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 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 6

Our district outside a University where we teach English

Selamat siang!

Well, this week has had some crazy occurrences. It has been quite tiring as well and we haven’t been able to do much teaching. But every week is different, which keeps things interesting for sure. I really hope that I will help this city progress in relation to the work here. Here are a few cool things that happened this week.

On Monday we did not do anything really exciting, but we got the house cleaner than ever. We filled a huge cardboard box with trash and old things that were broken around the house. It feels so much better to be in a clean house! We were able to relax and hang out as a District, and that was fun enough.

We also visited Thomas in Sukabumi again this week, and I am so impressed with the amount of progress he is making. We taught him about the different parts and organizations in the church, which is a fairly complicated thing, and he understood it perfectly. He said that as a policeman, he understands the importance of organization and leadership. I know he will become a great leader in the Church someday. Whenever Missionaries are stationed in Sukabumi, they will have a great member family to support them!

The other days of the week were not too successful in lessons taught and people found, but we were able to visit a descent amount of non-active members. One of which was describing the various trials he has had since becoming a member of this church, but testified that he does not regret it. I read D&C 121 with him, and it really touched him and his wife. I know that section is not just for Joseph Smith, but also for all of us when we are going through any kind of trial. It will all be for our good in the end.

Our Zone after Zone Training Meeting

Our Zone met together in Jakarta on Friday, and we had a good meeting discussing the progress of all of our investigators. It was good to see all the Missionaries again, and eat together. The meeting was pushed back, due to a few Elders being sick, so we had to rearrange our travel plans. We tried to reserve tickets by phone to take a small van home, but they were all full for that day. We tried other methods, but none worked. I knew there was a train leaving later, so we decided to try that. We took a 2-hour taxi ride through Jakarta traffic to the train Station, and made it before the departure. But, it was completely full. It was already fairly late at night, so we had to travel to the Mission home and stay there with no clothes or anything. We bought train tickets for 5am the next day. After going to sleep around 2:30am, we woke up at 3:30am and left by taxi at 4am. We made the train, and finally were back in Bandung. All of us were dead tired, but had to move on with the day.

We had a surprise when we arrived home—water was coming out the bottom of the door of our house. When we opened the door, there was about 2 inches of water all over the bottom floor. We had left the water running, and it flooded the entire house. This was not a good sight, since we had to clean up as much as we could instead of relaxing before Conference. We had to leave before it was even gone. But now it is fine, and not too many important things got wet. On the bright side, the floors are really clean now!

Saturday Conference was great, and I was able to stay awake which was a miracle considering the little amount of sleep I got. We had downloaded it in English, so Elders Mangum, Loudon, and I all watched it together. All the talks were great, and I am excited to read them later. 

After the sessions were over, we went with Pak Hendri, a long-time friend of the Missionaries, and helped him with his college English class that he teaches. It was a good experience, and there were many questions about our beliefs. He took us to his house, and we ate delicious Teriyaki Steak and other food. He is a great guy.

Sunday Conference was even better, since we got a good night sleep the day before. (After cleaning up all the water on the floor.) I especially liked Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk on the resurrection of Christ, and how it relates to the Restoration of the Gospel. He is such a good speaker, as are the rest of the Apostles and Prophets. President Monson's last remarks were also noteworthy, that we should take the talks into our lives, and become better because of them. I, for one, will try to do a little better while I am on this Mission, and do my best to use my time wisely. We can all improve, and if we continually do so, God is for sure happy with us.

Thank you all for your support, and I hope you have a good week!

-Elder James

This is my shirt collar. There are white collar workers, blue collar workers,
and then there are missionaries - brown collar workers!

Bandung Week 2

Trying to shoot a {Happy 21st Birthday} balloon off Elder Loudon's head.
Don't worry - he only had minor bleeding {I hope he's kidding}.

Hello Everyone,

My second week in Bandung was much better than my first, mainly because we stayed super busy. The work in this city is actually known for being difficult, but I think we did a good job. The hard thing is that many people we visit live very far away. We sometimes travel many hours to teach one lesson, so sometimes in an entire day, we will only have taught one person. But I love teaching and visiting people more than anything else, so as long as that happens, I am happy! Here are some highlights of the past week.

Since Sunday was my birthday, we went to Burger King on Monday. It was the best burger I have had in a very long time, and we all had a good time eating there. I really do not feel 21 years old. I feel at least 6 years younger than that, but time keeps passing by! Thank you so much to everyone who sent packages and cards and made my birthday special.

Zone Conference was the next day, in Jakarta, which was a lot of fun because I was able to see some new and old Missionaries from the area. I was able to meet with Elder Johnson, and also saw all the Missionaries that just barely came into Indonesia. It was hard to believe that Elder Johnson and I were the eldest Missionaries there. We all made some really great goals, and went home with confidence that we could accomplish much.

One person we visit on an almost weekly basis is Thomas, an investigator who lives in a city named Sukabumi. It is pretty far from Bandung, but ours is the closest church to him. His home is 5 hours away from Bandung by bus. It is that long mostly because of the poor roads and traffic. But it was well worth it because Thomas is amazing! He is so smart, and has such a desire to be baptized. The only problem is that he lives so far away from the nearest church, and he would have to stay overnight in order to come. He is a high-ranking police officer who trains other policemen. I think he will be the one that starts the church up in that city, since he shares what he has learned with many of his friends.

This is the train we often take in the city - it only costs 15 cents,
no matter how far you take it.

Even though that trip was nice, I did buy some crackers made out of dried cow skin that I usually like, but they made me super sick to the stomach. I was pretty miserable for the 5-hour journey home, just because I ate them. Usually I am okay with things like that, but this time, it was deadly! We finally made it home, and when I woke up the next morning, I was not sick anymore.

We were able to teach English at a school that the previous Missionaries served. It was all girls who are preparing to become secretaries. Their English was very good, and it was fun to get to know them. We felt like celebrities there!

On a spiritual note, I read an amazing scripture the other day in my personal studies that stood out to me. It is in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, and it speaks about how our trials and tribulations are only momentary, and will make us something great in the end, if we endure. I shared this with a member who is going through some hard times, and the spirit was so strong when I read it in Indonesian. I think the verse is much more beautiful in the Indonesian language. I have learned so much here, and I am so glad that God has given us the scriptures to comfort and help us. We sometimes take this for granted, and I think that we would be much more blessed and happy if we read more often.

Thank you all for your support, and I will talk to you next week!

-Elder James

A very cool shot of a lizard that Elder Hendro caught at the church

Bandung has a lot of cool stores; I purchased a blowdart gun and this bow & arrow
(a very popular missionary souvenir) for only $7.50!

A really funny Turkish guy that we met at an investigator's home