Memang (of course/indeed) these emails are so long and indecipherable with the Malay I throw in as well, so I apologize I definitely get ridiculous with it, but yeah anyways.
Also hit 8 months as a missionary today. Insane.
P night- typical P night. Did some shoplot finding, didn't really find anyone except for this one guy that told us meeting with him made him want to make himself go to church now, so that was a cool miracle. OF COURSE we got Nasi Lemak (maaf I forgot to put the video of me describing what a splendid meal it is in last week's email). Then that night under the very bright and full moon we put one of our friends on date for baptism, which was awesome. He's been having a lot of troubles with transport but now he has a way to come to Church and so it'll be great for him to start coming to church for sure. Anyways, great 3-hour P night as per usual.
Tuesday- TUKARAN YANG KUAT DENGAN ELDER PNG🇸🇬 (strong exchange with Elder Png🇸🇬)
Had exchanges with Elder Png after DCM on Tuesday. In our District Council Meeting, we talked about baptism and the vision to baptize. It was awesome. At the end, we sang hymn number 60, "Battle Hymn of the Republic," and we were just belting it out in that room. Elder Page midway through the song turned off the music, but we just kept singing it. Spirit was strong for sure. Always a great way to start the work week. Another cool moment was our mission every Wednesday does something called SMS where certain districts and zones will film and send in videos for social media work for the social media team to work with for that week. My district (Johor Bahru, Masai, Malacca) and Elder Stevens' (my MTC comp) district (Sibujaya, Mukah) got assigned the same script and the same language to do it in (Malay) So memang I was hyped. Because I get excited over little things like that. But the Spirit taught me something important. To realize that yes, I may have not seen him in 4½ months but regardless we do the same work. Same script, same message, same studies, same objective. Gave reassurance to me towards my family as well. That we should all have the same goal. Eternal life. Same objective. Anyways, I've talked about my MTC comp on my emails a lot. Just felt prompted to write about this little random learned by the Spirit moment I had. Anyways Exchanges went great for sure, also. We biked 10 KM to a mall in downtown Johor Bahru to meet up with Vito who we met up with last Saturday. The lesson went SO GOOD. By the end of the lesson, I was telling him about the Book of Mormon, and I swear from me getting mad at myself of slacking in my BOM reading to getting a chance to tell someone the Book of Mormon has changed my life was awesome. He laughed when I said it, but I was serious.
By the end of the lesson he said, "Wow, this book is awesome. I can't wait to read it." I'm like yes, Brother Memang, he's elect sangat. We ate some Mexican food with him (which in this mission/area of the world is such a mythical pull). Then we were like okay well we schedule another time to just bike 10 KM all the way to downtown Johor Bahru to teach you, but he was like nah I'll just come to church and you can teach me there. I almost stood up from my chair and shook this man's hand. Ladies and gentlemen, he just self-invited himself. I mean he's checking off every single box of being elect. Special lesson. Biked all the way back to Johor Jaya for the night market and did some finding there. Saw the other Elders (Elder Page and Elder Stevenson) and had a laugh about it. Met a cool guy named Daniel. He might come to Church. Went back to Taman Molek and I'll let y'all take a WILD GUESS what food we ended up getting. MEMANG WE GOT NASI LEMAK. Then we taught our on-dates at night and it was solid. Hard to teach Plan of Salvation, but she was happy. Definitely one of the best exchanges in a long time. Also, should include a couple choice quotes from the one and only Elder Png
"Elder, you would be a great dad." (Memang that's a goated compliment, I feel like I act a lot like my dad)
This next one is wild and so random, but I love him for it.
(Mid-way pounding our Nasi Lemak together Elder Png just out of nowhere says), "Elder, you need to invite me to your wedding here in a couple years" LIKE WOAH SABAR (patience) YEAH. Memang I still have 445 days left of being a missionary. 😭
Anyways, he's so hilarious. The most Asian man ever. Always sleeping with like four blankets at night because the room is so cold. Memang I have the massive fan like an inch away from my face and he's shivering with the four blankets. He's the best.
Wednesday- y'all thought the tukaran's (exchanges) were done kah?
TUKARAN KEDUA DENGAN ELDER FANDI🇲🇾 (2nd exchange with Elder Fandi)
Wow. Back-to-back days. With back-to-back natives. Elder Png from Singapore and now Elder Fandi from Malaysia. 2 countries, 2 different ethnicities and first languages, 2 different people, 2 days in a row.
Hebatlah 🇸🇬🤝🏻🇲🇾
Memang our tukaran was solid. Started off rough though, I'm not gonna lie. As we were biking to our spot, my helmet wasn't strapped to my head because the strap was broken. Masai is way more windy and hilly than Johor Bahru, so the wind just took off the helmet as I was going down a hill. It's against standards (rules) to ride without a helmet, so we had to walk our bikes all the way to the nearest bike shop which took like an hour walking on this big highway with massive trucks just whizzing past us. At this point, I'm used to it for sure. We eventually reach it and buy the new bike helmet. Then I was like well, it's also against standards to not have a functioning bike lock and Elder Fandi didn't wanna buy a new one, so I just bought it myself for them. Memang I don't want them getting yelled at when the APs come down to JB next week. Anyways we were just walking around Masai for like an hour and a half not doing anything. Finally, we get to our studies. Found a place with unlimited Mtn Dew refills. Memang clutch. Anyways I'll also add on if we're not strapped in, if we're not weary of temptation, then just like my helmet that day when Satan sends forth his strong gusts of wind, we too could get thrown off our place. Memang lock in and be planted in Jesus Christ.
Anyways. Exchange was great. Went over and taught this one family. Earlier in the day, Elder Fandis back tire completely popped so we had to Grab (Uber) around Masai the whole night and back home. My phone died around 8:55, so for the rest of the night I couldn't do any contacts. Kinda a disappointing end, but we worked hard. Slept at the Masai apartment that night and from the Masai apartment you can see all of Singapore in its grandeur. You can see the massive ships in dock in Singapore and all the HBDs (housing building developments or the apartment homes that are all over northern Singapore) Just stared out into Singapore. Seeing all the bright lights. Knowing I have 450 days left in the mission (plenty of time, right?) Knowing I'm gonna be serving there in a month to a month and a half-ish. Just wanna cherish as much time I have here left in Johor Bahru. Here in West Malaysia. Knowing I'm probably gonna get transferred out. Doesn't matter tho lah. Singapore's awesome. But I'll always say Malaysia is where it's at. I don't know, that's just me though. As someone who has learned and been around both countries but especially Malaysia. Anyways.
Thursday- next morning we exchanged out and I went back to the JB house the next morning. Also, had weekly planning with Elder Page at our beloved Carls Jr's at the great and magnificent Southkey Mall. Elder Page was talking with Elder Stevenson and Elder Stevenson was talking about how Elder Page and I just need to finish strong these last two weeks. This is right after Elder Stevenson just got off the phone with the man, President Ho. So, who knows what was said on that phone call. All I gotta focus on is just to leave behind no regrets and just go all the way and leave the area of Johor Bahru better than we found it. Was kinda disappointed and just felt like I was called to lock in and step up by leadership. Elder Stevenson said there should be a baptism every transfer here. President Ho (mission President) and the APs are just so eyed in on our companionship it's crazy (both companionships here in Johor Bahru, to be honest) There's pressure for sure. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about this next week and a half. The same worries that came up when I knew Elder Huish and Elder Gabbitas were going to leave me after my first transfer here. My worries about leading out this area and then the numbers dropping from November to December. January was a little rough. The work is starting to pick up now but dang man. I don't want to let anyone down out here. I'm so blessed to be here in Peninsular West Malaysia. The place where a House of the Lord will stand one day. I'm happy I get a chance to show God I wanna be a part of a good cause through diligent effort. But yeah, Elder Stevenson basically foreshadowed that Elder Page and I will be getting double transferred out. If that happens then I'll be crushed. But it won't be the end of the world. We'll see lah.
Friday- TUKARAN KEDUA DENGAN ELDER PNG DALAM MINGGU SAMA🇸🇬
(2nd exchange with Elder Png in the same week🇸🇬)
There's so many exchanges going on. I know it's Wild. We get it done though. Morning started off kinda weird. JB Elders 1 (me and Elder Page) then JB Elders 2 (Elder Stevenson and Elder Png) and then the Masai Elders (Elder Workman and Elder Fandi) all six of us were doing a triple exchange that day😭 so I went to JB Elders 2 with Elder Png, Elder Fandi came to JB Elders 1 with Elder Page, and then Elder Stevenson went to Masai with Elder Workman. Triple exchange is wild, but it went smooth. Me and Elder Png also just didn't daily plan, so throughout the whole day we were just going with the flow. Mana mana angin akan ambil kita. It was solid though. We met up with this one YSA Bro, but he only spoke Mandarin. So, I sat there for an hour straight and smiled. Elder Png thought he spoke English but nah. It was cool tho, he was asking a lot about America and stuff, and I was happy to answer. Then we went to the church for a church tour, but the guy didn't show up. We then biked all the way to Taman Mount Austin in the pouring rain. Actually hasn't rained here in Johor Bahru at all. The rain always misses Johor Bahru and hits Singapore. Anyways the rain was kinda nice, but that was some cold rain dang. Anyways, did some shoplot finding, met up with some of JB Elders 2 friends, flew by them just to say hi. We met with this one guy named Eddy and he's running this acai business. He asked if Acai was big in America and i was like oh yeah, it's massive. My sister works at an acai place back home and my mom and sister love acai. They've always eaten it. He thought it was cool. I can tell there's a lot on his mind as a business owner trying to get things started. He has a great set up. People just need to wake up to acai in Malaysia for real. Anyways, so off topic but whatever. Went back to Johor Jaya and taught this one Indian family. They're super cool. Only the dad doesn't speak English, so we taught the entire restoration in English and Malay side by side. I haven't taught an in-person Malay lesson in 4 months (since Miri) so it was a little rusty, I'm not gonna lie. Lesson went great though and the Spirit was felt. They were happy. Success. and I needn't say what meal I consumed in the latter part of the night, you already know lah.
Saturday- such a chill day. Definitely needed it after three exchanges in one week. Not being around Elder Page a lot. I get the missionaries in this mission who know how to have a good time, that's for sure. We had so many branch activities for Chinese New Year coming up, so we just spent a lot of time around members and the YSA here which was awesome. Went and did some morning finding up in the promised land (Aka Johor Jaya shoplots) then for the rest of the day we did studies, ate pizza with the YSA, hot pot branch activity with the JB branch. Lot of great member work for sure.
Sunday- Sunday was great. We were at the church from 9am-4pm. Church went great, a lot of friends came, and it felt super rewarding to see this one friend come because he lives so far away, but he was able to get a Grab (Uber) to the church. Then after church we had a linger longer. That was fun. Then we had a branch missionary devotional. Then did our P-Study at the church. Went out did a little bit of finding and met a lot of cool people. Met these people from Sabah and Sarawak and then these two awesome Indian bros. Had a lot of opportunities to speak Malay that night which is wayyy more than I ever get with all the Chinese people here. We shared the Book of Mormon in both of these contacts and shared our numbers, too. It was great. Then we biked all the way home and called our on-date that night which was nice. Both of our on-dates are smoothly progressing towards their date which is amazing to see.
One week until transfer calls. Semoga saya dapat dapatkan satu lagi pemindahan sini🫡 Also next week is so crazy. Elder Png because of travel issues (also because Malaysia immigration never lets Singaporeans get 90 days of stay in Malaysia) has to bus across the border (busiest border crossing in the world) from Johor Bahru to Singapore with the senior missionaries and stay in Sembawang (northern Singapore) for like 3 days to renew his number of days he can stay in Malaysia. So next week will be a trio in Johor Bahru, Me, Elder Page, and Elder Stevenson😭 for 1-3 DAYS. ALSO, the APs are coming down AND Elder Bosh from Penang (zone leader 1) is coming down. So that means that 1 DL, 2 ZLs, and BOTH APs (update at approximately 10:20pm on Sunday night--the APs will NOT be coming down💔💔) will all be in the same house with me next week. Good Ole junior companion, Elder Barlow. Literally all the leadership in West Malaysia is coming down checking everything out. Seeing if four Elders can even work in Johor Bahru. This is what I'm talking about. Memang stressful. APs are both going to go with me. (disregard all of this) I'm actually getting baby sat out here. (Man, I wasn't in a good mood when I wrote this haha) It's all good lah. It's gonna be fun. Lots going on. Last full week of the transfer this week. Transfer news in 8 days. Should be a good one. As always I'll have an update of everything🫡
Also, Shoutout the man, Josh Tingey, for the call to serve from the Lord omnipotent even Jesus the Christ to the promised land of Cote D'Ivoire🇨🇮. You're literally going to baptize nations brother. That is so awesome. French is the best language only behind Bahasa Melayu, ibu bahasa dari negara Malaysia, of course. Just playing lah. As someone who has done a grand total of two French contacts in this mission and took 2 years of it in high school (Mom would disagree. I never went to class haha), French is awesome. Good luck, brother. Have fun wearing crocs as well. Elder Page has a friend in west Africa right now and they also wear crocs. It's the best. Church shoes are overrated anyways. It's gonna be a rewarding and important time no doubt. 🤟🏻
I'll tell any of this to anyone who seeks to serve the Lord with full purpose of heart. Are missions fun? No, they're not. Not at all. Are they enjoyable? They can be. Are they rewarding. There's no doubt. If it wasn't rewarding I would've long returned to Overland Park. Luckily for me that decision hasn't been considered until I stepped out of that Miri church bathroom after getting up from crying on the floor. Then getting up from my personal study desk crying in the house and then going out the door on Jalan gangsa 3 road in Miri as well a couple of days later in my first area on my mission. When hard times come, YOU GET UP. YOU MAKE YOUR STAND OF FAITH. That's integrity. Getting on that bike every morning in Molek Pine. Putting on the badge that says Gereja Yesus Kristus Orang Suci Zaman Akhir setiap pagi (every morning). That's loyalty.
Love y'all.
Terus bermaju semua orang yang dibaca semua ini🤺
Keep moving forward everyone who has read all this
Elder Barlow🇲🇾
I'm gonna keep it real. I don't know why both photos are so heavily added on with effects. Memang (of course) I didn't put those on. It's an Asian thing I guess. like Elder Png you're literally a Singaporean military officer. why do we have such an effect on our photos together. Anyways enjoy Elder Fandi making a random edit of me as we wait for our unsearchable grab ride that took forever to get to us on our exchange because our bikes broke. Peep the Nasi Lemak juga. There's time during this Journaling I just ran out of effort to express the amount of times we obtained Nasi Lemak. It's literally right on our way home and the Muslim bros that cook it up just get so hype to see me and Elder Page. It's so awesome. Anyways jumpa lagi bolehkah.
No comments:
Post a Comment