satu minggu lagi...

well, the 4th was a lot harder here than i thought it'd be...i have a feeling this whole month is going to be like that if i don't get busier and with someone who doesn't talk about going home all the time. it's been a long week, but it's still been a good one. we always have our ups and downs, but as long as there are more ups, the downs don't seem as bad :)

thursday i taught english class, and none of the regulars came...instead, it was a class full of new kids that were muslim, and i had a really nice conversation with their moms while they drew pictures of their families. it was different, but it was really fun. hopefully they keep coming.

friday, i finally got to meet pres groberg...and let me tell you, i am SOOO excited! he's exactly what this mission needs. he knows the language REALLY well (i was writing down words that he was saying so i could go home and look them up), and even sis groberg was talking in indo better than i did when i first got here. i guarantee in 3 years she'll be more fluent than me! but he introduced himself, and dad his son is serving his mission in finland right now, and he got to the MTC the same day as me and carter...so small world there. he shared a few things with us, like what he's looking for in the mission, and he really made a positive impression with the indonesian missionaries, which is good cuz thats where it's REALLY gotta start...and friday is zone conference, so we'll learn more about what he wants to do then. but the most exciting part is that sis groberg wants to come teaching with us! i am SOOO excited for that, cuz i love having someone there who can help you know how to teach better. so we'll see how things go, but i think the work is going to progress a bit quicker in the next few years.... :)

we've met with raz a few times this week...fridays was good...she had a problem with her dad, and so we watched a movie called "family answers" that was really good, with tons of advice on how to improve your family relationships...mostly for parents, but raz liked it a lot, and she's going to try apply the things she learned from that and Mosiah 2 (we read that last night together, and she got to write down all the ways that our families can be happier and more united) with her family while she's in australia these next 2 months. we just got back from lunch at her house, and i'm really gonna miss her. hopefully she's around when you guys come out...you'll like her a lot.

we also met with atika and her husband for FHE last week with the 2 office elders (elder silalahi served in Medan where atika was a member, and he's the one that sent me and siman to check up on her) to try and help him get more comfortable with the missionaries, and hopefully more open to atika coming to church after the baby is born. it was a really good lesson on families, and atika said after we left, he was happy with it. we also played an awesome new game that i want to always play for FHE now called James Bond (007)...i'll explain it when i get home, but it was really fun, and i think it helped him get a little bit more outside of his comfort zone. but atika is awesome, and i already told her we're coming to her house when you guys come...so you'll for sure meet her :)

for the 4th of july, we celebrated it with the english branch, and it was really fun...all the families that are here right now are young families, so we get to enjoy their hilarious kids. seriously. some of these kids say the darndest things. like..."what animal am i?" "you're a...........eating a donut!" (a lot funnier if you were there, i'm sure), among others. they're so dang cute. the millecams put on the party, and us missionaries were in charge of the games. then everyone from the different countries got to sing their national anthems, which was SOOO cool...we had sri lanka, australia, new zealand, malaysia, indonesia, and america. so it was really fun, but still not quite the cabin experience. to answer your quesion mom, the people that work here are here cuz of work....for the embassy, or oil companies, etc.....basically those 2 are the main companies, but i'm sure there are a few others.

Chern is still doing awesome. she really does just make me so happy! whenever i feel down about investigators or question different things, all i hafta do is think of her, and i know i was sent here for a reason...one of the main ones being her. she just told us monday that they're considering a job offer in china, and in a few weeks they'll hafta make a decision....so there ya go. between raz and chern, i might not have any reason to stay in jakarta much longer.

so tomorrow we're going to have interviews with pres groberg...and apparently he'll let us know about transfers after that. i hope nobody thinks i wanna get transferred...cuz i really don't completely....its just that 8 months is a lot of time, and i haven't experienced the real indonesian experience yet! so i'm getting excited to finally venture outta the big city, and see green again. oh how i miss green!

this week, i've really tried to focus more on serving sis simanjuntak...altho at times i'm REALLY crappy at it. but i'm trying, and hopefully that helps our relationship so that we can always come together, especially when we're teaching. cuz that's really where it gets important. i'm learning more and more that this mission is REALLY hard if there's only one of you talking at appointments....cuz there should be at least 4 people talking....me, my comp, the investigator, and the Holy Ghost. so it's something i'm working on :)

anywho, i hope you all enjoyed the cabin (ugh...the jealousy. i wanna play ball with the cousins!), and tell al hi and that i love her and that she looked absolutely gorgeous! oh, and to be safe when she heads to scotland...when is that? anywho, i love you all, thanks for everything! loves,

~Sister sara

setidaknya seminggu lagi di Jarkarta‏

this last week has been a bit of a blur...a lot of plans that got changed, and a lot of appointments that haven't happened...we had all these new investigators, but now we're finding out who really wants to meet with us and who doesn't. so it's been interesting. friday and saturday we basically spent the whole day at the church helping prep and present "Family Day" for the district here...it was a really good idea to help members (and anyone else interested) get more interested in their family history and doing things to preserve their own family's history. it had some really good ideas in it, but if i were in charge, there are a few things i would do differently...mostly stuff that could get the kids more involved. the kids all just ran around the whole day, bored outta their minds...but i think if there had been some games dealing with family history or like coloring or drawing, they would've been more interested, and the parents could've focused more on rest of the activity. but it was fun...mom, there was a guy that brought a few of his plants and did a little presentation on keeping a garden....he apparently makes most his own medicines and food for his little store he runs, and i wanna go to his house to see for myself...it sounded really cool. i think you'd like to go see all his stuff.

we're teaching Raz about the Temple and also using the BofM to help her with her questions that she's having in her life right now. she's not really the type of person that likes to just sit down and read it like a book...she likes to find verses that inspire her, and then that's it...which kinda defeats the purpose of reading the scriptures, but we'll keep trying to help her understand. we just found out yesterday that she'll be leaving next thursday...so this is our last week with her! i'm sad, but then again i'm leaving too...so whatevs. she'll be here the next time i'm back here (sebelum saya pulang! haha, get that translated.... :P), so that's good enough...and she should still be learning when she gets back here in august. so we'll just see what happens with her.

so funny story...monday we were teaching chern about being a missionary as a member of the church, and she told us about her doctor who was in some protestant church, and that when her doctor asked what church she was in, she said she was a mormon, and the lady asked her how many wives her husband had, so then chern explained to her that that wasn't true...and at the end of her story she said, "i don't care what other people say...I'M PROUD TO SAY I'M A MORMON!" lol....she seriously made me so happy, she's so awesome. i can't wait for you to meet her...you'll love her too :)

tuesday we met up with one of our new investigators, and we weren't really sure how she'd take us...if she'd be friendly or not wanna meet again (ya...it happens pretty often here...). at first she was a little reluctant, but after i started asking about her kids and their weddings, and then she pulled out the photo album of her son's wedding and started explaining to me the customs of an indonesian wedding, she got a lot more comfortable and we were able to have a really good lesson with her on how she can help strengthen her family. she's a really cool lady...hopefully she continues to wanna learn, and will gain a desire to come to church...it's a ways from her house, but that'd be really cool.

so yesterday we went to Bro Leo's parent's house! (my mtc teacher, in case you don't remember)...they are a tiny bit wealthy. while everyone else was touring the house, i talked to his dad about the mission and different things with life...he's a really cool guy, very down to earth. it was fun getting to know them and spend time with them.

so,guess what i found!?!?!?!?! i wanna share my happiness with you all...i love jakarta! i finally bought a hard drive here, and guess how much it was? maybe around $70ish for 500 GB...mom, ask sean or jake or paul about what a deal that is...cuz it's a DEAL! then i finally found some nikes that just happened to be on sale, just happened to be the last pair the store had, and just happened to be almost my size (1/2 size too big, but i can handle it), so i bought a new pair of tennis shoes for when i move...cuz my shoes are already getting a little shaggy from the jakarta slime and grime. so this last week i spent over $100 here, but it was all for a good cause :) the most i've spent yet in Indo, by far. but it was well worth it.

this week has been a better week as far things with sis simanjuntak. i think we're both just to the point that we know a change is going to happen soon, so we're done arguing over things we don't agree on. haha. reminds me of sean... "don't sweat the toothpaste." true, my friend, true. but i've really felt this week just how ready i am to get moved...it's time. actually, speaking of getting moved...pres groberg (no i haven't met him yet, so i have nothing to tell you about him...sorry) is interviewing us next week before zone conference to decide who's getting moved, and where they're going...so next week i'll still be here, but the week after that...malang? samoga! i can only hope...but ya...from what the office elders have told the other missionaries, pres groberg is really cool, but very organized...and especially ready to get going on things here...semangat, as they like to say here. so i'm excited to meet him myself.

alright...well i love you all! hopefully all is well at home...let me know if there's anything you want here (like an HD)....or anything else i can do for you. loves!

~Sister Sara

naik, turun, naik, turun‏

well, it's been a week of wild rides, but since last week, we've found 5 new investigators, and THAT'S HUGE here! i'm a lot happier with appointments, so i've been a lot happier this last week. and the best part is, the people who we've taught really act like they wanna read the BofM, so hopefully they do so they can decide for themselves if this church is true or not.

one of the coolest people we met is sis siman's best friend from high school...who just happens to be living a few blocks from us. small world, eh? she called the other day while we were doing our weekly planning, and apparently she'd gone to the church looking for siman,b ut met a member who told her she'd hafta call us to find her...so she did, and we met with her that night. lol....sis siman must be REALLY different from before, cuz Hana was basically freaked out a lot by her...she kept asking what happened, what changed, and siman just kept saying, "i gained a testimony of this gospel, and now i have my priorities in the right place." it was a good discussion, hana was really interested and had tons of questions, so we should be meeting again this week to keep answering and helping her understand. she's dating a muslim guy, and she even wants him to come meet with us, so he can understand christianity better. so hopefully that happens.

saturday was president marchant's going away party for the indonesians, and it was AWESOME. they had a program with different pictures and talents. us missionaries did a fun little dance that elder silalahi learned in Medan that's from Hawaii...short and sweet, with tons of laughs. i liked it. there were a lot of RMs, so it was fun to see and catch up with them. after, sis marchant didn't wanna leave...pres marchant literally was pulling her away by the arm, and she was still trying to talk as she got pulled away. funny. oh, there's also a new mission couple here, the Grover's, from kennewick WA....carter, what stake are you in? you're IN kennewick, right? i told them you were, but i didn't know what ward. they're cool tho...they'll be in solo, so hopefully i'll get to know them better eventually.

Meity and Sally are sisters that we met with sunday, and they were funny...we walked in, and the first thing sally said to us is, "i like sharing about our beliefs, but the moment you start talking about things that can't be backed up by the Bible, we're done." needless to say, we weren't kicked out, they actually LOVED everything we said, and hopefully we can get them to church soon.

we're starting to teach raz about the temple, and after we'd explained about eternal marriage, she sat back for a minute, and then said, "if this is for eternity, i have to be REALLY careful with who i pick!" haha...we all laughed. she's funny. hopefully she'll be going to australia soon (she's gotta get her visa first), and then she can go walk around the grounds and feel the spirit that's there for herself. and hopefully take her boyfriend too...and help him feel what she feels about the gospel.

so funny story on sunday...we were in gospel principles class, and all of a sudden we hear this huge bang and then shattering... when we walked out, we found out what happened. the wind was really strong, and it blew the back door closed... which shut so hard that the glass from the door fell out of the door, and shattered on the ground. who knew wind was so strong?

yesterday was another day in "Little Batak" as i like to call it (it's FAR from tebet, where we live!). Atika was a great appointment, and she bought us some medan food...that was REALLY GOOD, but apparently is far better in medan. i gave her a pic that i took of the SL temple, and she just STARED at it, talking about how even just looking at it, you could feel something different. she's so cool.we met her husband, and he seems like a good guy...hopefully we can help him support atika so she can come to church after she has the baby.

the simanjuntak appointment was good, except that the dad wasn't feeling good, so he left. but the mom was still good, and wants to read the BofM herself to see if it's really true or not. she then took us to our next appointment, where the husband is a leader in the church thats near this area...but he was cool, and the mom was totally into everything, talking about how everything just made so much sense. so we gave them each their own BofM, and hopefully they'll read this week and want to keep learning next week.

anywho...it's been a busy week, and i like it like that. hopefully we keep finding people who really wanna know for themselves, and are willing to try something new. it's always a whirlwind of emotions at our house, so hopefully this week is a bit calmer, and all goes well. i still can't believe how much i'm learning out here...i dunno if i'll ever get married, i hafta find someone who is SUPER laid back and understanding with me. sometimes, me and siman are a little bit too hard headed with each other, and each have our own opinions and won't back down from them. but that's where we're learning together, and i know she's helping me become a better missionary..hopefully i'm helping her as well.

and that's all folks! have another great week, i love you all!

~Sister Sara

Pictures

Found some pictures I don't think have ever been scanned...

Me with mthe Subandryo Family.

Stefi (mom), Didi (teen), and elder Subandryo

Bro Hunter, Chern, Baby Hunter, Sara and Sister Sim

Sara and the Millecams

Membangun Lagi‏

So, to be quite honest, last week i was not looking forward to writing this email, cuz it was such an awful week...we had NO appointments until saturday that followed thru! a full week...i felt like a waste of a missionary, but this week has already gotten better. btw, the "t" on this keyboard isn't working very well, so if i get sick of having to waste time on it, jus know here should be a "t" and i'm jus oo lazy.

so ya, last week was quite frustrating for me and siman, but i was super excited saturday cuz we had 3 appointmens, and one was wih ibu edi, and i was he bes one yet! she was actually supporting the BofM, and said that she's noticed it's easier to read han the bible....soooo that was huge.

monday, we had our plan for the day all planned and set to go, and right as we were about to end our comp study, pres called and asked to talk to me...so the whole house went quiet, i walked slowly over to the phone, and i waited to see if i'd hear the words i've been waiting to hear since the day i got here...but i didn't. he told us that THAT DAY he wanted me and Siman to go to the church to interview the Pioneers of Indonesia who were waiting to go to the temple for the first time ... some have been waiting for almost 40 years (since the church was first started here). so, we had to change all our plans around, but it ended up being THE COOLEST day. we got to hear so many stories and so many testimonies...there were tears, there were smiles, there was laughter, and there was the Spirit in that room as we recorded all those histories. one lady was excited to finally wear garments (she'd had a friend who had garments, but didn't wear them cuz it was too hot, and she swore if she'd ever get to the temple, she'd never be like that), another old man was going with his daughter, and they were going to be sealed to his wife and his grand daughter who died last year from a freak accident, and one man who was there without his wife because she hadn't stayed active but he had...and he wasn't going to miss this opportunity. it was seriously the COOLEST thing o be involved in, and it REALLY made me appreciate all the temples that are so close to me...i'm 15 minutes from bountiful and 20 minutes from Ogden and SL...not to mention all the others that are 1 hour away. it's a true blessing!

and then yesterday we had the opportunity to visit a girl from Medan, who got married and moved to jakarta less than a yr ago, but her husband won't let her go to church cuz it's too far and dangerous....but according to Siman (she's from Medan, fyi), Atika was one of the STRONGEST members in Medan, and wanted to serve a mission, but was possibly a little forced into getting married by her family...but we visited her, and altho she's had a rough time, she is SOOO full of faith and her testimony is SO strong...i seriously loved listening o her talk cuz you could justt feel the power in her voice. so it was fun to see her.

then, on our way home, we were walking down the street, and an older guy was outside his house and i told him good afternoon, and then he wanted o know what marga i was (that's like family, and it's the Batak people...they have strong roots to their ancestors, and we were in a Batak neighborhood) in, and i said one of the names of one of the elders that i know is batak, and the guy like freaked ou, and was like, what? and immediaely invited us into his house....so from there, sis siman bsically gave the first discussion to this guy and his wife, and it was AWESOME. they listened, and they had questions, and it was possibly one of the best first discussions i've ever had just cuz it was righ on the spot. bu we're going back next week :)

and today siman and i went to taman mini with raz...it was fun, but i'm EXHAUSED! raz is so good, bu she'll be leaving in another 2 weeks, so we're just taking advantage of the time we have left with her.

so...the lessons i learned this week were many, but what is top on my mind is NEVER BE UNGRATEFUL FOR THE SMALL BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE! temples that are so close, being able to go to church without having to fight someone about it (especially when the church is as close as it is in k-town), enduring trials cuz they will open up to many many blessings...there are so many things we have in this life, we need to always be ever grateful for them.

and i know this is kinda short today, but kel sent pics of the weddings so i wanna see them...congrats to zack and addi, and morgan and dave (i think that's his name...right? sorry...i haven't met you yet!)! may you enjoy eternity together :) thanks for everything, i love you, and have a good week! loves~

~Sister Sara

kesabaran....

well...it's been an exhausting week, but certainly not from appointments. from trying to find people! but i'm getting more and more sick of malls and shopping areas...ugh. i hated shopping at malls before the mish, i'm REALLY gonna hate them when i come home, haha. it's been a learning week... i'm trying to learn how to contact in the malls, but it's REALLY hard for me to find people to talk to. sis siman is stellar at starting up conversations with people, but i was telling sis the other night... i feel like, as a bule, i walk around with this HUGE shield around me that other people have to walk around. that or i have some sort of disease, and people are afraid of getting too close. well, unless they wanna sell something. then they're just fine getting close to me (ESPECIALLY when they find out i can speak indonesian), cuz they think i'll buy whatever they're selling. but besides them, its hard to get close enough to anyone to even try to start a conversation. i did, however, get a referral from a muslim lady and that was HUGE for me! and i had a very nice (or was it tense? i was fine, but i think the other guy was a little tense) conversation about religion with another guy who didn't believe in church, just faith in Christ. so...it's hard, but i'm slowly learning to contact like this. its a bit like starting the mission over again...except this time i don't have the language as an excuse, haha. but i've had a few fun experiences in different places trying to contact people...haha i'll tell ya all about them when i get home. words can't explain it near as well as me acting it out, lol :P

and basically we've had no appointments....all week. it seriously is killing me. we met with raz on friday, and since then we've had NOTHING. we've tried meeting with her monday and tuesday and today, but she always cancels last minute (she's got finals coming up, and is writing all her papers right now). and we dunno who else to try.

i did have an interesting experience tho...i contacted a muslim guy last week, and i tried calling him the other day, but it was busy, and i've just been putting it off since then cuz i figured he wouldn't wanna meet anyways, but then he called yesterday and wanted to meet! he's fluent in english, and works for an oil company. he's a really cool guy, and said he's open to hear our message. but i thought it was cool that HE called ME, and yes...another shove in the face that i need to have more faith in my work here, and the people i meet with. hopefully we'll be able to meet with him on friday.

PLD was last thursday, and it was good. the last one with pres marchant, and i thought it was interesting that the topic of his talk was on decisions...how we need to make decisions before the questions come so that we don't hafta make the decision in the moment. he also emphasized important things to consider when making decisions (like marriage, school, etc). it was really cool. elder subandriyo came and talked to us about "power statements" and how we need to give power statements that are direct and clear when we contact, cuz that'll help us. i'm still working on getting better at that, but we're practicing so we can get better. and sis marchant talked about how we need to literally start counting our blessings...and this talk probably has had the biggest effect on me. i've really been trying to see my blessings more...i know if i start doing that, even when things aren't the way i want them to be (like right now), i can still be grateful for what i have. it's been good for me to do this, especially this week. and i'm especially grateful for sis siman...when she's down, i'm always up enough to help her, and when i'm down, she's always there to lift my spirits. it's definitely helping us become closer as a companionship.

so what have i learned this week? to enjoy this time that i have left in jakarta. i know i'm not gonna be here long, but i really DON'T wanna leave it the way i came to it. and that's REALLY gonna take some work. so i pray every day that Heavenly Father will help me overcome my insecurities and remember that i'm here to TALK to people...and He helps me do better every day. that's for sure. if nothing else, i'm learning more and more, while on this crazy adventure in this amazing country, that i have to rely on Heavenly Father...i can't do ANYTHING on my own. contact, teach...nothing. i'm realizing just how independent i was before...and even tho i had a testimony, there are only a few times in my life that i can REALLY remember specifically having to rely on Heavenly Father for any extended amount of time. now, i know i have to be patient and work hard, and pray every day to be able to do both of those to the best of my abilities (which are greater than i think!). yes...this mission is by far the greatest thing Heavenly Father has ever told me i need to do, and i'm SOO grateful to be here! every day is a learning experience, and makes me a better person with a stronger testimony.

thank you all for your love and support and especially prayers...i love you and hope you have a great week! loves~
~Sister Sara

Hari "hump" Saya!‏

well...wow. I'm halfway thru, and thats all I'm gonna say about that.

So this week has been a bit interesting, a bit frustrating, a bit rewarding, a bit of everything I guess. We'll start with the frustrating...so I told you last week that I was REALLY looking forward to our appointment with a family that was REALLY interested in learning about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. And it was AWESOME appointment, with the guy begging to tell us about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and telling us why we need prophets on the earth today, and why another book testifying of Christ would help back up the Bible. However..we found out that they live in Tangerang...a suburb of Jakarta, where there are other missionaries. So...yes. I had to reluctantly give them away as investigators. Your welcome, tangerang elders.

The next day, I made an appt. with another lady that I'd talked to, and she was SOO excited to have us come over to her house (i think this one was a bit more focused on having a bule over..but I'll start wherever I can), but then when sister siman was getting directions to her house, we found out that it's in Bogor...another suburb of Jakarta where there are other elders. So ?I had to give that one away too. THEN we went to the mall the next day, and I contacted some guy who was a missionary from his church as well, but wanted to hear what we were teaching...but his family lived somewhere NOT in Jakarta, so I had to give HIM away to the elders in Jakarta, and when I talked to the elder that night, he said this guy was totally amazing, and had been questioning what he was teaching to people, and what the elders taught him made so much more sense, and and he was going to read the BofM and pray about Joseph Smith, but he thought he already had his answer. So ya...there's another strike. Not to mention that Sis Siman had 2 great contacts that day too who were both interested in knowing about the church, but BOTH of them lived in Bekasi...yes, ANOTHER suburb of Jakarta that has its own elders. So life has been great the last week. I 'm rewarded cuz all these people really do wanna learn, but I'm frustrated cuz I can't teach them myself! But, as elder Silalahi told me this week.."don't give up, just keep talking to people." So I"ll try.l..but that's also been hard cuz the times that we have time set aside to proselyte, sis siman has been sick. So I'm trying to be patient, but i REALLY wanna get out and find new people! but all in good time...

We have one new investigator...who is english speaking (haha, I have the knack for finding people who speak english), and altho we've met several times, the only thing that's happened is her telling us her problems about her possibly ex boyfriend...she says all she wants in life is to be happy, and so I've been trying to teach her the Plan of HAppiness, but thats hard when she's no tin a state to learn about stuff like that. So what Sis siman and I think is the best thing is to watch "Charly" with her...so she can see what the Gospel can do for relationships...ti can make them ETERNAL. WE don't have time this week to meet, but we're hoping early next week we'll be able to watch that, and then she'll be more open to learning about new things.

Saturday night we had a going away party for President Marchant with the English Branch, so we went with Raz to try and meet new people in the branch, and get more involved in that way. She's going to Australia at the end of the month, so yesterday we looked up the church closest to her, and also all the temples in Australia. So that was fun.l She really likes out church, and I can't wait to starting talking to her about temples and eternal families there...I think if she gains a testimony of that, she can help her boyfriend in Australia get more interested and they can work to become members together! That'd be sweet.

Alright...so that's basically it for this week, not too many exciting things, except that tomorrow is zone conference and then after that I"M PLAYING BASKETBALL!! haha, elder siregar, my bbal bud out here, is going home next week, so we're getting in our last game before then...and after that, I dunno whos gonna be my competition. There's not much competition out here. Hopefully I'll find someone. oh well.

I love this Gospel, and I love sharing ti with people! there is certainly nothing like seeing the lights go on in someone's head when they FINALLY get what you're trying to help them understand...it's amazing to see the change that happens in their lives when they finally understand and apply what they know...sometimes they don't get too far, but even the little that they got to is enough to help me know that when I'm doing is right, and keep moving forward. This morning I found a new scripture that is awesome...1 peter 2:21, about Christ and how we nee dot follow the example that he already set for us. It's true, and we all need to work a little harder to be a little better. Thanks for everything, loves

Sister Sara