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!

Jakarta - Week 3

Hello Y'all!

Jakarta is still as crazy as ever! Traffic is mad (especially on Senin (mondays)) but things are going well. 

 

Heavenly Father has really been putting me through the refiners fire. I have been learning a lot of what my duties are and how I am supposed to do those duties. Slowly and through the power of the Atonement (you should use it every day!) I think I'm becoming the missionary Heavenly Father wants me to be. 

So here's how the week went!

Monday: We just kind of hung out at the church, played piano, and a little basketball. Then Sister Narko went over to an English member's home for dinner and Family Home Evening. They had their nonmember friend over and it was great fun. We talked about service and praying for others. And of course we ate delicious food. Ha the Cab driver got lost on our way there, so it was kind of an expensive ride, but it gave us time to talk to him and even give him a pass along card. 

Tuesday: We had exchanges with the Sister training leaders! I got to be with Sister Manalu who is a recent convert to the church and she is AMAZING! She is so sweet and her testimony is incredible :) We went to a less active member's home. The reason she isn't coming to church is because her husband won't let her. She asked us to text him, but has yet to give us his number. We did make another appointment with her this week though so maybe he'll be home and we will all be able to have a good discussion! She also gave us the referral of her sister. Then that night something crazy happened! We got a call from the Elders in Bogor telling us about someone waiting at the church because they really want to learn more. We hurried home as fast as the bus could go...so pretty slowly..and met Jeannie and David at the church. They are both AMAZING!! They are both looking for change in their lives to make their lives better and they really are incredible! Jeannie basically asked us if she could be baptized! We are in the process of coming up with a date for hopefully her and David but we shall see. David's parents are members and that's how they knew about the church. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father directed them to the church because I know it's going to bless their lives!

Wednesday: Sister Narko was on a roll! She gave out 2 Kitab Mormons and basically gave the first lesson to someone on the busway. Go Sister!!

 

 Thrusday: Taught English classes all day! We had 3, 2 at schools and 1 at the church. We also met with Jeannie and David again and it was all very good :) I need help though! I need ideas for teaching kids english!! I starting to run out of songs and we don't have a curriculum yet (hopefully one is coming soon!). Please email me with ideas!!!!! 

 

 

Friday: Just lots of prosiliting, and not much else!

Typical Jakarta street.

Saturday: Didn't go as planned at all. But I am now teaching a muslim woman piano...We'll see how that goes! She just up and invited us into her home, gave us food, and before I knew it I was signed up to teach her lessons. Wish me luck!!

Sunday: Had lots of church, some more prociliting, and then went over to the Jeffery's for dinner. They like the Sisters so much that they've booked sunday night dinners for the whole month! They are fun and we have really good discussions about Preach My Gospel. They invite their friend to participate with us and she is really kind!! 

Fruit soup, Nasi Goreng. YUM! 

 

Well I'm off to another week! Love you all and thank you for your prayers and support. I really need them! And I am super grateful for them!!

Love,

Sister Sperry :)