Yummy greens

Found this in the market. There is a store that gets fresh produce in once a week on Thursday. I found this vegetable. Don't know the name yet but it appears to be of the cabbage family. Very good. We have used it cooked or in salads. I'm excited to try other vegetables and fruits.

China town

The travel agent we use is on the river front next to China Town. The Chinese came to Malaysia hundreds of years ago and built on the river front where they did trading. Malaysia is a melting pot of people. The seven major ethic groups are Ibans, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Malanau, Orang Ulu. There are some minor groups such as Indians also.

China Town has a collection of shops. They cater a lot to tourist with souvenir shops. There are some beautiful fabrics, furniture, and antique shops.

I was thinking that I might have trouble finding clothes and shoes that would fit me but not so. There are lots of modern shopping malls (that would fit in any American city), shop lots and open air markets.

There are lots of stray dogs that break my heart. They are bony and very sick looking. There are lots of cats but most of them look healthy. Most cats have short tails. I have seen a few with long tails but many of them have crooked tails. Interesting.

Elder Boyter is standing next to a bike that has an area on the front for transporting goods. The bike was chained to the back of a shop in china town.

Marriage

This is Victor and Lucia. They are taking their wedding pictures. They had to have the dress made. The wedding dresses here are not modest.

The way we understand it. The bride and groom go to the government and get registered for marriage. They are then considered married. If the tribe or family has traditions they can do that later. Victor and Lucia will have a wedding reception the end of May and then will go to the temple in a year to be sealed.

Purple sweet potatoes and sego worms

Sister Lim shared some purple sweet potatoes with us. Sister Lim is one of longest standing members here. She is a very lovely graceful woman. Very admired. The potatoes were very good. She tells me she usually steams the potatoes and eat them like an apple. We mashed and reheat with butter and salt and pepper. I will look for them in the markets and stores. Elder Boyter was concern about the food here but there are lots of varieties of potatoes. I think we will have to watch our waistlines.

While we were at the church last night with the night watchman, the branch president came by and dropped off these grubs type creatures called sego worms. They are alive in this picture. They fry them in oil and eat them. They are about 2 inches long, fat and juicy looking. I will think about eating them. Right now I am not ready.

Sister Boyter's first haircut by Elder Boyter

Elder Boyter gave me my first haircut today. Erica, my hairdresser, showed him how to do it once. Elder Boyter did not come back for a second lesson.

My hair was starting to look very shaggy so I put on the cover to protect my clothes and sat in a chair in the kitchen. There are many beauty salons here but naturally curly hair is uncommon so I felt Elder Boyter was very qualified with his one lesson on the art of cutting hair.

Elder Boyter always talks about how much he likes my long hair. So with him being in charge of the length I felt confident that he would cut with restraint I also mentioned to him that hair only grows a half to three quarters of an inch a month. I don't think he remembered any of this.

He was not timid at all. The memory of him pruning trees and shrubs came to mind as I sat there while he cut. I sometimes wonder if the plant would survive after he was done.

When Elder Boyter was done cutting my hair I looked at the floor and was amazed at the amount that was on the floor. There were strands of hair 4 inches long. With concern I looked in the mirror and found to my great surprise that I like what he did. It is the shortest it has been in the last 45 years With the hot and humid weather, this hair cut will be perfect.

I think Elder Boyter was also surprised at how good it looks. He is now analyzing it to see how to improve the cut. I don't think he realized that curly hair curls up tighter as it dries what length he had quickly left.

Lizard Steaks

Brother Wilkinson invited us over for lizard steaks but we were already committed. His sister-in-law is holding a lizard that they caught and were going cook for dinner. The missionaries tell us the meat of the lizard is very good. Maybe we will have a chance again to sample lizard. Brother Wilkenson heard Elder Boyter call me sweetheart, so he teasingly calls me Sister sweetheart.

Brother Wilkenson

Brother Wilkenson is one of the first members is Malaysia. We are celebrating his 79th birthday in the picture. He has lived a very interesting life. He is from England. He has 10 sons from his first wife. He moved to Malaysia about 20 years ago and married Lilly. These children our his adopted grandchildren. The older boy, Jonathan, is a gifted pianist. He started in the church's music class less than 2 years ago and is excelling. Brother Wilkenson has been a great blessing to the church and to us senior couples