Datang dan mendengar suara seorang nabi!‏

(Come and hear the voice of a prophet)

Well, this week has been a really slow week… mostly cuz the appointments that we have fall through at the last minute, or the people we go to visit aren’t home. So…ya, that’s been a little frustrating, but as is life and I’ve gotten a lot of HOPEFULLY good contacts…so we’ll find out next week.

Ok…so this really is sad, but I’m looking over what all I could write about, but there really isn’t too much. Almost all of our visits have fallen through, and the ones that we did have haven’t been all that exciting. Ah well, I’ll take ya through the few anyways…

We met with an elderly sister in the ward the other day who is the only member in her family who is still active in the church…her husband is REALLY old, and he can get around their house but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t come to church cuz he’s not able. Then all the children have married people in other religions have followed their spouse. So this little old lady comes to church every week alone, and was so happy to have us come visit her. I asked her if there was anything that we could help her with, right then or later, and that if she ever needed anything she could just call, and she actually started tearing up! She kept saying she didn’t need anything, but she must’ve been touched by my offer to help. Sis Lie was then touched by the lady, and she started crying during the visit, and then after we left, we had a good 1/2 hour conversation about her dad, and how she wants her dad to become like that little old lady, and also she was worried when she got old lady, and also she was worried when she got old that she wouldn’t be like that lady. So that was an interesting conversation, and hopefully I had good enough advice for her. But really…I feel incredibly blessed to not have to wonder IF I’ll still be going to church when I’m old cuz I KNOW from the examples of my grandparents that I will. I always feel like the luckiest member in Indonesia, cuz I have such an active ancestry in the church…I don’t have to wonder where I come from or where I’m going, because it’s already there…behind and in front of me. I have no doubts in my mind about that. So thank you family for your wonderful examples to me!

We met with that lady again this week, who I found out is named Ibu Yani (I dunno if I knew that or not last week…), and well…it was a little disheartening after having the Spirit there so strongly last week. We showed up, and there were again tons of people around, but this time she was joining in with them, smoking and everything (which was REALLY disheartening to Sis Lie), and when we asked if she had time to meet with us, she said she was busy and would be until after Easter…don’t ask me why Easter, but that’s what she said. So…ya. That was a bummer, but we’ll try again if we’re still here after Easter.

We didn’t meet with Chern last week (in Malaysia), Cherie (had family in town), or Israel (busy, getting ready for her trip to Malaysia next week). So ya. Like I said…pretty disheartening, but we’re meeting Chern on Friday, so I’m excited to see where that goes. I’m gonna try to set a baptismal date for her. I’m a little scared to do that, but I REALLY think she’s ready, and I don’t think she’s ever going set a date, so I’m just gonna go for it. Pray for her to have a soft heart!So, my bule experiences for this week are: I contacted a lady the other day, and that night she called the house and wanted her daughter to talk to me in English. I was really touched by that, and hopefully we’ll be able to set up an appointment with them next week. I also started to talking to a girl (who I thought was a boy, which was REALLY awkward when I realized she was a girl…she’s from Papua, and they’re basically from Africa…you really wouldn’t be able to tell the difference…anyways, so she had really short hair and a hat on…but when she talked, it was with a high voice. AWKWARD!) on the bus, and it ended up that she was going somewhere with 3 of her roommates, all Christian, and they each took a few pictures with me before I contacted them. So yes… hopefully we’ll have another for sure appointment next week. In a house full of girls, I’m hoping we can help them feel the Spirit and want to keep learning! I’ve come to this conclusion with Indonesians…they either hate or love bules. So, the church is incredibly smart to have both indos and bules here. The bules help get people interested who love bules, and the indos get everyone else who are REALLY just interested in the church. It’s a great system.

Although times get hard sometimes, I’m grateful that Heavenly Father always gives us another day, so things can get easier. The last 6 months (yes, I’m almost officially 1/3 of the way done with my mission…crazy!) have been the greatest roller coaster of emotions I’ve ever experienced, but I would never give a single moment of that up for any amount of money. I’ve always been lucky to have the people who surround me look out for me and help me through those difficult days…even if they didn’t know how to, they were just THERE, and that was enough. I feel like I’ve gained a lot of those friends here on the mission, and I’m so grateful for that. I’m especially excited to hear the voice of a prophet this weekend…3 times! I’ve been trying to prepare myself to be open and ready for any and all that the Holy Ghost will teach me through Elder Nelson, and hopefully I’m ready for this experience. We’ve been trying to get our investigators to come as well, but none of them can, and that makes me REALLY sad, because this really is such a chance of a lifetime almost…it’s been 10 years since President Hinckley came, and he was the last major authority. I’m lucky to be here! Anyways… thank you all so much for the prayers and support…I love you all so much, and know without a shadow of doubt in my mind that God loves each and every one of us, that Joseph Smith restored Christ’s church to the earth, and the Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and I owe everything I am to Him. Loves!
~Sister Sara