Yogyakarta - Week 15

 

Halo semuanya! Apa kabar?

This week has been pretty slow and sad in the missionary world. We stopped visiting two people because they just weren't progressing. One of them was really hard for Sister Believe because she had such high hope in him. But we planted a seed and she and Sister Sheffield developed a good relationship with him so there is still reason to hope! On the bright side I have learned a lot from both the people here in Jogja and from Sister Believe. Sister Believe is a wonderful and powerful missionary. She's also very mature and I'm learning how to become a little more mature myself. She truly loves the people here and loves the work. She has a strong desire to serve God and it's a great opportunity to be her companion.

Can you believe that Hari Natal (Christmas Day) is right around the corner?! We get to switch preparation day to Wed so we can enjoy it as a district. But we still get to email today which is nice.

Because Christmas is so close I'd like to bear my testimony of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ redeemed us from 2 kinds of death, spiritual and temporal death. The spiritual death is not being able to be in the presence of our Father because "no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God." Temporal death is the separation of our body and spirit, but only temporally. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we have been redeemed of both of these. We can be forgiven of our sins and God will "remember them no more." Through repentance we can become cleansed and dwell in His presence again. Jesus Christ overcame temporal death through the Resurrection. He overcame the separation between body and spirit and we know that one day we will too.

I know that Christ suffered for more than just our sins. He suffered to know how to help us too. He suffered so He can feel empathy and not just compassion, towards all of God's children. I am learning how to use the Atonement everyday in my life. I am learning how to put my burdens upon Him and become yoked, as one, with Him. I still have a long way to go but I'm learning.

I know that Christ lives. He has overcome all sorrows, all pains, and any sort of death. He loves each any everyone of us, knows us personally, knows our desires, and is  willing to help each of us. I know that I have been called by a prophet to preach unto the people of Indonesia and help them to feel Christ's love for them. I am so grateful for this opportunity to do so. I love this gospel, I love my God, and I love my brother Jesus Christ. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Well, Merry Christmas y'all!! I hope it's a good one for everyone and that it's a spiritual one too. Sampai Minggu depan!

With love,

Sister Sperry :)

Ps Happy Birthday to Joseph Smith today dan Hermana Burningham yesterday! Selamat Tahun!

We went on a hike for P-day last week. You climb a whole bunch of stairs and when you are at the top, you are in the middle of the entire island of Java. Keren ya?! There were also spiders has big as my head (JoDee you would have died) and monkeys too! I didn't know my family was coming to visit! I swear one looks just like Colin...

 

Hiking

A spider as big as my head!

How we dress so our legs don't end up with tons of mosquito bites!!!

Yogyakarta - Week 14

Hello From Jogja!

Well I've made it to Jogja! It's a little closer to what I thought Indonesia is than Jakarta. The ward here is really nice and so are the investigators and other missionaries. Elder James is my District leader here. The best part is, I GET TO RIDE A BIKE!! Haha I couldn't stop smiling for the first five minutes I was on that thing. It was exciting! Only later it hurt. 2 things I wish I would have done before my mission, learn how to cook more and relearn how to ride a bike. But still fun! So here's the week.

Mon: We got to watch a film with President Donald and the district of Jakarta. It was really nice and lots of fun. I stayed the night at Senopati and said goodbye to some sisters that are going home and ibu saya Sister Narko! It was a hard moment ;) But I made it through.

Tues: Me and two other Sisters and an Elder heading to Solo left early in the morning for the airport. My flight was later so I spent some time waiting at the airport. When I got to Jogja we went straight to work. We met with an investigator who Sister Believe said they had been having a hard time meeting with. It was a good lesson and we just went back yesterday to teach more. I also got to meet our Ward Mission Leader.

My new companion Sister Believe

Wed: It was a typical day visiting people, you know sharing the gospel. :)

Thur: We got an investigator, age 11, to commit to a baptismal date! Her family are members but she's been scared to be baptized. She was even been scared to meet with the missionaries at one point but Sister Believe and Sister Sheffield worked hard to build a good relationship with her. Well she accepted and we have a date set for the 27th. WOOT!

Friday: Again a typical day. It started at an English class for people who work with UCP. UCP provides wheelchairs and aid for people who need it. They are all great and pretty funny people. I enjoyed it a lot.

Saturday: Same ol same ol. Only I think I finally got used to riding a bike this day.

Some yummy drinks!

 

 

Sun: We got to make some food today! I made tortillas (SUPER yummy by the way), Sister Believe made pudding, Sister Allred made brownies, and Sister Hasibuan made yummy Indonesian food (I forgot the name). Sister Hasibuan is  really really really good at cooking! She's helping me to learn a little more.

Today we are going to go on a hike and I am quite excited!

 

Well love you all. Thank you for your love and support. Sampai nanti!!

Love,
Sister Sperry :)

Jakarta - Week 13

Hello!!

Well this week has been a little crazy with everyone moving and jazz. I'm going to be moving tomorrow to Jojga and I am really excited! And a little sad to leave Jakarta, but it's ok. This is the Lord's work and this is what He wants done. I'm grateful for the leaders here to be able to receive revelation to know the Lord's will with His work and I'm excited to find out what's in store for me in Jojga!

Here's how the week went:

Mon: Really fun P-day. We ate as a district at a nice restaurant, did a little bit of shopping, and then visited a part member family. Everyone but the Dad is a member in that family and their story is amazing. The faith of those kids and mother is really strong and I'm grateful for what they shared with us. It was really neat to learn more about the people here in the ward!

 

 

Tues: Tuesday was the last day I got to see Raz, another member. We had a really good thought and then lunch together. She heads to the US next week and is really excited. Safe travels Raz!

 

We also went to visit a less active member and learned that she had just had her baby on Friday! He's quite handsome and she was quite tired. I think she said she hadn't gotten any sleep! Luckily her mom and sister were there to help out so she could rest up a bit. So exciting!

Wed: Wednesday we had some sisters from Solo come in and stay with Sister Narko and I. We all went over to Sister Bindrup's (the Bindrups were in my parent's ward in Virginia!) house for lunch and to teach Ruth who helps Sister Bindrup out. She's really interested in the gospel and has a lot of faith. She used to be muslim and is now christian. Maybe soon she'll be a member of the church too!
It also rained like crazy on Wednesday. While we were at the train station there was a crack of lighting like RIGHT above me! The thunder was SO loud. Oh it was awesome! I love the crazy rain and storms here!

Thur: Thursday we met with all the new sisters that just came in from the MTC. One from California and three from Indonesia. They are so ready for missionary work! I'm really excited to see them grow and turn into amazing missionaries. Good things are coming to this mission! We also got to be a part of a going away dinner for a sister who went home this week. It was neat to hear from her and get some advice before she left.

 

Fri: Friday was crazy because even more people came to Jakarta for moving and renewing kitas and waduh! We had the privilege of taking two sisters home with us, Sister Sheffield from Ogden, UT and Sister Manurung who is a new sister from Tangarang. They have been a joy to have with us and I'm taking Sister Sheffield's spot in Jojga so it's been fun to hear about it from her. I'm really excited!!

Sat: Saturday Sister Narko and I got permission to go to Bogor! It's about an hour and a half by train from Jakarta. We went to go see Jeannie and find out how she's doing. It was so great to see her again! Also there's not really any public transportation to Jeannie's house so we got to ride in the back of a truck. Fun times!

 

 

Sun: Sunday was good. I said my goodbyes to some people but I'm sure I'll see them again :)

That's my week! It's been a good one and I'm excited to move. Thank you for all your love and support. I know this church is true and the gospel is restored. I know this is where I need to be right now and I'm so grateful to be here.

Sampai Nanti!

Sister Sperry :)

Jakarta - Week 12

Waduh! It's December!

I can't believe December is already here! There are very few signs that Christmas is coming here, since people don't really celebrate it in Indonesia, and there's no snow...but Christmas is on it's way!

Here's how my week went:

Monday: On Monday we had our preparation day changed. We were still able to email but other than that Monday was just like any other day. We worked hard to further God's work! We also had a really great FHE with a member family and some investigators. Strong testimonies were born and yummy food was eaten. It was a good night. 

Tuesday: Tuesday was frustrating. EVERYONE cancelled or weren't there when we tried to stop by to visit. Or didn't answer their phones. It was really frustrating especially when we finally found someone who wanted to be taught (a previous investigator), they said they would be somewhere at a certain time...and then didn't show. It's OK though. Everyone has their agency and I know there's more days like this to come!  

Wednesday: On Wednesday we received some pretty big news. While we were meeting with a member President Donald called. I answered the phone and he informed me that I'll be moving December 10th to Yogyakarta. My new companion's name is Sister Believe and I'll be serving with my fellow caveman Elder James. I'm sad and excited all at the same time! It's a bike riding area (YES!!) and I'll be living with 4 sisters in a house instead of just 2. Sister Narko is staying in Jakarta and her new companion is coming from Sister Narko's home city, Malang. This week we will be getting 4 new sisters and we are all very excited! 

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving! We got permission to change p-day to this day because a member from the English ward invited us over for Thanksgiving. It was delicious!!!! It was also the first time Sister Narko tried turkey. She liked it :) Sister Paul (the amazing member from the english ward) had us do a cool activity where we wrote down 100 things we are grateful for. She had 10 categories and we wrote down 10 things for each category. It's really easy to come up with 100 things to be thankful for!

 Thanksgiving feast!

Friday: We visited one of our newest member's Mom. She is really great and always asks good questions. She enjoys reading the Liahona and the Gospel Principle book and is pretty receptive to our message. She just has a hard time being able to make it to church. We keep praying for her though! We know she'll make it one day.

Saturday: Saturday I learned a little more about how to teach. We had two lessons where I wasn't really impressed with myself. It was a good lesson to learn and I'm working on becoming better everyday.

Sunday: Sunday we had the opportunity to go to the Lucherini's (i think I may have just spelled their name wrong) for dinner. They are one of the couple missionaries in Jakarta and they are wonderful! We talked about Ether 12:12-16 and about what our faith could do. We then each gave each other a commitment to improve our faith. My commitment is to make sure I do my best every single day. To make sure I'm doing that I am going to account to Heavenly Father what I've done each day and how I feel about it. I'm excited to see improvement. 

I know this church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and I know that Christ still lives. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now and I know I'm learning A LOT!! 

I love you all and am so grateful for the support I receive. Keep on Keeping on! 

Love,
Sister Sperry :) 

 Javanese Pizza, ENAK!

English class with the turkeys they made.

Jakarta - Week 11

Halo Halo!

I know it's so cliche to say but time really is flying! I can't believe November already is coming to a close and soon it'll be Christmas. The weather hasn't changed here really at all. ;) But life is still good! There are even some Christmas decorations up at the mall near where we live. 

This week I had a neat experience with priesthood blessings. On Wednesday I got really sick. My throat hurt so much that I was afraid to swallow because of the pain. Talking was a trial and I was not feeling well at all. (I was also sick of being sick...). Sister Narko and I decided it would be best to go to the doctor and get a check up. I don't know why but the whole way there I was thinking that maybe I'd need my tonsils removed or something crazy like that. I was a little scared and for some reason emotional. Everyone at the hospital was really kind and very helpful. Sister Narko was really helpful too and I was grateful to have her at my side since at that time I really began to miss my mom. No matter how old you are, it's still a lot more comforting to go to the hospital with your mom. I kept trying to remind myself that I'm an adult and that everything was fine but that didn't help replace the need of some motherly love I was missing. 

The Doctor told me after a very quick exam and some questions that I had a throat infection. He prescribed me some pills, one of them being very pricey (I kept thinking for a price like that it better work!), and sent me home. As we were on the bus I was really, really scared because all of the medicine I would have to swallow were pills. I was not excited at all. I could barely swallow a sip of water let alone take these pills! I then was graciously reminded that I am surrounded by these amazing young men that are dressed in white shirts and ties and they have this really great power called the Priesthood. I asked Sister Narko to call them and ask if they would give me a blessing and of course they said yes. 

Sister Narko tried to get me to eat and take my medicine before the Elders came over but I refused to until after they came. I was hoping and even prayed that the blessing would take the pain away so I could eat. I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to take the hard part out of my trial away, and that doesn't usually work. I also asked that I would be able to recognize the miracle after the blessing. I didn't want to miss it and not be able to thank my Heavenly Father. 

The Elders came and gave me a great blessing and in it they didn't say "may your pain be gone" or "you are now healed" but they blessed me with the needed strength to get better and also that I would be able to heal quickly so I could return to the work. I was a little disappointed that the blessing didn't go exactly how I wanted but somewhere inside I knew it was for the best. 1st  miracle: Sister Narko actually had something liquidy that I could eat. It would be way easier to "eat" than the bread and jam I was about to attempt to eat. And a lot smarter too. She prepared it and another soothing drink for me. Then miracle 2: she showed me a way I could take my pills without having to swallow the whole thing. She dumped the powder from the capsule of the pill onto a spoon and used a little water to spoon feed it to me ;) Yeah it was disgusting but better than trying to swallow the whole thing. Miracle 3: I was able to heal very quickly! The next day I was eating and talking just like normal. I am so surprised how quickly I healed! And It's been such a blessing too. 

Heavenly Father does things in ways that we will learn. We go through experiences to learn certain concepts. I learned that He knows best through this experience. Even though I thought I showed enough faith to be healed and able to eat right after the blessing, to make the trial just go away, Heavenly Father showed me how to have faith through the trial, how to endure, and that He will provide the needed strength to continue. He is mindful of all of us! I know it is true. 

Well that's all for now! The work continues strong here in Indonesia. Sister Narko and I are seeing miracles through our investigators even the members here all the time. I'm so grateful to be serving now and in this country. Sampai nanti!!

Love,

Sister Sperry :)

Jakarta - Week 10

Hey Ya'll

So basically I have no time at all but life is good here! I'm still learning and trying to become better. 

I just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support that I've received. I can feel your prayers and I love the emails, letters, and small gifts that I get. I am such a blessed missionary! How did I get so lucky?

Sorry about the short email! Love you all! 

Love,

Sister Sperry :) 

Indonesian "party clothes"

Jakarta - Week 9

Halo! Apa Kabar?! 

I don't have much time today but things are going pretty well. Last week was really slow because things just didn't work out and were kinda frustrating. But through that I was able to recognize some of the miracles and blessings that Heavenly Father has given me. This week He opened my eyes to be able to see and acknowledge these blessings. For instance, I was wondering if I was making any progress in becoming a better missionary or if I was just staying the same. I really REALLY want to be a great missionary for my Heavenly Father. I owe Him at least that much! I was starting to feel a little discouraged but then at DDM (district meeting) on Friday we had a really good lesson! It helped me feel better and then later that day I was able to give away my first Kitab Mormon, by myself without Sister Narko's help, and the only English spoken was by him when he said "Thank you." Sister Narko even gave me a thumbs up!! I was so excited! And I was able to see that I really am progressing in the language. I still have a LONG way to go but just 3 months ago I didn't know apa pun (anything). Now there are some words in Indonesian that I can't remember not knowing. 

I know as long as I put forth effort Heavenly Father will help me. I just have to do my 100 percent first! That's something Sister Narko and I are working on.

I love Indonesia. I love these people, this language, even the food! I love The Lord and the fact that He suffered the Atonement for everyone. I'm so grateful that there is a way back to our Father in Heaven and I'm SO grateful that He is a merciful God. He loves you. 

I know the work that I am doing is God's work and that His hand is in it. I know that Christ will come again and that one day the whole world will know His truth. I'm so grateful to be a missionary and I'm so grateful I get to use the Atonement everyday to become better.

 

Sampai minggu depan! 

 Sister Sperry :) 

English Class

Family Home Evening with Rahel's Family

A taco truck!



 Some yummy food

 All of us in the back of the Bajaj - meant for about 3 small people!

 A Bajaj

Cute little Jaredrita!

 

Jakarta - Week 8

Halo semua!

Apa Kabar?! Things are going well in Jakarta! This week we had our second baptism, Tessa. She's 11 and her grandma is a member but her parents are not. She also got baptized along side of Daniel who is one of the Elder's investigators! It was so great to see both of them receive this ordinance and I can't wait for them to receive the Gift of The Holy Ghost next week. YAY!!

 Tessa's Baptism

 Daniel with the Elders and President Donald at his baptism.

So we also had PLD this week on tuesday and that's what I want to talk about the most. It was AWESOME!! We had Elder Gong from the area presidency come and visit us. He and Sister Gong are both so kind and really great. I learned a lot of things at PLD and that's mainly what I'd like to share this week!

First is that Satan really likes to interrupt our companionships. Whether we are on missions, working at a job, married, etc etc satan likes to interrupt the good. President Donald has said that we need to have "skin like a crocodile" meaning not let the little things get in the way. Say my companion...just does something out of habit that bothers me. If I let that get between us then satan will use that against us but if I have skin like a crocodile and don't let anything under my skin then all is well! Both him and Sister Donald talked about how important unity is. I've always known unity is important but I didn't quite understand just how much until I had to start living and working with a companion. The other day, Sister Narko and I was were struggling with unity and there was just a huge difference in our relationship. Also the Spirit wasn't there and I just felt so bad the whole time. Luckily Sister Narko is forgiving and we were able to get over it really quickly. Can you believe it? 7 weeks and that was the first time we've had a real big problem besides the language barrier (that I am over coming!). It's true how important unity is though! No one can do this work alone and nobody is meant to live life alone. Having unity with others helps SO much and then there's having unity with God. When we are unified with God we do His will and He has our best interests in mind! He knows what's right and I promise true happiness will come as we become unified with Him. Of course there will always be tribulation and trial but those are for our benefit.

 Beautiful Sister Narko!

 

The next thing I really learned at PLD was the "Doctrine of Stakes" For instance I didn't know that you had to have 5 stakes to get a temple in an area. Right now Indonesia has 2, almost 3 stakes. They announced that one of the wards is splitting soon, which means some of us missionaries could get moved to a different ward, and that's super exciting news! I will have you know that Zion is growing in this area of the world! It takes 5 wards to make a stake and each ward should have around 150 members and at least 15 active, full tithe, worthy Melchizidik (excues my spelling) priesthood holders. Stakes are usually around 1900 members. I also found out that there are 7 billion people on Earth. 3.5billion of those people live in Asia. The Asia area has half of the world population alone!!!  There was a lot more "statistic wise" stuff that Elder Gong told us that was really neat. It got me and the other missionaries really excited to get out there and help progress the work. It also showed that Heavenly Father really is hastening His work!

The last really neat thing I wanted to share was that I got to be on a little "question council" with Elder Gong, who reminded us that he is a general authority (he says a general authority is someone who can answer general questions ;)). He was allowing us time to just ask him any questions we wanted. He said that he, President  Donald, me and Elder Blaser would be happy to answer any questions. I was shocked when he said my name! And although I only really answered one question (I don't quite remember the question but I gave an answer from conference)  I still felt honored that a general authority chose me to help him answer questions. It was just the confidence booster I needed because the night before I was at a FHE lesson at a members house and I had the answer to the question he was asking but was unable to explain it, so, I was feeling a little down that I couldn't answer his question and that he gave it to a different Elder to answer instead. It just showed me that Heavenly Father is aware of me. He knows that I know what I am talking about even if I can't say it.

The rest of the week was pretty normal! Thank you for your love and support. I really am truly grateful for all of you!!!! Love you!

Jakarta - Week 7

Hello again!  

I can't believe October is already almost over! I hope everyone eats a piece of candy for me, they don't celebrate Halloween here. Which is fine because I can't trick or treat any way ;) so here's how the week went!

Monday: Just a nice normal preparation day and then FHE at a member's home. They had delicious food as always and we had a good lesson where each missionary shared a favorite thought or something that has stood out to them lately. He then invited us back over again for today. I'm quite excited. And actually while we are talking about today I have some cool news. We have a new investigator!! YAY! Anser to my prayers! She's buddhist and it's very interesting to learn a little more about that religion. But she says she wants to find God and to feel of His power. She says she needs His help and she really has been prepared by the Spirit. I also couldn't help but feel a close connection to her. A lot of what she said and did I was able to connect with! We are pretty similar and I hope that becomes a strength when Sister Narko and I teach her in weeks to come! She's super cool and is a Doctor. She's excited to learn and has already gotten sunday's off so she can come to church, without meeting with us first! I'm super excited to get to know her more. Oh her name is Ivon! 

Tuesday: We had piano lessons again with Ibu Tri and she told us how her trip was. She had a nice one and she gave us a ton of food like always ;) She's very sweet and I love going to see her. I always feel SUPER nervous to teach her though! But I believe this is a way I can use my talents to serve and if I show Heavenly Father that I am willing to use them, He will strengthen them! I'm learning more as I teach her about piano. Its really cool! 

Wed: We went and visited a less active member's home whose daughter had been sick. Her daughter was a lot better now and we had a good discussion about sharing the gospel.

Thur: English English English! We also got to meet the new elders that came into the area! There's 3 new elders, 2 bule and 1 Indonesian. They are all great elders and I'm excited to see our Distrik grow! 

Fri: The thing that stood out the most on friday was meeting with an investigating family. Unfortunately Ibu Ita, the mother, wasn't able to participate in our meeting and it was only the husband but we had a great member with us and a really good lesson/discussion. I didn't understand much but the Spirit was there and then the Brother said that I testified with boldness. That was quite a compliment :) 

Sat: This day was kinda scary. So we had an appointment to meet with a previous investigator. Well we failed to know (until the night before we met her) that she is a Jehova Witness and all she really wanted to do was debate doctrine. With this knowledge we still went to the appointment and when we got there we were met by MANY people. We were meeting at their meeting house and Sister and I didn't want to debate with these people! We just wanted to share what we know about the gospel. Luckily most of them left and we were able to share our beliefs with four people. They were very kind and in return we were able to learn a little more about their religion. It didn't make much sense to me and it actually helped my testimony to grow in the restored Gospel. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I also know that others have pieces of the truth. We had very similar ideas and yet some things that were just so different. I'm very grateful to have the WHOLE restored gospel. Not just a piece of reformation. We also met with two Muslims who are very interested in the church. We got to know them and they are going to take a tour of the church and watch the Restoration video with us. They also told us a little more about the Muslim church and I again receive confirmation that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's true church. 

We also cleaned the area book and out of the bazillion names we tried to contact we got ONE appointment. YAY FOR THE ONE!!!! We are excited to meet with her and she seems to be excited to meet with us too :) Pray it all works out! 

Sun: Church and meeting with the Jefferies like usual :) Bro. Jefferies had some great ideas on that he used in the mission field that we want to try to see if it will help with our success. 

I know this work is the work of God and that He is the head of everything that goes on. I also know that this is the member's work. Missionaries are set apart from the world to share the gospel yes, but this work would be absolutely impossible without the members! We need ALL the members to help us as much as possible!!!! So here's my commitment to all of you this week. Prayerfully seek someone to share the gospel with. Then come up with a way that you can. Present that plan to Heavenly Father and I promise He will guide you to say what you need to to share this Gospel. I also promise that as you do His wll and His work you will be SO blessed! For instance, you will learn more about yourself. 

Thank you for everything and all the support!

With love,

Sister Sperry :) 

Jakarta - Week 6

Halo!!

JEANNIE WAS BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!!!! Right after stake conference Jeannie was baptized by President Donald and I am so happy for her! She also bore a beautiful testimony and I am so proud of her. I know this is going to bless her life greatly. 

Sister Sperry, Jeannie and Sister Narko

 So here's my week!

 Monday: Just got some shopping done and some Christmas gifts for my family. Then we went and had dinner at a member's home and a really nice FHE with one of their nonmember neighbors. It was very nice. They also mad a special cake for the missionaries that are going home this week. 

Sister Narko and Sister Sperry on P-day

Tuesday: This day was a special holiday for Muslims and they sacrificed cows and goats. I tried to stay away from the Muslim churches so I didn't have to see any of that. I did see a little after math but luckily not an actual sacrifice! Thank goodness...

Wed: Just normal missionary stuff! Visited Tessa who should be getting baptized on Nov. 3rd. She's 11 and has a beautiful spirit! She's working hard to be Christ like :) Then we had dinner with another member family. 

 Thur: Because of the sacrifice and holiday we didn't go teach at the schools today but still had English class that night. WE have people come every week which is really nice!! Instead we went and tried to visit some less active member's homes. We also got to eat some Cheese Cake from, wait for it... The Cheese Cake Factory. APA?! Yeah It wasn't like american cheese cake at all but it was still very good! I got oreo in honor of my father ;) A member who was visiting some less active members with us bought it for us. She was so nice! 

Fri: Had a really good lesson about Family History work and got a family pretty interested in it. One of my goals when I get home is to become more involved in Family History. It really is amazing! 

Sat: We taught another English class and then cleaned the font for Jeannie's baptism. We also had stake conference which was very nice.

 Cleaning the baptismal font

Sun: Stake conference and Jeannie's baptism!! It was wonderful to see her go through with baptism and I'm excited for her to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost this week! So happy for her! We also had dinner at an English member family home and they made lasanga!!!!!!! ENAK SEKALI!!! Oh it was so good :) 

 

At the baptism with Jeannie, David, President Donald and the kids

Enak drink

 

Well hope all is well. Thank you EVERYONE for you love and support. I've been learning a lot and really do love the people here! Love you!

Love,

Sister Sperry :) 

Sister Sperry in a Batik print dress

 Missionaries

 

Jakarta - Week 5

Hello!!

I've officially been in Jakarta for a whole month! I still feel SOOO new but I'm growing a lot more used to life here. This week was pretty fun! Here's how it went

Monday: We went to "Old City" but all the museums are closed on Mondays...little did we know. So we took a lot of pictures and even talked to some other bules that we saw around. We gave one German girl a Book of Mormon. She's traveling all over the world for 3 months and she says she's thinking about moving to California. Cool!

Tuesday: We had piano lessons and met with Jeannie and David. They are both hopefully getting baptized this week!! YAY!!!!! We've been talking a lot about the temple lately and Jeannie wants to go SO badly! I love how much she wants to go and I hope she keeps her focus on the temple and never lets it go! 

Wednesday: A LOT of traveling! We visited a part member family who lives about 2 hours away from us. Unfortunately her husband didn't come to join us like we hoped for but we still had a great lesson on The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I would like to invite all of you to prayerfully read that this week. It's truly inspired and you can learn a lot from something so little. We also visited Tessa, an 11year old girl, and set up a baptismal date for November 3rd! She's very excited and so are we!

Thursday: Lots of english class as usual but first we started out our day at the mission home with Interviews and Sister Narko took an english test. It was great to talk to President Donald. I've learned a lot from him already and I really appreciate all that he and sister Donald do. 

Friday: We had a mini PLD or mini zone meeting. It was really really great and I learned a lot from it! We were also all asked to bear a short testimony and I was surprised by how much I actually understood (In Indonesian). Boosted my Confidence for sure. Then Sister and I had a weekly planning session where she told me that I was going to be "in charge" this week. AHH!! I'm a little bit nervous especially because I'm still so new! But I think everything should be fine. I hope we're able to have a successful week! We also met with another part member family and had yet another awesome lesson on the importance of family. I felt the Spirit quite a bit in this lesson! I was really happy about that and glad I made the decision to follow the Spirit. This lesson turned out to be more focused on their relationship than anything else. We asked them to set one day a week apart to just spend time with each other and I really hope it helps them grow closer together. 

Saturday: General Conference ALL day! And I didn't understand any of it... But Jeannie and David came and Jeannie said she really felt the Spirit. I know these men and women are called of God and what they say are God's words. I can't wait to hear it in English! 

Sunday: More General Conference, lunch at a members house, and I just became the piano player for choir! Right before choir though I began to develop a terrible head ache that wiped me out for the rest of the day. Don't worry I'm better now! 

Although life is crazy here I'm happy I am where I am. I am learning so much and I love it! I hope all is well with all yall! Thank you for your love and support and remember to always hold strong to the gospel! 

Love,

Sister Sperry :) 

ps sorry! No pictures...I forgot my camera. 

Jakarta - Week 4

Hello Y'all!

I hope you are all having a fantastic conference weekend :) I don't get to listen to conference until this weekend but I'm telling you I am SUPER excited!!! A little nervous because I will probably be listening to a lot of it in Indonesian...But we got to go over to a members house this week and watch the Relief Society Session in english and it was great. I saw two girls that were in my ward at USU and then two sisters going to Greece that I met while I was there. And one girl from Junior High (all in the choir). So fun! So here's the week!

Monday: We went and played some futsol and basketball! It was way fun. Then all four sisters in Jakarta went and ate with a less active member who sings (it's her major) very, very well! I asked her if she could teach me and she says if we come over for FHE she'd be more than happy to. But she's leaving for the USA soon for 2 months or so. Dang.. Oh well!

Playing futsol.

 

Tuesday: Well I had my first piano lesson! I was scared to death but everything seemed to go well and we got free lunch ;) We then met with Jeannie and David and they are working hard to put their lives in order. They are so great! Also I feel like I've met them before, which has happened with a lot of people that I am meeting here. Weird but also nice because then we are just all friends! That's the night we watched the Relief Society broadcast and it was fantastic! I love hearing from the leaders of the church. It was very uplifting and encouraging and I got peanut M&Ms. Very rare here and reminded me of Dad!!

 Wed: A LOT of traveling!! Lots of Macet (traffic) because we went pretty far to visit a less active. The lesson was on testimonies and it went pretty well. She's due to have a baby soon! We also visited a girl named Tessa who is 11 and is getting baptized soon. She's incredible!

 

Thursday: We taught 3 english classes! Waduh... Thank you to everyone who sent me some great ideas! They are going to really help!!! We also met with some college kids and just had a question and answer session. They are studying to become priests  (all girls) and I believe it is a school project to research another religion. It was really cool to share our testimonies with them and I think some of the girls are really interested!

 

Teaching an English class.

 

Friday: Lots of missionary meetings like District meeting and then meeting with the ward mission leader of the English ward (which involved delicious food:)) We also watched Families can Be Together Forever (super great cheesy Lds movie!) and Jeannie and David are very excited to go to the temple in a year after they are baptized! It really hit home with Jeannie, it's like her favorite subject. Yay!! I miss going to the temple every week but I'm happy to help others get there!

Saturday: Another english class and more missionary meetings. Busy, busy, busy!

 Sunday: Church and went to the Jeffery's again! We helped make dinner and had lots of fun teaching each other the first lesson on the Restoration from Preach My Gospel. If you haven't read PMG yet I would invite you to do so! It's amazing and really I mean we are all trying to be member missionaries right? ;) oh AND IT RAINED LIKE CRAZY!!!!! It was Amazing!!! I loved the rain so much and everyone thought I was nuts but oh my goodness it was great!!! I'm so excited for the rainy season ;) 

Gado gado, one of my favorites!

Drenched!!!

 

Well, love you all! Thank you for your love and support! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Sperry :) 

 

Companions!