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!

"Yay, I have worms!"

So as most of you know I just moved to Kuching, previously being in Bintulu.  Bintulu was a wonderful place, but one of the poorest in all of Malaysia.  As a result, most of the drinks that people offered us were made with non-filtered water.  This wasn't too big a deal until I started losing weight, quite a bit of weight.  So I consulted with the mission doctor and I will be taking de-worming medicine!  Yay, I have worms!  Maybe now I can get fat and not have stomach problems all the time :)  For all you in America that want to lose weight, I’d be more than happy to send you unfiltered water from Malaysia.  I’m sure it will work wonders, as it did with me.  I'll be getting the medicine sometime next week, and I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.  I will now be taking bets as to how many worms and how long... just kidding, but really, if you want to.

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From another missionary serving with Micah who wrote this home:

"We were sad that Elder Putnam got transferred but he is happy because he was made a zone leader in Kuching (bigger city in E. Malaysia) AND he is happy to be leaving the house they have lived in because it's had problems (like when heavy rains come, sewage water back up into their bath and sometimes kitchen) and they couldn't find another house that the mission could afford. The houses behind them look better than they really are.  He and elder Teh both leaving for Kuching, the other 2 elders stay put."

Zone Leader and Transfer

I am officially a zone leader now!  I just got the call and I will now be transferring to Kuching, the capitol of Sarawak, East Malaysia.  There will be like 14 people in my zone I think.  I am really excited to move there but really sad at the same time because I have so many recent converts that I would have like to spend more time with.  But, it is kind of exciting to be a zone leader.  More of a chance to go to Singapore, monthly travel to Sibu, and apparently my area is way good.  We have this member that lives in the house right behind ours and she cooks for us every day, no lie.  The elders before had to run away from her because it was TOO much food.

I leave on Monday on a 12 hour bus ride to get there!  Ugh.

Wish me luck, I will let you know how things went next Wednesday.

Bathroom Finding

These last few days have been pretty difficult as far as finding new people goes. When you live in an area where 90% of the people are Muslim it makes it really difficult.  And because Malaysian law says that it is illegal to approach or teach Muslims, our pool of potential investigators is small.  We go knocking, we ask people where Christians live, we see people in Pasars and try to talk to them, but most of the time it just doesn't work.  So yesterday my companion and I heard of this brand new way of meeting people.  So revolutionary and so effective that it would work anywhere, even here in Sandakan.  The method is called bathroom finding. It involves, the missionary, me, needing to use the bathroom but having no public restrooms.  We find a nice looking neighborhood and knock on the first promising door.  What happens after than is i make a very pained expression and say "Maaf gangu tapi saya perlu guna tandas! Boleh kah saya gunu tandas mu skejap sajah?"  They look at you like what are you doing, but you keep on talking before they can say no.  You quickly say, "skajap sajah, saya dari Amerika and tak tahu di mana ada tandas, minta!"  Then they say, OK.  You go use their restroom while your companion has a prime time to talk to them.  You take your time take a look around the house to make sure they arn't Muslim and then make your way back to the front door.  If they aren't Muslim its a thumbs up and you continue talking to them for as long as they will let you.  This does work!  We were able to talk to these two ladies for over 30 minutes, and they were Christian!

Gawai and 1 year!

So I thought I would give you a little preview of what my life is going to be like this next week.  This next week is going to be the biggest holiday of the year for the native Iban people.  And because 90% of Bintulu is Iban, everyone is going to be celebrating Gawai.  What does this mean for me?  It means that no one is going to be out of down, and everyone who stays at home is going to be drunk out of their mind.  Everyone in Sarawak has a "kampung" house, which means they ALL have a second house in the jungle.  They are called long houses, the longer, the more prestige.  If  you have time, Google long house in Sarawak and see what comes up.  These houses are just amazing and they are just huge!  Anyway, every year people make their pilgrimage back to the long house to celebrate Gawai.  So it looks like I might be out of a job for the next week or two   I love all you guys!

ps. I almost forgot this Friday marks 1 year out on my mission!  Wow, time flies