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