Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Today, we had a most uncomfortable experience getting lost.  We were trying to be brave and go by ourselves, without the elders, to an appointment.  We were asked by the Masai elders to help them fix their bike.  From there, we would just put in the GPS unit the next destination, which was "Cold Storage".  This is the name of the large grocery/department store quite a distance from our home.  We have been there numerous times with our two missionaries, but never by ourselves. 
We dropped off the Masai elders to their appointment and turned on the GPS unit.  Right there, in front of our faces, was the site, "Cold Storage".  We press the word "go" and were off.  The late afternoon sky was beautiful and we were enjoying a lovely ride together.  It was about 6:45 PM and it would be totally dark in just a half hour or so.  We followed "Jill" perfectly, (the name the elders gave to the voice on the GPS unit) and suddenly, we were in very tight lanes that were going underground.  In just a moment, we realized that we were going into the immigration building to pass from Malaysia into Singapore, another entire country.  We didn't have our passports or anything with us.  There was no way to turn around, so we came to the booth, were they take your passport.  I rolled my window down and the gentleman looked at me, waiting for me to hand something over to him.  After just a moment, I said, "We're lost!  We are trying to get to Johor Bahru".  He quickly said that I would have to go to the "office".  There are like 10 to 20 booths with green arrows and signs and cars everywhere and we are sitting there, looking for an office.  He told us to pull over into a parking lane and find the office.  I went to the next booth and asked the guy inside and he pointed where I should go.  Surprisingly, I was the one who got out, instead of sending my wife to get the information.  I walked across 3 lanes of traffic, all underground and dark, and found the office.  I went inside and peeked my head in where 2 men and one Muslim lady sat.  They asked for my passport and I gave them the laminated copy that they provide from the mission office when we arrived.  The man looked at my "international driver's license" and laughed.  He then told me, in his broken English, to go over there and sit and don't move.  All this time, Linda was sitting in the locked car 3 or 4 lanes away from me and I was all alone, hoping to plead my case in English, or Malay or picture drawings. 
I have never prayed so hard that Heavenly Father would get us home to JB.  After a few minutes and watching the 3 people put my information into the computer, I was told to come back into the room.
On the wall was a large picture of 3 lanes of traffic that I would come to as I drove away.  The left 2 lanes would take me to the Woodlands Causeway into Singapore and the larger gentleman kept telling me, "No, No!".  He then pointed to the right lane on the picture and said, "Tunnel".  He repeated himself again and I took my plastic passport and left, so grateful that I wasn't placed in jail or caned or shot on site.  As I left, all 3 of them were laughing, probably at the stupid white American who can't find his way.
I got back into the car and looked for this tunnel to the right.  Just in front of us was the tunnel and now we're going even deeper underground.  I'm sure it was straight to "you know where".  As we came to the tunnel, another man stopped us and asked if we have been to the "office".  We told him yes and then continued around, to the right, following this green rubber-type road back to Malaysia.  Off to our left you could see all the booths for people coming from Singapore into Malaysia, but we just kept following our road.  It eventually lead to the exit from the immigration station and we were back on the roads in Malaysia.  We pulled over, after getting out of everyone's way, and looked at the GPS.  We pressed the wrong "Cold Storage" which was taking us exactly were it was suppose to, into Singapore. 
The two elders sent us an SMS and asked where we were.  We told them Singapore and they flipped out.  We eventually made it to the Pelangi Plaza, where the Cold Storage store is located and picked them up.  We then went to the home of Brother and Sister Ng, who just got back from the Hong Kong Temple where they were endowed and sealed.
Below, are a few pictures of us eating in a rain storm.  This place in called "Nasi Lemak" which means fat rice.  They make a wax paper cone, pour rice into it, then top it with a meat, chicken, pork or beef and some cucumber slices and lots of peanuts.  It's very good.  You then sit down and open your cone into a flat piece of paper and eat right off the table. 


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