Hello Family!!!
That Subject is mainly for Malan. It means "It's the Best!" It is the only Nacho Libre quote that I have translated into Indonesia and I did it just for you! It is also in reference to the cookies y'all sent this week. Thanks Rebekah for telling Mom to do that. They were pretty darn delicious!!! I still have a couple left and am savoring them as much as I can! Thanks so much.
This week was a good, really fast week. It feels like just a couple days ago that I wrote y'all and I couldn't really come up with much news to tell. This week we started learning Tata Bahasa (grammar). It shows you how relatively easy Indonesian actually is that we can go 4 weeks without learning a single bit of grammar. It is cause there really isn't much, but we learned a lot of it this week. And it pretty much confused me immensely! Hopefully I can understand it all this next week. Starting on Monday we are pretty much only speaking Indonesian in the classroom. I'm sure it will be pretty quite most of the time for a while. But other than that the language is going good. I'm getting to the point with my prayers that I feel like I can pray for what I want to and not just for the same 5 things that I know how to say. That is really nice.
We did have some excitement in the District when we had a new elder join us this week. He started his mission 9 months ago. He was going to Malaysia speaking Malay which is very close to Indonesian. He made it 4 weeks and then had to go home because of some family issues he said. When it came time to reapply he put in his papers again. They reviewed them in Salt Lake on Monday and they realized that there was an Indonesian district in the MTC at the same point that he left. So they called him on Monday told him where he would be serving and then asked him to be at the MTC the next day. Crazy!! He had to pack and get all ready and say goodbye to everyone in one day. But he is pretty cool and a nice breath of fresh air in the district. So now I sit in the same room all day with 6 people instead of just 5. I did have to change desks because of it so I have a different view of the classroom now. It really is the little things here at the MTC that make is so much better.
Tuesday night we had a devotional and Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy came to speak to us. He gave one of the most powerful talks I have ever heard in my life. It was up there with Elder Holland's talk on the Book of Mormon that we saw that one conference. He talked about obedience and becoming a disciple of Christ. I'm pretty sure, myself included, that every missionary left the devotional never wanting to break another rule or slack off in the least. The spirit was so strong while he talked and it definitely testified to me once again that this mission is not about me at all but has everything to do with the Lord's work and the people of Indonesia. Elder Pearson strengthened my desire to continue working hard and learning all that I can so that I can be the best missionary possible. His talk was definitely one that I will remember my whole life.
We don't really get specified culture times yet. We will when we get closer to learning. But I have learned a few things about the culture just from talking to my teachers who both served there. The money there in Indonesia is like 10,000 rupiah to 1 US dollar. Meaning that while Bevan will be talking to millionaires on his mission I will actually be one. Probably the only time in my life when I can say that! The food is really spicy and they love to eat dog, horse, and snake. Members don't really cook for the missionaries there and the missionaries eat all their meals in restaurants for like 50 cents each. They really love white people over there, especially white women. However, really the only english they know is the word mister. So, I shouldn't be surprised if people follow me around yelling "Mister" at the top of their lungs. They also don't believe fat is a derogatory word, but rather just a statement of fact. So, I also shouldn't be surprised if the Branch President comes up to me at tells me I am looking fat that day. We have also learned a lot about the bathrooms over there. It's been our main concern. But I try not to think about it because it is not going to be good.
Sounds like y'all have had a great week at home. I'm jealous that y'all get to see Jimmer this weekend. Cheer for me please. Congrats to Simon and Annie!! I'm way stoked to finally get a nephew. I can't wait to bring home an Indonesian toy train or something for him. It is going to be awesome. That is crazy that Winnie lives in Bevan's mission. Hopefully he will get to see her sometimes. He should actually try to teach a lesson to The Donkeys. That way he can tell his kids he taught a rock band on his mission. That would be pretty awesome.
I love y'all and miss y'all very much!! Thanks for the prayers and the letters. Don't stop. I know this church is true and that God and Jesus Christ live. I know that President Monson is a prophet of God and the mouthpiece through which Christ and God speak to us today. I love this gospel and love the fact that I get to share it with the people of Indonesia. It is awesome. Have a great week. I love you all!!!
Love,
Leah
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