Bandung Week 13

Our district in an Angkot

Good Morning!

After this, my first full week working with Elder Panjaitan, I am excited for the next few months with him, and I know we will work very hard! This week was by far the busiest one I have ever had in Bandung, but that is such a good thing! We are seeing miracles every day with people making progress in the Gospel. Here are a few notable events or experiences from this week.

Pizza from Dominos

We didn't really do anything fun for last Monday. We relaxed and got some shopping/cleaning done since Elder Panjaitan was still getting settled in. We visited Sister Agnes, the member who was baptized about a year ago, and she is doing great. Her kids are still young, but becoming more and more interested about the church.

Trying to lay down in an Angkot

Like I said before, we had an extremely busy week, and got a ton of lessons for this city. Usually Missionaries are only able to get around 5-8 every week here, but we got 13. I am just so grateful that all our appointments went through, and that everyone was home. The branch here has gotten a little better with helping with the work, but we still are trying to get them more enthusiastic.

We visited Thomas in Sukabumi like usual, but the buses took way longer than usual. The one there took four hours, and the one back took five! I usually bring my pillow, since I can't sleep without it, but that time I forgot. The bus drivers here are insane, and with the bad roads and traffic, it makes for a very bumpy ride. Luckily I don't get car sick, but if I did, I would be puking that entire trip!

Another thing noticeable about this week was the amount of 'First Lessons' we gave about the Restoration. Usually we only give it once or twice in a week, but this week we gave it to someone almost every day! It was great because it gave Elder Panjaitan the chance to learn it well. Now, he is perfect with that lesson!

Many came to our English class this past Friday, which is not very common. Two new families are coming, and they are really fun to learn with. A few of our other regular students also came, and they said the lesson was much more fun than usual because there were more people.

This Sunday was amazing. Lauren came to church again, (that's three times in a row) even though he has to get up around 3am to catch a train to our area. We taught him during Sunday School, and the lesson was amazing. He is already in Enos in the Book of Mormon, and accepts everything we teach. Since it was Testimony Meeting, I bore my testimony on the Love of Christ, and when I sat down, Lauren asked me if he could bear his. I told him he surely could, and he gave a heartfelt testimony of his conversion process. The members were very impressed. He already seems like a member! It was the first time I have ever seen an Investigator bear a testimony in Sacrament Meeting.

Well, I hope that we will work as hard this week as we have this past week. Sincerely working hard is the only way to happiness and success on a Mission, and I sure do feel it. My companion and I get along great, and I am happy to train him. Thank you for all your support!

-Elder James