First Handover Ceremony

WHEEL CHAIR HANDOVER IN BINTULU

ONE OF THE BENEFICIARIES A SIX YEAR OLD BOY

WE PROVIDED 250 CHAIRS IN THREE SIZES TOTAL VALUE 30,000RMS

Hi to all of our followers. We had a good week---as usual. On Friday evening we attended the baptism of 4. One of our converts of about 3 weeks baptized his wife and daughter. We also had Lily Lidia, a young woman expecting her first child in about a month; and Christopher anak Pilet (that is Christopher, child of Pilet) who is a child of record. I get to wash the jumpsuits and towels after a baptism. Some thoughtful person bought the biggest fluffiest white towels for our branch to use and it takes forever for them to dry in this humid climate. That is NOT a complaint!

We worked a great deal on preparations for our first Wheelchair Handover Ceremony all week. It was 18 July, a Saturday at the Park City Everly Hotel which is the best hotel in town. We made plans to have a luncheon for between 30 and 40 people and invited the other senior couples, the zone leaders, our 3 branch presidents, and about 25 people the Rotary Club asked us to invite who are community leaders and business people. Here it is the custom to send out the invitations and then call to remind them a few days before the event. So I did a bit of phone calling. We had to confirm the number with the hotel by Thursday and by then I had only 32 confirmations so gave them the number of 35 to 40 to prepare for. Elder and Sister Anderson, our Singapore mission PR people planned to come and do a presentation on the church. However, they had to cancel but gave us the power point presentation so we could do it. Friday and Saturday morning people kept calling saying they were coming.

So we got to the hotel and the room they have set up for us is absolutely beautiful. By then we were thinking there would be more than 40 people coming. So they moved in a few more chairs and we were ready to go. People started to arrive, and they kept coming. It was great! I think we had 50 plus people there. Everyone had a chair except for me and I used one of the wheelchairs.

The presentation was great. Bill did a great job of introducing our guests and talking about what we do here in Malaysia. We had one of the wheelchair recipients as a guest of honor---a little 6 year old boy accompanied by his very grateful parents. That was kind of special.

Our Zone Leaders told us they made some contacts and the other senior couples met and schmoozed with community leaders. We feel that it was a very successful event.

What a relief when it was a success. That was our first but we are thinking that other closing ceremonies will probably not be so elaborate.

This evening we are having a little impromptu party for one of our elders who is being transferred tomorrow. He has been here for 11 months!! He isn't going far; just to Miri which is in this district so we will see him again---like next week when he comes back for zone conference.

Bill here:
This was our first attempt at doing a handover. It went well. We had many leaders of the Bintulu community and government and hospital and businesses there. The hotel did a marvelous job on the room and banquet. It was all very colorful and professionally done. We were very impressed with the whole event. We showed a power point and a DVD that ties LDS Charities and our church together. Most there did not have any idea that the two were connected. Five of the 50 there asked the missionaries, (we had the ZL's there) for more information. We are making head way in bringing the church out of obscurity. We had 4 members of the press there taking many pictures and we think it will be in the papers today.


We fly to Kuching today and then Kota Kinabalu on Thursday for two more handovers. Then the following week to Miri for another. Sometime in August for another. Then back here in Bintulu for the last for awhile.


We are currently working on developing a large water project involving a few thousand people in several different locations including the Humana schools. Also we are meeting with an eye surgeon tomorrow to explore a possible vision project. SO we are busy and in and out of the airports and taxis alto. It is wearing on us old people but it is fun to interact with non-members of our church and learn about their lives and challenges and help those they feel need help.


We miss the visits we use to make to our members homes. That was very rewarding but this is what we are her to do is to work on projects and help the poor and needy who mostly are not members of our church.


We received the best package this last week. It had amongst other things a DVD that our kids put together of pictures of our family from the very beginning about 42 year ago. It was so fun and also emotional to watch especially when we are on the other side of the world. That is the best DVD we own and we have already watched it twice.


The branch leaders are actually conducting meetings using an agenda!!!!! WOW. I could hardly believe it. I couldn't praise them enough. I talked to the priesthood about not giving long prayers as we were taught in general conference,and they immediately have changed that too. The clerk knew how to turn on the computer Sunday and mostly do the finances himself including using the mouse!! Progress. It was very rewarding to see.