It's the World Cup!

(This post is from last week, June 22.)

Howdy hey everybody! I hope everyone is enjoying the World Cup right now. Indonesia is weird because they get all amped about soccer, yet have never had their own country make it into the World Cup. And since the whole time zone thing throws watching the cup into a loop, beforementioned World Cup is almost nonexistent over here. Oh well. People in the streets give me updates though and tell me that my beloved Yanks are doing pretty well.

Because of the crazy week we had 2 weeks ago, filled with exchanges and travel, we stayed close to home this week and just went on an exchange with the other companionship here in Jakarta Selatan. I went with Elder Rogers, a missionary from Australia who's headed home in August, but isn't trunky at all. We went and taught Brian, the son of a less active member (Brother Tobing). He is aaaawesome! But his Indonesian is pretty shaky so we taught in English. He's met on and off with elders before, but somehow forgot everything about the restoration; so after reviewing it real quick with him, we asked if he would be baptized when he knows its all true. He accepted and is set to be baptized on the 19th of July. He seems super sincere about it, so the fact he wasn't able to make it to church this past Sunday doesn't worry me too much. He'll come this Sunday.

We're getting really excited because the members here in Jakarta are putting in their share of work. We went with a member, Brother Simon Petrus, to visit someone he met on the street and told about the Book of Mormon. That man's name is Pak Txxxxx. He's Batak and was really interested that there's a living prophet, to the point that he's going to "pray and ask the Lord what is actually true." We're cool with that. :) Also, we've gotten a few more referrals from members we haven't had time to teach yet. But this week we'll be sure to do so.

Happy Birthday to Elder Collet! And another random Elder in the Jakarta district! And me! Sister Donald baked us a cake for DDM and make some killer snickerdoodles. I guess I can't be a teenager anymore. I've started to eat healthier too. Every morning I have a bowl of oatmeal and 3 sticks of toast. We usually eat out off the street for dinner and lunch, so we won't focus on the health of that... Ha ha!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true no matter where you go in the world. It's our decision each and every day to stand as witnesses of Christ and have His spirit to be with us.

Elder Seth Barrus

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Selamat Hari Ayah! (Happy Father's Day)

Selamat Hari Ayah all you fathers out there! It's not celebrated here in Indonesia, but that doesn't take away the celebrating going on in my head. Thanks for all you dads do. Especially my own dad! Love you dad!

This last week was crazy!! We planned on going on splits with the Tangerang District, but they called Tuesday night saying Elder Honda was throwing up and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to come down that week. So we ended up going to Bekasi and doing a split with this elder: 

 

His name is Elder Tufaga and he is from Hawaii. He was trained by one of my fellow MTC colleagues, Elder Kyle, and his Indonesian is already great! He weighs about 230 pounds so he definitely slept on the bottom bunk. Schnikies! I look little next to him. And white. But he's a great elder! We taught this preacher from another church and he testified so well that the preacher actually received a Kitab Mormon. It was a fun split! 

While Elder Suryono and I were in Bekasi, we got a phone call from Elder James in Bandung saying that President James wanted their investigator baptized this Sunday, instead of waiting a week. So we hopped on a bus the next day, and after a 3 hour bus ride, arrived in "the Paris of Jawa"- Bandung! We did splits with Elder James and his companion, Elder Pxxxxxxxx. I went with Elder Pxxxxxxxx. (You still remember Axxx from Medan? Yep. Same guy.) It was fun! Elder James has the elders down there doing some great work. And my companion is from Bandung and hopefully when he goes home, he'll be able to help further the work. 

                                                            This is us after English class.

Gross story of the week. Last night Elder Suryono and I were going to an investigator's house. He lives close to some apartment buildings that are being built, but lives in a little shack. It had rained pretty hard that day, flooding the field leading towards his house. We took a roundabout way so we wouldn't be walking in water. It was kinda dark and with the whole "open sewers" thing here in Indonesia, it's also hard to tell the difference between sewers and rivers if there's any flooding. I took one wrong step with my left foot and sunk about shin-deep into some awesome muck. I pulled my leg out and the smell wafted up into our noses. I'm kinda used to the smell after serving in Medan, but  Elder Suryono has a weak stomach. He almost threw up... Our investigator wasn't there, so after quickly hosing off, we took a taxi home and showered immediately. The mission life is Awesome! 

Bang Txxxxxxx is from Medan. He's met with missionaries before, but for whatever reason, stopped meeting with them. We called him up last week, gave him another Kitab Mormon, and he came to church yesterday! The first time we met him, he was completely against being baptized, because he said he's already been baptized in another church. But after church yesterday, we met with him and he said "If it's really what the Lord wants me to do, I'll do it. But I'll need to study first." Sweet! 

Elder Seth Michael Barrus

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Me, Elder Suryono, the AP's,a new member, and an investigator, went roaming around Jakarta last week for PDay. We rode this double decker bus. it was fun! 

Elder James found this Mexican restaurant in Bandung called Perky Pedro's. It had legitimate Mexican food! 

                                                  Doing my best 'garuda' (eagle) impression. 

Here's a fun photo of someone that Grandma, Grandpa, Tad and Michelle would recognize:

                      Her name is Libby Sproats. And she is from West Lafayette, Indiana. Small world!

Eye of the Eiger

This last week was pretty great! The church is phasing out missionaries wearing backpacks and requiring shoulder bags instead. In fact, here in the mission, all the missionaries who arrived after September 2013 have to have shoulder bags. I feel weird telling other missionaries what to do without doing it myself, so I bought a shoulder bag. Check it out! It's from a company called "Eiger", hence the cool title of this email. :)

After Zone Training Meeting, Elder Suryono and I headed on out to Bekasi for a baptismal interview for Elder Costner's investigator. Elder Johnson, and Elder Costner and I have all served in Medan and Elder Sxxxxx (Txxxxx, remember him?) is from Medan. It was fun! The interview went well and he will be baptized next week. 

After Mission Leader Conference, we held ZTM. We got to teach all of the other districts what we learned from President Donald. We have so many investigators in our zone that have baptismal commitments and President wants us to make sure we're doing everything we can to help them get baptized. He also wants us to be more bold in inviting people to be baptized so we can "sift through the nations".

We also went on splits with the AP's and I got to go with Elder Collett and learned so much from him. He teaches with such clarity and power. I hope I can teach like him some day. We tried to give every investigator we taught a baptismal commitment and it helped me see who we should focus on more. 2 investigators straight up said "not yet" and the other, Brother Exxxx just wants to make sure he can stop smoking first. 

Cool! I've heard of Elder Mulia. I never met him, but I heard from other missionaries who served with him. That sounds really fun! (We invited his parents over for dinner after we found out they live 5 minutes away from us.) We'll have to do the same thing once I get back. :) Did you get to practice any of your Indonesian with them? All the old timey members in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, know them because they do the translations for General Conference. Good family. Super small world. Especially in the Indonesian Jakarta mission world. That's too bad you couldn't meet with Elder Murphy's mom.

Ooh, yeah I could use another journal. I'm just using a regular notebook right now, but a nicer journal would be appreciated. :) No need for hymn arrangements. I've got a couple in Senopati I've not yet used. Oh! I actually got to play for the Primary in the Jakarta 2nd Ward yesterday. Soooo much fun! Even though they've never even seen snow, you should have seen how excited they were to sing "Once There Was A Snowman." Ha ha!

Last thing--we taught a less active member, Brother Txxxxx, last week and he was baptized when he was a student in Fresno, California. Didn't you live in Fresno? Do you know a President Bob Smith? That's who baptized him. He was the stake president at the time. He's cool! Add him to the prayer list. He's less active because something's messed up with his internal clock where he only can't go to sleep at 4 am. And so he sleeps in and can't come to church. He's got a son, Bxxxx, who isn't baptized yet and goes to college in Seattle in September, so we're focusing on him.

That's about it for this week's letter. Hope everyone is doing well and has a great week! 

Elder Barrus

Note from Sharon:  I asked Seth what he wanted me to send for his birthday. This is what he requested:

Hmm.... Fruit snacks

Starbursts.

Socks. 

Jelly Belly's. 

A temple.

People who want to be baptized.

Selamat June!

Selamat pagi everybody! This last week was full of fun experiences. Elder Suryono and I hopped on a train over to Bogor to do a split with the District Leader and his companion. I like to call him Elder McCleary. Here's a picture:

 It was fun to catch up with him and relish about the glory days of when West Jordan beat Riverton. It was a fun split! He's a great missionary and will do awesome work in Bogor. 

I feel bad for not sending any pictures the last couple weeks, so I'm making up for it this week by sending some more. After coming home from Bogor, we went to a wedding at the Jakarta church for Elder Subandriyo's son, Ezra, and his fiance. It was fun because Elder Subandriyo was one of the first church leaders here in Indonesia. He's been great in working with the government here getting the word out about our church. 

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​As for our own investigators go, we have the awesome opportunity to meet and teach Pak Dxxx this last week. Or Doctor Dxxx, I should say. He's an optometrist from Manado who came down to Jakarta for some extra training this last month. He's done a ton of humanitarian work with Elder and Sister Lucherini, in helping with the flood and other projects. He came to church yesterday and also came to a "cottage meeting" that President Donald and the AP's put on at the mission home where a bunch of investigators and new members gathered together to watch "The Restoration" and hear each other's testimonies. The Spirit was really strong! Brother Dxxx goes home to Manado next Sunday, so we're praying that the elders up there are able to continue meeting with him. He's really big about "by their fruits ye shall know them." The Church in Manado gets a lot of bad press just because no one actually knows about it. But Doctor Dxxx is telling all his friends and family back home to give the church a chance and to learn about it. He's willing to try it and see if this is the path the Lord wants him to take. Oh and that's my companion to the left. He's short. Shorter than Elder Hendro, my trainer. Ha ha! But he's hilarious and works hard. 

The Lord is truly hastening his work in Jawa Barat (West Java)! Remember Tangerang? They have a whole family of four that will be baptized this next Sunday! As we do our part to listen, to be humble, listen, and follow the Holy Ghost, we will be lead to those who are searching for the truth. D&C 100:4.

Selamat June!

Elder Barrus 

                               Me in typical Jakarta. Super rich apartments next to super poor shacks.

                                         "Share the gospel with all creatures" including goats.

This...is...Jakarta!

Selamat datang dari kota yang terkasih- Jakarta! (welcome from the beloved city!) It's a little bit more crowded, noisy, and different than Tangerang, or my other cities, but I'm certain I'll grow to love it just as much as my other cities. (Wow, if that doesn't sound missionary cliche, I'm not sure what does.) My companion is a super short elder from Bandung. His name is Elder Suryono and he goes home in August, so my job is to work with him in the Jawa Barat zone and keep him from trunking himself out. We live in the same house with Elder Litster and Elder Rogers really close to the church here. We'll be covering two "wards", and by that I mean the Jakarta 2nd ward, and the Jakarta 3rd ward, which is just the English speaking ward. We share the entire city with the AP's, the Sister Trainers, another set of sisters, and the elders in our house. Yep. It's great fun!

We ride angkots, buses, or the busway system. We haven't found a good housing complex to proselyte in yet, but we do get plenty of opportunities to talk to people in the buses. Like one time we were talking to this one guy (from Medan! woot!) about the Kitab Mormon, and this lady sprang to her feet from her chair and said "That book is false and not true!" We calmly explained that nope. It's not. But she was still pretty fervent in her quest of stopping us in "corrupting" this youth. By the end, the Medan guy wouldn't take the Book of Mormon, but wants to meet with the missionaries in Bekasi sometime. There are some weeeird people in Jakarta. But some great ones too! We went to Stake Conference this past weekend and heard lots of talks from lots of great people. Elder Suryono said that all the past conference themes have been about member missionary work. I'm a fan of that. :)

I'm at a new warnet and can't figure out how to send pictures. But I'll figure it out later and send some next week. 

They do have Memorial Day here, just on a different day. I forget when... I think August maybe?

Ha ha! Oh Sister Sheffield. Elder Suryono and I went over to the Lucherini's apartment with the sisters last night and it's so weird but great having sisters back in my district. My companion is hilarious! He was Elder Heiner's trainer back in Malang last year, and at that time, his English was awful. But now it's super great! I guess continuously training new missionaries does that to you. But he still says some funny stuff. Like when he said we should be careful we didn't go down to "H-E-double stick hockey". I'm excited to serve with him!

Oh! So I actually rummaged through my stuff at Senopati (the mission home) and found some extra shirts I had actually saved. I don't know the status of the package, but I don't think you need to worry about sending shirts anymore. Unless you already did. And if so, no worries. :) Just send the fruit snacks. :)

Yep. I chatted with Elder Wood at Stake Conference this last weekend, and Tangerang is a tough place to whitewash just because it's huge! And he did come from a paradise in Manado. The word on the street goes that they had some ridiculous number like 15 investigators with baptismal commitments up there in Christian land. But Tangerang is a great place. He'll be happy there.

New prayer list: add Pak Dxxxxx. He's a doctor from Manado who's come to church before and has a lot of potential. We're meeting with him tomorrow. 

Elder Seth Barrus

Perpindahan (Transfers!)

It was so great to skype with you all last week! No worries, it didn't make me trunky at all. :) Just good to see you all. Ha ha! And actually eventually talk back. (It took us 90 minutes to actually connect so we could see and hear each other. Finally just waited for one of the other elders to finish their call so Seth could borrow their headphones.)

It was kinda tough at the beginning, but the last 5 months in Tangerang has been really enjoyable. President Donald called up last week and said I'm moving to... Jakarta! My companion will be Elder Suryono from Bandung, who was actually Elder Heiner's trainer. My companion, Elder Sutadiyono, is moving to a quaint little village called Magelang in Jawa Tengah. Elder Sutadiyono and I have been companions for the last 7 months. Crazy long, but we've had so many fun memories and experiences together, it's gonna be weird to split with him. But he's gonna be a great missionary no matter where he moves! (I asked about the last names being so similar.) There's a Sutadiyono (my companion now) a Suryono (my future companion) and a Sadiyono (Elder Murphy's companion). They're not very creative with their names.

            So this is me saying goodbye to the lovely city of Tangerang. It's been quite the fun ride, Tangerang. 

We were definitely blessed this last full week to meet some new people that the new missionaries can work with. All 3 new investigators we met were Batak, a tribe from Medan. Ahh yeah! Each time, we approached their door, after asking where the Christians lived, and explained who we were and what our names are. Every time they see "Barrus" they get really excited and invite us in because "Barus" is a tribal name in the Batak Karo region, so they automatically assume I'm from their family. I've never been quite so grateful for my Barrus heritage before. Ha ha ha! 

Mas Hxxx can't yet commit to a baptismal date yet, but he still wants to learn with the new missionaries. He knows it's all true, but it just hasn't... clicked yet for him. Brother Wxxxxxxx just needs time. He'll come around one day. 

      You see some weeeeiird stuff in Indonesia. Elder Canfield and I were on a split last week and passed by this                          awesome Elvis Presley- like chicken. Ha ha! He's got quite the flop going on. 

Joseph Smith said ".. the time has gone by when (Mormonism) is looked upon as a transient matter, or a bubble on the wave, and it is now taking a deep hold in the hearts and affections of all those who are noble-minded enough to lay aside the prejudice of education, and investigate the subject with candor and honesty." We had an investigator text us last week saying his knowledge of the Gospel conflicted with the Book of Mormon, so he couldn't keep learning. This was even before we had a chance to follow up with him to see if he had even read and prayed about it. If anybody has a pure heart in searching for the truth, God promises to make the truth of it known to that man if he does his part. I testify that it's true!

Elder Seth Barrus

PS  Right! Package- so Elder Heiner's CTR Clothing white shirts have been incredible. It's like they're made out of titanium or something. Could you throw 1 or 2 of those shirts in the package? And fruit snacks. I can't find those anywhere. But I am moving to Jakarta and they say you can find anything in Jakarta. So we'll see. :) 

Note to Future Wife

Happy Cinco de Mayo! There is zero Mexican culture here in Tangerang, but there is this random Texan that sells Mexican food, so we're gonna go celebrate after we're done emailing. Woot! 

We got to experience a lot of Javanese culture this last week. You remember Mas Bxxxxxxxx? He married Sister Dxxxx in accordance with the government on a Thursday. Then in accordance with Jawa Culture,  they had a traditional Javanese wedding on Saturday. Which means lots of big hair, tons of makeup, swords hanging out the back of the guys' shirts, smashing of eggs, cleaning of feet, weird jawa dances, funky music, and lots of tofu and tempeh. It was sagat fun!

This is the Javanese wedding. Check out Sister Dhian's hair! Note to future wife- no need to go all out like this.

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We also started this English class with the new program Sister Gong made in Hong Kong that uses mormonmessages and songs and starts and ends with a prayer. We're getting a lot of member support with this new program. Here's a picture! (It was after the wedding, hence the cool Jawa clothes.)

Mas Hxxxx didn't come to church because he's still a little afraid to talk to his boss and see if he can have Sundays off, but we had a great week with him last week. We watched the Joseph Smith film and he really liked it. We also had a fantastic lesson with Brother Wxxxxxx. We taught the Restoration in full, (even used some of Al-Quran to explain the relationship we have between God), and ended by giving a commitment to pray and come to church. He totally agreed to pray about it, but he kind of set us straight and said he'll come to church when he figures out it's all true. And with other investigators, I'd be kinda doubtful. But since Brother Wxxxxxx is really that kind of guy who will do what he says he will, I have total faith that he'll come one day. It was also his birthday last week, so we went to the Harvest and bought him a triple layer chocolate cake and surprised him. Only to find out he can't eat chocolate. It makes him throw up. Oops... 

Sounds like you had a blast with the other missionary moms! Sometimes we missionaries think that "missionary moms" is a cult, because you know things even before we do... Ha ha! That's fun that Elder Murphy's mom is coming up! Tell her that her son was my favorite companion in the MTC. And favorite white elder in Surabaya. And also my favorite Mexican in Medan. I love that man. 

To answer your questions:

1. I like Missionary Mall socks. My CTR Clothing socks are getting random holes in the toes. But the missionary mall ones are holding up great!

2. The best way to send audio of General Conference is on a flashdisk. But no worries, we've been downloading the talks on Elder Canfield's flashdrive lately and listening to them after we email. An Ensign magazine with all the talks would be just perfect. 

4. Right! Mother's Day. There's been no official word, but you can plan on skyping 9:00 am here Monday. If it changes, we'll be given permission to email again. But plan on that. :) And yes, rumor has it that we only get to skype for 30 minutes. (But we're having Zone Training Meeting this week, so should get the official word then.)

In Omni 1:26 we read that we should come unto Christ and offer our whole souls unto Him as an offering. We don't need to sacrifice goats or sheep anymore, but we are asked to sacrifice our whole souls as an offering. And as we do so, we'll find He will deepen our joys, expand our understanding, and strengthen our spirituality. 

Elder Seth Barrus