well, it's only been 2 days, so there isn't too much to say..but i'll say what's happened. i'm not really allowed to go out and proselyte until the 20th, so we'll be keeping it easy in the house for the next few days. then HOPEFULLY i'll be able to get out and work again....holy cow i'm so sick of that house. yesterday was the indo independence day, and the branch had an activity with lot's of games and contests....i played :) haha. and i won 2nd place in a cruple eating contest (i'm still confused by how that happened...i haven't eaten a full meal in almost 2 weeks). but man, they had some REALLY interesting races....one was where they tied a pencil with a string to the backside of the participant, and then the person had to run to a bottle and try to get the pencil inside the bottle...it was HILARIOUS, and like the person was trying to take a poop or something. haha. indo humor is really funny sometimes.
it was a fun time, but i was exhausted, so we went home and i tried to sleep for a bit while lie showered (it was her bday yesterday, and before we left, one of the members poured flour on her head....lol, she wasn't very happy, but i thought it was a very nice gray color :), then we went out to eat to celebrate lie's bday. after that i was REALLY exhausted, and came home and went to bed.
so this week there have been quite a few new things....sis simanjuntak is on her way here as i type, and will join chris and lie. i'm still not sure how that's gonna work in our little house, but it'll work and hopefully all will be well. pres told me this while he was finding out about how i was doing in the hospital, so when we called to tell lie, she didn't believe us until she called the office. haha. funny.
dad, to answer your questions about bandung....it's like the park city of jakarta...everyone comes here to enjoy the cool mountain air. and it really does feel REALLY good here. it's the shopping center if you want anything, and it's huge. well, by indonesian standards its pretty normal, but to me it's huge. if you look at a map of java, find jakarta, then go to the south, and you'll find bandung. it's the farthest place from jakarta in jawa barat (west java) district, the rest of the branches are fairly close to jakarta. it's a small branch here cuz everyone gets offended easily and refuses to come to church. i'm still very confused here.
ok, well my time is up and i still hafta find carter's address....i love you all very much, and thanks again for all the prayers! you are the support that is my rock while i'm here, and i love each of you so much! have another good week, loves~
~Sister Sara
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Pray for Sara
We got an e-mail from Sara's mission president. She's in the hospital with Dengue Fever, and being monitored for her platelets levels and for IV fluids to keep hydrated. She should be okay but there can never be too many prayers. Here is the e-mail we got:
Dear Brother and Sister Hewlett,
This is President Groberg, Sister Hewlett's mission president. First, I want to tell you what an amazing and outstanding daughter you have. It is truly an honor to work with her. I feel I can trust her with anything. She is totally honest about situations also so I know I will get the truth from her and not a rose colored version.
I wish I could just stop there but unfortunately I am writing to tell you that she has been ill the past few days. She was checked today and it looks like she has Dengue Fever. It is a mosquito bourne virus that causes fever, aches and malaise. It can also drop the platelet count and make it easier to bleed. It is a temporary illness, usually lasting about a week. Several of the western missionaries have had it over the past several months. She will be fine but she is in the hospital in Bandung in order to monitor her bleeding and keep her hydrated. I have spoken to her a few times the past few days and she is doing okay. The last two elders we had with this illness were only in the hospital about 2-3 days, just long enough to see the platelets start to rise again. Her platelets were 36,000 which is low but not dangerously so. I was a Pediatrician for the past 31 years before this calling.
I know this is not the news you want to hear but I am sure she will be okay. We will have someone with her all the time. The medical care is good. Bandung probably has the best care in the nation
We will keep you informed.
Keep her in your prayers and we will do the same.
Sincerely, President Groberg
Dear Brother and Sister Hewlett,
This is President Groberg, Sister Hewlett's mission president. First, I want to tell you what an amazing and outstanding daughter you have. It is truly an honor to work with her. I feel I can trust her with anything. She is totally honest about situations also so I know I will get the truth from her and not a rose colored version.
I wish I could just stop there but unfortunately I am writing to tell you that she has been ill the past few days. She was checked today and it looks like she has Dengue Fever. It is a mosquito bourne virus that causes fever, aches and malaise. It can also drop the platelet count and make it easier to bleed. It is a temporary illness, usually lasting about a week. Several of the western missionaries have had it over the past several months. She will be fine but she is in the hospital in Bandung in order to monitor her bleeding and keep her hydrated. I have spoken to her a few times the past few days and she is doing okay. The last two elders we had with this illness were only in the hospital about 2-3 days, just long enough to see the platelets start to rise again. Her platelets were 36,000 which is low but not dangerously so. I was a Pediatrician for the past 31 years before this calling.
I know this is not the news you want to hear but I am sure she will be okay. We will have someone with her all the time. The medical care is good. Bandung probably has the best care in the nation
We will keep you informed.
Keep her in your prayers and we will do the same.
Sincerely, President Groberg
Saturday, August 7, 2010
PIctures of Sara
On the radio show--all they ever wanna know is if I'm single and want an Indonesian husband! It's a little awkward...but this was fun
Me and Didi--Elder Subandriyo's daughter--at President Marchant's farewell--she did a Balinese Dance
At Taman Mini with Raz
Me and Sis with some of the pioneers in the church here--Josie is over by SisThursday, August 5, 2010
minggu pelan di bandung
well, it's been a slow week, since we're starting from ground 0, but things are going to slowly pick up as we learn the area and get teaching.
so last week, while we were still with sis lie and christensen, we went to Pres Hanking's house (in the branch presidency here, and also the first member from Bandung to be baptized, and started learning about the church from Pres Marchant when he was here as a missionary), whose maid, Irma, is learning about the church. she's SUPER shy, so when she didn't want all 4 of us there to teach her, so jo and i waited for her with Pres Hanking, who was sick. it was actually totally awesome...we learned about his conversion, he told a few other stories, and then he read our palms and faces :) haha, yes, he is a bit of a fortune teller, and from what i've heard, he's the most correct fortune teller that they have in Indo as far as members go....he's supposed to be almost dead on every time. which i believed when the first thing he said after looking at my hand was "you like to drive....and you like to drive fast, ya?" ya...i was a little creeped out, but then mom you'll be happy to know that he told me to be careful with that...so i'll work on being more careful when i get home. he didn't say too much about who my future husband would be (whereas with the other sisters he's told which boyfriend they'll get married to), except that i would be hesitant about him, but that things would work out fine between us. he also said that i was gonna have 7 kids...and 2 of those were gonna be twins (haha, mom, i know you're smiling :P). i have it on film tho, so we can watch it when i get home, and i'll translate it for you. pretty interesting.
sunday was a milestone in my life...seriously. they needed someone to play the piano for sacrament. and of course no one else can do it. so i got the privilege of "sharing my talent." i hate to say it, but i do wish i would've practiced more. i was sweating like a pig. i played the 2 songs i can, and then for the sacrament song i just picked a song and only played the right hand, HA. ridiculous, but i did what i could. THEN we had branch counsel, and i was kindly asked to play the songs for the choir for DISTRICT CONFERENCE in october! how i get pulled into these things? yes, i'm stressing quite a bit, and yesterday i was practicing one of the songs over and over and over, until my fingers felt like they were gonna fall off...and it's still not as good as i want it to be. but seriously, district conference? that's the WHOLE west java! ugh. i hate playin in front of people. but....this is God molding me into the person i need to be....right? lol...i sure as heck hope so.
and MONDAY WE GOT OUR FIRST NEW INVESTIGATOR! there was a lady that jo contacted last week while we were walking to an appt with the other sisters, and so we showed up at her house monday (she didn't answer her phone). her daughter was there, and we got to learn about how ibu tunigan (i think that's her name?) went from muslim to christian. they're family seems to be really strong christians, and they don't smoke (we found that out pretty quick when some salespeople came by, trying to sell the new "healthy cigarettes" that have absolutely no side effects, but still give you the sensation of smoking....new from singapore! how do people come up with these things and still get away with it? jo and i just made faces at each other the whole time, and it was hilarious to watch ibu tunigan and rana's reaction to these guys......they were a lot nicer to us, thank goodness). anywho, after we taught the restoration, they were silent...and it was a little awkward, but they finally had a few questions, and agreed to let us come back next week after they read from the BofM and Joseph SMith's testimony. so that was awesome, but as much success as we've had this week with investigators.
i'm still trying to get things figured out with basketball, but after this we're going to head to a college with a friend of Putres to see what kind of service i can do there with bball. i also got permission (PRAISES!!!!!!!!) to play competitively with putres and his friends on friday nights, cuz putres said there's no way anyone is gonna trust me or be interested in the church until after they see me play... so ha! this talent i'm HAPPY to share with anyone and everyone. hopefully i can start talking to people, get them to come to english class, and eventually want to start learning about the church. at least thats the way Putres suggested i try. so today and tomorrow will be the time to see how things get started.
yesterday we went to a place here that's a lot like yellowstone, with hot springs and stuff, and so that was fun...except that it rained the whole time, and so we literally spent the whole day there without planning on it....we just didn't have any other way to get outta there! but it was fun, and we met some nice arabs who didn't talk quite as much to us after they found out we were christian missionaries. lol. i love this place.
so thats the cool stuff that happened this week! i'm still learning a lot here...directions, addresses, street names, the best places to eat....ya know, all those important things. but i'm also learning to work in a new area, and love the people that i meet. bandung has a lot more muslims than jakarta, and they are supposed to be a lot more fanatic than jakarta, so it's gonna be work finding people to teach, but i'm ready for the job. especially when it includes basketball. i love learning from the scriptures...i'm reading the New Testament now, and jordan sprague told me that he gained his testimony of the church when he read the bible...and i'm definitely starting to understand why. there is nothing that i've learned from our church that is contrary to what i'm reading from paul or any of the other apostles. i actually have found far more similarities than i was ready for...and so i have notes all over my bible now (haha, about time...most of the pages have been empty for far too long). this morning i read from 2 corinthians 11:13-15 about false prophets...and i know that what i'm preaching is NOT false. it's the truth, and its what will help anyone who accepts it to know God and Christ, and Their will for us here on earth. i know i have many faults and weaknesses, but my testimony is not one of them. i'll keep "working out my testimony muscles" like you talked about mom, and it will only get stronger. i love you all so much, and pray you all have a great week! be safe, loves~
~Sister Sara
so last week, while we were still with sis lie and christensen, we went to Pres Hanking's house (in the branch presidency here, and also the first member from Bandung to be baptized, and started learning about the church from Pres Marchant when he was here as a missionary), whose maid, Irma, is learning about the church. she's SUPER shy, so when she didn't want all 4 of us there to teach her, so jo and i waited for her with Pres Hanking, who was sick. it was actually totally awesome...we learned about his conversion, he told a few other stories, and then he read our palms and faces :) haha, yes, he is a bit of a fortune teller, and from what i've heard, he's the most correct fortune teller that they have in Indo as far as members go....he's supposed to be almost dead on every time. which i believed when the first thing he said after looking at my hand was "you like to drive....and you like to drive fast, ya?" ya...i was a little creeped out, but then mom you'll be happy to know that he told me to be careful with that...so i'll work on being more careful when i get home. he didn't say too much about who my future husband would be (whereas with the other sisters he's told which boyfriend they'll get married to), except that i would be hesitant about him, but that things would work out fine between us. he also said that i was gonna have 7 kids...and 2 of those were gonna be twins (haha, mom, i know you're smiling :P). i have it on film tho, so we can watch it when i get home, and i'll translate it for you. pretty interesting.
sunday was a milestone in my life...seriously. they needed someone to play the piano for sacrament. and of course no one else can do it. so i got the privilege of "sharing my talent." i hate to say it, but i do wish i would've practiced more. i was sweating like a pig. i played the 2 songs i can, and then for the sacrament song i just picked a song and only played the right hand, HA. ridiculous, but i did what i could. THEN we had branch counsel, and i was kindly asked to play the songs for the choir for DISTRICT CONFERENCE in october! how i get pulled into these things? yes, i'm stressing quite a bit, and yesterday i was practicing one of the songs over and over and over, until my fingers felt like they were gonna fall off...and it's still not as good as i want it to be. but seriously, district conference? that's the WHOLE west java! ugh. i hate playin in front of people. but....this is God molding me into the person i need to be....right? lol...i sure as heck hope so.
and MONDAY WE GOT OUR FIRST NEW INVESTIGATOR! there was a lady that jo contacted last week while we were walking to an appt with the other sisters, and so we showed up at her house monday (she didn't answer her phone). her daughter was there, and we got to learn about how ibu tunigan (i think that's her name?) went from muslim to christian. they're family seems to be really strong christians, and they don't smoke (we found that out pretty quick when some salespeople came by, trying to sell the new "healthy cigarettes" that have absolutely no side effects, but still give you the sensation of smoking....new from singapore! how do people come up with these things and still get away with it? jo and i just made faces at each other the whole time, and it was hilarious to watch ibu tunigan and rana's reaction to these guys......they were a lot nicer to us, thank goodness). anywho, after we taught the restoration, they were silent...and it was a little awkward, but they finally had a few questions, and agreed to let us come back next week after they read from the BofM and Joseph SMith's testimony. so that was awesome, but as much success as we've had this week with investigators.
i'm still trying to get things figured out with basketball, but after this we're going to head to a college with a friend of Putres to see what kind of service i can do there with bball. i also got permission (PRAISES!!!!!!!!) to play competitively with putres and his friends on friday nights, cuz putres said there's no way anyone is gonna trust me or be interested in the church until after they see me play... so ha! this talent i'm HAPPY to share with anyone and everyone. hopefully i can start talking to people, get them to come to english class, and eventually want to start learning about the church. at least thats the way Putres suggested i try. so today and tomorrow will be the time to see how things get started.
yesterday we went to a place here that's a lot like yellowstone, with hot springs and stuff, and so that was fun...except that it rained the whole time, and so we literally spent the whole day there without planning on it....we just didn't have any other way to get outta there! but it was fun, and we met some nice arabs who didn't talk quite as much to us after they found out we were christian missionaries. lol. i love this place.
so thats the cool stuff that happened this week! i'm still learning a lot here...directions, addresses, street names, the best places to eat....ya know, all those important things. but i'm also learning to work in a new area, and love the people that i meet. bandung has a lot more muslims than jakarta, and they are supposed to be a lot more fanatic than jakarta, so it's gonna be work finding people to teach, but i'm ready for the job. especially when it includes basketball. i love learning from the scriptures...i'm reading the New Testament now, and jordan sprague told me that he gained his testimony of the church when he read the bible...and i'm definitely starting to understand why. there is nothing that i've learned from our church that is contrary to what i'm reading from paul or any of the other apostles. i actually have found far more similarities than i was ready for...and so i have notes all over my bible now (haha, about time...most of the pages have been empty for far too long). this morning i read from 2 corinthians 11:13-15 about false prophets...and i know that what i'm preaching is NOT false. it's the truth, and its what will help anyone who accepts it to know God and Christ, and Their will for us here on earth. i know i have many faults and weaknesses, but my testimony is not one of them. i'll keep "working out my testimony muscles" like you talked about mom, and it will only get stronger. i love you all so much, and pray you all have a great week! be safe, loves~
~Sister Sara
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
ayo, bandung!
so it's official...i'm in Bandung! and man alive...it's been weird starting over again, but it's good too. i'm excited to see how things go here, but it'll also be weird to not be here 9 months to see how my efforts pay off. we'll see what happens tho...
so last week the highlight was by far the phone call i got from pres groberg...he told me that he'd read my green letter for the week before, and he LOVED my idea about starting up something with basketball in bandung to help with the missionary efforts here! remember when you talked to me about that when i first got here, dad? i talked to pres marchant about it, but he wanted to stick with english classes....but i figured i'd give it another try with the new pres, and i'm glad i did! there's a member here in bandung who is REALLY into basketball, and so my plan is to work with him to find people and a place to play...that would be most effective. the church here only has one hoop and isn't a court at all, but we're thinking if we can find a place....well, we'll see what can happen. i've only been here 4 days, so it's definitely still a work in progress, but that'll definitely be my next project that i'm excited to get started on :) dad, PLEASE let me know what you guys did in finland (preferably separate from your usual email,since i never have time to read that..), and if anyone else has ideas about what to do,PLEASE tell my family members so i can get the information. i really am not at all sure what to do, but i figure if i can at least get it started, Putres (the member) can keep it going when i'm gone.
so friday we had a bit of an unexpected surprise...sis bajodo had just gotten to senopati, and she joined me and siman until jo and i left sunday morning. she's been a good comp... we're still in that first awkward stage of getting to know each other, but every day seems to get better. we've contacted a few times together, and i like how she contacts with me....not overpowering, but also not silent. which is good...cuz we're gonna be doing A LOT of contacting here. yes...she is my new comp, and sis lie and chris are together. so this first week, we are "berempat," or all four together, so that jo and i can get to know the area and members before we get lost here. lol....which i'm not gonna lie, is DEFINITELY gonna happen, i can already tell. i'm totally turned around here, and where in jakarta i could get on busway and always find my way home,here i have NO idea. there is no mass transportation like that, so....ya. it's gonna be quite the experience here.
but i really am excited to start new here....which i'm seriously doing. i loved jakarta, but i'm ready to become a better me, which i feel i can do better here (yes mom, one of those things is to be cleaner and more organized...so far so good! haha....hopefully that lasts). it's been fun being with lie again...we enjoy each other a lot more now :) haha, but again...things are still new, and it's all 4 of us, so of course it's more like "girl's week" than anything else. next week will start the test of companionships and appointments and all that.
i got here on sunday (they had branch conference down here, so pres thought it'd be more efficient if jo and i came down with him, then sis white went home with them), and it was directly meeting the branch members, who LOVE sis white, so...hopefully i find a place in their hearts as well. the branch here is VERY close, which i've already been able to see. everyone is more like family than just friends. i really thought that 2 of the members were brother and sister by the way they were teasing each other, the things they were saying, and how the lady's 2 yr old kid was so close with the guy, but then found out that they'd just grown up together, and with so few members they are REALLY close. so church was good, but next week is going to be A LOT smaller, since this last week had so many visitors. tonight we also have a fireside, so it'll be fun to get to know the members there as well.
well....there's not a whole lot else to say. i'm excited about starting up the work here in bandung, and especially my bball idea! i also know if jo and i work hard, we'll be able to start teaching and find those here who are ready to better their lives through this Gospel. i found out last week that the word "gospel" literally means "good news." isn't that so fitting? so that's what my work here is...to bring the "good news" to the people of indo. thanks so always for the support and love that i always know i have with you all! i love you!
~Sister Sara
so last week the highlight was by far the phone call i got from pres groberg...he told me that he'd read my green letter for the week before, and he LOVED my idea about starting up something with basketball in bandung to help with the missionary efforts here! remember when you talked to me about that when i first got here, dad? i talked to pres marchant about it, but he wanted to stick with english classes....but i figured i'd give it another try with the new pres, and i'm glad i did! there's a member here in bandung who is REALLY into basketball, and so my plan is to work with him to find people and a place to play...that would be most effective. the church here only has one hoop and isn't a court at all, but we're thinking if we can find a place....well, we'll see what can happen. i've only been here 4 days, so it's definitely still a work in progress, but that'll definitely be my next project that i'm excited to get started on :) dad, PLEASE let me know what you guys did in finland (preferably separate from your usual email,since i never have time to read that..), and if anyone else has ideas about what to do,PLEASE tell my family members so i can get the information. i really am not at all sure what to do, but i figure if i can at least get it started, Putres (the member) can keep it going when i'm gone.
so friday we had a bit of an unexpected surprise...sis bajodo had just gotten to senopati, and she joined me and siman until jo and i left sunday morning. she's been a good comp... we're still in that first awkward stage of getting to know each other, but every day seems to get better. we've contacted a few times together, and i like how she contacts with me....not overpowering, but also not silent. which is good...cuz we're gonna be doing A LOT of contacting here. yes...she is my new comp, and sis lie and chris are together. so this first week, we are "berempat," or all four together, so that jo and i can get to know the area and members before we get lost here. lol....which i'm not gonna lie, is DEFINITELY gonna happen, i can already tell. i'm totally turned around here, and where in jakarta i could get on busway and always find my way home,here i have NO idea. there is no mass transportation like that, so....ya. it's gonna be quite the experience here.
but i really am excited to start new here....which i'm seriously doing. i loved jakarta, but i'm ready to become a better me, which i feel i can do better here (yes mom, one of those things is to be cleaner and more organized...so far so good! haha....hopefully that lasts). it's been fun being with lie again...we enjoy each other a lot more now :) haha, but again...things are still new, and it's all 4 of us, so of course it's more like "girl's week" than anything else. next week will start the test of companionships and appointments and all that.
i got here on sunday (they had branch conference down here, so pres thought it'd be more efficient if jo and i came down with him, then sis white went home with them), and it was directly meeting the branch members, who LOVE sis white, so...hopefully i find a place in their hearts as well. the branch here is VERY close, which i've already been able to see. everyone is more like family than just friends. i really thought that 2 of the members were brother and sister by the way they were teasing each other, the things they were saying, and how the lady's 2 yr old kid was so close with the guy, but then found out that they'd just grown up together, and with so few members they are REALLY close. so church was good, but next week is going to be A LOT smaller, since this last week had so many visitors. tonight we also have a fireside, so it'll be fun to get to know the members there as well.
well....there's not a whole lot else to say. i'm excited about starting up the work here in bandung, and especially my bball idea! i also know if jo and i work hard, we'll be able to start teaching and find those here who are ready to better their lives through this Gospel. i found out last week that the word "gospel" literally means "good news." isn't that so fitting? so that's what my work here is...to bring the "good news" to the people of indo. thanks so always for the support and love that i always know i have with you all! i love you!
~Sister Sara
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
1 minggu lagi di Jakarta....
well...by the time i leave jakarta, i'll be one week short of having a baby, haha. we got a phone call on our way home from an appointment monday night, and sister white, the sister that i'm switching with in Bandung, had called president and asked permission to stay until after sunday this week, cuz they have branch conference sunday, and she's in the choir. so...haha, i'm still in jakarta until next monday. which is turning out good, cuz chern is giving a talk on sunday, and i'm going to be here to see it! plus, our neighbor is comin to church on sunday, so i'll get to witness what happens when a muslim, wearing a jilbob, walks into the church, haha. not gonna lie...i'm pretty excited to see everybody's faces. but i'm especially excited to see how she enjoys the meetings.
and well....that's basically my week. i wrote on saturday, so there isn't much else to say. monday we had a full day of appointments, and oh! i almost forgot! i sent home a package, mom, so you should be getting that next week...they said it should take 3-5 days. it's my clothes from singapore, stuff for you guys from singapore (not much...sorry, singapore is A LOT more expensive than indo...), my surprise from taman mini that i bought (you HAVE to tell me what you think...i think it is the CUTEST thing in the world!), and best of all, all my pics on cds from the beginning of the mish til about 2-3 weeks ago. sorry, it doesn't have taman safari, but it's got everything else....more than i'm sure you'll be interested in, but i didn't want to take any chances of losing my pics...so i have my camera card, those cds, and my hard drive. lol. so DON'T LOSE THOSE CDS in case something happens to my hard drive. these pics are my entire mission (well....together with my journal), so that's why i sent it home. kel can use whatever she wants for the blog.
anywho...so ya, i had my final lesson with chern, and she's still so awesome. i'm really REALLY gonna miss her. she's really given me that "reason to keep going" that i think every missionary needs to feel and remember when serving the Lord. when you feel what success feels like, it keeps you going everyday...because you never know who you might talk to that will become that next success. i'm incredibly grateful for her and the meaning that she's given to my mission.
we also had a last minute appointment with Ibu Edi and Iin, and family. they're so awesome...i just wish they'd take the church a little more seriously. which i tried to tell them in a roundabout way. i bore my testimony to them about the importance of scriptures, and finding out about God's secrets, and that we can do that by reading His words (Mosiah 1:5-7), and then i encouraged them to keep reading the scriptures so they'd understand God's secrets...especially with the Book of Mormon. hopefully something keeps clicking with them...i really do love that family, and want them to feel the joy that comes from the restored gospel.
tuesday was another full day....in fact i spent sunday night packing cuz i knew we wouldn't have any time monday or tuesday...and sure enough, tuesday was packed. we had our usual full day, going and visiting sis atika, who is also SOOO cool. she's 7 months along now, and so when i see her again, she'll have had her baby!!!
we also met with a man that lives close to sis atika, and he was complaining about being sick...as he was smoking. which made me and siman have a pretty good convo about the effects of smoking, cuz her dad stopped smoking, but gained weight...so he went back to smoking. i told her thats why kids just can't start, cuz when they start young, thats what happens....later on in life, they have problems all around. sad sad.
there really isn't a whole lot else to say. today sis headed off to solo.....we've been together almost 11 months. crazy. but i'm excited for her, and she's excited for me, so it wasn't too bitter of a farewell. then we waited at senopati until sis lily got here from malang....and while we waited, i watched the movie about pres hinckley, and it was pretty good. i really liked how they focused on the fact that he didn't just become the amazing prophet that we all know and love....it was a long process that started from his birth. which is the same kind of process we're all involved in in our lives. so another push to hang on, endure well, serve as much as you can, and you'll become the person that God needs you to be.
anywho...i love you all, and next week I WILL BE IN BANDUNG! so woohoo for me! lol...a new adventure starts, and i'm ready for it :) hopefully i can do some good down there, that's all i ask. be safe, and know i'm thinking about you all here (especially with the 24th weekend...ugh, jealousy. but there's a reason i'm only missing july once on my mission!),
~Sister Sara
and well....that's basically my week. i wrote on saturday, so there isn't much else to say. monday we had a full day of appointments, and oh! i almost forgot! i sent home a package, mom, so you should be getting that next week...they said it should take 3-5 days. it's my clothes from singapore, stuff for you guys from singapore (not much...sorry, singapore is A LOT more expensive than indo...), my surprise from taman mini that i bought (you HAVE to tell me what you think...i think it is the CUTEST thing in the world!), and best of all, all my pics on cds from the beginning of the mish til about 2-3 weeks ago. sorry, it doesn't have taman safari, but it's got everything else....more than i'm sure you'll be interested in, but i didn't want to take any chances of losing my pics...so i have my camera card, those cds, and my hard drive. lol. so DON'T LOSE THOSE CDS in case something happens to my hard drive. these pics are my entire mission (well....together with my journal), so that's why i sent it home. kel can use whatever she wants for the blog.
anywho...so ya, i had my final lesson with chern, and she's still so awesome. i'm really REALLY gonna miss her. she's really given me that "reason to keep going" that i think every missionary needs to feel and remember when serving the Lord. when you feel what success feels like, it keeps you going everyday...because you never know who you might talk to that will become that next success. i'm incredibly grateful for her and the meaning that she's given to my mission.
we also had a last minute appointment with Ibu Edi and Iin, and family. they're so awesome...i just wish they'd take the church a little more seriously. which i tried to tell them in a roundabout way. i bore my testimony to them about the importance of scriptures, and finding out about God's secrets, and that we can do that by reading His words (Mosiah 1:5-7), and then i encouraged them to keep reading the scriptures so they'd understand God's secrets...especially with the Book of Mormon. hopefully something keeps clicking with them...i really do love that family, and want them to feel the joy that comes from the restored gospel.
tuesday was another full day....in fact i spent sunday night packing cuz i knew we wouldn't have any time monday or tuesday...and sure enough, tuesday was packed. we had our usual full day, going and visiting sis atika, who is also SOOO cool. she's 7 months along now, and so when i see her again, she'll have had her baby!!!
we also met with a man that lives close to sis atika, and he was complaining about being sick...as he was smoking. which made me and siman have a pretty good convo about the effects of smoking, cuz her dad stopped smoking, but gained weight...so he went back to smoking. i told her thats why kids just can't start, cuz when they start young, thats what happens....later on in life, they have problems all around. sad sad.
there really isn't a whole lot else to say. today sis headed off to solo.....we've been together almost 11 months. crazy. but i'm excited for her, and she's excited for me, so it wasn't too bitter of a farewell. then we waited at senopati until sis lily got here from malang....and while we waited, i watched the movie about pres hinckley, and it was pretty good. i really liked how they focused on the fact that he didn't just become the amazing prophet that we all know and love....it was a long process that started from his birth. which is the same kind of process we're all involved in in our lives. so another push to hang on, endure well, serve as much as you can, and you'll become the person that God needs you to be.
anywho...i love you all, and next week I WILL BE IN BANDUNG! so woohoo for me! lol...a new adventure starts, and i'm ready for it :) hopefully i can do some good down there, that's all i ask. be safe, and know i'm thinking about you all here (especially with the 24th weekend...ugh, jealousy. but there's a reason i'm only missing july once on my mission!),
~Sister Sara
Saturday, July 17, 2010
AKHIRNYA NAIK GAJAH & mau ke...
well....i'm only a few days late on this. sorry...hopefully mom wasn't too worried. we didn't have time wednesday cuz we were too busy at TAMAN SAFARI!!!! woo hoo! haha. it was so much fun....and I GOT TO RIDE AN ELEPHANT! it seriously was the coolest thing ever....but we had to ride on the back, so now my new quest is to eventually ride on an elephant's head. i have video of the tour guide getting on the head...and it was amazing. i wanna do it :) Elder & Sis millecam were amazing, and told us that if we could get permission to go, they'd take us sisters before me and sis got transferred. so we asked....and it was a no that became a yes, and IT WAS AWESOME. seriously. i have so many fun pics, i can't hardly wait to show you when i get home!
so...in other news. I'M MOVING TO BANDUNG! i just got a phone call from the office elders a few hours ago, and i'll be down there with sis lie and sis christensen (sis chris was sis's comp when we first got here, if you remember her...), but we'll see what happens. there have been quite a few events happen with the sisters (people going home, coming, etc), and so this transfer is still a lot up in the air until pres figures things out. i'm not gonna lie...bandung was the last place i wanted to go, and it'll be interesting being with sis lie again, especially with sis chris, but i'm excited to see how things go. hopefully my patience has grown a lot since i first got put with sis lie, so we can work more together in bandung, and not so much me pushing her to do everything. but it'll be good....i dunno where everyone else is going yet, but i'm excited to see where sis is going especially. i'll be heading down to bandung next wednesday, so i might email before i leave, or after i get there....we'll see.
so....i had 2 REALLY cool experiences this week that i wanna spend most of my time on. the first starts a few weeks ago...siman and i were on busway, and there was a man across from us who kept looking at our nametags. i had a feeling that i should talk to him, but we were too far from each other (i'm a little weird...i don't like yelling across other people and the aisle to talk to someone about the church...), and there were no seats open. so i sweated over what i should do, and eventually decided to just hand him a namecard before i got off. which is exactly what i did...which was totally awkward, but i felt good about it. sooo....wednesday night i got a phone call from this guy, and he wanted to meet! so i was happy. we met with him on thursday, and altho the meeting was a bit awkward, cuz he didn't know that we were going to share a message (even tho i told him that that was what we did when we met with people on the phone the night before), but we'll see....hopefully we didn't freak him out too bad. we didn't go into too much detail. i'm gonna call him tonight and see how he's doing. anywho....even tho nothing may come from this guy, i was glad to get a confirmation that i'd listened to the Holy Ghost with him.
then.....thursday morning i was out running up and down our street, and one of our neighbors was out fixing a chair. this neighbor is super smiley, and i always say hi to her in the mornings, but i've never had a chance to actually stop and talk to her....mostly cuz i think too much ("if i stop, what do i say? she's gonna think i'm a crazy bule just stopping, sweating and wanting to introduce myself after how many months living here? i can't do that"..........ya, that's what i've been doing for the last 6 or 7 months. lol, i know, i'm retarded), but this finally gave me a chance to stop and ask if she wanted any help. so i did, and as soon as she saw me at her gate, she threw the door open, and we talked for a good 1/2 hour. she wanted to know what we did, what it was that we taught, basically the whole shebang. then she told me that she's read the bible before, trying to compare it with the alquran, and she found that they're mostly the same. then i told her about the book of mormon, and she got so excited...she wanted to read it! so i told her i'd bring it by the next day with sis siman, and we would explain it to her. she's so funny...she likes to talk A LOT, so she tells us tons of stories, like other churches and what they do that she likes and doesn't like (yes...she goes to church with her friends when they invite her....and mind you, this is all while wearing a jilbob. lol she's awesome), and why she believes that Christ is our healer and that thru Him anyone can be healed. soo....ya, we're gonna try to build on that. well, siman'll hafta now, but seriously...this lady is so awesome. her name is ibu yanti, and when i ran past this morning, she said that she'd already read what we'd given her for hw, and she was excited for us to talk some more next week when she gets home from a trip she's taking to surabaya (where she wants to go to our church, but she's going with her friend, so she can only go if her friend wants to...lol, how awesome is she?). so again...i was highly disappointed in myself, waiting this long to stop and talk to ibu yanti after feeling like i needed to talk to her for 7 months, but i'm also so grateful that i finally did, and now she can find out for herself who Christ is, and what direction she wants to take her life. hopefully siman teaches her well :)
and last week...well, i have a new planner, so i have no idea what happened last week, but i'm sure it was fine. lol. nothing too exciting. this last week was full of all the events, and now next week's email is gonna be boring....sorry!
anyways....this week i've learned A LOT! a lot about following the promptings of the spirit, and making sure that i'm worthy to have that spirit. i've learned that, altho i've changed a lot here, i still have a lot of changes that need to be made (which means i need someone brave enough to help me know what changes are needed....) before i head home. i've learned that sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut, even tho it's hard. i've learned that asking for forgiveness is a lot harder for me than forgiving. haha. i'm also learning how to cook indonesian food....now mom, don't get too excited. i just know how to cut stuff...i still hafta learn what stuff to mix in to make anything good. but it's a start :)
it's been a hard but good week. i learn more and more every day that when a storm comes, Heavenly Father will always reward you if you keep a positive attitude and just try to keep doing what you know is right. I know this mission is molding me into the person that God'll need me to be when i get home....i just hafta be more willing to bend, even when i think it's better to stay straight. i love you all so much, and hope that all is well at home. hopefully the reunion is fun...tell the fam hi for me and i love and miss them... especially my GMA!!!!!! loves, yach~
~Sister Sara
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