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
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