Apa Khabar Keluarga saya?

 

Hope all of your weeks were nice.  This week was very nice, and again, we were able to go to the temple today and feel the spirit and learn/grow.  I've been getting letters from friends, and I wrote Mariel back, now I'm waiting for her!  How is whit doing?  Has he heard any news from the mission office??  I also got a haircut today so my hair is nice and short ^____^

 

This week we had 4 teachers!  2 Indonesian teachers and 2 Malay teachers, so we get lots of one on one practice, even if the Indonesian teachers can't understand all of our Malay.  We have brother pulver, bro. horman, bro. Miller, and Sis. Collins.  I think they're all great, and can't believe they're in their 20's.  what else.....  Oh Annalyn sent me some goodies and cool pictures!  It's nice to get packages once in a while, since my companions get them everyday it seems like... Oh, and don't send me all the pictures, just the cool ones from teh FB album, Eric will know what those are.

 

Dad:  I shared the kidnapping story with the rest of my district and they all loved it.  At first I was wondering why you shared it, but the end message was cool.  Also, don't try to flatter yourself!!!! Mom, Dad wrote about how tough he was and how he was in a lot of fights.  I can imagine people beating him up. ^__^

 

I hear Braeden is thinking about a mission, have him write me.  There is a lot of good insight here as a missionary that might help him make a more informed decision.  I also hear that Kjersti is close to getting her call too.

 

I conquered laundry today with no casualties.  This always means that it is going to be a good p-day.

 

I have some funny stories

 

 

1.  Cigku Pulver told us about one of his investigators who was baptized.  His name was Limbi, and he especially liked the lessons about the three degrees of glory.  One day after his baptism, he went up to the missionaries and pointed at a mosque (which have stars and moons on the top) and said, "well atleast they know where they're going!"  THis story probably isn't appropriate, or the right attitude, but I thought dad would get a kick out of it.  THe rules with muslims are very strict there.  It is against the law for us to approach them.  If any Muslims listen to us, they are subject to severe punishments by law.  So literally all of our pamphletes clearly state that they are for NON-MUSLIM use.  THis means that we are banned from teaching about 60% of the population.  Missionaries were just barely granted permission to wear name tags there.  Brunei is currently closed to all missionaries, but rumor has it that it may open up.  Elder Bodhaine thinks he is going to baptize the Sultan and make it big.  By definition, a Malay is a muslim.  The whole culture is dominated by islamic practices and beliefs.  One of our teachers studies arabic after his mission because so many of our words are direct borrows, (i.e. bersyukur = to be grateful (Bahasa Melayu), syukran = thanks (Arabic))  The rest of the language is mixed from teh local tribes, like the Iban and.... well I can't remember the other ones.... 

 

2.  One of teh elders brought a remote controlled electronic whoopee cushion to class (not a good idea, but hilarious at the moment) and stuck it under one of the sisters chairs.  the whole class had her convinced that she had a REALLY bad stomach ache, so she took a bunch of tums and went to the restroom.  Priceless.

 

3.  Today while I was getting some hard boiled eggs for breakfast, one of the elders going to Fiji (he is poly and plays volleyball with us, and our room is by theirs) was in front of me, and got 16 eggs.  His companion, in all honesty, asks "are you not feeling ok today? "  he responds, "Nah, just not that hungry"  I thought this was hilarious.  He is pure muscle, and plays rugby.  I would cry like a little school girl if he ever came at me haha. 

 

The title of this email is Karunia.  In Bahasa Melayu, the word for a gift is hadiah.  These are the type of gifts you get on your birthday, from your family in a package, or something at a cheap museum shop.  The cool thing about Malay is that they have a special word (Pretty sure adopted from Muslim tradition) for gifts of a divine nature.  A Karunia is a divine/spiritual gift from Allah.  After thinking about the hadiah's i wish I had coming every day, I took some time to think about the many karunia I have been so blessed with.  We shared with an investigator about the gifts of the spirit, found in Moroni 10:9-something...  As you read it, you can easily pick out which ones you have, and which ones you don't.  Yet, the promise is that everybody has the opportunity to recieve ALL of these karunia.  As I have been trying to try harder, study with a stronger desire, and really tune into the Karunia Roh Kudus (gift of the Holy Ghost), I have felt a desire to share this with those we teach.  As members of the church, we have such a blessing to seek after these gifts, and as members, we should take every chance we have to help others realize them too.  I wish I had learned this before my mission.  Since I know now, much of my personal study is devoted to seeking these gifts and applying them to helping teach by the spirit. 

 

We are now past the half way mark in our MTC stay.  The Malagasy elders just left, and now the building seems empty.  I am sangat excited to get out there.  I am going to miss the good old utah though.  You guys should send me pics from the ranches and other places here.  still waiting on teh fam pics.....

 

these 30 minutes fly by. 

 

saya tidak boleh tunggu bagi email seterusnya! 

 

dengan sayang,

 

Elder Robinson