Things Looking Up!

What's up everyone!?

This week was another hard working week laid down and the results are starting to show! We went from a completely dead area that we whitewashed (as some may remember), and now we have investigators and two wards that are backing us up! We are seeing miracles happening and we are laying it all out their on the streets day after day. A lot of stuff happens if you just stick it to the floor, and absolutely wear yourself out every single day. Oh, and working smart helps! We'll see if we can't get some people converted here.

This last P-day we went to a place called East Coast Parkway which was way fun. We rented some bikes, roller blades, and long boards and we rode up and down some beautiful beaches. It was hot as usual here, that never gets old, but we had a good time! Never thought I would be riding long boards alongside a beautiful beach in a rich country on my mission....Check!

 

If you remember from last week we did a painting service project for a member. Well, this week was Part 2 and putting on some of the finishing touches! We got everything painted and it looks great! It's always fun to hang out with the members also while you paint!

That's all for Elder Thompson this week. Sorry it's not much. But it was a good week.

Happy Birthday to my brother Alec this week...April 29! Love you man!

And love you all too!

Elder Thompson 

 

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters April 23-2016

CEREAL

Hello everybody!

This week was a good one with  ups and downs as they all seem to have. But here is mainly the highlights, because highlights are the stuff:

We had Zone Conference this week. Normally I have to travel by plane to Singapore but now that I am living in this insane (good) city, no need! We had a great couple of days filled with new ways to do missionary work and always great insights. This Zone Conference was especially sick because for the night activity that we usually have after it is all over we got to see the Marina Bay Sands light show! It has been something that all the missionaries have been wanting to do since we got here, so we did it! After the light show, we all sat down next to what they call the "Merlion' here in Singapore. (A big lion/mermaid statue that shoots a fire hose worth of water out of it's mouth) All of the missionaries sat down and we sang a couple hymns right there on the steps and it was awesome! So spiritual and real. 

  

This week was especially sweet. I once again had the opportunity to purchase, eat, and enjoy American imported cereal. YEAH. Real, good tasting cereal that isn't ridiculously expensive, with fresh store bought milk too! You'd be amazed what you get grateful for out here when you've been 'deprived' for so long, haha.

We did some service this week! We helped out a lady in our ward that needed her apartment painted. Little did you all know Elder Thompson is a master painter...of walls. Oh yeah. But honestly it was way fun. It was hot, but it's always a good time to get your hands dirty in the service of others! My favorite type of missionary work.  This week was HOT. Most of the days it gets up to 96 degrees here. Then add 80% humidity. The phone actually tells us what the temperature "feels like" too. So it usually tells us it "feels like" 115 degrees. I'M COOKING. All we do is sweat. It's so awesome :)  

[So, humid and sweaty, the watch 'rusted' off ]

  

When the weather gets hot you get huge monsoon rains and HUGE lighting and thunder storms. I mean BIG. The lighting stretches across the sky and it's the coolest. The thunder sounds like huge artillery cannons are going off every 30 seconds. Yep. It's also a war zone here haha. 

To finish off, we got the opportunity to teach the Relief Society about missionary works a little more on Sunday. What we taught wasn't important. When we walked into the room we felt IT. IT was real. The biggest room in the building, filled with the strongest and most spiritual women. They rule the church here. They show everyone up. The Spirit in that room was crazy I almost couldn't handle it. They were all listening. No phones. Bright, smiling, light, faces all looking up at us. The women of this church.....awesome. 

  

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

Elder Thompson 

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters April 16-2016 

Spiritual Highs and Missionary Lows

This week was full of ups and downs as the title may give away. But I'll throw you all the highs for right now! Because life is all about looking at the highs. Even if you can't see them over the skyscraper architecture of Singapore, they are there!

Last P-day we headed out to an island called "Pulau Ubin". It is one of the many islands around the island of Singapore itself. While there we got to rent some bikes and ride around in their mountain bike park they had which was way sick. Although they don't have mountains and altitudes like Utah it was still awesome to get some rush trails in! Yes, and the island was beautiful too for those of you that don't care about mountain biking. Sandy beaches and what not....paradise.

 

My comp and I tried a new method of contacting people. We call it, penny board contacting. Yes it was fun, yes it works. Turns out if you show the more fun side of missionaries, people are more receptive to the mission. (Elder Thompson was right....) We basically ride around a park on penny boards and talk to people that way! Way cool.

Something I am not sure if I have commented on yet is the FOOD here. It so delicious it's unbelievable. I have to control myself because there is western food at every corner here. Singapore has actual AMERICAN restaurants it's amazing. I never thought that good food would be a distraction from missionary work on my mission. For those of you that serve in Spanish missions or speak Spanish, you can just ignore this next part. I HAD MEXICAN FOOD!!! It has been WAY too long haha. I had a genuine burrito and it was so freaking good. Oh man. My comp has to keep me away from that stuff. Food is amazing.

On the the non carnal side of things, conference was 'Sick.' All of conference was awesome and being in Singapore was too. It would take me hours to write down all the highlights that I thought were the best so I'll have to refrain. The only thing I will mention is that Jeffery R. Holland was right. He asked that we would not be so sad about the loss of a spiritual high we have felt during conference. He asked us to keep that spirit and continue to strive to feel it all we could. I'll be honest, it was ridiculously hard. That Sunday after conference was horrible. It was one of those missionary days where EVERYTHING that could go wrong, went wrong. It was hard to cope after the spiritual high felt literally minutes before everything went wrong. But we keep our heads up and move on, and we never let that fire internally go out. Especially after conference. 

Lastly, I had the opportunity this week to really read up on all the missionaries serving currently right now. At least the ones that are all friends of mine. It was way cool to hear about everyone experiences as it is every week. It honestly is one of the most motivating things reading my buddies and friends experiences. For every bad day, every miracle, and every sick story, I realize how close everyone is truly. I find it so cool that everyone is having either the same or completely opposite experiences and yet we are all learning the same things while out here. Missions are crazy. Missions are awesome. Especially when you got all your boys backing you up from all continents.

"On my knees extra long this week for Cameron Forte. Keep strong man. Know that you got a brotherhood of not just football players backing you up."

That's all form Elder Thompson for this week, see ya!

Also, fun picture for you, Elder Monson, grandson of Pres Monson next to Parker, and all feeling the buffet bloat after Chinese buffet:

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters thru April 9 -2016 

 

 

 

 



Sibu, Malaysia Transfer to Singapore

Hey what's up everyone?!

This week the email is coming from a VERY nice internet cafe in the middle of the IMPRESSIVE Chinatown, Singapore. This week had been nuts, Here comes the email: 

I had to leave Sibu this week. We got our emails on Monday and I got transferred to Singapore. The wards are called Ang Mo Kio and Bedok. Yes we are over two wards so, lots of work. Even more crazy, they are WARDS. Real, established, working, efficient wards of the church. It is crazy. I will talk about this later. 

Leaving Sibu was way hard, I was "born" there in mission terms. I was there for 8 months. I loved the people and the members became family to me. I knew the area like the back of my hand and I finally got comfortable. That's when they get you, haha. I had to say goodbyes to everyone of my RC's, members, and friends I made there. It was even harder realizing that I may never get to see them ever again, but I hope I can. Sibu is home. Sibu is 'Kampung.'  I will never forget Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. 

 

 

Fast forward a couple of days after the goodbyes were said, and I was on a plane heading to one of the most utopia-like countries in the entire world, to live there. I landed and from Wednesday all the way to today has been a completely jaw-dropping, eyes wide open experience. It has been nuts, as I am known to say. 

My new companion is Elder Cocq. He is from France. He is a veteran and he is cool, we are gonna do great work together.  The Singapore life is crazy. It is fast paced. We have to catch the trains, buses, taxis, for all the appointments and you can't be late. It is the high life. It is extremely wealthy here everyone is very well kept. There are whiter people. They are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I have now reversed roles and I am now the one that stares at white people as they pass by....Singapore is a melting pot. you hear like 20 different languages over the course of one day. So cool. It THE business world. For those who know me, I love the whole business feel, but when it comes to missionary work, it makes it hard to get a hold of people. It is a whole new type of missionary work. We work in established wards and a stake. The leadership is dependable. The people are on time and punctual. They are very intelligent and they all have studied or are studying at a high level of education. It is English. I haven't used much English in like 8 months, let alone taught in it! I feel absolutely uncomfortable talking, contacting, praying, and teaching in English. It's weird. The food is delicious here. It is so good. It is a culture shock...again...but in the opposite way. What I mean by that is that I came from the poorest of the poor and the deepest of the jungle. Arriving in one of the most architecturally and technologically advanced countries in the world was mind-blowing. It was truly a, "I'm not in Kansas anymore" moment. Normally American missionaries that go on missions get culture shocked by the 3rd worlds and the poverty. It was the opposite for me. I was a Malaysian native who had his eyes opened, big time. 

 

 

Other than all that jumble of thoughts (and there are plenty more..) that is about it for this week. The work is still progressing here even though my companion and I are 'white-washing' two areas. We are going for a temple in Singapore. That's the vision. We're going for it. All the best to everyone. Love you all. 

Elder Thompson 

Draper, Utah Missionary Letters thru April 2 -2016