Journey to East Asia

This past summer I went with my Mom and Dad to go pick Nathan up from serving in the Singapore Mission. I loved being able to travel and learn about these cultures; most of all I loved being able to see Nathan as a missionary and see the people whose lives he had touched. We started in Singapore, went to East Malaysia, West Malaysia, Sri Lanka, then stopped in Hong Kong on the way back home.

We got to Singapore while Nathan was still serving as a missionary. While he was out preaching during the day, Mom, Dad and I toured the city of Singapore. It was busy, spotless and humid! This is me with the Singapore skyline in the background.

One of the most tender and memorable moments of this trip happened in East Malaysia when Nathan took us out to visit on e of the families he had taught. When we arrived, the children came running out yelling "Elder, elder." They were all so excited to see Nathan. We were able to spend a few hours with them and learn about their lives. We were so humbled to see their living conditions and how little they had. Despite the lack of worldly thing in their lives, they were all so happy and full of will to press forward.

In West Malaysia, we spent a lot of time in Kuala Lumpur, the capitol. We climbed 272 steps to the
Batu caves to see the monkeys. These creatures were so accustomed to humans, that they came up to us with little or no hesitation. They took food from visitors whether they were planning on sharing with the monkeys or not. The caves have significance to the Hindus and a festival is held here each year. If interested, check out the Batu Caves website.



Sri Lanka felt like a whole other world. Driving, eating habits, and lifestyles were all so different from what I know and felt were normal . I said several silent prayers over mysterious food and many prayers of thanksgiving for what I am blessed with. This picture shows Nathan and me with some children he taught. We are standing on the edge of the jungle that they live in. My favorite tourist part of this trip was in Sri Lanka when we visited the Elephant Orphanage. We rode elephants, bathed them in a stream, bottle fed a baby, and watched them travel to and relax in a river for their afternoon.























We finished up our two week adventure in Hong Kong. Nathan hadn't been to the temple in two years, and wanted to have our layover in Hong Kong so he could go to the temple. I was able to go and do baptisms while the others went to a session. It was so neat to see the blessings of the temple touching people all over the world.

Though I was sad to see this trip come to an end, I was excited to get back to America. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to take this unforgettable trip.