so that's malaysia...

I added another few stamps to my passport this weekend. We went up to Kuala Lumpur for a zone conference and meeting with Elder Bednar! It was incredible to sit so close to him, listen to his words, and just see that he's a normal man. He's hilarious. But when he bore his testimony that God is our Eternal Father and Jesus Christ His son and our redeemer, I knew he was called of God. We're so blessed to have living prophets and apostles. We were able to ask him questions so I asked him about our situation with Michelle. Her baptism is still scheduled for this Saturday, but it's coming down to the line. Her faith is there. She prays to God, she even makes promises with Him beyond what we've asked her to do, but she's not sure that she can answer the baptismal interview questions. There's a disconnect between talking to her casually and hearing her testimony when she doesn't even realize it's coming out and then asking her directly about it. But Sister Howard and I still feel like it's going to happen. She's ready, we just have a lot of work to do to help her realize that. Everyone involved in fellowshipping her agrees too. It's the most stressful baptism ever! We just all know that once she takes that leap of faith, she'll be blessed. She'll see where she's been this whole time. Talk about a fun first baptism, eh? I'll breathe on Saturday once it's over.

Malaysia is so crazy. We saw the KL Petronas Towers or whatever. They look fake. They're enormous. The people in Malaysia (for the day and a half that I saw) are the coolest people ever! I can't wait to spend some more time with them. Also, at zone conference, they announced a few trivia facts about the different districts. Apparently I am the first non-native Chinese-speaking sister in the mission. Ever. Good thing I don't even speak it haha. It's coming back little by little. People from China can understand me...people from Malaysia who speak Mandarin look at me like I'm speaking pig latin.

Now, to my dear best friend who is going into the MTC next week. Jillian!! I'm so excited for you. You need to check the third floor's "Dress and Grooming Standards" poster in 17M. I hope my surprise is still there for you. I have something to share with you (and anyone else who reads this as well obviously). You're going to put on a nametag next week that says your a representative of Christ. Don't ever be ashamed of it. I know you won't be, but I've had some cool experiences with that this past week. We have an investigator named Deborah. She's an incredible woman and she asked me a question that caught me off guard on Sunday. She pointed to my nametag and asked if it was ever embarrassing to wear it. The answer that I gave her was exactly what I needed to share with Michelle later that day as well. I kind of laughed because there have honestly been times where I let my hair "accidently" lay over my nametag so people don't look at me like I'm from a different planet. I'm tempted to be somewhat embarrassed sometimes. I love people and I love talking to people so it kills me when I'm talking to someone and they treat me differently than they would sans nametag. It's painful. But answering Deborah and Michelle reminded me of why it's worth it. I told Deborah that I know that my Savior has already paid for every soul in this world, it would be a shame if someone missed their opportunity to learn of that. We wear it so people know who we are and what we're here to share. It's a miniscule cross to bear. Later that day I was testifying to Michelle that this church is not just a "good" church. It's true. I love serving people, if that's all I wanted to do, I would have found a different way to do it, one that didn't involve the nametag. But I know this church is true. That's the reason I'm serving. It is the only way to return to our Father in Heaven and be saved through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ. Alma 17:1-2. See you out here, girl!

I love you all! You're always in my prayers. Till next week! Jaga diri baik baik!

Sister Norton

HFI

obviously you've never been to singapore

Hey hey! Sorry it's going to be super rushed today. It's the end of pday and we may have spent a bit too long at the zoo....but I love this place. Sorry I'm not ever coming home. I rode an elephant! I'll send pictures next week when I remember to bring my camera plug in thing. Instead of Malay getting better...I think my Singlish is improving. I've incorporated "can," "also can," and "lah" into my everyday vocabulary. I don't speak English so well anymore. Oops!

So Jilli had her farewell, eh?? I love you girl! I'll see you soon. Please please send me your mtc address. Go tear it up.

I totally forgot my embarrassing story last time I emailed. Picture this: first night in, we're all on the MRT (subway). We're about to get on the train at Dhoby Ghaut station and everyone is just hesitant if they want to get on this train or not. It was nonsense so I hopped on right as the doors were closing, figuring that they would do the same. First night in the field and I'm on a train without my companion. I was about to freak out and then I remembered it's a straight line and I could get off at the next stop and wait for them. So I did and I stopped freaking out. It was fine and I got to talk to a hilarious old Chinese guy who was just so tickled that I could speak some Mandarin. Not that I'm saying it was worth it or anything...but it was.

Ok, to the good stuff. I found out why the mission is such a roller coaster of emotions this week. We have another one of our investigators on date for baptism! Benjamin! From Hubei, China. We love Benjamin! He's on date for the end of June, but I think we'll be able to move it up. He was too nervous at first and set it so far back, but as we've met with him we've seen his faith grow. He's felt the Spirit so much and he understands the blessings that come from following the gospel and he wants them in his life. Sooner than June 25th maybe :) Michelle was set to be baptized this Saturday but we had to move her back to next Saturday. It was heartbreaking. But she's staying strong and also understands how much the Lord wants to bless her if she will do the things that He's asked. So, good good! Murugan is next. He's from India and he's really quiet so we haven't really gotten beyond that yet, but I'm excited to. He's so so sweet. He is Hindi and we taught him about the Godhead last week, so it was a lot to comprehend for him, but he was very receptive. We have another appointment with him this Saturday and we're thinking of maybe starting with the Plan of Salvation because his older brother died last year. We're really excited to share the amazing news that he'll see him again; that he can live with him forever! I know that's true. It's an incredible gift that Heavenly Father wants all of His children to know about. So, we'll see how that goes.

This week has been crazy. We met so many Malay speakers so I got lots of practice! One girl, Sharon, was really excited to meet with us again. Problem: all of them have similarly formatted hand phone numbers and none of them are connecting. So we've really got to figure out the magic code or whatever it is. We don't want to lose them! We did tell Sharon to meet us at the Newton stop on Sunday at 8:30 before church though, we'll see how it pans out.

We are in the expat ward and they spoil us rotten. We have dinner appointments every night and the members are so eager to be a part of the work. I had the opportunity of seeing how the Lord uses them in the work this past week. We really try to have members present for every lesson we teach, and I'm glad I paid attention this week, otherwise I might not have realized that each member was chosen for the investigator they were with. Their testimony and personal experiences were exactly what all of our investigators needed. It was amazing to see that having the Moore's with us when we taught Michelle, the Annerl's with us when we were with Benjamin...etc...none of it was a coincidence. The Lord's hand is in everything. I've really never been so positive of that.

We've got quite the opportunity coming up this week also. On Sunday night, we'll get on a bus and go up to Kuala Lumpur to meet with...Elder Bednar! Sadly, not all of the mission can go, just the zones in Singapore and Sabah (East Malaysia - I'll get to see Sister Jensen again!). We get three hours with him on Monday to listen to his message for us and ask him ANY QUESTIONS WE WANT! Not too often you get a Q&A with an apostle of the Lord, eh? Don't be too jealous. I'm so excited.

Mmmmk I think I have no more time or thoughts. I hope you're all doing well and know how much I miss you and love you! Oh, I forgot to mention that I was in a recording session for almost FIVE HOURS last Thursday night singing hymns in Malay. It was fun. I even got to lay the alto and soprano tracks on some songs, it's a duet of all me! We'll see how they turn out...

Kasih!

Sister Norton

HFI

"why is it called a botanical garden? i don't know...botany? oh! that's with the botan!"

I'm in Singapore! I still can't believe it. I never ever thought I'd be serving here. While flying here I was thinking of the different places in Malaysia where I could possibly be born (start my mission) but I never ever thought of Singapore because I thought it wasn't even an option. We have four sisters opening it for the sisters right now. My companion, Sister Howard, and I are serving in the Expat Ward, and Sisters Wong and Ferguson are in the Woodlands Ward. It's pretty sick but waaay hard because we're basically white-washing it. We NEED people to teach! The days are so long when you have to just be looking all day. And you would never think this...but white people are mean. We're specifically looking for expats. And they all look at us like we carry the plague. I've really never had people be so rude to me in my life. It's hilarious. There's a huge fashion show going on here in Singapore right now, so lots of Europeans are here and yeah...so much fun! :)

We are super lucky, because even though we haven't found any new people to teach yet, we're walking into a few investigators who are accepting and loving the gospel already. Michelle is from China and she is on date to be baptized next Saturday. Sister Howard and I will get to teach her a few more times before that to make sure she understands the amazing blessings she has coming her way. She is so sweet and has such strong faith. She shows it all the time, so it's just about helping her to recognize that her faith is strong enough. We also have Benjamin. He doesn't have a date yet, but he's great. We are hoping to ask him to be baptized and put him on date this Friday when we meet with him. I am also so excited for Caroline. She is from Pennsylvania and happened to run into the elders a few weeks ago, about the same time that she found out her grandma was about to pass away. She found so much comfort in the message they had for her, that hope that God has a plan for us and that she will see her grandma again. Now Sister Howard and I have the privilege of teaching the lessons to her. She's a dance major doing an internship here till August, so we're really excited to get to know her.

This city is INSANE. There is a huge mall on every corner. Yet you can go running and occasionally see monkeys in the trees. It's something like 26x17 miles, with about 4 million people. There are so many different cultures. We live a few stops away from Little India and Chinatown. Everything is written in English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil. SO many people speak Chinese! It's such an easy way to get them to open up a little bit. You start talking to them and they won't even look at you. Bust out the Mandarin and look who wants to be friends all of a sudden! So, I'm definitely trying to brush up on that.

With all of the craziness going on everywhere, it is definitely hard to find people. Everyone is too busy to listen to just a short message and it can be very discouraging. But I'm learning that it really is worth it. Last night we sat in on a lesson with Alison, another sweet investigator who is from Singapore. She is on date to be baptized June 4th. We were sitting in the park on the grass, teaching her the 3rd lesson, the gospel of Jesus Christ, as the sun was setting. I got to teach her about the importance of enduring to the end in all that God has commanded us. The Spirit was so strong and I knew that what I was telling her was true. If I can have more opportunities to testify like that, it will all be so so worth it.

Since we are in the expat ward, we're really trying to get the members involved in the work. Our time is much better spent teaching than finding, because finding is so difficult. We're trying to help the members understand what a blessing it would be in their lives and the lives of their friends if they could share this amazing gospel with them. So please please please, give the missionaries referrals! Today! Right now! Think of someone in your life who could benefit from the message that Jesus Christs' gospel has been restored. We have a living prophet to guide us. You should be thinking of a lot of people. I'm pretty sure that would benefit just about anyone. So go ahead, call the missionaries now :)

I'm going to go to the botanical gardens now. Something to do with the botan. I hope you all have a lovely day!

Dengan kasih,

Sister Norton

HFI

the longest flight of my life

Sister Jensen and I enjoy our very first meal in Singapore. Delicious!

I thought the flight to China was killer last year. I hadn't done an 18 hour flight straight to Singapore. My head is still spinning a little bit right now so this probably won't be very long. I'm in Singapore! I've already been out on the town, eaten some banana leaf curry with my hands, contacted a little, been assigned a new companion, and of course, you probably want to know where you can send me letters for the next 6+ weeks. Ready? Just send them to 253 Bukit Timah Road, Floor 4, Singapore 259690. I'M SERVING IN SINGAPORE!!! We're re-opening the area for sisters! So...uhhhhh....might need to brush up (or just start over) on my Mandarin. I am being trained by Sister Howard and we are serving in the Expat Branch! I love it. It's so over my head right now. I just can't even believe I'm here. You should have seen the rain we walked home in. I'm accepting that I'll be soaking wet from either rain or sweat for the next 16 months of my life.

I love President and Sister Clark so much already. They're amazing. Everyone says it, but I am in theeeee best mission! So yeah. Send me letters there.

I love you all and will have more updates for you next week.

Dengan kasih,

Sister Norton

HFI