Berada di Solo! ciyaaaa....

Well, right now i'm sitting in a warnet in solo...we found out last friday that sari and i were being called to Solo, along with my DL and surabaya's DL, to go to a training meeting with these 8 principle things. today was the first day, and it was pretty good. i always learn a lot, but then you leave the meetings, get back to regular life, and sometimes just flat out forget what you SHOULD be doing, and go back to old habits. however, i'm hoping with sari here with me, we can BOTH work on becoming better at making sure we follow as much of these things as possible, so we can become more effective missionaries. i'm here with sis, so it's been fun to catch up with her...we really haven't talked like at all in the last almost 6 months, but it's been amazing how different our experiences have been, and yet the emotions have been the same. i told her there were so many times i just wanted to call her or lani and just bawl, and she started laughing, and was like, "me too!" haha....but we're both glad to be out of our nerakas.

so....drumroll please....i've never been one to really freak out about numbers, cuz mine always seemed so low and if i thought too much about it it just made me putus asa, but last week sari and i had 7 new investigators! the weekly goal for the mission is 2 every week, so we basically rocked the mission last week (words from elder hall in the office :P). of course this week, we're not in malang for 4 of the 7 days, and one of the other days we're gonna be spending getting ready for our movie night...so we'll only have had 2 days this week to follow up on all these people, but i think we'll get to the most important ones. i love actually being able to work!

vivi didn't end up moving to bali...everything fell thru, so she's still here, and now we're just waiting for their marriage certificate to go thru, and then she'll be set! i was pretty excited, actually, to see her still around :) i also got an email from raz (i got permission :) telling me that her mom finally knows she's learning about the church, and it's a slow process, but she's slowly getting used to the idea, and she thinks in a few months she'll be able to get baptized! she's also working on getting her boyfriend interested, so that was fun to hear.

i've been on the phone a lot this last week with the new elders down in bandung, as they're switching the sisters with elders there (ya...sisters alone there was NOT a good idea), and so they've been following up on all my investigators, and it's just breaking my heart to hear that nobody wants to learn anymore....apparently after i left, no one was interested. i just hope it was my enthusiasm and love for them and for the gospel that kept them learning with me, and NOT that i was a bule....i was a bit disappointed yesterday, but they also asked me for good proselying ideas, and so now they're gonna try a few things that i wasn't able to do while i was there...i'm just glad i'll get to go there one last time to talk to the elders and follow up with things there.

well, we got a whole bunch of new investigators, but most of our other investigators have been falling like flies...hopefully with these new investigators, we'll get someone that's really, truly interested in learning. i have REALLY high hopes for this sweet old couple that we met when i was buying material to make me clothes...the wife has been christian her whole life, but the husband just admitted to being christian 2 years ago, but hasn't been baptized yet cuz he doesn't wanna offend his buddhist mom....so the wife is all excited that someone can explain the bible and christ to her husband, and then she likes even more that SHE'S learning right along with him. she's so cute...she said her kids were worried about her learning from the BofM, and so she asked, "once i start reading from the bofm, am i going to be led astray? i've heard it'll only lead me astray, but once i start reading i won't be able to get back on the right road again." haha...i flat out laughed. she's so cute, straightforward, and innocent. it's funny to me how people will tell others not to read the bofm....but thats just satan's plan to keep people from knowing the truth. 2 other new investigators are sisters who's mom lives in hong kong, and joined the church up there and is begging them to learn about the gospel here. the older girl is in college, about 20 and catholic, and the younger daughter is muslim and 15...so it's gonna be interesting teaching the 2 of them, but i'm happy to help the mother. hopefully we have a good effect.

well, i'm about outta time...i love you all so much! hopefully all is well at home, and you're all making good decisions and buyin lots of baby stuff :) sampai minggu depan! loves~

~Sister Sara
ps. sis says hi, btw :)

Pembaptisan tdk ada, tapi masih baik2 saja :

well i only have 15 minutes to write this, so it's gonna be quick...first, CONGRATS KEL AND ZAK! sweet action jackson! i'll start looking for little girls clothes now...i have a few ideas :) 2nd...the baptism didn't happen on saturday. wednesday night when we got home, sis lie informed me that sis zizi had minorly mentioned that vivi and her husband weren't officially married yet...they'd just done the church blessing thing, but hadn't gone thru the civil stuff, and that it'd all been cancelled because of vivi's dad not wanting to approve the marriage....well, the next day we canceled all plans for the baptism, and vivi went to go talk to her dad (apparently she had no idea, sis zizi hadn't told her), and it wasn't her dad's letter, it was some letter from the Pak RT, or kinda like mayor of their neighborhood, who hadn't been notified or something, and so THAT was why their paperwork hadn't gone thru, and ya...blah blah blah, a whole bunch of other things i don't quite understand, but basically she's done with all the lessons, and she'll be our investigator in Bali from now on, and as soon as their marriage license goes thru, she'll be able to get baptized in bali. so it's all good and well :)

this week has been busy...what i like about sis sari is that she'll go out and work. Its been a LONG time since i've been this tired. we started basketball at a university called Universitas Brawijaya, about 20 minutes from our house. the team is a LOT more competitive than in bandung (there's like 20 girls on the team, whereas in bandung there was like 5 that would show up to practice). friday i just scrimmaged with them, and was lucky enough that i hadn't lost too much of my touch (altho i'm REALLY gonna hafta work on my 3 again when i get home...after i airballed one, there was no way i was gonna shoot again). tuesday i practiced with them, but their warmup is SUPER long and they start late, so i only really had time for like 2 drills with them before i had to go. but it's fun...i love being able to play again! mom and dad, we'll be here on a friday, so i think i'll play while you're here, and you can meet the team. they're super cute.

bro paulus...we had a nice talk the other day, and after i asked him how serious he was about learning, he admitted that it's hard for him to read the BofM cuz his mind is on so many other things (money...) right now. we discussed and decided to meet once a week with him from now on, and we'll see how things go...i know if he became serious about reading, he'd find what he's looking for....but he's just too preoccupied. but i was grateful for his honesty. he liked the story of Lehi's vision

we have 2 new investigators, and they're pretty cool. we'll see how things go there. we're still working on our friend stella, who was super busy last week, but hopefully we'll find time to meet this week. things are good, busy....and i'm exhausted, but loving actually doing stuff! right now we're on our way to teach a new english class, so we'll see how that goes....busy busy busy! anywho, thanks for everything from you all, i love you so much! have a good one~
~Sister Sara

satu minggu - langsung pembaptisan....jadi begini di amerika selatan?

well...let's not waste any time. THERE'S GONNA BE A BAPTISM ON SATURDAY! lol. crazy, right? ya....i thought sis zizi was crazy too, but then...ya, it kinda just works out. so there IS a story behind this, please, let me tell it.

sunday we followed up with vivi (i was wrong last week with the spelling...it's not fifi) and answered questions that she still didn't understand about the restoration, then we set an appointment to meet up tuesday. monday night, sis lie got a text saying that vivi only wanted to meet the next sunday, so we didn't think we were going, then we got a text from vivi tuesday morning asking if we were coming or not, and so i called and we decided to still go...we went in the morning (angkots stop there at 5 so we go in the mornings so we arent rushed), got there, and sis zizi was like, we're moving to bali next week, and i want vivi baptized before then...to which i immediately replied, there's NO way. she JUST learned the restoration. she's not ready for it! but she pushed a bit, so i felt like, what the heck, we'll try for the Plan of Salvation, and depending on how that goes, i'll base my decision (it's always the missionaries that decide whether a person is ready or not). so we gave the lesson....and she was INCREDIBLE. she understood everything. she had a lot of sincerely good questions, and after we explained, she understood. and to be quite honest, i think now she understands Christ better than before, because the PofS gives a more DEFINITE reason for needing Him. and after that lesson, we set the date for saturday, then she'll be confirmed at church sunday, and next week they'll head to bali. which means that this week is totally gonna center on vivi. i called and talked to the branch president, and he's ready for it, and then when i called the new DL, he was like, ok no problem, but you hafta MAKE SURE she's really ready and you're not just looking for a baptism (which i was kinda offended at, cuz he obviously doesnt know me, but then i it's true...some people are like that), so then we decided what the heck...today for Pday, all us missionaries went to her house, and we taught following the prophet and tithing....and it was another AMAZING lesson. sis zizi left so that the missionaries could see that it really is vivi that wants to learn and be baptized, and i know the other missionaries were impressed by her. i'm not gonna lie...these lessons without sis zizi there stuffing everything down her throat are A LOT more effective, and we can really see her TRUE desire to know. so it's been cool....when they get to bali, there's a small branch that meets regularly there, and sis groberg was saying that they're looking at making a branch down there so that tourists don't have to search too hard to go to church while they're in the area. i think vivi will become a really strong member there, especially with sis zizi there to guide her (sis Zizi got a job down there for herself, vivi, and vivi's husband - sis zizi wants them independent within a year or two so she can serve a mission). it's been a crazy last 2 days, but it's pretty cool, too. i guess now i know how missionaries in south america feel, getting baptisms within a few weeks...here it's usually at least 4-5 months, but usually longer. yay!

in other news, we had 2 investigators to church on sunday, vivi and stella, the 16 yr old that we just started teaching. stella is pretty cool - when we talk about different things in the church or our beliefs, she's always like, "i've always wondered about that..." and then saturday night when we met, she had a few questions that were hard for us to answer cuz it's really something she herself needs to find out for herself, but then at church i went with her to sunday school for the kidders, and sis zizi taught and actually answered a whole bunch of the questions that stella had asked the night before....so we were all happy about that. we're trying to meet up tonight, but so far i haven't gotten a response from her...but ya, she's super cool. we went to her house last week, and guess what? her cousin in law is a bule, and i was again reminded of how rude bules are. he just ignored us, even though we were in the same room, and it was pretty rude. but whateverlah....the important thing is that i don't become a rude bule when i get home :P

oh, in other news...pres groberg a few weeks ago told elder meek that he wanted me to search for some service to do using basketball at one of the local universities...so last week we went to one, but they never called me back, so we tried another one, and i think this one might be it. we went to the practice last night, but being the RETARD that i am, i forgot my bag at our house (and only thought, crap i forgot socks, before i realized that i'd forgotten the entire bag....seriously, dodol.), so the coach was kinda like, uh i dunno if i can trust that you know what you're talking about or not before i see you play, and i was like, ya i know...so friday we're gonna try again, and see if he'll trust me more after that. he wanted to know if i wanted to PLAY with the girls, or if i wanted COACH...i told him i love to play, but i'm also old and fat and outta shape now, so i dunno how long i can last. he laughed...hopefully he doesn't judge me. but i really am excited to get back to playing. after i talked to the coach, one of the boys team players came and talked to me about the jazz....i almost fainted, i was so excited! and it wasn't john stockton (i've met a few that know john stockton), it was DERON WILLIAMS! and CARLOS BOOZER (i was quick to tell him i don't like boozer...)! and THAT ASHTON KUTCHER LOOK-ALIKE! omigosh....i seriously died and went to heaven. afterwards, sari wanted to know what we'd been talking about that kept me smiling the whole time, and i said BASKETBALL! the UTAH JAZZ!!!!!! lol....she didn't believe me at first. but ya...i'm a simply girl to please, especially for any jazz loving guy :P

last week was zone conference...pres groberg was sick, and kinda outta it, then within the first 10 minutes sis groberg was shivering like a new born puppy that was born in the snow, and so it was kinda one of those totally chillax shindigs cuz there wasn't anyone really taking control. oh...and i got to give my final farewell testimony. needless to say, kinda weird, but whateverlah. it was good.

and ya...this week i haven't studied a whole bunch on my own, except a bit from genesis...man alive, the life back then was SOOO weird. the only thing i've really gotten from it thus far is TO BE OBEDIENT. cuz that's when the blessings will really come :) i know that is true, and since i'm outta time, i love you all, be safe, and LOVES!~

~Sister Sara

Rekan baru, dan pekerjaan terus maju :)

Well....it's been a week. haha. not much happened before Sister Sari got here on Friday - we went and picked her up, and then the other sisters went to teach an english class, and we got lost in the center of the city looking for a grocery store, HAHA. yup....that's what happens when you put 2 new people together (especially without a cell phone :P). sister sari is a pretty straight-faced person, who's darn focused on the work....and just goes right in and does the work, which i like. i didn't even have time to explain how to try and contact people with her, cuz she started talking to people herself. she joined the church in Hong Kong, and for 6 years has been used to the hong kong mission....which is WAY different than the indonesian mission. but because they're so strict, she's super strict, and actually has a hard time seeing the rest of us just chillax in the nice, indonesian way (which...before i never thought i was too much of a chillax person, but i guess indo's gotten to me more than i knew....). it's been different trying to get out of my indo habits to get right with her strict orderness, but she's also pretty patient with me, so that's good.

anyways...so that girl we taught last night is TOTALLY awesome. she's from manado, and she was totally freaking out, "WHAT!?!?! what is this kitab (holy book)? how come i've never heard of it before? can i read it? what?... it's can tell me about what happens after death?" ya...she's 17! and come to find out, after the lesson, she literally lives down the street from us...literally, down the street and around the corner, and BOOM! you're at her house. so cool....we're gonna walk to church together on sunday :)

another fun story was our lesson with Fifi, who is muslim and just married an inactive member (the marriage that happened on Christmas Day), but who's mother in law joined the church in hong kong before coming back home, and basically has devoted her life to learning about the gospel (she's about 55 yrs old, and she actually was working on putting her papers in to serve a mission, but then her son came home, after about a year where sis zizi didn't know where he was, with this girl and they had to organize the wedding pretty fast and stuff....), and now sis zizi (pronounced, seesee) is pushing for fifi to get baptized.

oh, and another investigator that we met my first week here, sari and i FINALLY went to meet him (we were an hour late, cuz we went to a member's house first and that went long, and he was NOT happy about that... "westerners are ALWAYS on time"...which again reminded me that i have some bad habits from the last 14 months here...), and he'd WRITTEN down all his questions that he had for us! it was awesome. most of the questions were pretty typical and good (who is joseph smith, what was his background like, what year was the BofM published, etc...), but he did ask about polygamy which was fun to answer (he pulled out scriptures from the bible about being married to only one person, and trying to a little bible bashing in a nice, more welcoming way), but that's one that i myself still have a hard time explaining (like i understand it...but to explain that? impossible without a testimony first), so ya...begitulah. but it was good. i really feel like our teaching pool is getting more and more effective. and all 3 of these people said they'd come to church on sunday, so COOL!

bro paulus is funny...we read the joseph smith and oliver cowdery account of when they recieved the aaronic priesthood from john the baptist, and he was just silent... which never happens....and then he explained that he needed to read it a few more times to fully understand it ("maybe a problem with the translation or something..."), so this week he's gonna go read it again in his forest that he works on, and next week we'll go over it again. haha. he really does just make me happy. AND he's selling me FRESH MILK which is actually GOOD, and not the crappy gross stuff that they sell in the stores here. so i'm happy with that :)

today we're going to buy material for me to make my kebaya! i still dunno what color to get, but it's gonna be pretty. what have i learned this week? that ALLL our experiences are to prepare us for experiences that will come, so that we will be able to bear those hardships better than we would've been able to otherwise. i know the last 14 months have prepared me for the patience and knowledge that i've needed and will continue to need with sis sari and our investigators. crazy how patient i've gotten...i really do feel like a COMPLETELY different person as far as my level of patience here (altho it could still get better, i'm sure). but...it's true. tomorrow we head to surabaya for zone conference, so that'll be fun to get together with other missionaries and learn more about how i can become a better missionary (cuz now i can actually apply what i learn :P). I LOVE YOU FULL!

~Sister Sara

ps sorry kel, happy bday last saturday, and ben happy bday 3 weeks ago. i send ya'll letters, but always forget while i'm on here...so sorry! but know i love you :)