We survived another busy week! We had mission wide transfers this week, plus we had 15 new Elders/Sisters arrive along with their trainers and we had two Elders along with a Senior couple finish their missions and return home. Wednesday night we had 15 Elders spend the night with us. Of course, that meant 15 set of sheets and 15+ towels to wash and beds to make and bathrooms to clean, etc. The next morning, the President brought the AP's and all the Sisters (they stayed at the President's home) to go running before breakfast. I scrambled 85 eggs, went through 3 boxes of pancake mix and 2 gallons of orange juice! As exhausted as we were, it was a great week. How wonderful it is to meet all the new missionaries and to feel their enthusiasm for missionary work! One of the new Sister missionaries, Sister Pinkston, is the daughter of friends of ours from our ward in California. Her grandparents were in our ward for 30+ years. Dave had her father in Explorer Scouts and her mother and father were good friends with our kids. We watched her dad grow up (along with his twin brother) from the time they were 2 year olds! Boy does that make us feel old! She will be a great missionary!
Singapore is really gearing up for Chinese New Year - which is the 22nd of January although they celebrate it for about two weeks! All the markets are selling oranges and all kinds of snack items (when you visit people for Chinese New Year's you take oranges to them!). Everything is decorated. Christmas decorations came down the week after Christmas and Chinese decorations went up! They say that Chinese New Year is the most celebrated holiday in the world!
Church next Sunday will only be one and a half hours so everyone can go home to be with families. I have had a horrible time booking flights for the next two weeks as everyone is traveling. I can get missionaries to their destinations for Zone Conferences, but can't get them back to their areas!
We reach our one year mark on our mission this week! How time has flown. It has been such a wonderful experience serving the Lord half way around the world. We feel very blessed to serve in such a beautiful place, where you never have to think about putting on a sweater or a coat. Everyday is beautiful (even the rain). We love the people of Singapore and Jahor Bahru!
We have two grandsons currently serving missions - one in Indiana (Garrett Kovach)and one in Chili (Scott Garrett), plus one more who just submitted his papers this week to SLC (Tanner Kahl) - he should receive his call in about 10 days. How exciting to have these grandsons also serving the Lord in different areas of the world!
With our love,
Elder and Sister Garrett, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, relatives and friends
Photos attached: Sister Haley Pinkston and arriving missionaries at the airport
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