KL City Center, Zone Conference, Big Lizards

Hello Everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this email. I honestly have so much to write about because I got smart this week and recorded things that I wanted to talk about in my planner while they happened. I'll try to go quick though. I'll start off with some general cultural stuff that I have been meaning to include and then talk about some cool experiences during the week.

The first is about bike riding. I am in one of the few biking areas in my zone (only one other companionship) and it is probably because our appartment is not next to the city's center...and it is just spread out in general. When I first got here, I was not accustomed to riding so close to cars. There is basically no shoulder so we just ride and assume that the cars will make room for us as we go: Which they have so far. Overall the general rule seems that every traffic rule is really just a suggestion, and that you just yield to those who have more authority. There are tons of motorcyclists and they just weave in and out of cars.

Malaysia is pretty diverse ethnically with three main groups: Malay, Indian, and Chinese. All the Indians here speak Tamil, and I know about 10 words of Tamil now. The Chinese are very hard working and much more quiet. Both Malay and Indians are very friendly, but almost all Malay's are Muslim and so we cannot teach them. I am starting to be able to discern races of people pretty well. Another fun fact: almost every security guard is from Nepal and I have no idea why. Maybe there is only one business and they advertise exclusively in Nepal.

Now, onto the week. This week is marked by three significant events: Zone Conference, Exchanges with Zone Leaders, and then exchanges with the Elders near us. 

Zone conference was really good with the theme being repentance. After zone conference we went to KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) and had a picture scavenger hunt and watched the light show. We saw the Petronas towers and then I ended up contacting there the next day when I was on exchanges with the zone leaders. 

Highlights of the zone leader exchange included me correcting a Chinese man's Chinese (it was on accident, I was trying to clarify something but apparently he was saying it wrong) , and seeing one of the big lizards that are native to Malaysia... I am not sure what they are called but they are green and about 2.5 feet long. My zone leader also expressed to me the importance of looking at mistakes as learning opportunities- which I really liked because although I getting down on yourself can bring about hard work, it doesn't help you to share the gospel.

This is getting long so I'll end it quickly. I am loving it here in Malaysia and I am definitely still learning the culture. The people here are super nice and I have only just now started to notice yellowing on my shirts :). I am also learning more and more about how much I don't know, but the more I realize I don't know, the better I have become acquainted with the power of the atonement. We are all on a journey here, and as we try to progress, we will definitely make mistakes but we will learn to get better.

Pictures:

KLCC light show,

Patronas Towers,

Elder Rogers and I at KLCC

A typical Malaysian Mall: huge, nice, empty mall.

A picture made out of sand

Elder Hogan and I on Exchanges.

Some Schawarma I had.