Week 20

Apa Khabar everyone!

I could never, ever be a sales person. 

I will explain, but just a warning, this email is going to be a bit shorter than usual.

We had zone conference this week! So on Wednesday, we hopped on a plane and flew to Kuching. It was a good zone conference. I got to see Sister Thackeray again (even though it has only been one week since I last saw her) We learned a lot, and got to eat good American food. What else can you ask from a zone conference?

Even with two days of travel, and going to a different city, I have talked to more people this week than I have in my entire life. You really think I am being dramatic, but I am serious. Sister Weddle is a lean mean missionary machine. 

On Sunday we had a goal to find FIVE new people. I don't know about other missions, but the standard of excellence is 3 for a week, and I am feeling pretty successful when I hit that number.

To hit this goal we wanted to find a family to teach, so we went door knocking for two hours . We went to the Lorongs, kind of apartments, but all the doors are outside and crammed together. You also have to weave your way through roosters, plants, and laundry hanging everywhere. 

We walked and we knocked and we talked. We left the house with around 50 pass along cards and came home with zero. We didn't give out one Book of Mormon though, and got only one return appointment. We kept telling ourselves it was going to be the next door. But we never found the family we were looking for.  We only walked down one street though! There are ten more just like it! We will try again this week!

Right after this two hour block of door knocking, we visited one of our Branch Mission Leaders. While my companion was saying the opening prayer she paused in middle of the prayer. I was so used to talking when she stopped I almost jumped in to help her pray.

The Book of Mormon is true. I promise. I plead with people everyday just to read and find out for themselves.I know it brings happiness and that it will help you with everything in your life.  Are you taking the time to read it everyday? Most of the people here tell us they don't have time to learn or hear our message. But I promise that God always has time for you, you can find some time for him.

I am excited to go out and find that family this week! I know they are waiting for us.

I hope you are all well. I pray for you and love you all!

Sister Skinner

Week 19 - I'm an Adult!

Apa Khabar Everyone!

Some weeks happen where I feel like I have nothing to tell you all, but than there's week like this week where I don't even know where to start! So let's start at the beginning.

Monday, we were all cuddled up in the Senior Couples home when transfer board was sent to our phones. We quickly paused and there was a lot of yelling and gasping. Our mission president had come to Miri about two weeks ago and told us he was going to keep our district the same. I can just hear him evil laughing all the way in Singapore. The most important change was that Sister Thackeray was transferred to Sibu. 

So not only did I finish my training this transfer, but I am also kicking my mom (trainer) out of the house. When people ask me how I feel about it I just insist that I am an adult now and I can handle it. (I sound a little like a three year old, insisting that they can tie their shoes on their own. But it's okay.)

Tuesday is what Sister Thackeray and I called "The Boss Level in Miri". Because it was Sister Ray's last day in Miri, we moved a baptism from Saturday to Tuesday, so she could be there. But we also had to ship her bike, pack, put together the baptism, give a training in district meeting, print programs, and visit a person across town. At one point, we were biking across town, down a busy road, and the wind was blowing super hard. Sister Thackeray yelled "It's the boss level of Miri!" We both gave a battle cry, and biked harder singing 'Onward Christian Soldiers'.

At the end of that crazy day, it made it all worth it when Sister Jaba was baptized. Will that amazing feeling when they go under the water ever stop completely amazing me? I sure hope not.

Wednesday I said goodbye to my Momma Ray (Sister Thackray), and said hello to Sister Weddle. I don't know how many of you know this, but I actually knew Sister Weddle before the mission. We lived in the same dorm hall at BYU. She has been in the field two transfers longer than me. I remember when she got her call, I thought to myself, "I would never go somewhere that cool." Here we are in Miri, Malaysia serving together. I think the Lord just wanted to prove to me that I shouldn't say what is and isn't possible. Along with all this, Sister Weddle also trained Sister Dayley, my MTC companion. So, I think in mission terms, it makes her my aunt or something.

Thursday was my first full day with Sister Weddle. You have not been contacting until you have been contacting with Sister Weddle. She takes 'talking to everyone' to a whole new level. We tried to get to the second floor of the mall to do some studies, but it took us an hour and a half because we would talk to someone, follow them to the parking lot, and then head back in, only to follow someone else. I think we went in and out of the mall doors at least twenty times. At first I was a little intimated, but now I really love it. I am so grateful for Sister Weddle, she is exactly obedient, and she takes every part of missionary work seriously. I am excited to learn all of her cool missionary tricks!

Friday, as we were trying to find a house of a person we had contacted earlier that day, we were pulled over to the side of the road looking up directions on our phones. A man on a moto stopped by right by us. I thought he was my companion, and turned to him to ask him a question. When I realized that it was in fact a Malaysian man on a moto instead of my companion, I screamed and nearly fell of my bike. He turned out to be really nice even though he could not help us with the address. We ended up being able to find it though (a miracle considering how hard it is to find addresses here), and we had a really good lesson (another miracle because she actually remembered us and wanted us to come in and teach her more.)

Saturday, we went to the church for General Conference and I watched 4 hours of Conference in Malay. I understood small parts. But I need to send a request to Salt Lake for the apostles to speak slower. That night we went to a baptism of a girl that the Elders have been teaching because she requested we come. When it was over, with one hour until curfew we booked it across our area to try and catch an appointment. We arrived with 30 minutes to spare, but she wasn't home. And it was raining. But it was fun. The whole way there we would pump each other up and yell "FOR CATHY". Cathy just gets off work late on Saturday nights. Who knew?

Sunday was another four hours of conference. By the end, the branch president was snoring in the back, and my mind was so completely fried with Malay, that I could barely speak any language afterwards. We had two people we contacted on THURSDAY come to General Conference though. Without being reminded to come. We're still kind of blown away.

Sunday night I had one one the coolest experiences on my mission. We were door knocking in the Lorongs (kind of like apartments) and we came to a door of a house that was obviously Chinese. We don't teach Chinese, because there are Chinese Sisters who actually speak Chinese, but we knowcked on the door anyway. The mom spoke Malay, but they were going to close the door on us. Sister Weddle busted out some of her Chinese skills (She has lived in China and Taiwan for a while in her life). They immediately let us in. We taught a lesson in a mix of Chinese, English, and Malay. But we found a family, and they genuinely want to learn more about Jesus Christ.

Whew. There you go. Just a quick run down. But I am alive and happy. I am excited to be here and to help bring the Lord's sheep home.

I love you all!

Sister Skinner

Week 18 - Knock and It Will Be Opened

Apa Khabar Everyone!

General Conference! So, since I am on the other side of the world, I have not seen General Conference yet. We are expected to watch it with our ward, in our mission assigned language this coming weekend. So pray for me as I sit through eight hours of Malay. I will have to watch it in English in my own time. NO SPOILERS.

I have heard a lot about Indonesia, and everyone here in Malaysia are praying for their neighbors in Indonesia. We haven't had anything out of the usual. Maybe some more thunderstorms than usual. But I am safe, and I feel your prayers. Thank you!

Just real quick, Miri-cles this week!! 

So there is a real language barrier here with some of the people we are teaching. I mostly teach a group of people called Ibans (E-bon). Malay is their second language, and while the youth learn Malay (Chinese, and English) in school, the adults and older generations don't speak Malay very well. Malay and Iban are similar enough where you can kind of understand, but sometimes it is really hard.

We are teaching an older Iban women, and she interviewed for baptism this last week. We were so confident that she was going to pass without a problem. But after the interview, our district leader told us that she didn't have a testimony of Jesus Christ. 

We were very put out. We felt like we had failed, because Christ is the center of what we teach. How could she explain the Law of Tithing, but say she didn't have a testimony in Christ? We visited her every day this week, but she insisted she didn't have a testimony of Christ.

Finally we brought a returned missionary as a member present who spoke Iban. In almost three minutes, she had explained what it meant to have a testimony, and the person we are teaching bore her testimony on Christ. Her baptism is this coming week, and we are so excited for her.

I think that we all have a testimony of Christ. He is in all of our lives even if we choose not to see him. My job as a missionary is just to help you see that he is there by your side, and helping you in everything you do. Once you find Christ in your life, don't be afraid to share your testimony.

On another note, Sister Ray has been determined to go door knocking this week. Although I don't think we actually ever knocked on a door, because most houses have gates around them. and also, with the wooden houses, people don't have air con, so they keep their doors open to let the breeze in.

We went "door knocking in a little area of wooden houses by the river. In result though, along with 50 new mosquito bites, We ran into a less active family, Melvin (Have I told you all about Melvin?) and the best friend of a person who we are teaching, who has been telling everyone in the neighborhood that those white people actually speak Malay and are very friendly! So we are going to keep that up!  It's not always easy to find neighborhoods that aren't completely Muslim. But when we find Iban neighborhoods, miracles happen! I have learned, just keep going, keep searching. Don't give up. Diligently seek! You will find!

I love and pray for you all! Have an amazing week!

Sister Skinner

Week 17 - Wake Me Up When September Ends

Apa Khabar Everyone!

Two weird things that happened this week:

1. As we were trying to find a less active family house, (addresses here are wonky, and I have no idea how the mail gets to anyone's house) we found ourselves in a very Muslim neighborhood. 

Long story short, ten Muslim kids showed us around their neighborhood trying to find the address, although I don't think they had a clue either.

2. We were followed by a dog to our house! We wanted to keep him, but he is a free dog at heart. His name is Rodger. 

Three Miri-cles that happened this week:

1.  WE HAVE A SENIOR COUPLE IN MIRI!!!!

Have I mentioned how much I love senior missionaries? They have sacrificed so much to be here and they are literally like our grandparents here in the field. Their names are Elder and Sister Saxey from Arizona. We have been helping them adjust to living in Miri Malaysia and they have shared some of the precious food they brought here from America that cannot be found in Malaysia. They bore their testimonies in Sacrament Meeting in very beginning Malay this last Sunday. Their love for the people and excitement to be here is the best thing ever. 

When can I go on a senior couple mission?

2. You know those little moments that make everything worth it? Like, the world could be falling apart, but that one moment makes it all okay?

My world is not falling apart. But this week I had one of those moments.  We had a baptism this week. I think I told you all about her. Her name is Marolyn, and she was accidentally baptized when she was 7. For some reason we had to give her all the missionary lessons before she could be baptized again.

This Saturday she was baptized on the same day as her 8 year old sister. Even though she has been going to church for her whole life, this was definitely a convert baptism. I can't even express the spirit that came when she bore her testimony. 

I feel like I could have gone home after that baptism and had a good mission.

3. After being prompted by our zone leaders. We started asking for referrals more and in a different way. We got FIVE referrals in a day. We are going to go and get them this week!

Sorry, not much this week. I love you all. I promise I am safe and healthy. I hope all of you are the same! Thank you for all your love and support!

Sister Skinner

Week 16 - Sometimes You Just Need to Brush the Ants off Your Crackers

Apa Khabar! I have a problem!  The way people show their love here is they feed you. They don't have much, and so when they feed you, it is a big honor, and sign they like you. There is an actual belief that they need to send you home with some extra weight, to show our Mom's we were taken care of here in Malaysia. That's not the problem though. The problem is my last name sounds a lot like skinny. "Sister Skinny" The goal of our ward it to make it so I am NOT skinny. There was a Relief Society activity, and every time they told us to eat more, my companion would say, "Yes, eat more Sister Skinny." And all the members would forget to feed her, and focus on filling my plate back up. She also refused to tell me for the phrase, "I am full".  I am considering putting on a few pounds to get them to stop feeding me for a little bit. I love them to death though. In other news, I am getting very good at riding my bike with no hands. I have so much free time with my hands, I am thinking of picking back up knitting or something. Now when I ride past people on the street, I wave with them with two hands. I think I am cool. They may not. But that's okay. I have an extra hand to throw pass along cards into open car windows. I guess I should actually start with Monday though. This last Pday, all six of us in our district went to a game cafe in the upstairs of a kind of empty building. None of them had played Betrayal at the House on the Hill. So I offered to teach them. Long story short. We are going back to that game cafe today to play it again. So shout out to the Grosland's for teaching me how to play that game and making 6 missionaries Pday awesome in an abandoned building in Miri, Malaysia on the 17th of September. Tuesday, we met with B Joli's family! (The family with seven daughters) We had THEM teach us the plan of salvation. They totally rocked it. At the end they all bore their testimony on it, it was so powerful. We invited them to find why the Plan of Salvation was special to them individually, and come to church this Sunday. AND THEY ALL DID. Even the dad. I was SO dang happy to see them there. I love that family. Also, our bike lights got stolen again. But it's okay, because the Light of Christ is all I really need in my life. Right? Wednesday, Sister Ray and I taught one of the most powerful lessons I have been in so far. Our investigator loves the gospel, and everything we have taught him. But he just got a new job that requires him to work on Sunday. We sat down with him and taught him about receiving personal revelation. I shared with him a the story of how I felt like I was too shy to go on a mission and how I got my answer that I could do it. He opened up after I shared and told us how he feels like God has always been there for him, and helped him when he was shy too! So God can help him find an answer on what to do about church now. With the spirit strong, we tried to leave quickly so he could feel the difference when we left. Except Sister Ray's bike lock broke. So we had to knock on his door again, and ask for wire cutters so we could break our bikes out of the lock to bike to our next appointment. The next ten minutes was full of a lot of pulling and grunting, and it probably looked like we were trying to steal our own bikes. But, we did it. And I feel like our investigator still understood our message. So thank goodness for the Holy Ghost when bike locks break. Thursday, we had a girl that has a baptism share her testimony with us. She was baptized by accident when she was 7, and even though she has been going to church, and is a solid member of now 14, we had to teach her all the lessons again before she could get baptized. But on Thursday she shared how she was so grateful that she was baptized when she was seven, because as she has met with us she said she feels like she has felt like she understands the gospel better now, and now she is not just going through the motions. She shared her desire to go on a mission and help others with that too. It was so sweet. Friday we had a goal to teach one lesson with someone on the spot. But as the day went on, people just were not interested. Finally, at 8 o'clock we had an appointment fall through. So we went to the nearest mall and prayed we would find a person to teach. We walked in, and walked up to the first girl we saw, and she was the sweetest most willing to listen girl I have met so far on the mission! It was a tender mercy. I know God helps us beyond what we even know. Saturday was an adventure. Sister Ray accidentally ordered a soup made in white wine. The cook came up after she had finished it and bragged about her secret ingredient. We weren't too worried about it until we saw the way she made the soup. Which was basically just pouring white wine into the finished soup for the broth. Sis Ray insisted she was fine. But almost fell off her bike, and was not walking straight for a while. But I don't think she knows that. She took a nap on a table in KFC while I did language study and then she was good as new. Sunday, we went to a house of a less active and his non member wife, and sat on the floor, refusing to move until they came to church. (But in a nice, friendly, missionary way). It worked! And we were actually way surprised! But they came! We had so many people come to church yesterday. Before my mission I didn't have the strongest testimony of church. But I sure do now. Church is so important. Of course you should go for the sacrament, and that is SO important. But I also feel like God wants us to go to church for the people, see who you can help and serve there. Grow together. If you aren't excited to go to church this Sunday, I challenge you to find out why you go to church, and get excited! Because I promise it is exciting! Whew. I think that is all seven days, and my highlights this week. I didn't explain the title of this email. But I feel like it explains itself. No pictures this week. Sorry. But. I promise good things are happening here in Malaysia! Remind me one day to tell you what it's like to bike through the rain in Malaysia. It's a fun story. I love you all! Have a good week! Sister Skinner