Elder and Sister Garrett in Singapore!: 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.)