Solo (Week 41)

Happy Birthday to my crazy uncles, Elder Browning and anyone else that I might have missed! And Thank you for the birthday whishes that I have gotten :D You people are so great and I love the crazy cards that I'm getting. From the homemade Cards from Las Vegas to the Cat with a sweater on it (if that doesn't scream Colin I don't know what does...)

Well Here's the week!

Senin: We just kinda shopped for p-day and Sister Fisher got a trim. Then we met with an Ibu. She's Christian but is following her husband right now. She's confused if she wants to come back to Christianity or not. I hope we'll be able to help her decide. 

Selasa: It was a pretty normal day in Solo. Not much happened but we worked hard.

Rabu: We rode really far and climbed like 3 mountains to try and find a referral from the Elders. And...she wasn't home. But we were lucky to find a different person to teach! He knows really good English and is super smart. He accepted the Book of Mormon and we'll try and get back there soon! 

Kamis: We went and saw our friends from last week! There were all very receptive and listened to our message. We are going to have a birthday lunch with them on Friday :) I'm really quite excited! There's two that have a lot of potential/. I love Missionary work! We also went and met with our other new friends that are just a whole mix of different Christian religions. They were so kind and really funny! One just moved back to Jakarta and we gave him to the Elders out there. 

Jumat: Just another hard working day! Sister Fisher and I are starting to recognize where our potential can take us and we are excited to work hard and really achieve it. We are trying to find ways to work more effectively and more with the spirit. It's so exciting! I love Sister Fisher and her awesome hard working attitude. I've learned so much from her! 

Sabtu: Unfortunately we weren't able to meet with Ibu Ima today...that was a bummer. But we were still able to pull out a good day! When you are working hard, Heavenly Fathers helps to keep you busy. 

Hari Minggu: A really cool miracle happened! So a while ago Solo and Jogja got a media referral from a girl who lives in Salatiga, which is about an hour and a half out from here. She finally made it to church the other day! It was great to put a face to the name and she had some awesome questions. She's dating a nice LDS boy from Utah and he was able to come to church yesterday too, but doesn't know Indonesian so Elder Kyle helped translate. It was really cool to meet both of them! Then we ate at one of the Bishop's homes and they made us eat until we couldn't. I'm so grateful the ride home was all down hill! 

I love this work. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and I love my life! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve in this crazy country and get to know these amazing people. I hope you all have a great week! 

With love,

Sister Ferry (Yeah...it happens ;) )

 

 

Solo (Week 40)

Hello world!

I heard some of the most exciting news of my life this week...MBAK ATIN WAS BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was the investigator in Jogja that has been learning with the missionaries for a long time now. She's had problems with baptism because her family's religion but she finally was baptized yesterday! Sister Toegono called me and I just started bawling because I was so happy. Ah I'm still so happy!!!! She's been so ready for so long and she just finally did away with what anyone thinks of her and turned to God. I'm so proud of her and grateful for Heavenly Father's hand in helping her be baptized. Anyway here's my week!

Senin: I went to a fabric store and picked out some fabric to make my birthday present from myself which is a kabaya. It's traditional clothing that you would wear to a graduation, wedding, just kind of any special occasion and I get to pick it up today! I'll send pictures next week :) Then we went to Family night with Sister Eni from Banjasari (one of the 4 wards) and she and Sister Yuli gave us recipies so we can start learning to cook like Indonesians! 

Selasa: We tried cooking. Nasi Goreng...and it failed! We were sick for a few days (not like stay at home sick but like oh my gosh I never want to eat nasi goreng again sick...) but it's OK because I think we are getting over it! We learned what we did wrong and will try again. 

We met with a few great people, like usual, and enjoyed serving our God and king. Missionary work is so great right?! :) 

Rabu: So...we went looking for a referal that the Elders gave to us. As we were looking there was a lady on motor that started talking to Sister Fisher. Sister Fisher got her name and number and where she lived just like that. THEN...

Kamis: We decided to go find that Ibu. Her name is Ibu Nila. She's Muslim but open to hear about anything. We started to get to know her and asked if we could share our message, Sister Fisher started to pray when she said, "Wait I want to go get my Christian friend." We were all, ya that's awesome, and waited for her to come back. She came back with 2...and then a 3rd came! They all heard our message and unfortunately we only brought 2 kitab Mormon. Then her son comes home and turns out he's friends with one of the Elders serving in Surabaya right now! Small world right? Anyway we taught them all about the Book of Mormon and it was really great. Then I mentioned it was my birthday at the end of the month and they went nuts! They kept saying I had to come back and they would make nasi kuning (yellow rice..so good!!!!) and all this stuff and they just oooed over Sister Fisher and I. Then we went to their nieghbor's house, who is a fashion designer for Kabayas (what I bought on senin) and appearently has been to California for shows. He's seen the broadway production The Book of Mormon so he was a little apprehensive at first but then he offered to like give us a make over sometime and we could try on some of the traditional clothing. It was super cool. There is some really great potential over there and we are excited to go back! 

Jumat: I discovered how brave I've gotten and bold with my statements about the church. I just tell the truth, I don't ease my way around it. We had a lesson with a lady that can't read but has faith that is amazing. Unfortunately she doesn't quite understand our message, but that's ok. We came out straight and bold with our beliefs (but with love!) and it was just kind of a turning point for me. It's helped a lot! 

Sabtu: We met with Ibu Ima who is just amazing! We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she was happy to get her answer to what happens after death. She says no one's ever been able to answer it until now. YAY!!!! She's working hard on preparing for baptism :) 

Hari Minggu: Mbak Atin was baptized in Jogja!! I was so happy to hear that, especially because we didn't have any of our investigators come to church...After church we ended up meeting a Saksi Yehova (Jehovah's Witness). We learned a lot and I just got a witness that this church is God's church and only this church. I was bold but loving again (I've found a good balance) and so was Sister Fisher (her testimony is AWESOME!) and we had a really good discussion. I love being a missionary :D and Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

I know this church is the only church that has the Priesthood. I know that this is God's work and He needs us all. I love this church and my calling! Dalam nama Yesus Kristus, Amin!

Well until next week!

Love,

Sister Sprie (I'm gonna start signing off with the different names I've been called.)

Solo (Week 39)

PAgI! Apa kabar semuanya? 

This week was awesome! We had a lot of good things goin for us :) Here's how it went!

Senin: A pretty normal P-day. It was a nice one ;) nothing special. 

Selasa We had a pretty great day, visited some good people, ate some good food. Overall a pretty average day. 

Rabu: Poor sister Fisher got sick so we couldn't do much this day. But it's all good because we still had 1 really good lesson with some less active members. 

Kamis: We got to go to Jogja!! For our zone meeting. It was a good meeting and we made some great goals. I love this zone! Then we came home and tried to make up a little for when Sister Fisher was sick. I love how hard she works! 

Jumat: We went looking for an investigator and met her mom. We had a good short lesson with her and then met with her daughter. We applied what we learned about praying with our investigators at ZTM with her and it was awesome! 

Sabtu: This is when the miracles started to really kick in! So we left our house at 8 that morning, Eka got interviewed for her baptism, and then we met with Ivu Ima and Pak Bagus (from the store the other week). They were awesome and just received everything we said. We are going to work closely with them. Then we went out to a less active's home and she made a date to come back to church. Hopefully she sticks to that goal! Afterward, we met with a member who took us all around the neighborhood just meeting with TONS of people. She was awesome! Then we found out that the water was BLACK for the baptism!! AHH!!!! Luckily the elders where able to get it all fixed. They are so good to us! No worries, there was clear water for the baptism. Hallelujah!

 

Hari MInggu: We had 3 Less active members come, a baptism, and 2 investigators at church! It was so great!!! Then later that night we had an awesome fireside full with the spirit. Life is just great as a missionary!

 

I love my companion. Turns out we used to live SUPER close so she knows all the spots that I talk about and we tell each other stories in Bahasa to study. It's pretty fun. She's a hard worker and I love where things are going. Well until next week! Love y'all!!

Love,

Sister Sperry :) 

Solo (Week 38)

Selamat Pagi!! 

Wow what a week! We were always busy which was awesome, made a LOT of contacts, gave away some Kitab Mormon and I just had a great first week in Solo. I absolutely love my companion. She works hard, has fun, is brave, and persistent! Well here's how our week went:

Senin: We got to go to Jogja to play futsol as a district. It was like coming home ;) Haha even though it had only been like 4 days. It was fun to meet with everyone and I bought some awesome batik shorts! I'm going to be the coolest kid at school when I get home.

Then when we got back to Solo we decided to do some proselyting. We went to Solo Grand Mal and I had a feeling to go into Hypermaret (it's kind of like Walmart). We did quite a bit of contacting and then while we were at the check out point I saw this guy wearnig a shirt that said "I <3 Jesus Christ" and I instantly thought hey he's Christian! We went to go talk to him and turns out him and the girl he was with are looking for a new church. WAHO!! We got their information and did our "success dance" when we got back to the house. ;)

Selasa; We had quite a few cancelations but we didn't let that get in the way! We went out there and worked. We met with a few people that we didn't plan for and met a lot of new people. Funny how we show our faith and dedication through preparation and planning and then God takes our plans and makes them His own. It's really neat! 

Rabu: We got to meet with that couple at the church. We gave them a church tour and Ibu Ima, the girl, got chills. She got them again when we read Moroni 10:3-5. It was awesome! We could actually see the Holy Ghost work with her! We are excited to get to know Ibu Ima and Pak Bagus more. Pak Bagus just moved from Muslim to Christian and said he just hasn't found a church yet. We're hoping he starts to feel really comfortable here.

Kamis; This was another one of those days where God switched up our plans. We met with 2 moms while proselyting and as we were teaching them like a group of 15 kids gathered around us. It was awesome! I felt like such a missionary :) 

Also we met with Brother and Sister Tito. They are a member family that is way cool! And so nice. And have lots of dogs.

Jumat: We got rejected over and over and over. But hey, that's life. Sister Fisher said she realized the Christ felt the same thing. People rejected Him. That was a really cool way to look at it.

Sabtu: We met with an investigator who didn't want to get baptized until her birthday in July and we were all prepared to try and convince her to switch the date because we feel she's already ready and there's no reason to wait. Before we said anything she said, oh I can be baptized next week right? OF COURSE!! So we are preparing a baptism for June 8th (happy B-day Natalie Gines ;) )

Hari Mingg: Unfortunately Ibu Ima and Pak Bagus couldn't come to church. It's ok we'll get them next week! Other than that, had a meeting with one of the Ward mission leaders that served with my teachers from the MTC. It was cool :) 

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week!! Love you! and remember Miracles happen daily!

Love,

Sister Sperry :)

English Class

Solo (Week 37)

Selamat pagi dari SOLO!!!

Hey it's been a great week! here's how it went! 

Senin: Like I said last week we went to the beach...and unfortunately I forgot my camera today...so again I'll remember next week and get you those pictures sent off again. MAAF!! SORRY!!!

Selasa: I found out this day that I would be moving the next night, wed. It was so soon! So we worked hard and I got to meet with a couple people that I'm really going to miss. It was a good day!

 Rabu: we visited a few more people and then the whole district and Sister Hastu saw me off at the train station! It was a good ride even if nobody wanted to take the Kitab Mormon. I still got to share a lot and made a lot of contacts. Then I got to Solo! Solo is great. Since there's only one set of sisters here we are the WHOLE city! Which is a lot to handle. We've been really busy! Which is awesome, I love staying busy.

 

Kamis: We got a referral kind of thing from one of our less active members to go visit another member. This is the fist time me or Sister Fisher had met with this sister and she's sick. We decided to go stop by because we were in the area and it was so cool because she said that she had dreamed that the sisters would stop by. WOAH! Then we found out that her husband isn't a member and just last night she sms-ed and said that she thinks her husband is now really interested. YES!!! We are so grateful and excited about this awesome opportunity!

Jumat: There were a lot of meetings and thing kelas bahasa inggris which was fun! I got to meet with the new district and I think we are going to do good things. The only thing that was really weird was there are 7 bules and 3 Indonesians...WOW! This is going to be an interesting District full of Americans!

 

Sabtu: Man we were so tired Saturday! We worked hard and came home tired but happy because we knew we did well. It's so nice to be so busy I love it!

Hari Minggu: I was drained after going to 2 wards. Luckily Heavenly Father blessed us with the opportunity to nap. That was super nice! Then while we were getting ready for stats that night we were one person away from meeting our daily contact goal. So we went out straight away! And found 2 people :) That was awesome! They're not exactly excited about our message or anything but it was a good way to show Heavenly Father we are serious about this work and meeting our goals.

I love my new companion, Sister L. Fisher from PG! She knows how to work hard, she's funny, and we get along really well! I'm so excited to work with her here in Solo and I feel good things coming. Well until next week! 

love,

Sister Sperry :)

 

 

 

Yogyakarta (Week 36)

Howdy Yall!!!

Sorry about the no email last week, I talked to my family instead :) We've had a good two weeks! Here's a couple of the highlights.

So last week our investigator Pak Darno was baptized! And yesterday he was confirmed a member of the church. It was so great to see him be baptized. He is such a humble and great person. I know that this gospel is really going to bless his life.

Also yesterday the little boy, Alma, that we've been helping prepare for baptism was baptized by his older brother. It was neat because while his brother served, he wasn't able to baptize anyone but now he has the opportunity to baptize his younger brother. He was quite emotional and his testimony was awesome. His parents, who are less active, both came and I think this should help them to remain active again. It was full of the spirit and really great. 

Well I only have 3 more days in Jogja! Yopp I got news on Thursday that I'll be trasfered to...wait for iiiiiittttttt....SOLO!!!! I've wanted to go to Solo since before going into the MTC so I'm pretty stoked! At first I was shocked and now I'm just excited. It's only about an hour train ride from Jogja. So I'll still be able to work on my Javenese. But the thing I'm worried about is I'll be with a bule companion. Actually I'm not super worried, I feel like our language skills will grow a lot, so honestly I'm excited, but ya it'll be a new experience. Her name is Sister L. Fisher from Pleasant Grove (go figure ya)? 

I just want to leave you all with my testimony that this church is true. I'm so grateful for my mission and the experiences I'm experiencing. I've never been happier! I know God lives and Christ is His Son. I know They love us and they will help us out throughout our lives. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amin. 

Have a great week!! Next week I'll show you pictures of the beaches we went to earlier this morning ;)

love,

Sister Sperry :)