Selamat Pagi (Good Morning!!!)

Hello Family!!!!
Good Morning!!! Ya' know how in America we have Good Morning and then at noon we switch to Good Afternoon, and then maybe occasionally we say Good Evening ... well in Indonesia they make is even more confusing. They have good morning but that ends at 10, good day from 10 to about 3, and then a good evening or good later day from 3 to 8, and then good night after 8. It is very confusing for me to keep it straight, because indonesians love to greet each other with these things and then they make fun of you if you get it wrong. I guess I still have 14 months to perfect it and then I will be all sorts of confused again when I get back to America! Crazy!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Malan and Dad!!!! I hope y'all have a wonderful day!! I can't believe Malan will be 17! That's insane! And Dad, I hope you don't have too many meetings tomorrow. Maybe take a little rest. But, really did you realize that your birthday is my 4 month mark of being a missionary. Kinda crazy! When I look at it that way the time really does seem to be going a little faster. Everyone says that once you learn the language well the time shoots by ... but who knows how long it will take!! It is definitely really hard to learn!!

I can't believe that there is one week left until Bevan goes to the MTC! That is so exciting!! Here's a few tips Bevan on surviving the MTC: First, do not waste your gym time. In fact treasure it!! It is the only time you can run around and play. All the other times you sit in a desk and study! And you don't want to get fat!! Second, take any opportunity to serve the sisters. And if you have sisters in your district, be nice to them. It will make you happier and your future wife will get a little bit prettier each time you do it! Third, the best seats for Devotionals and Firesides is the very, very last row. You might seem like a slacker, but you have the best leg room and comfy seats. Believe me! It took me about 4 weeks to figure that one out. Fourth, go to room 7M 123 and meet the missionaries going to Indonesia. I hear one is from Texas, so that's cool. But those are the coolest missionaries in the MTC so be their friend!! Good luck Bevan! I know you will be an awesome missionary!! Oh, so one of my friends at BYU went his whole mission wearing a different tie each day of his whole mission. He brought a bunch and then always borrowed his companions ties and spend many p-days at good will buying some. I challenge you Bevan to do that!!!

Mom, I would love a box!! Letters have taken about 2-3 weeks to get here and I hear packages only take a little bit longer, and are pretty reliable in arriving. But I guess we won't truly know until we try it. Anything you send I would love. I can't think of anything dire that I need, and my companion said she would love anything you would send her. I'm sure the box will be great. Thanks!

Well, this week was one where I definitely felt the disappointments of being a missionary. We had a lot of appointments fall through and people stand us up. Investigators that were doing well didn't come to church or do their reading assignments. It was mighty frustrating, but things have started to look up again and do a little bit better. Which is nice, but it was kinda sketchy there for a couple of days.

Riyanti spent this last week really deciding whether she was getting baptized for herself or for her boyfriend, which is good, she needs to know for herself, but that involved her not coming to church and standing us up for an appointment. We were kinda scared there for a couple of days, but we talked to her yesterday and she said she wants to keep learning. We were very excited. She still isn't certain about it all yet, so we continue to pray for her and her growing testimony.

Ibu Sri is still doing good. Her eyes are really bad so she has a hard time reading the Book of Mormon, so she usually reads about one verse a day. She told us the last time that we taught her that she definitely feels differently when she comes to our church rather than other churches and she thinks that means that this one is better. She said she wanted to get baptized but she wanted to learn more and read more of the Book of Mormon before she does. My worry, is that she isn't too young and at the rate of one verse per day ... well... But we keep teaching her and hopefully her desire to get baptized will continue to increase.

I don't know if I have ever told you about Raz, she is our member investigator, in that most of the members can't believe that she isn't a member. She attends church every Sunday, and is basically a member, but she just can't get baptized because she will be cut off from her family and she is still in school. Her goal is next January to be baptized after she graduates. She has an amazing testimony and usually when we teach her I learn more than she does because she ends up teaching me. It is sad the situation that she is in, because she wants so desperately to get baptized, but she must continue to be patient.

I don't know if I have a funny story this week. There was a lot more frustration than laughter this week, but I am getting very excited to hear from Elder Bednar on Friday and Sunday and witness the new stake in Indonesia. It will be pretty amazing and feel very blessed for this opportunity. It should be a great weekend. I'll be sure to report on it next week!! I am so proud to be a missionary for my Heavenly Father. It is an amazing blessing! One that will bless my life forever. I love this gospel. Sometimes I feel so blessed as I have been here. I don't know what I did to be blessed with a wonderful family, wonderful opportunities in life, and this wonderful gospel. I have never been more grateful! I love you all!!! Have a great week!!

Love,
Leah