So, to preface this letter, my ever-loving Grandmother told me last week that she felt like I was holding back all the hard stuffs that may be happening here. To one and all, I have been telling you as it is! Glorious!
Then this week happened.
Whether this has been a Hard Week or not, I'll let you decide for yourself.
I sponsored Milkshake Monday. Delicious.
This last Tuesday we were late to District Meeting.
Elder Misa'alefua has left with some other Elders down in Sibu Jaya to go on splits as Zone Leaders, so Elder Hill was with us for the day. On the way there, Elder Parker was talking on the phone with Elder Wilson, went down an awkward incline, and crashed into Elder Hill on Elder Baranov's bike. It somehow not only popped the tire but bent the rim as well.
After District meeting and lunch we walked to the friendly bike shop people to get that all fixed. It turned out to be an awesome blessing because while Elder Parker was in the shop, I was able to contact a very nice and prepared man named Joseph. We have yet to meet him, but he asked us to bring him an English B.O.M. sometime.
That night we were also biking home when we randomly decided to get some Pau's at our favorite place to do so. When we arrived, there was an entire Chinese Family there celebrating a 69 year old Chinese Auntie's birthday with a mountain of food. They instantly sat us down, and Elder Parker, having lived in China for 2 years, spoke to them whilst I ate. :). It was awesome.
Wednesday we ended the splits and went to 'The Healthy Restaurant'. Everything on it's menu says Healthy, so it has to be good!
Afterwards we went to Ela's house for lunch. We talked, and talked, and talked some more, got rained in, and ended up talking for almost the entire day. It ended up being good for her though, because she was facing some very challenging challenges, and wants to bring her husband to the church. We were able to really meet him for the first time, when he came home from work. She also asked us to fast for that to happen.
Elders Baranov and Misa left at 4 A.M. the next day for M.L.C. in Singapore. Right after Comp. Study, Lawren, a Recent Convert in Branch 1, asked if we liked food. He had BARBECUE for us at the Church! It was so good! We also met Rodney for the 1st time, his friend and also a recent convert. The Barbecue was from a Branch 1 social or something. He also asked Elder Parker to try and teach him some piano skills while we were there.
Afterwards, we had an appointment fall through so we decided to go on a walk. It was a pleasant day, and we saw some Chinese kids playing Ultimate Frisbee. An hour later we were sweaty, dirty, and happy with a bunch of new friends and potential contacts that I can't talk to. The Chinese Elders should be happy.
We also did get to meet with Ingang, taught a simple lesson of the 10 commandments.
Saturday we had a text come in from Madelin. We had gone shopping with her after she came to one of our lessons and she said that the Watermelon was too big and perfect to eaten by her family alone, and she needed help. We were more than happy to sacrifice our stomachs. We had a baptism that night, and I was asked a couple hours before to share the Holy Ghost talk, as the original speaker had flaked out. It went well, the gift of tongues is great, and I shared Dad's story of being prompted to change lanes on a foggy day. (Mom Insert. Jeff was prompted to change lanes and obeyed and would have driven straight into a beam extending from the back of a truck going much more slowly, and it would have broken his windsheild and hit him in the face).
Sunday, we had a cool experience. Earlier in the week, we had been walking home because of another flat tire, when we saw some Iban people standing in their front yard near our house. We started talking to them, and they wanted us to come back. We asked if they wanted to walk to church, as they were in easy walking distance, and we set up a time to walk with them Sunday morning. When we got there, nobody was home. We called and found that they had skipped breakfast and had ALREADY WALKED THERE! They were sitting in Branch 1's sacrament when we got there and got to witness a confirmation. We taught them after church and right now their only hang up is coming from an R.C. (Roman Catholic)
background, and asking about the Apostasy. They're awesome.
Today we want to go play pool!
Love you all! This is the greatest work in the world and I love it so much! I bore my testimony of what I knew of the Savior in sacrament meeting!
-Elder Christensen
