The Work is Moving Forward (in spite of torrential rain and jellyfish kebabs)

Some of the Malaysian dishes he's learning to love!

Soaking wet after riding his bike in a torrential downpour

Hello all!

Now that I have settled in here in Malaysia, things are really starting to get rolling. Like my companion Elder Adams said, it feels like the Lord's hand is directly over us and He is willing us to succeed. 

We have been meeting a lot with the members and having great experiences with them. Helping people come back to church and remember their testimonies is a constant struggle out here in the field, but we work on it and hopefully make a difference.

Also, this week we had some marvelous lessons where the Spirit really took over and turned the lesson into Jesus Christ's lesson, not ours (if that makes sense, pardon English errors).

We met some Ibans last week and finally had the opportunity to meet with them this week. One lesson was with two men named A__ and I___. We taught really simply about Christ and his love for us and how our purpose is to help them build their faith in Christ. Pretty great, and they were so interested in the message. We are meeting with them again this week and can't wait! Hopefully we can continue to touch their hearts.

The lesson that really blew my mind, however, happened last night. This was our first lesson with them. When we originally met these men, they were drinking a ton and smoking, but we gave them some pamphlets and encouraged them to read. We got their phone numbers and later in the week (even when they were more sober haha) they said they still wanted to meet with us. That was great! So we met them last night - and what an experience it was! 

Elder Adams and I were teaching and we didn't even think about what we were saying. I literally opened my mouth and felt it being filled with words and sentences I wasn't thinking about. I had a plan for the lesson but the words just came out according to the dictates of the Spirit. As I spoke, these people were riveted (see the photo with them below). They were so interested in the message, and through our examples and use of the Gospel Art book, the Spirit testified to the truthfulness of our message. Wow. 

On the way back to our apartment, Elder Adams and I remarked on the marvelous nature of that visit. We were so led by the Spirit. Only time will tell if these people will still want to learn, but if we can have the Spirit like we did during that lesson, I know they will be able to change and come closer to Christ. So awesome! Experiences like this make my life and mission so great! I know I can do this for two years, even through hard times and 20+ miles a day biking over long hills and weaving in between cars (sorry mom, Malaysia is super sketch). This Gospel is seriously so true and seeing the hand of the Lord as we teach and watching Him help us succeed is a witness to me this work is really the work of Jesus Christ. So amazing!

We just had a Zone Conference in Singapore. (A zone is a geographic group of missionaries who work together.) Clayton Christensen spoke. He did a whole training exercise on some major ways to get missionary work going. THE number one thing was for us to get to know the members and earn their trust. Then, getting them involved. In my limited experience, major success in the work of salvation revolves around the church members. Here's something my mission president said that blew my mind,  and maybe you'll want to share it in the ward sometime:

"Do we have two churches? A missionary church and a member church? No. We don't. We have one church! So why, then, do we draw an artificial line between missionary work and members? This work is the work of the church - not the missionary church, but the one church. There is no missionary work; it is all of our duty." 

Then, you have President Monson, the prophet of the living God, saying to us: "Now is the time for members and missionaries to work together!" I would not be surprised if a Preach my Gospel for members comes out. Also, my understanding of the significance of President Monson is increasing. He is literally a living prophet who leads according to the dictates of Jesus Christ. So cool!

Malay here is so campur-ed (mixed). Instead of using "kamu" or "awak" for you, they use "you"! Like "apa you mahukah?" "Di mana you tinggalkah?" Hahahah so funny

Oh, man, the majority of the food here is amazing! Look up "roti canai" or "roti bom" or "nasi goreng pataya" or "nasi lemak". So delicious, and the rice chicken stuff here is also amazing. Just Malaysian food in general is good. But, there is also lots of gross stuff that we just have to DOWN. And it's nasty. Eg jellyfish on sticks like skebabs haha. They're super gross and ewww but what can you do? Just down it with some Milo. (That is amazing by the way, look that up! Milo is a hot chocolate-like drink that everyone drinks here. We get it with ice and it's great! All members tend to give us that and it's pretty delicious.)

But we went to a random Indian person's house, and here part of the culture is to serve food or drink to people. Every time! Usually just drink if they don't know / like you but this Indian person made some chicken with strange sauce and some weird tortilla things that were like soft sponges...it was gnarly! Oh so gross, but you gotta eat or else those people just won't listen! Nothing like eyeballs (i don't think haha) Just things that you have no idea what they are but you eat anyways because you can't offend them and you want them to be happy!

Also, one night we bought a ton of food and ate it all. So delicious. and we were full. But then! We went to a members house and found out they made infinity mi goreng (fried noodles) for us. And so we ate. And ate. And ate. Three plates each. Oh man that was nutsssssss but so delicious!

Life is the bomb out here and the work is moving! Hope you all stay postive and rely on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and Leader. I know I am, and He truly is strengthening me.

Malaysia Boleh!
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." :)

Elder Coleman

PS  I knew the Red Sox would win! BOOM! Life Rocks! And Mom, Dad, and Jess: Your Halloween costumes are only the single greatest thing of ALL TIME. Literally! I died! So great that you did that in my honor! :) (Note from Elder C's Mom: Sadly, the $45 telegram we sent to tell him the Sox won the World Series never made it...he literally found out on his p-day...a full five days after the fact!)

Teaching families about Jesus Christ, what this work is all about

Our friends Christine and Clayton Christensen, (for whom Elder Coleman was named)

Singapore Stake Center

View from his apartment

The Singapore Zone (Elder C on far back near the left. His companion is far left with glasses)

Malaysia Boleh! (aka YOLO)

Elder C couldn't get his photos to load at the internet cafe where he emailed from, so here is the weather he will be experiencing this upcoming week. Notice--90 degrees and rain every. single. day. Haha!

Hello everyone!

It's been an eventful week! I finally left the MTC and set off for the Singapore mission. I left Tuesday, and arrived in Singapore on Thursday. (Wednesday, October 23, 2013, did not exist in my life thanks to the date line). I was assigned to an area in the city of Johor Bahru, the southern most city on West Malaysia and mainland Asia! 

Life is great, but life is sweaty hahaha. I'm already starting to adjust and not notice the insane heat, but the sweat is always going to be a thing. That's okay, though!

So. Just to clarify. I am in the Singapore Mission, but since I will be speaking Malay, my country of labor will be Malaysia. I am in the Kota Masai area of Johor Bahru.  It's hot, the food is crazy (but really good), and I bike 40 minutes or so in the 95% humidity just to get to the area where I'm supposed to work. Yeahhhhh buddy, this is what missionary work looks like!! Biking for days and days!

My trainer is named Elder Adams, from Southern California, the Thousand Oaks area. We are a bit new together but with time we're going to be a stud companionship and duo. (Generally, a new missionary is assigned to serve with an experienced missionary or trainer for 12 weeks.) 

Elder Poppleton (my MTC companion) is off to Kuching, a city somewhat near Singapore on East Malaysia. We got a hug in and we'll see each other in a bit! Not too bad at all!

We have four elders in our apartment. Elder Jackson and Elder Sheranian work in the eastern part of our city, called Megah Ria. It's a good time, and we all are committing ourselves to the work!

Right now my Malay is great speaking wise, but I have got to adjust to their accent. Malay doesn't sound like an Asian language until you're out here. Wow, it's crazy!

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting at church in my first week! In Malay! haha Pretty great! I made everyone laugh when I explicitly gave them permission to laugh at me while I was talking. But I made them promise to come talk to me afterward if they did! They laughed. I talked about getting the members more involved with missionary work because that's really how the work gets going.

There are tons of m o s q u e s about, but that's what happens when you are in a very M u s l i m area! As you know, we can't talk to people of that faith, but occasionally we ask where some Christian people are.

So one of the tribes of East Malaysia is called the Iban tribe! They make up a large percentage of the baptisms because they are not M u s l i m and some are actually Christian, making them ideal candidates for learning about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Gereja Yesus Kristus Orang Suci Zaman Akhir! Legit! They speak their own language which is slightly similar to Malay, so I will be learning that as well!

Well, I learned the Malay equivalent of YOLO. It's Malaysia boleh (Malaysia can, essentially.) Definitely ending my letters with that now. 

Love you all! The work is great and just remember how important you are all to me! Email is the only means of communication (basically, I don't know much about letters). Talk to you all in a week!

Malaysia Boleh!

Elder Coleman

Arrived in Singapore!

Elder Coleman meets President & Sister Mains

Hello parents!

Sorry I didn't get an opportunity to send this to you earlier! I love you guys! 

My trainer is from California! My first area is M a s a i, near J a h o r B a h r u, right outside of Singapore. Go crazy learning about it! Also, I'll be learning Iban (go look that up) so that blessing in my setting apart will come in handy, the one about learning other languages. I love you so much. I will talk to you when I talk to you!

Love always your sonny!

PS I'll be hearing from Clayton Christensen at our next zone conference! The odds!

(Note from AD: Brad Mains is Clay's mission president. He and his wife are serving a three-year mission to preside over all of the missionaries called to serve in the Singapore Mission of our church. He and his wife will play a vital role in Clay's mission. My heart is so grateful for their willingness to leave their life in Pennsylvania, their children and grandchildren, to serve with and mentor Clay and the other missionaries. The "trainer" refers to his first companion in the mission field, who is a more experienced missionary and who will be showing Clay the ropes. Also, Clay refers to his "setting apart," which is a priesthood blessing our Stake President gave to Clay before he entered the MTC. President Brennan blessed Clay with an ability to learn whatever languages he would be called upon to learn. I thought it might be Chinese at some point--I didn't know about this Iban dialect! So exciting! And Clayton Christensen, the Harvard Business School professor and writer, is the family friend we named Clay after whom we know from our four years living in Boston.)

Countdown to Singapore and Malaysia...T minus 5 days!

Elder Coleman's MTC classroom where he spent countless hours studying Malay (photo from Elder Bester)

Hey all! 

Down to my last week in the MTC! This Tuesday, the 22nd of October, we fly to Singapore! So stoked!

Ever since my district/group got our travel plans, the days have been CRAWLING. Man. I just want to get out of here! Don't get me wrong, the MTC is a blast! I'm just excited to really be talking to real people and speaking Malay with actual Malaysians and helping people's lives change and everything! I'm just stoked! 

Fun fact: My Spanish is all gone...when I try to speak it now, I just speak Malay! hahahahah (I was mildly proficient before I came here, with a better grasp than most missionaries in the MTC who are learning Spanish. Jokes.)

On an incredibly spiritual note, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to the MTC on Tuesday and spoke. (To explain a bit more of what that means, consider this simple statement that sums up the Mormon church's belief about prophets: Heavenly Father speaks. He spoke anciently, to prophets of the Bible and the Book of Mormon; He spoke to Joseph Smith, a prophet in our age, and He speaks today to his prophet, Thomas S. Monson. Our church has the same organization as the church Jesus Christ set up while He was on the earth. We have Twelve Apostles, like The Church of Jesus Christ did so many years ago!) The Spirit that emanates from Elder Oaks is awesome! I guess that's what happens when you are that close to Heavenly Father and Christ. As he spoke, I could feel it in my heart that he is truly a man of God. 

(I love lawyers by the way - before Elder Oaks was asked to serve in our church full-time, he was an expert lawyer, and ended up on the Utah Supreme Court! And he actually was on Reagan's shortlist for the US Supreme Court! Anyways, he structured his talk in the "tell you what i'm gonna say, say it, tell you what I just said" format. Pretty awesome.)

Humility really is key, as I have found out! My mom sent me a talk about humility and hard work by Kim Clark (from BYU-Idaho) that was really great. (Mom, post it here please!) (Click here) 

I love you all! Please know that life is great with me! I can't wait to get out there and help people change their lives for the better!

Jesus Christ really is the Savior of the world! I love Him and the wonderful plan that allows us to live in families together forever! 

Next time I'll be in Singapore/Malaysia! See you all!!

Godspeed,

Elder Coleman

Clay's district and with their two teachers

Sister Missionaries at the MTC (not looking "arm's length" to me haha)

Getting excited to go to Malaysia!

There must be a story here, but I don't know what it is :)

Behind-the-Scenes Look at the MTC

Click here

When we dropped off Clay at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in early September, I was dying to know what he would be doing in his first few hours there, and what the dorms were like, and the gym, the cafeteria, the mail room, etc. So I was thrilled to find this 5 part series that is a behind the scenes look at the MTC. If you've also wondered what it's like, you'll enjoy watching this!

The MTC is Cruising!

Welcoming his cectpa aka Cectpa Coleman to the MTC!!

Hello all!

Well, as you can see from this picture below, I've been getting plenty of mail, and I love it! You guys make me feel so loved and appreciated. Thanks to all of you!

Shout out to Grandma, for the lovely updates of life! I definitely enjoy hearing from you! DeMordaunts, the cake pops were really good! Thank you! Sheriece and Pearson, you guys are studs! I love hearing everything! Pearson, the incredible amount of 'B's and 'Y's in your goodbye was amazing.

General Conference was the bomb! I really loved the line "Please, doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." (President Uchtdorf) Makes me think of how the Lord really does answer so many of our prayers and has in the past so many times! Keep remembering the incredible mercies of the Lord, and you will never be at a loss for faith. I was struck by the prophet's message on trials. Here is a man that still mourns his own wife's passing, and I feel that his message was really directed at anyone who feels they are suffering similarly. I encourage everyone to watch or read his talk here.

So here's the deal with being on main campus yesterday when you arrived to drop off Cectpa (pronounced "Sestra") Coleman: My district and I had to attend a malaria meeting on main campus and then I suddenly realized that we could see each other! So after we dropped off our Preach My Gospel books to get laminated (so my covers are no longer falling off, major score!), we waited by the front of the campus. I knew y'all would be arriving some time around 1:00 pm, so we waited. I saw Elder Jimmy Jacobs get dropped off, and then finally saw you! Wish I could have come down to hug you, but I still saw you! Pretty sweet!

The MTC is cruising! I'm loving it here, we teach our Malay teachers (all returned missionaries from Malaysia) as they pretend to be investigators from their missions. I just can't wait to leave, though! I want to speak Malay with real people! 

Keep the faith! Life is awesome! You guys are all the best!

Love you all! 

Godspeed,

Elder Coleman

Evidence that Elder Coleman is getting lots of support and encouragment!

Watching General Conference at the MTC

He loves running into friends who are also at the MTC--Elders Wyatt Corbin and Joseph Miller

Pranking his district mates with his companion (evidence they really are 18 year-olds)

Elder Coleman Sighting at the MTC!

When we were dropping off Elder Coleman's sister at the MTC today, we happened to see him as he was standing in a doorway on the Main Campus. (Right when the video begins, you will see him standing at a door. Then he waves and gives us a big thumbs up!)

Because Clay's dorm and classes are not on the Main Campus, we did NOT expect to see him. In fact, he had told me in an email he wouldn't be able to be there. But his little sister Jessica had nonetheless been praying that we would be able to see him, and her prayers were answered! What joy for us to get a glimpse of him, even from a distance!