1st Week in Manado

So just a heads up I only have 10 minutes left to send out my email so I will have to make it short. I will only be doing my Q&A this week. Also I won't be able to upload any pictures because it takes a very long time to upload. I am trying to attach 4 pictures and it is taking over half an hour. Hopefully next week the internet will be a little faster.

Q: How many missionaries are in your mission? How many of them are from Indonesia?

A: There are a little under 80 missionaries currently serving in the Jakarta Indonesia mission. Compare that to the 90 something that were here last year. And of the 80 missionaries here, about 40% of them are Indonesians.

Q: What is different between Manado and other areas you have served in?

A: Well Manado has a much more modern culture. Everyone here plays really loud music from their cars, and I recognize some of the songs.

Q: Were you scared to travel by yourself?

A: No, it was just weird not having a companion for so long.

Q: Is your house better than your last home?

A: It is about the same, although here my kitchen is outside. We also have two bathroom here, but only one of them has a working toilet. The bathroom with the working toilet also happens to be the bathroom without a light fixture. Using the bathroom at night can be fun sometimes.

Q: What is something you learned about the language in Indonesia this week?

A: I learned that all proper titles (ie. Mr., Mrs., Ms) are different here in Manado.

Q: What is something that made you laugh this week?

A: Hearing the Indonesian song "Itu Anjing Kecil," or "It's a small dog." The song is very interesting.

Photo from a meeting with mission President Pak Subandriyo and his wife Sister Subandriyo with Elders Rapp, Palmer, Allen, Sutadi, Elder/Sister Mongan, Sisters Inoke and Sindoro.

A view from of the roof tops of Manado.

Goodbyes & Hellos

Goodbye Malang. You taught me a lot. It was in Malang that I had my first two investigators baptized.

Goodbye Java. You taught me Indonesian. You taught me the culture.

Goodbye Elder Putra. You taught me patience. With you I trained for the first time, and got to lead us as a District Leader.

Hello Manado. I am really excited to serve all the people here. I am really excited to see the beach each and every day. Although I had to travel some 1400 miles by myself to get here, I know that I will never be left alone.

Hello Sulawesi. I have no idea what you have in store for me. I am moving from a 'cold' city, to one of your hottest cities (no parenthesis needed).

Hello Elder Sutadi. You are also from Solo, and you can speak English. I know I will learn a lot from you before you go home in three months.

Questions:

Q: How comfortable do you feel speaking Indonesian?

A: I will answer with another question: How comfortable do you feel driving your car. You probably feel comfortable driving under normal conditions, but under poor weather, racing, or extreme off-roading you probably wouldn't fair too well. And if your car broke down you would probably have to ask someone who knows a bit more than you for help. I feel the same with my Indonesian. I do good under normal circumstances, but there is still a lot of stuff that can through me off. I study a lot by reading from the Book of Mormon in Indonesia.

Q: Do you have any superstores like Walmart in Indonesia?

A: There is no one huge store in Indonesia that sells everything from home goods, to auto supplies, to fishing poles. Although we do have supermarkets, but they only sell food.

Q: How involved are members in missionary work?

A: It depends on the member, but most are pretty willing to help if we give them a good heads up, and it isn't too far from their house, and granted it doesn't rain. So ya, I guess fairly normal.

Q: What's the biggest change you've seen in yourself?

A: Loading........... I hope everyone else will be able to figure this one out when I get back home.

Family

Sometimes I find myself at the end of a week, not knowing what to write about. Mission life in Indonesia all seems so normal now. Sweating 24 hours a day. Eating lots of spicy food. Multiple trips to the bathroom. I love it.

Rather than tell everyone how my week has been, I would rather hear how everyone else's week has been. Send me an email or two and I will be sure and read it.

I was just looking through some of my photos, and I saw the pictures attached below. On my left are my Grandparents, Peg and Rudy Allen. On my right are my other Grandparents, John and Donna Power. From these four individuals came my two parents, and then myself. I am so greatful to have such a strong heritage. My grandparents and parents, in addition to many aunts, uncles, and cousins, have served missions, setting a clear example for dedicated lifelong service to the Lord.

I am greatful for all the lessons I have learned from my family. Whether is has been seeing my Aunts and Uncles serving in their calling, passing and blessing the sacrament with my cousins, or going to the temple with them, I have found myself surrounded by great examples. These examples come not just from the church and its appendages, but also from seeing the good lives of my family and friends who are not of this church.

Never have I thought that I could have been born into a better family. And while we do all have our weakness and imperfections, it is our togetherness that makes us family, and not a group of akward individuals.

I have made a committment to leave my family for two years, and serve in Indonesia. This is a committment that I intend on keeping. Indonesia can be trying at times; I certainly never thought that I would be expected to put up with all this and still exlaim "this is better than anything I had ever imagined!" But it is so true. In a misisonary publication I have read "You [the missionary] have a front row seat to the greatest miracle of all: the effect of Christ’s Atonement on individuals and families."

I testify of the reality of this miracle. Nothing changes our lives, our hearts, our desires, and our beings more than a love for Jesus Christ and a knowledge of his Atonement. I feel very blessed to be able to serve in Indonesia, and all the efforts from so many people that have made this dream a reality.

I don't have much time left to write, so I just want to close by saying thank you. Thank you to everyone who has loved me, and continues to do so. Thank you for always being there, and for all of your prayers. Keep on being awesome, and lift where you stand.

Sincerely,

Elder Justin Allen

A Big Thanks

Before I begin I just want to give a big thanks to everyone who has been emailing me. Keep up the great work so this kid in Indonesia still has some people to talk with.

Monday: After emailing I went shopping, but got bored pretty quick. Played tennis near my house, but then it started raining. At night I taught an investigator who never finished elementary school.

Tuesday: Companionship exchanges with Elder Zebua. We visited a lady who is 110 years old, making her older than the country of Indonesia, which will celebrate its 73 year of independence this year.

Wednesday: Taught my awesome investigator, Mas Dasrial, who has a baptismal commitment for the 24th of March. My companion taught piano lessons to a member, then we ate at a different member's house.

Thursday: The first day of zone conference began. We role played teaching a lesson by using the hymn book and singing a song. Then I got to meet my new mission president for the first time. He is from Indonesia, but can speak English.

Friday: The second day of zone conference. I learned a lot from my new mission president, and the nutritionist he invited to speak to us. For zone conference all the missionaries wore matching ties and skirts, all thanks to your truly.

Saturday: Back to Malang with a busy schedule. Helped a member pack up his house, move, then unpack into his new house. We ate with him, had a meeting with our branch mission leader, then played volleyball at the church with members and some investigators.

Sunday: At church two members gave their mission farewell talks, making it a total of three missionaries currently serving from the Malang branch, with two more to follow. Ended the week by eating at a member's house.

Questions:

Q: How is your church schedule in Indonesia different than in the States?

A: It is the same. But, in Indonesia there is no mid week activities for the youth. Seminary and Institute meet once a week on Saturday night.

Q: What kind of activities do you do on preparation day?

A: Email, hair cuts, cleaning the home, buying food for the week, and shopping. Still can't go to the beach yet. It's killing me.

Q: Have you ever dreamed in Indonesian?

A: I dream in the location of Indonesia, but its 50/50 whether the language used is Indonesian or English. Most of the time I feel more comfortable speaking Indonesian rather than English, but I still think, read, and write in English.

Birthday Week

This week I had my birthday, so now I am 19 years old. All feels the same though. For my birthday I took my companionship out to dunkin donuts, where we ate some nice American donuts filled with Indonesian fruits.

Not quite sure what to write about this week, so I will just attach some pictures and let them talk for themselves. 

But, one pictures does need some explaining. This is the picture titled "Woman Bule." I think I met Indonesian's most infamous womanizer this week. He is actually a former investigator, and has come to church around 20 some times. This week as I was pulling out of parking lot, his car, named Woman Bule, pulled up next to me. He drives a nice 20+ year old pickup truck with two large speakers in the back, the words "Woman Bule" on all sides, and pictures of him with Sister Missionaries in the cab. In case you have forgotten, Bule is the Indonesian word for white person. Needless to say, I was about to die of laughter after I was this car.

Questions:

Q: How is Elder Putra's English coming along?

A: Not as good as my Indonesian. We recently decided to use English every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday when we talk to one another. On Wednesday we use Javanese.

Q: What kind of souvenirs do most missionaries bring home from Indonesia?

A: Batik, which is a type of pattern either hand painted or printed onto fabric. This is what almost all of my ties are made from. Some missionaries also bring home traditional Javanese knives that are supposed to have spirits inside of them. I don't believe it.

Q: Are the people in Indonesia watching the winter Olympics?

A: I didn't even know the winter olympics were going on.

Q: How bad are the bugs?

A: In Malang, because it is colder, they aren't too bad. I rarely see any bugs. Surabaya; however, is another story. The mosquitoes were terrible, and there were always cockroaches in the house. We don't use bug spray, but we do use a type of bug extinguisher spray in the bedroom before we sleep to kill all bugs that might be in the room.

"Overpowered with joy" - Alma 19:14

Nothing better describes how I felt this Saturday night than the scriptures quote found above. It was my great joy to see Sister Prisca baptized and confirmed as a member of the true and living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Or in Indonesian, Gereja Yesus Kristus Dari Orang Orang Suci Zaman Akhir.

Sister Prisca is great. I typically don't like sharing a lot of personal information about my investigators until they are more progressive, and I figure that after her baptism it would be fine to tell you a little bit about her.

Sister Prisca moved back home from Bali after feeling a strong impression she needed to return to her family. She left behind her employment and friends to start a new life in Malang. She didn't want to resume attendance at her old church, so she went online seeing what churches there were in Malang. She found lds.org and came to church by herself, wanting a copy of the Book of Mormon. I gladly gave her one, and set an appointment to teach her. In the month I have known her, she has greatly impressed and inspired me. Through difficulties known to her, she has found the time to prayerfully read the entire Book of Mormon in fewer than 30 days.

I feel even as Ammon, as recorded in Alma 26:11-12: "I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

In other news, after emergency transferring missionaries on more than one occasion, President Rowley, the mission president over all of Indonesia, was emergency transferred to the Singapore mission. I still don't know much about the situation, but I will surely miss President Rowley and his wife Sister Rowley. They will be replaced by a former mission president, President Subandrio, until a more permanent president will come later this year.

Questions:

Q: How many times a day do you eat rice?

A: It depends on how many times I want to eat.

Q: Have you ever taught lessons on the street?

A: Yes. The environment is less than ideal, and I always try and find a more spiritually conducive place to teach.

Q: How do you do most of your contacting?

A: Go into a neighborhood, and ask anyone and everyone who they know that is either interested in learning about Jesus Christ, or is already christian. We do have to be a little careful though, so as not to give others the feeling that we are here to Christianize or change their religion. 

Q: Do you ever ride in cars?

A: Not unless I am going somewhere I can't go on a bike. For example, traveling to Surabaya for zone conference.

Does this guy even know how to spell?

Hey how is it going? I am still working hard in Indonesia as a missionary. Something my mission has begun to emphasize is working more with members. AS I have been meeting with and minestring to the church members here, I am constantly reminded of how much of a difference members can make in missionary work. Not only will the full time missionaries be more enthusistic to strengthen the church, but also the investigators will feel more welcomed into the church. I hope that we can all pray for missionary work not just in a far away corner of the earth like Indonesia, but also in our own backyard.

My news for the week is pretty typical. Rain, rejection, and rejoicing in all the trials God allows us to experience. Because I am now in a house with only one other person, I have been getting a lot of studying done. For example, last week I read all of 3 Nephi and the November 2017 general conference.

Something I may have written about earlier, if briefly, is the spiciness of the food in Indonesia. Here nearly everything I eat is spicy. I love it! I can handle spicy foods better than my native companion, who starts wweating when he eats somethign spicy. With someone's ability to handly spicy food, I like to use the analogy ofa chain. The chain starts at the mouth.  One's mouth must be strong enought to even eat the meal. The comes the stomach. It is quite an unpleasant sensation to have lots of spicy food in one's stomach if it is not a normal feeling. The comes the last chain. I will just say that what comes in spicy goes out spicy too. When trying to eat spicy food one must recognize the weakest link. For me, that is the stomach. I've only cried twice from food that was really spicy, but what upsets me more is the feeling of a stomach full of spicy food, especially when riding a bike.

Questions: 

Q: What are your plans for your birthday?

A: I will eat out at a resturant similar to KFC, then take my district out to eat pizza.

Q: When are you getting your smartphones? What kind will they be? 

A: The mission's plan right now is to get everyone smartphones by the end of the year. It will be up to the missionaries to buy whatever phone they want. It just needs to be able to easily switch the SD-card, so that includes about all phones.

Q: How much technology do most people have there?

A: Most people have a phone, and that is about it. Some people have a tv, but almost no one has a computer. Most of the rising generation has a smartphone.

Q: Have you seen any Indonesians who are as tall as you?

A: No.

Q: Do a lot of people in Indonesia smoke?

A: Yes. Almost all the men and a few of the women.

Moving, Moving, Moved

So last week I said that there would be no transfers, but little did I know that I would actually be moving the week following transfers. I will be packing all of my belongings, walking to my new house, then unpacking. In Malang the mission owns two homes, one of which was used by the sisters before they were transferred out of the city. My companionship has been asked to move into the new home, approximately two minutes away by bicycle from my old home.

Other than moving, here is a little recap of my week:

Monday: Took it easy and relaxed after emailing. Visited with an inactive member at night.

Tuesday: Taught three investigators back to back, and was starving afterwards. Also the weather let up and it felt like heaven.

Wednesday: Split with Elder Hansen. Learned a lot from him.

Thursday: Ate dinner at a member's house.

Friday: Met with an investigator, then the branch president, at the church.

Saturday: A lesson followed by a meeting at the church, then dinner at a member's home.

Sunday: A less active member I've been working with came to church, as well as my investigator Prisca!

Indonesia feels super normal now. I have a hard time imagining the small details of America without mixing it somewhat with Indonesia. Example: In Indonesia we drive on the left hand side of the road. As an exercise to memorize the roads, I imagine in my mind a place that I have been to, then how I could return from said place to either the church or my home. As I was finishing this exercise, I began trying to remember my city back in Georgia. Without even thinking about it, I began to envision all of the roads back at home, but from the left hand side. It took me a minute to realize that I have never even driven on the left hand side of the road in America.

On to some questions:

Q: Do Indonesians attend public or private schools? What is the education system like?

A: There is no real equivalent of the American public schooling system to be found in Indonesia. Taxing here is done quite differently, and as a result almost all schooling is private. School starts with preschool, followed by Elementary School up to grade 6, Middle School to grade 9, and High School to grade 12. A few Indonesians don't attend High School, but rather go to a vocational school.

Q: Does most of the entertainment (such as movies, music, etc.) originate from America or Indonesia? 

A: It depends. Most of the movies are American, but the music is generally Indonesian. Almost no one pays for cable in Indonesia, and as a result there are nearly more ads than content on television.

Q: What is the role of missionaries in the Malang Church?

A: The Malang Branch is quite strong, and does not need missionaries to teach classes every week. In some of the other wards I have served in the missionaries taught Gospel Principles (Sunday school for people new to the church) every week. We help the branch most by visiting members, strengthening them, and helping them fulfill their assignments and roles as church members.

Pictures:

This is how I bring my groceries back from the store.

Photo of me with Elder Hansen (Zone Leader from Surabaya). He came to Malang and we worked together for the day.

A nice looking farm on the edge of town.

Cobra, Candy and more

wo weeks have gone by since I've last emailed. In that period of 14 days it has rained for 13 days. Each time it rains it normally starts at 3 in the afternoon, although it can start as early as noon. It typically starts raining soft as a warning call, and then it rains really hard for 15 minutes. We always take shelter for the first half hour or so of rain. Then it just drizzles for the rest of the day. When it rains everyone is hesitant to go outside. Makes contacting somewhat more challenging.

But, other than rain, what else has been going on in Malang? Let me explain by using some pictures. Below you will find pictures of:

(1) A burger stand that I've eaten at twice. A burger costs less than 50 cents. The patties are what I call 50/50, or 50% meat and 50% fat.

(2) A Candi, or Hindu temple, I visited last week. It was pretty neat.

(3) Watch out snakes! You are on the menu. I went to a restaurant, and at some yummy cobra. In the pictures of the snakes you can see a bunch of normal cobras, a king cobra, and their friends cooked up and ready to be eaten.

(4) Indonesian currency. I'm not sure why I haven't sent a picture of the money yet, but here it is. Keep in mind that 13,500 rupiah here is roughly equivalent to 1 USD.

(5) A picture of me eating Indonesian cuisine in the most traditional manner: sitting on the ground, eat from a banana leaf, and using another banana leaf as a spoon. Also a hat.

(6) One of my investigators named Prisca. She has so much potential. She is that 'golden investigator.' Between our first and second lesson, a period of two days, she read from 1 Nephi 1 to 2 Nephi 3. She already has a testimony of the gospel, and she loves coming to church.

Here is photo from my most recent zone conference which was in Surabaya.

Due to some circumstances which I won't describe here, I don't think that there will be transfers this week. I feel alright about it though, because I have two awesome investigators right now, and I want the extra time in Malang to really get to know the members and the area. I am loving my time in Indonesia, and I hope everyone back at home is doing well. I pray for all of you.

Questions and Answers:

Q: Do you teach English classes in Malang?

A: A few years ago the English class in Malang had around 60 members in attendance each week. Before I moved here the class had around 10 members, coming every Thursday night. For some reason the class was moved to Friday night, and because of some miscommunication, only 2 people still came. I decided it would be best to shut down English class, so right now there is no English class in Malang.

Q: Do you have dinner appointments with members?

A: Only if I am the one who makes the appointment. In one of my last areas I ate at a members' home only twice in my six weeks there. Here the members are awesome, and I eat at a members home around once or twice a week.

Q: How often do you have potlucks at church? 

A: Not very often. There is a family here that loves the missionaries, and they bring us food every week at church. The missionaries love it, because it tastes a lot better than anything that we can cook up.

Q: Can you use public transportation, or is it just biking and walking?

A: I very rarely use public transportation. The most I use it for is to travel to Surabaya for splits with the Zone Leaders or for Zone Conference.

Root Beer Floats

Another average week goes down on the books. My companion Elder Putra and I worked really hard. I went on companionship exchanges with an Elder named Elder Schenk (pronounced Shank). This week marks my 11th week with Elder Putra, and as part of his training he will be taking the lead. This week I also have a meeting in Surabaya with all of the missionaries in my zone.

Below you will find some questions and my answers. Feel free to email me with questions and I will answer them in my next email. 

Q: Do you ever have to go to a government office for your visa?

A: Nope. In Indonesia we have what is called a football. Every foreign missionary carries a football, which is comprised of quite a few legal documents that state who we are, why we are here, and what we are doing. 

Q: Do you play Footsol?

A: Yes. Footsol was included in my pictures from last week. It is indoor soccer played on a small court, sometimes made of tile or turf.

Q: Are living conditions much different in Malang than Surabaya?

A: The living conditions for the missionaries are about the same throughout all of Indonesia, but I have found that there are more of the poor class in Malang, probably because it is a smaller city. Generally living conditions are the same, the only difference is what 

Q: What about your Investigators?

A: Right now my teaching pool consists of some people who show good potential, but it is really hard to make an appointment with them. One of my investigators is a man named Albert, and he hasn't had any contact with his family for the last three years since he converted to Christianity. He teaches a piano class Sunday morning, so it is really difficult for him to come to church.

Pictures:

I bought my companion and I huge root beer floats

One of the many local Mosques at night, lit up

A cart that I sometimes buy food from