Hello Everyone!
Wow, I have now been in Solo for about four months! There is a
chance I will be transferred soon, which will be sad, but I am looking forward
to a new experience. Today is actually eight months on the mission to the day.
As I think about it, it really has gone by fast. With this realization, I
sometimes have to really slow down and focus on what my purpose is. It is great
that my Mission is going by fast, but at the same time, I must always be sure
that I am doing my best to bring others to Christ. Really, that is our purpose
as Missionaries. We are not trying to increase the membership of the church; we
are only trying to help others in their relationship with God and Jesus Christ,
and their plan for us. Anyway, here are some highlights of the week:
One of our progressing investigators has been making some great
progress lately. He had no belief or faith in Jesus Christ just a little bit
ago, and now he has a strong testimony of our Savior. It has been so amazing to
see his growth and strength in his family and life. Seeing him and many others grow
in faith has really taught me how much Jesus Christ can bless our lives. All we
have to do is put trust in him, like our investigator did, and he will bless us
greatly.
My companion and I have also been working with the many inactive
and less-active members here in Solo. We have actually had some great success
with a few, and it has been a blessing to see them return to church and
activity. We continue to help them transition back to the church, and we
resolve any issues they might have had before. I have heard a few people here
criticize this church for not going out for those members that may have gotten
lost in this life. I promise that we do go after them, and that we care greatly
for them. Honestly, most of our work here in Solo is focused on those lost
sheep.
As far as unique activities this week, there were a few. The
first was a trip to a member's house, which was very far away. We rode with the
Bishopric, and helped the Sister that lived there move her Daughter's remains
to another spot in the graveyard. It was a cool experience, and my companion
was able to give the blessing on the new resting place. It was the first time I
had seen that being done, so it was a cool experience. I felt sad for the
Sister who lost her daughter when she was quite young, but it was great to see
her faith in knowing that she would see her daughter again.
The other cool experience I had was to see a traditional
Javanese wedding. It was a member of one of the wards here, but they were
married traditionally before going to the temple. I think they will go fairly
soon. The ceremony was much different than anything I had ever seen before, and
a few members helped explain the process to me.
During the ceremony, they only
spoke Javanese, so I had to have my companion and other members translate for
me so I could know what was going on! The other Elders and myself drew quite a
bit of attention from people, who did not know us, which I think was a good
thing. I was glad to learn about the unique culture that is very prevalent here
in Solo.
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| The food at the wedding was delicious! |
-Elder
James
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| This is another cool Indonesian sport--it's like volleyball, but you use your feet and head! |
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| This is our mission couple's driver, Frankie--he's really nice! |
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| Elder Lee at English class. |
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| Playing "cowboys" with some member boys. Essentially it is just letting them shoot me with Nerf guns! |
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