Sibu, East Malaysia & 

Moon Cake Festival

Date: September 28, 2015  

What's up family and friends?! 

It's another P-day here in Sibu, East Malaysia and here comes the weekly run down! This week was a good week, the work was pretty slow but we had a great week! We felt really good about it at the end of the week but then the numbers didn't show much which was funny, but the numbers don't count, it's the people! A lot of cool stuff happening here, or maybe it just seems cool to me because Sibu isn't really like the most interesting place...yeah that's probably it haha. But anyways I'll see what I can remember!

Elder and Yang and I went and bought a basketball because there is a court pretty close to our house. So we get up, hop on the bikes and we take a nice morning warm-up on the bikes, then we play ball for morning work out. It's way fun and the the schools were on break for this week so we had a lot of competition at the court to play with. I'm still the big "Orang Putih" here so they expect me to be way good at basketball because I'm from America, so I have to play up to the hype. Some days are better than others...haha. That's been way fun to do every day!

 

This week the Chinese branch celebrated Moon cake Festival and we got invited. I'm studying up on my Chinese because a lot of people here speak it anyways, it's way confusing haha. But we did a family home evening with the Chinese branch, ate some moon cake, and wrote on some of the lanterns that they send up into the sky! That was way fun to do that here and the Chinese are so particular about tradition so I learned how to do it right. Awesome culture.

The coolest thing that happened this week was that they were doing an International Base Jump things at the Wisma Tower here. It's like the highest building in Sibu and all these base jumpers from all over come and jump all day long for like 3 days! It was way cool, we talked to a lot of them because most are American, so a nice break to talk to someone from American, in English! We sat and watched a lot, I've always loved watching base jumping so this was way cool to see in person! They had a big festival and tent carnival next to it so we got to see all that too.

They had a Ferris Wheel!  This things was hilarious and sketchy, it was rotated by a chain hooked up to an old hot rod wheel and the engine, funniest thing ever haha.

 

We were teaching a family just yesterday, and they are an awesome family. We've taught them before, they have these two little twins...they are so tiny with the biggest eyes and they are both so loud and obnoxious but I love 'em! So one of the kids, he was playing with me. I gave him my watch and my name tag, because he thinks it gives him power, cutest thing.  All of the sudden he got quiet, very weird, then all of sudden I could here water trickling...this kid just wet his pants on the spot in the middle of the room! No sooner than that his family sprang into action, pants down, pants off, towel to wipe it up, new pants on, all good...wait what!? It's like a regular occurrence haha! Welcome to Malaysia haha.

Here's the bike update, I am still riding Hernandez 2.0, or Bessy, or the Green Hornet, it has many names, it's a legend. I have made it my own for now, It's starting to grow on me! Pumping up the tires every day, looking like a huge white American trying to ride a tiny bike everywhere...it's awesome haha. 

Well, I think that does it for this week then! Love you all!

Elder Thompson

Sketch of Parker by East Malaysian Chinese Branch Member

2015 Draper, Utah Missionary Letters Sep27-2015

Jenga Lessons &

Temple Trips of Another Kind

Date: September 21, 2015 
Area: Malaysia 
Companion: Elder Yang

Friends and Family, 'Apa Khapar!?'

Another week down and it's Elder Thompson coming at you with the weekly update! This week overall was good, missionary work is way tough and the language is tough but Elder Yang and I like to have some fun with it! It makes it easier to get through some days. But I'll go ahead and share some highlights!

Last Monday after we got done emailing we had the whole zone with us and we challenged some of our recent converts and investigators to a soccer game. America versus Malaysia baby! We pulled up to this dirt field behind a hospital and then we played, we won 5-4! It was way fun playing on a make-shift field with crooked goals but way fun!

This week we made up a lesson that incorporated the game Jenga. I love object lessons and so we try to do different things, so we bought some cheap Jenga games and did lessons with members about testimonies and it was way fun! The members are so fun to work with as we try to make every member a missionary to help us out here! The Iban native culture here is to laugh and make fun of everyone so playing a game works out really nicely.

The bike issues continue... it's pretty frustrating to talk about, but my bike pedal on my brand new bike kept falling off, rendering it incapable to ride, so I have to stick with the replacement bike for now while the bike shop here sorts out the problem. The real problem is that all the Malaysian manufactured bikes here are suited to fit a huge ''Orang Putih'' American. So I have to buy an American imported or European imported bike and that is a process... so this last week I have been riding what they call the green hornet. Let me tell you it is a beauty of a bike, it is comparable to my car back home that I used to drive, Hernandez. So I am now on Hernandez 2.0, the bike that has so many miles on it, bald tires, is green, but never dies. Yes.

Eldr Orr TOWING Eldr Thompson

Well, that seems to be it for this week, the adventures continue and the experiences keep coming. Loving every second!

Elder Thompson

PS: Attachments: PDay 'Temple Trip' and Surroundings

 

Sibu, Malaysia Riverfront, Long Houses, Weavers

SIBU Accomodations:

2015 Draper, Utah Missionary Letters Sept 20, 2015

Some News for Week

Another Week in Sibu : 

"Orang Putih"

Date: September 14, 2015 
Area: Sibu, Malaysia 
Companion: Elder Yang

Friends and Family, it's good to make contact with the outside world with you all again! I'm sitting here in Sibu in a computer cafe with kids playing really loud games all around me it's insane. That's just how they do around here! Anyways it was a good week, Every week I get better and better at navigating as well as the language and teaching!

Last P-day after I emailed we went and played basketball with a predominately Chinese crowd. We had to defend our American skills and we did! We won but the funny thing was is that we were all soaked from head to toe haha. It was a court that had a roof over it too... did I tell you all that you sweat like no other here!? I've never been more wet in my life but it was way fun let me tell you.

As for the rest of the week it the normal usual stuff, some highlights were that I got to play with the monkey again. That's always a way fun time! Also, Elder Orr's companion is the Zone Leader so when he leaves to Singapore we get a tri-companionship with Elder Orr. That's always such a fun time, plus I don't feel like such an "Orang Putih" while I'm riding around. That's means "white person" in Malay and I hear it a lot throughout the day followed by little kids snickers, then I answer back in Malay and it's pretty funny to see their faces! Haha! So it's nice to have Elder Orr cause then we both stick out like sore thumbs together!

(Note here from Parker's Dad:  this isn't Elder Orr below in picture that Parker notes as 'Goofing off re-enacting Titanic'  Parker & companion, Elder Yang, cracked us up in the context of Parker's comments about 'sticking out like sore thumbs' : Elder Yang looks like a 'Mini Me' in a chest carrier on Parker's "Orang Putih" frame :) 

Well, I bought my new bike, and she was a beast, but she only lasted like a week. I was riding, the whole entire left side pedal mechanism felt loose, then all of the sudden, it drops off and goes flying across the highway...it was such a fun time:)... Keep in mind this bike is like a week old, ONE WEEK. SO that's been a hassle the last couple days to deal with. Elder Orr was a stud and he towed me with a string we had that we used for a lesson earlier that day. That's was interesting!

But other than that all, all is good here in Sibu, I still look around sometimes and laugh at myself when someone is speaking in this crazy language, haha, cause I'm across the world and it's nuts! The gospel is different over here and the culture is even more different! Love it all! Till next week! 

Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia

Sibu, Sibu, Sibu

Date: September 07, 2015
Area: Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Companion: Elder Yang

Hey friends and family!

Another week down on the mission here in Sibu, Sarawak (East Malaysia) and I'm starting to settle in! Sibu is growing on me and I'm starting to begin to "live" here. I gotta become a part of the people here.  So that's what I'm doing!

Anyways, I'll start off with something exciting, I GOT TO PLAY WITH A MONKEY. It was a way cool experience, at least for me. One of the member families here owns it we fed it all this spicy and sour stuff to mess with it haha. But then I just let him climb around on me it was way cool. The little guy was hilarious haha!

Video Below:



                                           
The next day my companion and I both woke up with a bug that we caught from a dinner the night before. I had already had problems with the change of food culture here (to say the least) but this bug was bad. We had to sit at home all day, I got so bored. At that point I really missed some good ole' American food but the next day we were a little better and we got going. They have KFC and a McDonald's relatively close by and those are live savers sometimes...



I find myself talking to the members children all the time. 1. Because they speak simpler and I can actually understand and talk back to them. 2. Because they all love to mess around with the huge white kid so get to have fun with them! I love going to the member's home because I tell the little kids to pull out their school books and teach me Malay, so they do and I learn a lot! Plus they love teaching an American haha.

We ride bikes everywhere here, I decided I'm going to do the Tour de France when I get home cause I'm going to have legs of steal let me tell you. Other than that I'm still sweating a whole lot, it's still humid, and I'm still smiling whenever I think of how funny I look! 

I love it here in Malaysia, a whole new culture and a whole new language, all of which I have no idea about! But the church is in it's pioneer stages here and I'm grateful to be apart of it!

Love you all!

Elder Thompson 

2015 Draper, Utah Missionary Letters Sep10, 2015