Happy Birthday to Preston and Sadie!

BILL,  ELLEN, SISTERCHRISTINE

DINNER AT ROTATING BUILDING IN BACKGOUND

Happy Birthday to Preston and Sadie!  I remember  when you were born like it was yesterday.  Preston was right on time for us to welcome before we left for a scheduled trip to North Dakota to see Matt and Heidi before their baby came.  So when we were picked up from the airport by Matt, he told us Sadie had been born earlier that day. Good timing, Bill and Ellen. Now they are 4 years old and the delight of their parents lives.  And ours, too.

This week we took our scheduled trip to Lahad Datu to get contracts signed for the clean water project with Humana schools.  We flew there on Tuesday morning, checked into our usual hotel, and met with Ismael, the contractor who is doing the work.  The next day Ismael and Nestor, the school superintendent, met with us to go out to several of the schools---the ones that will be done first.  

We were back in LD by about 3 PM and couldn't think of any reason to stay until Friday as planned so caught an earlier flight back to KK.  Thanks to Kate, our 'travel agent' who knows us and that our plans change, we didn't have to pay extra for making a flight change.  And the hotel sees us every month and would like that to continue so didn't make any fuss about us not staying 2 more nights.  

This is school holiday here in Malaysia.  They finish class work about the end of November and some have exams into the first 2 weeks of December but now they are finished until the first week of January.  We are taking advantage of that holiday by 'using' Sister Mary Ann (who is a private tutor) to take us to meet some of the members who have not been out to church because of some kind of misunderstanding years ago.  So far---so good.   Hopefully, with some patience and attentive listening we can see some hearts soften and members returning to activity.  

So, I will tell you about 'Teksi' Chong.  He is a 55 year old Chinese gentleman who we like to use as our taxi driver.  He is a little fellow---probably weighs about 100 pounds---with a squeaky voice and he knows EVERYTHING about Kota Kinabalu.  He always has a story for us about something that is going on here in town or in the world.  (I think he must have some time to read the newspapers.)  And he loves cars.  He is always pointing out a car that we should buy.  We remind him that if we buy a car we won't need his services but that doesn't seem to matter to him.  When he picks us up, he asks us  "Where do you want to go today?" and then "Any place else?" and then he puts our errands/stops in order so we don't have to back track.  When we went out on the 30th of the month to pay some bills, he told us not to do that at the end of the month because everyone goes then and we would have to wait in a long que.  When we go to a particular market that is out of the way, [it has Western Family, and Krustez products and Gold Medal flour :) ]  he tells us he has some shopping to do there, too, and waits for us because he knows it would be hard to get another teksi to go out there to pick us up.  His Chinese/English is pretty good but occasionally he gets stumped for a word.  He has never married ("I don't have enough money") and is the youngest of 9 children.  He lives with his 93 year old mother and takes care of her and she cooks his dinner for him every evening.  He loves his taxi.  He washes it frequently and keeps it very clean inside.  He is very protective of it when driving---which is good for us---and tells us he treats it like he would a wife.  Today on the way to church he was telling us all about Tiger Woods and his misbehavior and how when people get money they think they can do anything they want.  I told him that we have a book of scriptures that talks about that very thing---that when people are blessed and get prosperous they forget about where those blessings come from and begin to do evil things.  Guess I'll have to get a Book of Mormon for him; in Chinese.

 We passed out invitations to our Christmas Day open house at church today.   The members seem quite interested in coming.  I hope they can find us.  I wrote our address and directions on the back.  I would draw a map but I don't think many of them know about maps. I'm starting to do some holiday baking in preparation for the open house.  I think if I do one thing every day between now and then I should be OK.  It isn't going to be a big elaborate party---just cookies and punch but it will be a nice gathering.  


A week latter.......

STUFFING CHOPPED CHICKEN INTO BAMBOO TO COOK

CHICKEN JUST BUTCHERED

Just returned from Sadir and Begu Kampungs near Kuching. We were there to kickoff the water projects in those three kampungs. A bank is participating with donation of funds in two of the kampungs. The kick off ceremony mistakingly excluded LDSC as financial sponsors.  Another little challenge to work out with the NGO before we move ahead very far.

KICKOFF MEETING BANNER

LDSC LOGO AT BOTTOM

BANK PRESENTING MOCK CHECK FOR PROJECT TO ROTARY

KAMPUNG FARMER WITH HIS

BASKET ON HIS BACK

KAMPUNG FAMILY

THERE ARE TWO KIDS AND

MOM AND DAD ON THE BIKE

AND THEIR BASKET

VISIT WITH SISTERS KATE AND CHRISTINE TO 
SISTER LISA (CENTER) AND FAMILY

Kate is the sister on the left. She has made most all of our travel arrangements and when I don't use her I get it messed up. She has become a good friend. The two boys belong to the sister in the middle, Liza. She is Fillapino. Very very nice and very strong in the gospel. She and her two boys walk about 1 mile to the bus stop to catch a bus to church. The bus ride to church is about 40 minutes there and 2 plus hours home. She loves her church family. All her family is in the Philippines and she has no idea if her mom is still alive. She can't make contact with her any more.  She did go there to renew her passport a few years ago but did not have enough funds to take a bus ride to see her mother and now has not seen her for 15 years. The sister on the right is Christine. Her husband left her and took a mistress when she joined the church. He will not divorce her so she can re-marry because he is Catholic. He gives her no money. She has enough money to buy some rice once in awhile and that is about it.

ANOTHER VISIT

DISTRICT PRES LING AND HIS WIFE ON THE LEFT. 
TWINS J.R. AND R.J.  

The building is a shop that makes cabinets. Can't say much about this situation except to say that they work all the time for a pittance and have no legal way of changing their situation.

KUCHING FROM OUR HOTEL

THIS IS ON THE SOUTH END OF EAST MALAYSIA