Yogyakarta Week 20

Me in front of H.S. Silver, where I purchased my custom-made ring.
Yogyakarta is known for it's silver.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I cannot believe that it is already 2014! This year has gone by really fast, and as I look back, I remember all the great things that happened and the experiences that I have had. I am so glad that I made the decision to come out on a Mission. It has been a great experience. I really like celebrating the new year, because I can make new goals and resolutions for my personal progress. Making goals is such an important part of Missionary work, and I have really learned the importance of making goals if we want to improve. I really hope all my goals are achieved this year! Here are a few cool things that happened this past week.

A random parade we saw on New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve, we were obviously not allowed to be out late, but we still went to our Ward's party for a few hours. Many members came, and there were some cool activities. 

The food for the New Year's party... DOG!!

They brought food for everyone, and the main dish was dog. I tried a little bit, but eating too much of it just makes me feel really weird! So I mostly just ate rice with some sauce. 

Tugu, the center of Yogyakarta on New Year's night.
This is around 9 pm, as we were heading home, and it was already so crowded!

We headed home a little after nine, but to get to our home, we had to pass the busiest area in Jogja. The roads were full of people, and we basically had to walk with our bikes in some areas. When we finally got home, our power was out. But it was only our house, so we had to call the electricity service to help. Since it was New Years, they did not come until 1:30am, and I had to stay up and wait for them. Without power, we do not have any way to escape the heat, so I could not sleep anyway. But they got it fixed, and I went right to bed with the AC. It was a unique New Year's Eve for sure!

Our District playing 'ninja warrior' when our
Ward Mission Leader didn't show up for the meeting.

One funny thing that happened on New Years day, was that our Ward Mission Leader slept through our scheduled meeting with him, so we played games instead at the church for a little bit before getting back to work. That night, we ate with the Sisters at Raminten, my favorite restaurant here, to celebrate the New Year. It was really crowded, but we still had a fun time. It was really hard to teach our investigators on that day, because they were all busy for the holiday.

The ring that I got myself for Christmas.

My Christmas present to myself was finally finished this week! I had a custom ring made with Javanese writing engraved on it. It is near pure silver (92.5% silver and the rest copper), and really cool. Jogja is actually known for it's silver, and I thought that would be a cool souvenir from my favorite city so far. I had it engraved with my initials on the inside, and Javanese writing on the outside. I was originally going to do CTR in Javanese, but it was way too long, so I had them engrave a word that means "honor." I got a few other little things for others, and myself- but I don't want to buy too much, because I worry about taking it all home!

Wearing our Christmas shirts

With the investigator I mentioned last week, he is doing really good. We taught him about the word of Wisdom the other day, and he committed to follow it. If he continues to learn, come to church, and not smoke, he will be baptized this month! I know he has been prepared by the Lord to receive this gospel. He has already introduced a friend to us who wants to learn, and he has a desire to become a Missionary like us later in life! I am so amazed by him.

Eating with Sister Sheffield and the other Solo missionaries at ZTM

Another cool thing that happened was the Zone Training Meeting in Solo. We took a train there, and were able to meet with all the Missionaries from the Zone. It was really nice to see them all, and there were some new faces as well. We made a lot of goals for this new year, and I have really been trying to focus on those this week. President Donald is really good with giving us goals, and helping us progress. This year will be a good one for Missionary work!

Elder Sadiyono and I at Raminten

I hope you all have a great week. I am so glad that I am able to email you all every week! Sampai minggu depan!

-Elder James

Elder Sadiyono and I paid for the massage chairs at the train
station while waiting for our train to Solo.

On the train to Solo

Yogyakarta Week 19

Our District Christmas picture before the party

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all had a good Christmas week. Although Christmas here is very different from Christmas in the United States, I still had a lot of fun. In comparison to my last Christmas here, this one was much more meaningful and nice. Even though we were pretty busy with Christmas activities this past week, we were still able to teach a few of our investigators, and get some work in. We actually were quite successful this past week, because we met with more people to teach. Here are a few cool things that happened.

The crowd before the ward Christmas party started

For Christmas Eve, there was a ward party at night time. We invited all our investigators to come, but I was doubtful that they any would show up. I should not have thought that way, because we had an investigator come with his two grandchildren. He lives very far away, but he wanted to do something special for his grandchildren, so he came. It was great to see him there! The members all did different things, like singing, acting, and dancing. There were a few acts that showed the Javanese culture, and it was cool to see.

Elder Sadiyono with his Christmas presents

On Christmas day, I was able to open my package from my family, and see the cool things they got me. My companion loved all the things my family sent him, and he was really surprised that he got that much stuff. I also was able to call my family through Skype, and that was by far the best present of them all. 

Our District watching "It's a Wonderful Life"

We had a District party with the Elders from Magelang, and I got approval from President Donald to show 'It's a Wonderful Life'. We used the church's projector and a member's speakers. I was able to find the movie with Indonesian subtitles. Everyone loved the movie. We drank hot chocolate, played games, and visited. It was a fun party!

Elder Waltman & Elder Sadiyono when we all ate at McDonalds

The Zone Leaders, Elder Waltman and Elder Hasibuan stayed for three days and two nights to do exchanges with us. It was good to see Elder Waltman again, and work with him and his companion. We got a good amount of lessons done, and were able to eat at McDonald's together. I am glad they spent Christmas with us.

The Sugiyanto family came to visit!

On Friday morning, we received a surprise phone call from Sister Sugiyanto, who wanted to visit us. We directed her to our house, and they gave us food. They were in Jogja for a few days, and it was fun to see them. That night, they took all the Missionaries out to eat pizza, and we were able to visit. They are such a nice family! I have been able to see them in almost every one of my cities so far!

Sister Hasibuan with Gina, the sister's investigator.

An investigator of the Sisters, Fero, was baptized this week as well, and confirmed the following Sunday. A while ago, she was very scared of the Missionaries, and would not come to Church. But after getting to know the Sisters, and learning a little bit, she felt more comfortable. It has been really cool to see the progression she has made. The Gospel really does help people change, and I am so glad that I have the chance to bring that to the lives of others.

My companion and I with our Christmas ties

On Sunday, something really cool happened. Right when we got to the Church, members told us that there were a few people visiting. There was one family here on vacation, and then a single young man sitting in the chapel. My companion and I split up, and sat next to them. The family left right after sacrament meeting, but they said they had a really good experience. Apparently they were just looking for the closest Church. But the young man that came followed us to all classes, and then we taught him after Church. He had many questions, but we were able to help him understand a lot of things, and he said he wanted to be a member of this church! We gave him a baptismal date, and he is preparing for that. It was such a miracle! President called me after we taught him, and said he had a referral from the church website. It was that same guy! I told President that we had already taught him, and he was very impressed. I hope everything will go well!

Me with my new Broncos t-shirt, in front of the Christmas tree

In my personal studies, I have finished the Old Testament, and am now reading in the New Testament. I already love reading it so much! The teachings of Jesus are so clear and explicit, but also deep and thought provoking. I am very happy that I will be able to finish my goal of reading all the standard works by the end of my Mission. My testimony of the scriptures has grown so much! I wish I had studied them more before my Mission. I feel so much peace when I read.

I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder James

A member doing a traditional Javanese dance for the Christmas party

Relaxing in front of our house

Us with Sister Dewi

My Christmas gifts from my family

Yogyakarta Week 18

Elder Watson and I, right before he got on the plane to go home!

Hello Again!

I can't believe that Christmas is almost here! I can remember my first Christmas in Indonesia, and it does not seem like a year ago! Christmas time is quite different here, and you can only really feel like it is Christmas if you go into a mall, or bookstores. But that is not the real meaning of Christmas, so that is okay! We had a pretty busy schedule this past week, and I am glad to rest a little bit for Christmas!

At the bottom of the trail, right where we began hiking

For last P-day, we joined the Elders in Magelang, since it was Elder Watson's last P-day before going home. 

The Yogyakarta district, including Magelang

It was a small mountain in Magelang, and it was supposed to be the center of the Island of Java. 

There were tons of monkeys on the hike.
This one was about to attack us - he was mean!

There were a lot of monkeys there, and some did not like us being there. But they were really fun to watch. It was also nice to be with Elder Watson before he went home. We were actually able to take him to the airport, and wait for his replacement.

Members at Christmas time are great. We have gotten a lot of gifts and things from them, and they treat us so nicely. That helps us so much with feeling at home and all! I know that members everywhere treat the Missionaries well wherever they are.

Christmas is here, which is why this email will be really brief. I will be able to Skype with my family on Christmas day here, and there are lots of ward activities. I am so glad to be serving a Mission, and I am so glad to help other people see the true meaning of Christmas. I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

-Elder James

This big tower represents the center of the island of Java.
It is mostly a legend, but it is pretty much in the center.

A monkey eating a mango

Elder Watson eating Padang - he went home this week

The sisters on the bus ride home

Me dunking on the small basketball hoop outside our home.
(It is only like 7 feet tall - ha ha!)