Malaysia - Week 23 - Dawn of Christmas!!!!‏

Traditional housing from the past

Elder Gallinger at Cultural Village

Elder Kampenhout ready to cut the coconut

Elder Kampenhout with man with traditional Malaysian dress

  Kampenhout & Gallinger with
grave stone Willem chiseled

Malaysian members going caroling

Dec. 21, 2010

Woah,

   So I thought that maybe i could avoid the 'Crazyness' that comes with Christmas around this time of year by being: A) In a Nationally Muslim Country B) On a Mission C) 10,000 miles away from any family.

Boy was I wrong.

     We have been invited to about....10 different Christmas parties where we are told (not yet experienced) that you will eat about 2-3 plates of food at each. My trainer told me that he wanted to never eat again after his first Christmas. Oh joy! Ha ha. But we will make due :D It has also been nuts cause our Branch has been caroling every night for the last week. Now this is not the American or European caroling, where you stand outside and sing, and then they give you some cookies. No. This is Iban Caroling. You have a planned schedule of where you are going, who you are seeing and what times (rarely is such planning seen like this). Our Branch has then been traveling in a group of about...30-40 people, and they all enter into your room, sit down and talk for a bit, and then stand up and sing 2 carols, and then sing "we wish you a Merry Christmas." Then they bring out the drinks and crackers and you eat!! Let me tell you. It's nuts. The last night I swear it was our whole branch, and they carried all the members around in the equivalent of a Dump truck. See picture for proof! It was such a blast and definitely fun!

    We have also had lots of trainings and meetings around this time of year, as tomorrow is actually our Zone Conference! That combined with Caroling and Christmas day is making this a pretty eventful week. Definatly puts a twist on the usual hum drum of life (rare do you have such a week in Missionary worrk, let alone Sarawak). Now, when people talk about Sarawak, it usually has a very special "must have seen it to believe it" kinda thing. It truely is. Anything really can happen in Malaysia. Anything. We actually ran into some teachers from North Carolina a few months back who were teaching at a school for a semester. Middle of Malaysia, in an area where the English is pretty bad. What are they teaching? Communications. Lets just say they weren't too happy with the students in the course :D Ha ha ha. We also ran into a Malay woman (Muslim) who is visiting from Atlanta, Georgia. WHAT!?!?!?! Yeah, she moved there when she married and American, and is now on break with her 13 year old daughter. It was crazy. Many more stories, but Sarawak is definably an interesting, unique place. As are most places :D

   So on a more Spiritual side, one thing that our Zone leaders trained us on the other week was something called Faith Finding. Woah. It works. Just going out knocking houses to pass time = waste of time. But faith finding is completely different. You and your companion pray about an area you feel inspired from personal prayer to go to. You then 1) Pray as a companionship about the Area. 2) Set a date and time to go there. 3) Set Goals 4) Pray again to the Lord and involve him in your plan. Tell him where, when, what street, what houses, what times. Get Specific. He likes specific. 5) Follow through on what you have committed to the Lord to do. Wow....Day 1 did this have results. "But why are you giving us this mission pattern Elder Kampenhout?" Because it can be useful in everyday life! Not for just missionary work, but for everything. Maybe you had an argument with your wife/husband and want to talk with them about it or something else really important. You can receive added help from this set pattern. Maybe you are hunting for a job, playing in a soccer game, giving a presentation. Anything. All you basically do is:

1) Pray about a problem/need
2) Set about a plan to solve or fulfill the need
3) Set goals about what will be accomplished
4) Pray unto the Lord with Specifics of what you have planned.
5) Follow through on what you have committed to the Lord to do.

I know that this is going to change my life. I can't wait to use it in normal civilian life. Maybe you guys can try it out for me ;)

  So some of the pictures above are of me chopping open a coconut here in Malaysia. Here the brown outside is covered with a green or orange "flesh" which protects and preserves the coconut. Only on the coast and certain areas are they just the brown furry kinds. Also as you can see I failed to cut it in half with one fell swoop :( But I still got him open and ate his insides, and drank the milk! A bit sour, but alright....Elder Gallinger thinks I'm nuts and doesn't like the coconut.

 Also above is a picture from Thanksgiving! And also a gravestone that I carved out, painted, and then finished for our member who died a while back. It has been a slow work in progress, and all the carving was done with a hammer and chisel. For a first time...not too shabby! But it definably was a once in a lifetime experience. Really makes you think about the reality of Death in our lives, and what comfort the Resurrection brings. To truly have that firm faith in your heart that you will live again, and see all who you have seen.....what joy it brings at such sorrowful times. :D

   Well I must get going, but know that things are going well out here. Elder Gallinger and I are having a blast, and while we are lacking in snow (as I am sure all of you are NOT) we have been nailed by rain the past few nights. Gets quite cold now. My body is starting to turn into a little old Iban man body. NO!!!! Good thing I come back in the Summer time! But we are really good here. It is flying by way too fast. Sometime I wish you could just pause and enjoy, but there is never enough time. Never enough.

Your Loving Friend, Brother, and Son,

Elder Kampenhout

P.S. We went to the Sarawak Cultural Village today, so that is what Cultural Iban's look like. Way sweet!!! I wished they really dressed like that. Nope. Now they were western clothes, watch western movies, and have western names, like one of our investigators....Randy Austin.....a WWF Wrestler's name. Yeah.... We have seen a Sylvester Stalone, Michael Jackson, the works. Sarawak....I tell you.....you have to come here. 

Malaysia - Week 22 - Non Stop‏

Dec. 14, 2010

Hello Semua!!!!

   Wow.....these last few days have seriously been the longest days ever. In the past week we had a 2 day Missionary Leadership Training, a 2 day District Conference, a zone meeting, and a big baptism for alot of our investigators. It has been absolutely nuts!!! But this storm has blown over, and the next half week will be a bit of a break before we have Zone conference and Christmas next week!! I guess no matter how hard you try the Christmas time of year is always crazy.

   But none the less, the work still goes on :D With tears of joy and frustration all mixed in together :D One thing that I have really really learned on my mission is this. Mankind is not perfect. It is a fact. In fact we are so far from perfect that it is a wonder we do anything right! Ha ha! I often look and think about all the things that "missionaries" should always be doing, and in fact in order to "do" all of those things would be impossible. I guess that is why the Spirit is SOOOOOOOOOO important in this work. For all the mistakes, bobbles, and screw-ups you do, the Holy Ghost will still bring the message unto their hearts, and it makes everything better. I have learned how important the Holy Ghost is in Life. If you let him, he will guide you through everything!

  So cool story, the other night we were talking to our investigators who are getting ready to be baptized, whose oldest daughter (and very intelligent) was off at Youth Conference, and so it gave us a nice chance to just talk to the parents. The mom, Bayah, was very active in the Kampung Church before (Anglican) and at first had a lot of reservations, but as we were talking about whatever, she started telling us about how her old church were saying really bad things about her. She said they even used the word 'benci' which is a strong word for hate, and forbid her from even coming back into their church. WOAH! I was a bit set back, cause the whole time I really kinda felt she was just following her husband and joining this church, but maybe one day later fall back to her old church. I then asked her what she felt about it, and she responded " Aku tidak kesa" or I don't care. "Kenapa?" (why?) i asked her. "Sebab saya sudah cari Gereja yang Benar." (because I already found the true church). Right there, I felt the strength of her testimony. I shouted for joy and gave her a high 5 right there and then. I was super excited, and knew of her testimony. She can't read, can't sing very well, but can see and feel the spirit and opened her heart to these things. It was amazing. The interesting thing was that that very day before in personal study I had read about how Nephi in 2 Nephi 26:25-28 he said that Christ never denied anyone from entering into his fold. I then shared it with her and she again shared more of her testimony. This work, this church, this gospel is 100% true. Nothing else could change peoples lives for the better as much as the gospel does. It has been such an eye opener for me to see how important the Gospel is to each one of us (setiap daripada kita). We all need it. We may just not know it yet, until it is too late. Don't wait. Treasure up the words of Christ, and they will bless you always.

   Another thing I have not shared with too many people is how I KNOW that God places us in places, in situations, where we can uplift others. God listens to our prayers, but it is through others that he answers them. Countless times I have seen how I have been the person that acts as his answer. I often think about those who have been the answers for me in my life. How have other people been the answers to your prayers? How have you been the answer to others prayers? Think and ponder these times. Write them down, and most important. Be grateful. I can't tell you how grateful I am for so many people in my life. Every little struggle has taught me something, and they are all for our good, our learning, and experience.

   Elder Gallinger and I are still doing great out here. The country is great, beautiful, and fantastic in so many ways. I wish I could bring you all here :D You could really see it's beauty.

I love you all and hope you are well. Pray always :D He listens.

Elder Kampenhout

Malaysia - Week 21 - Mission Leadership Training!‏

Dec. 9, 2010

So this letter comes a bit late because our p-day (aka hour of emailing) was delayed until today because all of the Missionaries in Sarawak (42) all met in Kuching for a training on the new methods of how Missionaries are going to be trained. This has happened in times past, but now was taking place in our own city! Well.....our area is still a 30 minute bus ride away, but close!!

But the time before the conference was really awesome. Elder Gallinger and I have been doing some finding this week in order to avoid a Tidal wave (where all your investigators get baptized and then you have no one new to teach! Ah!) so we went to some newer areas, mainly Kampung Melaban. Well lets just say they didn't really want to listen to us there, but we found this awesome little dock and took a picture of it :D But we have been getting some new investigators and looks like we will survive :D

So this past weekend was fast and testimony meeting, and as custom, the missionaries bore testimony to avoid silence in the building. For all of you that know me, when I get up in front of people I usually get a bit antsy and nervous, but when I stood up this time, in front of a foreign crowd (only 3 other white people) and bore my testimony in a completely other language, it felt comfortable. I never thought I would be able to talk comfortably in Malay, but it looks like it is finally coming. What matters most is that you give your heart and your mind and strength to the work, and God will take care of the Rest. He has single-handedly blessed my language skills so much, it is incredible. When I tell people that I've only been here 5 months they kinda get this funky look on their face, and when they ask how, I tell them "through the blessings of God." 'Cause it really is a blessing. The Malay language is very very non-descriptive, so I definitely miss English at times while teaching, but it really does make you simplify what you are teaching. The kind of people we teach are 90% like children, so it has been so incredibly humbling in teaching. While during my personal study I am having super deep and revelatory insights to scriptures, with the investigators we need to humble ourselves and use pictures, songs, and short scriptures and stories. But it's working. It's working because the spirit is there, and HE is the great teacher. He is the great comforter. He is everything, and all I am as a vessel. President Clark has asked us to start singing in all our appointments, and Elder Gallinger and I also sing every companionship study. This equates to about 5-6 hymns a day (if not more). That frequent singing has often led me to just sing hymns to myself at random too, and it is so uplifting. I would challenge all of your to sing at least one hymn a day with your family, and when doing so, you will find it draws you closer to your Heavenly Father, and will find hidden treasures. You don't have to be a good singer to sing. Trust me. When I stop singing so I can listen to them sing, they quickly fall out of rhythm, tune and tempo. Its funny ;) But what matters is that you are singing your heart unto the Lord. Doing so brings such blessings. I can't explain. Just try it.

   So the Leadership training was absolutely amazing! Pres. Clark was right, in saying that "what we give, we will receive." What a wise and inspired man he is. All the work he is doing is truly inspired by our Heavenly Father, and it is having profound effect. One thing we have been asked to do is to teach with "inspired questions." For the longest time we wondered, what is an inspired question? Well, he told us it is a question that opens someone's heart to the gospel. True....but how? This is what I learned this time. It is a question you don't know the answer to. Whoa. So many times we as missionaries like to ask questions that will lead the investigator down a certain path or train of thought. While good for examples and learning, for getting them to open their heart it is manipulative and not of God. However, when we humble ourselves and ask them for their feelings, their thoughts, and questions, they truly do begin to think and open their heart to the gospel. Elder Gallinger and I are super excited to implement this as best we can. The only hard part is that Malay is not very keen on questions. Ha ha, its a strange language at times. But I know through the guidance of the spirit it will be good :D

Well I must get going, but I hope all of you are going to have a wonderful Christmas Holiday as I am going to. Given I don't have snow, they still play lots of Christmas music in some of the shops and wear hats! Its great. For a Muslim country, its kinda funny that they have Christmas as a public holiday :D I enjoy it very much. I Love you all, and remember to read the Book of Mormon every day! Doing so will bring happiness and insight you could never believe.

Your loving friend, brother, and son,
Elder Kampenhout