"Therefore, Sister Wynn did rejoice exceedingly to see her brethren, and what added more to her joy, they were still her brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth, for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
But this is not all, they had given themselves to much prayer and fasting, therefore they had the spirit of prophesy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with the power and authority of God."
The best Christmas presents I've ever gotten as a little kid (top three: my hamster, guitar, and barbie spa) pale in comparison to finding out I was flying to Kuching for new missionary training and got to see the Elders from my MTC group. Well, the ones being trained in East Malaysia at least. Pale.
Sister LeBaron and I hopped on a plane in Miri around 9 am (it was a Boeing 737 Mikel) and an hour later, landed in the beautiful, enormous city of Kuching. It was a 15 minute cab ride to the church, but the gate was locked so we had our driver (his name is Vincent, he told us all the cool things to see in Kuching) drop us off at the huge mall next door so we could eat and kill some time before training started.
We saw Elder Capener and Elder Hays, his trainer first, as we were walking to the food court. Imagine the happiest you've ever seen me, and multiply it by 10. I ran up to Elder Capener and gave him the most enthusiastic handshake ever. We caught up and I told him I heard they were tearing it up in Sibu. Elder Capener has always had the Malay accent down. We went back to the church, and I saw Elder Parker and his trainer in the church parking lot. I yelled "Elder Parker!" and he said, "Oh, hey Sister Wynn." as he unlocked the gate for us. He's still the same free spirit. It was like another day for him since he's serving in Kuching right now.
In the church, I saw to Elder Fowler, serving in the middle-of-nowhere Mukah, and Elder Hobbs (Kuching), and then Elders Liddle, Ormsby, and Cook and their trainers pulled up in a couple cabs. They're all serving in Bintulu.
I ran up to Elder Liddle and said I'd give him a hug if I could (I told all the Elders that) and that my district in Miri wrote him a card. The week before, my zone leaders asked if he'd like a card since I'm the only one that really knows him, and I said he would appreciate the gesture, and even if he didn't like it, he would still say he did because that's the kind of person he is. I asked how he was feeling and he said, "You know, I'm doing all right." I told him I love him, and Miri loves him.
I got to see Elder Ferguson and Elder Lundquist (serving in Kuching, but the other side so they had a 16 mile bike ride) at the mall where we ate lunch. Everyone had either lost weight (in a good way) or gained weight in muscle. I was glad because we were all looking pretty tubby after the MTC haha.
After lunch, we saw President and Sister Mains and the APs, and it was nice to see them. I knew training was important, otherwise why would the mission president fly us all in from where we were serving? Everything they said was inspired, and I loved learning that missions (and life) are about joy, and that we can continually improve. I forgot my notes but I'll send some of them next week. We also split up for a while, trainees and trainers, and the trainees talked to President and Sister Mains about what we like about training and what we want to see different. We have a good group, and they could see we were all very energetic and willing to work hard, and all of our trainers have been doing a good job giving us a lot of responsibility and experience speaking and teaching. Some of the Elders said their trainers on the first day handed them the phone and said, "Okay, make all the appointments today." Sister LeBaron said a couple trainers in her group were feeling discouraged, and complaining about their trainees. Elder Crosland, one of the APs, cut him off and said, "Pray more."
At the end of training, we had a brief testimony meeting, and Elder Liddle stood up and bore a powerful testimony that he's grateful for eternal families, and that's why he's here serving so people can know they can see with their loved ones again.He didn't cry but Sister LeBaron and I did (of course, the only two sisters at this training meeting cried). Didn't I say in my last email that Elder Liddle is a strong person? On the card I gave him from my district, I wrote that he's incredible for exemplifying the character of Christ. Despite losing his dad, he turned outward in service to others, instead of turning inward. I pray for him every day, even though I know he'll be okay. I hope one day I can be like him. After training, he even did his voice impersonations when I asked him to show Sister LeBaron.
It's incredible to see how much these Elders, my friends, and brethren in the Lord have changed in 5 short weeks. They're still themselves, but I think we're all better teachers, and have so much love for the people we serve. We were so excited to talk about the people we've been teaching all over East Malaysia. But at the same time, we're all still a little bit the same. When I showed Elder Parker my pictures with the sunbear, he said, "That's such a Sister Wynn laugh." I love my mission. I can't wait to see how much we all change after 2 years.
Sister LeBaron and I caught a ride back to the airport with the APs, Elder Harper and Elder Crosland (selfie pics in the cab forthcoming) because we were the only ones flying home that night (the APs back to Singapore). We ate at Marrybrown's, which was the first time I had fast food in a long time, and said our good byes. I made sure to tell the APs they were good examples of what a Preach My Gospel missionary is, and that we appreciated all the work they do, because being an AP must be pretty thankless sometimes. Sister LeBaron and I got home, back in Miri, at 11 pm and crashed. Friday was a good day. Long day.
The next morning, we woke up at 7 am, like usual, but so sore and exhausted. During exercise, all I did was lay there with my legs in the air and said to Sister LeBaron, "How do President Mains, the APs, Zone Leaders, and ASisters do this every week?" But the night before, in my prayers, I said, "Heavenly Father, I'm tempted to sleep in tomorrow because I'm running on no sleep, but I'm gonna get up on time. Please help me get through tomorrow and teach with the spirit and be happy." And I was.
Well last P-Day, we went to the Crocodile Farm. I got to see the ocean from the bus (today is beach day) and I got to hold a baby sunbear! You know you're jealous. I got to play with a lot of jungle animals that day actually. I was like a kid in a candy store.
Ngian is getting baptized this Saturday, and she is ready and excited! I love how much her confidence has grown since she learned and accepted the gospel. She was so shy and quiet (a lot of Iban/Asian women are) at first, and now she's so talkative. I always tell her I'm sad to leave our lessons at her house and she says she is too.
A little about the culture (email me questions about what you want to know), most of our investigators and everyone, really, live in kampongs, the neighborhoods with wooden houses. Most of them are built over the Miri River. Sister Tungalim was telling us yesterday that every year their house floods a little as the river rises. Some people have generators for their electricity, others just use candles at night. I love teaching lessons by candlelight.
The people here like to tease the Elders, and sometimes the Sisters, but if you can tease them back they just love you more. They love me know because at General Conference, between sessions, I ate TONS of food (because I'm always hungry) and tried a little of the Malaysian/Iban dishes. They like big eaters. K I'm out of time, till next time.
I love Malaysia. I love Sarawak, and I love Pujut in Miri. I love these people with all my heart.
-Sister Wynn
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