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.