Shark Crocodile

At the bottom of my email is a picture of the most famous statue in Surabaya. My city has a city flag with the statue on it that I have been seeing since I came here four months ago, but I haven't ever actually seen the real statue until this week. My city, Surabaya, in Indonesian roughly means shark crocodile. So I am serving in the shark crocodile city. How awesome is that?

This week has been really awesome. The rain season started about a week and a half ago, and now it rains about every other day. Some days the rain isn't too bad, but on Friday it rained until most of the streets were flooded. Riding our bikes home from our last appointment took an hour and a half. The water in some spots was past my knees when I was on my bike. It was really hard to pedal the bikes, but my companion and I were just laughing the whole time. I think I could have moved faster if I swam.

Before I finish up I want to include some truths that I have come to really love while on my mission. I don't think that any of us fully appreciate the tools given to us. We have the ability to communicate with the most intelligent, powerful, and loving being in the universe. We can read his words in the scriptures. We can become more like him every day through continual repentance. We have the opportunity to worship him every day. We have his power on the earth. How grateful ought we to be for these wonderful gifts!

I know that God is our eternal Father, and that he has a plan for each of us. He has provided a way for us to find peace and joy in this life. Let's show our gratitude during this season of thanksgiving by not only thanking, but giving as well. Let's give others the opportunity to hear the message of the restored gospel. Let's give others the opportunity to receive blessings. I know that this message will bless the lives of all who are ready to act on it, and we will also be blessed as we share it with those who we love.

Food, area, and a investigator are the photos attached at the bottom. The food is called kolak, and is a sweet soup with a coconut broth, with potato, cassava, and pumpkin added in. My investigator is really curious about the gospel, but we will just have to wait and see what pans out.

Elder Putra

On Thursday I arrived in my new area via taxi. The ride was probably around 35min and cost only $5.50. That first day I was in a trio with the other companionship in my home, Elder Hart and Elder Pacheco, who were both in the MTC with me.

Friday was when I finally found out who my new companion was. I called the APs and found out I would be training Elder Putra from Solo. We get along great already, despite his only being able to speak Indonesian. Needless to say I think my Indonesian will improve a lot with him. We are both learning from each other.

My new area, although in the same city as my old area, is fairly different. Since I am whitewashing here, I am having to learn all the roads, which is really fun. The previous Elders left us with a lot of referrals and contacts, but only one progressing investigator. I am just excited to hit the ground running here and really build up the church here.

Below is a picture of my companion and myself just before we left the home this morning:

Mixing Things Up

This week in a lesson some of the progressing investigators my companion and I teach asked us if they need to be baptized in this church. We had a wonderful conversation about baptism, shared with them scriptures from Acts and the Book of Mormon, and then gave them a commitment for baptism. The husband accepted, but the wife doesn't think she is ready to be baptized. We lovingly but boldly explained again the purpose of baptism, and both really want to be baptized. But.....

Here is where things start changing. I got a phone call from my Mission President on Friday informing my of transfers. I will be leaving East Surabaya, and training a new missionary in West Surabaya. I will take a taxi into my new area, then on Friday pick up my new companion from the airport.

I have really come to love this part of Surabaya. Although the city has 2.7 million people, and my area about a quarter of that, I feel a great love for each person. In my new area, although it is in the same city, I will no longer have frequent contact with the branch and my old investigators. I know I will be leaving my area in the hands of very capable missionaries, and that my new area will produce people who have been prepared by the Lord to hear his restored gospel.

Photos:

(1) A selfie I took while contacting

(2) A fruit called Rambutan, which means something like hairy fruit
(3) Surabaya a night time

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.

Week 9

Indonesia is keeping me on my toes. On Saturday the 16th my companion's bike was stolen. We have gone a week without a bike, and boy is it hard. Walking to church yesterday took a half hour. I am so grateful for any form of transportation other than walking. We walk everywhere now, and we don't even live in our own area!

This week my companion and I worked harder than ever, and we were blessed for it. We finally have a few investigators who we really see big potential in. I am so excited to teach these people and help them come to know their Savior Jesus Christ.

My testimony continues to grow every single day. This week we had zone conference, which is when missionaries serving in other cities all travel to one location to hear from our mission leadership. I was impressed the most by two senior couples who both bore their testimonies on temples. Temples are a sacred holy place where members of the church can participate in saving ordinances for themselves and for the dead. Here in Indonesia the members sacrifice so much to go to the temple once in their lives. I love these people so much, and I want to be able to work my hardest to bring a temple to them.

Funny experience real quick. White privilege is so real here in Indonesia. The people are just so fascinated with white people, or what they call Bules. Well this Sunday in church I was sitting with a new investigator, and halfway through sacrament meeting he decided that he wanted a picture of me. So he leans over, pulls out his phone, and starts taking several close up photos of my face. It was very awkward, and I asked him to wait until after church to take pictures. That stopped him for about ten minutes before he started taking more pictures of me. This cycle continued on until the end of the first hour of church. Thankfully the meeting was almost over, so he wasn't disturbing others for too long.

Attached are pictures of myself on splits riding a bike (finally), and my companion and I with one of our investigator's sons:

It's been too long

Sorry I haven't sent out an email in a while. Just been really busy recently. 

These past weeks the missionary work in my mission has been improving. My area has remained the same, but I know that as I am working hard, others are blessed. It can be disappointing to work as hard as we do and go weeks without progressing investigators, but I love the people here so much and I am confident that there are people eagerly waiting to hear the message of the restoration.

My adjustment to missionary life has been great. I haven't felt homesick and I have a great companion to help and support me. I have been blessed to have the strength of the Lord on my side as I serve him in Indonesia. To receive this strength, all we need to do is lean unto the Lord, and trust in him. Sometimes we falsely believe that we can make it on our own, and he will push us just a little harder than we can manage until we give into his will and open our hearts to him. 

I like Alma 37:44-45, which says:

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

I add my testimony that following the words of Christ will give us the strength we need to choose the right during our seasons of trials. As we press forward and look forward with our faith in Jesus, we will be carried into a land of promise. Christ himself will carry us there. All that is asked of us to to be obedient to his words. I hope that we can all take the time to reflect upon our own lives and ask ourselves if we are being obedient to the words of Christ. If there is anything that needs fixed, fix it immediately and allow Jesus to come and bless you as he takes you to a far better place.

Attached is a picture of a restaurant that I ate at two weeks back:

Mission Life

In my emails I have yet to write about any of my investigators. When I first came to my area, my trainer was fairly new to the area himself. He had served there for two weeks, then when my visa was delayed he was moved to a different area of the same city until I came. The teaching pool we had consisted of investigators found my missionaries who have long since left the area. We have cut just about all of them, with the exception of two who seem to have some potential.

Recently we have really been focusing on finding new people. Because of this we teach the first lesson a lot. My Indonesian is definitely the strongest in the first lesson. And in ordering food. We try and find families and the rising generation, but we often get stuck with old people because they are the only ones home during the day. It is a real struggle to get them to follow through with our commitments. They are always willing to have us come and teach, but they won't do much else. Out of fear of offending, oftentimes people will continue to take the lessons, when in their minds they are not interested at all. It is very important for us as missionaries to know who has good intents and who is wasting our time.

Each day I wake up at 6:10, and normally start working out around 6:25. My workout lasts until 7:00. I use the next hour to shower, change, eat, and prepare for the day. From 8-9 is personal study, and 9-10 is companion study. At 10:00 we leave the home and start proselyting. We will normally target a few areas and check up on our investigators. We eat lunch and dinner on the road. We are back home by 8:30. We do training for new missionaries, then plan out the next day. After that the time is up to us. I normally will do some extra study for a half hour, shower, then just unwind until bedtime at 10:30. Each day we probably bike for at least an hour.

Attached are pictures of a meal I recently ate, the best watermelon I ever ate (and it was yellow!), and a drink called "Es Tebu." I am not quite sure what that translates into. It is made from a juice that is extracted from sugar canes. There will be someone on the side of the road with a table and a big pile of sugar canes. They have a machine they feed the sugar canes through that grinds them up, and out comes the juice. They just add ice to it and pour it into a bag. It is really good. We can buy four bags of it for 10,000 rupiah, which is less than a dollar. 

My First Month in Indonesia

I've been in Indonesia for one month and I'm still going strong. I feel comfortable with the people, the language, and especially the food. I love this country so much. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here.

My one month mark was on the 17th of August, which also happens to be Indonesia's Independence Day. The people here take their national pride seriously. Except for the lack of Barbecue and fireworks, I felt like it was the 4th of July. Flags lined the streets, the roads were painted, parades were everywhere, and everyone was having a good time. We had an activity at the church the same day to which an investigator of mine came. I was so excited! We played games, sang, had a devotional, then ate. While we were eating the Branch President put on a show for us. He sang and played the guitar. There are quite a few musically talented people in my ward, and they all like to play Rock and Roll. I loved it. 

This week in my studies I have been focusing on the importance of the Book of Mormon, and the restored truths contained within it. I really think that as a whole, a lot of us have forgotten the importance of the Book of Mormon. We ought not to take it lightly, for it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (D&C 20:9), and the words of Christ tell us all things we should do (2 Nephi 32:3). The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion, and with it comes our faith. It is a book that we not only learn from, but also act from. As the prophet Joseph Smith put it: "man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and I know of its truthfulness. I hope that we can all take the time to evaluate how we treat it. If we read it occasionally, and without diligence, what are our actions showing God? Do I treat it as the word of God himself, brought forth through the prophets? From my actions does God know that I treasure up his words (D&C 84:85)?

Pictures:

(1) The party we had at the church

(2) The food we ate

(3) My Branch President being awesome

I'm Still Alive

I'm still alive. Sorry for not sending an email out last week. I was in the middle of typing up my email when my computer crashed, and no draft was saved.

Indonesia is still really hot. In case you haven't already heard, the city I am serving in,Surabaya, is the hottest city in the mission. We are always sweating! I am so grateful that we only have to wear short sleeve shirts here. I see pictures of missionaries who served here in the 70's and 80's, and they wore long sleeve shirts. Also the people here wear jackets when they are driving their motor bikes. They do this because the wind is too cold. I don't understand how they aren't burning up under their jackets. Even the wind here is hot!

The work here is really good. I can feel the spirit guide my companion and I as we work. I haven't had a 'general conference worthy' spiritual experience, but I can testify that I know my God exists, that Jesus Christ is our savior, and that today we have a prophet called of God. I also know that the restoration of the gospel began with the prophet Joseph Smith, and that he, through the power of God, translated the Book of Mormon.

Each day I start with an hour of personal study, in which I focus on the holy scriptures. As I read from the Bible and Book of Mormon each day, I can feel the influence of the spirit in my life. I want to bear testimony that I know that gospel is true, and that with daily, sincere, prayerful study of the scriptures we will draw ourselves closer to Christ, and feel his love in our life.

Picture time. I know you have been waiting to see some pictures of my face. Here it goes:

​​1. My companion Elder Lasalosi and myself

2. My district

3. Es Campur (mixed ice). It is a desert here that consists of chopped up fruit, small pieces of jello, water, shaved ice, syrup, and sweet & condensed milk. It is really good.​​​​

Indonesia week 2

I am learning a lot more of the language now that I am fully immersed into it. For me, the hardest part has been creating a good sentence structure. Literally translated, most of the stuff we say doesn't make any sense. For example, the phrase :satu sama lain" means 'one same other', but has the same meaning as 'each other.' When my companion and I are asking if we are at the right house, I would ask "ini benar rumah pak ____?" which translates to 'this true house Mr ______?"

When I talk, I often make mistakes. A lot of the time the Indonesians give me a chance to repeat myself, and if I say something wrong again, they will look at my companion. Even if they haven't heard him talk yet they will just assume that he is fluent only because of his skin color. The people here think that just about everyone who is not white is from Indonesia. They even think my 6'4" Tongan companion is from Indonesia, where the average height is only 5'4".

I am really liking Indonesia. The people here are awesome. Just about everyone is willing to talk with us, even if they aren't interested in hearing a message about Jesus Christ. The food here is really good. I eat out for lunch and dinner every day. Meals usually consists of rice, chicken, and sombal, which is a very spicy chili sauce that I really like.

There are so many things to write about my area and the country that I can't even begin to start writing. Just about every aspect of our life is influenced in some way by either the missionary work or Indonesia. If you ask my to describe something for you each week, I will be able to. For example, if you asked me about how we pay for food, I would say the following: Each day I take 50,0000 rupiah with me for lunch and dinner. Most of the time I don't come close to using all of it. One weird thing about Indonesia is that we rarely pay for things first, like in America. For instance, if I was ordering from a McDonald's in the USA, I would place an order, pay, then they would make it for me. Here we place an order, eat, then pay. I still think that it is really weird to start eating without paying for my food first. There is a food place near the church that we eat from on preparation days, and they are familiar with the missionaries. What we have been doing is placing our orders, then going into the church to start emailing or playing table tennis (the best!!!). Then the food lady will walk our food into the church, and start yelling for us. We then get it, she leaves, and we eat. We then pay around two hours later after we have finished emailing.

There are a ton of people in Indonesia. I don't think I have ever seen a place with so many people! Unless there is a river along side of the road, there are stores or houses lining both sides of the road. This makes it pretty convenience to contact other or find a place to stop and buy water.

With street contacting, most of the time we find a place in the shade, and sit down and talk with others. when my companion and I are wanting to contact in neighborhoods, we will always visit a specific home first. Each neighborhood has a Pak RT, which is similar to a neighborhood government official. We will go and talk with him, tell him about our message, then ask if he is interested. Most of the time he is not. We then ask him for the names and addresses of others in his neighborhood who are interested in our message. He will give us the names of all the Christians in his area. Then we go and find souls.

Attached are pictures of me about to head out of proselyting, and two plates of food:

MTC Tour Video

While Justin was at the MTC (missionary training center) in Provo Utah new buildings were completed and opened for use. Below is a video that the Church put together showing the new facilities and showing what missionaries do at the MTC. Justin appears in the video for a few seconds when they show where missionaries can get haircuts. He appears at the 4:19 mark of the video.

Surabaya

Indonesia is real now. When I got my mission call, in the MTC, and even on the airplane Indonesia was only a distant land that I had heard stories about. 

I got to Indonesia on Monday morning. I stayed in two different places until I flew out Friday morning to Surabaya (pronounced Sir-a-buy-a), which is my first area! While I was in Jarkarta for those first few days, President and Sister Rowley did some orientation training with us and introduced us to Indonesia.

My trainer is awesome. His name is Elder Lasalosi, who is a Tongan from Australia. We share our house with an Elder Sutadi from Indonesia, and Elder Siddoway from Idaho.

The language here is different from what I was taught in the missionary training center. The people here shorten a lot of words, have a lot of alternate words with similar meanings, and they talk really fast. With some people I just smile and nod. I don't know much of what they are saying.

We ride bikes in my area. The traffic here is crazy. There are a lot of cars, and a million motorbikes. Somehow no one gets into wrecks. There aren't really traffic laws. It is really just a question of how brave you are, and how much you trust others to not hit you. The traffic is also pretty slow; when we are really booking it on bikes we can keep up with traffic.

Here are some pictures I have taken here. The first is of a meal here. It is rice, sombal (red sauce that is really spicy), sweet potatoes, and green beans with tempe (soy bean stuff). The second picture is a pano of a Taman (park) that we visited. A girl came up to me there and asked to take a picture with me. That was the first time that has happened. The people here really like Bules (gringos). When we are riding in Gongs (any street smaller than the street you turned off from), the kids will always shout "hey Mister" at me. It is hard to describe Indonesia. I have already been here for a week and I love it. The work is hard, but good.

Elder Lasalosi and I have been teaching a few investigators, and contacting lots of people. The Indonesians here are all really nice, and they like to chat with Bule (gringo) missionaries, but we have a hard time getting them to follow up on commitments. It just really shows how much faith is required to change ourselves, and align our will with God's will. 

I don't have a lot of time to write, so I apologize in advance if I do not have the time to write you back. I can only write for one hour each week.

Here are some pictures of someone I was talking with in an Angkot (small bus), and some good Indonesian food :

From first few days of training in Jakarta:

 Getting in a little exercise:

Arrival

Justin safely arrived in Indonesia on Monday July 17th. Here is a photo of the group of new missionaries in Jakarta with mission President Rowley and Sister Rowley.

The Last Supper

Here are some pictures. We wanted to have a party in our room, so I scrounged together two extra tables and some chairs. We had seating for 19 elders in my small room.

​​​​

Here is a pictures of my district, the new Indonesian district, and our teacher Sister Wheeler who is the Veech's cousin:

I'm Leaving for Indonesia!!!

Today at 3:00 pm my visa arrived! I will be flying out at 7:45 pm on Saturday. Since it came with such a short notice we are allowed to email home.

I am really excited to fly out to Indonesia. I will be taking three different flights for a total of 22 hours in the air. I really want to try and share the gospel with others in the airports and on the plane. And eat some Cafe Rio in the Salt Lake City Airport. 

I have been praying for the last two weeks that I will be able to meet someone in the airport that will be ready to hear about the message of the restored gospel. I am prepared to open my mouth. I have really been trying to follow the commandment to "treasure up in your minds continually the words of life" (D&C 84:85). I know that if I do this, I will have God's promise that "it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say" (D&C 100:6). If you are interested in reading more 'open you mouth' type scriptures, check out D&C 33:8 and the rest of D&C 84:85.

Here is a picture of my district holding our flight plans:

Last Week @ MTC?

This Tuesday in our Devotional we heard from Elder Bednar, who is an apostle. Also in attendance were nine other apostles. It was really cool seeing all of them. He started off his talk by sharing the following scriptures:

John 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Alma 32:28
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

Alma 32:41

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

The greatest gift God can give us is Eternal life, which is living with our Father in Heaven in a perfect and resurrected body. To receive this gift, according to the scriptures, we must let Christ come into our hearts. The prophet Alma explained this to those he taught by using a seed as a metaphor for Jesus Christ. He testifies that if we are willing to give him a place in our hearts, and nourish that seed until it springs up into a  tree, we may receive Eternal Life. The question then, is How can I give place for Christ in my heart, and nourish up his gospel unto everlasting life? Alma answers that with diligence, patience, and enduring to the end, we can eat the fruit of the tree, which is Eternal life. I pray that we may all come to allow Christ more room in our hearts, and with all  our diligence, patience, and enduring to the end, he will bestow upon us this gift.

This week we have all been looking forward to leaving for Indonesia. Monday was supposed to be the day that we were going to fly out of Utah and into Indonesia, but our visas have yet to arrive. As of today, it looks like my group will be staying here at the MTC until our visas come, which looks like it will be Wednesday. The last group of missionaries headed for Indonesia were in the same situation, and they ended up staying an extra 10 days. I hope that I will not have to do the same.

Not much different has been happening around here. Still learning a lot. The language is really coming along. I know that I will be able to learn so much more in the country where everyone actually speaks it. I am really excited to fly to Indonesia, and serve the people there. I know how much they need the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thanks so much to everyone who has been writing me. I really like hearing about everything you all are doing, and I especially like seeing pictures. Keep up the good work and keep writing me.

Week 5

Only 10 more days left at the MTC. I am so excited to be heading over to Indonesia. We continue to learn about the culture there. The language is so funny. They love shortening words. For example, "Lowbat" means "Low Battery." I thought that was pretty funny. They also have KEPO, which means Knowing Every Particular Object. Funny how they use English acronyms.

This week in my studies I have really enjoyed reading Nephi's account of his rebuking his older brothers, found in 1 Nephi 7:8-12. which reads:

8 Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you?
9 How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?
10 How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?
11 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?
12 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.

Imagine being asked these questions. How different are we at times than the older brothers of Nephi, who had forgotten the Lord? How is it, that we, having a knowledge of the Gospel, fail to live it. Matthew 19:16-22 conveys a similar principle, in which a young ruler was not faithful enough to follow the counsel of Jesus, and sell all the he had and "come and follow [Christ]." As Nephi commands us: "Wherefore, let us be faithful to [Christ]."

These past two weeks have been really fun. We are working really hard. This Tuesday my roommates and I did an English fast. We learned so much only speaking our language for 24 hours. I will learn so much more in Indonesia. The main building is being used for the Mission President Conference right now. Hopefully that means we will be able to hear from an apostle before we leave.

I don't have much more to say. I need to start keeping my emails shorter. Thanks so much for everyone who has been reading and replying. I love hearing back from everyone. If you are going through anything difficult in your life, just know that Jesus Christ wants to help you. All you need to do is go unto him. He is waiting to help us, if only we will ask. Don't forget the blessing that daily prayer and scripture study brings you. I know his gospel is true, and I can't wait to help others in Indonesia learn of it.

Attached is a picture of Elder Earl, myself. Elder Rapp, and Elder Schofield last Sunday on our temple walk. I also have attached a mural of the parting of the Red Sea. It is one of my favorite murals.

Week Dua

John 21: 15-17

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas,lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him,Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

I love this passage of scripture so much. Jesus is asking his apostle Simon not only if he loves the Lord, but if he Loves Jesus more than these. We must have this same conversation with ourselves. Imagine Jesus asking you "Do you love me more than ________?" What is it in our lives that we love more than Jesus. If there is something that you love more than Jesus the Christ, the redeemer of our souls, you need to change something. For anyone who doesn't understand why some people are willing to sacrifice so much for the Savior, it is because they love him more than these. With this love comes action. If we can develop this love for the Savior, he instructs us to "Feed my sheep." Ask yourself, "Am I feeding his [Christ's] sheep?"

Here is how this conversation should go:

Jesus Christ: "Do you love me more than ________ [friends,netflix,etc]?"

Me: "Yes Lord, you know I love you more than than"

Jesus Christ: "Then feed my sheep"

Update in how I am sending my emails out. I used to have my mom send out my emails, but I am now going to send them out myself so that I can receive any replies that you all might have. If you want to write to me, simply respond directly to this email.

I loved all the emails i was sent the first week, but this week I was sent fewer emails. I can check my email every day, but only respond on Friday. I love to hear from you! Even if you think I won't like hearing it, go ahead and send me an email anyways. I don't have a lot of time to respond to emails on Fridays, so don't feel left out if I don't get to write you back.

Here is a quick overview of my past week:

Friday: Preparation day ends at 6:00pm, and immediately afterwards we have class
Saturday: Began having class two times each day, for a total of six hours
Sunday: Was fast Sunday, went to church, ate some ice cream sandwiches, watches Meet the Mormons 2
Monday: We have service in the morning, starting at 6:00am. We clean bathrooms and vacuum floors of classrooms, which are scheduled to be demolished this summer. The two new MTC buildings opened up. My entire district moved out of our old building and into the third floor of an older building. Most people were upgraded when the new MTC buildings opened, but my district was downgraded. We have a good attitude about it. They served us Chic-Fil-A for dinner, and the gym opened back up. I now play volleyball every day for my exercise time
Tuesday: My teachers took us on a tour of part of the new MTC campus. One of the buildings has a nice rooftop where you can go and study, the buildings have very large floors, very modern, and have a lot of art. They have at least one mural per floor, and the murals are a mix between a painting, photoshop, and a landscape picture. The murals depict Old and New Testament events, and well as prophets from the Book of Mormon and latter day prophets
Wednesday: We had class in the morning, then hosted new missionaries right after lunch. For hosting, you help drop off missionaries pick up their bags and get them into their room, then class room
Thursday: Taught TRC, which is where my companion and I got to teach some returned missionaries. We focus on their needs, and don't have to worry about trying to teach them the gospel because they are already members. It is similar to home teaching. We got to ask the returned missionaries plenty of questions about what they are doing, and what is going on

I cannot stress how awesome these new MTC buildings are. They have an awesome atmosphere. People go into them and immediately quiet down and become reverent even though they are just used for teaching. My favorite thing about them is the windows. They are really big, and you can see all around. If you are facing north, you can see the temple, squaw peak, and the rest of the campus. If you are facing south you can see Heritage halls and some of the other BYU campus.


Justin mentioned eating ice cream sandwiches on Sunday but there is more to the story. Here is an excerpt from an email sent by another missionary in Justin's district.

The best part of dinner though was when Elder Allen walked over to the table with a tray full of ice cream sandwiches. We had so many ice cream sandwiches; I think our district had like 40. Elder Allen himself had 15 (2250 calories). On fast Sunday, he only ate ice cream sandwiches and water. Our table is the closest to the food lines so people would walk by and see him with his tray full of ice cream sandwiches and him eating them slowly, one by one. It was really funny. His goal was 20 but it became very difficult.

Here are some pictures of the new MTC, its view, and two of the murals with their respective plaques: