Sister Alyssa Crabb: Monday, June 2

Hello, hello, hello!!

This is one of my favorite times of week, to write you and talk to you! I love getting your emails. It's so fun to hear what's going on at home! It's weird to think that it is summer there...I love that you all are doing so well enjoying the outdoors, and parties, and eating out. Summer is the best :)

The biggest thing I am struggling with is homesickness!! I miss you guys so much! I know it's selfish, but I'm off in a big city, with people I've never met, doing work that is hard. This week was tough! Everyone, literally everyone, cancelled on us. So, all of the appointments we had ended up becoming contacting time, which is great, but 6 or 7 hours of contacting isn't my ideal way to spend time! I want to be teaching people, and giving lessons. I have taught one lesson, to a lady named S who is on date to be baptized. She has been taught everything, and just got passed to us, so I got to share a scripture with her. I loved it, and want to do more of that instead! But, I need to find before I can teach. Other than that, everything is really, really, good! I love the people, they are so, so nice! I love the area, I love when I talk to people, and get them interested in the gospel. I love trying all the new food! I go to bed so happy every night, knowing that I am doing God's work.

So, about my week...
Last P-day was pretty fun! All of the missionaries met up at the church and were able to play basketball. I got more sweaty than should be humanly possible, but I had so much fun! I got to meet a lot of really awesome people, and I had fun playing with the Elders! Then, I met S. We had a good lesson with her about being an example to her daughter. She is struggling with wanting to come to church because her daughter won't come with her, and because of the divorce and legality, it's hard to come if her daughter won't. So, hopefully we can get that figured out! S is on date, so hopefully we can work through those issues.

Tuesday I got to go and clean a nice man named T's house. He is in a wheelchair and so can't do a lot by himself. I steamed his clothes for him which was actually pretty fun! I learned how to work a steamer. We went with a girl named A, and she is Methodist. We tried to talk to her and share a lesson, but it turned more into her trying to convert us to become Methodist. I wish she understood how great this gospel is!

Wednesday I was able to do a service project with my area! We cut papers for about 3 hours! But, what we cut out is going to be flash cards for an English class in Malaysia, so that is fun! Also, since it is super hard to contact and get investigators in Singapore (the challenge here is getting people to make time for the gospel, and in Malaysia it's the fact that 80 percent of the people are Malay and Muslim...can't teach them!), me and Sister Kryvanic are going to try and start an English class! There are enough people here that don't speak English, or that speak Singlish or Broken English that we could probably do it. Sister Kryvanic actually taught English in China for 6 months before her mission, and Elder Tseng - the Woodlands Elder, speaks Mandarin because he is from Taiwan. I'm really excited and hope we can get it worked out!

Thursday we met our ward mission leader! He's been out of town, and finally was able to see us! He's the best though! He's almost 20, and super excited about missionary work! He is going to be fun to work with. He even took us to a couple good places to eat, and we got lunch with him again on Friday. It was good to get to know him! Also, we were able to meet an investigator at the Marina Bay Gardens! It was really, really pretty. Look up pictures of it! It's huge, and I've never seen more beautiful, tropical plants! The flowers look fake they are so beautiful!

Friday and Saturday was contacting galore! I have never been hotter as I wandered finding less actives. We also heart-attacked some members, and that was good! Less Active work is huge here. About 50 percent of our ward, if not more, is Less Active, so meeting with those people is important!

Sunday, I went to ward council. The ward is super involved, which is so important. Members are the true missionaries! So, I'm glad you all are going to be studying Preach My Gospel - it is seriously one of the best books ever. I then got to eat PB and J after fast Sunday! Wahoo! Then, we all ate Idaho fake mashed potatoes. I never though they would taste good, but they did!

One of the coolest things I've felt this week is the Savior walking beside me. Sometimes he feels so close that I think I'm in a trio companionship! This is truly the work of the Lord, and I've had so many miracles occur! One thing I love doing is writing down my miracles of the day in my journal. They happen daily as a missionary, and so it's great to remember the Lord and all He does in our lives. He is always there for us!! He led us to investigators on Saturday after praying hard for it. Miracles are all around! I love the gosepl, and I love you! Can't wait to hear from you next week!!
Love, Sister Crabb

We asked Alyssa some questions in our emails to her and these are her responses:

How's eating been this week?
It's been pretty good...basically I just eat oatmeal for breakfast and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. I eat apples and bananas and stuff as well. It is so hard to get vegetables here! I really want to be able to just eat a salad, and most of the time I can't. I go out to eat for dinner because we are usually out and about. We sometimes eat American food, but the McDonalds and places here actually have a lot of local food at their restaurants. It's very interesting! I miss chicken without bones. I would love to eat just a plain old chicken breast with no fat, no brown meat, no bones, no veins. No one seems to serve that here though! The menus are super overwhelming. I look at them, and I think, what is this? I don't know what Daal or all the terms mean. Mostly I just ask what's good from the other missionaries or Sister Kryvanic!

Do you go to the grocery store and fix meals at your apartment?
We do go to a grocery store, but it is about a mile away! I am going to get so strong from carrying my food so far :). Also, I don't usually fix food at my apartment except for Peanut Butter sandwiches. I'm going to try more this week though after I go for a good grocery shop!

Or have you eaten at members' homes?
I hardly ever do. Asian culture doesn't really involve inviting people over for dinner, so dinner appointments are rare. Woodlands ward is a local ward, so almost all of the members in my ward are Asian. I met a member of my ward though from America yesterday, and he said that he would invite us over for a BBQ and that he always feeds the missionaries on Thanksgiving with a really big traditional feast! Hopefully I'm here for that! A lot of times, the missionaries that are assigned to the Woodlands ward stay for 6-8 months. At least some of them. So, we will have to see how long I am in this area!

Is there normal "american" food or is it all really different?
Most of it is really different!! I have had Indonesian BBQ which is good, Indian Daal, Subway...Laska, Tai Curry. Lots of new food to try! It's all pretty spicy too. My mouth burns when I eat it! I'm getting used to it though.

Are you used to the humidity now?
I'm much more adjusted. However, apparently this is the hottest month of the year! So, when it's 88 degrees outside, the humidity makes the 'real feel' 103, 105. So, it's very hot! I like it though. I haven't had to use lotion once!

Has it rained a lot? Are there lots of mosquitos in Singapore?
It hardly ever rains, and there are hardly any mosquitos. I heard from locals though that it rains almost every day in November and December!

How many missionaries are in your apartment?
There are 4 sisters total, the other companionship works in another ward. Sister Simon is from Indonesia and is crazy! She ties my skirts, and puts my pants in the freezer. She is the sweetest though. She's been out almost a year and looks out for me :). Sister Reach (Pronounced Reeat) is from Cambodia. She is very nice as well and I love having two people from Asia living with me!

How many missionaries are serving in Singapore (I’m curious to know how small the areas are)?
There's 174 total missionaries in the mission. Most of them I believe are in Malaysia? If I had to guess, I would say there are about 50-70 missionaries in Singapore. There is headquarters and the office here, as well as the President. There are 10 wards total, 1 stake. They are working on a second stake! Singapore is an expensive business city. Part of the struggle we have is getting people to make time for us. People are so business oriented here, that time is precious, and they need to do their job very well or else they will no longer have a job. It's interesting trying to get people to listen about the gospel!

Are you only working in the Woodlands area or do you cover a larger part of Singapore?
Just the Woodlands area! It is super, super small. I am over one ward, 2 MRT stops.

Do you just travel by foot and by public transportation?
Yep! Nothing else:) I take the MRT everywhere! It is what most people use. I also just walk!

Do you have a cell phone as a companionship?
Yes, and it's a very nice smart phone!

How long can you spend on the computer each week reading and writing letters? 90 minutes! It flies. I don't really have time to read or print, so I have to read and respond in the 90 minutes I have. I can print if I really want to, but then I have to wait a whole week to respond to you! I don't want to do that! I write from an internet cafe in a mall. It's different, but it works!