Durian, Tofu, and New Investigators

This week I got to try a lot of good food. Attached are pictures of durian, and fried tofu. Durian is a fruit that is unlike any other. It smells really bad, tastes really sweet, and is covered in a dangerously spiky husk. The fruit itself has the consistency of half melted taffy, and is slightly fermented. It all tastes so good. The tofu is a big piece of tofu stuffed with a super spicy chili sauce and noodles, then fried.

This week has been amazing. My district set a goal on Tuesday to have 20 new investigators by the end of the week. My companion and I alone got 18 this week. They are all so amazing. I can't wait to see how they are going to be progressing towards conversion this coming month. My mission as a whole has been blessed with success this past month. We had 22 baptisms, which is the highest ever recorded in the mission. What we considered our 'standard of excellence' was only 15 baptisms a month.

Thank you all for reading my emails and lending me support through your prayers. I invite all of you to share the gospel with someone you love this week. Fear no man. Every single person on this earth will benefit from this message, regardless of whether or not they choose to accept it. Reply to this email and I will try my best to write you back next Sunday night. I love hearing from all of you. Write me lots. mrjustinallen@myldsmail.net

   Durian Fruit

Fried Tofu

Thanks for praying for me.....I think?

Funny story. This week my companion and I met with one of our investigators for the third time. His name is Pak Soyono (Pak is just the Indonesian way of saying Mr). Well anyways I asked him if he had already prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true. He said he had. I asked him if he had prayed to know if what we taught him was true. He again replied that he had. Then, he told us that every night he prays that my companion and I will be sent home from our missions early and follow the right path and stop teaching this false gospel of Joseph Smith. As funny as the story is, I was disappointed that his heart was in the wrong place. I thank you all for including my in your prayers. I can feel the comfort and strength I receive from them, and I know that you all are being blessed as well.

In a lesson with another one of my investigators, my companion and I taught the difference between being hearers and hearkeners of the word. Most of us have already come to believe that "the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:3), but how many of us actually hearken unto those words? Hearing is one thing, but it is a subject of faith to then go and act. I invite everyone to renew their commitment to hearken unto the words of Christ this week by going to sacrament meeting early, and preparing yourself to take the sacrament. Really think about what it means to renew your covenants, and the comfort it provides in your week. I know that as we focus on our Savior and decide that we will act on his commands, we will be blessed for our obedience.

Pictures for the week are of a lady we taught this week, and her brother's pet snake:

Without Price

This last week was my eleventh week on my mission. As a part of the twelve week training program for all new missionaries, there is an assignment for the trainee each week. For week eleven the trainee takes the lead (acting as the senior companion) in all teaching and proselyting situations. This week made me realize how good my Indonesian is. I am far from fluent, but I can hold a conversation, explain my ideas, ask questions, joke around, etc.

When I was new to my area my trainer and I normally would eat oatmeal every single morning for breakfast. That got boring real quick, so we bought eggs, noodles, and rice, and would cook that up for breakfast. After a few more weeks I got sick of that, and adding spices and sauces wouldn't help. So, a few weeks ago I decided that I would start cooking for breakfast so that I wouldn't have to eat anymore bland food. I started simple, and now I have a pretty good variety of foods to eat for breakfast. Now a normal breakfast at home consists of chicken, sweet potato (different here in Indonesia, not actually orange), green beans, tofu, peanut sauce, and rice. To save time I boil up all the ingredients on preparation day, then reheat over the stove while the rice is cooking in the morning. Here smoothies are also a big deal, so I have a smoothie each morning too. With veggies, chicken, rice and a smoothie, breakfast is pretty good now.

On to the spiritual side of my email, I want to talk about the difference between physical and spiritual things. One of my investigators is currently in a really difficult fincancial situation. This makes physical things such as food and shelter come at a great expense for him and his family. My companion and I have challenged him to focus on meeting spiritual needs before physical needs. How blessed are we to meet our spiritual needs without cost? Jesus tells us "Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price" (2 Nephi 26:25). All that is asked of us is our faith. I know that as we have faith in our Savior, we will greatly see an increase in our spiritual blessings. These blessings, while oftentimes are not realized as quickly as temporal blessings, are of far greater importance, for with them comes salvation. I testify that as we focus on the things of a more spiritual importance, we will be blessed as our desires come more in line with God's will.

Pictures for this week are as follows: My meal prep, someone I contacted who was wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt, and some really good food I bought a week ago. See if you can tell what I was eating.