Bandung Week 21

Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri!

Idul Fitri is the Muslim Holiday at the end of the fasting month. It is much more interesting here than it was in Bekasi a year ago, since more people are here celebrating with their families. It has been really cool to see, but also really hard to work since everyone is busy, even Christians. But we were still able to visit a descent amount of people this past week, and had some cool meetings as well. 

We did not do anything fun for our P-day last week, except for a little shopping. I am trying not to buy too much, because I am worried that my bags will be completely full when I go home! That night we visited Sister Agnes, and had a Family Home Evening with them. Her kids participated well, and we had a fun game to play. Hopefully they will be more enthusiastic and follow the great example of their Mom.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we got as many appointments as possible, since we would be in Jakarta from Thursday morning to Saturday night. Tuesday was also when the new President for Indonesia was announced, and we saw the results at a member's home. It was really confusing, and there are a few issues with the candidate that lost. It just confused me. But the new President seems good, and will hopefully help this country grow. 

Those two days were really busy, and we met with a lot of people. I was very glad that everyone was home, and we were able to meet with all of them. 

On Thursday morning, we traveled to Jakarta, and met with all the other Missionaries there. That day we had interviews with President, did some shopping, and played soccer at the church. It was the last time for me playing soccer in Indonesia, and I actually did a really good job! 

The Elders from my group that are in our Zone all wore suits to celebrate
our last PLD. We looked very good with our (fake) expensive watches,
(fake) Armani custom-made suits, (fake) Burberry ties, (fake) Lacoste socks,
(fake) Oakley sunglasses, and such!

Zone Conference the next day was awesome. Those from my group wore our suits with the nicest accessories we had, and we looked really good. It was our last meeting with the Zone, and there were some great talks and lessons from the leaders. 

It was sad to think that I will only be able to apply what I have learned for a few weeks before going home. It was nice to meet with the entire Zone one last time. 

We did not get back until Saturday night, since all the buses, trains, and other forms of transportation were booked. When we got back, Bandung was very busy for Idul Fitri, the Islam holiday. That night we went out and saw all the festivities. The next day was church, and only 10 members came besides us. For this holiday, everyone goes and visits family, so hardly anyone was here. I replaced a member and spoke in Sacrament meeting, and it was nice. Lauren came as well. 

That night was crazy with fireworks, chanting, and drums going on all night. It was fun to watch them pass by our house and see the culture. But it went on all night, and we live very close to a Mosque, so it was difficult to sleep. Today by the church, the streets were filled with people by the mosque, and it was cool to see them.

Well, that is all! I will only email one more time in Indonesia, and I hope it will be good! Thank you all for everything, and I will talk to you next week!

-Elder James

I got a package from home - my Aunt Leslie got me the new BYU shirt
and my mom bought my companion a NY shirt. Thanks!!

A traditional food for Lebaran.
It's rice wrapped in weaved grass and cooked.

My two 'kids' - in other words, the Missionaries that I trained.

Elders Johnson & McCleary juggling

Bandung Week 18

Hello Everyone!

This week was nice, with some great things happening, but we were not able to get a ton of lessons in. That happens sometimes, which means we are confused at what to do, since proselyting here is difficult. But we still worked hard, and had some cool experiences. Here are a few interesting things that occurred.

To start with some great news, my camera is fixed (partially)! After more than a month at the camera shop, the workers finally fixed the problem with the lens. Unfortunately, in the process they created another problem with the buttons. All the buttons besides the ones on top (shutter, zoom, and power button) do not work. So I can still take pictures on the General setting, but I cannot change flash, any other settings, take videos, or even review my pictures. But since they caused this problem, the service was free. I am just grateful that I can take pictures with my great camera!

One appointment that is always fun was at Sister Ellen's house. We take a train to the area, and then walk up a hill to her house. It is a really beautiful area, and I took a lot of pictures this time. She lives so far from Church, yet still comes almost every week with three kids and no help from her husband, who travels a lot and is not a member. She also has to take care of her Father, Brother Edi, who is suffering from the after-effects of a serious stroke. She truly is dedicated!

With the fasting month going on, it has been really hard to find food. We have been forced to cook a lot at home, which is fine, but I am too lazy to cook complicated dishes. So I have been surviving on pasta, instant noodles, and other easy-to-make foods. But it is really cool to see everyone break their fast at around 6pm when the sun starts to go down. People sell food everywhere, and there are some really cool traditional foods that are usually only present during this time.

After more than a month, we finally were able to visit Thomas and his family again. He had been really busy with his police duties, but now is much more free. We were so happy to go there again, and it was even better than usual because his entire family was there. (Usually his daughter is at school in Bandung.) We visited for a while, ate a ton, and gave a lesson. We really focused on the rest of the family, since Thomas is already ready to become a member. We invited them all to learn and pray by themselves, so that they will get an answer from God if it is all true. They accepted, and also said they would try and come to church. It was a great time there.

Friday, July 4th, was Zone Training Meeting in Jakarta. I was already a little tired of being on a bus for 10 hours the day before, and travelling there did not help. But the meeting went well, and it really gave me a desire to work hard until the end. They really focused on those in my group, who will be going home in a little bit, and not to start packing our bags now, but do our best right up until the moment we go home. After the meeting, we went to Burger King to celebrate Independence day. It was nice to be with a lot of other Americans to celebrate.

When Sunday came around, my companion and I fasted and prayed that Thomas and our other investigators would come to church. To our surprise, Thomas and his entire family came! It was the first time any of them had ever been to church. I was with Thomas the entire time, and I know it was a great experience for him. He participated in class, and even bore his Testimony during Sacrament Meeting. I love their family so much, and was so grateful that they are progressing as a family. Hopefully they will continue to come as much as possible, even though it is far away.

For P-day today we went to Tangkuban Perahu, a volcano to the north of Bandung. We were able to take public transportation there, even though some of the guys really ripped us off since we are foreign. The volcano was really cool, and we took some good pictures. It was surrounded by forest, so we did some hiking and exploring, finding a cave and sulfur deposits. People were selling souvenirs left and right, and the temptation to buy a lot of stuff was strong. I bought a few things such as a snake-skin belt, and a few other items. It was a really fun activity.

Well, that is about it for this week. I thank you all once again for the support and love that you always give me. I hope your week goes well! See you soon!

-Elder James

Bandung Week 12

Hello Again!

A lot of changes are happening in the Mission right now, which is what makes it more interesting. It is really nice to get along with all the other Missionaries, and learn from each one of them. Personal progress is an underlying theme for my Mission, because I experience change and progress almost every day. If that alone were all I experienced here, the entire Mission would already be well worth it. Here are a few highlights of this past week.

The beginning of the week was important for Elder Mangum, since he wanted to enjoy his last few days here in Bandung—his first city. We were able to visit a descent amount of investigators and members, but there were a few that we were not able to visit because they were too busy. But the few that we were able to visit were very grateful for Elder Mangum and his service here.

Thursday was pretty crazy because we had to get up at 3am. Elder Mangum took an airport shuttle to the Jakarta airport at 4am, which left me alone for a bit. I got my stuff, and took a 'travel', or big van to Jakarta around 6am. It was so strange to be alone for that entire time, but it was not for very long. I made it to the Mission Home, and was able to meet a lot of the Missionaries who were moving. More than half of the Mission was moving it seemed. Those of us who were training new Missionaries had a special meeting with President, which went very well. I picked up my new companion, Elder Panjaitan, from Medan. He is a great Elder, and I am really excited to work with him.

This was the last time we went to the Secretary school to teach English.
They have a long break/internship, so not many came. We had a fun time.

After coming back from Jakarta, we went right to bed. The next day was Elder Panjaitan's first day, and I really tried to make a good plan so that he had a positive outlook. We had District Meeting, and then taught an English class at the Secretary school for the last time. After that, we tried to visit an investigator, who said she could not meet because of being sick. We still had some plans, so we got going, but it started raining super hard. My companion did not have an umbrella, so we waited for a long time under a nearby restaurant until it calmed down. By that time, we had no time to go anywhere, since English class was about to start at the church. It went well, but I was a little sad that we were not able to teach on his first day.

The missionaries from my MTC group that were at Stake Conference

The next day, we had to go back to Jakarta because of Stake Conference. Saturday night was the adult session, and Sunday morning was the main session. It was really nice to see all the members from around the stake, and investigators as well. 

Elder Sadiyono and his aunt & uncle. He is now serving in Bogor.
It is so funny that he gets to see his entire family at Stake Conference!

We stayed at the Mission home on Saturday night, along with the Elders from Bogor. I was able to see Elder Sadiyono again, since he stayed in Jakarta as well. 

An amazing investigator of the Elders in Jakarta.
He is such a nice guy and one of the best investigators I've ever met!
He knew me from reading my blog.

The Sunday Morning session the next day was really good, and we were so happy to see Lauren, our investigator come. He had to leave his house at 2:30am in order to get to the church on Sunday morning for the bus to Jakarta. He even participated in the choir with us, which went very well. President met with him, and was very happy. After taking pictures with other Missionaries and members, we took a bus home with the rest of the members from Bandung. It was a lot of fun.

I am very happy to be serving here in Bandung, and I am glad to be training Elder Panjaitan. He really will help me stay focused and work hard until the end of my Mission. I will learn a lot from him. Thank you for all your support! Talk to you next week!

-Elder James

Me and the two Missionaries that I have trained or am currently training.
In the Mission, we call them our 'children' and we are their 'father'.

Bandung Week 8

Hello again,

Thank you first off, for all your prayers and support on my behalf. I really need the support, and I feel it every day I am out here. It encourages me to move forward, and to work hard, even when times are difficult. I have had a pretty good week, and we have been really busy here. We didn’t do many cool things this week, but there were still some unique experiences, and I learned a lot.

First off, as I said in my last letter, we went to Jakarta for Zone Conference from Monday until Wednesday. It was a long time there, and we had a lot of fun with the other Missionaries. The best things about staying at the Mission home are the Air-Conditioner, and the hot showers. I keep forgetting how nice it is to have hot showers. On Tuesday, we played foot sol while President did interviews with everyone. It was strange to do the interview in exercise clothing, but it was a great interview, and fun to play with the other Elders. It began raining hard while we were playing, but we stayed out. It was really fun, but we were all drenched!

Elders Johnson, Costner and I are trying to show what we looked like in the MTC

The Zone Conference was on Wednesday, and the theme was attributes of Jesus Christ, and finding people to teach. I learned a lot, especially since I had to translate, which kept me alert and awake. President Donald sure does have a lot of faith in all of us, and we all do our best to follow his council. I am very grateful for him and his service. The other three Elders and I went back to Bandung that evening, and got home at night, tired, but ready to get back to work.

Reading Book of Mormon Stories with Matthew, Sister Agnes' son

Since we were gone those three days, we had a lot to catch up on with all the people we had not yet visited. We worked hard for the rest of the week, and I was very impressed at how much we got done with so little time. It feels so good to work hard, and know that God is happy with our work. I really hope that the work here will continue to progress.

Unfortunately, I have been really sick these past few days, due to something I ate most likely. But I am getting better, and will hopefully recover quickly. It was hard to do everything yesterday while this sickness was hindering me, but I endured, and did not get really sick during appointments. I know that when I focus on other people, and their trials, mine do not seem so big. This is what is required of Missionaries to be effective.

I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder James

Elder Hasibuan and his little sister, who are serving in the same zone

Elder Hobbs from New Zealand is really funny 

This is a text I sent in the middle of the night. I already was aware that I
sleep talk and sleep walk, but now apparently I sleep text!
I found this in the morning and laughed my head off.
The guy I sent it to was really confused.

A durian dessert that was so good 

A picture of my hot wheel car {I think Elder James misses cars!}

Bandung Week 7

Hello Everyone,

I am sorry this is short, I am emailing from the Mission home in Jakarta because we are here for PLD. It is really late to email, and I need to get situated here and prepare for tomorrow. It sure is much hotter here in Jakarta in comparison to Bandung. I don't know if I could ever get used to the heat here. Even though this will be brief, here are a few cool things that happened this week.

When we finished teaching a new investigator in a small sub-city of Bandung, we did some exploring while contacting people, waiting for the next train to come. We talked to some great people, and found an ancient Hindu temple that is still used for worship services. It was apparently built in 78AD, and was really cool looking. It is so amazing to randomly find things like that.

It was Elder Loudon's birthday this past week, and just like Elder Mangum, he took us out to eat at 'Karnivore'. Instead of getting the huge burger, he got the huge steak. It was 1 Kilogram of meat, and was incredible. He ate it all! We also got deep fried oreos and our own meals. That is by far our favorite place to eat now!

We were able to teach a lot this week, and I am really happy when that happens. These past few weeks have been some of the best with the work that Bandung has ever experienced. I am so happy when the work goes well. One person we met with is over 70, and very lonely at home. He did not understand all that we said to him, but was very happy that we came. When we were about to leave, he started to cry, and begged us to come back. It was really sad to see how lonely he is. People take care of him, but he has no contact with any of his family. We will for sure visit him again.

For Easter, the ward had a party at the church, but since there are very little members here, it was nothing too fancy. It was mainly focused on the little Primary kids, which was good. 

The missionaries and the other adults (I don't know if I feel good calling myself an adult) played ping-pong which was a blast. There was also a great deal of food.

For Church, I gave a talk since the other speakers did not show up, and was told that I would do so 20 minutes before the meeting started. I quickly prepared a lesson on a 'great change of heart' as written in the scriptures, and how it relates to Christ's Atonement and Resurrection. It was a good 15-minute talk for having had little time to prepare. I guess Missionaries have to be able to do that!

Well, I hope you all had a great week. I also hope you continue to feel the love the Savior and our Heavenly Father have for us all. They are always ready to help us in time of need, and they wait for us to come to them. Thank you for all your support.

-Elder James

The suit I had custom - made for $70 US

The gorgeous view outside the train window on the drive between Jakarta & Bandung.
I really wish the windows weren't so dirty.