Birthday Brownies

Here's another note and picture from Sister Anderson in Surabaya:

Our weekly zone meeting...had brownies and sang 'Happy Birthday' to Elder Barrus.

Birthday Brownies at Zone Meeting

I have been marvelling all day at a "coincidence" I discovered. I emailed Elder Murphy's mom because I think it's unusual for he and Seth to be together in the same apartment after they were companions in the MTC. She happened to mention that her husband also went to Indonesia on his mission. I wrote back and asked her when, and it turns out that Elder Murphy's dad was in the MTC at the same time I was!

I've been reading my journal from the MTC and noticed I had mentioned the "Indonesian elders" several times--how great they were, how much fun we had with them, how jealous we were that they got to go to Indonesia, etc. So I pulled out my mission slides and found a picture of the six of them, hoping I could read their nametags. Well, I couldn't read them, but I could guess who Elder Murphy's dad was:

Elders going to Indonesia in the MTC September 1979.
Elder Murphy is second from left. Looks a lot like his son!

I also found a picture of me and my companions while we were in the MTC and sent it back and the elder Elder Murphy said that he remembered us--a threesome that had their call changed. It is SUCH a small world!

Sister Pate, me, Sister Bunker

"A coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous!"

I promise I won't post this often. In fact, I may not be able to post at all in the next month. There isn't any internet at the Hill Cumorah! Might have to go find a Starbucks or something...

Working Hard in Surabaya Already

We received these pictures and an email this morning from Elder and Sister Anderson--a senior couple serving in Surabaya.

Surabaya elders after motorcycle wash

Elder Murphy, his companion, Seth, Elder Hendro

Elder Anderson and I are currently serving as senior missionaries in the Indonesia Jakarta Mission and are assigned to serve in Surabaya and Sidoarjo.  We had the opportunity to meet your sons at the airport last night as they arrived in Surabaya and want to report that they are well and already speaking Indonesian much better than we are (we've been here three months).

On Wednesday mornings we provide a free motorcycle wash at the church as part of our community service...the picture was taken as we finished this AM!  We went together to have some great Indonesian food for lunch and then off to our various responsibilities!

We are excited to have the opportunity to serve with your sons...they have great companions who will teach them well!

Thank you for preparing them well....

Fondly,

Sister Anderson

Indonesia is GILA!

Looking bedraggled after 25 hours of traveling, arriving at the airport in Jakarta.

President and Sister Groberg

First lunch in Indonesia

Apa Kabar and Hello from the great land of Indonesia!!

To make the recap not so boring, I'll skip all the flying and stuff, because no one should be in a chair in the sky for 13 hours at a time. :) We arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday, (without our baggage. Lame.), slept at the mission home, and by Thursday, the missionaries assigned to the Jakarta area left with their companions.  The rest of us have to stay in the area until our Kitas arrive (permission to stay in Indonesia temporarily). So Elder Kyle and I have been staying with the AP's, Elder Yarkasi from Yokja and Elder Lee from California, here in the Mission Home for the last couple days. 

But! Exciting news! I fly out of Jakarta to Jawa Timur tomorrow to my first assigned area: Surabaya!! Everyone's been telling me it's super hot and I'll be riding bikes the whole time. #weightlossprogram. I'll be in the same house as Elder Murphy (companion in the MTC) and Elder Hasibuan. And my companion's name is Elder Hendro! Elder Yarkasi has told me that neither Hasibuan nor Hendro speak ANY English. I'm pretty stoked for that. :)

Indonesia is GILA SEKALI!! (Incredibly crazy) From the "ankots" (a minivan-like taxi with maybe 13 people squished in), to the "bajis" (three wheeled motorcycle box things), to the crammed busses in the middle of Macet (traffic), Indonesia is a tad bit different than West Jardan Utah,  to say the least. :) But the second night we were here, we went out and got a wrap with rice, chicken, tempe, and this green sauce thingy and it was soo good! The food here is amazing! A little spicy and a little crazy on the stomach, but definitely pretty good. 

So on Saturday, we went out to tract out a referral from China and so we hopped on a bus for three hours to a "little" town outside of Jakarta, took an ankot for another 30 minutes, and then walked another 15  minutes.  Aaaaaaaaand she wasn't home. It was kinda frustrating, but the scripture that says to "leave the 99 and find the 1" has taken on a totally new meaning. I was thinking about the positives from the whole experience (because it's lame to be pessimistic) and I thought "maybe that's how God feels with us sometimes." He goes the extra mile in wanting to bless and help us, yet sometimes, we reject his help. Even when he's knocking on the front door! (Or in my case, yelling "Permisi!!" from outside the gate) So I have made a goal to try and see the Lord's hand more in everything that I do. Happy ending to the story: we ran into two ladies on the bus and one invited us over for a lesson and the other wanted to come to English class! The Lord works in mysterious ways everybody. :) Look for His hand, and you'll find it. 

Church was awesome!! I didn't understand a single phrase they said! I think that Sister Anon (lady who knows Mary Ellen) spoke about the Word of Wisdom. I did catch that. And Elder Yarkasi taught about the Fall in Sunday School. And in Priesthood we talked about strengthening the family. But other than the main topics, no clue. I did get to play piano for sacrament meeting though. :) It was fun to be reunited with the ivory keys again! But it was a testament to me that the Spirit and the Church is the same no matter where you go. 

Wadu, this email's kinda long. But I'm extremely excited to be in Indonesia!! Thanks for the prayers because as much as I'm loving Indonesia, the teaching is kinda tough. It's good for me though. :) Once the teaching starts happening, I'll let you know, but as for right now, Sampai terus minggu! 

-Elder Barrus

Seth's Email Address

Here's Seth's email address:

seth.barrus@myldsmail.net

Also, his snail mail address:

Jalan Senopati 115
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta 12190, Indonesia

President Groberg sent us a letter and said that email is best. Letters take at least 10 days, and usually longer. (Although I have to say that an occasional snail mail letter is a wonderful thing when you're on a mission.) He also mentioned that package delivery is sporadic at best. They sometimes have to pay duty to get them, and sometimes they take 30 days, sometimes 90 days, and in many cases, they don't get them at all. They recommended just putting extra money in the missionary's bank account and letting them know so they can get what they want there in Indonesia.

First Letter From the Land of Indonesia!

Hallo Everybody! 

'Twas so good to talk to you on... Monday? I think? It was so weird, the way that we traveled, we basically skipped Tuesday. As far as how the flight went, we made it to San Francisco about 1:20 in the morning and our flight to Taiwan was leaving the airport at 1:35. So we booked it through the airport to the international flights area and had to go through security again. We were all about ready to get through security when Elder Gil realized he didn't have a boarding pass. So Elder Wood and he ran through the airport trying to find a ticket counter that was open so they could print another boarding pass. They finally found one (total miracle), and we all took off from San Fran around 1:40 for our much looked forward to 13 hour flight. 

I'm definitely dwelling on the positives here, (from all the turbulence, I threw up around the 8 hour mark. Awesome!!) but we made it to Taiwan, planted a Kitab Mormon with a man headed to Indonesia, and after a 5 hour flight, we made it to the promised land!! We're all close to passing out, so I'll be brief. But our baggage didn't make it onto the plane headed to Taiwan, so they're sending all that hopefully to the Mission Home tomorrow at 3, and until then, we're chilling and contacting. :) Love you all sekali!! I'm sorry if this email didn't make sense. I'll answer all questions next Preparation Day (Monday?) Gereja Yesus Kristus adalah benar!!

-Elder Barrus

Still Flying to Indonesia

We got to talk to Seth last night while they were at the airport waiting for their flight. About 20 minutes into our conversation, we noticed his flight had been delayed for about an hour. So he had to hang up and call Church Travel. They said not to worry unless it was delayed even longer, because then they'd miss their connection in San Francisco. But, they left at 11:13, instead of 10:51, so they must have made it or we would probably have heard about it.

Then he called us back and we probably talked for about an hour between both calls. He told us that he gave out 2 Pass Along cards on the FrontRunner on the way up to the airport. One of the sisters gave away a Book of Mormon! Then they ate at Cafe Rio. He's the flight leader, and so were Brandon and Matt. (Alphabetical order...) So, he was a little more nervous about that. 

They were flying to San Francisco, then to Taipei, then on to Jakarta.  They will arrive at midnight tonight, our time. It will be 1:00 pm Indonesia time on Wednesday. That means they'll have flown 25 hours! (Well, with 2 two hour layovers.) 

He said he really liked living at Wyview. It was quieter and less crowded and they had a few perks. They could go to the Creamery at Wyview, which is a little grocery store. They had a refrigerator in their apartment, so they could keep milk and ice cream and stuff like that. One of the elders was bummed because they had bacon up at the main MTC on Wednesdays, but not at MTC West, so the other elders found some bacon at the Creamery and some aluminum foil and they wrapped up a couple of slices in the foil and ironed it. He said it turned out great and the elder didn't complain anymore...

They had the Sunday Devotional at the Wyview Chapel and beamed it up to the main MTC, so that was fun. They had turned off the stoves and taken away the microwaves, so no microwave popcorn. He said the food was pretty good--the same as the main MTC, but not as many choices and no lines. And they got ice cream every day. Main MTC only has it on Wednesdays and Sundays.

He said again how great his district was and how much they enjoyed each other and helped each other out. He also sent a box with stuff he didn't need to take to Indonesia, along with his broken camera with the pictures on it that he took at the MTC, so I'll post a few. I asked him if he was nervous or worried about culture shock, but he just said, "No", that he was excited to go and start teaching. 

His desk at the main MTC. Note the fruit snacks--a favorite!

His dorm room at the main MTC. Double bunk beds.

Name tag

Looks like Becca's old apartment at Wyview.

Classroom at RainTree. Seems a little crowded--there are several classrooms in each apartment .

Covered in the contents of the birthday box we sent him. More fruit snacks.

Meeting President Donald

This is Sharon. Just had to share our fun experience! I sent this email to the other Indonesia Missionary Moms:

Tonight my husband and I met President Donald.(The Mission President who will be going to Indonesia the first of July.) My son-in-law's aunt (Eric) was the missionary who found him and taught him the gospel before he was baptized in Australia. He is staying with her and her family before they report to the MTC for the Mission President's Seminar this week and she invited us over to meet him and his wife. 

All I can say is, our missionary sons and daughters are in good hands. Both he and his wife were really amazing. And solid. I think that's the best description I can give. He shared his conversion story with us. 

He was on a surfing trip on the opposite side of Australia (in Perth) with his brothers and friends and had some experiences that really made him think about God. So, one day, he prayed out loud to find the true church. He had several experiences with the spirit and with God before he moved back to Melbourne, where the missionaries were tracting and he invited them in. He immediately recognized the spirit and when the missionaries said, "When you find out for yourself that these things are true, will you commit to be baptized?" he said, "Yes!" 

We were both impressed with his humility. President Groberg has been sending the missionary pictures and bios to him as he gets them so he can learn all their names before he gets there in a couple of weeks. I can tell that he loves them already. He worked in Indonesia for 2 or 3 years, so knows the language and he knew President and Sister Groberg then. 

Anyway, we were super excited to meet them and feel of their spirit!