whoa, hey family,
can you believe it? i have already been in Malaysia for three months now, and my visa has run out. in different parts of Malaysia you can get two month extensions, but not in sabah, so now I'm here in Singapore to chop my passport and get three more months in malaysia. what a mission, really, two days in Singapore?! awesome. and it just so happened that five other sisters had there visas run out around each other, so we all came to Singapore together, it is really cool to hang out with other missionaries, especially sisters. Singapore is crazytown, there is really no other way to describe it. it is one big, huge mall. everything is perfect and clean, and everyone is dressed up, it is a whole nother world, especially coming from Malaysia. i mean Malaysia is doing pretty good, but it is definitely second world. not really that bad, but not first world yet either (they have a goal, first world country by 2020, we'll see) here in Singapore, i think I've only seen maybe two pieces of trash, in the whole city! But really the only thing to do there is shop, there is a lot of money in that city. I'm glad there are no sister missionaries stationed there, because i think it would be a hard area. i like Malaysia, people are really nice and really humble. one last thing about Singapore. i always thought Chinese people were short, right? well, they are not. people in Malaysia are sooo short, and if they are tall, you can probably count on them having Chinese blood. we come to Singapore, tons of Chinese, and everyone is tall here. its crazy.
well, enough about Singapore, this week has been so so good. our first baptism in KK is going down next week (cross your fingers). We are teaching this cute little filipina women, Irene, who is pregnant and has to give up the baby because she has no husband and no money, she has a hard life, basically living off her friend. She was nervous to be baptized, i think just because she is pregnant, worried about what she will wear and what people will think. But she said she would do it, and she has a really strong testimony. and the coolest thing is, her birthday is on the fourth (which i think is Easter too) and she would get the Holy Ghost on that day too. cool, huh?
another really cool lesson happened with a guy named Jackie, we were teaching him the plan of salvation, and sister Richy accidentally lost the sun/celestial kingdom piece of the plan, so we had to use a can of 100plus (just really good soda here in Malaysia, sorry guys) to represent it. it was so funny, explaining why its important and how we get to go to a can of 100plus. we were all sort of cracking up, couldn't contain it, Jackie too. but he is so cool, he would be laughing, and then sort of shake it off, like 'I've got to concentrate, this is important' what a good guy. and then, the best part, while we were teaching, he asked, 'how do i get there, what do i need to do?' there is no better moment as a missionary than when people ask those kinds of questions, what a great feeling, let us tell you how, Jackie! and we asked him to be baptized right then and there (just the question, not the actual baptism) and no hesitation, he said he would. wow.
there are always ups and downs though, but right now I'm riding a high. someone complimented my Malay pronunciation (a native speaker, I'll have you know) before i just wasn't confident in my Malay, but then my zone leader told me to stop it, because my Malay was good enough, all i needed was the confidence. so, i decided to stop worrying about it, and I'm feeling pretty good.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
What to eat . . . and what not to on Borneo !?!
hello again,
last week i felt like i had nothing to say, but that is not the case this week. things are going here, they really are. we actually have a couple of people that are getting close to baptism, and it is so exciting. missionary work is really just a bunch of roller coaster rides. One day, the language is so on, people are laughing at your Malay jokes (jokes, I'm pretty sure I've made two by now) and then the next appointment, you get asked a question, and you don't know any of those words. like that. And one day you will have a really spiritual lesson, like you've really connected to these people, and the next day, you are struggling to teach about the book of Mormon, in English, no less. we have people that are so good, but issues come up like they always do, and there is nothing you could do about it, it is sad sometimes. and sometimes i wonder how anyone gets baptized, if people read and pray and go to church and know it is true, but still let things get in the way. But we had a lesson with a lady named tunya, we were teaching her about tithing, and a little worried, but at the end, she said, 'of course I'll pay, i know it is true.' wow. i think she will get baptized next week, its pretty cool.
so, you know how everyone eats weird things on their mission? well, i just had that experience this week. and it wasn't your normal, run of the mill intestines or fish eyeballs or anything. no, it looked completely innocent, two slices of white bread. with mayonnaise spread in the middle. yes, that right everyone, i not just one, but two mayonnaise sandwiches. i still can't believe it. the saddest thing is that we were visiting a member, the sweetest lady you have ever met, she comes to church all alone, and her family is against it, too. but she comes every week. you can't really refuse, you have to choke down straight mayo and white bread. so that's it, that is my story.
they also have very interesting drinks here. its called Milo, and it is huge here. when i first had it, it tasted like cocoa only made with water, and frankly, it was gross. but now i like it. and they serve it cold, too, and it is really, really, good. they have this other thing called horlix, or maybe horlicks, i don't know. but it tastes like oatmeal, in drink form. all i have to say is, yum. they serve that cold too, and it is soooo good. then they have this other drink, barely (like the grain), and basically it tastes like malt o meal in a cup, but cold, with ice. I'm not so sure about that one.
Love, Sister Harrison
hello again,
last week i felt like i had nothing to say, but that is not the case this week. things are going here, they really are. we actually have a couple of people that are getting close to baptism, and it is so exciting. missionary work is really just a bunch of roller coaster rides. One day, the language is so on, people are laughing at your Malay jokes (jokes, I'm pretty sure I've made two by now) and then the next appointment, you get asked a question, and you don't know any of those words. like that. And one day you will have a really spiritual lesson, like you've really connected to these people, and the next day, you are struggling to teach about the book of Mormon, in English, no less. we have people that are so good, but issues come up like they always do, and there is nothing you could do about it, it is sad sometimes. and sometimes i wonder how anyone gets baptized, if people read and pray and go to church and know it is true, but still let things get in the way. But we had a lesson with a lady named tunya, we were teaching her about tithing, and a little worried, but at the end, she said, 'of course I'll pay, i know it is true.' wow. i think she will get baptized next week, its pretty cool.
so, you know how everyone eats weird things on their mission? well, i just had that experience this week. and it wasn't your normal, run of the mill intestines or fish eyeballs or anything. no, it looked completely innocent, two slices of white bread. with mayonnaise spread in the middle. yes, that right everyone, i not just one, but two mayonnaise sandwiches. i still can't believe it. the saddest thing is that we were visiting a member, the sweetest lady you have ever met, she comes to church all alone, and her family is against it, too. but she comes every week. you can't really refuse, you have to choke down straight mayo and white bread. so that's it, that is my story.
they also have very interesting drinks here. its called Milo, and it is huge here. when i first had it, it tasted like cocoa only made with water, and frankly, it was gross. but now i like it. and they serve it cold, too, and it is really, really, good. they have this other thing called horlix, or maybe horlicks, i don't know. but it tastes like oatmeal, in drink form. all i have to say is, yum. they serve that cold too, and it is soooo good. then they have this other drink, barely (like the grain), and basically it tastes like malt o meal in a cup, but cold, with ice. I'm not so sure about that one.
Love, Sister Harrison
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
I Love your letters !!!
okay, i got the family letters, which are sweet, they really are (I looked at them online, even though I said i really wouldn't have the time, i couldn't really resist) I didn't read all of them, i'll wait until they come in the mail. But i scanned them a bit. Number one, tracy, I would LOVE a picture of Mira, the last one I got I think was from Christmas. send send send! the one i got from thanksgiving, where she is super tiny, i show to everyone, they love it!
okay. but really, the letters are the best idea (every month? its like a missionaries dream)
I feel like I never talk about missionary work in my emails. So, right now we have three people that we are looking forward to baptism with. Which is so exciting for me, because it is the first time i've ever seen anything start to happen. In sibu we started from scratch on an area, and weren't there for that long, and then we opened up the new area here, so it always takes a little while for things to happen. And one of the people is a deaf man sister richey met on the bus. he is a little strange, but his lessons are really cool. He really wants to understand, and it is so cool to explain a new concept to him. He even came to church on sunday. we weren't sure exactly how it was going to go, especially for testimony meeting. But sister richey wrote down some things that people were talking about, and during sunday school i sat next to him and wrote things down and helped him look up scriptures and stuff. He really liked church, and the branch was so nice to him to, one of the branch presidency wrote down a really nice letter and gave it to him. Simon's awesome, thats all im saying.
and mom, it is really cool to hear that you are working on the relief society birthday, because we have been working on that for a while too. they are putting on a talent show, too, and one sister, a filipina, got us to dance the cha cha with her in it. (we feel like it is okay because it is just the women) sister richey and i are also working on a rap because as it so happens, sister richey is a pretty good beat boxer. so i'm the rapper, when we get the rap worked out, maybe i'll send it to you. Its kind of fun that we are all doing something that saturday. (and i bet the cafe rio will be awesome)
sometimes i'm jealous about things like five guys, but then i remember that just yesterday, we walked past this fruit stand, full of tropical fruit that they were making into smoothies, and it cost like, a dollar fifty. so there is give and take. the fruit here is to die for though, i never knew how good honey dew was until i got here, now it is like my favorite.
I feel like I never talk about missionary work in my emails. So, right now we have three people that we are looking forward to baptism with. Which is so exciting for me, because it is the first time i've ever seen anything start to happen. In sibu we started from scratch on an area, and weren't there for that long, and then we opened up the new area here, so it always takes a little while for things to happen. And one of the people is a deaf man sister richey met on the bus. he is a little strange, but his lessons are really cool. He really wants to understand, and it is so cool to explain a new concept to him. He even came to church on sunday. we weren't sure exactly how it was going to go, especially for testimony meeting. But sister richey wrote down some things that people were talking about, and during sunday school i sat next to him and wrote things down and helped him look up scriptures and stuff. He really liked church, and the branch was so nice to him to, one of the branch presidency wrote down a really nice letter and gave it to him. Simon's awesome, thats all im saying.
and mom, it is really cool to hear that you are working on the relief society birthday, because we have been working on that for a while too. they are putting on a talent show, too, and one sister, a filipina, got us to dance the cha cha with her in it. (we feel like it is okay because it is just the women) sister richey and i are also working on a rap because as it so happens, sister richey is a pretty good beat boxer. so i'm the rapper, when we get the rap worked out, maybe i'll send it to you. Its kind of fun that we are all doing something that saturday. (and i bet the cafe rio will be awesome)
sometimes i'm jealous about things like five guys, but then i remember that just yesterday, we walked past this fruit stand, full of tropical fruit that they were making into smoothies, and it cost like, a dollar fifty. so there is give and take. the fruit here is to die for though, i never knew how good honey dew was until i got here, now it is like my favorite.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Market Report from Singapore (aka KK)
I had an interesting epiphany yesterday.
even still, the language is not coming as fast as I would like it. i'm just not very confident in it yet. But i was talking to this guy, and i could understand him, and we were talking (he was muslim, so i didn't have to worry about having to contact, sometimes its nice when that happens) and we were just having a nice little conversation. and after, i felt so good, like i could actually do something, and understand and make myself understood, it felt so, so good.
and then i was thinking, if i didn't know how it felt to be not be able to understand, to not be able to speak, if i didn't know how bad it feels not to be able to communicate, i would never feel that good about having that little conversation. So i needed to not understand so i could know how awesome it is to be able to understand. just a little opposition in all things lesson.
before this, it was nothing to talk to anyone. it didn't feel as awesome as it does to talk to people here, because i never knew how it felt not to be able to talk.
anyway, i was just thinking about that a little last night.
this week has been especially good because i found out that sister richey knows almost every lyric to Newsies, so, needless to say, it has been a really fun week. (Sometimes when i feel a little down i sing, "i've got to find an angle..... I've got to sell more papes.. (member that part, when the mom is singing about patrick?) and it makes me feel better)
and we started to go to this market right by our house, we have so much fruit! mangos and mangostein and bananas and yellow watermelon, and the honeydew here is extremely good. you would freak out if you saw this market. rows and rows of food, and it is there every day. i've never seen that many bananas before in my life, tables and tables stacked high, with bags of bananas under and around the tables and bananas hanging from racks, just everywhere. crazy. and everyday, we walk out of our apartment, and it is the middle of summer. it has only rained here in KK once since i've got here!
until next week, sister harrison aka orang putih perempuan yg sangat syok
I had an interesting epiphany yesterday.
even still, the language is not coming as fast as I would like it. i'm just not very confident in it yet. But i was talking to this guy, and i could understand him, and we were talking (he was muslim, so i didn't have to worry about having to contact, sometimes its nice when that happens) and we were just having a nice little conversation. and after, i felt so good, like i could actually do something, and understand and make myself understood, it felt so, so good.
and then i was thinking, if i didn't know how it felt to be not be able to understand, to not be able to speak, if i didn't know how bad it feels not to be able to communicate, i would never feel that good about having that little conversation. So i needed to not understand so i could know how awesome it is to be able to understand. just a little opposition in all things lesson.
before this, it was nothing to talk to anyone. it didn't feel as awesome as it does to talk to people here, because i never knew how it felt not to be able to talk.
anyway, i was just thinking about that a little last night.
this week has been especially good because i found out that sister richey knows almost every lyric to Newsies, so, needless to say, it has been a really fun week. (Sometimes when i feel a little down i sing, "i've got to find an angle..... I've got to sell more papes.. (member that part, when the mom is singing about patrick?) and it makes me feel better)
and we started to go to this market right by our house, we have so much fruit! mangos and mangostein and bananas and yellow watermelon, and the honeydew here is extremely good. you would freak out if you saw this market. rows and rows of food, and it is there every day. i've never seen that many bananas before in my life, tables and tables stacked high, with bags of bananas under and around the tables and bananas hanging from racks, just everywhere. crazy. and everyday, we walk out of our apartment, and it is the middle of summer. it has only rained here in KK once since i've got here!
until next week, sister harrison aka orang putih perempuan yg sangat syok
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
