We haven't been lost once since last Sunday!

Hi All,

This has been a great week. We haven't been lost once since last Sunday - only a couple of wrong turns, but we were able to find our way on a different street!! We made it to the branch in Malaysia this morning. We had another couple with us and with the 4 of us trying to figure out directions, we made it an hour early to church. We took a camera and took pictures of groups as they came in. I then wrote (or attempted to write) their names down so we can start comparing faces with names. Some of the names are impossible to pronounce and I'm not sure I spelled them right even when they were spelling them for me - accents are so hard to understand! The little Malaysian kids are absolutely adorable. Many of the families are so poor, it is heart-breaking to see how some of them come to church dressed. They are all happy though and were excited to get their pictures taken. They had head sets for us to wear when a speaker spoke in Malay, but I'm sure a lot is lost in the translation. The speaker would speak for 1-2 minutes and then we would get about a 10-15 second recap. Our Gospel Doctrine teacher was Indian and spoke pretty good English. It is truly a muti-cultured branch. On the way back, we missed the bus lane (our van is considered a bus) and we again had to be escorted thru immigration - we weren't sure what they were going to do to us, but after stopping traffic we were escorted back to the bus lanes.

We have been getting more adventursome this week. We rode the MRT (subway) twice - each time venturing a little further away from the office! A lot of the malls are partly underground. Three of the malls we were in this week (lunch, grocery shopping) were very high end malls. Almost all the stores are mom and pop type - very small and very expensive! We actually found one mall that had burrittos (with the help of the office elders). They were good, but not quite like the ones at home. Then last night we went grocery shopping in a big mall and found a US Chili dog stand. We just had to have one. It was better than most at home. It's amazing how excited we were over a chilli dog!

On half of our p-day we went to the botanical gardens which also contains an orchid garden. Everything is free except for the orchid garden and it was only a dollar. The gardens are beautiful and huge. It's hard to imagine so much space in the middle of Singapore.

We've been walking every morning up and down hills. Hopefully it will help to lose weight! At least we must sweat a lot of pounds off! We have made it a challenge to speak to everyone we pass. We always say "good morning". Most people seem very shocked - some answer, but many just look at us. We aren't giving up though! At least a man delivering papers on his bike now says hi to us! We were so hungry for mexican food this week that I bought a package of tortillas for 8.00, a can of re-fried beans for 4.50, a can of olives for 5.00, cheese for about 8.00 for a small pkg., a can of cr. of chicken soup for about 3.oo, and a small carton of sour cream for 5.00. It was expensive but we really enjoyed it for 3 meals! When we get home, I don't think I'll ever complain about the prices. Enjoy the great selection of food that you have in the states - with several brands of the same item to choose from! We are so spoiled in the US and I don't think we appreciate it. The US is truly the land of milk and honey!

It rained (poured) every afternoon this week. The mororcyle riders just keep going though - at least it's a warm rain. Nothing stops when it rains! The construction workers (and there is construction everywhere!) just keep working - lightening and all! It does cool it off a little bit though.

For those of you saw "The Best Two Years" the actor that played the non-member came into our Mission Office the other day. He is here to speak at a convention and had time to kill. He spent a couple of hours in the office. We finally left and went to lunch and when we came back a couple of the Chinese Elders were just leaving. They were so excited that they had gotten his autograph!

The work is going great here in this part of the world in spite of all the hardships with languages, lack of supplies, visa run problems, etc., but the Elders and Sisters are absolutely amazing young adults. The skills they are learning and the problems they deal with daily don't seem to phase them. They all love serving the Lord and it shows in their attitudes and dedication to the work. We do need more missionaries here though - especially Senior Couples. Anyone out there that would like to serve in Singapore or Malaysia????

We love and miss all of you and pray for you daily. We love being here and being able to make a difference, even if it is in such a small way. We are truly blessed.

With our love,
Elder and Sister Garrett (Dave & Glonda, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa)


The Lion at a Chinese New Year celebration in a Hawker stand (food stand).


The MTC Elders & Sisters (these are the ones serving in the Singapore Mission that were at the MTC the same time as us. They are some of the first ones to be taught Malay there.)


The Branch presidency in Johor Bahru.


The new three tower hotel with an infinity pool (ship) spanning the top.


Harbor view where we ate lunch with office elders.


Jahor Bahru ward family.

Four hours later we finally found the church

Hi All,

We've spent another busy week. We've had two different Senior couples staying with us (at different times). It was a lot of fun and very interesting. The first couple, the Erikson's are an incredible couple. They are assigned to East Malaysia. Their experiences there have been amazing. A lot of the people they work with are Iban's (natives of Borneo). Many don't read or write. They have very little, if any, furniture in their homes and they eat on the floor with their hands. Some day I'll have to tell you of some of their experiences eating with these people. But on a more serious note, the Ibans have nothing in their native language as far as church materials are concerned. In branches with Chinese, Malay, and Iban, they face some unique challenges. The Malays also have a lot of difficulty. They must get along with Indonesian materials (the language is similar). Most of these people don't even have a Bible that they can read. We didn't realize how wonderful it is in the US! We had lunch yesterday with the Mission President, the Stake President and a representative from Hong Kong. They are desperately trying to get materials translated into Malay and to figure out how to get them to the area in a much more timely manner. Also how to get them in without being confiscated. It;s only been in the last few months that the young Elders and Sisters have even been taught Malay in the MTC (Missionary Training Center). Prior to this time, they were taught Indonesian and then had to learn Malay in the field.

We're still having trouble with some of our Missionaries getting stopped at the border going back in to Malaysia. One of our Elder's returning to East Malaysia was detained at the border and kept for 24 hours. He was then returned to Singapore with his passport stamped "denied entry". He then had to get a new passport so he can return to his area - his companion was let through. So far, Dave and I haven't had any problem in crossing.

We again left early this morning to attend church in Jahor Bahru, Malaysia. First of all we tried taking the van across as a car instead of a bus, and had to be escorted out and back into Singapore. We then had to go in the bus lane. I had to be dropped off at the Singapore side and go through immigration and picked up on the other side and then do the same on the Malaysian side. We did manage to meet back up both times! After we got into Malaysia we thought we had our route to the church figured out. How wrong we were! The names on the map didn't match the actual names at all. None of the signs are in English and we were so lost. Four hours later, we found the church. Of course everyone was long gone! We did get to see a lot of West Malaysia though!! You haven't lived until you've driven a big van on the wrong side of the road with motorcycles going on both sides of you in Malaysia. We thought Singapore was bad!! There is a stark difference in the two countries even though they are separated only by a small strip of water. Singapore is a very beautiful, modern city, whereas Jahor Bahru is a very poor area. We are going to try it again next Sunday. We got to know and see a lot of Jahor Bahru today and are not going to give up!!

We're still struggling to learn our responsibilites in the office. We are really busy. One night we were there until 11:30 - along with the office elders. Every day has been long, but rewarding. The Young Elders we work with are so fun to be with and have incredible talents and testimonies of the gospel.

We miss everyone and think of you often. Enjoy all the comforts you have at home and all the many varieties of food. Everyone here is missing Mexican food! To buy a package of tortillas you have to pay over 8 dollars! We are gradually finding places to shop that has food we recognize!

You are in our thoughts and prayers. We love serving the Lord here in Singapore!!

Take care,

Dave & Glonda, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa

20 missionaries in our 10 passenger van!

Hi all,

It's been promised to us that "whom the Lord calls, he qualifies", but we are still waiting to be qualified. That being said, everything has been a positive experience. It has been an extremely hectic week though. All 9 of the new Elders & Sisters came in this week - a day late due to a missed connection in San Francisco. We had the 7 Elders staying with us along with their trainers. We had 14 total for 2 nights and then a few extra on another night. Altogether there were about 45 Missionaries here for training (this included zone leaders and district leaders). Some were here, some at the Mission President's house (the Sisters) and some stayed with other Singapore missionaries. Feeding them was a challenge. We made about 6 trips to the airport this week and transported Elders back and forth to meetings. At one time we had 20 Missionaries in our 10 passenger van!! Most amazing of all was we didn't get lost (just a few wrong turns) this week!

On Wednesday morning the Mission President took a group of missionaries biking and they all decided to go off a jump. One of the Assistant's to the President didn't quite make it. He went over the handle bars and took quite a fall. We took him to the hospital. He had contusions, a collar bone broken in 4 places, a bruised kidey and quite a road rash on his back. We had a chance to see the emergency room in one of the hospitals. It was extremely clean and his care was exellent. The Assistants were in charge of a lot of the meetings. This Elder did not complain once about his injuries and taught all his segments of the training meetings. What a great example all these young men and women are to us. Their leadership qualties are amazing as is their testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone of these young missionaries are dedicated to serving the Lord and they love the people they are working with!!

Many of the Missionaries from Western Malaysia go by bus. There was a group of 3 Sisters and 2 Elders who got stopped going through immigration. They gave the missionaries a hard time and confiscated their Book of Mormons and other phamplets that they were taking back to their districts. Immigration thankfully let them go. These missionaries never are sure if they will get a 90 day extension (which is what they are supposed to get) or whether they will get a one week extension. It seems to be up to the individual ag weent (bribery works, but the Church will not pay bribes!). Dave and one of th Office Elders drove a group of six back to Johor Bahru as one of them had a bicyle and couldn't take it on a bus. Of course they got lost in Johor Bahru. The Elders they were taking back assured them that they knew the way, but of oourse they didn't! They didn't get back to the office until after 11:30 p.m.

This was our first Sunday to attend the Branch that we've been assigned to in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. There is another couple, The Howarth's (public relations missionaries) that serve both our Mission and the Indonesian mission that go every other Sunday. We drove at 7 a.m. today to their apartment. we parked the van there and rode the bus to the border. After getting on another bus to go across the causeway between the two countries we had to go through disembarkation and then walk into Malaysia and go through immigration. We then got a taxi to take us to the Branch which starts at 10 a.m . We made it with 15 minutes to spare. The branch is made up mostly of Malaysians, Chinese, and Ibans (decendents of the Borneo head hunters!). The meeting was conducted in English, but most of the talks were in Malay or Chinese. Relief Society and Priesthood are taught in English, but there are many who can't understand what is being said. All members are first generation members. The oldest (in terms of membership) has only been a member 10 years. They really need leadership encouragment and support from long time members. There is a couple who live close to the church, The Gregory's who work closely with ward members. There are also 4 young Elders in the Branch.

The Gregory's invited the Howarths and us to lunch after church. It was fun to meet with the 2 couples. They are great and we had a lot of fun comparing experiences! The Gregory's live in one of the nicest apartment complexes in Johor, but they have no oven in the apartment (Malaysians don't bake!) and no hot water in the kitchen. When they asked about that, the Malaysians were mystified as why they would want hot water to wash dishes with!. Their tea kettle is their hot water heater! They do have one of the instant hot water heaters for their shower though. When they visit many of the ward members they have to sit on the floor as they have no furniture. The Iban's sit on the floor to eat even when invited to the Gregory's for dinner. They don't use eating utensils - just their fingers. The food theyhave been served in member's homes has been very unique, to say the least. We were there about 2 hours and then started the trek back home. We made it through immigration without any problems. We finally reached our home at about 7 p.m. It's a long day to go to church (especially when we have a Ward right outside our front door) , but the members there were so sweet and welcoming. Johor Bahru is an extremely poor city. As you go across the border there is a marked difference in culture and economy. You don't realize how wonderful the United States is until you visit some of these other cultures.

On a more personal level, I finally got a curling iron!! Sister Howarth gave me her's as she had her hair cut short and never uses it. Not that a curling iron does much good in this humidity. If you have glasses on when you get out of an air-conditioned car, they immediately fog up and you can't see a thing! We are also learning to live with our gekko's and the dying cockroaches. I no longer wash all the dishes both before and after we eat! I think we will be giving up meat! The meat as we know it, is undistinguishable in the stores we have shopped in. But they do have all kinds of things that we have no idea at all as to what they are! We did get up the nerve to ride the MRT (subway) yesterday and went to a real shopping center. The shops are very expensive (as is everything in Singapore). We just window shopped. Dave decided to get his hair cut at a salon. He told them not too short and to cut it straight across the back. They almost scalped him! We ate lunch in the food court. Not one place had recognizable food! One kid sat down next to us (he looked American) and had a deep fried duck head that some one had given him!
Uck! We are adjusting to life here and it is beautiful. I'm not sure we will every adjust to the roads and traffice though.

We miss everyone at home, but are thankful to be serving the Lord in what ever way we can in this corner of the world. We love to hear about you and what is going on in your lives.

With all our love,

Dave & Glonda, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa

We survived our first week in Singapore

Hi all,

Well we survived our first week in Singapore! We left the MTC last Sunday night and arrived in Singapore on Tuesday (we lost a day). The 14 3/4 hr flight to Hong Kong was brutal. We then flew 3 3/4 hrs. to Singapore. We spent the first night with the Mission President (President Clark and his wife) and that is when we realized things would be different. They live in a really nice condo, but there are no electrical outlets in the bathrooms and the only hot water is by an instant hot-water heater for the showers only. Dad (Dave) loves shaving with cold water! The next day they took us to the office and then to our new home.

Friday morning (Thursday where you are)

Life here is different. The city is absolutely beautiful. Every road is lined with trees and flowers. So far the heat has not been bad at all - a lot nicer than we expected.

We only have driven one time so far, but today will be our test. We have to take the Mission President, his wife, and the AP's to the airport later this morning. I just hope we can find our way back to the office. Most of the time we have absolutely no idea where we are! We still haven't been to a store. We were going to go yesterday, but all stores were closed due to the Chinese New Year. Everyone says the prices are horrible. They don't seem to have markets like we have in the US. Everything is pretty small with the markets in shopping malls (not quite like our malls). Yesterday, the Carpenter's (the couple we are replacing) and dad & I were invited to a member's home for a traditional Chinese New Year's day lunch. It was very different, but good. They were wonderful people.

President Clark has asked that we attend a Branch in Malaysia every Sunday, along with another couple that lives here in Singapore. I guess the drive there is a nightmare - everyone says that going through immigration each week will be slow going, plus they say that driving in Malaysia is a real experience! He wants to provide more leadership to that Branch.

The house we live in is big but old! It is kind of like a well-to-do British home in the jungle in the early 1900's. I'm having a hard time adjusting to it though. There are always gekko droppings on the sinks in the kitchen and dead roaches (huge) on the floors! I have to buy some disinfectants today!!!! The electrical system and the plumbing in everything is so different. We have no hot water in any of the bathrooms except when we turn on an instant hot water heater for the shower only. The kitchen only has hot water when you turn on the instant heater (that takes a long time and you don't get too much). There is only cold water for the washing machines (old). None of the bathrooms here have electrical outlets in them. (Even in the really nice condo that we stayed in with the Mission President and his wife our first night here). All bathrooms are all tile with drains in the floors. There are big gaps under the doors to the outside - along with the walls of windows. It's no wonder that gekko's and roaches get in! The gardner told Brother Carpenter that he killed a cobra in our back yard when he was trimming the bushes!!! They say that there aren't many left in Singapore though! Even one is too many for us.

Next week we have all the new missionaries coming in (9 of them), their trainers, and all the zone leaders. They will all be staying here except for 4 girls. They will all be here at the house for breakfast (3 days) and lunch (2 days) and dinner (1 day). There are a lot of beds plus mattresses for them to sleep on the floor. It will be an interesting experience. Plus, we will be going back and forth to the airport MANY times. It will be fun getting to meet all of them though.

We'll see what new adventure today brings and whether or not I can find a curling iron!

Sunday afternoon (Saturday in the States):

We spent Wednesday and Thursday with Elder & Sister Carpenter getting trained - well slightly trained! They left Thursday evening for home. Friday we took the group to the airport and we had to find our way back! We made it, but barely. We spend all of our time telling each other to "scoot over" Driving on the "wrong" side of the road is hard to get used to!!!! President Clark told us to spend the next few hours just driving around getting acquainted with the city. We first decided to find our way to the office from our home and back. It took us 3 hours and we never did find the office! The roads are HORRIBLE to find your way around on. There are very few intersections and if you get off on a wrong ramp, there is no way back. Things are labeled with different languages and we have no way of knowing what they mean! The name of the road that you driving on can change as you go through the various parts of the city. After church today, we decided to give it another try. One and a half hours later we finally found the Mission Office. We did make it back home in about a half hour though. We were pretty proud of ourselves. Now let's see if we can get to work and home tomorrow!

We decided we had better not try driving to the Ward we've been assigned to in Malaysia so went to the ward that is about 30 feet from our front door. Everyone was so friendly and nice. Ourside of heavy accents nothing is differnt from our ward in Colorado. I guess next Sunday will be our test in getting into and out of Malaysia.

We went for a long walk yesterday morning - beautiful - and then came home to tackle the gekko's and roaches in the downstairs. We cleaned for several hours and finally got all the gekko droppings cleaned up along with tons of dead cockroaches. They were under and behind furniture we moved. It was so nice to have everything disinfected and cleaned. However, when we got up this morning there were more droppings! The church does spray for roaches and other insects inside and out every 30 days, so at least we found dead roaches! That doesn't help with the gekkos though. I guess we will just have to learn to live with them (and they don't even have an Australian accent and none of them have tried to sell us Geico insurane!).

We finally found markets. What a shock. They are nothing like ours back home. A lot of the items we don't even know what they are and I'm not sure we want to know. Milk is $10.00+ per gallon! Bread is only sold by the half loaf and it is $3 and up. Eggs are never refrigerated and come 10 per pkg - not by the dozen. Everything is VERY expensive - except maybe for fish heads and rice! I still haven't found a store to buy a curling iron!!! There must be one somewhere!!

In spite of everything, Singapore is wonderful. We are excited to get started on our Mission responsibilities and working with the Malaysian people. We work daily with the office Elders and AP's (when they are in town). They are wonderful young Elders and a big help! The Church is the same here as anywhere else in the world! We love serving the Lord and feel blessed to be able to have the opportunity to do so. Many more Senior Missionaries are needed here - anyone want to join us?

With our love to everyone back home,

Elder & Sister Garrett (Dave & Glonda, Mom and Dad)



Living room.


Pond we found on our walk.


Back of our home.


Chapel in front of our house.

President and Sister Clark and Assistants to the President

Living in a well to do British home in the Jungle in the early 1900's

Hi there,

I hope you are all ok. I can't believe that the high in Fort Collins was only -3! How about Utah ? It's the first time that I've heard of the schools being closed because of the cold. Did you get a lot of snow too? Janice and Jon are you back from Mexico yet?

Life here is different. The city is absolutely beautiful. Every road is lined with trees and flowers. So far the heat has not been bad at all - a lot nicer than I expected.
We only have driven one time so far, but today will be our test. We have to take the Mission President, his wife, and the AP's to the airport later this morning. I just hope we can find our way back to the office. Most of the time we have absolutely no idea where we are! We still haven't been to a store. We were going to go yesterday, but all stores were closed due to the Chinese New Year. Everyone says the prices are horrible. They don't seem to have markets like we have in the US . Everything is pretty small with the markets in shopping malls (not quite like our malls). Yesterday, the Carpenter's (the couple we are replacing) and dad & I were invited to a member's home for a traditional new years day lunch. It was very different, but good. They were wonderful people.

President Clark has asked that we attend a Branch in Malaysia every Sunday, along with another couple that lives here in Singapore . I guess the drive there is a nightmare - everyone says that going through immigration each week will be slow going, plus they say that driving in Malaysia is a real experience! He wants to provide more leadership to that Branch.

The house we live in is big but old! It is kind of like a well-to-do British home in the jungle in the early 1900's. I'm having a hard time adjusting to it though. There are always gekko droppings on the sinks in the kitchen and dead roaches (huge) on the floors! I have to buy some disinfectants today!!!! The electrical system and the plumbing in everything is so different. We have no hot water in any of the bathrooms except when we turn on an instant hot water heater for the shower only. The kitchen only has hot water when you turn on the instant heater (that takes a long time). There is only cold water for the washing machines (old). None of the bathrooms here have electrical outlets in them. (Even in the really nice condo that we stayed in with the Mission President and his wife our first night here). All bathrooms are all tile with drains in the floors. There are big gaps under the doors to the outside - along with the walls of windows. It's no wonder that gekko's and roaches get in! The gardner told Brother Carpenter that he killed a cobra in our back yard when he was trimming the bushes!!! They say that there aren't many left in Singapore though! Even one is too many for me.

Next week we have all the new missionaries coming in (9 of them), their trainers, and all the zone leaders. They will all be staying here except for 4 girls. They will all be here at the house for breakfast (3 days) and lunch (2 days) and dinner (1 day). There are a lot of beds plus mattresses for them to sleep on the floor. It will be an interesting experience. Plus, we will be going back and forth to the airport MANY times. It will be fun getting to meet all of them though.

Well I need to go and start getting ready for the day. I love all of you so much and miss you all!!

We'll see what new adventure today brings and whether or not I can find a curling iron!

Love,

Mom & Dad