Teaching about Strengthening the Family

Nathan and Elder Hebst with Jerry and Lidam and their families

The Butterworth Branch

So this week was a pretty exciting week. We weren't having too much success in finding some new people to teach so then we decided let’s tell people we teach about family and about how we can strengthen our families. After that, in one day we found 7 new people we could teach. We taught them about FHE but just called it family night and the two families we taught it to, loved it and want to try it out. We leave them with the Family Proclamation to the World pamphlet and so far it’s worked really well.

One of the most exciting things this week was that Jerry came to church! He came and received the gift of the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood. It was pretty sweet, then Pres. Thorne asked if I’d give him the Priesthood which was intense because this was the first time that I would have done it and it might have to be in Malay :/ but it worked out all for the best, and I did it no sweat, but it still was intense and things are all good there. Then since it was testimony meeting Jerry thought he would like to start his first one off as a new member and bear his testimony and it was sweet. He talked about how he’s already noticed a great difference and how he knows this church is true without a doubt and how Lidam and Adriana helped him to know it was true. (They are the members he lives with). Having a member fellowship is the key in keeping the people here coming back to church after the missionaries are gone. This week they assigned our members Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching and it pretty exciting so this week we had a couple of lessons on how to do Home Teaching.

This week we saw Sam, Erica's friend and he finally quit smoking! So he’s now one step closer to baptism. We just need to get his busy works schedule to fit in some church ha-ha. Suresh our other investigator quit his hard drinking and it’s been about 2 weeks and now it’s just slowly getting him to quit smoking. He is now down from 30 sticks a day to 6 stick so he’s getting there. He such a funny guy it’s hard to describe him. He always says, ya I ate some great Indian food yesterday and when he says, eat he always makes the motions that he’s eating with his hands.

So just thought I’d let you all know at home I am now a pro at eating with chop sticks ha-ha it finally came. I can also eat with my hands and I don’t get any food on my palm. I don’t know if I talked about this but Malay people (Islam) eat with their hands but only use their thumb, pointer finger, and bird finger. If you’re Tamil you eat with all your fingers but in both cultures you don't want to get it on your palm. So I have finally mastered that ha-ha.

This week we head off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and it’s just the elders and the couple missionaries that go. We come back on Saturday. Also I finally got all my pictures on a CD and I will send it off soon. Keep an eye out for my slow boat package ha-ha. Also next week is my first visa run to Singapore and of course it’s by myself. :/ Because when the other Elder Watkins left they threw away his stuff they didn't need and then they also threw away my stuff and it wasn't until Sister Clark asked about my toe again and they thought I had been illegal for a month ha-ha, but I had my extension. So I head off next Tuesday come back Thursday and I’ll get to go to the sweet Tie shop.

Well that’s all for this week. Stay classy.

Elder Watkins

PS…Thanks for the package of Reese cups from the Thomas’s and thanks for the tie clip and taffy from the Nielsons it all made it to Malaysia fine and it was all there. Thanks for the letters from the Greenberg’s, Mecham's, and Herald Weight. Thanks for the support.