Hey
This week has been interesting and pretty great. We are still in the process of getting the church started here. The chapel is almost ready to open, and we are contacting a lot of people. As of now, our group is going to consist of about 20 people of so. So on an average sunday we will probably have a little less than that. Anyway, the opening day for the group in the new chapel (which is tiny) should be on January 20. And that will be great, so all these people we have been contacting can actually come to church!
Anyway, this week we contacted a lot of flats. They are pretty much just super ghetto apartment buildings. And we got a few new people that are interested in the church. They are Ibans from east malaysia. So it was fun busting out the Iban that i leaned while i was in sarawak, and i was able to speak their language with them a bit. I think they will be pretty good investigators. But we will just have to see. Also, this week, my bike will finally get here from Miri. I havent used a bike in about 4 months becuase in KL we just took busses everywehre. But now that i am in KLang we need bikes. And we didnt know that we were going to need bikes until we had been here for about a week or so. So my bike is getting sent from the last area that i used it. It will be nice to have. And hopefully will make the work a bit smoother.
Anyway, thats about it for this week! I attached a picture of that Iban family that we met, and also, a picture with some random malay kids that maybe have never met a white person before. If you look at the kid on the left...above his should you can see there is "tawau" written on the wall. He is kinda covering it up thou. I love tawau!! haha
Elder Trotter

Hey everyone, sorry i havent written in a while. I guess i will make a bit of a new years resolution to write some more. anyway, I got transferred (kind of) to a new area called Klang. Its about an hour outside of KL, and we are just opening the area. There has never been fulltime missionaries here before. And there is just a new group starting. (smaller than a branch). So, it has been a little interesting trying to get things going. We had to get a new apartment, and get the whole thing outfitted, and good for missionaries to live in for the next couple years. Anyway, that has been going well. Also, i havent sent any pictures for quite a while, so i sent some pictures that have been taken in the past month. Things have been really great lately, and things have been falling in to place with meeting new people. And also, this new area is a lot more like east malaysia than Subang (my last area) was. Its pretty much all malay speaking, and we are only really teaching people that are native to east malaysia. SO its pretty cool that i get to be in this area opening it up. ANyway, i sent some pictures of some events that have happened. The picture of the baptism..That is Andika. He is only 9 years old, and his whole family is members, but he was not baptised at 8 becuase they have been innactive for about 5 years or so. So we have been reactivating them for the past while, and things have been going very well. Even when i was in Subang, we would come all the way to Klang and teach Andika and his family. SO i have already been working with them for about 4 months or so. And in that 4 months i think they have only missed church twice. Im so happy to have them become active again. Now we are trying to set their sights on the temple.

The guy with the baby- That is Eddy and his little daughter Cindy. Eddy is Andikas uncle. He is brothers with Andikas mom. Andikas mom is Yeni, and her husband (andikas dad) is Hendrik. They are a close family, and they are very cool. I spend a lot of my time with them. And the cool part is, is that i know Yeni's and Eddy's other siblings becuase they live in Tawau. Another one of my old areas. Anyway, that is most of the pictures is with Yeni, and Hendrik, and their family. There is one picture of a different family. With the little girl in it. That was a family that we only met this week, but we have been back to his house twice, and things seem to be going well with him. His name is Ahlin. ANd im hoping that he will continue to learn. Anyway, ill get better about writing everyone weekly, and i will try to have more pictures as well. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a good new year. These are the last few days of my black year. The year where i spend every waking day of that year as a missionary. ALL of 2012 i spent wearing a nametag. Pretty cool. Weird to me that its almost over. I remember last new years when i was in Sibu. haha. ANyway, catch up with everyone next week. Love you all.
Elder Trotter

Oh ya just a side note, The water bottle with the orange stuff in it. That was the water that comes out of the sink if you dont filter it. Also, the pictures with the girls.....i guess its just a lovely time of year. Its so beautiful. on so many levels. hahaha. btw. my comp is the one who took the pictures hahah

Hey everyone
Things this week have been pretty good. This week, Janet got confirmed. It was pretty cool becuase there is a kid here in my branch that just got back of his mission from the Phillipines, and so he speaks tagolog. and Janet is pillipino, and so she speaks tagolog too. she speaks english too just fine. But That same kid helped us to teach her, and was super helpful. So when we confirmed her, he was the one that did it, and he did it in Tagolog. It was pretty cool, and really special for her. So janet is coming along very well, and she is super solid. This week was cool for me because i saw janet sitting in church, and she was singing one of the hymns, and she was just sitting there, and she looked completely comfortable and everything. and was just normal at church. LIke she had been a member forever. It was way cool for me.
Also, this week was cool becuase we had the chance to witness "a miracle". haha. Anyway, we heard that there were hundreds of christians all praying at a particular hospital in our area. And we went there to go check it out. ANyway, it was the dumbest thing in the world. Seriously. On a window on the outside of this hospital there was some streaks that vaguely resembled a painting of Mother Mary. ANd so people flocked by the bus load (litteraly) to come to pray to this window. Because it was a MIRACLE that mother mary had appeared in this window. You have got to kidding me!! they were all praying to a steak on a window that they believed was mother mary. ANyway, thats just the perfect example of the type of people that i am around all day. The want to believe that something is true SO BAD, that they make some steaks on a window to be mother mary. and then they pray to it. anyway, so i got a picture of the mother mary, and the hundreds of people there praying to a window. I just dont get how someone can say that some streaks on a window look like mother mary, and then all the sudden HUNDREDS of people flock. and we can go contacting all day, bringing the truth to people, and no one is interested. But EVERYONE wants to go see the "miracle". its just frustrating. ANd also shows me how blinded people are. anyway, but overall, things are really good. I even contacted a guy while we were there. Hahaha. And i gave him a restoration pamphlet. till next week
Elder Trotter

Anyway, the pictures are of mother mary in the window. The couple hundred people that were there to worship. The candles and the flowers that people brought to worship. and then janet in front of all the people. She thought it was so stupid that they worshipped a window.

Hey everyone-

This week was pretty good. We had a baptism. Her name is Janet and she is Philippino. She is way cool, and we have been teaching her for the past 2 months. So everything went quite well with her progression and everything. It was the first baptism this branch has had in over a year, and so we had to clean out the font pretty well! haha. so that was the reason that i attatched the picture of me sweeping it out. ANyway, also, i got pictures from my birthday a week or two ago. Yes, i got a monster which is awesome! i didnt even know that they had them in malaysia. I have never seen one. And so i freaked out when one of my fellow missionary friends bough one for me. It was way cool.

So we have been working hard. And its just now rainy season! so i got a picture of the rain. its pretty crazy every single day, we get wasted by the rain. its insane. I sometimes dont even wear regular shoes. I just go out in crocs. You kinda have to sometimes becuase your shoes just get destroyed. anyway, the rain has been pretty crazy. Also, i attached a picture of the chapel. That was the attendance that we had for the baptism!!! it was awesome. That was by far the most people i have ever had a baptism, or seen anyone else have. It was so great to have so many people there supporting janet. It was great. The members here are pretty good.....If only they wanted to help with the missionary work.....

So i also put in a picture of me eating dinner with some member. One of the pictures, the one that i am actually in, that is with some Iban members. Which is surpring becuase usually ibans are only in east malaysia. So that was cool that we got with some ibans that were here in west. It was nice becuase i got to feel, for a little bit, like i was back in east malaysia. ALso, the other picture was when i went and ate dinner with some pakistanis! it was seriously so good. and they were wayyyy awesome. i think it was probably the best food that i have had on my mission so far. no joke.

Anyway, things are pretty good, and the work is still going. and we are trying hard to find more and more people to teach. Anyway, until next week-
Elder Trotter

Hey its been a little bit since i wrote to everyone. But here is what is going on. Some events for this week.
1. We are moving apartments. We have been living very far from our area. So me and my companion Elder Adams  found a new apartmrnt to live in. It will make things much easier for us. and accelerate the work
2. We went to an activity called skytrex. i send some pictures. it was really cool. it was like a ropes course that was really high up, and it was a ton of fun.
3. Janet is progressing towards baptism!
So ya, the work has been pretty tough since i got to KL. But i havent stopped. Its definately wayyy different than my other areas. and the work is slower than i am used to. But still, i am working hard, and learning about myself and Gods works. But everything isnt all bad. I am having a lot of fun, and learning to just put my trust in the Lord and that he will progress the work. And on the other hand, Janet, is doing quite well. She is fellowshipped by all the members of the church, and will be getting baptised on November 10. it will be the first baptism my branch has seen in over a year! so things are going quite well. I feel like there is not a whole lot to say to everyone other than i am trying hard to find new people to teach, and its been tough. But i know that God never really gave a baptismal number that we needed to reach. so it will be fine. ALso, my grandparents are going on a mission to the Washington Tacoma mission which i think is so great!! im glad to have some fellow missionaries in my family! and i am glad that i have grandparents that are willing to serve. I might not see them for a while, but im sure they will be just fine. Anyway, hopefully some cool stuff happens this week so i have somethings to write about next week!
Love
Elder Trotter

hey everyone whats up?

its been a while since i wrote but things are all good. I am in my new area. Its in west malaysia. Its the big city of KL. and things arent going too bad. The work here is a lot harder, but im getting it figured out. So i am also training a new elder from the MTC. His name is Elder Adams. He is a way sick guy and we get along great. Me and him are sticking it out in the city, and making things happen. We have had a lot of new investigators and everything. Our area has a reputation of being the hardest area in the mission. It hasnt had a baptism for over a year now! And i guess thats why they sent me and Elder Adams here. So we could do work and get stuff done. Anyway, i have already been here for 3 weeks now.
So im still kinda freaking out about the whole new ages to go on missions. I feel like i am gonna go back to BYU when i get home and there will be NO GIRLSSSSSS when i get there. honestly, this is a legit concern of mine. haha. not only do i get screwed by a dear john a couple of months back....now there isnt even gonna be anyone to date when i get home!!! dang it. if only good ol' tom decided to do this AFTER i got home it would be all good.  But whatever. im sure ill manage.
So we have a really good investigator that we found our first week here. Her name is Janet. She is from the philipeans. Which is cool becuase i feel like i am teaching in tawau again. ANd she is progressing great. Im pretty sure shell be the first baptism that our branch has seen for a year. ya, i have also noticed that there are random connections here with the other places i have served in the past. Like there is a family here that is innactive that just moved here from tawau. and i knew them when i was in tawau. So we have been working with them. also, there are a TON of random connections like member's siblings and stuff like that from my other areas. if that makes any sense. anyway this week was pretty cool. We went to a place called Batu caves. It was infested with monkeys that love to steal stuff and eat bananas. but i got some cool pictures out of it.
By the way, i made those shorts as a joke for the shock factor. they were pretty funny. anyway, love to get some more emails from everyone soon! thanks!
Elder Trotter


and yes, those are 2 japanese girls that REALLY wanted to take a picture with me. haha.

so, this week we were riding on our bikes down the road like normal. and i happen to see a little snake from a pretty far distance. and my companion didnt. he just rode by it like it was nothing. but i saw it, and i veered away from it. and as i rode by it, i was kinda on the other side of the road. but as i rode by, it snapped at me as if to bite me. Luckily i had already veered away from it a bit. it didnt reach me or anything. But as that happened, i noticed that its head was fanned out quite a bit, of course, the unmistakeable look of a cobra. so i started freaking out pretty bad. haha. and i had to go back to the snake to get a picture of it for photographic evidence that i has truely been struck at by a cobra. so i went back. at first i took some pictures from about 30 ft away. but that wasnt good enough for me. I got up close to the thing. (now writing about it i feel really stupid) and i got about 8ish feet away from the thing to get the picture that i just sent you.
so. the next house we went to was an investigator tht is really smart. and he knows about all the outdoors and things. I showed him the picture on my camera and told him what had just happened. He told me i was really lucky that the cobra didnt spit at me becuase that cobra is a spitting cobra. and not only that, it was the type that was the black and white stripes. which is the worse kind. apparently i was really lucky. and come to find out, spitting cobras can spit venom in the eyes of a 6ft man from 8 feet away like it is nothing...
So, not a whole lotta time this week! but that was something cool that happened.
Also, we had a baptism. Her name is Marina, and she is super cool. She is the wife of member that has been innactive for a while. But we started to teach her, and she really helped her husband out to get acctive again! so things are great!! and shes a super cool recent convert already! and we are now busy teaching her family. her mom and her dad want to join the church. and her little sister is getting baptised later this month! is all good.
Until next week-
ELder Trotter
PS. thats a mazarati