Sunday, December 28, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Week #27... Christmas in Kuching!!
-transfers are today and I am staying in Kuching East Malaysia for another 6 weeks finishing elder Eggertsen's training. Christmas in Kuching!
-This week went to singapore and saw the first presidency Christmas devotional. if you haven't seen it you should..
-Met another relative at zone conference Sister Tui'One somehow through our great great grandpa we are related. The romney side of the family I guess is just drawn to Malaysia..
-This week we went caroling like crazy. I love caroling..
-We taught one of our recent converts how to make rice (didn't even know I could make rice haha)
-This week has been really tiring because we have been out caroling late and far away and so there were a couple nights this week I came home and just jumped on my bed and fell asleep tie still on and everything. Those are some of the best nights sleep.
-Auntie Mui who read the whole Book of Mormon in a week and a half got baptized on Friday. I was able to baptize her and it was wonderful! Super funny though because 4 other little kids under 12 were baptized and so the age difference between the people getting baptized was humongous..see the picture attatched
-Our recent converts Penny and Audrey gave talks at the baptism which was cool to see them progress in the gospel so fast.
I'll end with a spiritual thought. You can't please everyone all the time. There are times that it just can't happen. But we must not forget who we always need to please and that is God. So which way do you face? Are you more scared of men or God? Do you face men or God? The only one in the world who never forgot which way he faced was Jesus Christ.
Luke 4:42-44 gives an example where people want him to stay longer in their city but he tells them he must help other people as well and leaves them making the people sad and a little angry at him. Even Jesus Christ didn't try to please everyone but did what his father wanted him to do.
Love you all,
Elder Pierce
Monday, December 8, 2014
Week #26... Singapore!!
-This week on p-dayt took on Gabe's challenge to get 60 3 pointers in 5 minutes at each spot on the three point line without a rebounder. Without a rebounder made it a lot tougher but still got 65. Waiting for the next challenge Gabe.
-Anyways, I am emailing from Singapore right now. As much as I love Kuching it is great to be back in Singapore. There is just something magical about this place. It's like a nice chinese New York City.
-We had district conference this week. Elder Wong from the Asia Presidency came and spoke and presided and it was really really good. He is an inspiring man. He was the man who talked in conference in Cantonese. Found out he spoke Mandarin as well because he understood what I said to him..
-I told you that sometimes when we are biking out here I will hum hymns to myself to keep my spirits up. Nowadays sometimes I will just pray as I bike. It might sound crazy but when you bike around all day in the heat and humidity and as far as we do to help these people sometimes you just need some help from the other-side of the veil.
-Sister Auntie Mui is getting baptized this coming Friday and we are really excited. She is the old lady that read the entire book of mormon in about a week and a half.
Was thinking a little bit about how often times we or I get fed up in the little decisions in life. Where we go to dinner or who we go visit or who we say hi to first. But I realized it matters but not that much. What really matters is how you do it. If you do it like the Savior with sincerity and love and happiness then it doesn't matter too much the little decisions that you make.
"The greatest of all intentions is still so much less than the smallest of work done."
Love you all,
Elder Pierce
Monday, December 1, 2014
Week #25... Where is my turkey and mashed potatoes?! Ohhh I am in East Malaysia.
-Can't remember if I have mentioned this but here there is not usually toilets or toilet paper. You use hoses and squatters instead. A squatter is basically a toilet pushed into the ground so just like a hole in the ground. A hose is what you wipe with. It was gross at first but by now I am used to it. Actually kind of nice.
-Sorry didn't mean to start with such a blunt gross point but that is kind of the way it is here in East Malaysia.
-This week finally got 100 pushups 100 pullups and 100 situps. Did it in 20 min but trying for 16 min this week. The pullups is the only hard part. You basically rest during the other two and then just die on the pullups.
-Shoutout to Sawyer on the big 16 this week! Personally, I will be celebrating in Singapore for your birthday for zone conference. Pretty pumped. We leave this upcoming Monday and are there for a couple of days before back to Kuching!
-This week got to go to a farewell party for a missionary in our branch who is serving in this mission. Most people who are from here serve here just not in their own town. Other places in Malaysia and Singapore. It was supposed to be in a super nice hotel with bbq and swim resort and stuff but last second they switched it to the kampong where there family is from. That is like the opposite. Super dirt poor. Amazing how wide of a range you can get here. Never ceases to amaze me.
-Anyways it was still super fun just not the environment we had been expecting.
-Also celebrated Thanksgiving this week with the missionaries! Obviously not something that is celebrated here. They don't have turkey. So we ate chicken instead. Also no mashed potatoes or anything like that. A little different than most years but still the best! Happy Thanksgiving!
-Been reading a lot of the 4 gospels in the New Testament lately. Trying to finish for Christmas. One thing Jesus talks about is casting your pearls before swine. Thought about it in terms of missionary work and realized that maybe that means teaching people and not lessons. Something we really try and work on out here. Making sure the lessons we teach are what the people need and not just random pearls that we are casting trying to see if the swine might happen upon liking it.
-We also had a really good lesson with a new investigator this week. Talked about how we have to be willing to accept any answer that God will give us when we ask him a question. And not only listen to his answer but act. If we aren't willing to act then why would he bother giving us an answer?
One of the greatest examples of this I have found is Joseph Smith. He was willing to act. Read what he says in Joseph Smith - History. He was ready to act on whatever God told him was true when he asked which church was His..perfectly willing. And we wonder why he got such a profound answer..
Sending my love from Kuching, East Malaysia
Changing lives ain't easy but it's all I can do to give it all I have got.
Christmas Season! http://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HPFR112814529
Elder Pierce
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