'SCUSE!!!!!!!!

greetings from asia!

     seriously i have nothing to write this week.  usually i write down a list of things to tell you all but my list is so short this week.  first of all i have a question for jaynanne.  well it is for all but i think jaynanne will have good insights.  there is this fashion trend here in singapore and i want to know if it is a global thing.  the girls here wear super high pants.  i mean high.  usually they are wearing short shorts but then the waist line is way up above the belly button.  they also do this with pants and skirts.  when did hiking your pants way up become trendy?  it's kind of retro i guess cause back in the day people always wore high pants.  well it is weird.  they look goofy.  some people can pull it off kind of but most of them look retarded.  so is this happening in utah as well?  i don't know if utah is usually in on fashion but i thought you might know.  spencer i always think of things to tell you about camp loll.  i can never remember them though.  one is this.  you should get a bigger day bag.  those camel packs we have are just too small.  i would usually bring my full size backpacking pack but of course not fill it up all the way.  as commisioner i would have to bring a rope and bear bag but also like three lunches, tons of extra water, water shoes, towel, etc.  we didn't always use a swimsuit if you know what i'm saying but that too.  i wish i had a medium bag.  for water shoes you should invest in chaco's.  if your feet stopped growing.  they are the ultimate sandal.  you may get blisters at first but then they are reported to be the best footwear out there.  and you get an awesome tan line.  they'll last you 5 years or more.  i wish i had some here to wear on p-day.  i've looked everywhere and they do not sell them here.  how was the camp meeting last week.  who is the nature director?  did you recognize anybody?  i'm jealous.

     i don't know if you remember our one investigator named michelle.  last week we had an awesome lesson with her.  basically her story is this.  one day she was riding the mrt.  she was crying because life was tough.  she might have prayed, i don't know.  an expat member named lindsay hancock comforted her and talked with her for a while.  it turns out they live only a few blocks apart.  lindsay is a young married girl.  i think like 26.  she's a young women's adviser.  so lindsay brought michelle to church.  things really took off since then.  bad news is that the hancocks went to america for a whole month the day after they brought michelle to church.  luckily another young women's leader fellowshipped michelle, julie webb.  sister webb is a mom of five ranging from 15 to 4 or something.  so we had a lot of lessons at the webb's house.  they became really good friends with michelle.  so that was awesome.  the hancocks are back now and we've met with michelle at their house a few times.  so that is the background.  on satuday we had a great lesson.  michelle is so good.  she remembered everything we reviewed.  since learning about the word of wisdom she has dropped alchohol and tea and coffee.  she describes the spirit perfectly without knowing what it is.  for example she says something like i feel a warm peaceful feeling inside,  it is nice, i think that if i keep reading the scriptures and praying that i'll feel this more often, and the more often i feel this i'll know that it's true.  ha ha we're just like yeah!!  she's cool.  bad news is that she left to china on sunday for 10 days.  when she gets back, hoping that she doesn't have a run in with her parents, she will be baptized.  we are really praying that this trip goes well and that she reads a lot fromt the book of mormon she took.  so our lesson saturday was just all around good.  it wasn't any one thing but it was overall great.  we taught the 10 commandments which generally goes over really well.  also at the end of the lesson sister hancock gave us freshly made cinnamon rolls straight from her new oven.  turns out that she has multiple degrees in cooking and is a pro chef.  she competed in an iron chef type competition in the u.s. and took second in the nation.  she's good.  anyways as far as investigators we don't have any as good as michelle.  remember that member that made us stop teaching her maid, last night i got worked up about that whole thing again.  she won't let her maid go to the other ward for 3 weeks because the family is out of town.  it is really screwing up jenny's spiritual progression.  it is just so sad and frustrating. 

     one more story.  this may get lengthy to explain.  on the mrt's people do this thing that aggravates every missionary.  we all compare notes and this is a common annoyance.  before the train is even close to the next stop people are moving into position to exit.  if you are standing in their way they stand right behind you and say 'scuse until you move.  it is so annoying!  a lot of times the train is packed.  if they just wait, chances are that most people in front of the door will also exit.  they have no patience.  for some reason they want to be the first ones off.  it drives us nuts.  so if someone is trying to get me to move i try to ignore them.  it is bad when somebody is telling me to move but i am getting out on the same stop.  i will not budge.  ha ha just want to turn around and yell at them.  the other day i was standing in front of the door right in the center and elder thomas was on the left and this lady was on the right. all three of us were all in front of the door.  they are pretty wide.  well as we were nearing the stop this lady kept telling me to move.  she was already right next to the door and would easily be able to exit after the doors were fully open!!  she just wanted to be in the center.  i was not moving.  she kept saying 'scuse.  i looked at her and scooted over like half an inch.  then she said excuse really loud!  ha ha i was just like whatever!  so i walked away from the door.  ha ha elder thomas was laughing so hard.  this is a daily occurence.  these singaporean aunties are a handful. 

     mom i just read your email.  it was good.  you know, you could translate what i say on google or something.  thanks for the world update.  i love it.  i wish i knew what was going on out there.  your letter made me get teary eyed.  thanks for everything.  thanks for praying for me.  i need it.  i'll tell the members here that you appreciate them.

     well that's all.  send me lots of mail next week.  i love you all.  i can't wait to talk to you on mother's day!  you better have some good stuff to tell me.  have a good week. 

elder petersen

The following is an excerpt from Elder Thomas' letter home.  He is Trevor's companion.


Some people are so frustrating on the MRT (trains). So it gets pretty crowded at times and a lot of people like to be standing right in front of the door when it is their stop, so they always wiggle their way through the crowd to the door. It is annoying. I also hate it when I am standing by the door and they are saying, "excuse me" but I am also getting off at that stop. The doors haven't even opened. And that is another thing, they don't even say "excuse me". It is more like "scuse". I think that is annoying as well. Especially because they just keep repeating it until people move. 
It was pretty funny like a week ago. We were in a crowded train and this guy wiggled his way to the door to get off, but it was the wrong side. The train stopped and the opposite doors opened and he was still standing there. He finally realized that the doors opened on the other side, so he had to squeeze his way through us, plus the people getting on the train, but he didn't make it. The doors shut right before he was able to get off. So he had to wait for the next stop. Well, at the next stop, the doors opened on our side, so he had to wiggle his way back to our side to get off and go back. It was pretty funny. There was another time we were on the train going home. It was like a 30 minute ride. There was this guy that was sitting across from us with his eyes closed and his hands were resting on his knees, but they were open with the palms facing up. He looked like he was in an awkward position. Plus he was sort of smiling. I thought it was pretty funny. So after a few minutes of him like this, I started laughing. He kind of smiled more when I laughed. Anyways, Elder Petersen and I kept staring at him and he was not moving and didn't open his eyes. Everytime we would laugh, he would smile a little wider. We finally decided to take a picture. Elder Petersen took it. I will send it next week if I remember. Then he took a video. So anyways, for 30 minutes he didn't move. It was our stop and we got up to leave and he also got up to get out. We didn't know if he was just messing around with us or what, but it was pretty funny.