New Adventure! : Bintulu

Hey everyone! This week was a good week with some great memories and especially with the members. We got to spend a lot of time with them and it was especially great and sentimental because it will be the last time I see many of them. That might be just the saddest thing to think about, but that is just how this mission is! Yep, I will be moving out from Matang. My time has been far spent here and man am I going to miss these people. It's time for the final stretch! 

I am moving to Bintulu, Sarawak! So still in East Malaysia, but just one more city up from Sibu, where I started. Even more crazy, I have been called to be apart of the Branch Presidency there to help train and lift leaders to higher callings and expectations. It is another typical East Malaysian Sarawak branch full of Ibans and whole lot of less actives. (Well, that will change.) But nothing that I am not totally used to. They need some unity and we are going to get callings fulfilled, and people brought back! Bintulu actually has some bad connotation when it is said among missionaries...but that will also change. The same way that Sibu wasn't a desirable place when I first started, and now it's a hot spot. The same way my perspective on Matang has changed so much and I have grown to love it here. I am grateful for the Lord having all power and being able to change my stubborn, prideful self into what I am today. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve where the Lord would have me serve. Attitude over area. 

On a completely different note, highlights for this week were these. P-day last week was way fun as we met up with the whole zone and we rented out a stadium to play volleyball in. It was so much fun haha. It cost literally RM 20 which is the equivalent of under $5 USD. Yes, in Malaysia you can rent out a stadium for 2 hours for less than $5 USD. 

I also got to go eat at 2 buffets this week with some members. Those are just fun times to relax and enjoy the members company. Yes, I repeat, even Malaysia has 'buffets.' 

That's all I got for this week, Love you all!

Elder Thompson

 

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Draper, Utah Missionary Letters seen thru Feb 25-2017

How Bad is it Wanted

This week was a rough one to say the least. It's alright it happens sometimes as a missionary! You want to know the best part about it all though? Somehow we are still so dang happy and it makes no sense. No sense at all. I apologize for the short email in advance.

This week was filled with lots of days, if not all days of our plans, not going to plan. SO many appointments dropped and so many different directions taken. There were so many back up plans that fell through too....How does that even happen?? There were a lot of hard days where you couldn't help but just look around a say, well what do we do now? You have those days as missionaries. You have days where no one wants to listen. You have days where you literally get rained on all day and on top of that, you have no appointments. You have those day where you feel as though you have had no success. Or where you wonder if you are doing something wrong, or anything right. Made fun of, laughed at, spit at, mocked, the list goes on. You are so tired and so worn out. You have those feelings once or twice or maybe many times a day that you would rather just give up or go home. It happens to the best of us. But those moments don't mean a thing, because at the end of the day, you are somehow happy. WHY? Well, your a missionary!!! How bad do you want it? How many days could you go on doing that and still be a successful missionary? Will you do the things you're supposed to regardless of success? Will you still open your mouth? Will you still report to your Father in Heave each night and thank Him for building you today? Are you willing to keep going? Good news, it always gets better.

I love being a missionary and there isn't a single day that I don't wake up and get fired up to go out and do the Lord's work. I don't miss an opportunity to thank my God for the opportunity He has given me to do this. I can't think of a better way to live a life than in the service of our great God. There is nothing more rewarding. There is nothing more exhilarating. There is nothing more humbling. Well, then it has to be true doesn't it?

Love you all!

Elder Thompson

 

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Draper, Utah Missionary Letters seen thru Feb 18-2017

...more Planes, Trains, Automobiles, & Boats in Singapore 

Yep, Planes, trains, automobiles, boats, bikes, buses, and feet. That is how we got around this week and that's not unusual. Just another week in the Singapore Mission !

Really the highlight of this week and the thing that took the most time was flying into Singapore for Zone Conference. It is always good to fly back into my city and feel right at home. A couple days in the fast life of Singapore and that was about it for me! I like the Iban islander lifestyle a bit more (but don't tell anyone that). I got to see old friends and old companions so that was great. We got spiritually uplifted and learn a ton from the mission leadership, and we finally got to watch the worldwide missionary broadcast! All was good. Back here in Matang, and ready to go to work.

I'm going to shut up here and just let the pictures do the talking. Oh yeah, and I may or may not have copped a GoPro to help with documenting the mish. That should be sweet;)

Love you all! God lives. 

Elder Thompson

 

 

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Draper, Utah Missionary Letters seen thru Feb 11-2017

"Today was Eye-Opening..."

I was going to use this email and talk more about the P-Day Changes we had last week and when we went to Bako , but I realized I already told you all that. So now I am left with just a few highlights for the week. Bako really was cool though. 

This week I got to do exchanges with one of my favorite Chinese Elders, Elder Tan from Singapore. It is always fun to hang out and do work with him, but this time he came up to Matang for the day! We had a good time and I took him to the Kampung. You know, that place where everyone builds their own houses out of wood and lives in them, and where everyone walks on the sewer passage way? Yeah, that place. To quote Elder Tan and to explain this area in one sentence...."Today was eye-opening." Yep, Nailed it.

One of our investigator families that we just barely were able to meet with, weren't really answering their phone. They just don't have any credit! Not because they don't want any more. Anyways we went to their house and knocked to see if they could meet and they opened to the door! We got in and all I see in a big family sitting on the floor, cross-legged, eating with their hands, and speaking a whole lot of Iban. They are from Sibu, and what I saw was pure evidence of that. I have never felt so at home. They are totally people from Sibu. These are my people.

That's all I have for you all this week. Sorry it's short! Love you all!

Elder Thompson

Pics of our Missionary Taxi that picks up members to get them to lessons and church!!::  Even in Floods::

 

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Draper, Utah Missionary Letters seen thru Feb 4-2017