dear all
Well, this week, there hasnt been a whole lot to write about. There hasnt been a whole lot of cool stories, or funny things that happened. but we've had things work out for us better than ever.

We've been teaching people here like crazy. We have so many good investigators, and they are all progressing very well. We had 8 people at church last week!!! all the other weeks that we've been here, we've only had about 2 or 3. Things feel like they are exploding here, and its really great to watch it all happen. its really humbling.

This week, we had two of our investigators ask us if they could be baptised this saturday even though they have only been to church twice. They tell us to come over to their house every night to teach them. They are so anxious to learn more about the gospel. And the best part: its a family, but only the parents are old enough to get baptised. Im so excited for those kids to grow up with the church in their lives. its wayy awesome.

We recieved 3 referrals at church this week. They are all people that are friends with members. They all want to learn about the gospel. We met one of them. It wasnt just a refferal. It was a whole family. Me and met them and taught them, and they are awesome. They already knew a little about the church, and are excited to read and pray about the book of mormon.

Joan follows us everywhere. Every lesson we teach, Joan comes with us to be able to give her testimony about how the church has blessed her life.

We ran in to two girls on the road that we decided to talk to. Turns out the were "part of the mormons" when they lived in the phillipeans. They moved to malaysia, and never went to church again. Well, both of their families are members. and one of the girls has a brother thats on a mission right now.

We got a referral to a house a little bit ago. turns out we got 6 new investigators from there. 3 already have a date to be baptised. they are all wanting to learn about the gospel.

We went to a guitar shope the other day so my companion could buy a guitar. Yesterday,  We go a house to teach some lessons, and it turns out the guy that works at the guitar store was there. He now wants to learn.

I can even write about all the miracles that have been happening with us in Tawau. Things have been great, and the work is progressing great.
Elder Trotter

Dear all
So this week was pretty eventfull with our first baptism in Tawau!! it went awesome, and everything was great. but at first.....it seemed like the baptism wasnt going to happen and that we were going to have delay it a week.
So me and Elder Odriscoll went to the church to fill up the font (she ended up not wanting to get baptised in the ocean) . We got there about 4 hours early because we didnt know how long the font would take. So we get to the church at about noon becuase the baptism was going to start at 4. But we go in the church, and none of the lights work. none of the air conditioners turn on. Nothing. Just dead. Then this malaysian guy comes up to us and tells us that the electricty got cut because no one paid the bill! haha. well, we tried to fill up the font cuz we figured that the water would still work. Nope. None of the water worked either. So.... we got the senior couple out to the church, and they went and paid the electricty bill. But by the time it got turned on it was already 2:30. only and hour and half before the baptism. Not enough time to fill up the font. Or so we thought. Usually fonts take at least 3 hours to fill up. I dont know how, but that font was done in one hour. And its not a small font.  The font was done a half hour before the baptism even started, and everything went great!

Also this week, we were going out to visit a recent convert, and as we were walking, we noticed some branches on a tree moving. we looked, and there was a monkey! haha. so we stopped and took pictures of this little monkey just hanging out right above us. it was pretty cool. So ill send some pictures of that.
On monday we decided to go cook some breakfast for Joan, and the people that live in her house. (theres like 7 families in one house) and so we decided that french toast would be easy and fun. But they have never had french toast here before. So we cooked, and everyone was blown away by how good french toast. it was pretty funny. I dont think they had ever had syrup before. It was almost too sweet for them to eat. it was pretty funny. The funny part was seeing the faces of the people that would walk in to the kitchen, and see to big white guys cooking. haha. it was priceless. haha. good stuff. anyway....things are pretty good in tawau.
the work is going forward, and we are finding new families to teach. And thats what we need. As of last week, Tawau is the number one district in the zone!! haha. and we've only been here a month and a couple weeks. anyway, we've been working hard, and i feel like ive never been so tired in my whole life. ahhhh. hahah. anyway, until next week
Elder Trotter

Oh the Hot Jungle

Dear all-
Sorry i didnt write last week. ANd i dont have a lot of time this week either. This week was a blast! i had a ton of fun and we worked really hard. We had the most amount of lessons that have been taught in a single week since sometine in 2010. So we broke last years record for lessons taught with a member present! it was cool! we got a bunch  more people on to be baptised. Im super excited for how htings have been going in the area.  Our work has definately been paying off. In our zone we have a total of 21 people on date to be baptized. 11 of them are from mine and Elder Odriscolls area. hahah. more than half. so. things have been put in our way. And i feel very honored to know that God has seen us fit to use us as an instrument in his hands. Its really great.
This saturday we are going to have our first baptism in Tawau. I am way excited. Her name is Joan, and i think she is the most solid investigator that i have ever taught so far. Shes got faith and a testimony like you wouldnt believe. She goes with us every where to teach lessons. And she teaches the gospel principles like someone who has been in the church for years. So i am super excited for her baptism. haha. and its even better...she wasnts to be baptized in the OCEAN!!!!! hahaha i am soooo excited. I have wanted to baptize someone in the ocean since before my mission even started. haha. It just seems wayyy cool.
So this week, we decided to go tracting out by one of our members houses. But it wasnt just any tracting. It was jungle tracting. We were told there was a little village of jungle people not too far from our members house. So we decided to go find the village. But before we went out, we went and bought a machete. Because there is crazy things in the jungle. So we went out. But the thing is, we didnt know where to find the village. We needed someone to take us there. But the dad of that member family wasnt home. So the next best thing was his oldest son. hahaha. but hes only 10 years old!!!! hahaha. and his 8 year old little sister. So here me and my companion are, being lead through the jungle to a little village by a little 10 year old boy and his little sister. haha. But we made it to the village and taught 2 families there. It was pretty a pretty cool experience!
Anyway, thats about all. I wish i had time to write more, but i got to go!
Until next week
Elder Trotter

So here are the pictures for the week.
                                               

 The picture with my pants rolled up- that day was just wayyy to hot to wear pants. so i had to roll them up! haha

 The picture with the little kids- those were the ones that lead us through the jungle! our jungle guides!

 Me in tribal wear- I went to a little culture festival thing! it was cool

 wong fook yu. hahaha. im immature and thougt that was funny

 me and Joan and rosbie. Rosbie is the one on the left. and Joan is the one closest to me

Dear all

Well this week hasnt been too bad. All is can say is that we are working hard. But things have been coming together for us pretty nicely. This last week was the first full week we had to work in our area. The other weeks we have been here have kinda been a hodge podge of stuff becuase i went on a visa run. Elder Odriscoll had to go to a conference and stuff like that. But this last week, we were able to set some good goals, and then go out to go and get them. Two weeks ago, there was 0 people on date to be baptised. After last week there are now 8 on date. I dont like using numbers as a way to measure success or anything. But im just trying to give you an idea of the work we have been doing.  Its been crazy. We were only 1 lesson away from beating last years high of lessons taught in a week. New investigators have just been placed in front of us. And something unexpected happens every day. It seems like all these people that have a desire to learn , and have a desire to follow God just keep coming out of the wood work. We have not had time to go out contacting at all since we have been here. All the people we keep meeting are refferals. And refferals are better than just going out contacting. And its super hard to go contacting here becuase its literally 90% muslim. If we go knock on doors we get yelled at and make a LOT of people mad. So the work here is almost all dependent on the members. And they are helping us pretty well. Things havent been so bad. Its really cool to see the Hand of the Lord in our work. The work progresses, and as long as we work our hardest, things will ALWAYS happen. And this last week has been a witness of that to me.

We have an investigator named Joan. We met her when we got here. Shes a friend of a member. Shes from the phillipeans. Pretty cool girl. Shes 22 years old. So we started teaching her about 2 weeks ago, and shes really got an interest in the church. But she was always kinda hard to meet with. That was up until last week. Last week, she brings one of her friends to meet us. Her name is Rosbie. Rosbie is one of the most golden investigators i have ever met. No joke. She speaks pretty good english. So we have been teaching her in mixed english and Malay. So met Rosbie on last monday. She learned from us and came to church on Sunday with Joan. As soon as Joan had a friend that was learning with her, It became much easier to meet with her. Rosbie and Joan call us up almost everyday to learn. Its way cool. They just started wanting to follow us to help teach other people. So now they come with us.

Rosbie has only been learning about the gospel from about a week. But shes had almost all the lessons already. She already knows about the word of wisdom and is quitting smoking. Joan is too. they have given us the names of 2 more of their friends. And we have gone over to teach them as well. Some of the stuff Rosbie says is amazing. She seems to have a very good understanding of the gospel. But she doesnt even really have much of a religious background. Its just crazy how fast she has gained a testimony.  She said that she likes to go to teaching appointments with us becuase she wants to learn more and she likes "that feeling" that she gets when teach other people. Its way cool.

We have 3 investigators that are from the Phillipeans that we have been teaching for the past 2 weeks too. their malay sucks. and they dont really understand english either. So its been way hard to actually teach them. We brought rosbie and joan with us yesterday to go teach them. They translated every word that we said in to visaya (their language) and we had the most constuctive lesson with those investigators that we've ever had. It was way strong. way cool.  Its crazy to hear Joan and Rosbie talk about the Book of Mormon. And stuff like that .Theyve only been learning for about a week, but they explain things like they have been learning forever. Rosbie said that this gospel  is what she was been looking for. And that shes so greatfull that we brought it to her.

So thats how things have been going. Pretty good. But still very hard.
Yesterday i went out to lunch and there happened to be a famous person at the same restaurant. The chief minister of malaysia. So i had to get a picture with him. All i was thinking the whole time was zoolander. hahaha it was so funny. The chief minister is over a state in malaysia. The prime minister is over all of malaysia. Apparently the prime minister of malaysia will be at that same restaurant next month. We've already got it planned to have a meeting with him. hahaha. and i will take a picture with him, and think its the funniest thing in the world. hahahaha. i cant wait. it will be great. anyway, until next week...
Elder Trotter

Dear  all
Well things have been going pretty well in Tawau. Me and Elder Odriscoll have been working really hard, and staying super busy. We have gotten new investigators, and committed more people to be baptised. The work here is definately progressing. Anyway, im not quite sure what to say to everyone, but i will just copy something i wrote in my jounrnal when i got transfered. WHen i got transfered to Tawau, i had some time to think, and reflect about what my mission means to me, the people ive met, and the experiences ive had. Anyway here it is....

Jan 11 2012
Yesterday was my last day In Sibu. Me leaving Sibu made me realize a bunch of thing, and it was a good time to reflect on what my mission really means to me. When Elder Cheel left a couple days ago (he was done with his mission- i lived with him in sibu) I got to hear him bear his testimony for the last time. He said that he loved his mission and that he wouldnt trade it for anything. When i heard that, it made me want to be able to say the same thing about my mission. I guess ive always known that i love my mission, but with all this crap going on with camille i sometimes forget that there is no other place i would rather be. When Elder Cheel bore his testimony it made me just wish that when my mission is said and done, no matter what happens with camille, i can say that i loved my mission and i wouldnt trade it for anything. But the thing is, I didnt have to wait till the end of my mission to realize that. I realized it yesterday when i said goodbye to some people.
I didnt think it would be that hard to say goodbye to people being that i was only there was 3 months. But yesterday really hit my heart. Last night we went to go do a recent convert lesson with Daisy. When it was over, she was super sad that i was leaving. that made me sad to see her sad. She told me that i was like an older brother to her. and that she had cried the night before because i was leaving. that really touched me and me sad. Before i finally said goodbye to her, she wanted me to promise that i would come back and visit her. I had to tell her that i dont know if i will ever make it back to see her or visit. That made her even more sad. Anyway after that, i said bye and had to go home. But we still had rogis with us. (member- he likes to teach with us) We had to pedal him home with us because thats his only way around. When we dropped Rogis off I said goodbye to him too. I told him that i might never see him again. And the her said "no, maybe we can meet again in heaven" as he pointed up to the sky. Just writing this down is almost making me cry. Here i come to malaysia and only know these people for 3 months, and can barely speak their language, and i developed such a good relationship with them. I am just so humbled by them. I dont know why Rogis  telling me that we are going to meet in heaven hit my heart s ohard. Maybe becuase the gospel is all he has. Hes not very smart, cant read, slurs his words, speaks with a stutter, walks with a limp, but still looks forward to missionaries so much. All he has is the gospel and the faith and hope that its true. And he has faith that he will meet me again in heaven. Thats all he knows. The gospel is true. Period. He doesnt know anything else. And thats so humbling to me. I wish i could be more like him. truth is truth and there are no more questions asked.
Im not sure why it took me leaving the people in Sibu to realize how much i love them. I have developed a love for these people that i have never really felt before. And it was a lot harder for me to say goodbye to them than i thought. When daisy told me that i am like an older brother to her, i thought that she must be like a little sister to me. ANd its true. Ive only known her for 3 months, but ive seen her change so much. And get baptised! And im not sure when it happened, but i really developed a love for her. and her well being. I want her to stay active i nthe church and have a strong testimony so bad. Same with Catherine, Niut, Seta, Harryson, and all the others i became close with while i was in Sibu. I love them all like family. And one day  like rogis said, Ill meet them all in heaven. And we will rejoice to see that we are still brothers and sister in the gospel. In the kingdom of God.

Elder Trotter

Dear all
well, i dont really have a whole lot to say. This past week has been absolutely CRAZY! first off, i got transferred. Second, i got dear johned. Third, I went on my first Visa run. Fourth, my companion has a conference he needs to go to, so i had to take a bus for 6 hours! Im not really quite sure where to start.
1. transfer. I got transferred from Sibu to Tawau.  I dont know what to say about. Theres too much to say. No joke. Well, In tawau the work wasnt going all that well, so they but two new elders in there to fix everything up. I was one of them. My comps name is Odriscoll. Pretty cool guy. From Sandy Ut. We have dove in to the work and tried to get things done as quick as we can. I feel lost everywhere we go because neither of us know where where we are going. We have met losts of members and everything. Its been great. They have taken us out to eat 6 times already and we havent even been there for a week yet!  Anyway, we got there, and the elders before us only had like 5 investigators, and NO ONE on date to be baptised. Thats kinda a big deal for me being that i left Sibu with like almost 20 people on date. So anyway, after being in Tawau for like 2 days, we got an investigator on date. and got 4 new investigators already. anyway, i think we will be able to make a big difference in the work
2. dear john. Well there isnt a whole lot to say about it. and i dont really wanna talk about it.
3. Visa Run. I had to go to Singapore for my first visa run like 2 days ago. It was nice. Singapore is a nice city. And it felt good to be able to eat normal food again. I was there for less than 24 hours so i didnt have a whole lotta time to hang out or anything. It was a nice little break from malaysia though. thats for sure.
4. Right now im in a little city called Sandakan. My companion had a conference for district leaders, and becuase Tawau is only a 2 elder area, i had to come up here to  be with the other elders.  So i had to get on a bus for like 6 hours to come here. It was pretty tough.  And i havent been in one place for more than 24 hours since last week. haha. its been kinda crazy.
Anyway, like i said, this week has been completely nuts. I dont know what else to say besides that. Its been hard, but i guess im just trying to focus on the work and get everything done.  Ill have more info on the new area and how everything is going next week. I havent really gathered my thoughts about what i think about everything yet. anyway, sorry for being so short.
Elder Trotter

Getting Transfered to Tawau

Dear all-

Well Happy New year everyone!

I had a good new years eve. I got to spend it with the other elders, sitting on our balcony sipping sparkling cidar and watching fireworks. It was pretty fun actually. We all went and got our open sparkling cidars to open when it was new years. ANd there are a lot of chinese people here, so they light off fireworks for just about everything!! so we got a nice little show!

The coolest part of this new year was knowing what im going to be doing throughout this ENTIRE next year. This is the only year of my life that i get to spend beggining to end in the service of God.  And me realizing that while i was sitting out on the balcony was a really cool experience. I dont think ill have an experience like that one ever again!

Well in other news- Im getting transfered. To litteraly the most remote, smallest place in the entire mission. Its only a 2 Elder area, and its freakin far away from just about everything. Its called Tawau. anyway, ill be going there next tuesday. SO the next letter i send will be from that area. I dont know who my next companion is yet though. I hope that i can get along with him and that he is not a complete nut. But one cool thing about this transfer is that i am white washing the area. which means that neither I or my companion have been serving in that area. Usually when they do transfers they will keep one Elder in the area thats been there for a while, and then just get one new elder in there. But both me and my companion are getting transfwered there. And that means that the mission president is already trusting me with that area. Which is super cool. So its kinda my chance to show what kind of missionary i really i am. I already found out the record for baptisms there, and those records are about the broken. so I get the chance to get to a new area where supposedly not many people get baptized, and completely change it. im super excited, and i know i can have success there. I can have success wherever i go!!!

Well i dont have any really cool stories about this week. We've been trying to find a lot of new investigators lately becuase we are running kinda low. But i guess out problem is really a blessing.....all our investigators are turning in to recent converts!!! hahahaha. thats pretty funny. Anyway, im not quite sure what to expect with my new area, but i know it will be great.

Love,
Elder Trotter

 Bebe's Baptism