Bad Tan Lines, but Harvested Rice!

 

Ni hao ma, apa khapar, nama berita, and what's up everyone?

Another week going down in the books and the mission is on-going. This week was a hard week for service, and we are working hard day in and day out as the weather gets hotter than it already is, but it is all good!

Last week for P-day we went bowling as a district again which is always a good time. Especially when you take the win! Yes I had the best overall store and yes, even our companionship score won also, again. Yes, we dominate bowling and that's a fact.

This week was especially fun as we had the sweet opportunity to harvest a lot of rice for some members. I will say this right off the bat, that is back-breaking work, but I loved it. It has been so long since I have done anything that is yard-work or service oriented! We would wake up early and head up to the farm areas above the city. We would slap on the hats, and grab our razors, and our baskets, and get to work. So downside to this, I got some GNARLY tan lines. (Well they are tan now, but when I got them they were more on the red side of things...) Upside to this, I got some hard labor in, we got to BBQ after, and we ate some delicious sego worms.  These worms are the ones that look like a wrinkled up finger...yeah sounds awesome right? Anyways it was a fun time to do that with the members!

Other than that the work is on-going. We are focusing on bringing back all the less-actives in our city area which is very interesting. We will be riding around trying to find people and we will hear echos of, "Elder" and "Orang Putih" echo through the houses as we ride our bikes.  It is kind of creepy but also a testament to all the people that we need to find. 

Right now we are getting our transfer calls which is pretty nerve racking as I am typing this. The result should be coming in pretty soon here, So stand by:  

Update 1 Hr Later:   Well, I am moving. I am going to  Singapore. I will speaking English there for sure. They are taking me and my companion out of Sibu. I honestly feel bad for all the people and the members here in the city that we will be leaving. A lot going through my head right now. We'll see you all next week.

Elder Parker Thompson

Fishing outing with Kids in Sarawak :

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters thru March 26 -2016  

Adventures from the middle of Borneo

 

Hey Everyone!

This week was a good one and my comp and I worked super hard. We didn't necessarily see the results on the numbers side of things, but that will come. It's all about "Work Hard, Pray Hard". Other than that, here are a couple fun things, highlights you could say, that happened here in Sibu!

First off, last P-day after I got off from email we hopped in a members car and headed out to the jungle. We had our fishing poles, fish bait, and some good times. We went out to do a fishing/hunting trip with these guys and it was sweet! We were out in the middle of nowhere and walking around in straight mud and trees. We got some fish, and like I said, we had some good times. Always a good time in the jungle!

 As you may remember from last week, my bike was stolen. Good news is, that I got a new steed. She is pretty good lookin' too! Aside from the looks, haha, I got a bike that can haul this big 'white man' around from place to place. That is what we do here, bike, all day, every day, all night! Needless to say, although the bike struggles continue for Elder Thompson...he is still smiling!

Another fun thing, we played what we call "Banshee Beetle Baseball" this week. Description: Grab a ridiculously huge beetle from the jungle that screams like a banshee. Bring it inside. Toss it around a room. It's way more fun then it sounds I promise, haha!  These things are huge!

I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with our district leader this week. As always, good stuff happens. We saw some cool stuff in a new part of town, and we met 'white people.' Remember how we are 'whiter' and 'bigger' to Malaysians, 'Orang Putiah' as we are called.  These folks weren't missionaries. They were from South Africa and it was way cool to meet them. It's amazing when you see 'white people' here. So I know how all the natives here feel when I walk into a room...it makes sense after you haven't seen white people in so long....or you're entire life. 

Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo is a blast. I wouldn't trade it for the world! I love it out here!

 

Elder Thompson 

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters thru March 19 -2016 

 

 

 

Ups & Downs

 

Hey Everybody it's good to make contact with the outside world once again!

I'll get right to it:  Last week for P-day all of the Elders in our zone did a Elders BBQ at our house. We invited everyone over because of our new and improved tong BBQ we got just barely! It's pretty nice you just wait for the pictures. So we did our BBQ Malaysian style and we ate pretty well. It was super good and always a good time to kick back a relax a little!

Low point this week was that my bike got stolen. Yep. 'They' hopped the gate to our house in the night and stole my bike. Got to love it right?! So if anyone thought that the bike problems were going to stop for Elder Thompson, think again. We all will just have to be a little bit more patient....mainly me!

Bringing it up to a high note, we got to go to Kuching this week! There was a mission tour where the CEO of the missionary department of the church visited and we had a conference. Elder Nielsen was his name and it was awesome. Good food, good instruction, and awesome times. It's fun to go into the big city every once in a while, if you could call it a big city...Anyways that was fun!

 

To top off the week we had one of our investigators baptized this week! Her name is Ting Hie Ming and she is awesome. We first started teaching her from a Buddhist background and it has been really cool seeing her learn what God and Jesus Christ would have her do in her life.She was baptized and confirmed a member of this great church and now she looks on to bigger things. Teaching, learning, missionary, temple.....she will be awesome. Another life changed and another time in the mission that makes everything worth it!

That's all for this week folks! See you again next week!

Elder Thompson

 

 

 

 

 

 Draper, Utah Missionary Letters thru March 12 -2016 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Longest House

 

This week was another hard working week here in Sibu and although I don't have a lot to write about, it was still a blast!

Last P-Day we had a fun time playing futsol with some of our ward members and their friends. I can keep up with soccer but this is futsol. It is way faster and way more particular about where your feet are. These people are trained! I kept up pretty well but for the most part they just like to run circles around you, so all you do is just try to intimidate them with your size haha! It always fun to just laugh and become friends with these kids!

As far as the work goes here, we are starting to branch out and spread out our proselyting. It is turning into "Rumah Panjang" work which I am stoked with! For those of you who don't know what these "Long Houses" are I will explain shortly. I have mentioned in past emails how awesome they are how and how much fun we usually have but here is a quick reminder! It is basically one big huge house the stretches maybe the length of a football field or longer sometimes. Within the house every family owns a room and there are like 30-50 rooms and kids running everywhere. Not only is it a culture shock but we must approach the "Tuai Rumah" first, or the House Leader, and ask him for permission to teach his people. It gets pretty nerve-racking but it is so much fun! The people are awesome and it's always a good time showing people here 'whiter' skin for the first time!

 

This week we had the electric power people come and take our electricity, which I was not happy with. Our bill had not been paid for over a year apparently!? So we lived a couple days in darkness and heat. By heat I mean it was HOT. Once you entered the house at night you did not stop sweating until you left the next morning a got on your bike. Even then you start sweating also.....so fun stuff haha! The adventures of the mission. For me it's just another step in becoming an Iban native!

 

That's it for this week! Love you all!

Elder Thompson

 

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters thru March 5 -2016