We hope this letter finds everyone doing great. We are having such a marvelous time - not that it's easy, but there are so many wonderful things that happen on a daily basis that we feel so blessed to be a part of. One of the highlights of this week was the open house and dedication of the newest chapel in Singapore. It is beautiful. The two wards assigned to the building have been meeting in a shop lot chapel and now they have a beautiful 3 story Chapel. It has lawns around it, which is really unusual in Singapore. There were a lot of non-members at the open house. People in the area of the new Chapel were really curious about this beautiful church. All the different orginazations set up a room of displays. Our Elders/Sisters here in Singapore worked all week getting ready. They did a wonderful job. They also had two baptisms this week and are hoping to have more as a result of the open house. They had many dignataries from Sinapore attend a special meeting at 7 p.m. They presented 40 new wheelchairs to them from the Humanitarium division of the Church.
This morning Dave spoke in the Jahor Bahru branch. He spoke on The Family: A Proclamation to the World. He did a wonderful job. Speaking on the importance of a strong family living the standards of the Church was a great subject to speak on and one that is very special to us. As the family is under attack more and more these days, it is even more important than ever to have a strong family that lives the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At church today, a new couple came. They have a 42 foot sailing yacht that they have been sailing all over Asia. They spend about a year in each port and then move on. They have been doing this for 4 years so far and expect to keep it up for many years to come! They are from Australia - we love their accent. Next Sunday one of the men in the JB Ward is marrying an Indian woman (she attends the Ward, but is not a member). She has invited everyone to the wedding. She said they are planning on 1,000 people and will have a traditional Indian (from India) wedding. She changes dresses twice during the ceremony! They will have traditional Indian food. She insists we all come. If we can get the Office Elders to pick up the President and AP's from the airport we will probably go. The Gregory's want us to come spend the afternoon with them and then we will all go together. It might be a real cultural experience!
The Missionary work is going great in Singapore. The Elders/Sisters teach almost all their lessons in the Mission Office so we have a constant stream of visitors each day. It is wonderful. What a great group of missionaries we have here in Singapore. In the past it has been Malaysia that has most of the missionary work going on, but the ones here are really working hard at spreading the gospel. China may not allow missionaries into China, but the Chinese are joining the Church all over the world.
We ran out of pages in our passports this week since we go back and forth to Malaysia so often. We had to go to the American Embassy to get new pages added to our books. Before we go home, I'm sure we will have to get new passports! Going back and forth has been incident free the last few weeks - let's hope it stays that way!
Well that is our week, not too exciting, but very rewarding. We hope each of you are doing great. We think of you often and wish that we could share our experiences with you. We appreciate your prayers in our behalf. We love all of you!
Take care,
Elder and Sister Garrett, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, relatives and friends
The attached photo is of 10 of our 12 Missionaries in Singapore putting packets together for the open house - what a grea!t group
July 4, 2011
Hi there,
We just wanted to wish you a happy 4th - one of our favorite holidays. However, today was a regular day here for us. We celebrated by going to McDonalds for lunch. It was a busy day at the office, lots of visa runners. Tonight we picked up the Clarks and AP's at the airport. We haven't had a chance to send out our letter, but will try to soon. We have to get up really early tomorrow, but we just wanted to let you know we miss all of you and will be thinking about you as you watch fireworks!
Love,
Mom & Dad
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