Hello from Singapore,
This has been a fairly uneventful week, at least until yesterday. President Clark was in town for the first Saturday in months. He had a kidney stone attack last night and was in so much pain. Dave and the office elders went to the hospital to give him a blessing. The pain medication he was given worked wonders and he was able to go home. He will see a urologist tomorrow for tests. Hopefully he will recover quickly.
This is going to be a busy week. Last November one of our Elders in East Malaysia was hit head-on on his bicycle as he went around a corner by a driver going the wrong way on a one way street. He was severly inured, with multiple broken bones, a head injury, his aorta was spurting blood, and other internal injuries. There were so many miracles involved after that. There was a doctor who lived across the street from where the accident happened, and police and an ambulance were within a couple of blocks of the accident. He was in the emergency room being treated within 15 minutes. His companion was amazing. He immediately contacted the President and the closest senior couple. The president and Sister Clark checked his record and found that he had o positive blood (rare). They went through all the records and found that only 3 people in the entire mission had that type blood and two of them were in the emergency ward at the time (his companion and one other Elder). The third one was one of the Senior Elders about 2 hours away (and this is in a mission where Elders are spread over a huge area). This young man was not expected to live. He was given a blessing immediately and his care was amazing - especially for Malaysia (this happened in West Malaysia). The Clarks got on the next plane and were able to get there relatively fast. There were many other miracles over the next couple of weeks in the hospital. There was always a Priesthood holder with him 24 hrs a day watching out for him. He was able to fly home after about a month. He has been recouperating ever since. He wanted to come back to finish his mission, but no one thought there was even a small chance that he would be sent back to the Singapore Mission. They said that if he were to go back out it would have to be in the US where he could receive all the care he needed. Well, we were notified last week that he is now well enough to be sent back out and he is coming back to this mission. He will be kept in Singapore - not Malaysia, but what a miracle that he is able to return (he had only been here about a month when the accident happened). All the Singapore zone will meet him at the airport on Tuesday with banners, etc. to welcome him back! Since this happened before we arrived, we are anxious to meet him. He is going to be serving as one of the office elders so we will be working closely with him. (The sad part is that Elder Brodie is being transferred out to make room for him!).
On Wednesday, we have a zone conference and will have Elder Perkins, the Area President and Elder Osgutherope, the General Sunday School President, visiting with all of us in a meeting from two to four and then holding a fireside for the entire stake at 6 p.m. Everyone is excited as it is always such a blessing to hear from visitors from Salt Lake and Hong Kong.
Two of our local Sisters had a convert baptism today at 4:30 and we told them we would be there. After church in JB today the Gregory's had us and Brother Allen (the High Councilman who often goes with us to JB) over for lunch. We left in what we thought was plenty of time to get back, but it took us 3 hours to get back to Singapore (only 1 hr to get there). The traffic at immigration was a nightmare! This week is also a holiday. The Muslims end Ramadan on Tuesday, which is another holiday here (they celebrate everyones holiday) - it is Hari Raya Pussa. It ends their month of fasting from sunup to sundown. In Malaysia the Muslims are fined $2000 if they are caught eating during the day. The times of the fast is calculated down to the minute! Also, the Chinese have been celebrating all month something regarding ghosts. They have little alters along the streets where they light fires and burn pictures of food, paper money, etc for the ghosts! Everyone here is very entrenched in traditions!
We have been having some interesting food at the Ho's (our institute teacher) for the past several weeks. We always have a dessert (Chinese). They are very interesting to say the least. Nothing even remotely resembling American desserts. We have had a sweet black bean soup, a sweet potato soup, yam cake (compressed and steamed rice), and then this last week we had a bean curd and ginko nut soup! All the soups are made with a sugar water broth. We can hardly wait to see what we will have this week! The Chinese in the class all love them! We'll take our American desserts any day! We think they are doing this in our honor so we can experience their culture - it is very sweet of them. All the people we have met here have been so kind to us and we love them.
The Lord is blessing us to have the energy and abilities to keep up with all we have to do each week. We are all promised that when we are called to serve, we will be blessed to be able to do the work. The Lord is certainly blessing and qualifying us to be able to complete the responsibilities we have been given. Plus working with all the young Elders and Sisters is keeping us young! As a plaque in our office states "It is better to serve a senior mission than to stay home and watch your birth certificate expire".
That is it for this week from beautiful Singapore. Remember, we love each of you and always keep you in our prayers. We love hearing from you. We apologize that we are not always able to answer your e-mails, but we appreciate them so much.
With love,
Elder and Sister Garrett (mom & dad, grandma & grandpa, relatives and friends)
We don't mind sleeping with the geckos
Hello from Singapore,
This once again has been a sad week as we said good-by to six missionaries returning to their homes. As we listened to their parting testimonies and experiences we never cease to be amazed at how missions have changed their lives for the better - how unselfish and caring they all are. They also shared some of the funny things that happened to them on their missions and funny they were! In spite of their hard work they also manage to have a lot of fun. One of the stories involved two of them when they were companions. The bus they were riding in ran over a big python snake. The bus driver stopped and everyone got off to see the snake. It was still alive but with a big flattened area in the middle where the bus tires had run over it. They decided that it would be good to take to one of their Ibon families (they eat snake meat). They were trying to smash it's head with a big rock to kill it. After many tries they succeeded and put it in a big bag and took it home (it was about 9 feet long). They decided it would make a good prop to scare the other set of Elders that lived with them. They rigged up wire on the body and laid the snake out in the entry way to their apartment. When the other Elders returned home, they hid and pulled the wires - it worked! The other Elders were scared to death! After many good laughs with it, they took it to an Ibon family who skinned it and gave the skin to the Elders. They also enjoyed a great snake meal!
All the Elders love to take souvenirs home with them - the favorite being large swords, knives and blow guns. It's always fun watching them get these thru security when they leave!
We also had a young man come in from East Malaysia who is going to the US to serve his mission in the South Salt Lake City Mission. He arrived Monday afternoon, was set apart by the Mission President, had his Patriarchal Blessing from the Stake Patriarch and then we took him to the airport. He was scared to death. He didn't want to leave us to go through the gate to go to the airplane - he kept hugging Dave good-bye! He comes from a small Kampung (village) in E. Malaysia. The English he knows he learned from the American missionaries serving in his area (and it is pretty good). He flew to Tokoyo for a 7 hr layover and then from there to SLC. Three of our returned Elders who live in the SL area (and know him) will pick him up at the airport, take him to the Temple and then to the MTC. What an experience he is going to have! He was an absolute delight to get to know - even if for such a short time - a remarkable young man.
The rest of the week was office work as normal (BUSY). Today was again spent in Jahor Bahru in church. One sacrament service in English and one in English with one of the missionaries translating it into Malay. Both branches are growing each week since they were split into two branches. The people in these branches are wonderful and always make us feel so welcome.
The other night Dave went up to our room and found a gecko on one of our walls. He tried to catch it and after chasing it around he lost it under our bed. I decided that we have really become "Singaporeans" as it was not a big deal and we just went to bed as normal without giving it another thought! That wouldn't have been the case a couple of months ago! We take an institute class from one of the local members in the ward in front of our home. His wife recently had both feet operated on so for the past 3 weeks we have been meeting in their home. They decided that it would be fun to give the "American's" a taste of good Chinese treats! The first week it was a black bean soup (dessert). The next week it was a sweet potato soup (also a dessert) and this last Thursday it was a Yam cake. Northing ever turns out to be what you think it will be. The soups were ok, but not something we would ever want to fix ourselves. The yam cake sounded like it would be better, but it is not at all what it sounds like. They cook rice until it is a paste and then mix in pieces of sausage, yams, cucumbers and who knows what else. They then squash it all into a solid mass, put it in a loaf pan and steam it. They slice it and have it with hot sauce! She said she is famous for her yam cake! The others there loved it, but Dave and I had a hard time choking it down! Hopefully this next week will be without treats! Even though the class is in English and the teacher speaks good English, some of the other members' English leaves a lot to be desired. One of the members was telling about one of his experiences for probably a couple of minutes and we only understood maybe 3 or 4 words out of all he said! They speak so fast and with such an accent that it is as hard to understand as it would be if they were speaking Chinese - I guess he was speaking what they call "Singlish".
The work of the Lord is really going forth here and in Malaysia. There have been many baptisms and our Elders and Sister work so hard at spreading the gospel. The people here have no preconceived ideas and are willing to listen in increasing numbers to the missionaries. We are not allowed to teach muslims or even talk at all to them about the gospel, however they are very friendly and kind (unless they are in immigration!). We couldn't even get them to smile today. It is probably because Ramadan is going on for the entire month. During this time the muslims fast from sunup to sundown. In Malaysia if the muslims are caught eating during the day time they can be arrested! This does tend to make them less cordial.
As we continue to serve here in Singapore we feel very blessed to be able to serve our Heavenly Father, even in this small way. Being able to be around our young Elders and Sisters so much keeps us feeling young. Their testimonies are so strong and it is a privilege to watch how they love serving their Heavenly Father and how hard they work to bring the gospel into peoples lives. How they all love the ones they serve! We are so grateful for the two grandsons we now have serving the Lord in Indiana and one in the MTC going to Chili. We know they love (or will love) the ones they serve too!
Until next week, remember that we love all of you and pray for you daily.
Elder & Sister Garrett (mom & dad, grandma & grandpa, realatives and friends)
This once again has been a sad week as we said good-by to six missionaries returning to their homes. As we listened to their parting testimonies and experiences we never cease to be amazed at how missions have changed their lives for the better - how unselfish and caring they all are. They also shared some of the funny things that happened to them on their missions and funny they were! In spite of their hard work they also manage to have a lot of fun. One of the stories involved two of them when they were companions. The bus they were riding in ran over a big python snake. The bus driver stopped and everyone got off to see the snake. It was still alive but with a big flattened area in the middle where the bus tires had run over it. They decided that it would be good to take to one of their Ibon families (they eat snake meat). They were trying to smash it's head with a big rock to kill it. After many tries they succeeded and put it in a big bag and took it home (it was about 9 feet long). They decided it would make a good prop to scare the other set of Elders that lived with them. They rigged up wire on the body and laid the snake out in the entry way to their apartment. When the other Elders returned home, they hid and pulled the wires - it worked! The other Elders were scared to death! After many good laughs with it, they took it to an Ibon family who skinned it and gave the skin to the Elders. They also enjoyed a great snake meal!
All the Elders love to take souvenirs home with them - the favorite being large swords, knives and blow guns. It's always fun watching them get these thru security when they leave!
We also had a young man come in from East Malaysia who is going to the US to serve his mission in the South Salt Lake City Mission. He arrived Monday afternoon, was set apart by the Mission President, had his Patriarchal Blessing from the Stake Patriarch and then we took him to the airport. He was scared to death. He didn't want to leave us to go through the gate to go to the airplane - he kept hugging Dave good-bye! He comes from a small Kampung (village) in E. Malaysia. The English he knows he learned from the American missionaries serving in his area (and it is pretty good). He flew to Tokoyo for a 7 hr layover and then from there to SLC. Three of our returned Elders who live in the SL area (and know him) will pick him up at the airport, take him to the Temple and then to the MTC. What an experience he is going to have! He was an absolute delight to get to know - even if for such a short time - a remarkable young man.
The rest of the week was office work as normal (BUSY). Today was again spent in Jahor Bahru in church. One sacrament service in English and one in English with one of the missionaries translating it into Malay. Both branches are growing each week since they were split into two branches. The people in these branches are wonderful and always make us feel so welcome.
The other night Dave went up to our room and found a gecko on one of our walls. He tried to catch it and after chasing it around he lost it under our bed. I decided that we have really become "Singaporeans" as it was not a big deal and we just went to bed as normal without giving it another thought! That wouldn't have been the case a couple of months ago! We take an institute class from one of the local members in the ward in front of our home. His wife recently had both feet operated on so for the past 3 weeks we have been meeting in their home. They decided that it would be fun to give the "American's" a taste of good Chinese treats! The first week it was a black bean soup (dessert). The next week it was a sweet potato soup (also a dessert) and this last Thursday it was a Yam cake. Northing ever turns out to be what you think it will be. The soups were ok, but not something we would ever want to fix ourselves. The yam cake sounded like it would be better, but it is not at all what it sounds like. They cook rice until it is a paste and then mix in pieces of sausage, yams, cucumbers and who knows what else. They then squash it all into a solid mass, put it in a loaf pan and steam it. They slice it and have it with hot sauce! She said she is famous for her yam cake! The others there loved it, but Dave and I had a hard time choking it down! Hopefully this next week will be without treats! Even though the class is in English and the teacher speaks good English, some of the other members' English leaves a lot to be desired. One of the members was telling about one of his experiences for probably a couple of minutes and we only understood maybe 3 or 4 words out of all he said! They speak so fast and with such an accent that it is as hard to understand as it would be if they were speaking Chinese - I guess he was speaking what they call "Singlish".
The work of the Lord is really going forth here and in Malaysia. There have been many baptisms and our Elders and Sister work so hard at spreading the gospel. The people here have no preconceived ideas and are willing to listen in increasing numbers to the missionaries. We are not allowed to teach muslims or even talk at all to them about the gospel, however they are very friendly and kind (unless they are in immigration!). We couldn't even get them to smile today. It is probably because Ramadan is going on for the entire month. During this time the muslims fast from sunup to sundown. In Malaysia if the muslims are caught eating during the day time they can be arrested! This does tend to make them less cordial.
As we continue to serve here in Singapore we feel very blessed to be able to serve our Heavenly Father, even in this small way. Being able to be around our young Elders and Sisters so much keeps us feeling young. Their testimonies are so strong and it is a privilege to watch how they love serving their Heavenly Father and how hard they work to bring the gospel into peoples lives. How they all love the ones they serve! We are so grateful for the two grandsons we now have serving the Lord in Indiana and one in the MTC going to Chili. We know they love (or will love) the ones they serve too!
Until next week, remember that we love all of you and pray for you daily.
Elder & Sister Garrett (mom & dad, grandma & grandpa, realatives and friends)
Bull frog soup vs. chili dogs!
Hello,
This last couple of weeks has been fairly routine -which is great after the couple of prior weeks! There never is a dull day though!
The 9th of August was Singapore's National Day. No one worked that day (except for us). The local branch in front of our home invited us to an early morning sunrise testimony meeting at a park. We really enjoyed it and sharing in the testimonies of some of the local saints. We found out from one of the couples there that their son is serving in the Manila Mission and knows our grandson (JJ who served there also). It is such a small world! They also have a son serving a Chinese mission in Birmingham, England!
This week the first Senior Missionary couple from Malaysia enters the Manila MTC and will be serving in East Malaysia. We are excited to have them. We also have a young Elder from East Malaysia coming in tomorrow to fly to the Provo MTC. He will be serving in South Salt Lake. He will be traveling to Tokyo (with a 7 hr. layover) and then to SLC. Three of our returned missionaries will pick him up and take him to the Temple and then to the MTC. He has never been out of East Malaysia so he is in for quite the adventure! We understand that he is an amazing young man.
Tomorrow also means the arrival of six of our missionaries who have completed their mission and will be returning home on Tuesday morning (a 3 a.m. airport run). It is so hard to see these young men leave. They have served here so valiantly! What marvelous futures they have. We will have a dinner for them tomorrow night at the President's home and they will share their testimonies with us. Three of them have their parents coming so it will be a great evening. The last set of missionaries that went home also had some of their parents pick them up and then visit some of the areas they served in. The parents said nothing in their letters prepared them for the places they visited. Some of the homes without electricity, running water, or any furniture (you sit on the floor to eat). Many are built on stilts with water underneath that contains raw sewage! It was quite the eye opener for them. Their missionaries loved the people
though and the people loved them!
Yesterday after cleaning and shopping, Dave and I rode the MRT to Chinatown. It was a wonderful place to visit. I can't imagine that China would be any different. We enjoyed looking in all the little stores at all the Chinese goods. There were blocks of little restaurants, but we could find nothing familiar. We saw places selling Crockadile soup, live bull frog soup, snail dishes, etc. We rode the MRT back to the Harbor Front and had an American Chili dog! We then visited a Hindu temple that we see on the way to the office each day so we decided to visit it and take photos. It was very ornate and quite beautiful.
The muslims are in the middle of Ramadan. They fast from sunup to sundown. so many of their places are closed during the day. We went to JB this morning to church. There was almost no traffic at Imagration so we arrived early. Yesterday a great Indian family was baptized. The two branches in JB now have people speaking Chinese, Malay, Ibon and Tamal! It's quite the mixture. I taught Relief Society in English but I'm not sure how many could understand me. The people are all so loving and kind though. We really enjoy going there.
Serving the Lord brings so many blessings in to our life. We have two grandsons now serving missions, one in Indiana (Garrett Kovach) and one just entered the MTC and will be going to Conception, Chili (Scott Garrett). Another grandson will be leaving on his mission (Tanner Kahl) before we get home. He turns 19 in March. We also have a granddaughter getting married in the Denver Temple in November (Holly Kovach) and three grandchildren starting college (Kadie Kovach, Tanner Kahl, and Lindsay Guthrie). Debbie and Bret's second son, Travis, and his wife, Laura and their two children are moving to Hawaii this month. We've had two new great-grandchildren born. A second child for Brittany and Jake (David and Debbie's daughter) and a second child for Brandon and Karie (Debbie & Brets son). Lot's of changes in our family.
Well we need to go and the news is fairly sparse this week, which is a good thing. We love all of you and pray for you daily. We welcome your prayers in our behalf.
We love serving the Lord here in Singapore!
Elder and Sister Garrett (mom & dad, grandma & grandpa, relatives and friends)
Scene from Chinatown.
Early morning on National Day with Clementi Ward.
Hindu Temple (at least we think it is Hindu).
Another view of Hindu Temple.
Ornate figures on Hindu Temple.
Dave at park by Temple.
Glonda at park by Temple.
Spider in a tree by Temple, it was HUGE! (gross!!!)
An extremely busy week and Dad was in the hospital.
Greetings from Singapore!
This has been an EXTREMELY busy week. We sent 16 Elders and one Sister home on Wednesday morning at 5:50 a.m. and then at 12:50 p.m. we greeted 18 new Elders and one Sister. Many of the 19 trainers also came in at about the same time, so we had quite the group at the airport. One man came over and said he was impressed at how many different nationalities there were and yet everyone was hugging each other, etc. He couldn't believe that they all got along so well.
We PACKED all their luggage into our mission van, the service center station wagon and the President's car. Dave drove the van, I drove the station wagon (with a bike strapped on the top, and the office elders drove the Presidents car. All the missionaries rode the MRT to Little India for lunch (the President loves to have them experience eating with their hands on their first day in
Singapore - if only their mothers could see them!) All the new Elders and
their trainers stayed in a hotel that night and the one Sister stayed with our local Sisters. Our Office Elders and the Sisters cooked all the food here at our house for the Welcome Dinner on Wednesday night and for lunch on Thursday and then transported it to the Stake Center. They were great, but
our kitchen needed some major cleaning afterwards!
While at the airport at 4 a.m. to send the old Missionaries off, one of the security people at the Delta check-in came over to Dave and me and opened her wallet to show us a picture of Christ with the name of our Church on it. She wanted to know if we were all members of this Church. A missionary in the past had given it to her. She has been so impressed with our young missionaries. While we were talking to her another worker came over and he started talking to us about the Church and our great young men! What an impression they make on others! We were so sad to see the Missionaries leave, but we have great new ones too. The new ones have no idea what great adventures they will have! Most went to their new areas on Thursday night and the rest left by noon on Friday. We can't even remember how many trips we made to the airport and back! By Friday night we were exhausted, but it was a great week. Saturday morning we cleaned house all morning then went back to the office to get some work completed and Saturday night we went to a Baptism for a Chinese lady and her mother. We are having so many Chinese join the Church.
The young lady has such great English with a definite British accent. She sounds like Julie Andrews. We don't know where she got that accent. She went to New York to major in Asian Studies, but I'mwe're sure she didn't pick it up there.
When we had the open house for the beautiful new chapel here in Singapore we received over 300 referrals from people who visited and now want to talk to the missionaries. The missionaries are meeting with a lot of them - most are Chinese. The Chinese people are so interested in the Gospel!
We transported a bike to JB this morning for one of our Elders who was transferred. We were nervous about it, but had no trouble at all except in getting the immigration officer to understand the word bicycle (it was tied to the top of the car in a box). We have been attending both branches in JB. The new "Masai" branch is really small and it is almost all in Malay and Ibon, but the people are great. Sometimes though we have more trouble understanding people who speak English (Singlish).
One of our American Sisters serving in East Malaysia has been really sick (she was diagnosed with TyphoidI) but we are really not sure what it is. It is a month now and she is still not feeling good at all. We are flying her in tomorrow to see a specialist here in Singapore. She will be staying here with us until we find out what is going on with her. The medical care in Malaysia leaves a lot to be desired. We have been really blessed that so few of our missionaries get sick - injuries are more common (luckily non have been serious).
We're sure that there were other things that we wanted to share, but are too tired to think! It is a wonderful kind of tired though. Anytime you are serving the Lord you are blessed. We are so fortunate that our health allows us to serve our Heavenly Father here in Singapore and to share in the experiences of our Young Missionaries. How we love all of them!
Well that is it for this week. We pray for all of you daily and miss you.
Elder and Sister Garrett (mom and dad, grandma & grandpa, friends and relatives)
Some of the outgoing missionaries in the van.
Outgoing missionaries with some of their parents.
Us with outgoing sister (one of the hardest working ones in the mission).
Singapore sister with outgoing sister.
New missionaries retrieving luggage.
New missionaries upon arrival at the Singapore Airport (one came in the next day from the Manila MTC).
Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that Dad is in the hospital overnight. He had a major dizzy spell this morning after he got out of the shower. He started seeing double, got dizzy, nauseated, and broke out in a cold sweat. He came in and layed on the bed and then got up to go the bathroom to throw up and fell.
It took a while before he was able to get up (he threw up several times while on the floor). He then was able to get on the bed and after about a half hour was feeling better. He then got up and insisted on going to the office. I worried about him all the way there, but he insisted he was ok. As soon as we got to the office I called a cardioligist that others have used. He said to meet him at the hospital (his office is in the same building). President and Sister Clark were on their way in to the office to take Sister Jensen (one of our young sisters from East Malaysia who was here for tests). He insisted that we go by MRT as he didn't want the President to know he didn't feel good! We have to walk a couple of blocks to the MRT ride it one stop and then walk a couple of more blocks or so to the hospital. I could just see him having another dizzy spell on the MRT, but we made it there without any problems. The doctor came right in and checked him, and while Dad was feeling good and wanted to leave the doctor said that there was a possibility that it could be a precurser to a stroke so he wanted him to stay overnight. He called in a Neurologist and they did a MRI on his head. It turned out just fine - no clogged arteries, but they still wanted to observe him overnight. The last time I talked to Dad (about
9:00) the cardiologist still hadn't been in. Hopefully he will be released in the morning - you know how much he likes hospitals!!
President Clark and the AP's came in and gave him a blessing. They (President & Sister Clark and the AP's) left for Miri in E. Malaysia this evening. I feel very isolated here. I am the only Senior missionary here and know very few people here in Singapore! The office Elders have checked on me a couple of times though (they are wonderful). The Gregory's came over for a P day today and went to Sentosa Island (a resort area) and left their car here. They came by this evening to pick it up.
Hopefully everything is fine with Dad. I just wanted to let you know so you can keep him in your prayers. I'll let you know how he is doing.
I guess you all heard that Scott got his mission call to Concepcion, Chili. He reports to the MTC on the 10th of August - one week!!
Well I need to try to get some sleep. I love all of you so much!!
Debbie, did Laura leave? I can't believe they are actually leaving. I hope it works out for them. It will be hard for them with no family around.
Love,
Mom
Terra Cotta Warriers & an Indian Wedding
Hello,
Well this has been a BUSY couple of weeks. We'll start with the Indian wedding we went to two weeks ago. It was definitely a cultural experience! The hall it was in was beautifully decorated. There was a LOT of ceremony performed with the bride and groom separately by a man we called a "genie" (by the way he was dressed - or Dave said straight out of Indiana Jones). We don't have any idea what was going on, but it was interesting. The music was VERY loud through the whole ceremony with the same beat the whole time. The ceremonies went on for at least 2 hours which even included a small fire on stage as part of the ceremony (Dave wanted to ask if they had a fire permit!). There were no microphones so we couldn't hear anything and often couldn't see anything due to the family on stage. After they were finally married, they served a great Indian buffet. We left at about 10 p.m. and didn't make it back home until almost 1 a.m. due to the traffic at the border. But it was a lot of fun and almost the whole branch came out to support them.
We went to the Asian museum with the Howarth's and President & Sister Clark to see some of the Terra Cotta Warriers on loan from China. China has uncovered several pits with the soldiers in them. One pit alone has over 6,000 life size warriers in it along with horses and chariots. No one seems to know the purpose of them. Each one is different. It was fascinating. One of the interesting things at the museum was a display of gold plates that were ancient Chinese scriptures!
This last week was our first ever Senior Conference. Since everyone has to come into Singapore every 90 days to renew their Visas we decided to bring everyone in at the same time. We had 5 couples plus a single sister staying with us, the Clarks had a single sister (President Clarks mother) and one couple, one stayed in a hotel (by choice) and the rest were housed at members homes. We had the ones staying until Thursday or Friday. The first couple arrived last Sunday. It was a LOT of work planning the menus, buying the food, booking tickets, getting the house ready, etc., etc. We had everyone here Monday night for a spaghetti dinner (34 seniors) and then the actual conference was held on Tuesday at the Stake Center. We bought the food, but the Office Elders, the Sisters, and the AP's (Assistants to the President) prepared all the food on Tuesday and then served and cleaned up. They were wonderful. We also invited several Senior Couples from the Singapore Stake to the Tuesday night dinner hoping to inspire them to serve a Senior Mission! All day on Tuesday, we had each person share highlights from their areas of service. What an incredible group of Seniors! The spirit was so strong at our meetings. Wednesday the re were no meetings but everyone (4 couples left Wednesday) was free to do what they wanted. We had to be at the office to get caught up and several had doctor appointments while the rest explored Singapore. Wednesday night we all went to the Singapore river and had dinner and then went on a boat ride down the river (through the downtown area). We had the boat to ourselves. It was a beautiful night and everyone had a great time. Everyone gets along so well and we have so much fun together!
Friday morning one of our couples returned home after finishing their mission. How we all hated to see them leave. They made such a difference in so many lives in Kuching (East Malaysia). We had to leave at 3:30 a.m. to get them to the airport for their flight back to Utah. Then at 6:30 a.m. we went to the airport again to take the President and Sister Clark and the AP's for their trip, and then back to the airport again at 11:30 to take 2 couples to the airport!! We were up until at least midnight every night that week visiting with the other couples (we don't have the same rules as the young missionaries). Needless to say, we were exhausted but it was a wonderful week.
The Howarths will be staying with us starting tomorrow for three days and then on Tueseday, their replacements fly in. Their replacements will be stationed in Kuala Lumpur - not Singapore. The Howarths are released on the 26th. Their three children fly in this week and they will be going to Bali in Indonesia for a few days. How we hate to see them leave. We have become such good friends. It will be lonely here without them.
On the 27th we have 17 Missionaries returning home at 5:50 a.m. and then at 12 noon we have 19 new Missionaries arriving from the US! The logistics of getting the ones in for their final interviews with the President (over a 3 day period) and getting the trainers in for the 19 new missionaries is staggering! Transportation alone is a huge problem. We hate to see the old ones leave. You really get attached to them - especially the ones who have been serving in Singapore. Both of the AP's are leaving. We are happy for them though. Their parents will be so happy to see them and to see the growth that has taken place in their sons and daughters during their missions. The experiences most of these missionaries have had is incredible. They are truly "choice spirits". Our new group coming in is also an incredible group. Almost all are Eagle Scouts, 5 of them speak and write Arabic, and several speak several languages - one speaks 5 languages! Most of them excelled in academics and sports. I think we get the "cream of the crop" in our mission - although I am sure most missions feel the same way!
Today in Jahor Bahru, the Branch was split into two Branches. It is exciting as it will help both branches to grow. Even though it was split geographically, it will probably end up with the Chinese going to one Branch and the Malay and Ibons going to the other one. Until a new building is ready, they will both meet in the same building. We don't know which branch we will be assigned to, but for a while we will probably be attending both. Hopefully we will still see the Gregory's each week! The Church in Malaysia is so new that there are many struggles, but the people are true Pioneers and as their children grow, the Church will become stronger and stronger. We feel blessed to be a small part of the growth in this remarkable part of the world!
We love each of you and are thankful for your prayers on our behalf. We love all of you and pray for you daily.
Elder and Sister Garrett (mom and dad, grandma & grandpa, friends and relatives)
Dinner along River Walk
"6th" of July picnic
Scene along River Walk
Elder Erickson and President Clark
"6th" of July Picnic
Senior group on River Boat
Photo from River Boat
Old and new architecture
More river boats
Merlion - Symbol of Singapore
Ancient Chinese Scriptures on gold plates.
Terra Cotta Warrior
Terra Cotta Warriors
1st Quarterly Senior Conference
Elder "Sugi" one of our favorites
Bride in one of her outfits
Bride, attendant and "genie"
Groom washing his father's feet
Bride and Groom
Bride washing father's feet
Entrance at Indian Wedding
The Family: A Proclamation to the World
Hello all,
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
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
Father's Day!
Hi All,
We will make this short as we have a new couple here with us and we need to get back downstairs to visit with them. They arrived at 12:45 a.m. Saturday morning. After a few short hours of sleep, we took them to the Botanical Gardens. They loved it, but I think we wore them out. She had here knee replaced 4 months ago and it started bothering her from all the walking. Plus, the humidity was really getting to them. Maybe we are starting to adjust as it didn't seem too bad to us. They are the Nielsons from Utah. He taught math in the Alpine school district for 35 years. They now run a horse boarding ranch. The haven't served a mission before but worked at an orphanage in Haiti for 6 months and taught English in China for a year. They are the parents of 10 children! We do have them beat in the number of grandchildren though. At last, Dave is not the oldest Senior Elder in the mission! Elder Nielson is 6 months older! I have one Sister who is about 6 months older than me and another one who is 14 years older than me! I guess you are never to old to serve!
We have our new office Elder and he is great, but we still miss Elder Ulrich. At church today in Jahor Bahru, Dave was asked to speak next Sunday on The Family: A Proclamation to The World. It should be an easy subject for him - he loves speaking about the family. You have to keep the talks really basic in JB though.
For Father's Day today he received an e-mail containing Father's Day greetings from almost everyone in our family. He said it was the best Father's Day gift he has ever received - it made him realize how much everyone loves him! We sure miss everyone and miss the family gathering we would have had today to celebrate all the Father's birthdays. Happy Father's Day to all the men who are fathers or future fathers! We are so busy most of the time that we forget what day it even is! What better way to spend our "senior days" though than serving the Lord.
We love and miss all of you and pray for all of you daily.
Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, family and friends
The Neilsons at the Botanical Gardens in Singapore.
Gecko on the fence outside of our kitchen.
Dragonfly at the Botanical Gardens.
Shanty town in Malaysia close to our chapel.
Couple having wedding pictures taken in the Botanical Gardens.
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