Last Post

I guess this is it.  This is the last time that I will send in a blog post to my most wonderful Aunt KaraLynne that has been gracious enough to post them for me.  I am grateful for everyone that has been a support for me and especially those who emailed and shared their time.

In regards to my mission I was thinking of describing word to describe it and this is what I have come up with: greatness, beauty, wonder, journey, shock, difficult, worth it, tropical, hot, humid, beaches, ocean, jungle, bestpeopleever, faithful, spiritual, Atonement, Jesus Christ.  All these words go to describe the best two years that I have ever had in my life.  I don’t think that I can overstate the magnitude of benefit this experience has had in my life.

Even though I am almost 15 lbs lighter than I was going out, I have a heavy load of experience and love that outweighs everything that I lost.  Two years of school?  Not a problem.  I can honestly say I have no regrets for going on a mission, and I never will.  I have a book of remembrance that I have passed around to all the people I care about and asked them to write a little and put a picture in it.  I fully intend to read it on the plane ride home.  The book is priceless just like so many of the picture, memories and experiences that I have had.  Would I do it all over again... maybe :)  It was hard!  I won’t sugar coat it, there were challenges along the way.  But the funny thing is, I can hardly remember any of the difficult stuff.  It fades away like a bruise on the knee, after a while, you can’t even remember which leg it was on.  But the happy moments, they're permanent, and difficult to forget.  What a blessing that is!

Words through an email fall short of what I really want to say.  I just hope you all are ready and willing to hear me rant about how great my mission was :).  Looking back I realized that many of my blog posts have left out things of a spiritual nature.  Perhaps that is because I have difficulty sharing them with white people, and maybe through the internet.  But, at any rate, just to make sure I am thorough this time I want to share an experience that has really made a great end to a great mission.

When I first got to Kota Kinabalu I was given the task of teaching a 35 year old lady that was just found the week before.  She was mean, angry, stubborn and confident.  Despite our best efforts, and those of the branch, she seemed set on being a loner.  When we taught her, she would argue.  When we told her we cared about her she didn’t believe us.  But, despite all of this, she continued to go to Church  meet with us, and read from the Book of Mormon.  For the longest time we were confused and unsure of the reasons why she wanted to learn.  Whenever we brought up baptism she  made no promises. We were ready to give up on her.  We thought to ourselves, we are busy and there are other people that need our time.  I’m not sure what changed in her, perhaps it was just the consistent visits or the wonderfully supportive members of the branch.  Regardless of what it was, this sister began to change.  She sounded different on the phone, she didn’t argue and best of all she accepted a baptismal invitation.  Everything was going great, we were so happy!  And then she asked me to baptize her.  And then I was even happier!

And now, I am happy to say that she was baptized just 2 days ago.  The last weekend in my mission and the last baptism in my mission.  It was such a happy day for her.  She bore her testimony afterwards and expressed a sincere and honest account of her conversion and believe in Christ.  I can think of no better end to a mission than to see her be baptized.

I am happy and content.  I hope with all my heart that everyone that is eligible to serve a mission do so.  You won’t regret it, you will be happy, I promise. I know that happiness can be eternal, just as our Heavenly Father's love is eternal.  I know we have a savior that lives and loves all of us, regardless of our faith or circumstances.  I also know that when our love towards Heavenly Father is but a fraction of his love towards us, the blessing are innumerable!  My love for my savior pales in comparison for the love he has for me, but he is merciful, and he still blesses my life.  I am grateful for the blessings he has poured into my life and will forever and ever be in his debt.  I hope this 2 year mission has been a small yet meaningful contribution to the great marvelous work of our Father.

 So, it is with heavy heart that I close this blog.  I love you all and can’t wait to see you!!!!!

Love Elder Putnam

Single Digits

Well the list of things to do never seems to get smaller as I reach the single digits of my mission.  I am not ready to write my dying email, so wait for next week.  I will say that things are not winding down as they say, but in fact moving at a lightning fast pace that has me exhausted. Next week we are planning a last fun trip to one of the more secluded islands off the coast of Kota Kinabalu.  It is called Pulau Gayana.  I will miss the ocean sooo much and jump for joy as I leave the humidity, then hit the ground hard as I realize that DC is just as bad.  Will I ever escape the humidity?!  Perhaps I will curse this blog post 6 months from now when I am in Provo braving the onset of winter.  But, as it is, I will not miss the heat. 

I have decided to give away almost all of my cloths to various people that need them.  It feels good to give away cloths that to me are trashed, but to others are very much still usable   I have also decided to give away most of my ties to each of the Priesthood holders in the branch.  These people mean so much to me and I just hope that I have made some sort of difference in their lives.

Well, have a great week, and wait for next week!

Craziness!

Hey it’s been a while!  I just want to update everyone on this last month of CRAZINESS!  About 3 weeks ago I was denied a visa at the border going into Malaysia.  After some long waiting and pleading I was given 30 days to leave the country.  So, yesterday I left the beautiful country of Malaysia for a conference in Singapore with the intention to try to get back into Malaysia after the conference.  I am pleased to say the I was given no problems at the border and that I will be able to finish my mission in Kota Kinabalu, the best place in the world!  Other than that life has been absolutely crazy busy.  As I approach the end of my mission I am in complete astonishment as to how fast it goes!  But at the same time I feel as though I have experienced so many things and cannot believe it all happened in a span of two years.  I have been in denial that its really going to end.  It wasn't until I was given my return ticket home that things started to get serious and sink in.  I will be flying home on the 9th of May and arriving in DC at about 6:30!  I'll be flying through Tokyo and Minneapolis.

In Singapore again!

Hey just here ready to leave the airport and taking advantage of the free internet.  We had a really great zone leader council and a lot got accomplished.  It is great to be in the fray of making mission policy and helping things happen.  Well, I had my subway and I’m ready to sleep in my own bed... which is actually less comfortable than the one I slept in last night, but still.  I’m one of the senior zone leaders so my voice is heard and taken into account a lot of the time, so that is nice.  There are a couple of young zone leaders that don’t talk to just don’t have anything useful to say. My group is a pivotal group in the mission and with us leaving the mission will lose some of the best teachers, language speakers and personalities.  We had a long discussion in the council about how the younger missionaries are really bad teachers and we talked about how we could help them improve their teaching skills and help them learn the language.

I go back to Singapore next week, then that same week I go to Tawau, and then the following week I go to Sandakan, and then the following week go back to Tawau, then go to Singapore the following week and then just keep on doing that cycle.  It makes it really difficult to teach people because we are never in our area.  And when we are in our area we have responsibilities that take us away from our own area.

Anyway, things are going great, love to hear from you guys on how things are going in Arlington.  It looks as though I will be flying into the Reagan airport, so just a heads up.  It’s not going to be that much longer!  I am having so much fun in my new area that I am more sad about my mission ending that I would have had I died in Miri.

Well, I got my stitches taken out and now the scar is in the healing process, it is possible that you will not even see a scar when I get home!

Love you guys!

Chinese New Year and a Transfer

I am very excited with loads of information this week!  There are three things that have happen, are happening or are going to happen that have really brightened my spirits and made me very happy.  The first is of course Chinese New Year!  It is a mad house here in Malaysia for what is easily the largest and most celebrated holiday in the country.  While Malaysia is a very culturally diverse country, the Chinese tend to be far more wealthy than any other race and therefore spend more money on the holidays that effect them.

For a Chinese person Chinese New Year may have some cultural value to it.  But for me, an onlooker, it is a very different experience all together.  First of all it is the only time of year that businesses close their doors and take a vacation (this is a pain), it is also the time of year when you can find the best deals at the supermarket and other retailers.  But most of all it is the time of year where Chinese people are scrambling around to try and bring as much luck into their lives as they can!  This means that they will give money to children (I’m still considered a child..), giving people oranges, having people over at your house to eat a lot lot lot lot of really really really really great food, and most of all, fireworks!  At midnight of Chinese New Year EVERY house will participate in setting off thousands and thousands and thousands of fireworks.  The noise is deafening!  It was the most in your face experience I have ever had in my entire mission.  The sky is just lit up with color, the streets are filled with fire-cracker smoke and all the Chinese people are having a great time.  It was so loud you could scream at the top of your lungs and not be heard.  This continues for about 2 hours.  There is no point in trying to sleep so I guess you have to join the festivities, even if it is 2 in the morning... :)  Suffice it to say it was a lot of fun!

The second thing that has happened and is going to happen again is the branding of my name here in Miri.  Let me give a little history of the Singapore mission.  Here in Malaysia people are having babies all the time, whether it is your investigator or your member, you are  guaranteed to have someone with a small child or one on the way.  This opens the opportunity of having you name stay in the mission field forever.  Yes, I am talking about having a baby named after you!  It happens on a regular basis, you just need to be in the right place at the right time and close relationship with the family with child.  Now the first baby was actually a girl and was named after my sister Misha.  The couple wanted to use my name but I told them, you can just use my sister's name, and they did!  Coming up in the month of March I am very happy to introduce you all to baby Micah Stewan anak Roni.  I will finally have a baby named after me, and I am very excited about that. :) My name shall live on for generations! ha-ha

The third thing is that I am getting transferred this week, and I could not be happier with where I am going.  I am headed to one of the resort cities of Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu.  Located right on the beach this city is beautiful and home to south-east Asia's tallest mountain, Mnt. Kinabalu!  It is a majestic peak that is the symbol of Sabah!  My apartment is the best part.  It is right on the beach!  We live in a high rise condo that is right up on the beach with a patio that overlooks the ocean and produces the most beautiful sunsets.  Maybe just as good or even better is the fact that for the first time in my mission I have a McDonalds that is within walking distance of my house!!!!!  I am really excited because I will also be zone leader which will allow me to take a monthly visit to my very first area in my mission.  This area travels a lot averaging about 1 plane trip a week, so I will be traveling and visiting old areas and getting to see new ones.  I could not think of a better place to die, I truly am in the Greatest Mission on EARTH!

I love Singapore Mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I hope that everyone at home is safe and healthy!  peace and prosperity to everyone!

New Purchase

So I made my second life changing purchase last week.  It has significantly made my life easier and more convenient.  My first life changing purchase was of course the fanny-pack.  It was purchased to alleviate the weight on my back and keep my back from sweaty profusely.  I have now taken it to the next level and have installed a basket on the back of my bike!  I no longer have to carry anything on my back, I just put everything in the basket!  No more sweat....right.  Things are still hot, and even more humid now that the rainy season is in full swing.  It’s just a steamy concoction of smells here in Malaysia.  What does American trash smell like?  I forgot.  But Malaysian trash, I don’t think that I will ever forget that smell, especially in 90 degrees and deathly humidity.  

New Year!

It’s almost the new year, and that means it’s time for us to reflect upon what we have achieved and accomplished in 2012.  It has been quite the year, the only year that I have ever completely dedicated 100% of the year to missionary work.  What a blessing that has been and will be as I finish my mission this upcoming year.  In this last year I have had only 3 areas meaning I have had such great opportunity to get close to the members of each of the 3 branches I have gotten to serve in.  It’s kind of crazy to think that in my entire 19 months of my mission I have only had 4 areas!  Each one has been so special and so rich in memories that I have no complaints or regrets.  Every time I get on a plane or a bus it hits me again and again, "I’m on Borneo, in Malaysia, and I’m a missionary!"  I have counted the number of plane rides I have taken on my mission and the number of long distant bus rides I have taken.  As of the end of 2012 I have taken 43 plane rides and 21 bus rides and entered Singapore 9 times.  I have eaten strange animals and animal parts (chicken butt anyone?).  I have lived next to the ocean.  I have sweated more and felt hotter than I ever have in my entire life.  So, when it comes to living life, it has been the best.  But more importantly, I have made lifelong friends that cannot be forgotten.  I have shared the gospel and watched it work (like magic) in the lives of countless people.  It has solidified my testimony that we are all sons and daughters of God.  We all share a divine potential to have eternal families and eternal like in the life to come.

I hope we all had a great year and will continue to make each year meaningful and positive! Happy New Year

A Christmas Message

Its Christmas season now and that is just so special.  It gives people the opportunity, or I like to think, the motivation to think about Christ.  Even though we should be thinking of Christ always, it is nice to see others doing the same for a change. In a world where Christ is often taken out of Christmas, each of us individually can ponder on the importance and splendor of this joyous holiday.  We can be the example to others by showing them what Christmas is all about. 

I love being a missionary because that is what I do.  I get to share a very simple yet profound message about Christ and invite others to follow his example and find renewed happiness in this life and the life to come.  Every day of the last year and a half has been like Christmas.  In serving others both temporally and spiritually I have a new respect and a stronger appreciation for Jesus Christ.  I hope that Christmas is special and happy for everyone!  

Shoe Thief

Micah is busy right now dealing with a robbery of his home.  His shoes, camera, and about $100 in local currency was stolen in addition to a few other minor things.  I doubt that he will spend time writing this week.  He and his companion were not home at the time and he had thoughtfully kept a backup of his photos on a thumb drive that was with him and so he still has that information and his ATM card.  We are working right now to ensure that he has sufficient funds in his bank account to withdraw enough to buy new shoes, another thumb drive (to now backup the backup) and a new camera.  -- just thought the rest of you would like to know.

P Day

Today was preparation day which meant that we went on a little trip.  Today we went to Lambir National Park near Miri.  It is said to be the most diverse rain forest Eco-system on earth!  It was a very rigorous hike in a steamy jungle, so naturally everyone was soaked head to toe... after the first 5 minutes.  The hike had some very interesting foliage, but the most exciting, and frightening thing would have to be the leaches!  They were everywhere you walked.  If you stood still for more than like 10 seconds you would have like 5 on your feet.  My feet are bloody with little suction marks.  It is so gross.  From what I know of leech anatomy, they excrete a blood thinner that just makes you bleed out, so yes, very gross.  We took two hikes that day, one to a water fall and the other to the summit of one of the small, very small, "mountains."  After living in the Rockies, nothing is a mountain.  Anyway, they were surprisingly difficult.  It made me realize how out of shape I am!  All in all we had a great experience and the summit was so worth it, I hope that the pictures do it justice!

Elder Chong from Malaysia with Micah

Micah with his companion Elder Bodhaine

Today was preparation day which meant that we went on a little trip.  Today we went to Lambir National Park near Miri.  It is said to be the most diverse rain forest Eco-system on earth!  It was a very rigorous hike in a steamy jungle, so naturally everyone was soaked head to toe... after the first 5 minutes.  The hike had some very interesting foliage, but the most exciting, and frightening thing would have to be the leaches!  They were everywhere you walked.  If you stood still for more than like 10 seconds you would have like 5 on your feet.  My feet are bloody with little suction marks.  It is so gross.  From what I know of leech anatomy, they excrete a blood thinner that just makes you bleed out, so yes, very gross.  We took two hikes that day, one to a water fall and the other to the summit of one of the small, very small, "mountains."  After living in the Rockies, nothing is a mountain.  Anyway, they were surprisingly difficult.  It made me realize how out of shape I am!  All in all we had a great experience and the summit was so worth it, I hope that the pictures do it justice!

Perma-Wet and Old People

Well, this week has seen me getting wet nearly every single day, and then I got sick.  It has very literally rained everyday for long periods of time, and exactly at the moment I have to be out on my bike.  Anyway, Miri had its own very miniature version of Hurricane Sandy.  Tuesday of last week was an incredibly stormy day.  There was ridiculousness strong winds and buckets of water.  My companion and I got stranded in a Mall for a couple of hours.  After waiting, we stepped out and half of all the trees were uprooted and buildings were collapsed.  The weak architecture did not hold up for a lot of people living in wooden shack houses.  It created a lot of service project opportunities though, which was great.  Last week we helped to clear massive trees that had fallen down at a retirement home.  It was really a great experience, especially with a crowd of old people cheering you on. 

All in all things are quite good, I am used to being in a state of "perma-wet"  Its still a little crazy to think that I only have 6 months left!  It is a time warp here, everything in the real world seems to be moving so fast!  So many of my friends are getting married, crazy.  Anyway, have a great day!

Singapore Zoo

So this week was an adventurous one, lots of fun things.  It marked my 7th Singapore trip and by far the best one yet.  This time around we had a lot of free time to go and do whatever.  So a few of us thought it would be fun to go to the Singapore Zoo!  The Singapore zoo is the number 1 ranked zoo in the world and it has a Night Safari attraction, which is the only one of its kind in the world.  The night safari displays the hundreds of different animals that are nocturnal and can normally not be seen at a regular zoo.  The safari opened at 6:30, right before it gets dark.  It was so great!  At the entrance there is this fish tank full of little fish that eat the dead skin off your feet.  It tickles so bad, and takes all your concentration not to pull your feet out of the water.  The feeling is indescribable and very memorable.  After that there was a fire breathing show with some dancing, very interesting and impressive how big they can make the flames.  After that there are a dozen or so trails that you can take in addition to a tram that will take you around the whole park.  I wish we had more time to see everything, but the stuff we were able to see was great!  My favorites had to be the flying squirrel, the jungle cats exhibit, and the wolves!

This trip also marked a significant milestone in my mission, I finally had sushi!  It has almost a year and a half since I have had raw fish, and let me tell you, it was soooooooo good.  I don't trust Malaysia to make me sushi so I waited until Singapore.  And this time around I actually had time to go and eat it!

Included with the blog post are pictures, one of which has me wearing my fanny pack!

Love you guys so much, do something worthwhile, and make sure you are having fun doing it!

Photos

 Branch activity at the beach, I got buried alive and then they got creative...

 This is with Dick and Martha, my 2 most favorite people in Malaysia.  They took us to steamboat BBQ, all you can eat.

 This was the last day I was in Kuching, got to spend it with some of my favorite people ever!  Brother Martin BBQ'd up some wings and pork, so great!

This is the most beautiful  beach ever in Kuching, best 1 hour hike to get there too!

Missionaries!

So this week has me excited for two of my house mate's birthdays!  YES.  It means birthday cake and good food for a couple of days.  Anyway, apart from that, I am just really excited to hear that some of my cousins might be headed out on a mission a little bit earlier than I had previously expected. With 40+ cousins I am confident that at least 1 of them will go to the same mission as me.  Congrats to Britney, Brandon, Kyle, and Kayla that are going to be making that decision very soon!  I hope they choose to serve, greatest thing ever.  So, back to me, nothing much going on.  I get to go to Singapore next week, best paid vacation in the mission (don't tell anyone I said that).  Also, I may or may not be investing in some attack equipment as my companion and I try to fend off this especially ravenous pack of dogs.  One idea that my companion's dad had was to fill pray bottles with ammonia and spray the heck of the mangy dogs.  I like the idea.  I also like kicking them in the face.  Knock on wood, but I have yet to get bitten by one.  Well, send me any ideas that you might have about how I can inflict the most amount of pain with the littlest mess and expense.  For anyone that knows me I never was a softy for animals (I credit this to my animal-hating mother (I love her though)), and that has just gotten stronger as I see the state of animal care in Malaysia.  There are stray dogs everywhere.  And the ones that actually have owners still look disgusting, in fact most of them look like chupacabras, hairless nasty looking things.  

Anyway, on another note, its durian season, and anyone who knows what that means can cringe with me.  If you don't know what a durian is, look it up.  If you ever have to try one, you might vomit.  It has the texture of baby poop and tastes like a rancid onion.  The smell... open to interpretation, just imagine the worst smell in the world.  

On another note, I am contemplating my next lifestyle purchase.  After the fanny pack was such a success I’ve sort of hit a brick wall.  If anyone has any ideas please shoot me an email.  I’m always trying to spice up my life within the confines of missionary conduct ;)

Love you all, have fantastic day!  Jaga diri baik baik!  Tidak lama lagi saya balik, tuju bulan sahaja.  menyediakan hadiah ok? :) main main sahaja.  Wow, I just tried to put that in Google translate and it failed...

Jungle Trekking

So I didn't write a blog post last week because I was on a bus... for 18 hours.  I thought that I was going to die, it was that painfully boring and uncomfortable.  So, this week I got transferred to Miri, the northern city of Sarawak.  Kuching, the area I was previously serving in was the southern city of Sarawak.  If you look at a map you might think that the distance between the two cities is not very much, and you would be right.  But what a map cannot tell you is how undeveloped the road system is.  It is like jungle trekking in a bus.  The roads have so so so so so many pot holes, it’s amazing that the buses can actually function.  But to make things worse, last Monday, the day I took the bus, was a public holiday, so the buses were full.  I think I got one of the last tickets on the bus, and it happened to be the crappiest bus company too.  Anyway, the experience was horrible, I have never been more uncomfortable in my entire life, and did I mention in was 18 hours!

Well, the very next day I have a flight to go back to Kuching!  The only reason that I took a bus to Miri was so that I could drop my stuff off, get 4 hours of sleep and then take off in the morning back to Kuching.  I stayed in Kuching for one day and one night and it was so great. I got to see all the people that I had to give rushed good byes to, and spend some quality time in the city I love!  After that, the following day I had a flight to Singapore to pick up a new missionary and take him back to Miri.  Singapore is always great, love it there, it’s like a mini Tokyo.

So here I am in Miri, a new area, no investigators, a new missionary that doesn't speak the language, and little to no idea what to do.  Love you guys!

Fanny Pack

I bought a fanny pack today.  I know.  But it is so worth it.  Its blue.  Double zipper + internal department zipper.  Nike.  Water resistant cordura technology.  Looked cool on the manikin.  I love it, it takes all the weight off my back, no more sweating back that never dries until you go home and take a shower.  No more sore shoulders or back.  And best of all it forces my companion to take all the teaching materials :)  Day one of ownership=total consumer satisfaction.  I will tell you though, the switch to the fanny pack was not an overnight decision, it took contemplation and eventually a leap into the unknown.  I have had my eye on the particular fanny pack that I purchased for quite some time.  Every time I walk into the store I tell myself that I am going to buy it, but never do.  It turns into a vicious cycle of desire, determination, and then no follow through.  I always walk out of the store empty handed.  Today was a different day, my fanny pack was 25% off, it beckoned me and I answered with a definitive and resounding YES.  For the first time, and not the last, I am the proud owner of a fanny pack.  The versatility and style go hand in hand to create the perfect "stuff" carrier.  I would be doing you all a disservice if I did not recommend the fanny pack to all of you.  It’s not for everyone though, and I think I might have to put a caution label with my father's name on it :) Love you dad, but the fanny is not for you.

Anyway, life is good as always, fun is always within desire's reach, and I desire a lot of it!  Love you guys a lot, hope you guys love life, have a great week.

Identity Crisis

So for those of you that really know me, you know that my nationality has been in question for a long time.  Am I Asian, Jewish, Mexican, Filipino, very difficult to say.  This makes it really easy to fake my nationality here in Malaysia.  Whenever I speak Malay people are always taken aback, they don't know what to think of me being able to speak their language.  According to most people, I almost look Malaysian, but not quite.  As I have been in the sun biking for quite a few months now, I have gotten a lot darker.  The other thing is, there are so many races here in Malaysia, and all of them look so different.  Just to name a few there are; Malays, Ibans, Bidayuh, Penan, Melanau, Sungai, Dusun, Katazan, Chinese, Filipino, Tamil, Nigerian, and so many more!  Anyway, I’ve been getting in the habit of telling people I’m from Sabah, the northern state on the island of Borneo.  I get tired of having to explain my nationality, because Japanese-American is the last thing that people expect me to tell them.  For some reason they just can't see it.  So I tell people I am Katazan or Dusun, it works every single time!  They generally say something like: Patut lah kamu pandai cakap bahasa.  Oh betul, mukah kamu macam orang Sabah lah!  Sometimes people don't really see it.  First they ask me, is your father white?  I say no.  Is your mom white?  I say no.  Then they ask me if there was a scandal in my family... I laugh and tell them no.  In the end though, they always believe that I am a fellow Malaysian.  After that, me being able to speak Malay is normal to them and life is good.

I also have this picture album of my family that I carry around and show my everyone.  The first thing that they always say is wow, your mom looks Chinese!  I say, well, she is Japanese, sort of close.  They then say, oh of course, of course.  Then they see a picture of Misha and they say she looks Korean, they also ask me if she is Korean.  Then they see another picture of my mom and they say she looks Chinese.  It take a few rounds of me telling them that they are both Japanese before it really sinks in with some people.  And EVERY SINGLE TIME people think Misha is my older sister by about 4 years.

Well, that is my life here in Malaysia.  I have officially integrated myself into the culture to the point that people think I am one of them.  Now I just need to ditch my super white companions and the transformation will be complete!  haha  Well have a great day and don't forget to pray!

Rainy Day

So today was my p-day and we had a great zone activity where we played badminton.  Naturally I won, and was crowned badminton champion.  It was a competitive last match, but my competitive nature kicked into gear and there is that.  Anyway, the excitement of the day came after we played.  We were all getting ready to head back when it started to rain, really hard.  Within 10 minutes the streets were an inch in water.  We were waiting it out but it wasn't looking like it was getting any better, so we just got on our bikes and left.  We are a 40 minute bike ride from our house... it was brutal.  By the time we started biking the water level was up to our feet on our bikes.  But the story gets better.  About 10 minutes into biking it starts to thunder and lighting.  As we were pulling out of a stop light, a massive thunderbolt strikes, and I thought I was going to die, because it was so close.  You could feel your hairs rise!  Anyway, the thunder was so loud that all the cars in the parking lot next to the road started going off, it was great!  It never stopped raining as we biked home, in fact it got stronger.  And every time I heard thunder, I thought I was going to die.  The water eventually got too deep for motorcycles, and then for cars.  Lucky us, we had our bikes.  It’s probably the only time I have ever been thankful to have a bike rather than a motorcycle.  Everyday I curse every motorized vehicle that passes me, as I struggle with every hill in this massive sauna called Malaysia.  Riding bikes for 2-4 hours a day is really fun.  Being so sweaty you look like you are wet is really fun.  No one we ever meet has air conditioning, so sometimes we take refuge in the ATM rooms until the police officer tries to tell us to go... but can't speak English.  So we play dumb and stay a few more minutes, it’s actually quite funny, playing the white-man-card is very effective.  Although, I am getting dark enough now that sometimes people think that I’m a native... good thing my companion is the whitest person I’ve ever met :)   Anyway, it was the most enjoyable bike ride I have ever had in my entire life, I was wet, actually felt cold, and the fastest on the road :)  Oh, and the cemetery next to our house flooded, it looks really creepy. And the last 10 minutes of the bike ride I may or may not have taken my shirt off.  I got a lot of strange looks, but I never felt more free, and cold, absolute bliss.

Jesus Christ Changes Lives

So I thought I would update the blog by saying things are going great here in Malaysia.  There is so much work to be done here that it feels overwhelming at times, but the zone is amazing and I really like interacting with them all.  I think one of the highlights would have to be the life style.  Kuching is a beautiful city with wonderful people.  I love interacting with the members here and teaching people about Jesus Christ.  It has become my life, and will be for the next 9 months more!  The beaches here are sublime.  Just last week we went to a national park called Bako, took a 20 minute speed boat ride and hiked for an hour to get to one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen!  The food is amazing, take your pick, Chinese, Malay, Iban, and even McDonalds!  Yes I finally live in a place that has a McDonalds!  I love it, never thought I would say that but I do, I love it.  Next week I go to Singapore again and I have my eye set on some Carls Junior and some Subway.

On a more spiritual note, one family that we are teaching has been sober for 1 week!  Record!  It has been so rewarding to be there every step of the way in their conversion process.  We met them 2 months ago and the changes that they have made in their life are HUGE.  I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ does make families happier, no doubt in my mind.  People respect each other more and people make better decisions when Christ is leading the way.  For those of you who are members of the church, cherish it, it is so valuable.  Any for those that are not, go find a guy in a white shirt, tie and name tag and ask him why he is happy doing what he does.

Ramadan

So next week is going to be a very special week.  I get to go back to Bintulu and see all of my recent converts!  We have a zone meeting there so we fly out next Wednesday and are there for three days.  I can't wait!  On another note, the days here have started to get hotter as the dry season is kicking into full swing.  Last Friday Ramadan started so for the next month the Muslims will be fasting.  The good part of this is ever evening at around 6:30 there are amazing street markets that pop up to serve the large number of Muslims observing the fast.  The food is delicious and cheep, what more could you ask for.  But I have to say, I will look forward to not eating fried food when I get back home.  EVERYTHING is fried here, everything.  Good thing I’m not good at getting fat :)  Anyway, my life is quite nice, I really enjoy it, hope you guys love your life too!