Pterodactyl & Cicak Hunting, the Haze, Seminary Council, and Primary

This has been a great week. We've been able to get acquainted with the new Elders in our district. They are fresh from the MTC, and they are fantastic. They are doing so well and so willing to learn and participate. We are fortunate to have them serving here.

Tuesday was our usual district meeting. Elder S has been doing an outstanding job with his training. He also has a great sense of humor. Last week when he wrote the schedule for district meeting on the board he included Pterodactyl Hunting as a joke. This week outline included Talent Display by Elder Bodell. I asked him if that was similar to last week's Pterodactyl Hunting to which he responded, "Yes." That made me feel better.

As we proceeded through the agenda, we got to Announcements. I announced that as we were getting ready to leave for district meeting that morning, I discovered a live cicak (pronounced chee-chalk) in the car. (A cicak is a small Malaysian lizard.) I announced that the missionaries who rid the car of the cicak would be treated to breakfast at our house. The young Elders all got excited about this. The district leader added a cicak removal activity to the agenda.

The cicak was spotted several times darting around in the car, but, alas, it was never caught. It may have jumped out. It may still be in the car. Someday we may find it all shriveled up. The good news is that we had all the missionaries over the next day for lunch. They seem to enjoy homemade pizza and ice cream!

Elders T, O, Y, E, and S. The other Elder S was in Singapore attending MLC.

Apparently there is a lot of burning going on throughout Malaysia and Indonesia right now . . . preparing the land for new planting. This is taking a toll on the air quality. There hasn't been a lot of rain to wash the gunk from the air. We are looking forward to the rainy season. Hope it starts soon!

In the morning, looking to east outside our bedroom window. Yes, that's the sun!

Another shot of the sun, but later in the day facing west.

And that, my friend, is called haze. The only filter used on these pictures was the haze.  Yuck!

The good news is that it rained pretty good Friday morning, but the haze will come back. However, we were informed that the winds change September 20th, and the monsoon season starts. That's good news. At least the air might be easier to breathe!

Boyd, wherever you are right now, you would be proud of me. I attended two two-hour training sessions (two different branches) on how to use MLS and LCR Thursday night. I'm not sure exactly what was said, since it was all in Malay, but I did get a little out of the sessions. I may be able to help. Being an assistant branch clerk will be interesting. I did discover a way I could log on without moving my records. Tithing Settlement is coming quickly!

Saturday was our weekly seminary council meeting. We took the kids from Sibu out to Sibu Jaya this time. Rolyn conducted a great meeting and much was accomplished. Roseline had kept great notes so the agenda was up to date. These kids are amazing. I am so proud of each of them.

Ray, Rolyn, Jayle, Floshiallia, Charise, Roseline

The Chinese Elders came over Saturday morning. Elder E needed Sister Bodell's help with a sewing project. It seems that he had a ripped seam on a pair of pants. They also needed Sister Bodell's help in making some cookies for one of their investigators. The cookies were made, but the pants are still waiting for some time to get them stitched up. Sister Bodell is also working repairing a skirt for a sister missionary in Kuching who somehow managed to get her skirt mixed up with her bicycle chain. It was pretty mangled, and the sister missionary was going to toss it. However, Sister Bodell talked her into letting her take it to see what she could do to fix it. It's not finished yet. I'll have to take a picture when she's done. Saturday was also marked the year mark of our arrival to Sibu. It had been quite the year, and I know there is a lot more to come during the next six months before we return home.

Yes, missionaries can be domesticated, even when they've never made cookies in their lives.

The Branch 2 Primary program was Sunday morning. They did a great job! Even though there were only 10 of them, the singing was awesome! You could really feel the Spirit as they sang and gave their speaking parts. I was really touched when they sang I Am a Child of God. They sang it in English because that's what the kids requested. I wish I had recorded it, but those of us who know better, know we shouldn't record or photograph during Sacrament meeting. However, those who don't know better were using their smart phones to record the program. There were at least three of them being used.

Sunday afternoon we had choir practice with Branch 2. We're going to sing next week. We've also started learning some Christmas music. The District President would like a choir to sing during the Christmas holidays in one of the malls here. The other churches do it so he would like a nice Mormon  choir to sing as well.

That pretty much sums up the week.

I am grateful for the testimony I have of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that our Savior restored the Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am know that we have living prophets and apostles today. I am looking forward to watching General Conference in just a few weeks to hear their counsel and guidance. I am grateful for that opportunity.