the ward directory. They said they lived in a Kampung that we’d never heard of and nobody had worked in for several years, which was very unusual. So between the Penan's, a Baptismal Interview, English Class, Eating at Pasar Malam and preparing for the Chinese Christmas Party last night and the Zone Activity today, we went contacting in Krokop 7. We literally knocked at every door on the street and asked everybody if they knew these people, nobody had heard of them. It also took about three days of contacting and research. At the end of the 3rd day, we went by these mechanic shops at the end of the street and asked the workers there. The boss only spoke Chinese, but told us to talk to one of his clients about to drive away. We did, and he said they were in the Kampung across the road. We had been there several times, and there was no kampung. We decided to look one more time. In-between a Car Wash and a Private school there was a very narrow dirt road, barely noticeable. We went down in and found an ENTIRE KAMPUNG extending out over the river that we had never seen before. It was truly a miracle, and the Lord worked in a very mysterious way to get us there. We found a less active woman who had married a nonmember and her family has a potential of 3 investigators or so, and they accepted a return appointment for Tuesday!
Saturday night the Sisters had a baptism. All was well except when the power went out for about 20 minutes. Fun times. Afterwards I arm wrestled Christopher.
Sunday we were able to meet Pres. Atos, Pres. Langgie's Father and Branch Mission leader for the first time. He's been in Kutching forever, and we'll be able to meet with him soon. Also, Sis. Katrina brought one of her relatives, James, who's interested in the church. He went around introducing himself to everyone and said he wants to come to church every week. We meet him tonight at Sis. Katrina's Family Home Evening.
Summary: THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN HAVE BEEN OPENED THIS WEEK!
Love you all! I'll get letters and the Christmas Package this week at the Christmas Conference in Kutching!

He also said in a sibling letter: I've had SO MANY Spiritual Experiences! I couldn’t list them all. All the time we have to rely on the spirit to guide us, the strongest one this week was when we found the Kampung.
We asked him how Stingray tasted, and how he knows what is safe to eat and he said: Stingray was really good, sort of like hyper condensed chicken with a better, fishier flavor. Haven't had any problems yet, mostly just bless it before and don't be stupid.
He is also singing O Holy Night in church next week!

Remember last week? Thought that was insane? Well buckle up because this week was much more fun if you catch my drift.

Monday you already heard about last week basically. We also had a baptismal interview that night.

Tuesday was the only relatively normal day this week, with a great lesson with the Penan family (thank you for your prayers for them).

Wednesday is when things started to get a little out of whack. Elder W had an appointment, and there was a trip to McDonalds as a last hurrah for Elder Snyder, who is getting transferred to the newly created Bintulu Zone as Zone Leader! We're sad to see him go, but happy at the same time. That night was English Class, which we've been contacting for and has become our main tool for potential investigators.

Thursday we dropped Elder Snyder off at the bus stop, got lost twice in the heaviest rain I've seen since we've got here.  We had a baptismal interview that night.

Friday we MOVED! TO JINHOLD! It's a really nice maid-serviced apartment meant for 2 people that we're now fitting in 4, because we now have 2 new Chinese Elders, Elder Kong and Elder Chan, who came because (drum-roll) we are getting Miri 3rd Branch starting in January! Elders Fletcher and Mitchel's Efforts have paid off and they are now opening a Chinese/English Group. We also had a baptismal interview that night.

Saturday was the 1st day in 4 that we got our complete studies in, and spent the rest of that day helping the new Elders get acquainted with the area. Elder Kong is a fantastic cook and he made us lunch and dinner. That night, we had a Triple Baptism! 3 more priesthood holders! Christopher and Davidson are two of the coolest guys ever, and the other guy was named Bro. Eye.

Sunday morning we went out to wake up the Kampungs. On the way to Kampung Api, Elder W’s bike's rear tire finally died for good. We walked the rest of the way to Kampung Api to visit Bro. Hitam. He was mysteriously happier then we've seen him ever. We found out HIS GRANDCHILDREN ARE BACK! Thank you for the prayers on his behalf! Someone had seen them walking around somewhere, called the police because they recognized them, and they were brought home (They're names are Samuel and Emmanual, 6 and 2). He was so happy he brought them, himself, and his wife to church (and us). But, he left a little early without us knowing, so we had to catch a bus to Kampung Api. Though during church, we confered the priesthood on the Recent Converts. I was able to confer Davidson, completely awesome gift of tongues experience. The bus was an hour late dropped us off at the same place that the tire had died, so we walked that path again. And who did we run into again but Christopher and Davidson! They walked with us for a while, that was fun. We then went to Darrell's house, which was near Bro. Hitam (who wasn't home). We then spent about 4 hours trying everything we could to patch the bike, but eventually we had to borrow Darrell's bike. It was raining, Elder W didn't have brakes, and it wasn't his bike, so it took about 45 minutes to get home. I sang hymns. It was fun.

This morning we went and switched bikes, replaced the tire after walking to the shop, and then Christopher and Davidson had invited us to go fishing on the beach! It's so beautiful there, looks like Pirates of the Caribbean 2. It was a nice break after this week.

Love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support!

-Elder Christensen

Prayers:

Bro. Day (Help us to meet with him when he's sober)

Penans 

 This is Sister Allen, Coy's seminary teacher!

 New Apartment..with maid service!

There was a man who dreamed a dream
to build a castle tall.
He found a place which met his needs
and started with the wall.

All day long, stone upon stone
he labored in the heat
to find a piece of wall which 'lone
was a fraction of the feat.

To see that measure filled his heart
with anger crossed with sorrow.
He walked away, leaving the part
not sure to return tomorrow.

Another man, he had a plan
to build a castle tall.
He drew a sketch, surveyed the land
and started with the wall.

Brick and mortar, foundations laid
the moat dug deep and long
were all needs listed at the end of the day
to make the structure strong.

Day after day, week after week,
month after month it grew
'til at last he lay asleep in bed
in a turret high and new.

So many-a time, we act on our dreams
our visions both new and old,
but simply to work, preparedness to shrink
can make firey hearts turn cold.

The pathwa is there, straightforward and clear
though treading it takes some sweat.
If bends are expected, the future projected
our castle we'll not regret.

Lincoln Hymnal

December 1, 2013

So sorry for not emailing on time, we went to Batu Niah Caves a week early because Transfers are this week! So Exciting! I'm staying in Miri, but apparently every transfer has been getting bigger with the constant waves of new missionaries coming in.

Anyway, the Internet in slow today again, so I'll send what pictures I can. I'm thinking about just copying the pictures onto the other memory card and sending that home, what do you think about that?

Moving on.

This week was fantastic! The Lord has blessed and sustained our efforts sangat banyak (very much) and we've seen miracles this week.

I'm doing just fantastic, so I'm just going to tell some stories quick.

This Thursday being Thanksgiving, we were given an extra hour for dinner. Our District went together to Pizza Hut (a very nice and classy restaurant in Malaysia) and blew over 200 Ringgit together on Pizza's and Drinks. … definitely doesn't hold a candle to the traditional Family Thanksgiving dinners you guys got to enjoy, but it was a lot of fun.

Friday we had New Missionary Training in Miri! I thinkit was because we have one of the only three actual chapels in East Malaysia. It was a lot of craziness, especially because we had 6 extra missionaries sleeping in our house! That was a lot of fun, especially because the 'greenies' were all from my coming group! Elders Blackwelder, Paiwei, and Mix. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them and see them again. Also, it meant that Pres. Mains and Sis. Mains and the A.P.'s came and we had a fantastic training session. The best part was at the end when everyone was asked to bear his or her testimonies. The Spirit was super strong and it was awesome.

Another awesome set of stories pertaining to our work:

Bro. Geraji is an amazing old man with an indecent tattoo, a convert as well. He can't come to church because of heart problems, but we try to read the Book Of Mormon once a week with him. Saturday Morning we were called by his daughter Marina to come and 'help' her father, she didn't elaborate. We went over there to see what was up, and she was there with her father and her 5-month-old son. She said they both were sick and asked us to give them blessings. I anointed Bro. Geraji, Elder W. blessed him to be healthy and peaceful until the Lord calls him back. We then switched roles for the baby's blessing, Manuel Westley. Oh yeah, fun fact, people don't have last names here, they just say 'child of ___' For example, Manuel Westley Anak Marina. He was blessed that he would be healed and live a long life.

Also, Saturday night we visited Bro. Baking, a less active in our branch. He wasn't usually home, but we found him spraying his dog for a skin disease he had. We talked and gave a great lesson, but didn't really commit him to anything. Imagine our surprise when him and his whole family came to church the next day! It was so cool! That day we had about 62 people come to church (people are already going back to Kampong for the Christmas season, we decreased by about 20 or so this week) and 8 of them were less actives, with Bro. Day's children, Bro. Geraji's daughter (whom we were also not expecting), and Bro. Baking's family. The Lord has truly been blessing our efforts here in Miri.

Also, Fast Sunday was a wonderful experience. Many great testimonies were shared, and the Spirit was super strong.

I love you all so much! This week (Because of the training) I got 7 letters! Thank you so much!

Prayers: Bro. Hitam,

The Penang Family has a Baptismal Date! Yay!

Bro. Day, help him to have a desire to quit his Alcoholism.

Pray that English Class (our new contacting technique) will go well and be well attended.

Thank you so much for everything! I feel your love every day!

Love, Elder Christensen

(In our e-mail we told him we loved him and we think of him ninety times a minute and he responded with "I think of you less every day, but I guess that's how it should be!  But I love you!"  So funny, so him.) One more Mom note: The Batu Niah caves are the largest in the world and it is where natives collect birds nests for birds nest soup which sells for $200 a bowl. The bowls are made entirely out of bat spittle, and the natives collect them at insane heights on rickety rope ladders. Incredible images on the internet if you have a minute.  

Oh mah Goodness This Week.

To preface this, Elder W said this week probably had some of the highest highs and the lowest lows of his entire mission.

Lets get started. Everything I say now will lead up to Sunday.

This week we've been focusing a lot on our less active work. The Asia mission presidency asked us to spend at least half of our time doing that, and we've seen miracles after we worked for them. This week we've worked a lot with Bro. Day. His story is that he's an alcoholic that is married to a member and all his Children are baptized. He's gone through 3 companionships already. He has a sincere desire to change and even asked how soon we think he can be baptized. We met with him a couple times this week. His kids are fantastic and come to church every week (Augustine, Diana, and Moose). 

This week we unfortunately weren't able to meet with Bro. Hitam. He's doing much better though, and we've been praying for him every day.

We also have been able to meet with the Penan's once, compared to three times, but now the day-by-day account.

Wednesday was when it started going down hill when Sis. Sia, a less active in Kampung Api, told us bold faced she doesn't want to go to Church any more. She's been drawn in by one of the charismatic churches here, involving weekly 'stage healing' by priests and rock bands. We then went to Sister Katrina's house and talked with her. When we left Elder W hit a nail, and their dog followed us to the nearest PETRONAS Station. We had to fend off all the dogs that tried to kill the traitor. We've developed a theory that dogs must have devils possess them when Missionaries are near unless they belong to members, and that would explain a lot. A nice man gave us a ride in his van, but Elder W's helmet fell off the bike and we didn't see it, so he has it now somewhere. We tried for almost an hour to fix it, and in the process Coby (the dog) got hit by a car. Don't worry he's fine. I got the idea to pray over the bike, we did, and it held air. Coby was still traumatized; so Elder W carried him all the way back while riding his bike. After we got there, it went flat again so we walked home. We pumped it again and miraculously it worked again.

Thursday we had an appointment fall through, though we were able to place 1 B.O.M. contacting. We also had to bike all the way out to Senadine for the Sisters baptismal interview. Because of Weekly Planning, that took all the time we had.

Friday, we had the great opportunity of every planned appointment falling through, except for when we met with Robert and Darrell who were going to help us teach the Penan family that night. Also, to get to everything (including a Baptismal interview at the Church for the Sisters again) we biked for over a total of 5 hours that day. Also, Elder W's bike went flat again, but we pumped it and it held air since. We took Robert and Darrell to Pasar Malam (Night Market) and I bought them burgers.

Saturday we were going to visit Bro. Hitam, when Elder W was pushed into the Open Kampung Sewage Ditch by a Pakistani Loan Shark on a Moto, because of the narrow path and the mud. Of course we went home after that, and Elder W was clean in time for the Baptism that night. It was a pleasant experience, a triple baptism at that, and there was a Makan (eating event) afterwards so that was the highlight of our weekend. Then after walking in the door at home, the Sisters called and said that they had a flat at the church, and we rode all the way back to help them.

Then came the blessed day of the Sabbath.

We left at 8 am to wake up the Kampung. We visited Bro. Day first, he was drunk (He's very functional though), and he told us that due to the nature of living on technically illegal land, he might have to move soon because someone might have bought the land. We weren't sure that was what happened though, but he gave us his Iban drinking jar to remember him by. 

Sis. Rita said she couldn't come either, but all their children came again.

We went back home for a little to prepare, and then we came to Church.

We had 6 less actives come yesterday, which was amazing. Also, Bro. Hitam showed up and even stayed for Gospel Principles, which was amazing! Also, Bro. Kevin is the Branch Mission leader for branch 2, and his parents make things to finance their future trip to the Temple. They finished my sweet bead tie and they're making a basket for me for 180 Ringgit total.

The last Sunday of every month our branch has started having a Potluck Makan, last month was the first and didn't really do that well. This time lots more people brought food and it served its purpose perfectly by uniting and mingling, and it was a great experience for that. Also, we were able to finally finish the Plan of Salvation with the Penan family that night, the spirit was super strong. We were able to get to have a soft commitment for Baptism, and they committed to start having family prayer. It was great.

Now we're exhausted so we'll go home and sleep. I got Dropbox working so more pictures will come by next week, Dad, please Download and Delete so I can have more space to work with.

McKay, We're going to the Caves week after next.

I love you all, thank you eternally for your prayers this week. They were felt and needed.

I'm looking forward to the Letters when the Zone Leaders come within a week or two!

-Elder Christensen

Hello wonderful family of mine!

This week has been a fantastic one for me, with many great and wondrous works and disappointments, but so goes the life of a missionary! (and most people I'd assume)

So, this week Elder W and I focused a lot on Less Actives, as that's where we feel the Lord wants us. We taught 9 less active lessons this week, including around 10 hours of contacting and 3 lessons with the Penan family. Super busy, but so satisfying! There's no better feeling in the world then falling into bed knowing you've made the world a better place.

One such is Bro. Hitam (Literally brother Black). He's seeing some very hard times in his life, and we were able to give him a priesthood blessing. It was apparently exactly what he needed, and he came to church this week for the first time in forever!

Another cool story: at 8 A.M. on Sunday's we leave to go wake up the Kampungs and get people to church. The people we usually invite all denied our invitation yesterday, but as we were riding away from Kampung Piasau, Augustine, a child of a drunk but baptised member, came running after us in full Sunday attire. (Elders!) He and his sister got two other daughters of less active members and we walked them to the bus stop where they rode to Church that day. Two of the Penan's were also there waiting for us when we rode up! We had 5 less actives (including Bro. Hitam) and 2 investigators at Church! The gospel is so true!

Enough Miracles for now. This week I tried 4 indigenous fruits: Durian, Mangostein, Orang Butan, and Cimpaduk. They were all not bad, Mangostein was the best.

Anyway, pictures later of those. I love you all and we feel your prayers and love every day!

Until Next week!

-Elder Christensen

Mom note: In other letters to siblings he mentioned that they have Gecko's in our house, and these harmless little sugar ants that attack any piece of food we leave out. It's useless to try to stop them, they get in somehow anyway. 

We asked him what specifically to pray for in his behalf and he said "Pray for the Spirit to Bless and Uplift the People of Malaysia and the Miri 1st branch."

We asked what one his favorite parts of the day was and he said "Thanking the Lord before I go to bed."

Also, if you want a fun geographical education experience, Coy mentioned that the Borneo caves are an hour from him on bike.  They are the largest caves in the world and absolutely spectacular. Natives climb in and through the to harvest the bird's nests for bird's nest soup, which sells at $200 a bowl and is made entirely of spittle.  The images are incredible. 

Also, he is working mostly with reactivation, and has asked for any advice anyone can send on! Thank you Thank you for loving and praying for this boy and the people of Malaysia! Have a great week! 

Hello Wonderful People!

This week has been a great one overall!

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were mostly shot for missionary work because of our Zone Conference, but that doesn't mean we didn't get stuff done. Wednesday we flew out and that took basically our day, but we still went to Chili's for dinner that night. It's apparently the only place in Singapore or Malaysia that has free refills on drinks or chips, and we had both! Needless to say there were many happy missionaries that night.

Zone Conference itself was amazing the next day. It was kind of like the M.T.C. crossed with General Conference completely focused on Missionary work ALL DAY LONG! Then it was all topped off with endless Papa John's pizza. We learned a lot and had a lot of guidence, and we also had like 20 departing testimonies with a lot of advice mixed in.

One cool thing was when we got lost trying to find Chili's, we were just wandering around the endless shopping malls when a random guy named Jason came up to us. He asked what church we represented and if we could give him a book or something, so of course we gave him a B.O.M. He thanked us and said he would read it.

Then on the M.R.T. back to the Airport, Before our last stop, I placed a B.O.M. again. It was this cool guy named Fren Lee and he was super interested. He was an Asian that had gone to a Catholic school growing up, had heard a little, and wanted to learn more. He was happy that I was actually willing to give him the book! He even asked what Terminal we were going to so we could keep talking, but we had to leave. I just wrote mormon.org on the inside cover.

Other miracles this week: We've really seen the Spirit working on the Panang family right now. It's amazing how far they've come and how much they comprehend even though they cannot read the Book of Mormon! We're stepping through the Plan of Salvation of them right now, and they've become much more reverent during prayers. We also invited them to Church and 3 of them came! For like a 30 minute walk! It was so cool to have them there! We also had a less active come and bring the children of another less active family we are working with that the parents can't come (the children on the bikes in that one picture).

Anyway, Elder W summed up a lot of the other things I could have said culturally in his letter last week, and I'll be sure to keep you guys updated! I love you so much! We feel your prayers and love even though we're so far apart! Elder W ate his Pickled Egg today with Elder Fletcher and Almost Puked!

Love you all! 

-Elder Christensen

Hello Family!

Thank you so much for the love and support! It was wonderful to open my inbox and see the huge influx of Birthday Messages and love! The pictures of Halloween looked fun as well, they don't celebrate that sadly.

Mother! Thank you so much for the birthday present! That picture album was just what I wanted. Also, you wouldn't believe how good those Butterfingers and Pixy Sticks were. Seriously.

To resolve one concern: We're guaranteed to get out mail at least once a month because that's when people will go to Singapore and back, or something like that. E-mails I get to see every week, so I have limited time. Letters are easier to read on my own time. Also, Dear Elders or Hand Written doesn't matter because I will get them the same time probably anyway.

Anyway, onto Miri. Life here is fantastic! I know a lot of people have questions about stuff, so I'll just ramble and hope they're answered.

Miri is a seriously beautiful place. The best way to describe the atmosphere is that it Singapore and Malaysia are like Western cities and neighborhoods where everyone is Asian. A lot of things are different of course, like everyone driving on the wrong side of the road, and palm trees and exotic plants everywhere (Mom, eat your heart out), but the Gospel is true everywhere! The favorite meal I had so far is Nasi Beryani or 'Brave Rice'. Also, I've been blessed a lot to be safe on the roads so far. You know about that "don't ride in darkness or heavy rain"? Forget it! If we actually did that we would never get work done. Also, we like to cross road medians. 

There's also probably thousands of these little Pandai (shops) where Indians give you awesome meals for like 9 Ringet (3 U.S. dollars) We eat out a lot because biking home and cooking use a lot of our time.

A lot of members we have live in Kampung (Villages) where the Government doesn't technically own the land. That doesn't mean they're poor though. just lazy. They usually have comfortably furbished houses, 2-3 cars, and sick stereo systems (seriously everyone has huge speakers here). Whereas, people who live in Terrace houses actually care about improving themselves, but they're usually harder to convert, but once converted are solid forever. 

Other stuff: We have our entire schedule moved down a half hour, so we get up at 7 instead of 6:30. The rest is in the white handbook from there. I haven't had Durian yet or any other exotic fruits, specific questions about culture, please email me!

The wonderful thing about missionary work is that it is missionary work! Though we started with no investigators, the work is already progressing! One thing that we have been mandated to do is to Pray every hour, as a companionship if possible, and place a B.O.M. every day. On my first day of tracting we had a awesome experience. The only people we're really teaching is the Panang Family, with like 6 kids that we're teaching to read, then share a spiritual message. It's great.

After one such meeting, we prayed and felt we could place our daily B.O.M. though it was 8:30. We randomly rode through the neighbourhood and the first house we stopped at the guy came out and talked to us instantly. His name was Desmond, a Catholic Taxi driver that had been to Utah before and always wondered about the Church. He easily took a B.O.M. and invited us to come back and talk about the experiences with God we've had! Sweet!

Similar Experiences have happened with a woman named Jeanie from Hong Kong and a Ex-Malaysian Commando named Francis. I'll keep you updated!

Now, Pictures!

Love you all! -Elder Christensen 

 Awesome.

 First view of Singapore

 Last moment with Sessions

 Everybody on the Trax

 Nasi Beryani

 The Berhenti sign on our street

 The Stake Center in Singapore

Exit sign

Yield sign

Other tidbits of information...

We asked and he would prefer snail mail...Dear Elder or Snail Mail, he wants to have and re-read them and just doesn't have enough time on the email....

Are you a little saddle sore from bike-riding? Answer: Golds Bond Body Powder.

For my Birthday my wonderful Mother and Father 

financed us to have a delicious Italian Dinner consisting of Pizza AND milkshakes! Oh the Luxury! Also we're staying with 2 chinese Elders, Flecher and Mitchell, they came also.

What was church like?  How is your language coming?  What do you eat for breakfast? How are you and Elder W getting along? What is tracting like?  Trucking along, Apples and Tomato Sandwiches, Swimmingly, and it's fun. You pray a lot.

Remind me to talk about church and Robert next week.

What time do you leave the apartment in the morning? How long are you in the apartment, what time do you usually leave? We study til lunch because of Language and Training hours, leave around 12:30 or one

Sweet boy, before you go, just tell your family, are you happy? Are you doing well? Are you alright?Yes, yes and yes

OH YEAH! Zone conference is this week and apparently we get Papa Johns Unlimited!Hi Everyone

 1)An Iban family cooking dinner

3) Here is my pickled egg

4)There is an old Iban grandma that makes these ties out of beads. She is making one for me right now

5) A close-up of the beads. This is a very traditional Iban craft and they can make some crazy things out of beads such as ties and sword sheaths and such

1) The stairs to get up to the long house

2) Inside the long house

3) From a different angle

4) An Iban shield hanging up above a doorway. They make really neat shields and carve them really well. 

5) Still inside the long house

6) A hand made mat

1) The jungle

2) A river in the jungle

3) Another picture of the river in the jungle

4) A waterfall in the jungle

5) Another waterfall in the jungle

6) An Iban member standing next to the long house

7) The long house

1) One of the main paths in Kampung Api

2) A house

3) Another house

4) Another house. This one is interesting because it shows the reason why all the houses are built on stilts. It also has several chicken coops built around the side that are also on stilts.

5) This is the road that connects Kampung Api to Kampung Pasir

6) This is the jungle where we went hiking today

7) Some plants growing in the jungle. I thought this picture looked pretty neat

 

1) A crocodile

2) see #1

3) see #2

4) A sun bear drinking sweetened condensed milk from a can