Well, sorry for not so great news, but my absessed is not yet healed... This whole time it hasn't hurt. It just has to be cleaned every morning which means we ride two taxis and wait for at least an hour and a half to have it cleaned for about 10 minutes. We sent a report from the doctor here to the Mission Doctor in Hong Kong on Thursday and he called me today. He said these things usually do end up having to have surgery to completely heal the problem. So President is supposed to call me to tell me about the decision about where I'm moving or what's going on with my life. I just kind of take things day by day and know that nothing is actually set in stone until it actually happens.
The highlight lesson of this week was with ____! She is our investigator from Banjarsari who we taught my second day in Solo. She works with members so we have lessons at the members house. We finally taught the Restoration after 2 months of not meeting with her. She was so open to hear it! She has a lot of comments during lessons also which means she really is enjoying it. If they don't comment it usually means they think it's weird and won't hear again. Also she hasn't been able to come to church because she doesn't have any transportation. But somehow she was able to come to Stake Conference this Sunday!! It is so, so awesome when investigators or less actives come to church and I just hope she really felt the spirit. Because I definitely did. Speaking of Stake Conference, here it is a HUGE deal!! I loved it! It was so awesome to see so many members in one place. It's the whole of Central Java which ranges from an hour from Solo to Jogja and 3 hours the other way to Semarang. These members make big sacrifices. It was at a really nice hotel here in Solo. Everyone acts like you are just one big family and like they've known you forever even though you've never met before. We were there early so we stood at the door and shook hands with everyone and it was so fun!! The choir all had matching dresses and ties and I'm pretty sure they practiced for like 3 months before. They talked about family councils and the importance of it to build wards and stakes. President Donald also talked about the importance of not getting offended by people at church. Which is literally the most important message these people need to hear. If they get the tiniest bit offended they will hold onto that forever and not come back. Also Elder Wo who I think is the area seventy here spoke. His talk was literally just for me. He spoke in English and our Zone Leader translated, so it was wonderful to hear in English so I could completely understand. He talked about how the Gospel isn't hard, life is. He said that the Gospel is the way we get through our trials. He gave an analogy that those who are strong in school are usually given more work and tests to make them stronger. Heavenly Father does the same. He gives trials to the strong to make them even stronger. He also said how when Jesus Christ came to the earth, he didn't promise happiness to be with us always. But he did say "My peace I give unto you." We may not always be happy. But we can always have peace through the knowledge of the Gospel. We can pray for our trials to be removed. We can pray for the doctors to know what procedures to do to heal us, but the most important part is to make sure to add, "Not as my will, but as thou wilt." I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father places us in places at the perfect moment. I'm grateful for church leaders who give us God's word to help us feel peace always in this life. Today was so great! We went to a beach near Jogja with a member who rented a car and drove us there. It was so awesome! There were 3 beaches around the area. It was so fun to play in the sand and one of the beaches had tons of rocks (and you know how I LOVE to climb all over rocks by the ocean.) It was literally the missionary's dream P-day so that was super exciting. I'll send LOTS of pictures because I took LOTS! Also we went to Pizza Hut with the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency after a ward activity. Pizza Hut here is like a 5 star restaurant. I took a picture of it too. Also I got your packages Mom! President and the Senior Couples brought all the packages and it was just glorious! The candy is so good and the other things are just what I need and I didn't have to pay anything :) So I'm super glad about that! Anyway. Even though my sore stays the same, the work keeps moving. The Lord is proving ways for us to still touch the lives of those prepared to hear the word. Love you! Have a great week! Love, Sister Davis Yes this week I ate a chicken head! A Sister, who is a member and is alone and like 75 years old or something gave it to us on Tuesday. It's like the neck and the brain and the eyes. It was fried and tasted like normal chicken with a different texture. I still prefer normal parts of the chicken but hey now I know I can eat it! I forgot to take a picture again... Sorry...
So Dad asked to tell you more about the things I do day to day, like the streets and the people and the houses and stuff like that. I always forget to take pictures but I'll try to remember this week so you can see more. Before explaining about that I have one story. We have two new investigators! ______and _____. _____is friends with Sister____who we meet with every week. We went to her house to teach her the second time. She explained mostly to Sister Winanto because there was some Javanese in it, that the past few months her husband hasn't had work. She prayed to Heavenly Father that if he could find work she would go back to church. He finally found work about a week ago, but he can only come home every other week because he will use all his money on transportation if he comes every day. But because he can't come home, she doesn't have money. She explained that she hadn't paid her rent for two months because she didn't have the money. If she didn't have all of it in two more hours, she would be kicked out right then!! Oh my goodness! As a missionary it is SO HARD not to just give them the money!! She had about half of what she needed from friends and had spent all day going to friends houses so she could get the money. Eventually we left and wanted to find a way to help. We explained the situation to our Ward Mission Leader Brother ______, and he said he could help. He ended up giving her what she needed that evening and she didn't have to leave. When her husband comes home she will have enough money to pay for it. Brother _____ literally amplifies the example of Jesus Christ. He is always serving members and is willing to help us missionaries with anything we need. He was converted from Islam when he was 17 and served a mission here. I am so amazed by the dedication of the people here. Their testimonies of the Savior are so strong and you can see it in the way they serve others without question. Homes: Homes vary a lot like in America. You can go from a 12 ft by 12 ft room to a house with a real kitchen, multiple bedrooms, air conditioning, a car, all of it. A lot of the area we go to in Jebres is where more of the poor people live. The areas by the trains and railroad tracks are all pretty poor. Their houses are made a lot of different things. They have brick walls, and old drywall if they are poor. Normal houses all have dry wall. The roofs are usually metal or hard shingles. A lot of the floors of the poor people are cement. They usually put laminate over top or a plastic tarp type thing. All other places have tile. There usually isn't just dirt. Shops: Here they have Indomarets and Alphamarets everywhere. They are like 7-11 gas station type stores. A lot of people do sell food, They have carts on wheels that they can strap to the back of their motorcycles. They go to a busy street and set up for the morning or evening. They put banners up and that is their designated spot. There are shops every where for anything. They just buy a little room and sell what they have. I'll take more pictures later. People: People always stare at me and the little kids always laugh! They always shout "Bule, Bule!" It's like me in America shouting Asain! Asian! haha. They always say "Hello Miss" or "Hello Mister" and "How are you?" I wish I could type in an Indonesian accent because it's honestly so hilarious. Weather: Even though it's supposed to stop raining in May, it's still raining. It usually starts raining at about 6 until like 8. And the clouds just dump a ton super fast and then it stops. Today is the first day where it rained all night and it has continued to sprinkle throughout the whole day. Like it does in Utah. I like when it rains because it's not hot but I also don't like getting soaked. That's all I can think about right now about normal life.. This week I promise I will take more pictures of normal things. I love you all!! Have a great week!! Love, Sister Davis |
Sister Jacqueline DavisSister Davis is currently serving as a missionary in the Indonesia Jakarta Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ContactMission Address: Sister Jacqueline Davis Indonesia Jakarta Mission Jalan Senopati 115 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta 12190 INDONESIA Email: [email protected] Prepare to Serve Link: http://preparetoserve.com/indonesia-jakarta-mission Learn more about the LDS Church:www.lds.org
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August 2017
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