Week #10: Ipoh, West Malaysia September 13, 2016 - September 19, 2016

I've made it to Singapore! I traveled in a group of 9 elders, and I was a lone sister. After 18 long hours on a plane, we landed in Singapore, and I got motion sickness. It was a great

Sister Vranes with the Mission President,
President Stephens, and Sister Stephens

way to start off the mission in the field. Not. The first place we ate in Singapore was as native as you can get...Burger King! In Singapore, we met up with a sister who is from Malaysia going to the Salt Lake City mission (Bountiful is also included). She's just waiting for her visa to the U.S., so until then, she's serving in East Malaysia. Her name is Sister Latchamanan (I think that is how you spell it). I also saw Sister Emma Toone in Singapore! I went to high school with her. She was previously in Ipoh, and was just tranferred to Singapore. It was great to see a familiar face my first day! The next day, we found out our new companions and left to our new areas. There was a Sister Peterson and Sister Montague who are Malay speaking and Mandarin speaking, respectively. We met them our first day in Singapore, and they had switched tags to try to keep us guessing who were our companions. Sister Toone told me about Sister Montague and what she looked like, so the surprise for me was ruined. It was funny to see Sister Latchamanan's reaction though. 

Sister Vranes and her companion Sister Montague

My first area is obviously Ipoh, which is in West Malaysia. My companion is Sister Montague from Arizona. She's pretty awesome. They decorate the covers of their planners, to "waterproof" them, and she made an awesome one with a baby. There's a whole new language they speak here, and especially between the missionaries. They talk about babies and mamas (newbies and trainers), and people dying (or people who have just finished their mission). I was so confused. The culture here is so different, but I love the people! There are mostly Malaysians (Muslims), Chinese, and Indians. They are all so kind and friendly. I expected to be speaking Mandarin, but the area I am in is mostly English, so all of the lessons are in English. My companion and I still use Mandarin whenever we are together. 

Carrying lanterns for Autumn Moon Festival

In Ipoh, there are only 6 missionaries--2 elders and 4 sisters. The sisters all live together. The members here are awesome! They get super involved in helping out with the missionaries, and they sure don't let us starve. My first day here, we were able to go to a
member's house and celebrate the Moon Festival. This was my first legit moon festival, and it was fantastic! We ate moon cakes, had authentic Chinese food, and carried lanterns down the street.

So far, we've got 2 investigators. When we invited one of our investigators to relief society, she gave us a referral in front of our faces by asking her co-worker to come with her family. They both came, had their two daughters, and two 3-5 year old sons. We painted water colors and it was super fun! On my first day contacting, we were able to get 5 new potential investigators. Here, the average is 3, or so. It's very hard around here. 

Celebrating the Autumn Moon Festival

Sunday, I met the members and they are all awesome. They are mostly Indian and Chinese. Their conversion stories are amazing! They are also hilarious! I was given the opportunity to introduce myself and bear my testimony. Half of the members can't pronounce my name, they think I speak funny, ask if I'm Korean because of my face, and they almost die when they find out I am vegetarian. They feed us so much, and keep telling me I'll only last a month out here until I change my ways. Anyway, as for a spiritual thought, keep sharing your testimonies. It helps a ton. Also, I know that God answers prayers. If you have a sincere heart, He will listen and He will bless you. He has answered so many while I've been out here. I've seen His blessings in keeping us safe, especially while biking, and while trying to find people to do His work. God hears your prayers as well, and He wants to bless you.

This mission is quite unique in so many ways. We've got 3 areas in West  Malaysia, 3 areas in East Malaysia, and Singapore. There are 3 languages the missionaries speak, and we're flying all the time, at least every 90 days. We wake up at 7 instead of 6:30, and go to bed at 11, instead of 10:30. For safety, we still go back to our condos by 9:30. It's pretty hard to trying to proselyte, and numbers aren't very high. It's also difficult to get baptisms, and then to have them stay in the church. The ward is so small, there is only one in Ipoh, so it's a branch. There are 70 or so members who solidly come every week. There are a lot of Muslims around here, and we can't proselyte to them if they are from Malaysia, only if they are from Singapore. In Malaysia we bike, in Singapore they take public transport. So I am going to have awesome thighs when I get back :) There's a lot of other things I am still learning about this mission. It's very hot, humid, and tiring, but I love the work out here! I love you all! Take care!

Ipoh, Malaysia

Week #9: MTC - September 8, 2016 - September 12, 2016

The zone sisters

It's finally happening!! Today, Monday, September 12, 2016, is finally my last day in the MTC!! It's so easy to forget there is a real world out there, but it's finally time. This morning, I sent my companion off to New York. This week has been crazy and amazing, bonding with the sisters in our district, and the other district that came in with us. After 9 weeks, it's definitely hard to say goodbye to all of these amazing missionaries.

For the last two devotionals, we were blessed to have Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Russell M. Ballard speak to us. They were both inspiring and spoke about missionary work. I had never really thought about the reason missionaries teach repentance as their main purpose. It was all put into perspective at one of the devotionals. Missionaries teach repentance, because it means we are testifying of Christ. In order to repent, a person must use the atonement, which was performed and could  only could be performed through Christ. Repentance changes people, which brings about all other aspects of missionary work such as faith, baptism, and enduring to the end. This all leads to eternal life, and IS the gospel of Jesus Christ. "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ..." (2 Nephi 25:26)

In our class, we have learned and discussed a lot about the 5 main motivations for doing something: 1) Duty, 2) Revenge, 3) Fear, 4) Reward (Blessings), 5) Love. Out of all of them, love is the only one that will never fail. We learn in the church to have charity, which is "the pure love of Christ"(Moroni 7:47). We also learn, however, that "charity never faileth" (Moroni 7: 46). I promise you that if you do anything out of love, you will have what it takes to endure until the end. Also, from class, my testimony has grown immensely about the power of a simple testimony. Every day for the past week, we have had the opportunity to share our testimonies to our districts and to the other districts in our zone (and even some in the other zone). I know that simply saying what you truly believe in your heart and in your mind brings the spirit of God so strongly, and strengthens the faith of the individual saying it.

Here's some of my testimony:

I know this gospel is true. I have a true love for it and for my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. This gospel has brought tremendous joy to my life. Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, created specifically to our needs and for our happiness. His plan is called the Plan of Salvation and the Great Plan of Happiness. I know that He provided a way for me to find my family in a way only He could do, and He has provided a way for us to live together forever, even after death. I know that this gospel will bring so much happiness to everyone else's life. I know He wants each of His children to return to Him. I have a great love for this gospel and for the brothers and sisters I have in Singapore and Malaysia. I know He will help each of them return to Him. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Week #8: MTC September 1, 2016 - September 7, 2016

This week at the MTC, we've been having bat problems! In the sister residence halls, the upper levels 3 and 4 had to move out due to bats found in some rooms. It was officially the 4^th or 5^th time in a short while of having bats. At first

Sister Chambers cave fortress against the bats. 

we weren't affected, because we were on the second level. The other sisters had to move to a residence hall that previously had elders, who were reassigned residence halls for this reason. To say the least, they smell like elders, the bathrooms have urinals and only some of them had doors on the stalls...Anyway, on Friday night, my roommates heard flapping in the vents! We were eventually evacuated the next day, and moved to the other sister residence on the MTC campus. It's a smaller building, but there is more space and there are only 4 sisters to a room rather than 6. Thankfully, I still have the same roommates. The elders were awesome and half of our zone helped us move out. To catch bats, you would think you would have a squad of four people or more with some gear trying to catch them. That is not the case. The elders were at devotional early, because Elder Kwok was getting ready to play a cello musical number, when a bat flew in. Instead of a squad, there was one person, about 70 years old, trying to catch the bat with a butterfly net. To say the least, this past week has a bit busy and entertaining.

Sister Vranes and her district getting their flight plans.

This Friday, I finally got my flight plans. I officially leave this Monday! I can't believe how fast the MTC experience has gone. The elders told us they did the math and by the time we leave, as a sister at least, we will have already completed 11% of our mission! What?! Anyway, I've got quite a distance to get to Singapore, because I don't even arrive there until Wednesday. I'm going from Salt Lake Airport, to LAX, to Hong Kong, to Singapore (finally)! It's super exciting, nerve wracking, and everything else at the same time.

This week for Tuesday devotional, Chad Lewis and his wife came. Chad Lewis went to the Taiwan, Taichung mission, speaks mandarin, and played football (he helped the Pittsburgh Eagles go to the Super Bowl). He was so very inspiring, and got us all pumped us ad mandarin speakers on our

Study materials I have to take to Singapore/Malaysia.

missions. He had an elder from the other zone whose dad he knew, and had him share his testimony in Mandarin. It was cool to understand the elder's whole testimony and powerful to hear him share that simple message over the stand. He told of the many time he had the opportunity to share the gospel, especially in his football career. Just hearing him talk, I could tell that his whole demeanor and the way he treated others, always testified of Christ. That is the light we all have, and the duty we all have to share it. Let your light shine through so that others may recongnize God.

On Sunday, Elder D. Todd Christofferson and his wife, Katherine Christofferson, visited. Elder Christofferson spoke of repentance as a turning to God. He also spoke of the importance of why we are sharing the message of repentance--when we share the message of repentance, we are testifiying that there is a Savior; we are testifying of Christ. His talk put a whole new perspective on our call as missionaries, and gave a lot of confidence. Sister Christofferson's talk was inspiring. She shared a story of a missionary in Russia

The two districts that are leaving the MTC on Monday.

who lost her luggage, after a week of not having found it, she wanted to go home. The mission president's wife put it so simply. There are two people who are vying for your attention: God and Satan. Who wants you to succeed? God. Who wants you to fail? Satan. Who do you want to win this war?

Week #7: MTC August 25, 2016 - August 31, 2016

A list of languages taught in the MTC

This week has been quite eventful. We have two teachers, Brother Lee and Sister Hendricks. Both of them served in Taipei, Taiwan. They also had their birthdays this week. One on Thursday, and one on Tuesday. They were both surprised that we knew, but it was lots of fun to celebrate. Then they switched up the teachers, and we got Brother Wadsworth and kept Sister Hendricks. Turns out Brother Wadsworth served in Singapore. It was really cool to learn more about our mission, and he has an authentic Beijing accent. He said that we come in contact with all kinds of Mandarin accents. He also knows some Malay and that was very exciting.

This week we also got 5 new sisters. They are all going to Taichung, Taiwan. However, 3 of the new elders are going to Singapore. While waiting for Sunday Devotional, we met an Elder Christiansen, who is Malay speaking, leaving for Singapore the same day I will. It's been fun to see him around the MTC all the time now. It's been pretty exciting because I've been finding quite a few missionaries from China and Taiwan. I'm impressed by how fast the gospel is spreading. The elders in my district have officially lost it (of course, that's what 8 weeks in the MTC does to you). Elder Barlow started a tortilla eating contest. They roll up a tortilla like a cinnamon roll and eat it in one bite, trying to see who can choke it down the fastest. They are always up to so many different antics. In our classroom, they hung up Singapore and Malaysian flags. That was a pretty awesome surprise! 

Sister Vranes and her district

This Sunday, I ended up giving the talk for sacrament meeting. Like I said before, they choose a sister and elder each week randomly to give a 5 minute talk in Mandarin. Unfortunately, I knew it was going to be me. There are 4 sisters that came in at the same time I did, me included, and I was the only option left to give a talk. My companion was giving the prayer, and the other two sisters are the Sister Training Leaders (whom the presidency never picks while they have that calling). That left me. Luckily, it went well. My district had the idea to try reverse psychology and all of us sat on the front row. Obviously it didn't work because Elder Barlow and Elder Kwok were called to give the sacrament prayer, Sister Nelson gave the opening prayer, Elder Johnson and I were called to give talks. Our district fully participated, except Elder Gould. 

On p-days we are allowed to go to the temple. Our teacher, Brother Lee, is half asian, and gave us a few of his family names from his asian-side. It was cool to do the work for his Taiwanese ancestry! Previously, in a Chinese class, I had learned that the wife does not take on the husband's name when she marries. I was all like, "Yeah! Power to the woman!" Here, I learned that in history, the husband's name would only be recorded. The wife would then be forgotten and is known as "wife of [husband's name]". So the first name was actually the whole name

My view every morning that I run

provided on the sheet. It was a fun and spiritually powerful experience to do such a thing. Hopefully one day, I could find a link to my Chinese ancestry. Ooo, turns out one of the new sisters is adopted from China as well. She was 18 months old (the same age as Sarah)! Another one of the new sisters has 2 sisters adopted from China (both from different parts...I think...)

This past week, all of the devotionals have been about the worth of souls and the impact one can make in someone else's life. In D&C 18:10, it reads, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" Like a loving parent, Heavenly Father loves all of his children. He knows every child, and blesses each, one by one. The people in our lives are put there for a reason. In the end, it is to learn love, unconditionally. Whether we know it or not, the small actions we do will tremendously affect the lives of many, and sometimes, even generations. These actions may be bold and grand, or they may be small, such as flashing a smile. They may be to our closest friend or family member, or they may be to a complete stranger. Whatever it is, you make a difference. Be bold, be confident, and learn to love!

Sisters Chambers, Vranes, Pruitt, and
 Nelson pointing to their missions.

Week #6: MTC August 18, 2016 - August 24, 2016

Sister Vranes and the sisters in her zone

This week for member TRC, we were able to teach a couple from Malaysia. It was very exciting and cool to learn more about that culture. Speaking to them was a bit more difficult, since they transitioned from English to Mandarin to Malaysian all in one sentence. It was a bit intimidating to know that this is what it will most likely be like in Malaysia and Singapore. I'm beyond excited to meet the people and serve in such a diverse culture. Later that night, we had a missionaries come up to us and bear their testimony in Korean and another missionary bear theirs in ASL. Those simple testimonies were just so powerful and the Gift of Tongues is real here.

This past Tuesday, 800 missionaries left the MTC. A group of missionaries going to Taipei Taiwan, Scotland and Ireland, Hong Kong, and California left our zone. Satan is attacking our zone. Before they left, many of the missionaries leaving, and that have been here for 6 weeks, have come down with terrible colds and other physical challenges. It took many prayers, but thankfully we got them all on the plane to leave. One of the missionaries always 

Gold Stars

gave out Gold Stars, especially in volleyball if you got hit in the face or did something cool. I got 2, but I forgot the reasons (all I know was I did NOT get hit in the face). He would also stick them around random places on campus. Our classroom was bestowed with a gold star. Therefore, I've included a few pics of them. Near the end, he ran out of gold ones and would give out white and silver. I personally think the store his parents bought them at ran out because of how many he would give away per week.

For Sunday devotional, Nashville Tribute Band visited again. As a choir, we sang the same songs: "I Was Born", "John's Song", "When the Son of Man (Comes Again)", and "The Hardest Thing I Ever Loved To Do". It's amazing how much more meaning each song had this time around. I love music and there is always so much power when you are singing praises to God at the top of your lungs. It was joyous; it was happy. I wished the chorus would just go on and on.  

Sister Vranes, Sister Nelson,
President Deng, and Sister Deng

For Tuesday Devotional, Juan A. Uceda of the Seventy spoke to us. His talk was so powerful, and he is such a humble man. He is a convert to the church himself, and spoke to

 us from an investigator's viewpoint (an investigator is someone who is being taught by missionaries about the gospel, but is not a member of the church). Then he taught us as if we were an investigator, and taught us the way that we as members should do. It was inspiring and very powerful. He shared the scripture Doctrine and Covenants 4:2, which reads, "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye

The 4 sassiest people in Sister Vranes'
zone (including Sister Vranes)

 may stand blameless before God at the last day." Focus on that word "see". It could just say "serve him with all..." but it doesn't. We need to see ourselves for what we are truly doing if we are going to ever progress. Are we really seeing the desires of our heart? Do you know what you are feeling? The pain, the fears, the worries? What about the love, the hope, and the faith? Are we identifying our talents and blessings, the might of God? Our might refers to the gifts and blessings we have in our lives from God. God doesn't bless us for ourselves, He blesses us to bless others. Do we understand what's in our mind? What thoughts are in your mind today? God speaks in silence, through your mind, your thoughts, your ideas, and your heart. I invite you today to go to a place of comfort and silence. Ask yourself what you are currently feeling 

Map of the Provo, Utah MTC

and thinking. What are you worried about? What are your fears and challenges? What do you have hope in? Take all of those negative thoughts and put them away, for they are not of God. Pray for the things you need, and you will find the answers you seek.

Week #5: MTC August 11, 2016 - August 17, 2016

This week, we taught our first nonmembers from China. Every Saturday, we usually have a TRC meeting, where we teach two 20 minute lessons to members who have volunteered to be taught a lesson. Since they are educated about the gospel, it's been pretty easy to share a nice scripture and thought. This week, however, there was a dad and daughter who volunteered, are nonmembers, and don't speak very good English. They had arrived last Tuesday, and the daughter is studying as an exchange student for the next two years. We figure she is staying with a host family here in Provo, and they must be members to have told them about volunteering with TRC. When we got in there, they thought they were teaching us Chinese, rather than us teaching them about the Gospel. The father spoke less English than the daughter, and would talk to us through her, rather than at us. After every sentence, they would stop us to teach us the correct way to say it and pronunciation. It was very difficult and we ended up taking the full 40 minutes with them. To say the least, it did not instill confidence in going out into the field. At least it's a good story to tell now, and a good lesson to learn.

At devotional, it was so very exciting to meet a tripanionship of sister missionaries learning English. One is from Brazil, and two of them are directly from China (Shanghai and Guangzhou). They're all serving in the Provo, Utah mission, and their English was very good. Then again, it must be if that is the only way you can speak to your companion...Anyway, this week for devotional, Sister Oscarson (The Young Woman General President) came to speak. Her talk was very inspirational. She talked about Sarah, the wife of Abraham, having Ishmael at an age past her prime of motherhood. Having Ishmael would be difficult, but not impossible. She shared Genesis 18:14 which reads, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" The rest of the talk was about humbling ourselves before the Lord "for in his strength, I can do all things" (Alma 26: 12). Sometimes, life seems to be very challenging, and almost unbearable. However, we all still find hope to continue. Sometimes, it's easy to be caught up in what we are doing, and how we will overcome our struggle. Use that root of hope, of faith, to rely on the Lord, that He WILL help you. I invite you to pray and ask for His strength to help you through whatever you are struggling with right now. Remember, is anything to hard for the Lord?

Week #4: MTC August 4, 2016 - August 10, 2016

This past week has been awesome! My companion and I have been having much more success in our lessons to our investigators (teachers). We find that even though it may seem that our Mandarin isn't enough, with trust and faith in the Lord's help, He helps us remember the words to express; the words and love of the gospel that is in our hearts. 

Sister Vranes, Sister Nelson, and their roommates

Apparently, on a mission, math doesn't exist (or I can't count). I was wrong, there are officially 11 sisters in our zone right now. Anyway, Wednesday, we had new sisters come into our zone. Their first Friday, we played Zone Volleyball. This one is the best, because everyone has their little sayings (sorry Chinese isn't working on this computer): "Xisheng ni de shengti" (sacrifice your body), "Meiyou cibei" (no mercy), "The net, our common enemy", "Give that sister another serve", "Serrrr-vice", "You deserve a gold star" (if you get hit in the face), and "Sister Tiffany, Sister Vranes can't carry the whole team". We enjoy it very much and play it almost every day. On Monday, we hosted senior couples again. If we do service, you do not need to be with your companion, so we ended up getting split up. She was out in the parking lot while I was the single sister to be helping the couples take their bags to their rooms. As you can tell, I was all the muscle in the group :P, It's been such fun to get to know the couples and host, which we don't usually get to do because our p-day is Wednesday, when all of the new missionaries arrive. 

I've been told to send some information about the MTC so here is a bit of the weekly schedule:

Wake up at 6:30 and have breakfast (7:10-7:40)

Exercise (7:45-8:45)

Prepare and PCL--Personal, companion, and language study (9:15-11:55)

Lunch (11:55-12:35)

PCL (12:35-1:30)

Class (1:30-4:30)--Each hour, we teach the investigator, learn grammar, study doctorine

Dinner (4:30-5:15)

PCL (5:15-6:00)

Class (6:00-9:00)

Planning (9:00-9:30)

Quiet time--a time to reflect and journal (10:15), and lights out (10:30)

As you can see, we have a lot of time to study. On Tuesday nights we have choir and devotional. On Wednesdays, we have our p-days and visit the temple. On p-days, after 6 pm, everyone is back in class and at it again.

Her is a typical Sunday schedule:

Wake up at 6:30 and have breakfast (7:40-8:10)

Relief Society/ Preisthood (11:00-12:00)

Lunch (12:00-12:40)

Sacrament Meeting (1:00-2:00)

District Meeting--usually someone teaches a lesson like Sunday School (2:10-3:00)

Temple Walk--we sing at the Temple and take pictures (3:00-3:35)

Dinner (3:40-4:20)

Choir (5:15-6:30)

Devotional (7:00-9:20)

Quiet time (10:15) and lights out (10:30)

On Sunday, we had Mission Conference, where the MTC presidency gave their testimonies. I can really tell that these people are called of God. Their testimonies were very strong. It always gives me chills when I think of the work of the Lord that is strong and going forth. In the MTC, there are over 3,000 missionaries. Currently, there are over 100 million copies of the Book of Mormon in 110 languages, and 70,000 missionaries in the field. Expanding on the quote I noted a while back, President Bertasso said, "The missionaries going to Taiwan, are baptizing the missionaries of the Church. The missionaries going to places other than Taiwan, are baptizing the leaders of the Church for China. China will be the only place where the infrastructure of the Church will be already built." The Lord is truly preparing His work and I am so grateful and glad to be a part of it.

Provo, Utah Temple

Since it was fast Sunday, we had testimony meeting. Every Sunday, we usually have two talks by two missionaries in our zone (one sister and one elder chosen randomly in Sacrament Meeting), and one of the presidency and their wife speak. The talks by the missionaries are spoken in Chinese, so we all have to prepare one in case we are called, and the talks by the presidency are in English. On fast Sunday, four people are chosen at random to share their testimony in English, and anyone else who would like to share has the opportunity. This Sunday, 4 sisters were chosen, including my companion. That means President Deng is saving the other sisters for Mandarin talks, which includes me. We also had devotional with Matthew Holland, President of UVU and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's son. He spoke of the life of Joseph Smith and that our testimony of him must be shared. This whole week, Joseph Smith has weighed on my mind. The more I think of him, the more I see similarities between him and the Savior. They both came from very humble backgrounds. They both had such amazing faith to trust the Lord enough to bend to His will. They both give up their lives early on to fulfill the Lord's work. I ponder the hymns about Joseph Smith, and I realize that each of them are also about Jesus Christ. I love the quote in the hymn "Praise to the Man", where it says, "Death cannot conquer the hero again". If that doesn't scream Jesus Christ, then I don't know what does. I invite you to pay more attention to the life of Joseph Smith and look for similarities between his and Jesus Christ's life. I promise that you will have a stronger testimony of Joseph Smith and that he was a prophet of God, called to restore His true gospel.

 On Tuesday, we had devotional with Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen (plus it was his birthday). His message was, "learning to be a missionary is not complex, but it is not easy". This past week I've been learning more and more about my calling and about each of our callings on this earth, to become Disciples of Christ. Let me put it this way: Learning to be a Disciple of Christ is not complex, but it is not easy. If we're continually trying to be better, to become more Christ-like, and to follow God's commandments, then it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. It is, however, harder to remember to do these things continually. Life is challenging, but through God's grace and atonement, we can be made whole for what we lack. All that He asks for us is to have faith and trust in Him to accomplish our part. I invite you to look at the lyrics of "More Holiness Give Me", then pray to God for help in overcoming the things you need and lack, and have faith that He WILL bless you with more.