Ministers, Ministrations & Mosques

A view of Sitiawan in Malaysia, where Elder Forsyth is currently serving.

"So this week was eventful! On Monday, we had an appointment to talk with a man named Fu Pin who we met outside a disabled community. He's disabled and as we got to the appointment and sat down with Fu Pin and 3 other people, started asking questions and teaching, we learned that the disabled center is a Methodist Ministry, and Fu Pin is a minister.. Who knew, right? So we told them that, as missionaries, we are here to serve/help people and share about Jesus Christ's Gospel. We asked which one he would like us to do and he wanted us to share our message so they could evaluate us. We taught about prayer, prophets, Christ's ministry, Apostasy and the Restoration. We testified, but instead of commitments we offered to come back and share The Plan of Salvation. We invited them to pray about our message. They declined, but it was a good experience.

Fun part of the day, part 2! We're also teaching a Malaysian family of 6. The dad's name is Richard. Their family has no running water or electricity, and they only have 1 moto/scooter. We're working with them, but we learned their concern when I went on splits with the Buttersworth Missionaries. Elder Harvy, the Zone Leader (ZL) came to Sitiawan. He speaks Malay and was able to talk with Richard's family. It turns out their house is haunted, Richard's been possessed, and they all sleep in the same room at night because between 2am-5am the spirit goes around the house and makes noises, bangs on the walls, and somehow causes the broken pipes to run water. They were Hindu, but since their religion hasn't caused the ghost to leave they are investigating all churches to find the truth and make the spirit leave. Every night they read the Book of Mormon because when they read the ghost stops irritating them. However, once they stop reading the spirit comes back. So anyway, a big concern so we brought over a member of the church who speak Malay, who translated for us [Brandon is a Mandarin speaking missionary] and we taught them, had a prayer, and gave them some comfort against their disturbances. We go back to teach them tonight.

A large tower in

Kuala Lumpur

Yesterday, we set a goal to find 4 new investigators today because tomorrow we are going to Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia's capital] for Zone Conference with Elder Pratt of the Quorum of the Seventy. Even after our busy day today, we still had to meet our goal, so after travelling across all of Sitiawan and Manjung, a neighboring city, we found FIVE new investigators! This week has been eventful from teaching Methodist ministers to casting out devils. Day and life of a missionary in Malaysia!

So, Malaysia is actually a Muslim country, so we have to ask everyone their religion before we speak to them about Christ so we don't break the law. Well, my first few days out, I accidently DID break the law because I didn't have any "What-to-do-if-you-see-a-Muslim-in Malaysia" lesson in the MTC. There are about 5 mosques in Sitiawan and they hold prayers over the loudspeakers about 5 or 6 times a day.

The work is really good. We have 3 baptisms set for this month already, and our goal is twelve. This month, both my companion and I will be getting our feet wet in the font. The Mission Presidency is such a blessing, and they are very inspired individuals. I'm very thankful they are my leaders because I really see the love and care they have for us.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Jedi Fonz [in Mandarin, Jedi means "Elder"]