Yogyakarta (Week 35)

We got to Skype with Sister Sperry today!  It was great to see her face and hear her voice!  She's doing well and as happy as ever.  She sends her love and "hello's" to all of her friends and family and her only request is for letters! We love her and are so very proud of her and her decision to take 18 months out of her everyday life to go and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Indonesia.  It was the best Mother's Day I've had to date!

Yogyakarta (Week 34)

WOW! It's already Mei! Where did April go?

This week wasn't quite as good as last week, we had a couple hardships, but it ended on a really good note and this week is a new week which will be great! I'm quite excited. 

The reason this week wasn't quite as good is because lots of our investigators aren't quite progressing and we are losing a few. But it's OK, they'll accept this glorious message some day, whether in this life or the next, and then they will say, "oh that's what Sister Toegono and Sister Sperry were talking about...oh why didn't I understand that before?" Everyone has their own time. 

But I would like to share what I learned at Stake Conference. It was in Solo and it was really good! It was all about hastening the work of salvation and we had 2 from the area 70 here. They both delivered great messages about the importance of missionary work and family. I never quite realized how much missionary work and family are similar. They are the same work. We are all family, all sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. Also doing missionary work blesses our earthly families. It actually helps family grow closer. Even though I'm the furthest I've ever been from my family I can feel us all growing closer, including my relationship with extended family members. Parents are missionaries for their children, siblings can be missionaries to one another, and we as members of the church are missionaries to all those that don't know the blessings of the gospel yet. 

The Stake Choir - Sydney even got to lead one of the numbers they sang!

One important part of missionary work is strengthening less active members. These are people that have felt the blessings of the gospel but for some reason or another have fallen away. We have a responsibility to help them. In my experience sometimes less active members are harder to teach than investigators. But we need to help them. This church needs to be strengthened in this time and we need the help of the less active members. We all know someone who isn't very active. Maybe this week instead of looking for someone to baptize, invite a less active member to dinner, to church, go visit and share a good message, serve them, anything! They need our help. 

I know that the family is ordained of God. I know that we are all brothers and sisters and I know that God loves us all. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Good luck with your missionary work this week! Let me know how it goes :) 

love,

Sister Sperry :)

Yogyakarta (Week 33)

Dear World,

Wow another week has FLOWN by! And it was a wonderful week. We really saw the hand of God in our work this week and it was such a great blessing. God has not forgotten about Indonesia! The work my be slower than it is in other parts in the world but it is hastening. Before you know it I'll be coming back for the opening of the Indonesian Temple. Wooh!! Well here's how my week went:

Senin: Me and Sister Toegono bought some Batik fabric and had some dresses made. They are so cool! We are going to buy more today ;) I love the cultural stuff here! Also we met with Eddy and Hoa, the def couple, and committed them again to baptism. Great lesson! 

 

Selasa: We went on splits with the other sisters so I was with Sister Olsen for the day! It was so neat to be her companion again and to see The progression that we've both had! We taught some good lessons and practiced with the choir for Stake Conference (which Sister Peni invited me to lead one of the songs! I am SO excited!). Sister Hasibuan and Sister Toegono worked in our area and they helped 2 more of our investigators commit to baptism. WOW!! It was so great to hear! 

 

Rabu: Was a pretty normal day. Worked hard, contacted people, and had an overall good day.

Kamis: We went to Kelatan and I met a pastor on the bus that wants to read the Book of Mormon. I "lent" him the book and I invited him to church but he didn't come. That's something that President has asked us to do, lend the Book of Mormon. Then we automatically have an excuse to meet with them again and hopefully teach a lesson. Now we just need to find him to get my Book of Mormon back. We also visited a good Katolik family. 

Jumat: We helped one of the ward members move, had a good District Meeting, and had some awesome lessons with two Investigators that both have baptismal dates. I have never had so many people committed to baptism at one time! It's so neat! And I know it only came after Sister Toegono and I made some covenants with Heavenly Father and sacrificed a few things. If this is the reward I am more than happy to sacrifice anything. This is amazing~! 

Sabtu: Another normal hard working day. The hand of the Lord is in this work I just know it! 

Hari Minggu: Yet another baptismal commitment to someone who lives in Kelatan! Wow! And it rained really hard while Sister Toegono and I were trying to get to a members house. We had to stop and then the road we wanted flooded...Needless to say we got wet. But the storm was AWESOME! 

I can really feel God's Hands in things. I know this is His work and that in His own time things will be done. Indonesia is progressing, the whole world is progressing, and it is exciting! I hope we all call work together to see this church grow and help our friends, family, and everyone we know receive the blessings from this Gospel. 

Have a great work! Work hard, have fun! 

With love,

Sister Sperry :) 

Look at your phone. Does that contact know you're a member? Have you talked with them about the church? You don't think they're interested or wouldn't be? Who are you to judge? ;) (That's from President Donald. He's pretty great). 

SUPER MISSIONARIES!

 

Yogyakarta (Week 32)

Holy Cow another week done!! I can hardly believe how time is flying right now. I can't believe I'm already 9 months into the mission ;) Well here's how my week went!

Senin: Because of PLD and a picnic, we decided to work on this day. It was just like any other work day. We met with the Jianto family and had a fantastic Family Home Evening. We also met with one of our new investigators. He lives on the street and has a very interesting situation but he is positive and happy and we love meeting with him! 

 

Selasa: Finally...after however many months of me saying I will buy a bigger and better bag...I broke down and bought one. It was time. My old one was starting to rip and mold (ew..). We met with the def couple again and did a lot of proselyting. I was really happy with our efforts that day because I felt like we were progressing. It's so nice to see progress! Speaking of...last week Hermana Burningham gave me a kind of goal to try and double our progressive investigators. Well I would like her to know, we accomplished that! I'm really quite excited :) 

Rabu & Kamis: we headed down to Solo for PLD. The first day we had interviews with President. He told me that I will be moving from Jogja :( But that's ok! The work goes on! We also got to spend a lot of time with Sister Donald which was SO fun! She's such a joy. We also found out that we are getting 4 new sisters...and none are going home...which means...opening more areas for sisters!! So Solo will now have 4 sisters instead of 2 and President is opening Surabaya (east java) for sisters! The work is progressing!! By agustus we should have 86 Missionaries! WOW!

 

Thursday was the actual PLD meeting. It was full with the Spirit and we learned tons! I love PLD and I got the award for being the most positive! Sister Olsen got most obedient and Sister Hasibuan got most contacts! GO JOGJA! 

Jumat: we had a picnik with the stake! It was fun to meet some of the members from Solo, Semarang, and Magelang.Our new investigator came with us which was really good. 

Sabtu: we tried to catch up on all the appointments we had. Good day We also became models of the Tugu...everyone wanted to take pictures with us!! 

 Hari Minggu: Hoppy Easter semuanya!! I just want to testify that I know Christ lives. He died and rose the third day. I know that I am here as a representatve for Him. I know that it is only through Him that we can all make it back to our Heavenly Father. I know it's through His help that I am able to do this work and that I would not be where I am today without Him. I know He loves you and knows you perfectly. Bring all your burdens to Him, your sins, your weaknesses, and He will make you stronger. Dalam Nama Yesus Kristus, Amin. 

Well Until next week! 

Love,
Sister Sperry :) 

Yogyakarta (Week 31)

Halo semuanya!

 

Wow another week has gone by! This week was another month marker. I am now 4 months in the wonderful city of Jogja and 7 Months in the great country of Indonesia. I'm still so new!! 

This week was great because we got to watch conference!! I hope all of you went out and bought Preach My Gospel after Elder Ballard's (?) talk. I loved his talk. I'm still waiting to hear all of it in English, takes a while to download. 

Well here's the week!

Senin: We had a nice p-day. Nothing super special. 

Selasa: It was BEAUTIFUL outside! Sure it was hot but wow. We road to Seyegan, which is pretty far away, and got to see the beautiful rice fields and the sky was so blue and ahhh I love this place. We worked hard and road our bikes a lot! It was a good day.

 

 

Rabu: This was election day so there wasn't a soul that wanted to meet or they had all gone home to the desan or country. But we got a lot of contacting done which was really good! 

 Kamis: We went to Magelang for ZTM (zone training meeting). Then because we achieved our goal we got to go to Borobodur! It rained but it wasn't hot which was so nice. Especially because the temple is all black rock. The statutes remind me of a mix between Star Wars and Dr. Who and there are statues inside the statues. There is a beautiful view. I will return someday :) 

 

 

Jumat: Today was busy!! We met with lots of people had had some good lessons. 

Sabtu: Conference!!!! It was such a blessing especially because I understood!!!!!!!! I was so excited! Sure I didn't understand everything but I got A LOT more out of it than I did last conference! Oh it was such a huge blessing and the Spirit was strong. I know those are men and women of God and that they have been called to lead this church. How grateful I am that God provides us with such amazing leaders, especially those that have the sacred duty of holding the Priesthood. I know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. Oh how I love to hear him speak and how I love all the people who spoke in conference. We didn't have as many investigators as we wanted show up, so that was a bummer. But I've been strengthened and I will use that strength to help them!

Hari Minggu: Same as Sabtu! 

This church is true. I hope we all pay close attention to what was said in conference and apply those things in our lives. I hope we can all join together and do this work. Now is the time for members and missionaries to labor in the Lord's vineyard together. Maju Terus, Gereja ini Benar! Bekerja keras! 

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Sperry :) 

Yogyakarta (Week 30)

Howdy Ya'll,

I heard that there was an Earthquake in Chili? Is everything ok? Sister Toegono and I were at the church when we felt another little earthquake (this makes the 4th so far here in Jogja). We've also had some crazy weather but all in all it's been pretty cool here! I had a pretty good week hopefully you all did too! Well here's my week:

Senin: We ended up going to Prambanan again with a mission couple. It was really cool, again. Then we went to Ratu Boko which is a palace place for the queen. There was an absolute GORGEOUS view and if it's a clear enough day you can see Mount Merapi in the distance and we could see Prambanan from there. It was awesome and I will come back to Indonesia to see that again! We also went to Tamansari which is an old bathhouse for the king and queen. It was super neat! Sister Olsen and I got a little sunburned but not enough to hurt.

 

Selasa: Pretty good April Fools. When we tried to prank the elders we ended up pranking ourselves. Well, I learned my lesson ;) We had some pretty good lessons too with two investigators that have oooodles of potential. Overall it was a good day!

Rabu: this was the day we felt the earthquake. We were waiting for our dinner appointment at the church, I was playing the piano when the wall started to shake. Sister Toegono and I just kinda looked at each other, it finished, and we decided to walk outside. And that was that! Our expressions were extremely calm. Oh and earlier that day we taught an English class were there was a previous investigator from Magelang. He asked lots of questions in class so I got to answer a little and we want to meet with him again this week.

Kamis: we went to a 1000 day remembrance for one of our investigator's husband. Because she's a different religion it was a little different than what I'm used to but it was a good culture experience. I even got up the courage to share my testimony in their mini testimony meeting. It was neat and I'm glad we could be there to support her (Mama Hawk!).

Jumat: we went searching and searching for this ibu that we meet. She gave us her name and address but when we went to the address no one had any idea who she was. But on the bright side EVERYONE decided they wanted to talk to us so we made a ton of contacts! It was really cool and we felt super blessed! I love the people here!

Sabtu: We tried to find some more previous investigators and got a referal from one of our current investigators. The little neighborhood of Kricak Kridul is going to make a great ward ;) Almost all of our new investigators are from there!

Hari minggu: Church was really good! There were some great testimonies and lessons given that we felt our investigator needed to hear! Afterwards choir was also good and it rained the rest of the day. We made dinner for one of the sisters investigating families and taught them about faith and hope. The father is sick and can't work so they don't have a lot right now. I felt very humbled at their experience.

We also made a mexican/indonesian burrito dinner. It was awesomely enak!!

Well I'm off to start another adventurous week! I love misisonary work and especially I love INDONESIA!!

Love,
Sister Sperry :)

Yogyakarta (Week 29)

Howdy Ya'll!!

I have successfully taught one of the Indonesian sisters here how to use "ya'll" and Sister Olsen taught her "ham it up". It is so great! There's also a "rule" (not really) that the Indonesian sisters in the house have to speak in English and the bule sisters have to speak in Indonesian. It's so funny! But really great and we are all learning. Javenese is a free for all, you can use that whenever.

 

Well here's how my week went!

Senin: We made food and ate a ton. We ended up getting permission to watch The Lion King. I never realized how funny that movie was! Then we went to family night with Bro. Nanang from the bishopric and his family.

Selasa: it was a pretty normal day of visits and proselyting. Sister Toegono really works hard and I'm loving our companionship. We also met with a previous investigator from 2006 and we were able to answer all of his questions. There's lots of potential with him and I hope that he progresses!

 

Rabu: We met with another previous investigator who wants to write a book about "Mormons" and what it is really like, not what the world thinks it is. We explained the Restoration and I could feel the spirit. I know he did too. He's also the younger sibling of one of the new converts in the ward! They are wonderful people and I love them both!

Kamis: A pretty normal day until an Indonesian showed me up in English class...again. I feel like I don't know my own language...But I learned something new which was good! And I think the class did too. Maybe he can teach instead :)

 

Jumat: We had a good District Meeting with the Zone leaders. There was a family night with the whole ward for the...70 day remembrance of Bro. Margono (the brother that past away in December). The Lucherini's (a mission couple from Idaho) are in town! I love those two, they are so funny.

Sabtu: This was a good busy day. We had Omni, a member that just got her mission call, come to a couple of lessons with us. I hope I get a chance to work with her when she comes into the mission! There was another family home evening as a ward where I gave a short lesson. It was hard to hear but I think it went well.

Hari Minggu: For third hour of church I tried to translate for Sister Lucherini. They were discussing some of the things that the Lucherinis discussed in a meeting the night before about 72 hour kits and help from the church. Poor Sister Lucherini...I think she just about had a heart attack because I didn't translate very well and I think I might have mixed some things up. But In the end everything was ok! I'm gonna work on that...

 

You know I've really learned a lot about sacrifice and how important it is. When we sacrifice things for the Lord, He blesses us in return a hundred fold. I've also learned a lot about Christ-like love and may I just say I love this country. I love these people, I love this language and I am even a little bit ok with the occasional cockroach. I'm still trying hard to love the mosquitos...that's a tough one. I love that I met Sister Olsen before my mission because I feel like I have a friend here with me and also a friend when I get home (so I can keep up my Indonesian!!).  Missionary work is known to make one happy ;) I don't think I've ever been so happy before. The two best things I have done in my life so far are going through the temple and serving a mission. I know this is preparing me for the rest of my life and although I joke about serving in Jogja for 3 years I am excited to apply the things that I've learned. I love what President Donald sent me in his email last week. He said he sends us out on missions first and formost to shape ourselves and in the process He uses us to help others. Then when we become the perfect missionary we want to be, He sends us home to help out in our ward, with friends and current family, and then to raise up a family unto Him. President also told me I was a success the day I came into the MTC. I think every missionary needs to hear that!

Have a great week every one! I know this church is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,
Sister Sperry :)