February in Mukah

Thomas had a great February in Mukah. Many people started to attend church.  There were 93 people at church on Feb 5th, a record for Mukah.  The amazing thing is that people are very enthusiastic about the gospel and the happiness it brings into their lives.  They want their relatives and friends to have the same experience.  They bring their families and friends to church to meet the missionaries.  Thomas has been doing the translation for visiting speakers from other parts of the mission.  In the audio messages he sent home, the words "great", "awesome", and "fantastic" were used frequently.  He and his companion, Elder Parker, are having the times of their lives, seeing how the gospel changes families for the better.

Here are some pictures Thomas sent home in February.

At Rizal's house

At the beach with Boniface and his friends

Thomas in his new sarung

With the boys at Ronny's BD party

With Elder Parker and a little girl named Patricia

On the speed boat that took them to Sibu along the river

The speed boat captain

Sibu in the background (sitting on the boat)

With Sister Cunningham

Thomas got a new basket from Magdeline

Jumping

With Rizal's family

With Mary and Thomas and kids

January in Mukah

Thomas sent us a bunch of photos during the month of January.  Here are the highlights:

"Pioneers" of the Church in Mukah: First Senior Missionary Couple (Elder and Sister Cunningham); First Branch Presidency; First set of full-time missionaries (Elders Kwok and Parker)

What Thomas was able to get for 10 Ringgits ($3.25)

With Bara's family at their baptismal service

With the cutest kid in Mukah

What Thomas sees out of the window of his house in Mukah

Aerial view of Mukah from the commuter airplane

Chinese New Year Fireworks in Mukah

Thomas and Elder Parker went to Singapore to renew their visa and had a chance to visit Kuala Lumpur when they ended up with an unexpectedly long layover there.

Kuala Lumpur Towers

Sphinx at the Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall in Kuala Lumpur 

Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall in KL

Petaling Street, Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur

December in Mukah

The month of December in Mukah was full of activities, including several families joining the church.  Thomas loves the people in Mukah.  They are very friendly and are happy to receive the missionaries into their homes.  Thomas is most happy to see that the number of people attending church services increased from about 30 in October to over 60 in November/December.  Here are some of the pictures Thomas sent home.

Teaching varies families in their homes:

Andin's house

Empeni's house

Jimmy's house

With Austin

Families who got baptized into the church in December:

The Abu Family

The Abu Family in the Chapel

Rizal (left) about to be baptized by Jackson.

Sister Magdeline and children

Gatherings and parties:

Elder and Sister Cunningham's decorated house.

Christmas party at the Cunningham's

Mukah Church Christmas Party

Live Nativity Scene

Santa from the North Pole

Birthday Celebration

Thomas celebrated his 21st birthday with Elder and Sister Cunningham and his companion, Elder Parker, with lunch and fancy birthday cake at a local restaurant.

After a long day of work (see the sweat), he got back to the Cunninghams' house to get the birthday package that just arrived in the mail and a BD postcard from Aunt Wendy.

 Birthday present from mom: T-shirt of Thomas' favorite baseball team.

 Thomas sent home some photos from Mukah:

Biking across a typical "bridge".

Hornbill in the neighborhood.

Kampung (Malaysian village)

Menara Pehin (Government building in Mukah)

Beautiful mosque in Mukah

River hits ocean

Sunset

Jungle

Mukah city center