Wednesday, September 25, 2013

May 23, 2013 - Week 2 at the MTC

Oh goodness, I didn’t realize dads surgery was today, best of luck I’m praying for him. in answers from earlier emails and such we go to the Provo Temple once a week on p-day.

Mom I feel so bad now, I had only managed to transfer over the Old Testament. I need the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Just send what you do finish as you finish it in emails, letters, Dear Elders or whatever. It might take a while, I had marked the BOM and first half of the DnC pretty extensively.

On that note I just finished the DnC, really cool stuff in there, good read.

Good to hear that the chicks are on their feet and the goats are doing well. Bahasa Melayu is awesome. The reason there are many languages mixed in is because first there were the natives, then the Indians came with their Sanskrit, then Islam came with its Arab, then the European trading ships came with Dutch and Portuguese, then the British took over, then lots of Chinese immigrants came. There you have it.

Got my malaria pills and briefing yesterday, sounds like a fun disease to get. Apparently the pills make your fluids smell weird. Wonderful. The pills are doxycycline, so I won’t have acne anyway. That being said, Bro Blisset one of our teachers said that when he was there 2-3 years ago the mission president didn’t actually have them use them, they just threw them away at the mission home.Ii guess Malaysia is actually really good at controlling mosquitos. So who knows.

Reading about the rock hill that Amanda climbed made me think of Mt Kinabulu. It’s the highest mountain in Southeast Asia and typically takes 2 days to climb. It’s in Sabah and if you’re a missionary there it’s almost a requirement to go to the halfway point on a p-day sometime. That being said, it’s only typical for it to take 2 days to climb it. Missionaries aren’t typical humans. Bro Blisset said that he knew a couple companionships that had climbed all the way to the top and back down again in 1 day. You have to start way early, fast walk/skip/jog up it, then jog/run/free fall down.

Got a haircut today.

And bought a laundry bag for 5.50 the day before I got your letter.

Still haven’t received the package. Ugh it takes forever.

So about the missionaries going to Malaysia.  There are 15.  

-          Three are learning Mandarin and we haven’t seen them much less talked to them.

-          Six are in a different district and class also speaking Malay and so I really only know their names. The Six in our district are:

o   Elder Hill, He’s the district leader. He speaks almost fluent Japanese and has insane martial arts skills. He also is a masseuse and knows all the nerve points, he can wake you up, make you tired and a plethora of other things. He can also bend in insane ways. Like he can do a standing flip, start off laid straight on the floor and stand up like a zombie, twist around so he can walk around like a lizard, etc...

o   Elder Paul, Elder Hill’s companion. He is an interesting character that’s for sure. He did his hair with a flat iron every morning until it broke. He eats 12 boiled egg whites every morning, he throws away the yokes. He mostly eats spinach, chicken and parfaits the rest of the time, with some other stuff thrown in occasionally. He loves the weight room but is more concerned with "size" then being "cut" ??? not sure how that works but ya. we love him.

o   Elder Thatcher, Elder Sherannian’s companion. He is probably the most dedicated to studying and focuses the best of all of us. He is starting to bald and his worst fear is going bald on his mission. It’s ok though, we’ve elected him most likely to be the next district leader at the three week switch.

o   Elder Sherannian. If he doesn’t stare you down he will talk you down. Smart, he was almost done with his biology major when he left. He and I talk deep doctrine quite often. He and Elder Thatcher probably have the best grip on the language, followed by Elder’s Hill and myself and then Elders Paul and Rodriguez.

o   Elder Rodriguez, my companion. His first language is Spanish, he learned English at school and talking to friends. He is quiet, but works hard and he and I teach, study and plan well together. Cool story, he wasn’t going to go on a mission but then had several dreams that changed his mind.

We have the best district.
We also have the best zone.
And the best mission.
End of discussion.

Apparently there are a LOT of KFC's in Malaysia. Also some Pizza Huts and also a fast food place called Kenny Rogers. It would be awesome if you guys could google Kenny Rogers and tell me what kind of food they have.  Most of the time though you eat local street food or make your own, I guess typically you eat at a members house once to three times per week.

And dad was right; they almost only sit on the floor for everything. I wish now I had stretched more.

Elder Halpin

 

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