BORNEO LIGHTENING

We had quite a storm the other night! The thunder and lightening were so very close and sooooooooo loud that it turned the electrical breaker off twice just from the vibration of the thunder. We felt we were inside of the storm with the thunder all around us. We pretended we were scared, well maybe we were a little any way, it was fun sorta. When it pours rain it comes down so hard and fast that it can create a puddle in our backyard in the matter of a few minutes that is probably 3 or 4 inches deep. They have storm trenches all around the city. They are cement and are open and about 4 feet deep. We will see how they work as the monsoons move in. As I write another Storm is starting up.

BATU 18 SCHOOL 

WHERE WE PLAN A LIBRARY PROJECT

THE CHILDREN ARE LINED UP FOR THE 

MORNING ASSEMBLY

SISTER DAVIS HARD AT WORK
DEVELOPING ONE OF
OUR PROJECTS

We have submitted our first area humanitarian project. It was seven pages long. We had to completely justify the project in every way including; beneficiaries...how selected and why and why the need, the partner organization and its strength and if they have a Champion...0ne who is excited and will see the project though.

Also of course the detailed budget, timeline, location. Most importantly however is the sustainability of the project. That is to say what will happen to the good we do when we are done and gone.

ELDER DAVIS NOT SO HARD AT WORK 

DEVELOPING THE PROJECTS

LDS Humanitarian Services is adamant that each project has a lasting change for the people. SO this part has to be very carefully approached and analyzed and provided for. We also have to help them solve their challenges their way and not the American way. That is within their way of doing things and in the way that they can maintain what ever it is we started. Well that is More than you wanted to know now wasn't it? But now you know how come we send in a 7 page document and that is just the beginning.

BATU 18 SCHOOL LIBRARY

The first for us is providing an English library for a rural school.The current library is not adequate and that is all I can say. We hope to provide 1000 books and a process in which the school will be able to motivate the kids to read English books. The key to breaking out of the poverty cycle they are in and getting additional training and higher learning is to learn English as all additional schooling is in English. We hope to provide a model program that can be then repeated throughout Malaysia. However we are just in the development stages and have yet to get approval. It will be presented to the Area authorities we hope this next Tuesday.

LDSC WHEEL CHAIRS JUST ARRIVED

We are communicating now with the water specialist, David Frandsen. Some of you remember. He and Lena are longtime friends from Poulsbo. They are the ones that encouraged us to serve and helped get us going in many ways. SO we are very happy to be working with them now officially. He has the details of the water system we visited last week in Kakus, "100 miles..."

Two hundred and fifty wheelchairs have arrived at the docks here. The Rotary club will now start the distribution process and we will have an official Handover ceremony community and governmental and Rotary officials. This is where we get a chance to help "Bring the Church out of Obscurity." This is one of the goals of our work. We will have a chance to explain our work, to let them know that there are no strings attached and that we are focused on serving everyone, especially nonmembers of our church. It is interesting to know by the way that 100% of all donations to the Humanitarian services our put right into the hands of the needy. None of it is spent on our overhead, like travel, supplies or salaries. Staffing in Slat Lake

I have been down again this time with an infected foot. I got blisters on both of my feet. One foot healed just fine and the other didn't and is still a little infected. Had to get an antibiotic and another medication for inflammation which Ellen had never heard of before but it is from the silkworm. Seems to be working.

Big news for our branch is that we have a new President. President Mudus was one of our first visits here to the members. He and his wife were so disappointed in the falling away of the members however they were amongst those falling away. They had not been out very much in the last two years. Since that conversation he has felt the need to be there and has been with his wife every Sunday since. And now he is the President. He is thinking about calling another recently activated brother as his second counselor. The new Relief Society President has as their second counselor his wife. And the first counselor is another recently activated sister. Her husband has just started coming out also. It is so exciting to see all these recently activated members serving and bearing their testimonies.

His first Sunday as President we have our attendance back up to 69 again. However some are still gone with Gawaii so we expect the attendance to go back up past that soon when all return back from Gawaii. We are excited to see the potential now with organizations being staffed that just have not been even functioning.

Ellen here now.

We are really excited about the recent changes in our branch. The members seem so happy with the changes and are excited about serving. Hope it lasts. Many of the members are planning to go to our District conference which is 210 km or 3 hours by bumpy- road-bus-ride north of here. The branch charters a bus for those who want to go. The members pay what they can and the branch budget makes up the rest. They stay overnight in a 'hotel' and the members up there feed them a couple of meals. They take some food, too. This will be an interesting experience.

We are making the drive and going up a day early so we can 'kill two birds' with the trip by taking the opportunity to do some networking for humanitarian work too. We also need to make provisions for a 'closing ceremony' for some of the wheelchairs that will wind up there.

Hari Gawaii is officially over tonight and life will be back to 'normal'. I have added 3 new piano students in the past two weeks. Some of them have had lessons before I came and one even has earned her own keyboard by playing 10 to 15 hymns in Sacrament meeting (usually they will play the intermediate hymn or some prelude music). Jerini is about 16 and plays quite well but has not had a keyboard (she doesn't know why the previous missionary took it from her, she said). Joe is 16 and aspires to be a rock star, loves classical music and especially 'Chop-in' but is too lazy to practice his lesson, won't play in Sacrament meeting (he just doesn't show up on those days he is to play) and at risk of loosing his keyboard. Contessa is 10 and really struggles but is willing. Shally is 12 and I've heard she is quite good, has her own keyboard, and will be starting lessons again this week. Sister Alexandra is our new RS president. She is about 52, Chinese, quite bright, and is motivated to play so I expect her to do well. Her husband works away from home and she has some time to work at learning piano. Daniel is 17, Joe's joined-at-the-hip friend (always together) but he will practice and is moving through the books quite quickly. I think he will do well.

It is time to get ready to go for our Sunday evening visits. It is bright sunny skies in the west and dark dark clouds in the east toward the interior. Looks like we'll get some rain tonight. When we go in the evenings we take a flashlight and umbrella. Ready for anything.