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!