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.