New Discovery...Friendship Park, August 3, 2017

This morning in our travels around town we happened to see this statue in the distance and thought we should check it out.  It turned out to be a wonderful historical park commemorating the China / Malaysia relationship going back to the 1300's!  It also had separate monuments for each of the 13 states in Malaysia.  Our mission responsibilities are in two of these states: Sarawak and Sabah (both on the island of Borneo, which is East Malaysia).  It was very interesting to learn more about the history of this nation. During the day, when we stopped, it was quiet and peaceful as there were not many people here other than the workers around the grounds.  However, we have since learned that it is a very popular park at night where Malaysians gather after their work day is completed to socialize. We are grateful that we missed the crowds!

Sunsets from our kitchen window...

   I just wanted to show you a few of the incredible sunsets we see nearly every night out of our kitchen window in Kuching. The cloud formations are also remarkable! We are so grateful for this beautiful world our Heavenly Father has created for us all!

LDS Charities (featuring Elder & Sister Wilson) in the local Chinese newspaper...

Elder Wilson and Sister Wilson were included in this article about the LDS Charities donation of a power washer for the car wash for the Sarawak Society of the Deaf.  It was published in the local Chinese newspaper and also on the facebook page of the Sarawak Society for the Deaf.  They use the car wash to teach skills to the students so that they can get employment in the outside community and also they use the funds generated to support the school/training center.

We just wanted to show all of our friends and family how much fun we are having helping other non-profit organizations.  We love our mission!

(I just wish I could read Chinese!)

July 23, 2017 - New missionary calls!

 We just had four young people from the Matang Branch receive their mission calls: Raj is going to Austrialia (English speaking), Angela has been called to Canada/Vancouver (Chinese speaking), and
Norea and Madelin were called to serve in the Singapore/Malaysia Mission. (Norea as English speaking, and Madelin speaking Malay.)

It brought back memories to me to see Raj's mother get so emotional when he opened his call.  I remember the feelings I had when my daughter and son were called on their missions.  You are both happy and sad at the same time.  It is hard to let them go!

They are all excited!
And a bit nervous and scared...

Karaoke Night!

 

 I just had to show you all a new side to Craig.  Yes, he is doing karaoke!  He is singing with the President of the Miri Rotary Club, who was very excited to learn that Craig liked country music.  So on our last visit to Miri he arranged for us to go to a karaoke place.  Craig and I also sang a Karen Carpenter song together, "I'm on the Top of the World".

As you can see, we also got to do some dancing for the group. We weren't real great, but it was fun to participate with the Rotarians. (They must be hard up for entertainment in Miri when they want us to be part of the show!)

We are looking to do a water project with this Rotary Club. They are a fun group of people and we enjoy working with them. 

JULY 2017 - Craig and I met this cute family outside of the mosque in Kuching.  They were so kind to let us take pictures of them.

These other two pictures are taken outside and inside of the mosque.  No shoes are allowed  and women are required to wear head coverings and robes (which they provide to us tourists) when entering the mosque.  There is a separate prayer area for women also, inside the mosque.

These next few pictures are taken at the Fairy Caves outing.  It truly did feel like we were in a fairy land of sorts.  Once we went further into the cave, there was no lighting and so we went by flashlight deep into the darkness.  It was really cool seeing all the cave formations by flashlight.  We had to walk very carefully as there was not a good path to follow.  

Craig's Birthday Celebrations!

Craig actually got to celebrate his birthday (July 2nd) for four days!  On Saturday, July 1st, we had a branch party at the river.  Elder Hadley and President Dickson also just had birthdays, so it was a triple birthday celebration with a chocolate cake!  Then on Sunday, July 2nd, (his actual birthday) we were quite busy doing church things and so I felt I didn't have time to make a cake and/or cookies.  So guess what?  My wonderful husband made his own chocolate chip cookies and they turned out absolutely wonderful!--which is an incredible thing as cooking is entirely different here in Malaysia.  We shared the cookies with the young people in a class we taught that evening.  (So typical of Craig with his kind, giving nature.  I, of course, had to be convinced that we should share the cookies!  But I felt good afterwards...it is always better to give than to receive!)  Then on July 3rd (which was actually July 2nd in our home state of Utah), Craig received several contacts from our kids and grandkids wishing him a Happy Birthday (even though by our Malaysian time they were a day late!)  And finally, the birthday cake was made and we celebrated with the young Elders and Sisters at their District Meeting on Tuesday, July 4th.  So I guess it was actually a late birthday/4th of July celebration all rolled into one! (Way to multi-task, Julie--giving myself a nice pat on the back!)

 This picture is of President Dickson, Matang Branch President at the branch activity.

 More pictures of the branch members (and a few friends) at the activity.

 BBQ cooked right over the coals by the side of the river.

 The Malaysians LOVE their BBQ food!  Note:  I brought watermelon and pineapple so that we could be sure to have something familiar to eat at the BBQ.