Two weeks in review:
Shortly after moving to Solo from Mando, Zone Conference was held. For those who don't know of zone conference allow me to explain. Missionary organization goes as follows: A mission covers some defined land mass, in my case, Indonesia. This area is again divided into zones, each contain around four districts, or cities. Each district typically has four to six missionaries, which means that at a zone conference there are some 20 missionaries, which makes for an exciting time.
This most recent zone conference however, was different. Not just one, but two zones came together for two fun days of training. This meant that there were exactly 46 missionaries who all came together.
The first day started by eating McDonald's breakfast, a true treat in Indonesia. We then all took a bus to Borobudur, an ancient Buddhist temple. After seeing the temple, buying some sunglasses, and riding an elephant (All pictured below) we ate at a member's hydroponic restaurant,which is just a fancy way of saying that everything we ate was grown on site. Except for the ice cream. The rest of the day was spent in the church learning.
The second day was held entirely in the church. We learned a lot. My mission president, President Subandriyo taught us about independence in life and in church. He had each Indonesian missionary stand, and he told us all the names of their parents or grandparents, and their conversion story. One was similar: a poor but self reliant family was found by the missionaries, baptized, and remained active I'm the church until their own children and grandchildren could serve missions.
Seeing the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these saints lives is very clear. My personal testimony was strengthened that missionary work really does build people. The gospel, because of Jesus Christ, has power to change people's lives.
Coming home from zone conference, with Stake Conference on Sunday meant that we had to work hard with the time we had left. Elder Hansen is a great missionary, and we set a goal to get a certain of people with baptismal commitments. It was Saturday when we realized that we probably wouldn't achieve it, we were still two short. Then Saturday night and Sunday evening, with two investigators whom we hadn't even considered giving baptismal commitments, we were able to achieve our goal. It really showed us that the Lord is truly on our side.
Stake conference went well. I met a returned missionary visiting his old areas. He had finished his mission two years ago, and he has already been married for a year. This mission really does bless people's lives! For the Sunday session of conference we heard a member of the 70, Elder Williams, who is from India. He shared his personal conversion story, the story of how he met his wife. He told us that a person's most important choices in life are (1) the choice to follow Christ's church and (2) the choice of your eternal companion.
One funny aspect of serving a mission in Indonesia comes from the native Indonesian missionaries. It is a well known fact that they will probably see their family at least once while serving a mission. During this stake conference, we had two missionaries who met with their families. One even got to see his girlfriend. A lot different from other missions for sure.
At stake conference BYU's choir also performed. They sang five songs, two of which were in Indonesian. I think everyone was pretty impressed. I also knew someone in the choir. She was in my ward from BYU.
On preparation day Elder Hansen and I emailed, then played ping pong at the church.We ended the day by riding the bus three hours to go on companionship exchanges with some Elders in the city of Magelang.
The next day started by immediately returning to Solo. Long story short there was a problem with a foreign missionary's immigration papers that created a big problem for everyone. We didn't end up going on splits in Magelang, another companionship had to be sent out of the city as well, and the Elders that stayed had to remain at home the entire day.
This week Elder Hansen and I have been waking up at 6 to go on runs. Often our runs ends at the church building where we play table tennis, or at the market where we buy groceries for breakfast. Its been a lot of fun.
Solo has awesome members. This week as we were out teaching, we had a period of two hours between two appointments with nothing to do. Just as we were finishing a lesson and getting into our bikes, a member called telling us that we had to come to her house asap. We went over there to find her sitting down with a man in his 30's. She simply explained that he had just showed up to get his hair cut, and that he was Christian. She then invited us to teach him.
The lesson was really good. We taught him half a lesson on the spot, finished it the next day, and he came to church on Sunday. The Lord is preparing people for the gospel.
At stake conference BYU's choir also performed. They sang five songs, two of which were in Indonesian. I think everyone was pretty impressed. I also knew someone in the choir. She was in my ward from BYU.
On preparation day Elder Hansen and I emailed, then played ping pong at the church.We ended the day by riding the bus three hours to go on companionship exchanges with some Elders in the city of Magelang.
The next day started by immediately returning to Solo. Long story short there was a problem with a foreign missionary's immigration papers that created a big problem for everyone. We didn't end up going on splits in Magelang, another companionship had to be sent out of the city as well, and the Elders that stayed had to remain at home the entire day.
This week Elder Hansen and I have been waking up at 6 to go on runs. Often our runs ends at the church building where we play table tennis, or at the market where we buy groceries for breakfast. Its been a lot of fun.
Solo has awesome members. This week as we were out teaching, we had a period of two hours between two appointments with nothing to do. Just as we were finishing a lesson and getting into our bikes, a member called telling us that we had to come to her house asap. We went over there to find her sitting down with a man in his 30's. She simply explained that he had just showed up to get his hair cut, and that he was Christian. She then invited us to teach him.
The lesson was really good. We taught him half a lesson on the spot, finished it the next day, and he came to church on Sunday. The Lord is preparing people for the gospel.
Church turned out to be really good. Nine awesome investigators came to church. The members were all so surprised. They will have a lot of baptisms to attend!
A few questions:
Q: How far away is Solo from Manado?
A few questions:
Q: How far away is Solo from Manado?
A: Too far to walk. Around 1,000 miles.
Q: What are some funny phrases in Indonesian?
Q: What are some funny phrases in Indonesian?
A: The first thing that came to mind was actually not a phrase in Indonesian, but actually one in Javanese. Literally translated, the phrase for 'excuse me' in Javanese means 'ask for a thousand.' Doesn't make too much sense does it?
Q: What city is Elder Hansen, your companion, from?
Q: What city is Elder Hansen, your companion, from?
A: Pocatello, Idaho
Q: Does Indonesia have ice cream and chocolate?
Q: Does Indonesia have ice cream and chocolate?
A: Yes, but I rarely eat it. It just isn't too good, and it is very expensive.
Q: What is your favorite area so far?
Q: What is your favorite area so far?
A: Just as parents don't choose a favorite child, missionaries don't choose favorite areas. That being said, my favorite area so far was probably in Manado.
