Pics for last blog

My Internet keeps going off and on--I didn't get to post pictures.  Here goes...

Sorry, but I can't.  It saysthat I have used my quota and must purchase more space.  Maybe later--Okay?

BORING WEEK

Dad and I have had one of the most uneventful weeks of our mission so far.  Our computer Internet Service went out last Sunday evening just as I finished typing the weekly blog.  Two technician visits, three visits to TM downtown, and several phone calls later, we had service for ONE DAY!!  It went out again.  After a few call again yesterday(Friday), we had service for ONE HOUR today.  It went out again--this time I just waited for a few hours and we're up and running!  I figure that I had better write a few words while it 's operating! For YSA on Monday at FHE, we sort of kicked off our Job Seminars/Educational Opportunities for our group.  Kate and Dad talked about preparing of jobs and interviews.  Kate has a friend(Muslim) who gives great motivational seminars for improving oneself.  Hopefully he will do this for free for us.  He does it for the government.  Also, Sis. Audrey works at  one of the small Universities downtown and is going to talk to them about free educational courses to help them.  This group needs to learn of better opportunities than KFC or McDonald's. Tuesday we had a great Branch Presidency meeting, along with Relief S ociety and Elder's Quorum presidents.  We started reorganizing the home teaching and visiting teaching.  Your Dad wants them to start with only 10 names and we add 10 new names every 2 weeks. Pres. Clark(Mission Pres.) wants them to start with the New Converts first, Active Members second, and Less Active third.  Hopefully this will help with the retention and sacrament attendance. Friday, I was sick.  I just didn't feel good.  I slept most of the day--which I do when I run a fever.  Today I feel good.  We met at the church at 7:45 am to do our Adopt-A-Highway.  We had to postpone it because of rain.  It  rained most of the morning.  Some of us decided to go to breakfast at Gunther's-advertised as a German Buffett.  Welllllll, they had noodles, rice, mushroom soup, hotdogs, and your typical Malaysian fair for breakfast.  Dad was so disappointed.  Last night we ate out also, because I didn't feel like fixing anything.  We went to the Upperstarr Bar and Grill in Damai.  It was yummy European foods.  We loved it. I didn't take any pictures this week, but I will share a few that I have from other times.....		draft		3/25/11	by Larson Family	Delete
	Edit		Valentine's Ball

Visit to Sembulon

The Saturday after we returned from Budok Bui, our branch Relief Society had our monthly meeting.  In conjunction with the YW, we went to Sembulon.  That is an area downtown KK where there is a home for abandoned and challenged children.  Sis. Lowe, a sister missionary serving in Miri, was still visiting with us; so she and I went with the Relief Society to make our visit.  Sis Lowe has her driver's license and knows how to drive here in Malaysia.  She drove our car.  Dad stayed home with her companion, Sis. Clark.  Sis. Clark is the Mission President's Mom.  She is amazing!  She is 85 years young!  She is serving her 6th mission!  She went to Singapore last month for a visa run and ended up in the hospital for surgery.  She recuperated with her son for 10 days while there.  She then came back to Miri for a few days before heading out to the temple in Manila with a family to be sealed in the temple.  That's why she and Sis. Lowe were here with us.  They had a layover in KK, so decided to spend a few extra days here and see KK.  We so enjoyed having them.  I will admit that I was concerned for her health.  I just prayed that nothing bad happened while she was here.  Not to worry--she is an amazing woman.  She reminds me of the strength that my Mom had.  Oh, I forgot to tell you that when she got back to Miri from her surgery in Singapore, she tumbled down a flight of stairs in her apartment.  She had no broken bones, just some bad bruises.  She rested while they were here.  She is a dedicated missionary sister.  She taught me how to really study the scriptures.
Anyway Sister Lowe and I went downtown Saturday afternoon.  We went to the handicraft markets and shopped and looked a lot.  I bought some sea water pearls--earrings for all you girls and a couple of necklaces.  Sis. Lowe helped me decide if they were genuine.  We also bought some fabrics.  Beautiful colors.  That reminds me of a sticker that I saw on the back of a car coming home from church today.  It said that "Jesus brings color to my life".  How true.
We met up with Kate and followed her to Sembulon.  A very touching experience, especially for the YW.  Here are a few pics---

This is our group with some of the "angels" who work there.  All of the children in this picture have been abandoned by their families.  There are other children who attend this facility during the week but do go home to family on the weekends.

This is Kolinting, Sebastian's Mother, holding a little boy who was left at the doors of a mosque and when he was found, he had ants all in his eyes and mouth.  He just loves being held!  Kolinting has 7 grown children and  held this little boy almost the whole time we were there.  The little girl beside her has cerebal palsey.  She cannot walk.

These are some of our YW.  They were so great with these children, they sang, talked, and played with the children.

This is Sis. Lowe and me with the children..The young boy in the red chair is autistic.  I wish I had a pic of a little boy who was very mobile and all over the place.  Every time he came by Sis. Lowe, he spit on her--no one else, just her! Sis Lowe is a widow from Salt Lake.  This is her 2nd mission.  She is the most energetic person I know.  As Sis. Clark says, "She is a doer of the word, and not just a hearer".  She just jumps right in and makes things happen.  I am glad that I met her and can now call her my friend.  She has 6 children with 5 married--just like us.  She has a 35 year old son in Salt Lake who isn't married.  She was very interested in our Kellie!!  Don't worry, Kellie, I didn't do anything!

This is pic of some of supplies that R. Society gave to the home--snacks, drinks, pampers, used clothing for kids, etc.
One of their patients is 47 years old.  Her parents had her until she was 9 years old and her Mom died.  The dad brought her to the home because he could no longer take care of her and work.  She is now 47.  She is totally bedridden and almost immobile.  She looks like she may be 18 years old.
All of the children were very clean and very well taken care of.  I asked the head nurse if Humanitarian Services could help with equipment.  She says that they would love a whirlpool tub for exercising,  but it is beyond our Area Budget.  It would not qualify for a Major Initiative in our work.

Today was District Conference and it was a great weekend of meetings.  We also had Zone Conference on Friday.  Sisters Clark and Lowe got back from the temple on Friday and went out to dinner with us and all of the Senior Missionary Couples.  So nice!!
I'll go now. and get ready for another wonderful week in East Malaysia.

We have been asked by the mission Pes. to prepare a vidio of our KK branch council meeting as a tool to teach the other branches in Malaysia. Just 10 minutes covering the topic "how can we improve Sacrament attendance,spirituality and feel the spirit in our meetings". We are in the process of preparing the questions to be discussed and the area presidency feel tha our branch is the strongest and most capable of doing this. We are excited and especially the auxilliary heads, to know they will become vidio stars!

We go to Singapore the last of the month to renew our visas and then will be planning 2-3 trips to followup on our projects.

We think of all of you often but also realize that the other couples as well as the regular missionaries left their families behind to serve here. We have full faith that Heavenly Father will watch over and provide for each of you and your families, much better than we could. Thanks for all of your prayers in our behalf and the blog and pictures you send make our week!

Love:

Mom & Dad

BUDOK BUI !!!!

It has been 2 weeks since I wrote on the blog.  There's a good reason for this.  The first week nothing much happened.  We had Kate and the sister missionaries over on Wednesday night after our meeting at church.  They had not eaten, so we fed them and laughed until 10pm.  It was good for us all.  Kate has been having a difficult time.  She and her husband have separated.  It's been a long time coming, but is nevertheless sad when it happens.  We try to be supportive and help any way that we can.
After church on Sunday 2 weeks ago, we were picked up by our Rotary Club friends, Patrick and Ann Pannai.  They then drove us to the town of Lawas.  They are a delightful retired couple.  They have been married for 42 years.  Ann is Chinese and Patrick is a native of the Interior here in East Malaysia.  He comes from the villlage of Budok Bui.  They were school teachers most of their adult lives.  His Rotary Club is our partner for a major fresh water project.  This project involves 3 major areas--Sandakan(Eastern Borneo), Tawau(central Borneo), and Bakelalan(area in the interior where Patrick was reared).
We had to drive to Lawas because there was no flights from KK to Lawas where we had to get a plane into Bakelalan.  The trip to Lawas is a 3 hour trip--took us 7!!!  We had to stop so many times to eat or buy supplies for the Pannais to take to the village.  Our driver for the trip was Lee Wei--he stopped so many times to buy from the roadside stands.

This is Dad, Patrick, Lee Wei, and Ann.  Ann wanted some chinese dumplings--really yummy!  Next we stopped for supplies--bread, toilet paper, honey, etc.

This is the sun setting in the beautiful little village of Sipitang along the coast where we ate dinner.  It was so beautiful!

Patrick and Ann's friend, Evelyn, and her family joined us for dinner in this outdoor eatery on the waterfront in Sipitang.  We ate beef and chicken satay,vegetables, noodles, and fried bananas( to die for!).  After dinner, we were on our way again.  We finally reached Lawas to spend the night after 7 hours on the road We were so tired.  We stayed in a new hotel--the last time I washed my hair for 3 days!!

This is us checking in at the airport in Lawas.  They weigh people and their luggage at the same time!  Most people just have boxes as luggage.  There is no scanning--they really don't care what you carry on the plane.

This is the airport in Bakelalan.

This is the luggage handler bringing the luggage from the plane.  Yep--that's right-a wheelbarrow!!

This is the toilet at the airport.  I'm not kidding!!!  It's a squatter-open to all!!

This is  our transport from Bakelalan to Budok Bui.  Our driver's name was Martin and there was only room for him and Ann up front. Patrick, Dad, and I rode in the back for the 1-hr ride to the village.  We held onto the roll bar in the back.  They are bringing a bench for ann to get in the cab of the truck.   It was tyhe scariest ride I've ever had.  It beats anything that I ever rode in as a teenager in Brunswick County.  Wiley Hewett was never this scary!!!

Getting in the truck to go.  If I only had known what was ahead!

We made it!!!  We arrived in Budok Bui.  Martin is awesome!!  This is where we stayed for 3 days.  Our hosts were Liaw and Beslik, friends of Ann and Patrick.  Patrick and Liaw grew up together in Budok Bui.  Beslik is Liaw's second wife and they have no children together.  He has 5 children from his first wife who died.  All of his children have college degrees.  One is a doctor.  None of them live in the village, but they come home to visit.  He has 10 grandchildren.  Beslik is a good wife and so very nice.  She had tears in her eyes when we left.

This is Beslik in her kitchen where we ate our meals.  She has on the red pants and orange shirt.  Every morning we were there 3 or 4 women would arrive at 5 in the morning to prepare breakfast with her, then at lunch 3 or 4 different weomen would arrive with goods and help her fix lunch, then the same at dinner.  The men hunted every day and feed us wild boar, deer, and chickens.  We also had vegetables(never knew what they were), and fruits.  Beslik went out one morning up in the mountains to get bananas to fry because she heard that we liked fried bananas.  She had never made them before.  Liaw spent one morning trying to find a fresh pineapple.  He said that they are difficult to find because the monkeys always get them before the villagers can.  He found a small one--the best I have ever eaten.
The women sit on a mat in front of the fireplace to prepare the food and then cook it on the open fire.  They laugh, talk, and sing--very happy.  There is a drying rack higher up, where they dry meats and vegetables.  They cook rice for every meal prepared in about 10 different ways.  Every house has at least one rice paddy field.  They have water buffalo--how many you have tells how wealthy you are!
The women would not eat with us--only the men.  That is their custom.

This is Liaw's rice that he harvested.  Dad counted 120 bags!  He has not been able to get it to market because of the bad roads and the rainy season.

This is the meeting that was held at Liaw's house where 42 villagers came to discuss the water project and decide if they will do the work on the fresh water project and agree to maintain it when finished.  After Dad explained what we will do and what they are to do, the village chief signed the agreement.  They are excited to have good water come to their homes!  They have electricity already.  Patrick got the government to help them build a micro hydroelectric dam with a small generator.

The man in the purple shirt on the right is Liaw.  So nice.  He walked for 1 1/2 hours(one way) to Bakelalan to buy batteries for my camera one day!  I did not know that he had gone.  Someone sold him bad batteries.  I felt soooo bad.  The door in the middle was to mine and Dad's bedroom.  We had a mat on the floor with mosquito netting over it.  We were very comfortable in the cool mountain breezes.  The bathrooms had squatter holes, no sinks, and a 55 gal drum with slow drip water and a big dipper in the drum.  You wet yourself down, wash off, the rinse yourself with the dipper and water!!  Interesting!! 
When we were ready to leave, the villagers all came to say goodbye and each gave us a small bag of rice!  Dad and I were very touched.  We wish that you were there to meet these wonderful, happy people.
On the way back to Bakelalan, Martin's truck broke down.  Luckily, a villager in the next village brought his truck and took us the rest of the way.  We spent the night in The Apple Lodge  across from the airport.  We had a actual bathroom in our bedroom!  I got to wash my hair!!  /We took a stroll around the village with Patrick.

Dad and me in front of some rice paddy fields.

Village school children.

The next day as we were preparing to leave, the local band and native dancers arrived to welcome some diginataries who were coming in on the plane.  Notice the musical instruments--all made of bamboo!!  As they were posing for a group picture, they wanted the "white woman" (that's me) to be in the picture with them!!  So fun!!
This was a heartwarming, humbling experience for Elder Larson and me.  We loved it and love sharing it with you.   Lots of love to you,  MOM and DAD

BUDOK BUI!!!

I have not written a blog in 2 weeks simply because I usually write on Sunday evening or Mondays.  Sunday before last we left immediately after sacrament to go on a trip to the Interior.  We arrived home last Thursday evening, did laundry, and prepared the apartment on Friday for visitors from Miri( a small town near Brunei).  They just left this morning(Monday) for the Phillipines.
Week before last was a very uneventful week for us anyway.  Nothing much exciting to show or tell.  Wednesday of that week, Kate and the sister missionaries came over on the spur of the moment and stayed about 3 hours with us.  I fixed them dinner and we just laughed and talked.  Kate and her husband are now separated.  She is having a very difficult time in her life.  It is not something that happened suddenly, but has been coming for a long time.  They have led 2 different lives for a long time.  We are just simply trying to help, love, and support her.  The bubbly sister missionaries help her also.
After sacrament meeting Sunday before last, we were picked up by our Rotary Club friends, Patrick and Ann Pannai from Kuching.  They are just simply delightful.  Ann is Chinese and Patrick is a native from the Interior--the village of Budok Bui.  They have been married for 42 years.  They are retired school teachers.  We are partnering with them in a huge fresh water project.  This project has 3 different sites.  One in Sandakan on the other side of the island of Borneo, one near Tawau where we have been before, and this area where Patrick comes from.  This area is called Bakelalan.  We had to go to the town of Lawas and from there take a small plane into the Interior.  There is not a plane from KK to Lawas except for 2 days, hence the trip with Patrick and Ann on Sunday. 
They picked us up here in our apartment soon after we got home from church.  We went downtown KK to pick up our driver, Lee Wei.  The drive is suppose to take 3 hours to Lawas, but took us 7!!!!  We stopped at every few stands along the highway to have a drink, to have a snack, to buy dried fish, to meet friends along the way and have dinner, etc.  This is the Malay Way as we like to say.  Here are some pictures of our trip to Lawas.

This is one stop along the way.  Dad, Patrick, Lee Wei, and Ann.  Ann had to have a Chinese dumpling when we stopped here.  They are yummy!
Next we had to stop for Patrick to buy some thing to take to the village that they do not have--bread, honey, peanut butter, toilet paper, etc.

This is a picture that Dad took of sunset on Sunday afternoon in a little fishing village called Sipitang.  It was almost indescribably beautiful!!  We had dinner here on the waterfront and were joined by some of Patrick and Ann's friends.  Their friend Evelyn treated us to dinner.  Her husband is a politician in Lawas.

This is Ann, Evelyn, Patrick, and me.  We had beef and chicken satay, fried bananas, noodles, and vegetables.  So goooooooood!
We finally reached Lawas at about 8:30 pm.  We stayed at a new small hotel there.  It was my last real shower for 3 days!  The next morning we went to the airport in Lawas to fly into the Interior--that's almost the only way to get to Bakelalan in the rainy season.

This is the airport in Lawas--not only do they weigh your luggage, but they weigh you!!  The plane seats 18 people and all of their rice and boxes(luggage).  The pilots fly by just looking at the villages!!  We made it safe and sound to Bakelalan!

This is the airport in Bakelalan as our plane landed.

This is the luggage carrier bring the luggage from the plane!!

This is our transportation to Budok Bui!!  They are bring a bench for Ann to get into the truck. Our driver was a young man named Martin who makes a living transporting people to and from the airport to the villages.  Dad , Patrick and I rode in the back and held onto the roll bar!!!!  WHAT A RIDE!!!!

Helping me get in the truck for the scariest, hairyest ride of my life!  Even some of my ride as a teenager in Brunswick County with Wiley Hewett were nothing compared to this!!

WE MADE IT.  WE ARE IN BUDOK BUI!!!
I could not believe it.  We stayed in the home a a retired couple who are childhood friends of Patrick.  The couple are Liaw and Beslik.  They are nnatives and have lived in this village all of their lives!  She is his second wife.  He has 5 children who are all college educated and no longer live there, but do come to visit.  They built their own home with materials from their village.  The do their own construction and work very hard to live.  They help each other.  They now have electricity supplied by a micro generator that the government supplied and they set up.  We are going to bring fresh water to them and 3 other surrounding villages.  It will be gravity fed from the surrounding mountains.  We went on this trip to get the village chiefs (they have 2) to agree to this project and sign the agreement to do the work.  They formed a water committee and are excited to have water in their homes.  The home we stayed has some water from a stream piped to their house but they have to boil it for comsumption.

This is Beslik's kitchen where we ate.  Beslik is the lady in the red pants and orange shirt.  She was so very nice!  They cook with wood over an open fire.  Every day we were there 3 or 4 women would come early in the morning to help her fix breakfast.  Then at lunch time, 3 or 4 different women would come to prepare lunch, and 3 or 4 at dinner!!  They killed wild boar, wild deer for us to eat while there.  They women who came to help prepare food always brought live chickens with them to kill and eat!  They brought vegetables from their gardens.  Beslik picked us fresh bananas and even made fried bananas one night.  She had never made them before!  Someone told her that we liked the and she walked up the mountain to pick some and fix some!
The womwn sit on the strawmat in front of the fireplace and prepare the food, laugh, and talk.  One afternoon  Liaw went to find us some pineapple.  He came back with one that was the best I have ever eaten.  They are hard to find because the monkeys eat them!

This is Liaw's rice that he hasn't been able to get to market because of the rainy season.  Dad counteed 120 bags.

These are som of the 42 villagers who came to the meeting to agree to do the water project.  The is the oldest head chief signing the agreement with the church--that the will do the work and maintain the system and that the church will supply the equipment and pay for it!

The second man from the left (in the purple shirt) is Liaw--our host.  He is a very, very nice man!
The weather was cool at njight and pleasant during the day, as we were in the mountains, on the Indoeisian border. We slept in a second story room on a comfortable floor mattress, with mosquito netting.

Our trip back to the airport was eventful as the trucks universal joint broke, but as luck would have it, it did so near another house and they yelled down and a man brought his truck and took us the remainder of the way. The road was worse due to a heavy 4 hour rain durihg the night but somehow we made it through. We spend the night at a small lodge, as our flight left the next morning at 9:00, and we did not want to stay in the village and have the road impassable. We would have had to wait another 3 days for the next plane.

We made it home, and really enjoyed the experience doing things one can only dream of. The local villagers came and gave us bag after bag of their rice and a bag of the salt that they had made. We can only imagine what they will try to do for us once the project is finhished and we go back for the turn over and closinhg cereamony. We will never forget---oh how I wish we could have had you there!

Mom wanted to share how our bathroom was at the home. There was no toilet,only a squatting hole and water was in a 55 gallon drum with a dipper for bathing. The dipper was used to pour the coldest water in the world over you and then you bathed and poured cold water over your head to rinse off.

This is Mom again.  I also want to show you a pic of the bathroomat the airport in Bakelalan--I'll have to do this some other time as I can't seem to browse anymore.

Testing the Blog/Pictures

This is a test of the "Emergency Blogcast System." This is only a test.

 These are pictures of Jacob from 2005. Mom, I'll check and see if I can figure out your lost posts. You can also email you pictures to me, and I can attach them to your posts. 


Love ya!

Park City Fun

Thanks to Uncle Andy, we scored an awesome room/suite at the Hyatt Escala Lodge in Park City. We/Jenny had originally planned on going to St. George for the last weekend  getaway before my every weekend work schedule began. However, Marty had a major client come out of the woodwork one week prior to the scheduled vacay. He busted his rump for this client, and wouldn't be able to leave for the vacation until Friday afternoon. I needed to be home Sunday evening for a CPR class Monday morning, not to mention Jacob needing to get back to school Monday. 

Marty came up with the Park City idea at the 11th hour. I was quite impressed. Marty doesn't like spending money on hotels within the state of Utah. Why pay for a bed when we have several at home?

We had to convince Jacob that Park City would be as much fun. After a few minutes of discussion and persuasion, he was all game. Ben just likes going anywhere. 

Our suite had 2 bedrooms, a family room, a full kitchen, a kitchenette, a w/d, 2 bathrooms, 2 fireplaces, and 3 flat screen TVs. There was a heated outdoor pool and 2 hot tubs. The ski lifts (which we did not use) were right outside the front door. The fire pit (which we did use) was right next to the ski lifts. Much food and fun was had by all. It's not hard entertaining a six and a three year old; they were just happy to swim and splash in the hot tub. Fine with me. Marty enjoyed catching up on his TLC shows "48 Hours." Here are some pictures (a lot) of the room and my wonderful family. I sure do love my boys!