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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Saya rasa bahasa kamu tidak bagus (In my opinion your Malay is not that good)

keluarga saya (My Family),

apa khabar (What new)? it was good to hear from everybody. especially michael. i haven't heard from tj or scott forever... i don't think i've gotten anything from tj since the mtc actually. but just so you know michael, i have been praying hard for you to find an eternal companion... so get out there and make things happen! i've heard that prayers of missionaries are powerful, so get crackin!

this last week was a bit humbling. after having an incredible week the week before, i think we got a little prideful and paid for it. we only had 5 investigators come to church. we were expecting around 30 to be there. but i think we (after having to be compelled to be humble) have bounced back and we've had some extremely powerful lessons with those who didn't come last week. all of them have committed to coming seratus peratus (100%). i'm absolutely positive that the lord has put us here to burn this place to the ground! (in a spiritual sense) and if we can stay humble and just do his work, we will.

so in answer to your questions:

1. (Berapa saya behasa melayu?) yeah, you're malay, i would say, has some room for improvement. the correct phrasing of that sentence would be "macam mana bahasa melayu saya?" (Do you like my Malay language?) berapa means 'how much' and you most of the rules in malay are backwards of what they are in english. for instance, in english, you would say,"how is MY bahasa?" but in malay, 'MY' (saya) always goes after the word if you want to make it possessive- "ini komputer saya" (this is my computer)

2. (Just checking on my understanding of a phrase: apa freak ini, what the freak? Do they actually say this in Malaysia or is this a Malay/English missionary thing?) if you were to say "apa freak ini?!" to a native, they wouldn't understand. it's just a missionary thing. i think elder semana made it up.

3. (Let us know when packages arrive.) elder watkins brought me home a package from the mission office not to long ago, so i got that one. i will let you know when i get the other ones.

4. (How is the language coming?) saya boleh tahan, tapi saya belum pandai (I am able to endure, tapi(?) I am not yet intelligent). that means, it's coming along. i can teach just fine, because once you get into a teaching situation you're blessed with the gift of tongues. i can teach really pretty much anything without much difficulty, but i still have a bit of trouble understanding what people say... mostly because i still don't understand iban. i can only say a couple of phrases in iban- "aku enda namu jako iban" that means "i don't know iban." it's alright though, because everybody understands malay. i haven't dreamt at all in malay yet, i don't think, but i sometimes think in malay, which is a good sign.

5. (Any funny language stories?) too many to count. i usually slaughter at least one word a day.

6. (Do you know where you will be calling from for Christmas?) i'll most likely just call from our house. the number is (084)310-294. no, it's not missing a number, that's all of them. yeah, i didn't understand your instructions and i don't want to read them again for fear of getting a migraine, so if you can diagram it out in an easier manner, that would be great ;)

7. (Have you heard about the terrorist attacks in India?) i haven't heard anything about any terrorist attacks, but i did meet a couple pakistani guys (its crazy to find them in east malaysia) who professed to be part of alquida (i don't know how to spell it). that's no good, because the hindu's in west malaysia already hate the muslims. about 20 or so years ago there was a lot of fighting between the two and quite a few people ended up dying. there aren't any indians here though, so i don't know.

that's just about it. i don't know if i already told you this, but elder watkins got bit by a monkey the other day and had to go get checked out for rabies! hahaha! i freaking love malaysia!

love,elder troxel

ps, zone conference is next week, but it's on thursday so don't be surprised when you don't have and email from me on wednesday. just be patient :)

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