Soccer Everywhere :)

Hello one and all!  Apa Khabar! 
June 16, 2010

we had a good week here in Sandakan.  I don't even know where to begin.  First of all i loved your emails.  wow the Weilands are fast.  yesterday i asked them if they could email you any pictures they took over the weeks.  I didn't think they'd do it that night.  As you can see i'm having fun here.  Youth conference sounded like a blast.  The kickball game sounded awesome.  Spencer is hilarious.  Hey when is the Jamboree.  Also make sure you can get those Yoda patches.  I think you have to apply for them.  they are sweet.  Keep me updated on the Utes.  So the jazz are going with the note?  what color.  That is so awesome.  Hey who won it all?  

Well like i said things are going good here.  I don't know if you ever see the World Cup but is on everywhere here!  we were eating at a restaraunt the other night and they had this huge projector set up and were playing the opening ceremony live.  It was awesome!  it is huge.  It is like they olympics but just one sport.  The whole world watches.  I'm looking to buy a jersey.  Thought it would be a good souveniour.  Maybe i'll wait and see who takes it all.  

So on Saturday we had a bapitsm scheduled.  It was a boy named Jeffery.  He is eight.  Normally missionaries don't teach eight year olds but his family is all inactive.  so we reactivated them and taught him.  It was all going good until we taught the word of wisdom.  everyone here drinks tea!! even the little eight year old.  we found out a week ago so the baptism got pushed to this saturday.  on monday we found out he drank again so now it is two more weeks away.  The problem is that his father does not believe in the Word of Wisdom.  and Jeffery just drinks what he's given.  It's a struggle.  

There is some good news.  We just put a solid investigator named Hendri on date.  He is so ready to be baptized.  he is 18 and also wants to serve a mission.  so thats good.  other than that the work is pretty slow.  we teach a lot of random lessons.  we taught this chinese man yesterday who barely spoke english and malay.  elder carter used what little chinese he knew.  ha ha we'll see what happens.  

Yesterday was Elder Carter's birthday.  so now he has almost been out for one year.  it was a good day.  we had pizza hut with the couple and a home made cake from the couple.  it was fun.  then we ate dinner at sister marrycle's.  she is a solid member.  she is the relief society president and her husband is now in the district presidency.  oh man she made a lot of food.  ha ha so much!  after i finished a huge plate and was sitting there, she loaded it up again with even more than the first time.  it was really good spaghetti but too much.  i really almost felt like throwing up.  ha ha so i sat on the ground with Jason, her 17 year old son, and talked.  he is big into football and was watching the world cup.  i might have glanced at the tv screen as well.  ha so it was a good birthday i'd say.

Right now i am in KK.  it was a good short flight.  we flew past Mount Kinabulu.  President Clark really wants to climb it so we will try to convice him to do it next zone conference with us.  we have not really done anything yet so there is nothing to report but next week i'll tell you how it goes.  I learned that we are in the smallest zone.  two elders and a couple and a senior sister in sandakan, two elders in tawau, two elders two sisters and a couple in kk.  thats it.   ha ha so we'll see.  and i learned that we have the crummiest house.  ha ha so things can only go up.  but things are going good.  i'm getting used to the area.  the language is good.  this state, Sabah, is the best malay speaking area of Malaysia.  so that is good that i started here.  i had a lot of concerns and questions for president clark but throughout this week have decided to not ask most of them.  no point in crying over spilt milk you know.  so we'll see how that goes.  like i said, i'll report next week.

well i enjoy your letters.  don't worry about me.  i am good here. don't worry about any natural disasters here.  Sabah is nicknamed the "land under the wind".  it is protected on all sides.  there has literally never been any earthquakes or tidal waves or tsunamies or anything here, ever. 

i can't wait to get your letters.  they all make me laugh.  you guys are just so awesome.  i love you! have you got any of mine? oh yesterday i read an awesome talk.  you should look it up.  it was elder bednar's saturday morning talk in conference in october 2009.  check it out.  i've been reading the ensign a lot lately.  all conference editions.  i love the talks!  ha ha i'll tell you if i read any good ones. alright don't forget about me here.  ha ha i'll be home soon.

Elder Petersen

Name Tags OKAY!

Hello all!

oh man i love your letters.  they are always interesting.  please do not get lazy in a few months and stop writing.  you wrote so much i don't even know where to begin to comment.  ha so just know i enjoyed them all.

so i have a lot of random stuff to tell you this week.  first of all i never told you about the name tag thing.  so starting with my group from the mtc, they are telling everybody to start wearing your name tags again.  everywhere, proselyting, through customs, on p-day, always.  so now basically we are just like regular missionaries.  ha ha so i never got to experience the no name tag sensation.  oh well. in all honesty our name tags get a lot of attention and they distinguish us from the Jehovah's Witnesses.  I can't imagine not having them.

Happy Birthday Jaynanne!!!!!!!  have you got any of my letters?  how was your birthday.  i hope is was good.  you are so old. ha ha good luck as a senior. 

hey did you guys ever get my package from the mtc with those pictures.  speaking of pictures, i want to send you some pictures but i am waiting until i have enough that it would be worth it to make a cd.  so just be patient.  if you send me a package could you maybe send a journal.  i'm going to fill mine soon.  and send me more pictures of you all.  i left most of the ones i had in singapore on accident.  i like the blog.  that picture of me at the top is huge! maybe you could shrink it a little.

so funny story.  in malay the p and the f are very much the same, almost interchangeble.  so the other day in our coorelation meeting we were talking about the branch social.  Jason, who is a return missionary and native of Sandakan, was talking.  he kept saying farty instead of party when talking about the social.  i was cracking up!  it was so funny but no one else was laughing or even seemed to notice.  ha ha anyways that is just one funny story about the language.  it is funny when people speak english because a lot of the things do not translate correctly.  i love it. 

well the work here is still pretty slow.  the thing is that sandakan is like 80% muslim and it is against the law to teach them.  so we have to find chinese or christians and then they have to be willing to listen.  we are truly seeking out the elect.  we always find pretty good people and set up return appointments but they always avoid us after that.  never answer their phone.  never answer their door.  so it is hard.  we are working hard every day but it doesn't seem to be paying off yet.  patience i suppose.  last week at church an investigator named sophie brought her family to church unexpectedly.  so that was really really awesome!  hopefully she keeps progressing.  she has expressed desire to be baptized so we will keep praying for her.  we found out that one of our investigators drinks and another smokes!  ha dang.  and these two were both doing really well. like i said, we'll keep praying.

next week is zone conference in kk(kota kinabulu) so i might not email on the same day.  i'll let you know how that goes.  thank you for all of your support and awesome letters.  sorry mine are short and random.  i have so much to say but i can't get it all out. ha ha oh well just know I love you and i'm safe and doing well. 

Elder Petersen