i tried to nuzzle the window but my glasses got in the way.

So here's the nature of being in an "expat ward."* It's nomadic. So are the people we teach apparently. Everyone is gone! They are either out of the country for three weeks to four months, or they just started big important jobs that suck up all of their time :( Sedih! So...we hope the work will be rolling a bit more in about two weeks. We do what we can till then.

Happy National Day yesterday! Apparently there were some sick fireworks. We didn't see them. BUT we were meeting with a really great family at the time, showing them around mormon.org and helping them find videos to share with people, so I don't think we missed out on much.

Sister Jensen had to go home (KK, not home, home) eventually. I miss her already! But I'm so grateful that she was here for a few days, it was like someone pressed the reset button on Singapore for me. All of a sudden I just realized how incredible this place is and how awesome the people are, how exciting it is to be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. I think I'm just going to keep that example going for the rest of my mission. Wherever I am, just think what it would be like for someone who hasn't been in the area for three months to come in and take a look. Everywhere is awesome; you just have to keep refreshing your view.

We met a really sweet girl from India at our apartment building last week; we'll call her A. The very next day, we were at Lucky Plaza and bam! There's A. She was pretty excited to see us, and we are going to start meeting with her on Wednesday nights. We've also been talking a lot with the security guard at our complex, V. She's so amazing and we get to speak Malay with her! We talk for about 10-15 minutes every night that she's working when we come home. We've been talking a lot about questions she has about life and her family, so we'll be dropping off a nice little DVD to her next time she's working and asking her when we can meet off the clock. So, I really like where we live :)

Our Chinese friends came to church again last week! Two moms that are friends and their two daughters. We have appointments with all of them this week to explain more about the Restoration of Christ's Church and how we have The Book of Mormon. They're so sweet. I brought my Mandarin hymn book to church so we could sing out of that (thanks for sending it, mommy!) and they were so in shock that I could sing in Mandarin (I think...) that they just sat there smiling and listening to me instead of singing with me...but it was fun. Obviously I'll be hitting my Mandarin studies to help them understand what we're teaching a bit more.

NG isn't answering calls or SMS :( That new job of hers is working her so hard. We're trying to meet with her but the last thing we want to do is stress her out more than she needs to be. Keep her in your prayers please.

I ate crocodile this week! Tasted like turkey...

Here's the fun thing about having a companion. Usually when you're around people you don't know super well, you talk about things to get to know each other more. When you're with someone all day every day for three months, you can have pretty sweet conversations about life and everything you think about. Last night I was telling Sister Howard about how awful I am at judging people and how much being here has made me see my own pride much more than I've ever wanted to. In a very kind way (thank goodness), she started explaining that we never know what people are sensitive about, what weaknesses they have that they're working so hard to change, and when we judge them, we might be hitting right on that subject that's already so tender for them. Progression, improvement, and growing towards our Savior are inseparable. When you progress, you grow closer to Him, and He has a magnetic force. If we want to be closer, He'll give us the strength to progress and grow closer. We never know where others are on that spectrum, how far they've already come, and how much they long to overcome the very things we're judging. It was such a great lesson for me so I just thought I'd pass it forward. Hopefully we'll all be more understanding and loving towards those around us. My kawan is oh so wise.

I hope you're all having a splendid week! I still love letters....:) And I love all of you!

Sister Norton

HFI

*Translation: A ward is a congregation of people, usually divided by geographic location. The expat ward here doesn't pay attention to land boundaries, it's just anyone living anywhere in Singapore who is not a citizen or permanent resident (PR).

mmmmm banana leaf curry :)

Sister Jensen and Sister Norton!!

It was a happy reunion for these two MTC companions!